It has already snowed under the iron mountains in the north.
Looking into the distance from the grassland, there is a vast expanse of white snow.
The plague hit all the Hegu tribes, and the area around the Iron Palace where the Khan Court was located turned out to be the most serious place where the plague broke out.
In the white snow, piles of fires burned.
In the view of the Hegu people, the sudden plague was caused by evil spirits, and the holy fire was the best way to drive away ghosts. Therefore, the Hegu people burned the dried dung they had hoarded, and spread it dozens of miles around the Iron Palace.
There are bright lights day and night.
People also know that as long as a person who is haunted by evil spirits comes into contact with other people, other people will also be entangled by evil spirits.
Therefore, as long as someone shows symptoms of being haunted by evil spirits, they will be isolated by their family members.
The great shaman in the tribe has been doing this for several days in a row, begging the gods to drive away evil spirits.
People were in great panic about this sudden disaster, and many people even hid in their tents and did not dare to go out.
And rumors began to spread among the tribe.
It is said that the evil ghosts started to appear from the Iron Palace. It was because the Iron Palace was unclean that the evil ghosts appeared, which caused this disaster.
For tribal herdsmen, many unexplainable things can be easily explained by the theory of gods and ghosts.
Many people in the tribe have died, and their bodies have been burned. Amid the grief of the family members, rumors are spreading more and more among the tribe.
Some people even rumored that this was the punishment of the first Khan on the tribe.
Rumors claim that Xianhan's ascension to heaven was somewhat unclear, his death was extremely unjust, and he died with resentment.
The spirit remains, and now it begins to punish the tribe.
Such rumors are naturally malicious and aimed directly at Luotang Ketun.
After the death of Xian Khan, although his son inherited the throne, because of his young age, the person in power was Luotang Kedun, and the status of the Luutan family became very important in Hegu. In this way, the biggest benefit of Xian Khan's death was
The perpetrators are naturally Luo Ting Ke Dun and his family.
Rumors say that Xian Khan died with resentment, which naturally means that Xian Khan was harmed by others, so the man behind the scenes can only be Luo Ting Ke Dun who benefited the most.
Luantang Kedun is a hero among women. When the Hegu tribe was in its most difficult time, he led the tribe through it. He was indeed deeply respected by the Hegu people.
However, where there are people, there are rivers and lakes. After Luotian Kedun came to power, in order to hold on to power, he would inevitably suppress some forces in the tribe. Naturally, many people had complaints against Kedun.
In fact, before the bloody battle at Galiang River, no one dared to blaspheme the prestige of Kuetang Kedun in the tribe. In addition to Kedun himself being shrewd and capable, another important reason was that Kedun controlled a brave and capable guard, the Bonebreakers.
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The Bonebreakers are all warriors who are one in a hundred, and the leader of the Bonebreakers, Mandler, is Ketun's loyal dog and is extremely loyal to Ketun.
However, Mangdel died in the Galiang River battle, which was a heavy blow to Luantang Kedun, and he lost a strong arm.
Although there is a new commander, his prestige is far inferior to that of Mang Del.
News spread from the Iron Palace, and people soon knew that Luntan Kedun was also haunted by evil spirits, and the situation seemed to be serious.
In the hearts of the herdsmen, Khan and Ketun are god-like existences, and evil spirits and resentful ghosts dare not approach them.
Now that Ke Dun is also haunted by evil spirits, this makes people even more suspicious that this disaster is indeed caused by Xian Khan.
The trouble should end it.
Everyone in He Gu felt that in order to deal with this disaster, Ke Dun still needed to personally come forward.
At the foot of Iron Mountain, there is a hillside with a radius of several miles, and there is an altar on it. This place is called the Xianling Terrace, and it is the place where the Hegu tribe uses to worship ancestors and gods.
Generally speaking, ancestors are worshiped in spring and gods are worshiped in autumn.
The last time I worshiped the gods was just over a month ago.
But this time when disaster struck, under the advice of the great witch and many elders of the tribe, sacrifices to the gods must be made immediately again, and Ke Dun must personally perform the sacrifices.
Although Ke Dun's body was already very weak, he finally agreed to go in person at the request of everyone.
The snow-capped land stretches as far as the eye can see, and the Iron Mountains in the distance are also covered with snow and are rolling.
When sacrificing the gods, naturally no weapons can be used, so everyone near the Xiling Terrace is not allowed to carry weapons. However, in order to ensure safety, soldiers are arranged to guard the circle ten miles away from the Xiling Terrace, and no one is allowed to enter.
in.
Naturally, the great shaman of the clan arrived early, and in addition, many Tutun elders also arrived.
Although people who came to participate in the sacrifice were checked when passing by the guard post, in order to ensure nothing was missed, everyone wrapped their bodies tightly, only their faces were exposed, and there was absolutely no physical contact with each other.
The cold wind was howling, and everyone looked very serious.
This plague was of course a catastrophe for He Gubu, even far more terrifying than a war.
Before the Hegu tribes discovered the plague, the plague had already begun to spread quietly among the tribes. By the time it was discovered, at least half of the tribes had been affected by the plague. At first, they were not too alarmed, but one after another some people died of the plague.
