Chapter 24 Chapter 23 Gu Disaster

Big pieces of meat, big bowls of wine.Without cutlery, ten fingers will solve all problems. The meat is boiled or grilled. Although the cooking method is simple, the raw materials are freshly hunted game, which is fresh and delicious; the wine is brewed with ripe fruits in the mountains, with a slightly reddish color and a mellow aroma.Everyone enjoys the most primitive appetite of human beings, and many worries and troubles are temporarily left behind. Alcohol tastes like character. Although it is an absolute statement, the state of a person when drinking is more or less related to his personality and mood.

Perhaps because of his advanced age, Soturan was the least drunk person in the room.In fact, he almost didn't drink at all, and only when everyone raised a bowl together in a lively atmosphere, would he symbolically touch the wine with his lips, the taste of which he had never even tasted with his tongue. Yue Dongbei frequently picked up wine bowls, but most of them were drinking by himself in small sips, without consideration for others.When someone came to toast and wanted to toast with him, he would always try to evade it in every possible way, hiding as much as he could, which was quite unpleasant.

Zhou Liwei is exactly the opposite of him.He seldom drinks alcohol, but if others want to toast, he is unequivocal, and he will definitely drink upside down. Bai Jian'e has a very deep drinking capacity, he frequently raises a wine bowl to respect you and respect him, every time he respects you must do it, and he supervises others very strictly, even Yue Dongbei was once forced by him to drink two big bowls in a row. Luo Fei seemed more casual.Drink it yourself, and drink it with respect from others.If you do it, I'll finish it; if you don't, I'll take a sip, in short, it won't ruin the atmosphere on the wine table.

The one who drank the most was undoubtedly An Mi on the main seat.He drank one bowl after another, almost non-stop. When toasting with others, no matter how much the other party drank, he always drank it all in one gulp.This way of drinking was quite to Yue Dongbei's taste, and the few times he took the initiative to toast, all of which were aimed at An Mi. After drinking for three rounds, the night was gloomy and the mountain wind was getting stronger. Everyone sitting in the courtyard felt a little chilly.Bai Jian'e looked up at the sky for a moment, then suddenly said: "It's going to rain again."

Hearing what he said, the others also raised their heads one after another, but they saw that the sky above them was all black and there was not a single ray of light showing.On that day, it seemed that he deliberately followed Bai Jian'e's words, and suddenly, there were already raindrops of stars falling down. An Mi and Suo Turan glanced at each other, and their expressions changed at the same time.An Mi was half-drinking a bowl of wine, but at this moment he put down the bowl in his hand and gently stroked his cheek, as if he was concentrating on the cold feeling brought by the raindrops.

Judging from the weather conditions in the past few days, the rain is not unexpected.Luo Fei saw that the expressions of the two Hamo people were different, and he felt a little strange. When he was about to ask, An Mi stood up from his seat. in hand. Luo Fei and the others didn't know what An Mi was going to do, they all stopped eating and drinking, and watched him cautiously.But he saw him staring at the sky with his eyes wide open, and suddenly swung his right arm, and slashed out above his head with a knife. The blade slashed through the sporadic raindrops, shining a white light, and the remaining momentum has not stopped, An Mi's figure flipped, and he slashed out again. Although the blade was slanted, it still pointed towards the sky.

After that, the third knife, the fourth knife... The knife knife continued continuously, which was dizzying.Although the speed of the knife is not fast, the movements are stretched and powerful, and the postures of each knife are different. When they are coherent, they also have an impressive momentum. "He... what does he mean?" Yue Dongbei scratched his head and asked in a daze. Luo Fei didn't know why, so he turned his head to look at Suo Turan, who was facing him, and saw Suo Turan with a solemn expression, his hands folded on his chest, his lips twitching, as if he was meditating something silently.

Over there, Anmi's scimitar danced to the point where he suddenly opened his mouth and began to sing in the native language of the Hamo people.At this time, his steps were erratic, slightly drunk, but his breath was still thick and long, and the singing sound penetrated the night, and drifted straight into the dark mountains in the distance. The cold wind is howling, the drizzle is drizzling, the singing is bleak, and the tune is sad.The singer seemed to be facing many crises, but the pride in his heart was vividly revealed.Although Luo Fei doesn't understand the lyrics, his state of mind is connected with the singer's.For a moment, he only felt that the alcohol in his body was burning up, making his eyes and nose hot, wishing he could also get up and leave his seat, and sing together loudly.

