At the foot of the northern foothills of the Mang Mountains.

The edge of a continuous grave mound covered with pines and cypresses.

"Mom, Xiaolan made chicken soup today. The chicken heads, chicken feet, and chicken butts are all put into the bowl for you. It's delicious. You can eat it while it's hot."

The old woman with a wrinkled face and white hair shakily took the pottery bowl from her youngest son.

The cooked chicken meat in the bowl is separated from the bones, and there is a layer of bright yellow oil floating on the fragrant chicken soup, and it is also dotted with a few green onions, which makes people appetite at the first sight.

In this age when ordinary farmers are so full of food that they don't even have enough to eat, this bowl of chicken soup is already an incredible meal.

The daughter-in-law in a calico skirt next to her handed her another piece of steamed bun and said attentively:

"Mom, my eldest brother's family killed a pig and said that he would give you pork to eat tomorrow. Don't you love 'caotou meat' the most? You will eat enough this time.

My second brother’s family also caught fresh fish from Luoshui, and the fish heads are specially reserved for you.

Third sister-in-law has dug up seasonal wild vegetables and has steamed wild vegetable dumplings for you, all of which are your favorites."

However.

This old woman, who had worked hard to raise four sons and had never enjoyed a few days of happiness in her seventies or eighties, stared blankly at the filial piety shown by her son and daughter-in-law in her hands.

A burst of sadness surged into my heart involuntarily, and my tears fell into the bowl with a patter.

Seeing the old woman like this, the couple's faces suddenly became a little embarrassed.

The man dressed as a woodcutter hurriedly said:

"Mom, don't cry. I told you before I came here. What's wrong with you?

This is the case in all the "nursing pavilions" in every country. Aren't our brothers serving you delicious food and drinks? You..."

At this point, seeing my mother's cloudy and sorrowful eyes, I couldn't say any more, so I stopped silently.

In the mist and rain, an old woman wearing a shroud sat in a masonry tomb, and a middle-aged couple wearing raincoats stood outside the tomb, looking at each other in silence.

In the cemetery, there was only the sound of pattering wind and rain.

It is obvious that the "old-age pavilion" in the woodcutter's mouth sounds nice, but it is actually a dead man's tomb without a door for the time being.

Don't know when it started.

In the folk customs near Beimang Mountain, it is generally believed that if an old man is still alive after the age of seventy, every day he spends will overdraw the blessings and longevity of his descendants.

Therefore, whenever an old man passes his seventieth birthday and eats longevity noodles, he puts on his shroud and lies in the coffin.

He was carried by his family members into the "Elder Pavilion" built in advance on the outskirts of Beimang Mountain, and spent the last hundred days alone in the tomb of the living dead.

During these one hundred days, the children will come to deliver meals every day, and every meal will be served with the best food in the family according to the old man's taste, which is to allow the parents to taste the delicious food of the world again in these last hundred days.

However, every time the children brought a meal, they would lay a brick on the door of the tomb.

After a hundred days, the tomb door was just enough to be built, completely sealing the seventy-year-old man inside and starving to death.

Of course, in most cases it is almost impossible to last for a hundred days.

After all, this is Beimang Mountain where mountain spirits and wild ghosts appear in endless numbers. Spending the night alone in a cemetery is almost like leaving a meat bun at the door of the kennel.

Knowing that she will end up miserable, how can this old woman have any appetite even if delicious food is served in front of her?

However, she knew better that if she sneaked out of the tomb in the meantime, she would be regarded as an unlucky "grave tiger" by her family and tribe, and would be burned alive or the tomb door would be sealed immediately.

Even this last peaceful day is not available.

From the perspective of descendants, it seems reasonable to send their old parents to the grave for the sake of their own happiness and longevity.

But who has cared about the feelings of these "grave tigers"?

Although it is tradition, the old woman is really upset!

Who naturally likes to eat meatless chicken heads, fish heads, the most stinky meat filled with dirty blood worms, and vegetable dumplings made from wild vegetables?

Isn’t it to keep good meat and good rice for your sons?

Alone, he lived frugally and worked hard to raise his four sons and marry them wives. However, when he reached the age of happiness, he was carried into this tomb by his children and grandchildren to die alone.

'I don't regret raising them, but I didn't make any mistakes!'

