Chapter 23 Chapter 22 Banquet

The river from Mi Hongzhai rushed all the way to the southeast, and after leaving the border, it merged into the Lancang River in Laos and finally returned to the South China Sea.The journey was winding and tortuous. I don’t know how many deep and shallow gullies passed through. The river water moistened the land on both sides and gave birth to countless creatures. Not far from Qingfengkou, there is a vast intermountain basin. The river just passes by the northern edge of the basin, and the river flows into the valley, forming a quiet mountain pool.Here is a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters and rich forests, and the Hamo people have lived next to this Wangchi water for generations.

However, compared with the entire basin, the area occupied by the mountain pool is not too large.Due to the lack of water source, most of the southern areas have never been settled for a long time for thousands of years. There is a low mountain to the southwest of the Hamo settlement. After crossing this low mountain, you can see another mountain depression.The altitude of this mountain depression is relatively high, but the jungle is densely covered and the terrain is dangerous, so although the distance is not too far, the footprints of the Hamo people rarely reach this point. More than 300 years ago, Li Dingguo led the last remnants and stationed in this mountain depression for nearly three years.During this period, there were more than a hundred battles with the Qing soldiers who came to pursue and suppress them.Among the countless green hills, there are countless corpses of soldiers from the two armies buried.

This col also has a daunting name: Uncanny Valley. It was evening when Luo Fei and the others followed An Mi to the Hamo village.At this time, the sky is clear, the breeze is gentle, and the clear mountain pool is glowing with scales. There are wooden houses and bamboo pavilions scattered around the pool. The scenery is beautiful, just like a paradise. Maybe it's because he was out of danger for the first time, even after arriving in such a peaceful village, Luo Fei was still a little apprehensive.He raised his head and looked around, always feeling that there was a strange atmosphere hidden in this tranquility.

Along the way, Bai Jian'e had briefly introduced the situation of the Hamo tribe to Luo Fei.Although it is located in a remote place, the Hamo people have multiplied from generation to generation, with a population of several thousand, which is much larger than that of Mi Hong Village.The men in the clan hunt and fish, and the women farm and animal husbandry, basically leading a self-sufficient life.Sometimes they also do some simple material exchanges with the outside world, and in this process, Mi Hongzhai has the closest contact with them.The Hamo native language is still commonly used among the ethnic groups, but some people have also mastered the basic Han language.

The hereditary leader has absolute authority among the tribe.In addition, the respected status of saintess and high priest in the clan cannot be shaken.In this primitive village, priests are a unique group.This position can only be held by the recognized wise men of the clan. In addition to presiding over festival worship activities, they also shoulder the responsibility of spreading their own culture and practicing medicine. Among the priests, the most virtuous and respected are the high priests, who have the highest power besides the leader.The position of high priest is not hereditary, but after the death of the predecessor, it is recommended by the priests and approved by the leader to produce a new successor.

The status of the saintess is quite special, and she is chosen by each saintess to choose her own successor.The saint has no actual power, and her only duty is to guard the sacred object passed down from generation to generation in the family: the blood bottle. Luo Fei already knew that the blood bottle was actually full of Li Dingguo's blood.The Hamo people think that what is sealed in the blood bottle is a terrifying demon that was surrendered by their own warriors hundreds of years ago.Yue Dongbei's set of academics is also derived from this. Marriage is not allowed in the life of the saint.When they enter middle age, they will choose smart and well-behaved girls from their clansmen as their successors.

This kind of selection is two-way, and the girl who is selected has the right to refuse.Before the girl makes a decision, the Saintess will solemnly emphasize to her and her family: If she accepts this choice, then she will bear the suffering that the entire ethnic group has accumulated for hundreds of years! Even so, no one has ever turned down this option.In fact, becoming a saint is the most honorable thing in the hearts of all Hamo women, even though this honor comes with great suffering. Luo Fei was very interested in these situations, and he asked Bai Jian'e what the so-called suffering specifically referred to.But Bai Jian'e didn't know about it.Luo Fei had no choice but to put aside his doubts and wait for the right opportunity to ask the Hamo people.