After a while, the singing ended, An Mi put away his saber gesture, and looked far away in the direction of Uncanny Valley with his hands behind his back.At this time, the lingering sound did not stop, and the echo lingered among the mountains, as if there were thousands of troops and horses echoing him. Luo Fei was delighted to hear it, and seeing Suo Turan put his hands down, his expression gradually calmed down, and he immediately asked, "What song is Master Anmi singing?" Soturan replied solemnly: "This is the sword dance and battle song of our Hamo tribe. The content of the song is that before going out to fight, the warriors confide their feelings of parting to their families and at the same time express their ambition to fight to the death to the world."

"A good song." Luo Fei admired sincerely, "In this situation, it's truly heart-wrenching to be sung by Master Anmi." "This is a song of heroes, composed by Helay, the greatest heroine of the Hamo tribe." An Mi had returned to the table at this time, and took over Luo Fei's words, "The warriors back then sang With this song, the jihad is won." "Jihad?" Luo Fei became very interested in this noble word that suddenly appeared. "Yes, jihad!" An Mi puffed up his chest, with an expression of awe-inspiring pride on his face, he said to Soturan, "This is the most glorious history of our clan. High Priest, it's up to you Tell your friends far away."

Suo Turan nodded, his gaze became far and deep, apparently caught in the remembrance of history.Then he began to talk in a respectful, almost pious tone: "The holy war has been more than three hundred years since today. It was a war about the life and death of the Hamo people. It was in that war that the great warrior Ah Liya and the heroine Herai subdued the terrifying demon and saved the entire tribe." "Surrender the devil? Are you referring to the incident that killed Li Dingguo?" Luo Fei once heard Yue Dongbei mention the corresponding "research results", and immediately thought of it. "That's right." Suo Turan agreed with Luo Fei's guess, and at the same time gave Bai Jian'e a complicated look, "Master Bai, Ni Hongzhai has worshiped Li Dingguo as the God of Rain for generations, but in the eyes of us Hamo people, Li Dingguo is the god of rain." A terrifying demon who wants to wipe out my entire clan." The corner of Bai Jian'e's mouth twitched in embarrassment, as if he wanted to laugh but couldn't, his expression was very ugly. "Exterminate the whole family?" Yue Dongbei immediately regained his energy when he heard these secret stories that had never been recorded in the history books, and asked energetically, "What kind of deep hatred is there between you that made him want to do such a cruel murderous hand?" ?” "Not only is there no deep hatred. Before that, the Hamo tribe even had kindness to Li Dingguo. It is precisely because of this that Li Dingguo became more vicious and hateful when he repaid his kindness later." An Mi gritted her teeth, speaking bitterly. "Yes?" Luo Fei became more and more confused the more he listened, he shook his head helplessly, "I'm sorry, I don't know much about history, and I need to trouble you to explain the situation in the middle." "Li Dingguo is a general of the Southern Ming Dynasty. Although our Hamo tribe is located in a remote place, we also belonged to the Ming Empire." Suo Tulan patiently explained, "Later, the Nanming army fought against the Manchus, and the leader of the Hamo tribe specially sent He recruited a hundred warriors, incorporated them into Li Dingguo's army, and participated in the great battle in the east." Yue Dongbei chuckled: "One hundred warriors? Is this the kindness that the Hamo tribe has shown to Li Dingguo?" "Don't underestimate these one hundred warriors!" An Mi glanced at Yue Dongbei proudly, "Although there are not many of them, they are all cavalry with divine beasts. Can't stop their progress!" "Divine beast? You mean..." "It's an elephant!" Before Luo Fei could finish his question, Suo Turan had already given the answer, "There are many wild elephants in the mountains and forests in this area. own friend and servant." "Elephant soldiers!" Yue Dongbei's eyes sparkled with excitement, "You mean, there were elephant soldiers in Li Dingguo's army back then?!" "Yes. These elephant soldiers are all warriors from our tribe. In the great battle in the south, they were the nightmare of the Qing army." "Haha, it's so interesting! It's so interesting! The Manchus came from the grasslands in the north, and the cavalry was their most powerful force. But when the horses met an elephant, they were so frightened that they couldn't even run. What battle?" Yue Dongbei spoke excitedly, knocking on the table with his hands, and said with emotion, "This is a great discovery, it seems that Li Dingguo has won great victories in several battles with the Qing army. It is indispensable!" Hearing Suo Turan tell the secret of the elephant soldier, Luo Fei kept his head down in thought.Yue Dongbei's words just now seemed to clear his mind, and he suddenly clapped his hands and shouted: "I