In this way, the group finally decided that Gao Yuan would follow Kong Guanjun and send Xiao Liu back to the mountain, while Hu Yueping and Chi Hong would continue to Qingfeng Cave with Xiao Yun.
On the way, Xiao Yun chatted with the Miao man, and then he realized that the plant Gu was raised in Tonghua Village.
In Tonghuazhai, there is a plant called Echinacea. Its leaves are like water shields, and its flowers are trident-shaped and branched. They are usually pink or purple. They are very beautiful, but the leaves are highly poisonous.
In fact, not only if you swallow the leaves of philodendron into your stomach, but if you just put them in your mouth, you will bleed to death.
The Miao people in Tonghuazhai use wormwood to make poison.
The Miao man also told a story about Mancao.
Legend has it that during the Ming Dynasty, a county magistrate in southern Yunnan, after learning that the Miao people used Echinacea to make poison, ordered that anyone who came to the county government to file a complaint must hand over fifty branches of Echinacea.
After this order was given, the manganese grass was slowly cut down.
The county magistrate also personally supervised the burning of the poisonous weeds collected by the handymen. Soon, the poisonous weeds disappeared in the local area.
"You Han people are just making such a fuss. Let's not mention that this herb is actually a Chinese herbal medicine that can cure diseases."
"So what if it is used as a poison? Not everyone uses it to harm others! The beasts in these mountains are dangerous, so we must have something to protect ourselves, right?" The Miao man was upright and angry.
He muttered a few words.
Hearing this, Xiao Yun could only laugh twice.
After all, the Miao man was right. Elephant herb is indeed a herbal medicine. It can not only treat numbness and pain in the ankles and knees, spasm of the limbs, malignant scabies, but also relieve symptoms of cough, upper respiratory tract, and sore throat.
Whether it is a poison that kills people, a medicine that saves people, or as the Miao people say, it is used to suppress the village and ensure peace, it actually depends on the person who uses it.
Thinking of this, Xiao Yun was thoughtful, and seemed to have a different view on Gu for the first time.
Before this, because of Wu Fenglai and Gu Xinlan, he believed that voodoo was evil; but today after listening to what the Miao man said, he felt that voodoo could also save people.
The group of people walked in the virgin forest all morning and came to the edge of a river valley to rest for a while.
This is a river valley formed by a break in the earth's crust.
The Miao man said that Han people lived in the village at the source of the stream, while Miao people lived on the middle reaches of the river not far ahead.
These two villages are very small, with only a dozen or so households. Although the distance between the two places is only a few hundred meters, they are clearly distinct and never come into contact with each other.
Hearing this, Chi Hong moved his buttocks, sat next to Xiao Yun, crooked him with his elbow, and whispered in a low voice: "Master, don't they say that the Miao and Han families are related? Why do I feel... that's not the case?
Where's the kiss?"
Xiao Yun glanced at the Miao man and replied in a suppressed voice: "Because in the past, many Han people would discriminate against the Miao people, thinking that they were all uncivilized savages."
"During the Qing Dynasty, the Miao people were even more persecuted and oppressed. Many Miao people were driven away by officers and soldiers and fled to the mountains for refuge, but in the end they were brutally surrounded and suppressed."
"There are many records in the "Hunan Army Chronicles". If the Miao people resist in large numbers, the officers and soldiers will bombard them with guns and artillery. It is not surprising that five or six thousand people will die at one time!"
Xiao Yun chewed compressed biscuits, pointed to the creek in front of him, and continued to whisper: "Take this creek for example. The corpses of five to six thousand people would probably fill the entire river!"
Hearing this, Chi Hong couldn't help but shudder. Looking at the clear stream in front of him, he felt that the food in his mouth was a little hard to swallow.
Damn, this is almost like a "mass grave"!
Although the relationship between Miao and Han has eased a lot now, this place is deep in the mountains after all, and information is limited after all. It is reasonable for some Miao people to be prejudiced against them.
Chi Hong glanced at the Miao man awkwardly and muttered in a low voice: "Damn it, then these Miao people look at us just like the Han people look at the Japanese pirates..."
Xiao Yun said: "This man from Tonghua Village is pretty good. At least he is willing to take us with him."
Chi Hong swallowed his saliva and thought to himself, damn, not only are they not bad, the Miao people in Tonghua Village can be said to be living Bodhisattvas!
After eating and taking a short rest, the group set off again.
Along the way, Xiao Yun chatted a lot with the Miao man and listened to him talk a lot about the process and taboos of raising voodoo.
Although these things are also recorded in the inheritance, they have a different feeling when heard by the locals. Xiao Yun also listened with gusto.
Hu Yueping, on the other hand, hummed disdainfully, as if these bewitching arts were very unappreciable, but fortunately the Miao man didn't care about him.
It was getting dark and the group had not yet arrived at Qingfengdong, so the Miao man suggested that they first detour to a nearby Miao village to stay overnight.
The sky is getting dark, and the temperature in the mountains is dropping quickly.
The sounds of wild beasts began to be heard from all around. Hu Yueping's face looked a little ugly, and he kept asking how long it would take to arrive.
Finally, a few people came to a small stream and saw a faint light shining not far away, smoke curled up in the air, and the aroma of fried bacon wafted over.
Chi Hong was so hungry that his stomach growled and he said excitedly: "Great, it's finally here. I'm almost starving to death!"
At this time, several dogs barked in the night, and an old man holding a lantern led a big yellow dog to greet them.
"who?"
The Miao man said: "Uncle, we are from Tonghua Village and would like to stay here for a night."
After approaching, the old man squinted his eyes and looked at several people. His eyes stayed on Hu Yueping for a while, and asked with a heavy accent: "Are they also from Tonghua Village?"
The Miao man explained: "No, they are my friends who came to the mountains to collect herbs."
"The two of them can enter the stronghold, but he...can't!" The old man pointed at Hu Yueping and said.
Hu Yueping was tired and hungry all the way. He thought he could have a good meal of bacon fried rice when he arrived at the village. Who would have thought that he was turned away now. He couldn't help feeling sullen. He frowned and asked, "Why can't I enter the village?"
?”
The old man stared at his backpack, squinted his eyes and said: "We have golden silkworm Gu in our village. If you carry other Gu with you, you will bump into the Golden Silkworm Empress if you go in!"
Hearing this, Xiao Yun couldn't help but re-examine the old man in front of him.
The Golden Silkworm Gu is one of the most ferocious of the many Gu insects.
And this old man could tell at a glance that Hu Yueping was carrying voodoo insects, which proved that he was also a voodoo cultivator.
The village in front of me is much more complicated than the previous Tonghua Village.