"Nine burials? What is Nine Burials? A special way of burial? Makihara asked.

"Hehe, Mu Yuan, you're thinking too much, the nine burials are not a funeral method, but nine funeral customs!" Yi Youdao explained, "It is earth burial, cremation, water burial, wind burial, sky burial, tower burial, tree burial, cliff burial and cave burial. ”

"Nine ways to bury?" Mu Yuan was completely surprised, he looked at Tan Xiaosheng and asked, "Master, is this Zhaojia Village a multi-ethnic mixed place?" ”

The Chinese nation has a long history and a vast territory, and has formed a number of ethnic groups due to the barriers of mountains and rivers, the integration of foreign cultures, etc., which have their own cultural customs, and funeral culture is one of them, and even has a pivotal role and characteristics. Because each nation, culture, and religion has different views on death, different funeral customs and burial methods have evolved. Taking the Han nationality as an example, since ancient times, it has paid attention to "entering the soil for peace", so burial has almost become the only funeral method, and the remaining funeral methods are mostly found in other ethnic minorities and religions.

According to archaeological records, cremation began more than 26,000 years ago in Lake Menggo, and cremation appeared in China after the introduction of Buddhism, but it was still banned during the Ming and Qing dynasties, but the custom of cremation could not be completely eradicated. Water burials and sky burials mostly occur in Tibetan areas; Wind burial, also known as "open burial", is popular in East Asian countries; Pagoda burial is a method of disposing of the remains of living Buddhas and monks, which originated from the custom of primitive Buddhism to place Buddha relics or Buddha's claws in pagodas; Cave burials are mostly used by the Miao people, and the Yaolu Yao people still follow the cave burial custom even today; Cliff burials mostly occur in the ethnic minority gathering places of Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Anhui and other provinces. As for tree burials, they are divided into ancient tree burials and modern tree burials. Ancient tree burials are quite common in ethnic minority areas in northeastern and southwestern China. Modern tree burial is a new form of funeral, that is, people adopt green space, plant some trees, and scatter the ashes of relatives under the trees.

"Don't call me a master, just call me Tanbo!" Tan Xiaosheng said with a smile, "Zhaojia Village is not a multi-ethnic mixed place, for thousands of years, there are almost only descendants surnamed Zhao in the entire village!" However, this line later multiplied into nine branches, except for the lineage that still follows the burial customs of the Han people, the remaining eight branches all borrowed the funeral customs of other ethnic groups or foreign cultures! ”

"Why?" Long Ling'er asked curiously.

"I don't know! I had been there out of curiosity, but after some inquiry, I couldn't find anything. However, there are some rumors outside, saying that this Zhao family has moved here since the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, and their ancestors have visited all over the country to raise the dragon vein in this place and find the method of the Nine Dragons to ascend to heaven, but in my opinion, this is just a false rumor! ”

"Uncle Tan, it is said that a few decades ago, there was a tragedy in this village, is there such a thing?"

"I've never heard of that!" Tan Xiaosheng shook his head, "But as far as I know, it is basically a deserted village at present, and there are few remaining households, and most of them are old people guarding the ancestral shrine and cemetery!" ”

"Muyuan, why do you suddenly want to go over?" Xuan Wuli asked suddenly.

"Curious!" Makihara scratched his head, he thought this reason was a bit funny, but it was also true.

"And when are you going to go?"

"I think next week, around New Year's Day!" Mu Yuan said, "When the crayfish competition is over, I will go over, and by the way, I will go to Rongcheng again, there is something that has been delayed for a long time!" ”

"Well, I'll go with you then!" Xuan said unreasonably.

"Teacher, you're going too?" Makihara was stunned.

"What? Think the old man, I'm a drag? Xuan said unreasonably.

"No, no!" Mu Yuan was not surprised, he was still worried about whether Luo Xuanren would have any conspiracy, if Master Xuan Wuli also went with him, he could sit back and relax, "The teacher is willing to go together, it's too late for me to be happy!" ”

"Xiaosheng, you haven't been out of this temple for some years, why don't you go out for a walk together?" Yi Youdao looked at Tan Xiaosheng with a smile, "Go and taste the delicious food in the mountains, and by the way, you can also be a guide for us!" ”

"Good!" Tan Xiaosheng nodded happily, "Revisiting the old place, I guess I don't have some feelings!" ”

"Teacher, I'll call you when the plan is finalized!" Mu Yuan said, "Long Ling'er and I won't bother you, let's go out first!" ”

"Okay, let's go, let's go out together!" Yi Youdao put down the teacup in his hand and stood up, "I've been sitting for most of the day, we also go out to move our legs and feet, you play with yours, we watch ours!" ”

Following the three old men out of the courtyard, Mu Yuan saw an old man on the side of the road in front of him, he was dressed a little similarly to Tan Xiaosheng, he was over seventy years old, with silver hair, his body was unusually thin, he looked skinny, and his emaciated face looked like a skeleton. His waist was a little rickety, and he was holding a tattered broom, sweeping the broken branches and leaves on the ground with a "bang, bang, bang".

