Chapter 57 Chapter 4 Anomalies in Tianma bone slices

In the early morning of the next day, disciples of the Liu Clan went together to Feilong Cave, the main venue of the Corpse Exorcism Conference. Feilong Cave is located on the west bank of the Pidu River. The cave is spacious and majestic. The cave is extremely empty. A central hall in the cave can accommodate tens of thousands of people. The largest sky eye in the cave is as high as hundreds of feet. No one has found out the end of this cave. It is known as "one cave connects three provinces", connecting Hunan, Hubei and Sichuan. How deep is Feilong Cave?No one among the locals could explain it clearly, and many people believed that the cave was nearly two hundred miles deep.There are four floors in this cave. There are natural waterfalls and endless underground springs in the cave. The depth of the cave is narrow, dark and unfathomable.

What is even more surprising is that there are underground Yinhe Rivers, underground lakes, and underground mountains in the cave. There are countless wonders and wonders, just like a condensed underground dragon palace.In the underground Yin River, some magical creatures that have never been seen before can be seen. The local people say that they are ghost fish in the Yin River, and these fish are eaten by ghosts and ghosts in the underworld. Mysterious legends, coupled with the remote mountains and wilderness, make Feilong Cave rarely visited by people.The cave is very cold and gloomy, and the local mountain people dare not enter the cave rashly alone.Only when the Tujia people are "passing the new year", the Tujia people gather from all directions. "Celebrating the new year" is the habit of the Tujia people, and this festival also has some origins.

Soldiers of the Tujia nationality in the Ming Dynasty were dispatched to the southeast coast to fight against the Japanese. The military order was urgent, so they rushed to the front line to celebrate the New Year ahead of schedule, and made "the first military exploit in the southeast".In order to commemorate this expedition, later generations advance the New Year's Day, forming the custom of catching up with the New Year's Eve.Whenever "Catching the New Year" comes, Tujia men, women and children will come here in a mighty manner, wearing earth flower quilts, holding dragon and phoenix banners, carrying shotguns, spears, and eyebrow sticks on their shoulders, and gather in the central hall of Feilong Cave. Celebrating together, dancing tens of thousands of people waving hands, the atmosphere is extremely grand.

When our group arrived at Feilong Cave, wisps of mist floated out of the cave, and the cave was already full of excitement, adding a bit of noise that was not harsh to the quiet valley. A huge flag fluttered above the entrance of the cave. The flag was two feet square, with the words "walking corpse" embroidered on it. The entrance of the cave was full of people, which surprised me.In my prediction, only corpse exorcists will participate in the exorcism meeting, and the number of people should not be too many. The elder brother next to me told me: "In addition to the corpse exorcising sects from all over the country and their disciples to participate in the exorcism conference, some wizards, folk warlocks and quacks from all over the world will also come to perform after hearing the news. Some courageous villagers will also invite their companions to watch the strange things, and those small vendors who are very curious are not willing to miss the opportunity to make money. Bandits and bandits who don't believe in evil also come to see the weirdness in disguise. In this way, the exorcism meeting is not a single exorcism meeting, but more like a folk custom meeting full of mystery and fun."

When you come to the entrance of Feilong Cave, stand at the entrance and look down into the cave. You can see that the front hall of the cave is suddenly wide. Row of wooden chairs. Behind the wooden platform, a new door-shaped shelf was erected with trees. The two sides of the beam of the shelf are covered with colorful banners. These are the flags of various sects. Each banner has a different color and is embroidered with the title of its own sect. .According to the rules, all sects who come to participate in the exorcism meeting must hang their banners here.How many flags are hung on the beams means how many sects come to participate in the conference.The more flags, the more people participating in the conference, and the more exciting the conference will be.

"Xiucai, I counted them. There are as many as thirty-two flags on it. It seems that this meeting will be a good show." Tian Gudao said to me sideways. After browsing it, I always feel that there is something missing on the door beam. "Xiucai, there is such a big scene here, there must be a couplet." Tian Gudao said to me with a smile. Yes, what is missing here is a pair of couplets! So, I took the wolf flute cinnabar pen from my back, tore off a piece of homemade cloth next to the wooden platform, brushed the pen like a snake, swiped a few times, and after a while, a pair of cinnabar couplets came out:

The yin and yang of the two worlds go to Wulong Mountain together, cross the mountains and ridges to sit on the stars and the moon, and talk about heroes while walking dead; The gods and priests from the four provinces gathered in Feihu Cave, leading their souls to cross life and death, and competed in spells. Seeing this, the senior elder brother at the side knew what I meant, turned over with a kite, and threw the cloth strips to the wooden frame, and a pair of white cloth and cinnabar couplets was hung up. "Xiucai, there seems to be something wrong!" Tian Gudao continued to mutter.

Then I quickly wrote the four characters "Death Corpse Assembly" on the white cloth. The elder brother followed suit and hung up the banner. "Good... good..." At this moment, the crowd in the cave burst into applause. Some disciples of the exorcising corpse sect couldn't help applauding, but they were stopped by the master's eyes. It turned out that they were worried that Liumen would steal the limelight. The crowd of onlookers didn't know what was going on, thinking that our impromptu performance just now was a procedure arranged by the corpse exorcism meeting, and they applauded wantonly.Some wizards and gangsters who had been waiting for a long time thought it was the signal for the start of the conference, so they started their own performances to add to the fun.

