Chapter 9: Settling in Ghost Village

  Liangshan may be a flirt, but when he focuses, he is devoted. In his past life, Liangshan's romantic relationships never lasted more than a month, yet the girlfriends who broke up with him rarely complained. The reason was simple: during that one month, Liangshan was completely devoted, making him arguably the world's best lover.

  Liangshan practiced violin for three months and miraculously surpassed Su Ya, also because he was single-minded and dedicated.

  Arriving in the world of Liang Zhu, the minimum standard is that life should be stable and secure, a higher living goal is to pursue happiness.

  Having a goal, Liangshan immediately had motivation and went all out to do it. A man must be stronger than a woman, so that the woman will love you and depend on you. After one night passed, Liangshan didn't sleep at all, but his whole body was full of energy.

  The sky was still dark when Zhu Yingtai returned and helped Liang Shan put on his clothes with a gentle manner.

  Liáng Shān was delighted and held Zhù Yīngtái's hand, asking: "Little sister, what is your name?"

  Yu Tai was taken aback, his face somewhat desolate, and said, "But there isn't."

  Liangshan immediately understood that when a girl turned fifteen, her parents would give her a "zi" (a courtesy name), and this was what was meant by "waiting for marriage in the boudoir". But Zhu Yingtai was not yet fifteen when her father fell ill and died, so he had not had time to bestow one on her.

  "Sister, don't be sad, I'll give you a nickname."

  Ying Tai nodded in agreement.

  "How is Qingyun?"

  Ying Tai's face lit up with joy, and she said: "Great!"

  Liáng Shān applauded and said with pleasure: "Then I'll call you Light Cloud from now on." Liáng Shān used to love reading "The Legend of the Swordsmen of Shu Mountain", where there was a Zhōu Light Cloud, who started as an ordinary woman and eventually grew into a powerful sword fairy.

  "Listen to your husband."

  The two of them got up, washed and dressed, tidied themselves up, and went to the old lady's room to pay their respects.

  Li Yang saw a pair of lovers and was delighted. Upon hearing that Li Shan had given Zhu Yingtai a new name, he smiled and said: "From now on, I'll call you Qingyun."

  The morning ceremony ended, and the hired ox cart made a loud noise, already arriving at the gate of the Liang family.

  It took half a day, and all the big and small packages were loaded onto six large carts.

  Early morning. The sun is about to rise, and a purple aura bursts forth from the east.

  Liáng Shān took a last look at his own mansion, previously lamenting the grandeur of the humble gate, a large quadrangle courtyard, never expecting that just a few days later it would be swept away and the family gates destroyed.

  The sound of horseshoes kicking on the bluestone pavement was crisp and slightly desolate, Liang Yang's face was worried. Liang Shan quickly comforted his mother and entrusted Zhu Qingyun to comfort her.

  The morning fog dispersed, and the smoke from cooking wafted from every household. One or two little children ran out of their doors, their black eyes curiously looking at the group from Liangshan, but were immediately pulled back by the adults in their homes.

  To make a long story short, at sunset, a group of people finally arrived at the entrance of Yang Village in Xiaoniu Mountain.

  Not yet at the entrance of Yang Village, the sound of horses neighing and cows lowing continued, refusing to move forward.

  The carters urged the bill in a hurry, and after the bill was settled, they turned their heads one by one and disappeared in a flash.

  To enter Yang Village, you have to pass through a forest of pagoda trees. The entrance to the village is marked by two particularly large pagoda trees with wrinkled bark, probably over one or two hundred years old. The road is overgrown with wisteria and thorns.

  Nearby, the brook babbles and chimes in, while in the distance, the howling of apes accompanies the rustling of leaves and the swaying of treetops with a "whooshing" sound. Occasionally, a tiger's roar echoes from a distant mountain ridge.

  A gust of cold wind blew by, and the forest emitted a whimpering sound like that of a woman, causing Liangshan's heart to also skip a beat.

  The sun has not set yet, but the pagoda tree forest is already gloomy and oppressive, comparable to Jing Mountain.

  Everyone looked at each other in dismay, Liangshan saw his mother Liang Yang's face showing a worried expression, only Zhu Qingyun's face was calm.

  It can't go on like this, Liangshan knew that people in this era feared ghosts and gods the most. He immediately climbed up a withered tree in the middle of the road, bowed to the crowd first, and said loudly: "Today, I have arrived at this place, please follow me."

