Chapter 105: Dragon Head An Extra Chapter in Thanks for the Jade Pendant from The Many Splendored Years 380616
The elder’s face was grave, his voice hoarse as he said, “This time, the chosen one for the ceremony is Liu Changxi from the Liu Clan village. Our ancestor has not forsaken us. Even though Liu Changxi has committed offenses, he is still willing to serve.”
“Liu Changxi, you must repent sincerely before our ancestor. In doing so, your wife, children, and elders will be able to live well.”
After the elder’s words, Liu Changxi’s face turned mournful.
Suddenly, he dashed toward the other side, shouting in panic, “I won’t go! I don’t want to die! You’re sending me to drown in the river, leaving me to perish alone! I don’t want to die!”
My expression shifted slightly. The elder’s face immediately grew angry.
“Liu Changxi! Our ancestor has chosen you! It is your fortune and that of your family! Stop spouting nonsense!”
Dozens of people surged forward and pinned Liu Changxi to the ground.
“Take him to see the ancestor! Let the ancestor discipline him!”
The elder’s tone turned cold and merciless.
Liu Changxi was dragged to the two doors.
The doors creaked open.
Inside lay utter darkness, suffused with a deathly silence.
A chill ran through me. This was no mere ceremony; it was a sacrifice.
A sacrifice of living men to the so-called ancestor of Pressed Dragon Mountain!
Liu Changxi was pushed inside, and his figure vanished into the darkness.
What made my pupils contract was that his cries faded away simultaneously.
Suddenly, Li Yue tugged at my hand. I noticed her forehead was slick with fine sweat.
Her eyes fixed on the door.
I frowned, seeing nothing unusual.
The elder turned, knelt before the red door, and muttered rapidly.
After several minutes, he bowed toward the door.
All the villagers knelt in unison.
My expression shifted subtly.
Li Yue looked uneasy, her eyes tense as she glanced at me, seeking answers.
I grasped her hand and hurried toward the woods beside an open space, away from the villagers.
No one stopped us, and my thoughts were simple.
There is an old saying in the countryside: “When burning incense at tombs, be careful not to kneel at the wrong grave; entering temples without incense can invite spirits to your bed.”
It means that when visiting graves, it’s acceptable to light incense for any tombs encountered along the way, but never kneel at the wrong grave marker. When entering a temple, do not burn incense casually, for not all who receive offerings are deities. Wandering ghosts find refuge in temples. Feeding these wild spirits invites them home with you.
“Do they send a living person in every month? This isn’t an ancestor but a man-eating ghost!” Li Yue’s voice was barely a whisper.
I felt a wave of unease. One person each month means over thirty years, at least three to four hundred deaths.
“How many have died on Pressed Dragon Mountain over the years? How can they still do this? Monthly sacrifices?”
Li Yue bit her lip, her face burning with anger.
“It probably started after Liu left White Funeral, and Zhang Chang was sent into Changyuan Village.”
“The elder hinted at something earlier. During the ceremony, he spoke of seeking the ancestor’s forgiveness for their mistakes.”
“Did you notice? The first half of his speech was formal, but the latter half switched to the local dialect. The ceremony has become a habit over the years, and for the villagers, the dialect is more direct than formal speech. He meant for us to hear that.”
I lowered my voice, hoarse as I spoke.
“By the way, what did you see just now?”
Li Yue’s eyelid twitched. “Didn’t you see?”
She lowered her gaze to the small green dot in her hand.
“I almost forgot you can’t always see these things.”
“When Liu Changxi was pushed inside, many hands grabbed him—ghostly hands. I noticed each palm bore a wound, probably from villagers who died inside over the years.”
I furrowed my brow.
The course of the Yin Dragon River perfectly resembles the tail of a Yin Dragon vein. As the mountain suppressing it, Pressed Dragon Mountain should not harbor so much yin energy. If hundreds of ghosts truly dwelled here, the mountain would have long failed to contain the Yin Dragon’s tail.
When we entered the mountain, there was a water cave beneath the severed head cliff that disrupted the flow control of the Yin Dragon’s tail.
Add Li Yue’s ghost sight and the monthly ceremony—could it be that I misread the place?
This is not the dragon’s tail but its head.
Only then could these strange events be explained.
The Yin Dragon’s head is harder to suppress than its tail.
It cannot be completely cut off, or it becomes a severed dragon’s head; the water stagnates, and life fades away quickly.
No good life could be sustained by this river.
The dragon’s head constantly generates yin energy to balance the entire Yin Dragon vein and the suppressing mountain stone, locked within the mountain, unable to leave.
As I pondered, I felt like I was overlooking something.
Suddenly, Li Yue tugged my hand again.
I snapped back to attention.
The villagers were dispersing, and the group beating the drums had already left.
“The men who were taken away—probably the same ones next time. They deserve it, but the thing inside has harmed so many!” Li Yue whispered, pulling me forward.
At that moment, the elder beckoned to us.
Approaching him, he motioned that we could light an incense stick.
He raised his hand, holding a bundle of incense.
I twitched my eyelid and smiled wryly. “Elder, we are not from Pressed Dragon Mountain. Your ancestor does not favor outsiders. Burning incense might only displease him further.”
“The ancestor surely dislikes others, but he will like you two honored guests,” the elder said.
“After all, you carry something the ancestor lost. If you are willing to return it now, we might no longer need monthly ceremonies.”
A trace of sorrow crossed the elder’s face.
“I know you two are no ordinary people. Over these thirty years, every village has lived in dread each month. We must be chosen by the ancestor; even I am not exempt. As long as someone serves inside, Pressed Dragon Mountain enjoys favorable weather. Otherwise…”
Li Yue hesitated. “Otherwise what?”
The elder sighed again. “When the ancestor first raged, before the ceremonies began, all who set out by boat met misfortune. Their boats capsized.”
“After a capsize, a month’s peace followed. But come next month, trouble returned. The ancestor appeared in my dream, saying the previous chosen one taught a wicked disciple who stole his most treasured item. It will be returned someday, but until then, a man must serve him monthly.”
Li Yue’s hesitation deepened.
I stepped before her calmly. “Elder, we are powerless to change the past, but we can find ways to make Pressed Dragon Mountain better.”
A flicker of pleading appeared in the elder’s eyes but vanished instantly.
He sighed and staggered down the mountain.
“Why not give it back? If you did, no one would die every month. We could still enter Changyuan Cave to find Zhang Chang, and then the elder would surely help us fully.”
I narrowed my eyes. “He’s doing it on purpose, putting on that expression. Do you think he would really walk down the mountain? The two men carrying him will be waiting below.”
Li Yue’s face changed.
I took a deep breath. “Follow him down and see if he has more secrets to reveal. After dark, we go up the mountain.”
“Go up the mountain? You want to enter?”
I nodded. “We misread it before. This isn’t the Yin Dragon’s tail. The villagers have been deceived all these years. What’s being suppressed here is the dragon’s head. The mountain’s interior must be hollow. Since there are ghosts, we can enter.”
“There’s a good chance descending here leads to the same place as beneath the severed head cliff.”
Li Yue looked shocked. “You mean Changyuan Village can also be accessed from here?”
I pulled her forward.
“Whether or not it’s true, we must enter and see. Whether people or ghosts, they’ve already killed so many. There’s no way to give them anything. They will only cause more death if they get it.”
Soon, we caught up with the elder.
He lay sprawled on the ground, face turned skyward, alone, his complexion waxy yellow.
My expression shifted, and Li Yue hurried to his side.
Why had the elder fainted?
No one was around, and it was different from my earlier suspicion that someone awaited him.