understand!" "Understand what?" Yue Dongbei moved his head curiously, and the others also turned to look at Luo Fei. "The mysterious power is the elephant soldiers!" Luo Fei pointed at Yue Dongbei, "It was mentioned in your article: 'It was rumored in the Qing soldiers that during the Battle of Yanguan in Guangxi, Li Dingguo's army used terrifying Mysterious power, this power comes from the border of Yunnan.' Now it seems that this power comes from the elephant soldiers of the Hamo tribe. Think about it, the weather during the Yanguan battle was thunder and lightning, and the atmosphere was already terrifying. At this time, the elephant soldiers The troops suddenly came out of Li Dingguo's army, how could it not make the Qing soldiers terrified? Many northerners have never seen an elephant, and after passing it around, it will naturally carry some mysterious colors." "That's right, that's right..." Yue Dongbei shook his head seriously, "The Great War in the east—Guangxi Yanguan; Elephant Soldiers—terrorist force; Hamo tribe—Yunnan border, these really make sense. " Zhou Liwei smiled "heh": "Why? You gave up that 'devil' theory so easily?" Yue Dongbei was unambiguous, and immediately opened his eyes: "Who said I gave up? Xiang Bing's statement can only explain the part of the rumors about the Yanguan War, and it doesn't make any sense for the later rumors of the 'demon'. First, Hamo How could the people of the tribe regard their warriors as demons? Secondly, although the elephant soldiers are strong, they are clumsy in action. They can be used in large battles on the plains, but they are useless in the mountains. Therefore, Li Dingguo's defeated army To be able to survive in the border jungle for three years is by no means relying on Harmo's elephant soldiers." Yue Dongbei's analysis made sense, Luo Fei couldn't help but nodded in agreement.Suo Turan gave Zhou Liwei a dissatisfied look: "'Devil' is just 'Devil', how can it be confused with the warriors of our tribe?" "Then what exactly is the 'devil' you are talking about?" Zhou Liwei asked back. "It's a power full of evil and terror." Soturan's voice became gloomy. "According to the legend of our clan, it's probably a kind of 'Gu' technique." "Gu technique?" Yue Dongbei called out with his eyes wide open, as if he had gained something.Zhou Liwei frowned, noncommittal.Luo Fei looked a little confused, and asked, "What is this?" "From a medical point of view, Gu refers to the parasites in the human body, and it is also used to express the disease of insanity." Zhou Liwei saw that Luo Fei didn't know much about it, so he explained in detail, "In the legend of our country, Gu is It is a kind of artificially bred poisonous insect, through which the master of Gu can perform some evil witchcraft such as curses, so as to achieve the purpose of controlling the victim's body and mind." These are feudal superstitions again!Luo Fei thought to himself, but remained calm on the surface. He nodded, and then asked Suo Turan: "In the legends of your clan, how do you specifically say about these things?" Yue Dongbei knocked on the table with a fat finger, followed behind Luo Fei and echoed: "Yes, please explain in detail. Any conclusion must be based on facts, which is very important." Soturan narrowed his eyes, and the wrinkles on his face deepened.Then he moistened his shriveled lips with his deep tongue, and began to narrate again: "Li Dingguo's army retreated all the way back then. After the battle at Mopan Mountain, the number of troops was less than 10,000. Most of the 100 Hamo warriors died. , Only thirteen of the strongest young men survived. Led by the thirteen Hamo warriors, Li Dingguo took the last remnants of the army to Anza in the Valley of Terror. When entering the valley, the former army captured several Suspicious people. At first Li Dingguo thought they were spies of the Qing soldiers, so he tortured them, and found out that these people were all Gu masters from the Miao nationality." Zhou Liwei listened to Luo Fei and said softly: "Gu masters are people who specialize in making Gu poison. It is said that in the Miao people in Yunnan, this kind of harmful method is very popular." Luo Fei let out a "huh", but he heard Suo Turan from the opposite side continue to narrate: "According to the usual practice, if the army encounters monsters like Gu masters when fighting, they must kill the sacrificial flags to avoid bad luck. But Li Dingguo didn't In doing so, he just cut off the tongues of those Gu masters, but kept them in the army. The warriors of the Hamo tribe have always hated treacherous people very much, and they didn't understand Li Dingguo's actions. So they Nominate a representative, want to meet Li Dingguo, and ask him to execute these Gu masters. Everyone knows Li Dingguo's temper. The more he is in front of everyone, the more he has to maintain his majesty and keep his word.So the representative took advantage of the dead of night and quietly went to Li Dingguo's military tent, so as to meet alone, the chance of persuasion success would be higher. When the warrior came to the military