When it comes to sewing corpses, Jin An is no stranger.
He has a copy of "Corpse Collection" from the ghost mother's nightmare.
When he opened a coffin shop in Jiangzhou Prefecture, he helped the deceased sew and bury the corpse more than once.
He has always believed in the collections "A Thousand Ways to Die", "Popular Science Collection of Witnesses", "Collection of the Punishment of Song Dynasty", "Book of Lu Ban", "Needs to Know about the Career of the Mortician" and "Papers" which were obtained from the ghost mother's nightmare.
"The Record of Collecting Corpses" is a book that combines "Master Zha will take you to the underworld" and is a world-famous and shocking work. But this did not prevent him from wondering how the corpse stitcher in front of him would sew up corpses?
In summer, corpses decompose quickly, giant views have appeared, green water and yellow water flow across the river, and the smell is not good. This is no longer a father's love, and it can be endured by holding one's breath forcibly!
But if you smell the corpse smell for a long time, the miasma will enter the brain and cause dizziness, chest tightness and vomiting!
Everyone who was originally staying in the lobby, except for the old Taoist priest who took out a homemade detoxification pill and put it in his mouth, took some detoxification pills and dipped them in Sanyang wine and applied them to his nose to remove the smell, they could still sit calmly in and outside the lobby.
Uncle Wang and Wang Dagang, relatives of the deceased, both left the lobby and stood nervously in the yard, watching the corpse stitcher and Jin An dragging the quilts and carefully lifting the deceased out of the coffin and placing him on the hanging bamboo bed.
At this time, the grandson of the corpse stitcher, with a wet wipe tied on his face, came to the lobby with a gold basin of water and several tool boxes, put them down, and then stood aside, planning to learn his craft.
Cai Xu, the corpse stitcher who received the toolbox, did not start work immediately.
Instead, you first go to the golden basin and wash your hands. This is called purification.
Then he walked to the altar in the lobby, took out a calligraphy and painting, and hung it on the wall.
Then he lit a few incense sticks and offered incense respectfully to the calligraphy and paintings and the memorial tablets of his ancestors. Finally, he walked to the bamboo bed and prepared to sew the corpse.
When the corpse stitcher hung the calligraphy and painting on the wall, both Jin An and the old Taoist priest were startled, but they were both human beings, one was an old vixen and the other was a young vixen. They calmly put away their expressions.
Surprised.
The calligraphy and painting on the wall are not exactly the same as the calligraphy and painting they encountered in Fenghuang Town. They are exactly the same. They are both paintings of landscapes surrounded by clouds and fog.
When the old Taoist priest encountered the calligraphy and painting at Zheng Liuye's house in Fenghuang Town, he saw the memory of the female corpse in Fenghuang Town. Now he sees the same calligraphy and painting at the corpse stitcher's house in Xicai Village. A three-year-old child knows that there is an inevitable connection between the two.
There is an important relationship.
Jin An thought about Shi Zhiping, who had found out his identity as a wanted criminal. When he was sent to prison, he sewed his own eyes shut and disappeared from the gang shortly after. It seemed that they were not wrong this time. There was also a hidden person in Xicai Village.
Follow the clues of corpse refining.
What Jin An could think of, the old Taoist priest could also think of. The two looked at each other calmly, and the old Taoist priest asked curiously: "Why does Master Cai have to worship a landscape calligraphy and painting before sewing the corpse?"
"This is something passed down from our ancestors. Every time I sew a corpse, I pray to my ancestors for their blessings. I hope everything goes well." The corpse-sutulator replied with a concise smile. It seemed like he was answering, but he didn't answer anything.
The child's body on the bamboo bed had no head. Uncle Wang said that he drowned in the reservoir and was eaten by the thousand-year-old fish king spirit, so he went to the Xicai Village corpse stitcher to sew a head on his grandnephew's head.
Seeing this kind of headless corpse all year round, and the highly decomposed corpse that has already appeared as a giant, you will definitely not dare to look directly at it. A timid person will have nightmares for several days in a row, but for Jin An, it has long been sparse and normal, without any intention.
waves.
On the other hand, the ten-year-old grandson of the corpse stitcher could watch his grandfather sewing the corpse without changing his expression. His expression was surprisingly calm. He looked at it curiously, and then turned back to the corpse stitcher to repair the corpse.
Just when Jin An turned around, the corpse stitcher's grandson glanced at Jin An from the corner of his eye and continued to focus on sewing the corpse.
The process of stitching a corpse is to first wash away the blood and stains on the corpse. Although the corpse looks giant and difficult to take care of, it still looks clean in the hands of the corpse stitcher. Then it touches the bones and sets the bones. If the deceased had old injuries during his lifetime,
Let the deceased pass away peacefully and intact; then clean up the uneven flesh and blood near the neck wound for the next step of sewing the corpse; these are superficial cleaning, mainly to make the deceased walk decently, and then the real sewing process...
The corpse stitcher cuts and sews a sack of sackcloth, fills it with dry straw, then draws the child's facial features based on the portrait, and finally threads the needle and threads to sew the puppet's head and the corpse together.