The old woman, holding a pottery bowl and crying, begged her son and daughter-in-law:

"Xiaosi, Xiaosi's daughter-in-law, my mother doesn't want to eat well! From now on, my mother will eat one meal every day, and she will also help you chop wood, farm the land, and work as a cow or a horse. Are you lucky?"

Seeing my mother's unwillingness to die in peace, the couple's expressions gradually changed, and they threatened coldly:

“Mom, shouldn’t parents be able to work as cows and horses for their children and grandchildren?

If you really run away, my sons can't afford to lose that person. When the time comes, we four brothers will have to do it ourselves, and we will pretend that you are no longer our mother!"

Don’t hesitate to add the first brick to this tomb, and don’t turn around and leave.

The white-haired old woman was left alone, sitting in the tomb in a daze, feeling nothing more sad than heartbroken.

suddenly.

"what sound?"

Several people listened attentively.

A faint sound of footsteps, like walking on padded feet, suddenly penetrated the rain curtain and fell into their ears. Even the old woman in the tomb couldn't help but look up.

But before they could see what it was.

call--!

The white mist suddenly rushed over along with the mountains in the forest, swallowing up the entire cemetery.

Two short screams sounded and then stopped abruptly.

What followed was the terrifying sound of flesh being torn and bones being shattered.

a long time.

When the mist in the mountains completely dissipated, the son and daughter-in-law outside the tomb had disappeared without a trace, but there was bright red blood trickling on the ground, mixing with the rain and turning into a stream.

"My son——!"

Only the heart-rending cry of the old woman echoed over the cemetery for a long time. The pain of losing a child seemed to be a hundred times worse than the grief of abandonment.

...

The night in the mountains came earlier than outside, and it rained lightly for two days in a row.

The sun has clearly not set yet, but the lamps at the Luoyang King's Tomb, located on the Bird's Mouth Slope halfway up the mountain, have already been lit.

As the most distinguished owner of many Beimang Mountain tombs in this dynasty, the tomb of the first Luoyang king "Yili King Zhou Yi" is naturally worthy of his status.

The entire royal tomb city wall covers an area of ​​nearly 80 acres and is divided into three courtyards.

Except for the ten-foot-high "Treasure City" (actually a tomb) in the third courtyard, all the other buildings are made of bluestone and carved with majestic shapes.

At this moment, the yellow light shines through the gatehouse in the front yard.

Bah chirp...bah chirp...

Wang Yuan sat at the table, eating a delicious mutton soup dumpling in two bites, then raised his hand and picked up a fat but not greasy big elbow and chewed it until his mouth was full of oil.

Before the two people at the same table used their chopsticks, the two food boxes on the floor were already half empty.

Glancing at the only untouched wine jar on the table, he praised without hesitation:

"Wang Xiaoliu, you are very filial. Uncle Thirteen, I am very satisfied with you."

What's even more disgusting is that this guy actually smacked his lips while eating.

The time now is already the evening of the next day.

In order to avoid complications, before noon, Wang Cheng and Wang Cheng, together with a group of brothers from the same clan who were trying to strengthen their courage, used sliding poles to carry Wang Yuan into this royal mausoleum belonging to the Luoyang king's lineage.

However, according to the rules of the tomb guards and the lessons learned over the years, no one else is allowed to spend the night in the royal tomb except those who are on duty wearing talisman waistbands.

The others had just come down the mountain, leaving only Wang Cheng and the two responsible for guarding Wang Yuan.

In order to prevent the fool from causing trouble to themselves, they chose the simplest method of custody, directly bought a table of banquets and carried them up the mountain together.

Let this fool, whose IQ is no different from that of a child, slowly chew it.

Just like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, it only lowers its head to eat grass, and naturally forgets to look up at the road, and unknowingly loses its life.

It's more worry-free than tying them up directly like killing a pig.

Wang Yuan seemed to be as he expected. His attention had been attracted by the table full of delicious food, and he didn't even realize there was anything wrong with the atmosphere.

therefore.

Although they felt a little resentful, neither of the two people who were assigned this unfortunate job said anything.

Wang Chengsheng was afraid that Wang Yuan would get sick again, so he coaxed him with a smile on his face:

"As long as Uncle Thirteen is satisfied, I will treat you to a feast when I return to the village tomorrow."

He had a respectful face but a sneer in his heart. Even a death row prisoner had to eat a decapitated meal before being executed. He was particularly patient with dying people.

Eat, eat, you'll be ready to go when you're full.
To be continued...