Exile: Empty half of the capital and blow up the enemy's palace

Not long after the group entered the village, before they could take a closer look at their surroundings, they were blocked by a group of villagers.

The leader was a middle-aged man with a dark complexion and a sturdy build. He held a thick wooden stick in his hand and blocked the middle of the road. He said in a cold voice, "Stop! Who are you? We don't welcome outsiders in Lotus Village. Leave now!"

Several other villagers also gathered around, holding hoes, hatchets and other tools in their hands, with unfriendly looks on their faces.

Zhou Dashan stepped forward and said with a bow, "Big brother, we came to Lotus Village to look for a relative. We have no ill intentions."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man looked Zhou Dashan up and down and asked in a gruff voice, "Looking for relatives? We don't have many outsiders visiting our Lotus Village. You said you have relatives. What's their surname? What's their name? Which family are they from?"

Zhou Dashan was choked by the question and was about to make up a lie when a cheerful voice rang out from behind the villager: "Brother Zhou? You're here! Come here quickly."

Zhou Dashan looked towards the voice and saw a tall and strong man walking out of the crowd.

Zhou Dashan was stunned for a moment, then he recognized the person coming as Gao Dazhuang, with whom he had once been acquainted. He smiled and called out, "Brother Gao."

Gao Dazhuang responded with a smile, stepped forward and enthusiastically put his arm around Zhou Dashan's shoulders, and said to the man who was blocking the way, "Erniu, we're one family, this is my brother, he's here to see me."

"Brother Gao, since they're here to see you, you can take them in. But they..."

Erniu's eyes fell on the Yun brothers and sisters, who were obviously dressed in an extraordinary manner. He frowned and said, "They look dishonest and cannot enter our village."

An important day for their village is coming soon, and nothing can go wrong.

When Yun Chengying heard Erniu's words, she immediately retorted, "How can you say that? Why do we look dishonest? We look upright and honest, and we look like good citizens."

Erniu's face darkened when Yun Chengying pushed him down, and he opened his mouth to scold her. Before he could finish his words, Gao Dazhuang, who was standing next to him, immediately put his arm around his shoulders and said with a smile, "I'm not going to say anything. I ...

"Erniu, that's enough, give Brother Gao some face and let them all in. I'll take responsibility for anything that happens and I won't implicate you."

Erniu's expression was still not very good, but he finally relaxed and said to Gao Dazhuang in a muffled voice: "Okay, Brother Gao, since you said so, you can take the person in, but——"

He changed the subject, his eyes sternly sweeping over the Yun siblings, and said in a serious tone, "Brother Gao, you have to tell them to stay in the village and not wander around."

Gao Dazhuang nodded repeatedly in agreement: "Don't worry, Erniu, don't worry, I will definitely not let them wander around the village."

Seeing Gao Dazhuang's assurance, Erniu nodded and said, "Okay, take it away."

"Okay." Gao Dazhuang responded with a smile and led Zhou Dashan and the Yun brothers and sisters to his home.

After walking out of the villagers' sight, Gao Dazhuang suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked at Zhou Dashan with a serious expression, "Brother Zhou, why did you come to our village at this time?"

Zhou Dashan said: "Brother Gao, I am here to look for my wife. My wife has come to your Lotus Village."

Gao Dazhuang frowned and said, "That shouldn't be the case. At this critical moment, there are people guarding the village entrance, and outsiders can't get in at all! How could your wife get in? Unless..."

He paused and stared at Zhou Dashan: "Brother Zhou, is your wife from Lianhua Village?"

Zhou Dashan nodded.

Gao Dazhuang frowned even more tightly upon seeing this. "Lotus Village has a rule that girls generally don't marry outside the village. Most of the time, people in the village marry within themselves. Girls who marry outside the village are breaking the rules and will be punished by the gods."

Yun Chengying frowned as she listened, and couldn't help but interrupt, "Marrying someone can lead to divine punishment. Who made this ridiculous rule?"

Gao Dazhuang's expression suddenly changed when he heard this. He lowered his voice and said to Yun Chengying, "Little brother! Be careful with your words! This is the rule set by the Mountain God. The villagers are very respectful of the Mountain God! If the villagers hear you say this, you will be in big trouble!"

Yun Chengying frowned even more tightly. "Another mountain god? Has anyone in your village actually seen this mountain god? Could it be that some ghostly fellow is trying to trick you?"

Gao Dazhuang said in a deep voice: "Little brother, stop talking now, this will bring disaster to you."

Seeing Gao Dazhuang's unhappy expression, Yun Chengying stopped talking and thought to himself: "Lord Mountain God?" What a bullshit mountain god! This so-called Lord Mountain God mentioned by the villagers of Lianhua Village must be no good.