tent, he saw that there was still light in the tent and knew that Li Dingguo was inside.Because he didn't want to disturb other people, he didn't make a sound, and walked over and gently raised the curtain at the door.As a result, he saw a surprising scene: Li Dingguo, with disheveled hair, kneeling in front of a row of incense tables.His shoulders kept shrugging, and there was a whining sound in his mouth, which was actually crying alone.The warrior was stunned for a moment, and when he was in a dilemma, he suddenly heard Li Dingguo say something sadly.The general meaning of that passage is: I was forced by the situation and had no choice but to give my soul to the devil in exchange for terrifying and powerful power.From then on, all the soldiers of the three armies will be controlled by demons. I have committed a lot of crimes, and I am willing to suffer eternal punishment after death. " Having said that, Suo Turan stopped, as if to give everyone room to think.After pondering for a moment, Luo Fei took the lead in guessing: "So, Li Dingguo deliberately left several Gu masters in the army, and asked them to perform Gu skills, so as to obtain a mysterious 'power'?" Yue Dongbei clapped his hands and agreed: "It's reasonable! This inference is very reasonable!" Although Zhou Liwei and Bai Jian'e didn't speak, they didn't seem to have much disagreement. Suo Turan nodded again at this time and said: "At that time, our warrior thought the same way. He was surprised and angry, and he was stunned at the door of the military tent. After Li Dingguo finished crying, he suddenly realized that something was wrong, and turned around and asked. : "Who is it?" The warrior quickly retreated, not daring to stay, and ran all the way back to the camp of the Hamo people. You brothers are still waiting for him to bring back good news, and it is a little strange to see him in a hurry.The warrior didn't have time to elaborate, but just greeted everyone to leave immediately.When Li Dingguo rushed over with his entourage, the crowd had already run out of the camp and into the jungle.Due to the unfamiliar terrain, it was late at night.Li Dingguo didn't dare to chase, he could only watch helplessly as the thirteen warriors ran farther and farther towards the Hamo village.The relationship between our Hamo tribe and Li Dingguo must have started to crack after that night. " "Oh." Luo Fei seemed to be attracted by the story, and then asked, "Then the war between the two of you also started because of this?" "You mean jihad?" Soturan shook his head, "No, that meeting has not reached this point yet. After the warriors returned to the village, they told the leader what happened. The leader knew that Li Dingguo used the evil Therefore, the alliance with Li Dingguo's army was suspended. For nearly three years thereafter, the two sides basically had no contact. Li Dingguo had repeatedly asked to join forces with the Hamo tribe, but was rejected by the leader. For Li Dingguo's army and In the war between the Qing and Burmese forces, our Hamo people will not help each other, and we will always maintain a neutral attitude.” "Li Dingguo fought alone back then, but it is said that in three years, there were no less than a hundred battles, big and small, and he has never been defeated?" Luo Fei thought of what Yue Dongbei had said, and threw out this question. "It sounds exaggerated, but it is true." Soturan said with emotion, "Although Li Dingguo's soul has been plunged into darkness, it must be admitted that he is a great warrior. When he obtained the evil His forces were nearly invincible after his might." "The power of evil..." Luo Fei frowned, "What exactly is that?" "According to the legend handed down by the elders in the clan, the devil controlled Li Dingguo's army, giving his soldiers incredible strength, courage and desire to fight. On the battlefield, each of them was like a mad tiger, bursting out with amazing And they are not afraid of death, and the soldiers who died in battle will have a happy smile on their faces." "Walk with the devil, be happy and carefree. If you have a different mind, you will go to a horrible prison!" Luo Fei suddenly thought of these sixteen words, and murmured out. Suo Turan's eyes lit up: "You know this sentence too? This is the portrayal of Li Dingguo's army at that time. They have completely surrendered to the devil, and the few who disobeyed were frightened mad by the devil in the end. The thirteen Hamo Luckily, the warrior escaped early, otherwise he might not have escaped bad luck." "No!" Hearing this, An Mi solemnly interrupted Soturan's words, "How could the Hamo warriors succumb to the power of the devil? Didn't Li Dingguo die at the end of our Hamo swords?" !" "My lord, you are right, I was negligent." Soturan put his right hand on his chest and bowed respectfully to express his apology, "In front of the great Hamo tribe, no matter how powerful the evil force is, , will be destroyed.” After a moment of silence, Luo Fei asked another crucial question: "Since you have always maintained neutrality, how did the last 'jihad' happen?"