An Mi directly led Luo Fei and others to the place where he lived.When the Hamo people along the way saw them coming, they all stepped aside respectfully and bowed to the young leader.An Mi mostly just glanced at them lightly, and only when he met the elderly elders did he stop and hastily say a few words. Although Luo Fei couldn't understand Hamo's language, he could tell from the eyes and demeanor of the interlocutor that the topic was basically about their uninvited guests.After a brief introduction, the clansmen often show awe-inspiring expressions and salute them with their chests folded.

After doing this two or three times, Luo Fei finally couldn't hold back anymore, and asked Bai Jian'e in a low voice, "What did they say?" "Master Anmi said that you are a warrior among the Han people who specializes in fighting against darkness." After Bai Jian'e finished speaking, he pointed at Zhou Liwei and Yue Dongdong, "They are priests among the Han people." Luo Fei couldn't help laughing, but after thinking about it, policemen, scholars, doctors, in the social structure of the Hamo people, warriors and priests are indeed the closest descriptions.

Anmi's residence is in the center of the village. There are three houses in total. Although they are only made of mud, rough wood and felt cloth, they have wide doors and high walls. , can be regarded as "luxury". After entering the courtyard, An Mi did not lead everyone into the house, but gave instructions to the four attendants on the spot.The entourage immediately started to get busy. They first moved out the tables, chairs and benches from the house and arranged them in the yard.At this time, it was already dark, and they lit more than a dozen torches, and inserted them on the earthen wall at intervals, and the fires flickered in the small courtyard, adding a lot of bright colors.

