Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 75 Auspicious Qi

“Can this be dug out?”

Zhang Erlang blinked, looked at the shovel in his hand, and then looked at Brother Taozi in front of him.

The Hu man laughed and said, "You haven't dug it yet, how do you know whether you can dig it out?"

"Liu, don't say anything more, just continue."

The peach trees are extremely tall, blocking out the sun, and their lush branches and leaves are intertwined with each other. Even if it is still scorching hot outside, when you walk into the forest, you will feel cool and moist.

The soil under his feet still had moisture in it, giving off a unique fragrance. The sound of insects chirping could be heard continuously from the dense forest. Zhang Erlang liked this peach forest very much. Even in the season without fruit, Erlang liked to stay in the peach forest.

He spat into his palm, tightened his grip on the shovel, and began to shovel the soil.

He didn't want to damage the tree roots, so he started digging a little away from the peach tree.

After digging a shovel, the soil became even moister and seemed to be oozing water. This was not surprising as this place was not far from the Zhang River.

After digging a few more times, you can see all kinds of long worms.

Suddenly, Erlang noticed something, staggered and almost fell to the ground.

"Bones. Bones!"

Kou Liu, who was standing aside, stuck his head out and looked at Erlang with a gloating look.

He didn't mean to have any ill intentions, he just thought it was fun to see someone else experience the same shock he had experienced.

"This this"

Kou Liu waved his hand casually, "Don't worry, you'll get used to it after digging a few more times, keep going!"

Erlang didn't dare to say anything more and continued digging.

This peach forest did not seem as pleasant as Erlang had imagined in the past. He felt creepy when he recalled that when he was young, he would sleep in the peach forest with his elder brother after playing.

The peach forest that was originally wet and full of vitality now looked weird and scary in Erlang's eyes.

The patterns on the tree trunks in the distance looked like smiling faces. Erlang was sweating profusely and could hardly hold the shovel.

After being busy for a long time, the scorching sun slowly set and Erlang was dizzy with hunger.

Kou Liu dropped the things in his hand, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and walked to Taozi's side, "Brother, I didn't find it. Is it buried here?"

Liu Taozi looked around.

There were bumpy caves in the peach forest, and they found many corpses, so many that it was a bit outrageous.

According to Kou Liu's idea, this is not a peach forest, it is simply a mass grave.

Thinking that this peach orchard belonged to his eldest brother, Kou Liu didn't dare to look at his eldest brother.

Scary.

Taozi looked calmly at the peach forest in front of her and began to think.

Logically speaking, the armor, people, and horses should all be buried here.

Could it be that he is not buried here?

Or is it still in the Wild Boar Forest?
If it was in the wild boar forest, that would be troublesome, because it is not like the peach forest and it is not easy to find it.

Kou Liu said hurriedly: "Brother, it's okay, you go eat first, I will continue digging, even if I dig through this place today, I must find the thing!"

"Forget it, let's eat."

Liu Taozi turned and left. Kou Liu called Erlang and the two followed him.

This was the first time Kou Liu came to Taozi's home. He looked around curiously until he saw the black stains on the ground. He was sure that it was specially used for bloodletting.

Kou Liu shuddered and dared not look any longer.

When Taozi returned home this time, she brought some food with her. She distributed most of it to her fellow villagers, leaving a little for them to have one meal.

"Ji Lang, how's your study going?"

The three of them were eating when Liu Taozi asked.

Kou Liu suddenly remembered, "Yes, I have seen you in the Law School!"

Zhang Erlang was stunned, and he also remembered this Hu man, "I remember now, you are the stupid Xianbei that Lu Gong once mentioned."

Kou Liu's face darkened.

Erlang quickly looked at Taozi again, "Brother Taozi, I'm still memorizing words. Everyone there can learn to read, but I'm the only one who can't even write my own name."

"I always rank last in every assessment. I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to pass the exam."

"No problem. The county government is not a good place to go. You are more suitable to stay in the countryside. When you are full-term, you can come back and serve as a village official."

"only!"

Liu Taozi didn't say anything else, and the other two didn't dare to speak either.

The three were eating when they saw the old man hurriedly walk into the yard, "Brother Tao, something bad has happened!"

"A few officials came from the west of the village, searching everywhere to catch people."

"What? Come here to arrest someone?!"