When passing by the old man's side, Tan Xiaosheng smiled and said hello, but the old man just looked up at Tan Xiaosheng, nodded slightly, and didn't say a word. But when Makihara walked by, the broom in his hand fell to the ground with a "click". Makihara picked up the broom first, but when he handed it over, he found that the old man was staring at him with a pair of eyes that almost bulged out of his sockets.

"Grandpa, here you go!" Makihara called and pushed the broom in his hand forward a little.

The old man still had no one to answer, bent over and tilted his head, looked Mu Yuan up and down, and suddenly stretched out his hands and folded them, and muttered: "Welcome to the two Venerables!" ”

Venerable is a Buddhist term that refers to a person who is victorious in wisdom and virtue and can be a teacher, and is an honorific title for Buddha disciples, arhats, and others. He is also a saint, a sage, a longevity, a wise life, a pure life, and an elder.

Muhara's name for the old man is a little strange, because looking at the old man's dress, he is not a monk in this temple, but a handyman like a talker. What's more, this old man only saluted to himself, but called "two", did he see something?

After the old man finished the salute, he didn't say much, reached out and took the broom from Mu Yuan's hand, and swept the path again.

Makihara realized that he was rude, hurriedly folded his hands, bowed deeply to the silhouette of the old man, and after saluting, he saw that the old man had nothing to explain, so he turned around and left.

"Uncle Tan, who was the old man just now?" Makihara asked.

"Oh, that's an old friend of mine, too!" Tan Xiaosheng smiled, and glanced at Mu Yuan meaningfully, "He has been in this temple for fifty or sixty years, and he is over eighty years old. However, he is a man of few words, and he rarely speaks when he drinks tea and plays chess with me on weekdays, so it is not easy to hear his words! ”

As soon as he walked out of the small courtyard, a figure wrapped in dough rushed over, plunged into Mu Yuan's arms, knocked Mu Yuan back a few steps, and almost fell on his back to the sky.

No one can apologize, and if you flash to the side, you will drill into the arch. Mu Yuan's eyes were quick, and he hurriedly reached out and grabbed the person who came.

"Hee-hee, Master!"

"What are you doing, panicking, what should you do if you crash someone?"

"It's Jiang Bixue, she exposed my whereabouts, and a group of fans are chasing after her!" The crayfish said aggrievedly, "Those people are so crazy, if they don't run, their clothes will have to be torn!" ”

"It's torn, it's torn!" Long Ling'er gloated and said, "Then you will be more famous!" ”

"Makihara, Makihara!" Jiang Bixue then ran over, and her hair was messed up.

"What does this look like!" Xuan Wuli pulled down his face and lectured.

"Oh, Master, why are you there!" Jiang Bixue was stunned and combed her hair in a panic.

"Blue Blood, what's wrong?" Makihara asked.

"I'm looking for you everywhere, the little kid Xu really brought over quarreled with the staff in the temple, and the security guards are dragging it outside the temple, you hurry up and take a look!"

"Xu unexpectedly?" Makihara asked curiously, "Why?" ”

"It's all that dead foreigner, and the eldest sister, Zheng Bu and Fu Wei also have a share!" Jiang Bixue complained, "They lied to people that the mobile phone couldn't be stuffed into the merit box, so the little kid took the mobile phone and tried it on the box, but the eldest sister suddenly yelled next to him, and his hand trembled, and the mobile phone fell in!" ”

"Giggles!" When Long Ling'er heard this, she couldn't stand up with laughter.

"I'll go! How did I miss such a fun thing! The crayfish stomped his feet, and then ran to the side of the main hall.

"The little kid asked the staff to open the merit box, but they didn't have the key and didn't open it, so they quarreled!" Jiang Bixue said, "Now a few people are being pulled outside the temple by the security guards!" ”

"Haha!" Tan Xiaosheng couldn't help laughing, "Two masters, no wonder you have started to accept apprentices again when you get old, if I had met such a group of fun children earlier, I would definitely be tempted!" ”

Yi Youdao and Xuan Wuli glanced at each other and shook their heads helplessly.

"Uncle Tan, I guess I'm going to trouble you to explain it to the staff!" Makihara's face was black, and his head began to hurt.

"Okay, I'll talk about it!" Tan Xiaosheng smiled, and then went straight to the main hall.