"My friends are coming from afar. Today, I will entertain you at home. Please sit down!" An Mi pointed to the tables and chairs and said, although his voice was stiff, but his expression was quite sincere. Mi Hongzhai and the Hamo tribe often have contacts on weekdays. When An Mi took over as the leader three years ago, Bai Jian'e came to attend the enthronement ceremony in person, so the two knew each other from the beginning.At this time, Bai Jian'e took the lead and sat down at the table, then he greeted Luo Fei and the others: "Come on, since Lord An Mi has treated you so kindly, we don't need to be polite anymore." Luo Fei gave An Mi a friendly smile, and sat down with Zhou and Yue.An Mi then also sat down.The round table was nearly two meters in diameter, and it was still spacious at this time, with plenty of chairs and stools.Luo Fei pointed to the four attendants at the side, and said to An Mi: "Let them sit too?" An Mi looked at Luo Fei in surprise: "How can they sit with the guests?" Then he turned his head and spoke the Hamo language, and his followers responded in unison and dispersed outside the courtyard. Luo Fei shook his head secretly, but after thinking about it, in a group with such a primitive social structure, if the leader does not maintain a strict hierarchy, it will be difficult to lead everyone. Yue Dongbei looked at the situation in front of him contentedly, and seemed to find it quite interesting.Zhou Liwei kept a straight face, wondering what was going on in his mind. Before that, everyone was busy on their way and had not had a chance to talk in detail.Now that they were all seated, Bai Jian'e spoke first, and asked An Mi: "Why is it such a coincidence that Master An Mi also came to Qingfengkou today?" "You should already know. The sacred objects of our clan are lost." An Mi's face was heavy. "In the past six months, I have often taken people out to search. Today, I was looking for the Qingfengkou, and suddenly I heard someone calling, so we came here .” "It's the blood bottle, right?" Bai Jian'e grinned to show his sympathy, "For a while, some of your clansmen ran out from the mountains, and I heard some rumors about the loss of the holy relic. You look for it in the woods, Is there any clue?" An angry flash of light flashed in An Mi's eyes, as if a flame was igniting ragingly in his body, then he took a deep breath, controlled his emotions, and then gritted his teeth and said: "The sacred object was taken by a young man of Han nationality. Stolen. More than half a year ago, someone saw him still in the jungle." The three of Luo Fei looked at each other, thinking of the phobic patient in the Kunming Mental Hospital at the same time.Luo Fei immediately took out the photo and handed it to An Mi: "Look, is it this person?" An Mi snatched the photo, glanced at it, and his expression changed drastically. He slammed the photo on the table and asked sharply, "Do you know him? Where is he?!" "No, I don't know him." Seeing that the other party was emotional, Luo Fei quickly explained, "Actually, we came here to investigate his situation. He has become a lunatic, but he was punished." "Frightened crazy." Zhou Liwei added solemnly. "Crazy?" An Mi showed a complicated expression on his face. He picked up the photo again and stared at it hatefully. After a long time, he said in a hoarse voice, "That's really cheap for him!" There was a piercing chill in his tone, wishing he could swallow the person in the photo alive.Yue Dongbei thought that the young man followed his own guidance to find him all the way, and he was a little proud at first, but now seeing An Mi's gnashing of teeth expression, he shifted his eyes guiltily to other places, which seemed extremely unnatural. "Since you have found him, you must know where the holy object is!?" An Mi raised her head at this moment, and began to ask another important topic. "The blood bottle is now in Longzhou, but—" Luo Fei paused for a moment helplessly, "It has already been broken." "What!?" An Mi yelled, "Teng" stood up from his seat, swung his right hand, and took out a scimitar from nowhere, and slammed it on the table! The attendants just came back at this time, and seeing the leader's appearance, they all stood at the gate of the courtyard in a daze, not daring to move.Luo Fei and the others were also silent, the courtyard was silent, and the air seemed to freeze. An Mi's chest was heaving violently, obviously his emotions were in extreme oscillation.After a while, he sat down slowly, staring at the scimitar on the table, his face sinking like water. Seeing that those followers were neither advancing nor retreating, Bai Jian was in an awkward situation, so he couldn't help but touch An Mi lightly, and winked at him.An Mi was taken aback for a moment, as if he had just seen those people, then he waved and said something in Hamo dialect. Relieved, the attendants came to the table cautiously.They were holding wine jars, soil basins, or sea bowls in their hands, but they were actually preparing wine and vegetables. There are steaming dishes in the soil basin, and at a glance, most of them are large pieces of meat, presumably it should be game from the mountains.Someone else has lined up the sea bowls one by one, and then filled each bowl with wine.For a while, the smell of meat and wine was lingering in the yard. After this service, without waiting for An Mi's order, several followers retreated consciously.When they were all out of the courtyard, An Mi turned to look at Luo Fei, and asked viciously, "He broke the sacred object?" As he spoke, he pointed to the photo on the table, and Luo Fei realized that the tip of the scimitar was cutting right into the face of the man in the photo, and the description of the person in the photo was also distorted. It looks extremely weird. Luo Fei couldn't help but shudder when he thought that the blood bottle was broken by himself.Suddenly, I felt someone kicking my toes.Looking around, he saw Yue Dongbei winking and winking. Luo Fei naturally understood what the other party meant, but after pondering for a while, he still told the truth calmly: "No, I broke