Kou Liu stood up quickly, "Where are they?!"

Liu Taozi motioned him to sit down, "No problem, I'll go take a look, you two continue eating, remember to clean up after you're done, my mother doesn't like messes."

After that, Taozi stood up and followed the old man to leave. Kouliu watched Taozi walk away, then looked at Erlang who was standing beside him.

"Are you related to Mr. Liu?"

"What does it mean to have a relative?"

"Just a relative?"

"No, but we grew up together. Brother Taozi and my eldest brother are very good friends."

"When I was still young, they gathered firewood, fished, found fruits, and picked herbs together."

"When I grew up, I followed them to herd sheep and feed pigs. With four or five people working together, it wasn't too tiring."

"Later, my eldest brother got lost, and Brother Taozi grew up. He started to go into the mountains to hunt and cut furs. Occasionally, he would take us into the mountains to collect herbs and sell them to the collectors. We could get a piece of cloth in exchange!"

"Wait a minute."

Kou Liu interrupted Erlang and asked, "Did Liu Gong still work in the past?"

The way Zhang Erlang looked at Kou Liu was as if he was looking at Zhang Dianzi in the south of the village.

"Who doesn't work? Even Zhang Dianzi from the south of the village has to work. How can you eat if you don't work?"

Kou Liu looked at the large yard and then glanced at the peach orchard outside.

"But I don't think Mr. Liu's family is poor."

"Ah, Brother Taozi's grandfather is a capable man. He is said to have killed a tiger in the past. Everyone in the village is afraid of him, but he has to go into the mountains to hunt. He can't be seen for most of the year."

"Their family is a hunter family, and they don't have any farmland, so Brother Taozi has to work to support the family. This peach forest is also taken care of by Brother Taozi. Brother Taozi's mother is kind-hearted, and sometimes his grandfather will hunt prey, and she will give it to the people around, and there won't be much left."

"He is busy all day long and has no rest all year round. He does whatever work is available."

Kou Liu nodded slowly, "Hunter, no wonder."

The farmers in the village are now hiding in their houses, shivering.

From time to time, someone would scream, causing everyone to hide.

A few minor officials in the distance were watching this place, pointing out the mountains and rivers and talking loudly about something.

Suddenly, two people flashed out from the intersection and faced each other.

There were four clerks in total, the leader was riding a horse, and the other three were walking.

When they saw the person coming, they were all horrified. The official who had just been riding a horse and pointing fingers at the country with a whip in his hand quickly jumped off the horse and almost fell to the ground.

"Mr. Liu!"

"You Jiao Gong!!"

All the officials hurriedly bowed to greet him.

The leader stepped forward with a big smile on his face and saluted, and said a little embarrassedly: "Excuse me, Mr. Liu. Why are you here?"

“My home is right here.”

"Ah! I see. I was wondering why this village exudes an auspicious aura."

"What are you doing here?"

"Mr. Youjiao, I am here on the orders of Luling County Magistrate to thoroughly investigate the ownership of the farmland."

"Zhang Village was once granted 800 mu of land, but the current household registration does not match the number of granted land. Many fields have disappeared. We need to register the land granted at the time, record it in the temple register, and then distribute it."

The official said, "Not just me, but all the officials in the county will be mobilized. The whole Cheng'an must be investigated thoroughly, and no one should be left out."

Liu Taozi already understood, he nodded, "Well, be careful."

"Ah, thank you, Mr. Liu."

Liu Taozi turned and left, and those people seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Only after he left did the leading official breathe a sigh of relief.

"Is this the Liu Xiao mentioned in the rumors?"

A newcomer asked.

The leader looked at him quickly, "Do you want to die?!"

The man quickly shut his mouth and dared not say anything.

Liu Taozi returned home and the two were ready.

"Erlang, you can just rest in the village. There are a few new officials here who want to conduct a thorough inspection of the farmland and household registration. You should keep an eye on them."

"Liu, follow me!"

Taozi gave the order, and soon he and Kouliu rode away quickly on horseback.

As they walked along the road, Kou Liu asked, "Brother, are we not going to dig for armor anymore?"

"If you can't find it, forget it. When you return to the county government office later, you can take some county soldiers and patrol outside the city with Yao Xiong."

"Ah? What happened?"

"Nothing happened. Just protect the officials passing by along the way."

"only!!"

(End of this chapter)