It sounds simple, but the actual operation requires very carefulness, just like organizing the corpse requires a lot of patience. For example, when drawing the facial features, the proportions must not be distorted. Another example is that the proportion of the head and body must be well-proportioned, and the head and feet must not be too big or too small.
Heavy.
There is a saying in the fishing industry that if you make the dead uncomfortable, the dead will make your life uncomfortable.
Therefore, the profession of corpse stitcher is an industry that requires courage and carefulness.
The corpse stitcher's skills are pretty good. Even if the corpse is highly decomposed and looks like a giant, the proportions of the puppet's head look very coordinated. It's true that the corpse stitcher Cai Xu is famous all over the country.
However.
A layman watches the excitement, an expert watches the door.
In Jin An's eyes, he felt that the corpse stitcher Cai Xu's craftsmanship was just like that. He only learned the skills of a layman and did not learn the essence of an expert.
"Collection of Corpses" records many miraculous techniques for corpse burial, such as "one virtue, two fates, three talents, four limbs, five internal organs, six internal organs, strange meridians, eight meridians, and nine palaces". There are nine steps in total for corpse burial.
, sorting out the corpse and sewing on the head can only be regarded as the preliminary completion of "one virtue" and "two destiny". There are still three talents, limbs, five internal organs, six internal organs, strange meridians, eight meridians, and nine palaces to go.
But now that he has practiced the art of exorcising corpses, he can add one more step to the nine steps, perfecting the nine perfections into perfection, allowing the deceased to fulfill his last wish.
Jin An mentally shook his head at the skills of the corpse stitcher in front of him. He originally thought that the corpse stitcher Cai Xu would allow him to see different techniques of sewing corpses, but the result was not as good as him, a beginner.
Since the acquaintance was a good match, he planned to wait until the incident in Xicai Village happened, help the poor child fulfill his last wish, and repay Uncle Wang for giving them a ride.
Sewing a corpse requires finesse and care. Although it is just a head, by the time the work was finished, almost the night had passed. When the sewer put away his tools and washed his hands in the golden basin, a rooster happened to crow outside.
"Fortunately, we finished sewing the body before the rooster crowed, so there was no trouble." The corpse stitcher called Uncle Wang and Wang Dagang to confirm whether they were satisfied.
After waiting anxiously all night, Wang Dagang rushed to the bamboo bed. Wang Dagang's eyes were red and he silently watched his son rolling down the bed in tears.
"Hey." Uncle Wang sighed.
Then he cupped his fists at the corpse stitcher to thank him and handed over the money bag he had prepared.
Mr. Xu's family guards did not leave. At this time, they came over curiously to take a look, and then praised the corpse stitcher's craftsmanship. Not only did the corpse look neatly arranged, but they also applied unknown spices to suppress the smell of corpses.
, they no longer feel uncomfortable standing next to the corpse.
Although Jin An looked down upon the laymen's craftsmanship of the corpse stitchers, in the eyes of these ordinary people, it was already a miracle.
"Master Cai, why can you only sew the corpse at night and finish it before the rooster crows?" Mr. Xu, who has a thick waist and thick neck, speaks in a much more polite tone.
The Corpse Sewer: "All things have their own way, and Yin and Yang are in order. All things in the world go their own way, so that there is no conflict between Yin and Yang. The living have their Yangguan Avenue, and the dead have their Huangquan Avenue. And the rooster corresponds to the Suzaku, which symbolizes the sun.
It belongs to the pure Yang of heaven and earth. The rooster crows and vitality flourishes. The dead must make way for the living."
Mr. Xu showed admiration on his face: "I won the top prize in three hundred and sixty lines. I didn't expect that the corpse stitcher has so many skills. Today is an eye-opener."
The corpse stitcher asked Jin An to help him carry the body back to the coffin and seal it, and then asked his grandson to lead the way and take the guests to the backyard room to rest.
Uncle Wang and Wang Dagang looked hesitant and looked up at the sky outside. It was not yet bright at this time, so it was not suitable for traveling at night. After discussion, they decided to take a nap and wait for dawn before setting off on the road.
Because there were a lot of people this time, the wing room in the backyard couldn't accommodate everyone, so everyone was forced to go to the big shop and squeeze into two rooms.
The old Taoist priest, like everyone else, fell asleep as soon as he touched the pillow. Soon, sounds like toads snoring could be heard from the two rooms. The sounds of snoring, teeth grinding, and the smell of feet after taking off shoes made him
Jin An didn't feel sleepy at all. After saying hello to the corpse stitcher, he started wandering around Xicai Village.
Perhaps because of the continuous journey, everyone was very tired, so they slept until it was dark. The corpse-sewer's grandson came to call everyone for lunch at noon, but everyone still slept soundly.
In the end, only Jin An and Master Xu came out to eat.
When it got dark again and it was time for dinner, everyone woke up from sleep. When Wang Dagang realized that he had overslept, he felt regretful and wanted to drive all night, but was finally persuaded by everyone to stop.
