The King of Curses

Chapter 207 Ancestral Hall
October 25, 2010.

The first consultant special team composed of Cen Dongsheng, Song Yutang and Jiang Yunmei drove to Jiangtun Village, where the Jiang family's ancestral home is located.

Jiangtun Village is about 200 kilometers away from the center of Tianhai City. The three people first took the high-speed rail, and then changed to a vehicle prepared for them by the relevant departments near the station and drove to the village. All the preliminary coordination work has been prepared, and someone will receive them locally.

The three had done their homework on the intelligence of Jiangtun Village in advance. Although the village was remote, it was located in the Jiangnan water town, and its economic development was not backward, but the population was relatively sparse, with only a hundred households in total.

The village is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and the scenery is beautiful. I heard that tourists and hikers occasionally come here for an outing. Since the millennium, not to mention any supernatural events related to ghosts and curse-masters, even ordinary vicious crimes are rarely heard of, and there is a sense of tranquility that is isolated from the world.

Most of the people who lived here were members of the Jiang family and their distant relatives. However, as the family prospered, almost all of them moved to economically prosperous cities such as Tianhai City and Jinjiang City. The only ones left were a few elderly people who were reluctant to leave their hometown, and outsiders who had no relationship with the Jiang family and had only moved in in the last few decades.

……

The three of them had dinner together yesterday, went home to pack their luggage, and set off early this morning.

It's not that Cen Dongsheng is unkind or likes to exploit his subordinates. It's just that on the one hand, Jiang Dechang, the old man of the Jiang family, died in the hospital for unknown reasons, and the whereabouts of the head of the family, Jiang Zhifeng, is still unknown. Although the so-called resurrection plan of the "ancestor" lying in the grave has been interrupted, there is obviously an inside story behind it. In order to avoid more trouble, he can only speed up the progress;

on the other hand……

When Cen Dongsheng was having dinner last night, he realized that the two girls were actually quite excited about their first joint mission, so he didn't intend to suppress their enthusiasm.

Not to mention Jiang Yunmei, she was the person involved and had expressed her belief in front of him: she wanted to free her family from the curse of blood.

As for Song Yutang...she was simply passionate about challenges and opponents. She had the beauty of a "newborn calf that is not afraid of a tiger."

Cen Dongsheng had long realized that this girl was the same type of person as himself, the so-called "battle maniac": the more difficult and dangerous the situation is, the more she wants to try it; the more dangerous and powerful the enemy is, the more she wants to challenge it.

In a sense, Song Yutang is even more like a natural warrior than him. Because Cen Dongsheng only began to find the joy of fighting after he obtained "Transformation and Freedom" and embarked on the path of human immortal in this life;

Song Yutang has a life ban, which proves that she is like this by nature. The reason why the girl loved outdoor sports so much in the past is probably the manifestation of this personality nature, but it is difficult to show in peacetime.

In any case, this enthusiasm is worth encouraging; but getting up too early will inevitably make you feel sleepy, especially for a stay-at-home girl who loves to play games until late at night.

"Aha……"

Like now.

The girl sitting in the passenger seat raised her hand to cover her lips and yawned softly.

Jiang Yunmei dressed very seriously today, wearing a light grey turtleneck sweater with the collar slightly rolled up, revealing her slender neck and an exquisite silver clavicle chain; her carefully styled slightly curly brown hair and a pair of round-frame glasses, she exudes an intellectual and straightforward charm.

Just looking at her appearance, it is impossible to imagine that this girl has such a sloppy side in private. If no one is watching over her, she will probably give up on herself.

Cen Dongsheng glanced at Song Yutang, who was sitting in the back seat of the car, through the rearview mirror. She was folding her arms and quietly admiring the scenery passing by the window. The girl was wearing a white T-shirt and a military-designed jacket, and slim-fitting jeans and black boots. She looked cool and neat.

"Are you sleepy? If you are, you can rest for a while."

Cen Dongsheng said while holding the steering wheel.

"Uh, never mind...I think we'll be there soon anyway."

Jiang Yunmei looked at the scenery outside the car window, from the busy town to the highway, then to the green mountains and clear waters, and the gurgling stream; then at the end of the road, there was curling smoke and crisscrossing paths, knowing that they were about to reach their destination.

"I think what Master meant is that you can rest in the car and don't have to deal with trivial matters until you are needed."

"It's okay. I really want to see our old family."

"Did you live here before?"