that blood bottle." An Mi's face changed abruptly, and after a shout, the four attendants who were waiting outside the courtyard rushed in immediately.Don't look at how submissive they were when they served the food just now, but now they are like wolves and tigers.I saw them holding scimitars, walking swiftly, forming an attacking posture behind Luo Fei and others in an instant, just waiting for the leader to give an order to speak. An Mi reached out and grabbed Luo Fei's collar: "Who the hell are you!? Why did you do this?!" Zhou Liwei and the others also looked at Luo Fei nervously, knowing that if he said something wrong, it would immediately bring disaster to everyone. Luo Fei looked calm, he looked at An Mi without fear, and at the same time said slowly: "This is a misunderstanding, I didn't know what a blood bottle was at the time, my actions were just fulfilling my own duty to stop evil. responsibility." "Stop the evil? You released the devil! Do you know how much disaster this will bring to my people?!" An Mi's eyes were already red with anxiety. "I'm sorry." Luo Fei said sincerely, then his eyes flashed and his expression became resolute, "The 'devil' also hurt my people, that's why I came here. No matter what happened before , Now, subduing the 'demon' is our common goal." An Mi was still staring at Luo Fei, silent, but his expression was gradually softening.At this moment, I heard an old voice not far away saying: "The 'demon' has been released from imprisonment, it is the arrangement of the gods. The warriors of the Hamo tribe will not be afraid of any danger. Friends from other races come to help us , Lord Anmi should treat him like a family member." Everyone turned their heads, only to see a thin old man had arrived in the courtyard at some point.He was wearing a black robe with fluttering sleeves. Although there was a sad expression on his brows, he couldn't hide a wise and refined temperament. An Mi released Luo Fei, looked at the old man and said, "High Priest Suotulan, you are here." Although he is the leader of the clan, when he greeted the old man, his tone was quite respectful. Soturan pointed to the entourage who were about to draw swords: "Let them retreat." An Mi waved his hand, and everyone put away their scimitars and retreated in an orderly manner.Zhou Liwei and the others breathed a sigh of relief.Bai Jian'e stood up at this moment, and bowed to the old man: "High Priest, thanks to your timely arrival, you cleared up the misunderstanding between the two parties." Suo Tulan bowed back and said, "The Hamo people and Ni Hongzhai have been friends for generations. The profound friendship has been passed down for hundreds of years. You don't have to be too polite." The sentence is also very old and spicy. When the attendants arranged the tables and chairs, they had already left an empty seat beside An Mi, presumably for the old man.Suo Turan sat down in the empty seat at this time, looked at Luo Fei and the others and said, "You are all friends brought by Lord Bai, right?" Bai Jianxi nodded: "They came from a place far away from the mountains, for the secret of the 'demon'." Soturan's eyes swept over the three of them one by one, and finally settled on Luo Fei, and then he said in a tone of approval: "You are an honest and brave person." "But he made a big mistake." An Mi still seemed to have not completely let go of his heart, and said with a slight sarcasm, "Besides, a true warrior will not let others put a knife on his head." Luo Fei didn't care, he just said: "Once the knife is out of the sheath, its power will be weakened a lot." An Mi frowned, not quite understanding Luo Fei's meaning.At this moment, he suddenly heard a muffled "bang", and the scimitar he had inserted on the table suddenly jumped up, flew straight up two or three meters high, then turned somersaults and landed on the ground in the courtyard. An Mi's face changed, and when he looked at the table again, there was a round hole, and the table was trembling slightly, causing ripples in the drinks in everyone's bowls. Luo Fei smiled faintly at this moment, and said again: "A really dangerous knife, you can't see its sharp edge." It turned out that when the attendants came in with knives, Luo Fei had already pulled out a gun and loaded it under the table, in case of emergency.Although the situation has eased now, he can see that the young leader of the Hamo tribe in front of him is arbitrary and moody. If he can't deter him, he is afraid that he will be in trouble when he cooperates in the future.So he shot and knocked his scimitar away as a show of sensuality. An Mi stared at Luo Fei, stunned for a moment, and finally said solemnly: "Okay, okay! He really is a brave and resourceful person." "Okay, everyone should put away all the knives and guns, and hurry up and talk about something serious." Bai Jian came out to smooth things over. "Yeah." An Mi nodded, walked down the steps, and said to Luo Fei, "Where is the Longzhou you mentioned? How did the sacred object break, please tell me in detail." Luo Fei then described how he solved those cultural relics smuggling cases, including how a case of phobia occurred in Longzhou, and how the young man went from the jungle to the Kunming Mental Hospital, etc., all described.Although the two Hamo people present here are very unfamiliar with words such as "police" and "smuggling", they can basically understand the general process of the incident. "It turned out that the Burmese wanted to obtain the sacred object of our clan. When you stopped it, you accidentally destroyed it." Suo Turan shook his head, looking quite helpless, "Well, in fact, if the sacred object really got into the hands of the Burmese , the situation is not too bad.” "How?" Luo Fei didn't let go of any questionable details. "At least the Burmese will keep the sacred objects intact. They are more afraid of 'demons' than we Hamo people. But, how do the Burmese know that the sacred objects are in Longzhou?" "It was the thieves who stole the holy relics who took the initiative to find the Burmese. Unfortunately, we did not find the person who brought the blood bottle