And after death, the situation deteriorated sharply, and people's panic became uncontrollable.
In the past few days, hundreds of people have died every day, and their bodies have been burned, making it feel like hell.
When Ketun arrived, it was already past noon.
Ke Dun is dressed in simple and elegant clothes, with a colorful crown on her head and a hanging Mingluo. She has a plump and voluptuous figure, a graceful but noble posture, and is a typical prairie-style beautiful lady.
The Xile people are a horse race, so naturally they can only come on horseback when they come to worship at the Xianling Terrace.
Ke Dun rode a white horse, which complemented her beautiful appearance. However, everyone saw that Ke Dun's body was leaning forward slightly, and one arm was even supported on the horse's back. If it was not a last resort, she would
There will never be any loss of manners.
So people were instantly sure that the rumors that Ke Dun was haunted by evil spirits were indeed true.
Next to Ke Dun was the young He Guhan.
Although he was young, he seemed to be trying his best to show his majesty as a Hegu Khan. He straightened his body, raised his head, and walked to the foot of the hillside with Ke Dun under the attention of everyone.
Compared with Iron Mountain, the hillside is naturally very low, but for ordinary people, it is very high.
Stone steps were built from the foot of the mountain to the slope, at least fifty or sixty steps.
The altar on the mourning platform has been prepared, the incense table has been set up, and the animals for sacrifice are ready to be slaughtered during the sacrifice.
However, knives were not allowed on the funeral platform, so strong men were arranged to smash the sacrificial animals alive with stones during the sacrifice.
The great witch stood by the mourning platform, looking down at the arriving Ke Dun, and waiting for Ke Dun to come to the stage. After Ke Dun dismounted and walked a few steps, everyone found that she was really weak. When they looked at the stone steps leading to the top, there were many
People were secretly worried about Ke Dun. They felt that with Ke Dun's current physical condition, it would not be easy for him to successfully ascend the Schaling Platform.
This was simply torture for Ketun.
"Mom, how are you?" He Guhan was obviously not infected. He stood next to Ke Dun and looked at Ke Dun and asked.
Butun turned his head and took a look.
Although He Guhan expressed concern, his expression was cold, at least not showing the slightest concern.
He didn't know if he was afraid of being infected by Kodun, so he always kept his distance.
The clan leader, elders and Tutun stood on both sides, looking at Ketun.
Many of these people also have to follow Ke Dun to the Shrine Platform, but they can only follow behind them. If Ke Dun cannot climb the Shrine Platform, then everyone will not be able to climb the stage. Once this happens, the sacrifice to the gods will not be completed.
Sacrificing sacrifices to the gods is a major event that must not be taken lightly in the tribe.
During the sacrifice, if someone behaves improperly or blasphemes the gods, they may be executed, not to mention delaying the performance of the sacrifice.
Although Ke Dun is noble, in the eyes of the tribe, compared to the gods, Ke Dun is naturally far inferior.
Everyone looked at Ke Dun, some looked on with cold eyes, and some looked worried.
These dozens of stone steps are the gateway to hell. If you are unable to climb the platform of the deceased, and the sacrificial ceremony cannot be carried out, you will definitely be charged with blaspheming the gods, and the consequences will naturally be disastrous.
Ke Dun withdrew his gaze from He Guhan, looked up at the Shrine Platform, walked forward slowly, and climbed the stone steps. He Guhan followed him three steps behind, while the others followed He Guhan.
behind.
Everyone knew that with Ke Dun's current physical condition, it would be a foolish dream to climb onto the Schaling Platform, but no one dared to step forward to help him.
Everyone knows that as long as you have physical contact with a person haunted by evil spirits, you will be infected immediately.
Everyone knows the result of contracting the plague, which is death.
Moreover, climbing the steps to the stage is a way to express one's piety to the gods. Although there is no rule against supporting people, no one has ever been helped to climb the steps.
Ke Dun climbed up with difficulty, and finally reached the seventh or eighth step, then he stopped, breathing rapidly, and covering his chest, obviously struggling to hold on.
He Guhan behind him also stopped immediately and just looked at Ke Dun's back coldly without any concern.
"Mom, the time for the sacrifice is coming soon, we can't delay it." He Guhan said from behind Ke Dun: "If we delay the time for the sacrifice, the gods will be angry and there will probably be even greater disasters."
Someone behind me heard clearly and was a little surprised.
Although He Guhan was not Ke Dun's biological child, he was raised by Ke Dun. He Gu Khan had always been in awe of Ke Dun and was very respectful. In the eyes of many people, He Gu Khan could be called a loving mother and a filial son.
At this time, He Guhan knew that it was difficult for Ke Dun to go on stage, and it was understandable that he did not help him, but he urged him from behind, which was really too much.
But some people also know that the request for Ke Dun to sacrifice in person this time was caused by He Guhan leading a group of tribal elders from Tutun. Ke Dun could not refuse, so he came with his weak body.
Now He Guhan's attitude has sent out an extremely dangerous signal.
He seemed to be no longer afraid of Ke Dun, and even became aggressive towards Ke Dun.