Peach Blossom Dyeing Jinge

Shadows came from high up on the ridge.

The sunlight on the high place was shining brightly, and the messy shadows were dangling around, as if there were crowds of people.

Lu Zhengqiu also saw the figure, his expression frightened, he habitually raised an arm, stopped Dongqing behind him, and asked in a deep voice, "Who is it?"

Di Dongqing looked up, and his eyes lit up: "Don't worry, those are the brothers from the Tianshui Gang, and the Wuxi people under their protection, they probably saw me."

Sure enough, the crowd stopped and waved at him, and a shadow reined in and walked towards him along the hillside.

Lu Zhengqiu lowered his hand slowly and said, "So that's how it is."

Standing behind Lu Zhengqiu, Di Dongqing watched Master's every move. He knew that Master was subconsciously protecting him just now, so he couldn't help feeling a little sweet in his heart, and his chest was filled with the urge to hug him again. .

After returning to Master's side, his senses were like buds that had survived the cold winter, waking up from the frozen soil again, and even a small move could easily arouse his emotions.

He suppressed the untimely distracting thoughts, raised his hand and pointed in the direction of the mountain, and asked, "Master, do you still remember that brother named Du Yun?"

Du Yun was one of the elders of the Tianshui Gang, and he had lived and died with them. Lu Zhengqiu naturally remembered it, and asked in surprise, "Why did they walk on the ridge?"

Di Dongqing said: "It was my idea. I thought that since Nan Yanqi was looking for a karst cave, he would always look around the low-lying places, so I asked them to go to the higher places as much as possible. There are many trees in this mountain, and it is easier to hide in the higher places. "

"It's a good idea." Lu Zhengqiu showed approval.

Du Yun had already rode his horse and approached, with the hooves of the horse thumping, he raised his voice, "Are you both safe and well, Master Zhengqiu, why are you injured?"

Lu Zhengqiu said: "It took a little effort to deal with the Demon Cult, it's just a trauma, it doesn't matter."

Du Yun's expression sank when he heard the word Demon Sect, he looked around and asked, "Where is the Demon Sect member?"

Lu Zhengqiu pointed to the barren mound under the tree, and said, "Don't worry, he can't do evil anymore."

Du Yun glanced at the grave and saw the dirt on Di Dongqing's hands, and immediately showed joy: "That's great, you two are really helping the people get rid of harm."

Lu Zhengqiu didn't say much, just nodded his head.

Du Yun had already come to the side of the two of them, got off the horse, and then Di Dongqing saw that there was a person sitting behind him, a thin old man, so he covered him up.

He asked, "Who is this?"

Du Yun said: "This Wuxi mother-in-law heard that you are investigating Wuxi's affairs, she must come to see you, and she has important news, she must tell you."

Di Dongqing saw the man and said happily, "So you're already awake!"

The mother-in-law nodded at him.

Du Yun said from the side: "Isn't it? Thanks to the medicine you left yesterday, the descendants of genius doctors really deserve their reputation."

The Tianshui gang was able to avoid Nan Yanqi's pursuit, thanks to following Di Dongqing's advice.After experiencing this near-miss, Du Yun trusted Di Dongqing even more, and he was generous with his compliments.

Di Dongqing blushed a little from his praise, quickly found a water bottle to wash her hands, and stepped forward to help Granny Wuxi off the horse.

After the mother-in-law stood firm, she nodded to the master and the apprentice.Her hair is gray, her skin is dark, and her shoulders are a bit bent, but her arms are well-proportioned and full. It seems that she was also a farmer with quick hands and feet before she fell into a coma.

But because she just woke up, her breath is still weak, and her steps are staggering.Di Dongqing helped her sit on a rock and asked, "What advice do you have?"

The mother-in-law raised a finger, pointed to her throat, and sighed.

Du Yun said from the side: "Oh, I don't know if it's the effect of the Fuyao Qingfeng, but the mother-in-law can't speak yet."

Di Dongqing was stunned, and said: "Then it's better to write it down, it can be written on the ground, I'll find a branch..."

Before he finished speaking, the mother-in-law grabbed his arm and continued to shake her head.

Du Yun said: "Oh, the trouble with this matter is... Grandma doesn't know how to read, let alone write."

People in Wuxi have been isolated from the outside world all year round, living in a simple and simple way. They have lived on farming and handicrafts for generations. Not everyone can write Chinese characters.

Di Dongqing's face showed embarrassment.Du Yun said again, "Fortunately, besides speaking and writing, there is a third way."