to Longzhou in the first place. I have another question, why did the Burmese pay so much for this blood bottle?" "When we surrendered the 'demon' back then, the Burmese in the southwest also participated. Everyone was shocked by the terrifying power of the 'demon', so after Li Dingguo died, our high priest of Hamo cast a spell to seal the 'demon' In the blood bottle. The Hamo people bear the heavy responsibility of guarding the 'demons', which has won the awe and respect of the Burmese. Most of the descendants of these Burmese people are now engaged in special business. They have accumulated a lot of money, but The fear of the 'demon' is still passed down from generation to generation." Although Suo Turan didn't say it clearly, Luo Fei knew in his heart that the so-called "special business" was drug trafficking.From this point of view, things do make sense: Burmese drug traffickers pray to gods and worship Buddha because of their many evil deeds. Or it is possible to seek peace of mind, and even establish one's own prestige among the local tribesmen. The person behind the scenes who transferred the blood bottle to Lao Hei seemed to know all about these situations, so he was able to instruct Lao Hei to contact the Burmese.Who could this person be? Others seemed to be thinking about this question, but An Mi pointed to the broken photo on the table and said, "He stole our holy object. Since he didn't leave the jungle, how could the holy object escape?" To that far? Who brought him out of the jungle?" Luo Fei shook his head: "No, it has nothing to do with them." He had contacted the film crew who found the young man, and several members confirmed that the young man was insane, his clothes were tattered, almost naked, and he did not carry anything. "So, before this young man was discovered, another person had already taken the sacred object and abandoned him in the jungle." Luo Fei speculated based on the above facts, "Who could this person be? The young man was frightened crazy, could it have something to do with him?" "At least two things are certain: this person knows the secret of the blood bottle and the young man's whereabouts." Zhou Liwei who hadn't spoken for a long time said suddenly.Luo Fei immediately recognized his implication, and stared at Yue Dongbei beside him. Yue Dongbei moved his body uneasily, and at the same time glared at Zhou Liwei angrily. Because he was afraid that An Mi and others would know his relationship with the young man, he didn't dare to refute the other party openly, so he could only swallow his anger resentfully. into the stomach. Fortunately, An Mi didn't notice these subtle expressions among the three of them. He snorted and said, "No matter who he is, if he desecrates a holy object, he will only provoke the terrifying power of the devil. That shameful thief, he What happened has proved this point." Luo Fei remained silent.Indeed, wherever the blood bottle went, a terrifying whirlwind followed.And the strange things that happened one after another in the past few days made everyone even hear the menacing footsteps of the "devil" clearly! After a while, Soturan broke the silent atmosphere: "Okay, maybe it doesn't make much sense to discuss too much what has happened. Now that the demon has broken free from confinement, the most urgent task is how to deal with the situation in front of him. Baizhai Lord, I heard that your three most caring subordinates have all been murdered by demons?" Bai Jian'e's face turned pale, and he was sad for a while before he sighed and murmured: "Yes. That 'devil' followed us all the way." "So, 'he' is nearby? He has been cursed for hundreds of years, struggling in hell, and it is difficult to rise above. If 'he' wants to find a target for revenge, then we Hamo people will bear the brunt." Suo Turan looked up at the black sky with a very sad tone. Although Luo Fei did not agree with these superstitions, the idea that the dead can be buried in the ground for peace has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the Chinese people.From this point of view, the curse of the blood bottle is indeed vicious.When the curse is broken, the caster's fear of revenge can also be imagined. For a moment, no one spoke in the small courtyard, only the wind howling in the mountains was heard, as if echoing Suo Tulan's words just now. The flame flickered, shining on An Mi's slightly dark face, flickering on and off, creating a very eerie atmosphere.His face was like a stone, and his eyes were deep, but he didn't look at anything. It was obvious that his thoughts had drifted to another time and space. Luo Fei knew that An Mi was under tremendous pressure at this time.The grievances and grievances of the entire ethnic group that had been hidden for hundreds of years exploded on his shoulders again. For this young Harmo leader, isn't this a kind of sadness? After a long time, An Mi withdrew his gaze and scanned everyone present one by one. Then he picked up the bowl of wine in front of him, tilted his neck, and gulped it down.When the wine bowl bottomed out, his eyes widened, and a trace of confusion and fear could be seen in the dark pupils. Those are a pair of warrior's eyes, full of a strong desire to fight and a pride that defies everything.Luo Fei was excited by this gaze, and felt his blood boil with it. An Mi shook his hand, and slammed the wine bowl to the ground. With a "snap", fragments splashed everywhere.Then he raised his head to the sky, laughed wildly for a while, and shouted a series of Hamo native language. "What is he talking about?" Luo Fei asked Bai Jian'e. "He is thanking the gods of the Hamo tribe, thanking them for entrusting him with a century-old task, and thanking them for giving him the opportunity to become a hero!" Bai Jianxi looked at Anmi while translating, with a serious look in his eyes. A sign of admiration and respect. This shout almost used all of An Mi's strength, and in the end his voice was a little hoarse.After finishing, he looked at the crowd again, and said proudly: "Come on! Let's eat meat and drink to our heart's content! Gain enough strength, wait for the 'devil'!"