"No, I've never been here. I only heard about it from my elders." Jiang Yunmei shook her head. "My parents moved to another city."

In the past, because the family tree was kept in the village, clan meetings would be held in Jiangtun Village; later, everyone felt it was inconvenient, and after the reform and opening up, the Jiang family's industry developed rapidly and they had money, so they built a new manor in the suburbs of Tianhai City.

"By the way, Mr. Cen, will there be other curse masters to help this time?"

"No, on the one hand, the Super Working Committee doesn't have the energy, they are currently carrying out a cleanup operation..."

Cen Dongsheng said it casually, and suddenly dropped a bombshell news.

"Huh? Is that so?"

Jiang Yunmei showed a surprised expression.

"Yes."

Probably within an hour after they set out, the city was probably in chaos during the morning.

In a sense, this was the first step in the formal implementation of the "cutting down mountains and destroying temples" plan. The move was as powerful as thunder and so fast that no one could react.

Most civilians thought that the matter was still under discussion, but they never imagined that the official departments had already been ready to take action. A large number of sorcerers and underground organizations that colluded with sorcerers were eradicated. The Super Working Committee and the military and police departments took joint action to clear the air.

There will not be any accidents this time, and the chaos will subside in a short time. Cen Dongsheng estimates that after they have dealt with the matters of the Jiang family's ancestral home and returned to Tianhai City, everything should be settled.

The reason why he was so confident was very simple.

Because this time, onee-sama herself will take action personally.

After luring the snake out of its hole, the next step is naturally to sweep the hole with thunder and wipe out all the evil spirits.

This trick is certainly useful, but if you don't have the ability to suppress the chaotic violence at the critical moment, the consequence will likely be chaos upon chaos, and the situation will deteriorate to an unmanageable level if you are not careful.

And in this era, in a city governed by one... no, two special-class spell-binding masters, this problem naturally does not exist.

"I told them to leave it alone and leave it to my team."

"Hmm... I see. So what you mean is that we don't need support, right?"

"If there is a crisis, there will still be one."

Cen Dongsheng was vague on this point.

"In addition, within Tianhai City, or within the current sphere of influence of the Super Working Committee, our actions will receive the greatest possible cooperation."

Song Yutang looked out the window at the scenery of green mountains and clear waters. She had been silent since she got in the car, as if she was thinking about something. It was only at this moment that she spoke:
"Master told us before that the most important difference between a 'haunted place' and an ordinary haunted house is the coverage of the real world, right?"

"Yes."

"If the village we saw is not covered by the supernatural space and is still the normal real world, then it means that Jiangtun Village is not a 'haunted place'. By analogy, that ancestor has never touched the standard of 'haunted place'."

"…Although I'm not 100% sure, this is definitely a solution."

Cen Dongsheng narrowed his eyes and looked at the quiet and peaceful village in the distance. There was no weird or dangerous atmosphere on the surface.

…Before getting off the bus, they saw someone waving at them at the entrance of the village.

He was a middle-aged man wearing a military green coat and a wide-brimmed hat. He paced around the intersection before the car arrived.

Cen Dongsheng and his friends parked the car and walked over together.

"Good morning, leaders. I am Jiang Dafu."

The middle-aged man greeted politely and rubbed his hands a little nervously.

"There's no need for 'leader'. We are still students and want to go and see the village."

The young people carrying school bags followed Jiang Dafu to Jiangtun Village. They really looked like a few ordinary college students who came out for an outing.

At the entrance of the village is a winding river. The pebble-paved river water is crystal clear and flows slowly. Willows hang down on both sides of the river, and their branches sway gently in the breeze.

Occasionally, you can see egrets standing gracefully on the shallows, looking for food with their heads down, and chirping pleasantly from time to time. The stone arch bridge over the stream is quite old, and the stone slabs have been worn smooth by countless footprints.

Across the stone bridge is the entrance to the village. Houses with white walls and black tiles are densely arranged along the undulating hills. Some walls are covered with lush green vines, and there are winding paths between the houses.

“The view is great.”

Along the way, he asked questions and Jiang Dafu answered them. As the topic deepened, the tension on the other person's face gradually eased.

"Haha, the advantage of a small place is that there is no pollution and the environment is good."

Jiang Dafu occasionally looked at Cen Dongsheng and others with some curiosity and confusion. Although he had received orders from his superiors and knew that these people were here to investigate, he didn't know what they were investigating specifically. He just felt that they were too young...