"The third kind?"

Du Yun nodded, and took out a stack of hemp paper: "She drew this all night last night, take a look, there should be something you want to know on it."

There are seven sheets of hemp paper, which are tied together with a straw rope. The surface of the paper has turned yellow and wrinkled, obviously it was put together improvised.

Di Dongqing opened the first picture, and the vivid picture immediately came into view.

Wuxi people are good at handicrafts, and even this mother-in-law is a superb painter. Although the paper is sloppy and the tools are simple, the scenes she outlines are rich and detailed.

The first painting is a sacrificial scene. A young woman stands in the center of the crowd, facing the statue, kneeling piously, surrounded by drizzle, and the crops and vegetation in the fields are flourishing, and everything is thriving.

Lu Zhengqiu also watched together, and asked while watching, "Is this woman presiding over the sacrifice?"

Du Yun replied: "I have heard about this a little bit. The woman in the painting should be a witch in the clan."

"Witches?"

"That's right, Wuxi people are devout, and the priests in the clan who are in charge of offering sacrifices to gods are called Wuji. It is said that even the name Wuxi is a homonym that was mispronounced when people in the Central Plains heard 'Wuji' for the first time."

"So that's the case." Di Dongqing couldn't help but sigh with emotion, it was the first time he heard this statement.

Du Yun went on to say: "Witches are very well-known, and scholars who study homestays even travel thousands of miles to seek them out. People who can become witches usually have a high status in the clan. It is said that the previous one was the wife of the patriarch. This one is the patriarch's daughter."

"The patriarch's daughter?" Di Dongqing asked in surprise, "Isn't that Ah Ming's wife, Tian Xing's mother?"

When the mother-in-law heard Tianxing's name, she struggled to babble and nodded in affirmation.

Di Dongqing exchanged a glance with the master, then turned over the picture of offering sacrifices, and unfolded the second picture.

The second picture depicts a chaotic scene. A warrior dressed in foreign costumes is running towards Wuxi Village, followed by a group of officers and soldiers. Walking forward, Wu Ji stood at the front with a solemn expression, and a young man was following her, holding her hand. "

"This is the scene nine years ago," Di Dongqing said, "Zhao Ji once said that during the ban on martial arts, Wuxi Village took in a foreigner who was driven away by officers and soldiers."

Lu Zhengqiu looked at the person in the painting, and pondered: "The face of this foreigner is quite interesting. His brows are mouse-eyed, his stature is short, and he doesn't look like an upright person."

Di Dongqing said: "Could it be that the people of Wuxi don't like him because of the affair, so they painted him to look hideous."

The two flipped another picture backwards, and as expected, the scene depicted in the third picture was consistent with Zhao Ji's original description.In this painting, a young child is lying in a room, and beside the bed is the busy figure of the young man. The child is small and thin, and his expression is a little listless, as if he is sick.But outside the room, under a tree in the shade, Wu Ji was snuggling up with the stranger, with an intimate look on his face, as if he was having an affair.

Di Dongqing said: "As expected, Ah Ming said that Tian Xing was born with a weak body and often fell ill. The people of Wuxi even suspected that he was not Ah Ming's child, but born of a witch and a foreigner."

Lu Zhengqiu nodded and said: "However, when it was shown in the painting, Ah Ming probably didn't know..."

The two opened the fourth painting, the outsider fled from the gate of the village, and the townspeople surrounded the witch by the pool behind the statue, pointing at her.Wu Ji looked sad, and seemed to be turning around, planning to jump into the water.And Ah Ming took Tianxing's hand and stood indifferently outside the crowd. "

Di Dongqing stared at the woman in the painting, with a look of pain on her face: "This is really a tragedy."

The fifth painting was also stained by tragedy and looked gloomy and gloomy. The statue in the first painting was no longer upright, the base was tilted and crooked, as if it was about to collapse, and Tianxing's home was also in a mess, with the door closed and the windows closed. The silhouette of the father beating the child was shown on the screen, while outside the Wuxi Village, the vegetation withered and the crops withered.

"This..." Di Dongqing was astonished, "Why did Wuxi Village decline so much?"

He turned his questioning eyes to his mother-in-law, who also showed an anxious expression, bent down, picked up a handful of soil from the ground, pointed to the sky, shook his head, and scattered the soil in his hands casually around his side.Then he clasped his hands together, looked towards the sky, and made a gesture of repentance.

"Xi Rang," Lu Zhengqiu said suddenly, "Grandma, you are talking about Xi Rang, aren't you?"