Dao Cheng Gui Xian

Chapter 180 The Belly-Faced Shrine, A Deadly Ambition Amidst the Mist

"Hey, Huang Ping's here!"

The donkey-walker had his back to the shop door, but immediately turned around and greeted the burly man at the door.

Li Wushou raised his perspective and glanced at the donkey tied to the big willow tree.

At that moment, the donkey was staring intently at the entrance of the village shop.

Is this donkey now serving as the Donkey Taoist's eyes and ears?
The burly man strode forward, his heavy footsteps echoing. Before he even entered the shop, a belly protruded into it.

With a slight tilt of his head, the burly man stepped over the threshold and into the village shop, appearing from a distance to be several feet taller than the door frame.

Unlike the skin color of Village Chief Huang and the others, this burly man had an oily, shiny face and a pale complexion.

Once he entered the village store, the already cramped lobby felt even more crowded.

The stench that Chen Gou'er mentioned must have been coming from this big man.

Li Wushou looked him up and down, but found nothing.

In his opinion, apart from being a bit dull, the big man seemed to have nothing unusual about him.

But Chen Gou'er's nose wouldn't be wrong. Li Wushou stared intently at the big man, his gaze passing over the flesh, and suddenly a thought struck him.

I had assumed that with such a large belly, the man's abdominal cavity would be full of golden fat, but the opposite was true; it was quite empty inside with very little fat.

But to Li Wushou's surprise, there was a grayish-blue infant corpse sitting cross-legged inside.

The baby's eyes were firmly sealed by a wide willow leaf, which had grown into the flesh and was no longer distinguishable from the baby.

There was nothing above or below, yet the infant's corpse sat upright quite steadily. It was as if the infant was glued to the inside of the large man's back.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that three willow branches extended from the baby's back, taking root in the spine of the burly man, Huang Ping, and drawing upon his blood and marrow. This was what made the baby appear so stable.

This bizarre scene made Li Wushou frown.

Although he had once carried Chen Gou'er inside his belly and carried him around.

But the situation with the burly man Huang Ping was different, because from his current perspective, Huang Ping's stomach looked like a shrine enshrining this strange dead infant.

However, it seemed that the offering had not been made for long, because Li Wushou saw the marks of flesh being cut open on the big man's belly, but at this moment, a willow leaf was firmly sealing the wound.

This is getting more and more interesting today!
Li Wushou couldn't help but take another sip of tea. To be honest, the tea tasted pretty good. Although it was made from bones, Li Wushou didn't detect any strange taste.

But if you're asking where the good thing is, then you've asked the wrong person.

Li Wushou's posture just now was nothing more than imitation of Xiao Panshan's, as that was the way the other party sipped tea.

Standing in the hall, the burly man seemed a little slow to react to the enthusiastic greeting from the donkey guide.

His expression didn't change much; he just scratched his head and replied:

"I have met the Donkey Immortal!"

Seemingly familiar with Huang Ping's personality, Master Donkey didn't mind and instead replied quite politely:

"Thank you for cutting the reeds; the donkey loves them."

The burly man nodded blankly, as if he didn't know how to respond.

Sister-in-law Huang put down the teapot and gave instructions to the burly man:
"Aping, go to the kitchen and make dinner. Tonight, Master Donkey is going to entertain Wandering Taoist, so make it a feast."

"Yes, Auntie."

The burly man put his hands on his shoulders, tightened the straps, and then walked straight to the backyard without saying goodbye to Li Wushou and the Donkey Taoist.

Only then did everyone realize that the big man was carrying a pig's leg and two chickens and ducks that had been bled on his back.

Even though he was facing away from everyone, no one could see the ingredients that were being carried on his back.

This shows how enormous this strong man's physique is!

Overall, it seemed to be more than twice the size of the short, stout donkey-riding man.

Just as the burly man was about to enter the backyard, the donkey-walking man seemed to remember something and called out to the burly man, Huang Ping:

"Please trouble Huang Ping to also cook the stray dog ​​I sent yesterday."

The moment he finished speaking, Li Wushou keenly noticed that Huang Ping's hand, which was securing the straps, suddenly tightened. He then nodded and went into the backyard.

Standing by the square table, Sister-in-law Huang had a deep look in her eyes, but she didn't react much.

The Taoist priest, however, seemed oblivious to all this, turning around and excitedly introducing the situation to Li Wushou:

"Fellow Daoist Li, you've come at just the right time. You're in for a treat! I just sent over a local dog yesterday, which I was planning to have Huang Ping marinate. Now I'm going to stew it for you to try."

Li Wushou sipped his tea, still with that indifferent expression.

The donkey rider knew that Li Wushou looked down on this rural inn, but just like Sister Huang's willow leaf tea, the dog meat later would surely amaze Li Wushou.

After all, this dog was a carefully selected, top-quality cut of meat.

So the Taoist priest, full of confidence, said to Li Wushou:
"Fellow Daoist Li, just you wait! As the saying goes, even a god can't stand firm after dog meat has been cooked three times. You'll see soon enough!"

After the Donkey Taoist finished speaking, Sister Huang, who was standing beside him, curtsied to the Donkey Taoist and Li Wushou and apologized.
"Master Donkey, Master Li, please have some tea. I'll go to the backyard to help out. If you need anything, just let me know."

The Taoist priest nodded and smiled, "Thank you for your trouble, Sister-in-law Huang!"

Seeing Sister-in-law Huang leave, the donkey-walking man seemed to smile even more happily.

As Li Wushou watched this scene while sipping his tea, he inexplicably felt that the Donkey Taoist's smile was somewhat meaningful.

After Sister-in-law Huang left, Li Wushou thought that the Donkey Taoist would talk at length about things like wild donkey breeding.

