After Yu Nian slaughtered the bull, he completed the first task of the sacrifice, and the twelve girls in a team carried the tray and brought it out of the bullring in the order in which the organs of the bull were removed.

The liver, lungs, belly, intestines, tea, wine, etc. of the cow were honored by the ancestors, and the heart was sealed in a sealed box and handed over to Yu Nian.

After about half an hour, the firecrackers rang out again, and the crowd of onlookers who were still in the bullring walked inside, gathered around the bonfire and began to play the sheng and dance.

Lao Meng and Tusuo and I were inexplicably surrounded by the crowd, and we were gradually assimilated by everyone's elation, dancing hand in hand.

It was about more than an hour of excitement, and the entourage of Azu's family came to inform us to go to Azu's house to drink.

As soon as Tuso heard that there was wine, his eyes lit up as if they were charged.

In front of Azu's house is a small stream that runs through the village, and the so-called banquet is along this stream, and a flowing water seat about 100 meters long is set up, and everyone in the village gathers together to eat and drink.

Although we are outsiders, because we are friends brought back by Yu Nian, everyone is naturally friendly to us. Maybe because of the natural hospitality, naturally we didn't treat us as outsiders, and came over to toast round after round.

After three rounds of drinking, several of us were already a little dazed.

I saw that Yu Nian hadn't come back for a long time, and I was a little curious, so I left the table to find her while I was still awake.

I searched in front of the house and behind the house several times but no one was found, and I wondered if I would be in the ancestral hall, so I completely forgot what happened in the ancestral hall yesterday, and pushed open the door and walked in while I was drinking.

I didn't think there was anything before, but now that I stepped in and faced these tablets of the Yu family, I still felt inexplicably a little depressed.

The last time I looked at it, I found that all the names on the tablet were women with the surname Yu, and the generation and year of birth and death were not introduced, but simply wrote - Yu Moumou, the umbrella holder, and twenty-two were written horizontally below.

When I looked at it from the beginning, there were about 100 tablets, all the same except for the different names.

I guess that this is not the ancestor of the Yu family, but the tablet of each umbrella holder, but what does the following number mean? I couldn't figure it out.

As I was thinking about it, I saw a portrait of a woman on the wall on the right, and the appearance of the person in the painting made my hairs stand on end! The women on it, whether in terms of clothing or facial features, are exactly the same as the statues of the ancient Dian women seen in the octagonal tower!

Although statues and portraits do not completely reproduce a person's appearance, the expression and demeanor of this ghost girl are very special and can be recognized at a glance.

I leaned over and found that there were only four words written on the portrait - Heavenly Blessing of the Ghost Girl.

I suddenly recalled that when Yu Nian saw the statue of the ghost girl for the first time, it seemed that his first reaction was to kneel down and worship, so what is the relationship between the Yu family and the ghost girl of the ancient Dian Kingdom?

I don't know if it's my hallucination, but I just feel that the woman in the painting is staring at me, and at the end the corner of her mouth is hooked up with a sneer.

I was puzzled, and was about to reach out to touch it, when the lower end of the scroll suddenly began to spontaneously combust.

The fire was rapid, and the portrait was burned to ashes in an instant. Before I could put out the fire, the spark fell on the altar and ignited the yellow cloth underneath, and the ancestral hall was in flames for a while.

I looked around, but there was no water source in the house, so I had to open the door and shout for help.

Because the banquet was in progress, it was difficult for people outside to hear me. The flames had reached the beams of the house in just a few seconds, and I saw that the fire could not be controlled, so I hurriedly ran out.

At this time, the smoke was billowing out, and the people outside finally realized that something might be wrong on my side and ran in.

After seeing the ancestral hall on fire, all the people in the village were stunned, and they knelt down and kowtowed to the ancestral hall to admit their mistakes.

"Find a way to put out the fire, what's the use of saying sorry here!" Old Meng shouted.

At this time, Yu Nian ran back and asked me, "What's the matter?" ”

I can only tell frankly, "I don't know why, I went to the ancestral hall to look for you, and the portrait suddenly spontaneously combusted." ”

Yu Nian sank for a moment, "I can only say this, if a second person asks, they all say that you have never come in, remember?" "But ......"

"No, but, you haven't been here, and you don't know what's going on."

After Yu Nian finished speaking, he called someone to start putting out the fire. The ancestral hall, including the upper three floors, was all made of wood, and I thought that the fire would destroy the entire building, but I never expected that the fire would be extinguished only after the ancestral hall burned down.

At this time, all the people in the village had no intention of hiding the festival, and they knelt in the courtyard of the Yu family and began to pray.

Azu arrived after the fire was extinguished, and when he saw a piece of ash, he trembled with anger, smashed his cane to the ground, and said angrily, "Who is it?" Who did this? ”

Yu Nian stepped forward and explained, "Azu, it was the firecrackers that fell into the ancestral hall and lit the futon before it caught fire. ”

Azu obviously didn't believe the reason Yu Nian said, and I couldn't sit still, but Yu Nian glared at me and motioned for me to stay honest and not come out.

