bookbashuk Chapter 57 God's Shelf Life
Chapter 57 God's Shelf Life
Ye Jianguo stood on the altar, the butcher's knife in his hand still dripping blood. But the way he opened his arms made it seem as if he was embracing the whole world.
His voice was magnetic and manic, sending chills down your spine; every word was like a hooked worm, burrowing straight into your ears.
"Look at them, look at this great combination."
He pointed to the "two-headed god" that had been forcibly pieced together with needle and thread behind him.
"Fellow villagers, what are we afraid of? Are we afraid of poverty, illness, or having no descendants? That was in the past, because we didn't understand the meaning of 'giving and receiving'."
"Twins, twins, one yin, one yang, one dead, one alive. Since God has bestowed upon us two bloodlines, it is to grant us boundless wealth and honor."
The villagers below the stage stretched their necks like a flock of ducks, their fear quickly swallowed up by greed.
"Bring out all the twins in your family, whether they're newborns or already running and jumping. As long as they're twins, they're God's chosen seeds. God will give you everything you want—endless meat to eat, endless silk to wear, and even..."
Ye Jianguo lowered his voice: "Immortality."
"Remember, this is your last chance, before 9 a.m. tomorrow. After that, the gate will close, and we don't know when it will open again."
The crowd erupted in a frenzy, like a boiling cesspool, churning with nauseating desires.
The village chief stepped forward at the opportune moment, struck the gong, and began to drive away the group of believers whose eyes had turned red with rage.
"Go back, everyone. Keep your mouths shut. Sincerity will bring results."
The villagers dispersed, but a dozen or so burly men appeared at the village entrance, carrying hoes and machetes, their eyes fierce as they stared at anyone who tried to approach the village entrance.
This is to guard against someone pretending to submit while actually trying to escape.
The entire Shuangshan Village has become an impenetrable fortress, allowing entry but not exit.
After the commotion subsided, the altar was left in a mess.
Lu Dan's consciousness was trapped inside the pitiful Yao Yao, watching Ye Jianguo and the village chief remove their disguises.
"Damn it, the stitches are loose."
Ye Jianguo roughly pulled over the "two-headed god"—that is, the dying Yao Yao.
Due to the intense struggle and rejection, yellow fluid seeped from the suture site.
Yao Yao's head was tilted to one side, like a rotten melon hanging around her neck.
"Gently, gently, this is a precious gem." The village chief lovingly helped Yao Yao up. "If you break it, how will we handle the situation tomorrow?"
"If it's broken, just make another one. Anyway, a bunch of raw materials will be delivered tomorrow." Ye Jianguo snorted and pulled out a piece of white silk from under the altar.
With swift movements, they wrapped the headless corpse, which was completely dead and only supported by a few wooden sticks, tightly in white silk, making it look like a giant silkworm cocoon.
"Walk!"
The two of them, one in front and one behind, dragged Yao Yao and Bai Jian away from the main road and slipped into the path leading to the back mountain.
Lu Dan listened as the two evil spirits, one old and one young, cursed each other the whole way.
"Why is this road so difficult to walk on? Old man, why don't you fix it!"
"Shut up and bury it. This stuff stinks so bad it makes me want to throw up."
Walking all the way to that familiar little hill, Ye Jianguo kicked Bai Jian into the deep pit that had already been dug, then filled it with soil and tamped it down.
Lu Dan glanced at the sky; the moon was hanging just above the treetops, and it was 9 p.m.
As the last shovelful of soil fell, the world spun around them once more.
……
Pain, an unbearable, excruciating pain.
When his vision cleared again, Lu Dan found himself tied to a grand chair.
The dead head next to the neck emitted a strong stench of decay, and putrid liquid flowed down the shoulder.
It was already broad daylight, and the courtyard was filled with kneeling people, more and more frantic than the night before.
Kneeling at the front were three pairs of trembling twins, two pairs of boys and one pair of girls. The oldest was no more than seven or eight years old, and the youngest was still crying in his swaddling clothes.
Their parents knelt to one side, their faces showing no reluctance, only expectation—expectation to exchange their few offspring for a vague and elusive wealth.
"God, please accept it!"
Ye Jianguo stood to the side, laughing wildly.
The ceremony was not complicated; all you had to do was hand over your child and you would receive a wooden plaque engraved with runes.
By the time the last person left, the sun had already risen high in the sky.
"That's about it."
Ye Jianguo reached out a finger and probed under Yao Yao's nose: "This girl is almost gone too."
Yao Yao's life force was also about to be completely drained away, just like the head next to her. Now, her head had drooped down.
"Change to red."
The village chief brought out a large red silk ribbon, and this time they wrapped Yao Yao and the chair together inside.
It was that mountain road again, that hillside again, only this time the pit was dug on the side.
"God is going to rest; God is going to return to His place."
Ye Jianguo gave a perfunctory reply to a few villagers who were passing by and peeping, and then pushed the red silkworm cocoon into the pit and buried it with soil.
The sunlight pierced through the clouds and shone on the grave mound at exactly 9 a.m.
……
……
"Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—"
Lu Dan suddenly sprang up from the hard bed, like a drowning person finally emerging from the water.
He gasped for breath, his hand instinctively reaching for his neck—completely unharmed, without needles or thread, and without an extra rotting head.
But the stench of death seemed to linger in his body.
"Roommate, are you still there?"
He looked down at his left ankle, which was quiet, as if the thing inside was dead.
Lu Dan patted his head, forcing himself to calm down. His brain raced, piecing together everything he had seen: the Red and White Duo, from 9 am to 9 pm.
The origin of all this should be this assembly-line-like movement of creating gods.
A white evil spirit was buried at 9 pm, and a red evil spirit was buried at 9 am.
Ye Jianguo used feudal superstition and the villagers' faith and blind obedience to create a "god".
However, much of what was said was still fragmented, and Lu Dan couldn't glean any further useful information from these pieces. For example, what kind of ritual was Ye Jianguo performing? Was it simply reaping wealth and exploiting the villagers, or...?
And what's wrong with me at night? Why does my daytime self revert to that time period?
Lu Dan got out of bed and pushed open the door.
The sunlight was bright and dazzling, and four people were standing in the courtyard.
The new versions of Ye Jianguo, Da Lu, Chen Hua, and Zhang Min have all woken up and are gathered in the center of the courtyard, their expressions are very similar, clearly indicating that they also experienced something last night.
Upon seeing Lu Dan emerge, Ye Jianguo's eyes lit up, and he immediately greeted him: "Brother Dan, you're up early!"
Looking at the new version of Ye Jianguo in front of him, Lu Dan wondered if he had directly replaced Ye Jianguo's identity or if there was some hidden reason that he did not yet know.
I barely resisted the urge to pull out a slingshot and blast a hole in his forehead; after all, they still needed to be put to good use.
Lu Dan straightened his collar and smiled, "Leaders, the survey on the back hill isn't finished yet. Please wait for me at those two mounds on the back hill."
"And what about you?" Chen Hua's hand reached for his waist.
Lu Dan looked towards the village entrance, where the sounds of gongs and drums could already be heard: "Me?"
His eyes were icy: "I have to be a good villager and kowtow to the 'gods'."