"By the way, the person next to me happens to be from the Jiang family."

Cen Dongsheng briefly introduced Jiang Yunmei's background.

"We are distant relatives."

Jiang Yunmei, who was standing next to him, smiled friendlyly at the right moment.

"I heard that the Jiang family's ancestral hall and ancestral home are here, so I wanted to go take a look first, is that okay?"

"...Jiang family? These past two days..."

Jiang Dafu was stunned for a moment, and only answered quickly after Jiang Yunmei asked again.

"Of course, no problem, come with me."

"Can outsiders come in?"

"It doesn't matter. It's just a place like this. Just go in and take a look. Don't worship randomly."

……

The first place they went to was the Jiang Family Ancestral Hall.

Jiangtun Village is built on the mountain, and the ancestral hall is at the highest point of the hillside.

A path paved with bluestones winds its way to the spot, with lush bamboo forests on both sides. It is autumn, and the ground is covered with a soft carpet of leaves, and the air is filled with a fresh scent of grass and trees.

The ancestral hall has an antique architectural style, with traces of renovation revealed between the carved beams and painted buildings. A red couplet hangs at the gate, with words such as "Family Traditions and Heritage" and "Loyalty and Filial Piety Passed Down from Generation to Generation", and the golden fonts sparkle in the sun.

"Wow, it's built so exquisitely, just like a temple." Cen Dongsheng exclaimed.

"Haha, because the Jiang family paid for it. They are really rich."

Jiang Dafu said "Jiang family", obviously he did not think that the two sides were of the same clan.

Although they both have the same last name "Jiang", one can tell from his tone that he is a distant relative separated by countless generations, and has a distant relationship with the Jiang family that is now rooted in Tianhai City.

"It cost hundreds of thousands just to hire someone to design this place. I'm not willing to let the Jiang family pay to build a stone bridge for the village..."

The middle-aged man complained a few words, and then stopped talking as if he felt it was not good to say this in front of outsiders. He stopped outside the ancestral hall and pointed at the round gate not far away.

"Go in from there and you'll find the Jiang Clan Ancestral Hall."

"Aren't you going in?"

"I'll forget it." Jiang Dafu shook his head. "You guys go and have a look."

Entering the ancestral hall, you can see a spacious courtyard with several sweet-scented osmanthus trees planted in the courtyard. In the golden autumn of October, when the flowers are in bloom, the fragrance is refreshing. In the center, there is a large incense burner, which is filled with smoke and looks particularly solemn. Several elderly people are burning incense and worshiping in front of the ancestral hall. They are pious and chanting.

There is only one main hall in the ancestral hall, where the ancestral tablets are enshrined. The tablets are neatly arranged on a wooden shrine, and red candles are always lit in front of the shrine, illuminating the entire hall. In front of the ancestral tablet in the middle, there are offerings such as fruits and cakes.

Just as Cen Dongsheng said, this place was built as solemnly as a temple, and it seemed that there were always people cleaning and maintaining it.

Although the ancestral halls of families whose ancestors had been emperors, kings, or dukes in ancient times were called "family temples", it is extremely rare to find ancestral halls that can still maintain this standard today. This shows that even after moving away from the vicinity, the Jiang family still values ​​their "roots" very much.

After hearing the carefree footsteps of the young people, several elderly people who were burning incense looked towards them.

Some had expressionless faces, while others looked dissatisfied, as if they felt that it was not a good thing to have outsiders disturbing the peace of their ancestors, but no one spoke to stop them.

Cen Dongsheng and the others naturally didn't care. Although respecting other people's ancestors was a courtesy, who told them that the purpose of their visit this time was to destroy other people's ancestors and their graves?

"Hey, look, there seems to be a statue in the main hall over there. The ones being worshipped here should be the ancestors of the Jiang family, right?"

Song Yutang whispered aside.

Cen Dongsheng took a look and saw a statue with kind eyes sitting in the hall. The front was covered with bright yellow silk cloth, so the face could not be seen clearly.

"Could this be the target we are looking for?"

This time, her voice came directly from my ear.

Cen Dongsheng nodded slowly.

"That's possible. I'll go talk to those old people. You guys go in and take a look."

"it is good."

……

Jiang Yunmei had just stepped into the main hall when she felt a gust of cold wind blowing in her face, making her whole body stiffen; and almost at the same time, Song Yutang beside her suddenly flashed with dazzling electric sparks, illuminating the originally dim interior of the ancestral hall.

(End of this chapter)