Gao Dazhuang was relieved to see that Yun Chengying finally shut up, and hurriedly led Yun Qingqing and the others to his home.

……

Yun Qingqing and her group followed Gao Dazhuang to his home. When they entered the yard, they saw a chubby little boy, about six or seven years old, squatting on the ground playing with branches.

Not far away, a woman wearing coarse clothes and with her hair simply tied up with a wooden hairpin was sitting in front of a stone table. She was mending clothes with her head down.

"Dad, you're back." The chubby boy saw his father coming back and quickly stood up and rushed towards his father.

Gao Dazhuang caught his son who rushed over, smiled and held him in his arms, rubbing his little head vigorously: "Tiger, did you listen to your mother at home today? Did you not act naughty?"

Hu Tou hugged his father's neck and said with a smile: "Listen, I'm so good, mom even praised me!"

The woman who was mending clothes also came over with a gentle smile on her face and said to Gao Dazhuang, "Are you back? Are you tired? These people are..." Her eyes fell curiously on Yun Qingqing and her group.

Gao Dazhuang held his son in his arms and said to the woman with a smile, "Mother, this is Brother Zhou and some of his friends. They came to the village looking for someone. I brought them to our house to rest."

He turned to Zhou Dashan and the Yun brothers and sisters and introduced them, "This is my wife Qiu Miao, and this boy is my little monkey, nicknamed Tiger Head."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Dashan and the Yun brothers and sisters politely greeted Qiu Miao.

Qiu Miao replied a little awkwardly: "Hey, hey, hello, come on, don't be polite, sit down and rest your feet."

As she spoke, she quickly put the benches in place and asked everyone to sit down.

Hu Tou nestled in his father's arms, blinking his eyes and secretly looking at Yun Qingqing and her group.

Gao Dazhuang put his son on the ground and let him play by himself, then asked Zhou Dashan: "Brother Zhou, what's your wife's name? Which family in the village is she from? Tell me, and I'll help you find your wife."

Zhou Dashan's eyes flickered when he heard this and he said, "Brother Gao, my wife can't speak. She didn't tell me her name or her family situation."

Gao Dazhuang frowned even more tightly upon hearing this, and mused, "This is a bit difficult. Our village is not big, but it's not small either, and there are quite a few mute girls..."

He stroked his chin and thought carefully, then suddenly looked up at Zhou Dashan. "Brother Zhou, it's not easy to find a mute just by saying it's hard. What does your wife look like? Are there any special marks on her face or body? Like birthmarks, scars, or something like that?"

Zhou Dashan didn't know what to say. He turned to look at Yun Qingqing and said, "Miss Yun, can you figure out where my wife is?"

Yun Qingqing said, "I have no way of knowing the exact location of your wife right now."

She paused and continued, "I'm going to go out and look for your wife. You guys wait here for me."

As she spoke, she stood up and went outside.

When Gao Dazhuang saw her trying to leave, his expression suddenly changed, and he hurriedly stopped her: "Girl, you can't do that. The situation in the village right now doesn't allow strangers to enter. Especially since you look so conspicuous walking around the village, if you're seen by the villagers, you'll be in trouble."

Yun Qingqing stopped, turned around, looked at Gao Dazhuang and asked, "What's the situation in your village now?"

Gao Dazhuang explained, "Miss, you may not know this, but it's almost time for our village to offer sacrifices to the mountain god and pray for good weather and good harvests. During this crucial time, outsiders are not allowed into the village. The rules are very strict."

Yun Qingqing's eyes flickered when she heard this, and she asked, "Offer a sacrifice to the mountain god? What sacrifice?"

Gao Dazhuang replied, "Cattle, sheep, livestock, grains, and..." He paused and said, "Five virgin girls."

Yun Chengying's face darkened upon hearing this: "What? Five virgins? What kind of bullshit mountain god is this!"

The faces of the three brothers Yun Qingqing, Yun Chengxiao, and others instantly darkened.

"This mountain god is definitely not a good thing!" Yun Chengxi said coldly.

Gao Dazhuang became nervous upon hearing this and lowered his voice and said, "My two lords, please keep your voices down. Just say this to me, but don't say it in the village.

Everyone in this village reveres the Mountain God and won't tolerate anyone saying anything bad about him. If they hear you talking about him like that, I'm afraid they won't forgive you."

Yun Chengying snorted coldly: "To trust this damn mountain god is truly foolish."

Gao Dazhuang frowned and said, "Young Master, you don't know. If you don't believe in the mountain god, something bad will happen. In the past, Old Man Zhang in our village refused to believe in this evil and refused to let his daughter participate in the lottery. As a result, the next day, Old Man Zhang and his family fell into the river and drowned. The villagers said it was a punishment from the mountain god..."

