Establishing a Clan in the Eastern Wilderness: A Daily Divination, Cultivating Longevity in a Grotto

The suona horn stopped outside the courtyard gate.

"boom--"

The courtyard gate was kicked open.

Four burly men carried a white coffin in single file.

The coffin was entirely white, without paint or carvings, except for a strange symbol painted on the lid that was the same as the one on the lantern.

Behind the coffin followed a middle-aged man.

He wore a brocade robe and a jade belt, his face was fair, and a warm smile played on his lips. But beneath that smile were a pair of cold, calculating eyes.

village head.

The old man's face paled when he saw the white coffin. Forcing himself to remain calm, he walked to the village chief, cupped his hands, and said, "Village chief, wasn't your daughter the chosen bride for this year? The time for the King of the Underworld to fetch the bride is fast approaching; don't miss it—"

The village chief chuckled and waved his hand, interrupting him: "Old man, do I need you to teach me how to do things?"

He turned his head, looked at the room filled with paper effigies, and raised his chin: "Go in and search."

Four burly men put down the white coffin and strode towards the room with the paper effigy.

The old man's face changed drastically, and he quickly stepped forward to stop him: "Village chief! That's my room, there's nothing there—"

"Get out of here!"

The village chief kicked the old man in the chest. The old man staggered backward, crashed into the door frame, spat out a mouthful of blood, and collapsed to the ground.

"You think I, the village chief, don't know?" The village chief stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at the old man. His smile remained warm, but his eyes were filled with ruthlessness. "Years ago, when your granddaughter reached marriageable age, you faked her death and hid her among a pile of paper effigies. You fooled everyone, letting another family's daughter take her place in the wedding. Did you think you could hide this forever?"

The old man's face was ashen.

Four burly men stormed into the room filled with paper effigies and ransacked the place. A moment later, a girl's terrified cry came from inside—"Let me go! Let me go!"

Immediately afterwards, the girl was dragged out by two burly men.

She wore a red wedding dress made of paper, and her face was painted with heavy bridal makeup—white face, red lips, a cinnabar beauty mark between her eyebrows, and rouge on her cheeks. If you didn't look closely, you would really think she was a paper effigy.

"Grandpa!" She struggled desperately, but the big man held her firmly.

The old man scrambled to his feet, rushed to the village chief, and grabbed his legs: "Village chief! I beg you! She...she's not old enough to get married yet..."

The village chief kicked him away and sneered, "Not of marriageable age yet? Eighteen, still not old? Old man, I've tolerated you all these years just for this day. Your granddaughter will take my daughter's place in marriage, perfect."

He turned to the two burly men: "Put her in the coffin."

"No—! Grandpa—!"

The girl struggled desperately, but how could she possibly be a match for two strong men? She was stuffed into a white coffin, the lid was closed, and four long nails were driven in to seal her.

The girl's cries came from the coffin, muffled, as if they came from the depths of the earth.

"take away!"

The village chief didn't say anything more. With a wave of his hand, four burly men lifted the white coffin and walked out of the courtyard. The sound of suona horns rang out again, accompanied by music and drumming, gradually fading into the distance.

Li Changle climbed out of the cellar and immediately saw the old man slumped on the ground, tears streaming down his face. Feeling sorry for him, she went over and knelt down in front of him, softly saying, "Grandma, please don't cry."

Li Changle stood up, walked to Li Changsheng, tugged at his sleeve, and whispered, "Brother, let's help him. That sister is so pitiful."

Li Changsheng glanced at the old man, then at the darkness outside the courtyard gate, pondered for a moment, and nodded.

"You stay here," he said. "I'll go follow them and see."

He raised his hand, and Mo Yu floated out from the Hundred Ghost Banner, holding a pipa, her long black dress fluttering gently in the night breeze. Li Changsheng whispered a few words, and Mo Yu nodded, her delicate hands lightly plucking the pipa strings. An invisible ripple spread out, enveloping Li Changsheng's figure within it.

The aura vanished, and the figure disappeared.

The old man's eyes widened in shock at the sight. He stared blankly in the direction where Li Changsheng had disappeared, then looked at Li Changle, and suddenly began to tremble.