But to everyone's surprise, the donkey-walking man also quieted down, sipping his tea from time to time.

Li Wushou was happy to have some peace and quiet, his eyes slightly narrowed, as if he were also savoring the taste of the willow leaf tea. But in his mind, he was wondering what was so special about that dog.

Although Sister-in-law Huang appeared normal just now, the expression she had when she was boiling water in the kitchen earlier was not the kind of expression one would have towards a dog.

Judging from the Taoist priest's current appearance, it seemed as if he was deliberately provoking him just now?
Dog, donkey, complex emotions.
As he pondered, Li Wushou's eyes suddenly lit up, and he glanced at the Donkey Taoist without making a sound.

He seemed to have guessed the general situation. If that was the case, Li Wushou had really underestimated the ruthlessness of this donkey Taoist!

No wonder Village Chief Huang and Sister-in-law Huang looked like they wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible.

Li Wushou understood immediately. He gently placed the teacup on the table, as if he hadn't had enough, and leaned forward to reach out and pick up the teapot with his right hand to refill the cup.

Taking advantage of the moment when the Taoist priest's attention was drawn, he quickly slipped his left hand back into his sleeve and made several hand seals.

The short-legged paper donkey that Li Wushou had also tied to the big willow tree suddenly broke free from its belly, revealing a paper donkey the size of a palm with four legs of different lengths.

This is a small sample left behind by Li Wushou after he practiced folding the paper horse.

In the instant it broke free, the little paper donkey drifted like a falling leaf to the roots of the big willow tree, then clung tightly to the trunk and was half-hidden in the eerie mist.

After Huang Ping entered the village shop, the donkey kept scanning its surroundings, secretly on guard.

But Li Wushou's little paper donkey was too eerie and silent, and the donkey obviously didn't notice.

Having done all this, Li Wushou turned his attention back to the backyard.

The burly Huang Ping stared at the dog meat on the meat rack, his eyes reddening.

The man looked tall and imposing, but the emotions in his eyes were very innocent; at this moment, he was like a child, deeply saddened.

But the big man clenched his teeth, trying not to make a sound.

"Let's get cooking."

"Yes, Aunt."

The big man nodded and haphazardly rubbed his face with his large hand.

He then tossed the pig's leg, chicken, and duck off his body and neatly placed them on the table.

Picking up the knife, the big man seemed like a different person, his expression becoming focused. He removed the bone from the pig's leg, which was half a person's height, with just three or four cuts.

With a flick of the knife, the pork leg bone flew up and landed steadily in the pot outside the earthen stove.

Then, the flash of knives filled the air as the burly man began to chop.

Sister-in-law Huang sat back down on the small stool behind the earthen stove, lit a fire, and started simmering pork bone soup.

But as he kept adding firewood, the firewood in his hands was replaced by bones.

The bones were as smooth and clean as ever, just like the pig leg bones that the great man Huang Ping had removed.

However, these bones were not pig leg bones, but human leg bones.

Li Wushou silently observed all of this, when suddenly a thought struck him, and he looked toward the pile of firewood beside Sister Huang.

Besides a neat stack of firewood piled on the outside, there was also a pile of bones neatly arranged against the wall inside.

Among these skeletons were arm bones, leg bones, and disassembled ribs.
But the skull and spine are missing.

Inside the Three Immortals Pavilion, the old beggar, who was picking his ears, suddenly spoke up:
"The incense made from ashes in the lobby is made by crushing human skulls into powder."

Li Wushou nodded. The skull was made into incense, but what about the spine?
Fifty miles away on this road, isn't there a bamboo gentleman who really likes the spine?

Judging by this big man's knife skills, he must have killed countless people before.
I thought she was a victim, but it turns out she's just a scoundrel!

Losing interest in watching the shady restaurant cook, Li Wushou turned his attention to the two-story wooden house behind the courtyard.

The fog gradually thickened.

Huang Ping, a burly man, took a break from the kitchen and hung four red lanterns on the eaves of the village shop.

The thick fog around them had dissipated slightly, but it still shrouded the two donkeys tied to the big willow tree in mist. Even looking out from the window of the hall through the willow tree, the two donkeys were still completely invisible.

The curtain was lifted, and Sister-in-law Huang led Huang Ping into the hall.

The two people brought the two square tables together and arranged them into a long table in front of the counter.

Then, dishes were placed one after another on the long table: stir-fried chicken, braised duck, stir-fried pork, and various seasonal vegetables and hot pot.

Of course, the grand finale is the pot of dog meat bubbling in the center, along with the savory broth made from chicken, duck, and pork bones.

Huang Ping carefully kept the dog meat and seafood soup warm with charcoal.

The hall was filled with delicious aromas!

But after Huang A-sao and Huang Ping set out the dishes, they both became solemn.

Sister Huang took three sticks of incense made from ashes from the simple incense table, lit them, then raised the incense above her head and respectfully bowed three times to the willow tree painted on the wall.

Just when everyone thought the other person was going to put the incense sticks in the incense burner, Sister Huang suddenly turned around and walked in front of Huang Ping.

Huang Ping understood immediately and unbuttoned his robe.

Reaching out, she lifted the willow leaf stuck to her belly, and her enormous belly instantly split open. Upon seeing this, Sister-in-law Huang immediately stuffed the incense stick containing ashes into Huang Ping's belly.

The stillborn infant, sitting cross-legged inside Huang Ping's belly, twitched its nose and inhaled the smoke into its abdomen.

Sister-in-law Huang's eyes flashed with murderous intent as she gave orders to Huang Ping in front of her:

"Aping, go to the guest room in the backyard and invite the two gentlemen down for dinner!"

(End of this chapter)