Yun Chengying was so angry that he almost laughed: "That's it? You think it's a punishment from the mountain god? Why don't you think someone took advantage of the opportunity to do evil and deliberately take revenge?"

"Sir, we have a Taoist priest here, called Lingyun. He has great magical powers and can pray for rain. He is a well-known figure in the surrounding villages.

The villagers invited him to come and see it, and he said it was the mountain god sending down divine punishment to punish those who disrespected him, and everyone believed him without a doubt.

Yun Chengying raised an eyebrow when he heard this: "With such powerful magic power, he can even pray for rain? Is Taoist Lingyun really that powerful?"

Gao Dazhuang nodded and said, "Yes, sir. Taoist Lingyun is very capable. Whenever he says it will rain on a certain day, it will definitely rain on that day. He never misses a beat."

Yun Chengxi suddenly interrupted, "Oh? What if the prayer for rain fails?"

"This..." Gao Dazhuang choked, "The Taoist priest said that it's because everyone's hearts are not sincere. We need to double the offerings to move the mountain god."

Yun Chengxi sneered, "Impressed the mountain god? He prayed to the mountain god for rain?"

"Young Master, you may not know this, but this Taoist Priest Lingyun is the Mountain God's messenger on earth. He conveyed the Mountain God's oracle to us, asking us to worship the Mountain God so that he can protect our village and bring good weather and good harvests."

Yun Chengying snorted coldly and said, "What a bullshit human messenger! I think this Taoist Lingyun is just a swindler and a fraud!"

"Young Master, please don't say that. Taoist Lingyun is indeed a very capable person. I have personally seen Taoist Lingyun shining with golden light when he was performing rituals. He looked like a celestial being."

Yun Chenghao suddenly chuckled: "Golden light? I wonder if they sprinkled gold powder on the Taoist robe?"

Gao Dazhuang sighed and said helplessly, "Since you all don't believe me, I won't say much. But now that you've come to our village, you must abide by the rules. Don't walk around the village or say anything bad about the Mountain God and Taoist Lingyun."

Yun Qingqing asked, "When is the day for your village to offer sacrifices to the mountain god?"

"The day after tomorrow." Gao Dazhuang said seriously, "So at this critical moment, you must not wander around the village. We villagers take this day very seriously."

Yun Qingqing's eyes flickered as she pressed the issue, "The sacrifice will be tomorrow. Will Taoist Lingyun come the day after tomorrow?"

Gao Dazhuang nodded immediately: "Of course I will come. For such a major event, the Taoist priest must personally preside over the sacrificial ceremony and accept the sacrifice on behalf of the mountain god."

He paused and said in a serious voice, "I'll send you out of the village after dark. The village has been under martial law for the past few days, so it's really inconvenient for outsiders to stay for long."

Zhou Dashan shook his head, "I'm not leaving. I want to find my wife."

Gao Dazhuang persuaded him, "Brother Zhou, go back first. I'll help you find your wife. I'm from Lianhua Village, so it'll be easier for me to find her."

Zhou Dashan was about to say something when Yun Qingqing suddenly spoke up, "Brother Gao, we also want to see your village's sacrificial ceremony. Can we stay and watch?"

Gao Dazhuang waved his hand and refused: "That won't do. Outsiders are never allowed to watch the sacrificial ceremony. If we offend the mountain god, the whole village will suffer."

Suddenly, hurried footsteps were heard outside the yard. Gao Dazhuang's face changed and he hurriedly whispered to his wife, "Hurry up and take them to hide in the house."

Before Gao Dazhuang's wife could react, an old man walked quickly into the yard and said anxiously, "Dazhuang, please save Ah Mei."

The old man rushed into the yard and was stunned when he saw Yun Qingqing and others. "Da Zhuang, who are these people...?"

"Uncle Zhang, these people are my friends. Come to my house and play for a while."

Old Man Zhang didn't ask any more questions after hearing this, but just reminded him, "Da Zhuang, it's an important day for our village soon, don't let them wander around the village."

Gao Dazhuang nodded, "Uncle Zhang, don't worry, I know."

He asked him concernedly, "Uncle Zhang, what happened to Ah Mei?"

Old man Zhang suddenly squatted on the ground, holding his head in his hands and sobbing, "I won... Ah Mei drew the sacrificial lot..."

Gao Dazhuang's face darkened when he heard this. He helped Old Man Zhang up and said, "Uncle Zhang, don't worry."

Old man Zhang tightly grasped Gao Dazhuang's arm and said, "Dazhuang, you have many ideas. Can you think of a solution? I only have this one granddaughter."