  Kang Shu hastily said: "Young master, I don't dare to presume, since the old master passed away, those people have been like wolves and jackals, it was only a matter of time."

  Everyone also said: "Young master, I don't dare!"

  Although they spoke like this, it was clear that some people's teeth were chattering and their legs were trembling. Liangshan thought to himself, "I must say something to boost their morale, otherwise the team will be difficult to lead."

  At the mention of this, Liangshan's eyes gleamed brightly, his waist straight as a pen, and he said: "In the past, the six states, the imperial palace nobles sang and danced every night. When Qin unified the world, they all became slaves and lowly servants. The Second Emperor of Qin usurped the throne, and the great Qin dynasty collapsed with Chen Sheng and Wu Guang's single sentence 'Are generals and ministers born of noble families?' My Liang family, a hundred years ago, was a prominent clan in the Central Plains, what was the Ji family at that time?"

  Zhu Li Yun heard this and a hint of unusual color flashed across her beautiful eyes.

  Liáng Shān continued: "However, the six kings made chaos, twelve years of war dead bodies all over the field, a thousand miles without human smoke. The Liang family had no choice but to migrate thousands of miles, struggling and scattered, starving for thousands of miles, and falling to this day. Today is miserable, but compared to when we migrated thousands of miles, it's hundreds or thousands of times better! Yang Village may be called a ghost domain, but as long as we have the right energy in our hearts, ghosts can't do anything to us? Even if there are ghosts, what will we become if they eat us?"

  Liang Liang immediately said: "Become a ghost!"

  Liáng Shān's eyes lit up and he said: "Right! When people die, they become ghosts. If it eats us, we'll become ghosts and then eat them back!"

  "The young master is right!"

  "There's nothing to be afraid of."

  "If we are not afraid, if no one can stop us?" Liangshan's eyes flashed with flames, and he shouted loudly: "Then this land is all ours!"

  In this era, there is nothing more maddening than land.

  "In just five years, after you have opened up this land for the Liang family, you will gain your freedom. The Liang family will do its best to help you open up new lands in the surrounding areas. You will no longer be servants, but a noble family of humble origins! In the future, we also plan to establish an academy and invite the best teachers to instruct our children. The Ma family took only a hundred years to rise from a humble origin to become a prominent aristocratic family, why can't we? The Ma family has twelve connected ridges, but we will have twelve connected forts!"

  There were twelve households in total including the servants and the three Wu brothers, and when Liangshan Shun said this, it seemed to imply a heavenly mandate, and one by one they listened with their blood boiling.

  "We will follow Young Master to death!" The three Wu brothers saw the situation and immediately took the lead in shouting.

  "We'll follow Young Master to death!" The others also shouted out.

  Li's words ignited a fire in people's hearts and lifted the gloomy atmosphere.

  A group of people encouraged each other, trembling with fear, and finally passed through the eerie catalpa forest, arriving at their destination, Yang Village.

  Yang Village has been uninhabited for a long time. More than 100 households' houses are well preserved, but they are covered with vines and shrubs, and snakes and rats live in them.

  Lighting fires and fetching water, everyone immediately became busy.

  Liangshan chose a three-advanced mansion in the central area of the village, which was more than three times larger than his old house. This would be the new Liang family's main residence in the future.

  Soon, the house was roughly cleaned up, and furniture such as beds and tables were all moved in. Spring water from the mountains was diverted over, and the water had been tested to be problem-free. Pots were buried for cooking, hot water was boiled for washing, everything was in order, and the lively noise continued without stop, gradually calming everyone's hearts.

  But as the moon was high in the sky, a gust of wind arose, and the courtyard all around suddenly echoed with wailing cries and the sound of women weeping, now distant, now near.

  Everyone's face immediately turned pale.

  Are there really ghosts?!

  Liáng Shān won't naively think that by shouting outside the village and stirring up everyone's ambition to make a name for themselves, everything will be fine.

  The bravery of blood can only save for a moment, if this night really has a mass exodus of ghosts, someone will be frightened and there will definitely be people running away the next day. The grand plan to rebuild the Liangshan village will also become an illusion like a bubble in water.

  Liáng Shān's heart moved slightly, and he immediately ordered someone to light a fire in the courtyard.

  Soon, a fierce flame ignited.