A sorcerer wears a phoenix crown and high hat, eight pieces of skirts around his waist, shakes a silver bell and holds a sword, and dances to direct. Hundreds of people sang and danced a small hand-waving dance. The elders of the various exorcising sects looked at each other, confused by this sudden scene.After the several elders whispered to each other for a while, they didn't react strangely. I saw the master frowning slightly, and knew that our actions just now were a little reckless.Perhaps because of the cheers and applause from the audience next to us, our recklessness was downplayed and covered up, and it was inconvenient for the corpse exorcising sects to blame too much.

According to the rules of previous corpse exorcising conferences, before the start of the corpse exorcising secret skill competition, the mountain people and wizards who came to cheer for the fun first danced Nuo dance, sang Nuo opera and performed Nuo skills. The Tujia people regard Nuo brother and Nuo sister as "Nuo gods", and later generations of Tujia people also call them Nuo Gong and Nuo Niang.According to legend, Nuo Gong and Nuo Niang were originally brothers and sisters. After the world was flooded, the two married and multiplied human beings. This is the ancestor of the Tujia people.

Every major festival, the mountain people in this area will hold grand Nuo opera performances.This is a sacrificial form used by the ancestors in ancient times to drive away ghosts and epidemics and reward gods and Najib. It originated in Yongshun, Chenzhou, and Yuanzhou, Hunan.Qu Yuan, a great poet in the Warring States period, was immersed in the Hunan custom of "believing in witches and ghosts, and focusing on prostitution and worship".Folk people in the mountainous area of ​​western Hunan have kept the Nuo dance performance of "Nine Songs".After Nuo opera reached its peak in the mountainous area of ​​western Hunan during the Kangxi period, it entered the Yangtze River from the Yuanshui River and developed rapidly to various places, forming different genres. In Feihu Cave, after a burst of enthusiastic hand-waving dance, the Nuo opera began. A sorcerer in robes came to a Nuo altar. The altar was exquisitely decorated. The altar was covered with a piece of calico, on which some small grass figurines with unique shapes were woven, and various paper-cuts were placed. A paper spirit card, with a line of small script on the spirit card, powerful and powerful, and three sticks of incense stuck on a fresh radish. Nuo opera in the mountainous area of ​​western Hunan combines Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism into one, forming its own unique form.People who believe in it believe that the more difficult the performance of Nuo opera is, the more effective it is in exorcising evil spirits for people. interest and gain people's respect. After a while of reverent worship, the wizard began to sing in Longshan's local accent. Seeing this, the musician next to him immediately followed the beat of the wizard, and the gongs, drums, cymbals, suona and other instruments sounded together, making a rhythmic sound of "咚咚呱...咚咚呱...". The valley was instantly activated.The musicians serving the instruments were beating the instruments in their hands, looking extremely intoxicated. Although the old man who played the suona made the veins in his neck bulge, he never tired of it. Seeing the sound of gongs and drums, dozens of Nuo dancers who had been preparing for a long time on the side put on painted wooden masks respectively, playing the roles of Sheng, Dan, Jing, Mo, and Chou. Belly, the movement is heavy and unremitting, stalk but not stiff, and dances the Nuo dance. In the area of ​​Chenzhou, Nuo dance is called ghost dance and making faces.The content is humorous and witty, and the plot is humorous and funny. Nuo dancers must wear hideous Nuo masks when performing.According to folklore, taking off the Nuo mask is a human being, and putting on the Nuo mask is a god.Because of this, the Nuo mask, regarded as the incarnation of God in the mortal world, cannot be touched by mortals at ordinary times, and is only allowed to be taken out when dancing the Nuo dance.These masks are carved and painted with camphor wood, clove wood, poplar wood and other woods that are not easy to crack. According to the shape, they can be divided into two types: full face and half face. The face is only carved above the nose, without mouth and chin. There was bursts of applause from the crowd of onlookers. "Okay, okay..." There was a sudden applause from the right corner of the cave. It turned out that in the corner on the right, someone was performing Wu Nuo's unique skills.A forty-year-old wizard is performing "Ding Chicken".He waved the sword in his hand a few times, chanted a few incantations, and held a huge rooster in his hand. The rooster was probably frightened, struggling hard, and wanted to let go.The wizard was not irritable. He picked up a bowl beside him, swallowed a mouthful of water, sprayed it on the head of the chicken, and then put the rooster on an upright knife handle. The rooster was dishonest and moved left and right.The wizard put his hand on the rooster's head, and slowly stroked the rooster's head. After a while, the rooster became quiet, stopped moving, and drooped its eyelids, as if falling asleep... Everyone applauded.After a while of excitement, a man in a red coarse cloth jacket came up, filled a bowl with water, put it aside, and then sharpened the hatchet beside him on the whetstone, then burned incense paper and chanted mantras.At this time, a bystander brought over a huge pine bonsai. The man in the red coat chopped off the main trunk of the pine tree with a thick bowl in the bonsai with a knife, then