"Immortal...Immortal Master..." His voice trembled, and new tears welled up in his cloudy old eyes, but this time they were tears of joy. He struggled to his feet, then knelt before Li Changle with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly, "Immortal Master! I beg you, Immortal Master, to save my granddaughter! I kowtow to you!"

Li Changle quickly helped him up, saying repeatedly, "Old man, please get up, don't be like this. My brother is gone, your granddaughter will be alright."

She helped the old man up; he was still trembling, but the despair in his eyes had been replaced by hope. He clutched Li Changle's sleeve as if it were his last straw, murmuring, "Thank you, Immortal Master... Thank you, Immortal Master..."

Li Changle helped him sit on a stone stool in the courtyard and said gently, "Old man, don't be in a hurry. Tell me first, what exactly is going on with this wedding procession? What is that King of the Underworld? And who ordered the white lanterns and runes in the village?"

The old man was silent for a moment, then sighed heavily. He raised his head and looked at the silent paper figures in the courtyard, his gaze empty, as if he were looking into a very, very far place.

"This village is called Liangjie Village." His voice was hoarse, filled with deep weariness. "Because it's sandwiched between the Zhuo and Zheng families' territories, isolated from both, yet requiring tribute from both. Life used to be tough, but relatively stable. Farming, silkworm raising, brewing wine—everything was done. Evil spirits occasionally appeared, but the runes on the city walls, passed down from our ancestors, could ward off most of them."

He paused, then his voice suddenly lowered: "But sixty years ago... that night sixty years ago..."

"That night, there was no moon, and the wind was strong. The village dogs barked all night, making everyone uneasy. Just before dawn, the evil spirits arrived. Not just one or two, but a massive, overwhelming wave that surged in from the other side of the mountain, like a flood."

The old man's hands were trembling.

"More than thirty people died overnight. Most of the able-bodied men died, and the elderly and children were not spared either. The old man's wife died that night."

Li Changle clenched his fist.

"The next day, we went to the Zhuo family. The Zhuo family came, stood at the village entrance for a while, said 'we can't do anything about it,' and left. Then we went to the Zheng family. The Zheng family also came, looked around, and said 'we can't do anything about it.' The two families passed the buck, saying that the area was under the other's jurisdiction and they couldn't interfere."

The old man's voice was filled with grief and indignation: "Our Shuangjie Village has been paying tribute to them for decades, and in the end, we are not even worth a fart."

Li Changle bit her lip and remained silent.

"Later, the old village chief somehow invited a deity." The old man's voice became even lower, as if afraid of being overheard by something. "He went into the mountains alone, walked for three days and three nights, and came back carrying a clay doll. He said that the deity said that as long as a virgin is offered every year, the village will be protected from evil spirits forever."

"Mud dolls?" Li Changle frowned.

"Yes, the clay doll." The old man nodded. "The old village chief said that the deity possessed the clay doll and had profound spiritual power. As long as the village sincerely worships it, it can protect the village's peace."

"Did everyone believe it?"

"What can we do if we don't believe?" The old man smiled bitterly. "The Zhuo family doesn't care, and neither does the Zheng family. The evil spirits could come back at any time, and the villagers don't even dare to sleep. The old village chief said to give it a try, so let's give it a try."

"The first year, the offering was for a widow's daughter. She was eighteen years old and very beautiful." The old man's voice trembled. "That night, following the instructions of the gods, we dressed the girl in a paper effigy's wedding dress, applied bridal makeup, placed her in a white coffin, and carried her to the altar on the back mountain. The next morning, when we went to check, the coffin was empty, and the girl was gone."

"Since then, the village has never been disturbed by evil spirits again."

Li Changle was silent for a moment, then asked, "Those white lanterns and the runes on the city wall, were those also placed there by that deity?"

"Yes." The old man nodded. "The deity said that those things could ward off evil spirits and also keep out outsiders. From then on, the villagers could not leave the village too far. Once they went beyond a ten-mile radius, they would die suddenly."

He lowered his head, his voice choked with emotion: "Our ancestors have been trapped here for generations. We can't get out, we can't escape. We can only send them off year after year."