"No matter how far you can go in the dark at night, it's better to recharge your batteries tonight and go out early tomorrow morning. Besides, it's not safe to drive at night. If you encounter a hungry jackal, tiger or leopard going down the mountain to look for food, you will drag a heavy
The men in the coffin can't escape even if they want to."
With everyone's persuasion, Uncle Wang and Wang Dagang decided to stay one more night.
There was some trouble with the bones of Mr. Xu's son, and the materials were not ready yet, so he did not sew the body tonight because he had slept all day during the day and was not sleepy at night. After dinner, everyone dispersed, and some people returned after dinner.
The side room was quiet, some people went out for a walk to eat after dinner, and some people sat and chatted.
Jin An and the old Taoist priest held up lanterns and wandered around the empty Xicai Village. Seeing no one around, the old Taoist priest asked Jin An in a low voice, what did he find when he visited Xicai Village during the day?
Jin An: "There are indeed some discoveries."
"Oh?" the old Taoist priest looked at him.
Although the old Taoist priest held a lantern, the dim candlelight provided limited illumination at night in the countryside. A few steps away, it was dark and dark. There was not even a hint of cool breeze in the sultry summer. The surrounding trees were extremely quiet, like ghosts and ghosts, twisting and waving their claws.
"When I visited Xicai Village during the day, I discovered a detail. There are old, weak, women and children in Xicai Village, but there are no girls around seven, eight or nine years old." Jin An said his discovery.
Um!
The old Taoist priest looked surprised.
The old Taoist priest was not confused. He immediately guessed that there was something in Jin An's words and whispered: "Little brother, do you suspect that this matter is related to the two corpses mixed together half a year ago?"
"Yeah." Jin An nodded.
"Old Taoist, do you still remember the calligraphy and painting that the corpse stitcher kept on the altar in the lobby? What do you think?"
The old Taoist priest curled his lips: "What opinion can I have, little brother? You are asking knowingly. My opinion, old Taoist, is your opinion, little brother. When did we have two minds?"
Jin An suddenly had a toothache and gritted his teeth. One of the ten sentences this old Taoist said always took advantage of him.
Jin An pretended not to hear and said to himself: "That calligraphy and painting is probably the same as the calligraphy and painting we got in Fenghuang Town. It hides the secret of corpse refining. I have to find an opportunity to take a look."
The old Taoist priest frowned: "It's hard to get the calligraphy and painting."
"According to my observations, there will definitely be one person left in the lobby by the corpse stitcher and the corpse stitcher's grandson, unless we have a chance to get it after everyone has fallen asleep. But now we are crowded with others in Datong Shop, and there are many people watching.
It’s complicated and inconvenient to use.”
"Originally, we just followed Shi Zhiping to Xicai Village. We wanted to see what big conspiracy Shi Zhiping was up to, but we didn't expect that there would be so many unexpected discoveries in Xicai Village.
Caicun is involved in so many other things."
"That bastard Shi Zhiping has been found. Little brother, what are you going to do with Shi Zhiping?" The old Taoist priest changed the subject and brought up another matter.
"Kill what needs to be killed." It was a short four-word sentence, said in a calm tone.
Whispering sound——
Suddenly there was movement in the dark grass on the roadside. The old Taoist priest held up a lantern and stuck his head out to look. A hare ran out and quickly burrowed into the grass on the other side of the road. The old Taoist priest looked back.
"We can't keep those evil dogs raised by the corpse stitcher that eat dead human flesh!" the old Taoist priest added.
Jin An nodded: "Yeah."
"Corpse refining, landscape calligraphy and painting, Shi Zhiping, corpse stitcher, so many clues seem to be linked to the same clue, the Everlasting Mountain."
"Old Taoist, don't you think that the landscape calligraphy and painting may be related to Bulao Mountain?" Jin An mentioned another thing.
The old Taoist priest was stunned.
Jin An: "Old Taoist, you said that you have seen the mountains and rivers in landscape paintings. It seems that we have to rely on you, Old Taoist, to find out the location of Mount Everlasting."
The old Taoist priest scratched his head in distress: "Just relying on a landscape calligraphy and painting clue is too general. Old Taoist, I just said that there is a sense of familiarity. You may or may not have seen it before... After all, according to the people in Phoenix Town,
Ci, the people who live on the Immortal Mountain are immortal old monsters. It is a dangerous place where thousands of years of bastards gather, and normal people should not be able to get close to it."
Facing Jin An's gaze that looked over him with a smile and no words, the old Taoist priest felt a little numb. Finally he helplessly spread his hands and said, "Old Taoist, I will try my best to spend more time every day trying to think back."
"But... if you have a meal of haggis noodles or mutton rolls and lamb brain hot pot every day to replenish your body and shape, you may suddenly be smart and inspired one day, and you will remember it all at once, hehe..."
Jin An looked speechlessly at the old Taoist priest who kept talking about eating.
The two of them walked around Xicai Village while talking, and unknowingly arrived at the entrance of Xicai Village. They found that the place was very lively tonight, and many villagers gathered at the entrance of the village holding torches.