The old man led Yun Qi into the village.
Through their conversation, Yun Qi learned that the old man was named Sang Munai, the village chief.
Yun Qi addressed him as "Munai Gong," and the old man chuckled in response, not bothering to explain that "Nai" was actually his surname.
As Yun Qi looked at the orderly rows of Miao village houses, he realized he had wandered into the Miao territory at the junction of three regions, instead of heading straight to the southern wilderness.
This village was called Lixi Village, named after the small stream in front of it.
The village stretched from north to south, with rows of houses built on the eastern slope of the mountain.
The village was surrounded by thorny wood, with spikes as long as three inches.
The village gate was located in the middle of the western fence.
Munai Gong led Yun Qi to the southernmost part of the village and pointed to the highest house, saying, "Guest, you can stay in that one."
Yun Qi looked up and saw the house at the highest point of the southeastern corner.
Although it wasn’t easy to reach, it was no trouble for him.
He nodded and bowed to the old man, "Thank you, Munai Gong, and the village for taking me in."
Munai Gong waved his hand and said, "The Red Crown Master said you are a guest who brings light. Your arrival is a blessing for the village."
The old man then pointed to the house and added with a grin, "This house was once occupied by a Daoist priest."
"Oh?" Yun Qi asked, "Has a wandering Daoist priest been here before?"
The old man nodded, "Yes, but that was when the village was first established. Our ancestors said that without that Daoist priest, the village would have been destroyed long ago. Since then, no Daoist priest has passed through our village. By the way, our ancestors said that the Daoist priest back then was very young, almost like a child, perhaps even younger than you, haha."
After that, Munai Gong muttered something to the Miao people gathered around him, and they quickly dispersed.
Munai Gong then led Yun Qi up the stairs and ladders to the house.
Despite his white hair, Munai Gong was still strong and healthy.
He climbed the stairs and ladders from the bottom of the village to the highest point without even breaking a sweat.
The two of them climbed a ladder from the roof of a house below to reach the place where Yun Qi would stay that night.
The house had been unoccupied for a long time and was covered in dust.
The balcony outside was gray with dirt.
When they pushed the door open, a cloud of dust rose, causing Munai Gong to sneeze repeatedly.
Though the house was small, it had everything Yun Qi needed.
He was quite satisfied and planned to clean it up a bit later.
Just then, two Miao women entered, one carrying a rag and a bucket, the other holding bedding.
Yun Qi quickly thanked them and tried to take the items, but the women refused, saying something urgently.
Munai Gong smiled and stopped Yun Qi, "You are our guest. Of course, we will clean up for you."
With that, Munai Gong led Yun Qi outside, where they looked down at the village from above.
"Where are you from, guest?"
"You can call me Yun Qi. I’m from Yuzhang," Yun Qi replied.
Seeing the old village chief’s confusion, Yun Qi added, "To the east of Zhuzhou."
"That’s far away!" the old chief exclaimed.
Yun Qi nodded with a smile.
"Where are you heading next?"
Yun Qi shook his head, still smiling, "Nowhere in particular. Just wandering around."
"Oh, I see. That’s what we call 'wandering the clouds'!"
Yun Qi nodded repeatedly.
"On your journey, have you ever seen a Miao village as large as this one?"
Yun Qi chuckled and shook his head, not bothering to explain that "Yun" wasn’t his surname, nor was "wandering" used in that context.
As for such a large village, he had never seen one before, as this was his first time in a Miao village.
The old chief nodded as if it were obvious, "In the Great Green Mountains, there are fourteen villages along the Hong River. Lixi Village now has fifty-seven households and two hundred and twelve people. It’s the second-largest village among the fourteen. When I first became the village chief, there were only one hundred and fifty-three people."
The old chief spoke cheerfully, the deep wrinkles on his dark face folding together.
Yun Qi knew exactly what to say at this moment.
When an old man meets an outsider, he naturally wants to share his life’s achievements.
"Munai Gong, you’ve done a great job managing the village, increasing the population over the years. It must have been hard work."
The old chief nodded with a smile at first, then seemed to think it wasn’t appropriate and shook his head.
Yun Qi then asked with a smile, "Munai Gong, as I walked through the village, I noticed that every household has this kind of picture on their doors. What is it for?"
Yun Qi pointed to the colorful picture on the wooden door.
The picture on the door of the house he was staying in had faded, and the design was somewhat blurred, but he could still make out the shape of a rooster.
As he walked through the village, he noticed that every occupied house had a similar picture on its door, though theirs were freshly painted, depicting a large rooster with a red crown and golden claws, holding a centipede in its beak and stepping on poisonous insects with its claws.
"This is the 'Red Crown Master’s House Protection Diagram.' The Red Crown Master can overcome evil spirits and devour poisonous insects. By pasting this picture on the door, we can prevent lost souls and repel poisonous insects."
Yun Qi pondered this.
Although the picture on his door was old and worn, he could still sense a trace of pure yang energy lingering on it.
However, the newly painted pictures on the villagers’ doors were purely hand-drawn, devoid of any spiritual essence.
"And who is this Red Crown Master?"
Yun Qi was curious about this.
Since entering the village, he had noticed that every household raised chickens, especially roosters.
There were small ones, strong ones, old ones—roosters were everywhere, on rooftops, on the ground, on fences.
These roosters were fearless, strutting around like generals on patrol, as if they were the true masters of the village.
However, Yun Qi hadn’t seen the large rooster from earlier.
He wondered where it had gone.
Munai Gong hesitated for a moment but then remembered the loud crow of the Red Crown Master earlier.
Considering that Yun Qi was dressed as a Daoist priest, he decided to explain, "To explain this clearly, it’s a long story…"
Yun Qi used his sleeve to wipe the dust off the balcony and invited the old chief to sit down.
"The Great Green Mountains nurture the Miao people, but they also breed poisonous snakes and insects. The mountains are often rainy and foggy. Sometimes the fog lasts for two or three months without clearing. Other times, black fog rises, making it impossible to distinguish day from night. So, the mountains also breed ghosts and monsters."
"Ghosts and monsters?" Yun Qi asked.
The old chief nodded, "All kinds of ghosts and monsters. In the water, there are water monkeys; in the mountains, there are mountain goblins. Water monkeys drag people into the water, and mountain goblins pull people into the trees.
They both like to eat people, leaving no bones behind. In the forests, there are fox spirits that can take on human form, luring people to secluded places to kill them. There are also fog monsters and wailing ghosts.
When fog monsters create fog, people can’t find their way out, and their souls dissolve into the fog. When wailing ghosts cry, they lure people’s souls away. Sometimes it rains for months, and the dead buried in the ground come back to life.
These revived dead remember nothing and kill any living thing they see, drinking their blood."
The old chief spoke calmly.
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(End of Chapter)