sucked the water in the bowl, sprayed it three times on the knife edge of the pine branch, and drank With a sound, the broken loose has been connected.The pine branch that was cut by the knife was immediately connected seamlessly. The pine branch did not need to be tied, but it stood still, as usual, full of vitality. In the crowd of onlookers, many people expressed doubts, stepped forward, and pulled the pine branch vigorously with their hands, but the pine branch was as solid as before and could not be pulled down. People have seen all kinds of Wu Nuo unique skills a lot, and they are not surprised. Besides, the onlookers at this time are not ordinary people, they are all proficient in some witchcraft, and they also know some Jianghu alchemy.However, seeing the performance of the man in the red coat today, many people still expressed doubts and astonishment. Some people were still unwilling to give up, and questioned that the bonsai was prepared in advance, and asked the man in the red coat to go to the entrance of the cave to cut the branches next to the cave to cast a spell. The man in the red coat was not annoyed, he came down to the entrance of the cave surrounded by everyone, and asked others to designate a tree at will. He came to the tree, chopped it off at an angle, and then cast the spell as before.After a while, the branch was connected, and there was no abnormality at the joint, as if nothing had happened. The man in the red coat said, "This tree will live on as before." The onlookers immediately applauded vigorously and cast admiring glances at him.In the eyes of worship, several young men ran up, knelt down and worshiped, pestering the man in the red coat to learn his unique skills, the man in the red coat hurriedly hid. "Xiucai, this corpse exorcism meeting is really worth looking forward to. The foreplay is so exciting, and the rest will definitely be the same." Just as Tian Gudao was expressing emotion, another exclamation came from the left side of the cave. A boy in his teens was performing his unique skill - swallowing a nail. The nearly two-inch-long nail was swallowed into his stomach without blinking his eyes. When the child went down, a man who looked like a father came up, and saw him striding forward, moving his qi to his dantian, and took a big sea bowl, let others examine it first, and then put it in his mouth, with a "click", the sea bowl A big piece was bitten off by him.He didn't stop there, and slowly chewed the piece of porcelain that he had bitten off, as if he was eating broad beans, creaking.After a while, he swallowed the porcelain piece completely, but the person was safe and sound. Then, some people performed Wu Nuo's hard qigong such as rolling stabbed beds, crushing boulders on the chest, burning people on fire, stepping on plowshares, scooping up oil pans, eating fire, and stepping on fire plows with bare feet, which also won bursts of shouts. In a scene like this, crossing the knife mountain is essential.A towering mountain of knives has long been erected on a side land near the entrance of the cave.The stair-shaped Knife Mountain is pulled and fixed with a rope, and it points to the top of the cave with a force that reaches the sky. A five or six-year-old boy started the performance of climbing the knife mountain.After making some preparations, the child quickly climbed up the knife mountain like a monkey. His climbing speed was extremely fast, and he reached the top of the ladder in a blink of an eye. This speed is difficult for ordinary adults to compare. Nuo opera is getting better and better, and the gloomy atmosphere in Feihu Cave is replaced by lively scenes due to the constant influx of spectators. A corpse exorcist carried seven corpses and read the scriptures: "All evil souls listen to orders. When I move, I move. When I rest, I rest. When I move, I move. When I bend, I bend..." He steps out with his right foot.All the corpses followed suit with their right foot.He steps out with his left foot.All the corpses followed suit with their left foot. He stretched his waist, stretched his limbs, moved his steps, bent his knees, and danced the "Mao Gusi Dance" of the Tujia people. The seven dead bodies also danced "Maogus" behind them, looking primitive, rigid, and comically exaggerated. There was a burst of laughter from the audience. "Mao Gusi" is familiar to the Tujia people. It reflects the production and life of the ancient Tujia ancestors. It imitates the simple and rough movements of the ancients, speaks Tujia language, sings Tujia songs, and integrates songs, dances and words. .The steps are divided into several links, such as sweeping the hall, offering sacrifices to ancestors, offering sacrifices to the god of grains, showing males, and praying for all the best. Each link has many details. field, sowing, harvesting, paba, welcoming the bride and so on.Men's Mao Gusi is tied around the waist - a "rough stick" made of grass, which symbolizes the penis, and has the legacy of penis worship. Under the stage, a Tujia lady who sold sesame seed cakes shouted: "It's a wrong dance, it's a wrong dance!" Others booed her to lead the dance on stage, but she didn't refuse, she came to the front of the corpse driver and danced "Mao Gusi".Her pace was a bit fast, the corpse chasers couldn't keep up, and the dead corpses couldn't keep up even more, and her appearance was even more ridiculous. The people on and off the stage watched and laughed so hard that they covered their stomachs and couldn't stop laughing. Some people applauded wantonly, but they were actually booing. The "Maogus Dance" danced by the exorcist, the Tujia lady, and the seven corpses won warm applause, which made the tense atmosphere of the exorcism meeting a lot easier.