I felt so weird.

Azanji kept saying that he would go out to look for Zhang Qiang, but after looking for so long, there was no news, and now Zhang Qiang has come back by himself, and Azanji has disappeared without a trace, what is the situation?

I said, "Lao Zhang, I feel that there is a lot of trouble in the village, it seems that this place can't stay for a long time, let's go, let's go out and find Azanji." ”

Zhang Qiang shook his head and said, "Brother, don't worry about Azanji, his ability is greater than yours, I believe that this old ghost in the mountains will not pose a threat to him, I think we need to worry more about ourselves, it's best not to go out casually at night." ”

I had no choice but to nod and sit back on the straw mat, and after smoking a cigarette, Zhang Qiang lay back and said, "No matter, go to sleep, I'll investigate something after dawn." ”

Even Zhang Qiang said so, I can only agree, lying back on the straw mat but turning over and can't sleep, still wondering where Azanji went? This Miaozhai village is not big, how can it be impossible to turn around?

I don't know when I fell asleep, when I opened my eyes again, it was already bright, Zhang Qiang was washing his hands with a basin of water, and when he saw that I was awake, he smiled and said, "Brother, are you awake?" ”

I laughed, "yes, by the way, Azanji hasn't come back yet?" ”

"Nope!" Zhang Qiang shook his head with a strange expression, I was about to say something, when there was a familiar sound of horns in my ears, I instinctively shuddered when I heard this voice, Zhang Qiang was calmer than me, smiled and said, "Why are you afraid of being like this?" The Miao people play the horns to see off their relatives, let's go, do you want to accompany me out to have a look? ”

I said, "Sending off?" ”

Zhang Qiang explained, "It's the same as the burial of the Han people, but the customs of Miao Village are different from the outside, and people return to nature after death, so the corpse will not fall into the ground, but will be sent to the cave of the mountain god they believe in, so that the corpse will rot naturally." ”

I said, "Isn't this the same as the heavenly burial of a Tibetan lama?" ”

"It's similar, but it doesn't mean the same thing!" Zhang Qiang shook his head and said, "The Tibetan lama is popular in the sky burial, which is to sacrifice the corpse to the sky, in fact, the meat is eaten by vultures, but the Miao people are different, the Miao people firmly believe that the body of the tribe is given by the mountain god, and the day of the end of life, the body must also be returned to the mountain god, they will not tolerate the beasts in the mountains to gnaw the corpse, but let them naturally rot and become a part of the deep mountains." ”

I said okay, I really don't know much about the customs of the Miao people, and today is a long insight. Zhang Qiang said with a smile, "In fact, the sacrificial customs of each Miao Village are not the same, and I don't know much about it, the Miao Village of the Black Dog is indeed like this, and I don't know much about other Miao Villages." ”

As he was talking, someone came to knock on the door, Zhang Qiang and I turned our eyes at the same time, and found that the Miao black dog was standing at the door with a few white stickers, and said very enthusiastically, "Two guests, please have breakfast, come with me to the back mountain after eating, and send Grandma on the last ride." ”

I could only agree, and took the sticker cake from the black dog's hand, and I found that this thing was a bit like the popular donkey meat roast in Shaanxi, with a flour cake on the outside, and an opening in the middle, filled with a lot of meat pieces.

Zhang Qiang took a bite of the meatloaf as soon as he took it, and he was satisfied with the oily food, and he said happily, "It's so fragrant, the things in the mountains taste good, by the way, what kind of meat is this?" ”

The black dog laughed, "Beef." ”

What the?

I was shocked, and when I saw Zhang Qiang choking on eating, his eyes widened, and he quickly spit out the meat in his mouth and said, "What...... What, this meat bun must have been made from the sacrificial cow last night, right? ”

"yes, what's wrong, it's not to taste?" The black dog smiled innocently, saying that there is a shortage of food in the mountains, and not every meal can eat meat, once a clansman dies, the clansmen will kill a cow and sacrifice, the blood of the ox and the soul of the cow will be given to the mountain god to enjoy, and the remaining beef will be eaten by the residents of the village, in the eyes of the Miao people, this is also a gift from the mountain god.

Zhang Qiang's face turned green, he had already learned about last night's incident from me, and knew that the cow was strange, and now he was actually eating its head, and his face was not ugly.

I laughed evilly in my heart, fortunately I didn't eat it, and when I looked back at a question, I said quietly, "Brother Black Dog, where did you find the cow carcass?" ”

The black dog looked puzzled, "Isn't it on the altar, after the sacrificial ceremony was completed yesterday, everyone went back to the house to rest, and got up early this morning to slaughter the cattle and divide the beef." ”

I was stunned for a moment, then changed my face and said, "So the cow is back?" ”

"What's coming back?" The black dog's eyes widened and he looked at me with a puzzled expression. I was busy saying that it was nothing, I ate too much yesterday, and my stomach was still supporting, I am afraid that this meatloaf will not be blessed, thank you for the kindness of Brother Black Dog.

He asked me if I was unappetizing. I laughed but didn't say a word, and the black dog had no choice but to put away the meatloaf, and said before leaving, "Wash your faces, those two, the team will leave soon, and I hope you can join the people in the village to send Grandma's spirit back to heaven." ”

I said don't worry, we'll be right here.

Closing the door, I turned around and saw Zhang Qiang digging his throat, squatting by the wall and spitting, I couldn't help but feel funny, saying Lao Zhang, as for you, a piece of beef will make you unbearable?

After spitting up enough of the things in his mouth, Zhang Qiang turned around and glared at me, "What your special mother said is good, why don't you eat it yourself?" ”

I smiled and said you hurry up and tidy up, since people came to invite us in person, we will also go to give the old lady a ride. Zhang Qiang hurriedly changed his clothes and went out with me, and soon the men, women and children in the village automatically formed a lineup, and the team slowly walked to the back.

The old man who walked in front of the team played the horns from time to time, and in the dull sound of the horns, the team drove into the mountains.

As soon as I walked to the foot of the mountain, all the women in the team stopped and did not leave, and continued to walk for a while, and the children also stayed, and the crowd was scattered to a sparse place, leaving only a dozen middle-aged Miao people carrying the old lady's body up the mountain, I felt curious while walking, and asked Zhang Qiang in a low voice, "Why do women and children refuse to go any further?" ”

"It is also a local custom, women and children have no status in Miao Village, sacrifice to the dead, welcome relatives and send funerals, this kind of thing can only be done by men!" Zhang Qiang whispered.

I said "oh", and soon walked into a pile of rocks, the team stopped again and refused to go, I saw that there were people in front of me who were sprinkling chicken blood and white paper, circling around the rocks, blowing suona and blowing horns, as if performing some ritual, and after a while, the black dog himself carried the old lady's body and carried her to a cave.

I turned my eyes to the cave, and saw that the entrance of the cave was pitch black, dark, and I don't know how deep the cave entrance was, and the narrow walls of the cave were covered with moss, and there were wet watermarks everywhere, and the black dog quickly walked into the cave and disappeared.

Zhang Qiang whispered, "It seems that the mountain god believed in this village lives in it, and the black dog sends the deceased relatives into the cave, which can be regarded as the last step of the funeral ceremony." ”

I frowned, staring at the cave, and somehow I always felt that the atmosphere in the cave was strange, not only the environment was gloomy, but even a very gloomy atmosphere.