  Li Shanshu stood with his hands behind his back and said in a loud voice, "A hundred-year-old family has its own traditions. Today I will recite a poem, the first of the Yang Village Li Family's passed-down works. Everyone listen carefully, I'll read one sentence at a time."

  The move of Liangshan is indeed extraordinary, and the prominent family is in the inheritance.

  Liáng Shān's transmission today is the first piece of our family's tradition. If all of you present here can remember and pass it down, you will be able to open up your own school. For disciples, the master's willingness to personally impart this text is in itself a great favor.

  "Man is born with the essence of heaven and earth, and all evil spirits dare not deceive him. This song is called 'The Righteous Qi Song', often recited by gods and ghosts with admiration." Surrounded by dark energy oppressing people, Liangshan recalled the scene where he was humiliated in the temple, his whole family was driven out, hot blood surged in his chest, shouting in his heart, determined to make his own loud voice heard in this desolate village of evil spirits.

  The three Wu brothers' eyes lit up, certain that this was the young master's transmission of the law. They immediately perked up their ears, determined to listen and remember every single sentence.

  "Heaven and earth have a proper energy, which is distributed and flows to form shapes. Below it becomes rivers and mountains, above it becomes the sun and stars. In humans it is called magnanimity, overflowing and filling the vastness of the universe. The imperial road should be clear and level, containing harmony and emitting brightness in the court. When time is exhausted, virtue appears, each one dripping with crimson and blue. It was in the brush of Qi Taishi Jian, in the pen of Jin Donghu. In Qin Zhang Liang's mallet, in Han Su Wu's banner. For Yan General's head, for Ji Shichen's blood. Or it becomes the "Outgoing Army Edict", ghosts and spirits weeping at its heroic grandeur. Or it becomes the "Crossing the River Oar", bold and generous, swallowing up the Hu and Jie..."

  "The Righteous Poem" was written by Wen Tianxiang at the end of Southern Song Dynasty, with a strong and heroic spirit that has been stirring for thousands of years. After some slight modifications by Liangshan, removing the characters from the Northern and Southern Dynasties, each sentence is like a strike of gold and stone.

  Liangshan recited a sentence, and the crowd followed with another sentence. Gradually, their courage grew, and hot blood surged.

  Wishing Qingyun's eyes to gradually brighten, the heart says that this article will surely be brilliant for thousands of years, and is actually a method of Confucian self-cultivation.

  Qingyun was astonished in her heart, this journey with Mr. Xiang's performance, really made her look at him in a new light.

  At night, Liang Yang sighed and said that her son's "Zheng Qi Song" today shocked heaven and earth and cried out to the ghosts. She asked the maid to take out a treasured piece of silk, unfold it on the table, and wanted to copy the song onto it overnight.

  Liangshan bedroom. Liangshan said to Zhu Qingyun: "Girl, are you going out again tonight?"

  Qingyun nodded slightly.

  "Leave me alone, aren't you worried?"

  "I was originally worried, but husband's 'Zheng Qi Song' can ensure no worries." Zhu Qingyun's eyes and eyebrows were full of smiles, but her husband, who had just been majestic and awe-inspiring, now appeared timid and seemed to be deceiving her.

  Liangshan pouted, like a wronged child. Zhu Qingyun said: "This place has hundreds of ghosts causing chaos, I'll go and recite the 'Rebirth Sutra' to help them attain enlightenment, then Yangcun will be peaceful again."

  "Can girls drive them away?"

  "The 49th day of the seventh month is fine." Zhū Qīngyún said firmly.

  "A daughter does not need forty-nine days."

  "Why?"

  Liáng Shān sank into thought for a moment, his voice slightly more spirited: "Don't drive them away, just let them put down their obsessions. If the young lady can communicate with them, our Liáng family will successfully settle in the village, and outside the Liáng ancestral hall, we will also build a Yáng ancestral hall. Every year, during numerous festivals, we won't forget to make offerings." Liáng Shān began to pace back and forth, his expression increasingly excited: "Secondly, if I have a son, my second son will bear the surname Yáng, to continue the Yáng family line."

  Congratulations, Qingyun's eyes lit up, and this plan of yours is truly brilliant.

  "Daughter, just persuade them to put down their obsession and become the guardian spirits of Liangjiazhuang. I will agree to these two points, and I will do what I say!"

  Zhu Qingyun nodded and said, "They will definitely agree." As soon as he finished speaking, his body was already suspended in mid-air, and in an instant, he disappeared.

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