"You set the firecrackers?" Azu asked Yu Nian in a cold voice.

Yu Nian couldn't pass the blame to others, so he could only respond, "I'm sorry Azu, I was careless." ”

Azu said angrily, "You are confused, you are confused, the tablets of our Yu family's hundreds of generations of umbrella holders were all destroyed in the sea of fire because you were careless, how do you want Azu and me to face them in a hundred years?" How can I be worthy of them! ”

I couldn't continue to hide and be a shrinking turtle, so I rushed out without thinking and dragged Yu Nian behind me, "Azu, I'm sorry, if you want to beat me, I set the fire." ”

Everyone gasped, and even Azu looked at me in shock, speechless with anger.

Yu Nian pinched me in the back, "What nonsense are you talking about, what kind of fire did you put it?" ”

Only then did I realize that I didn't mean what I meant, and hurriedly waved my hand to deny, "No, no, Azu, I didn't mean that." I didn't set the fire, but I'm responsible. I went to the ancestral hall to look for Yu Nian, and I saw a portrait hanging on the wall, I reached out and touched it, and the portrait caught fire, and I didn't know ......."

"Xiao Ding!" Before I could finish speaking, Yu Nian suddenly shouted and interrupted my words.

Azu listened to what I said, his eyes widened and he asked me, "What's your name?" ”

"I ...... I ......, "I stand in a dilemma between Azu and Yu Nian, Yu Nianqian told me not to say that my surname is Xiao, but in this situation, I will definitely not be able to fool me if I lie."

Yu Nian spoke before me, "Azu, he's just a friend of mine." ”

"Shut up!" Azu scolded. After she finished speaking, she turned to look at me, "Say, what's your name?" ”

Her eyes were so powerful that I didn't dare lie.

"My name is Xiao Ding......"

"Who are you Xiao Baoshan?"

"My grandfather......

Everyone present was in an uproar and began to exchange heads. I looked around and noticed that everyone's expressions were not as friendly as they had just been, but with some resistance and rejection.

Yu Nian hurriedly explained, "Azu, he is not a bad person, Xiao Ding has saved me many times, if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have come back alive at all." ”

Azu slapped Yu Nian in the face with a backhand, and I could see from the expressions of everyone in the courtyard that this was the first time Azu had hit Yu Nian. I was about to stretch out my hand to stop it, but I was blocked by Yu Nian.

"What did I say to you the day I took the umbrella?"

Yu Nian lowered his head, his face flushed. I will be completely sober, and when I see that I am affected by me, I only feel unbearable in my heart.

"What did I say!" Azu angrily questioned Yu Nian.

Yu Nian lowered his head and said, "Break the heart of mercy, break the love between men and women, don't be with the Xiao family in your life, people would rather die than lose the umbrella." ”

Yu Nian replied quietly, but I heard every word clearly.

I don't know how important the mission of the umbrella bearer is, and I don't know how deep the grievances between Xiao and Yu are.

It's just that these four iron orders have indeed been pressing on Yu Nian's body like a thousand catties of burden, making her breathless.

I finally knew why Yu Nian was so furious when he learned who I was.

"Then why did you get together with Xiao Baoshan's grandson? Why do you want to bring people back to Miao Village? Are you trying to kill me with all your heart? ”

"I brought him back because I had a lot of questions in my heart, and I didn't understand, so I wanted to come back and ask for clarification."

Azu put away all the expressions on his face, "You don't have to understand, your task is to guard the Hundred Bone Umbrella and find the bone nails, you don't need to know the rest." ”

Yu Nian finally resisted sharply, "Azu, then what am I?" ”

Azu didn't seem to guess that Yu Nian would ask this, he was stunned for a moment, and then replied, "You are my granddaughter Yu Chunjiao, the 271st umbrella holder of the Hundred Bone Umbrella, and thousands of lives of my Yu family are in your hands, you can't make mistakes, and you can't ask why?" ”

Yu Nian's emotions gradually became excited, and he clenched his fists and asked, "Am I destined to be sacrificed?" ”

Suddenly, I realized that it seemed that the place of Qianxi Miao Village was really the world for her.

When she's outside, she's like the walking dead. Not sad or happy, I've never seen her really happy.

But here, in front of Azu, she can really show her emotions, whether they are good or bad.

"I was born to know what my mission is, I want to protect the umbrella of the bones and collect all the souls of the dead. On the day when the whole body of the hundred bone umbrella was refined into crimson, the curse on thousands of people in Miao Village could really be lifted, and I could live safely. I know this, I always know. So for so many years, I have been wandering, bent on refining the hundred-bone umbrella as soon as possible. But as the days went by, I wondered why. Why are we cursed, why is Monro really reincarnated, and what do we have to do with the ghost? Why did I worship her from a young age? Why don't we get along with the Xiao family? I'm building up so many questions right now, and I don't think I can really continue if I can't figure them out. ”