novelhk 008 Ventriloquism, The Secret Records of the Recovered
008 Ventriloquism, The Secret Records of the Recovered
In Chenwangli Street, banquets were set up both inside and outside.
The food and drink served included seasonal vegetables sent by the villagers, ingredients and wine brought by other neighbors and friends who came after hearing the news, as well as fruits, sweet wine, pigs, sheep, chickens and dogs specially transported from Gansu County by Magistrate Liang.
Most importantly, there were those huge python meats piled up like small mountains.
There was a wide variety of items. However, the kitchen in the street was too narrow to move everything around properly.
With Chen Lizheng's consent, the cooks simply built two more stoves outside the street, and moved the pots, pans, steamers, and tripods there.
As the fire blazed, the aroma of vegetables and meat filled the air, attracting the dog and children to run wildly around the stove.
Magistrate Liang held Li Yu's hand and led the others into the Street Bullet Room.
The room is long from east to west and narrow from north to south, with four small tables laid out, two long and two short.
Li Yu was unfamiliar with the seating arrangements at ancient banquets, so he let Magistrate Liang lead him to sit at the head of the western seats.
After some polite exchanges, Magistrate Liang and Scholar Bo Qing took their seats at the east table. The county lieutenant, county assistant, Qiangfu, village head, and Chen Lizheng, among others, also took their seats after some arguing.
Because Xiong Ba was acquainted with Li Yu, he was seated to the left of Li Yu.
Next, Magistrate Liang launched into a long, eloquent ode to Li Yu, praising him to the skies. Li Yu stood up, repeatedly expressing his good fortune.
Then came a few words from Boqing Gong, his choice of words and phrases were very refined. In addition, his speech really had an "echo," as if every sentence was repeated, making it very difficult for Li Yu to understand.
After the two elders finished speaking, the dishes and drinks were served.
The group ate, drank, and talked.
When the county magistrate asked about the details of killing the python, Li Yu answered in detail.
Pulling out long sticks, thrusting short swords, piercing python brains...
He described the whole process simply. But the century-old python was so ferocious that everyone in the room could easily imagine the danger and thrill involved, even more so.
Xiong Ba, Chen Lizheng, and others would occasionally describe the scene of the giant python struggling and whipping the mountain and splitting the rocks, which immediately drew even more praise from the county magistrate and the village head.
The county magistrate even said that if given the opportunity, he would definitely recommend Li Yu to be the head of the village.
Li Yu smiled and thanked him, then raised his cup to drink with him.
Li Yu didn't like the sweet wine from Gan Dan City, so he focused his attention on eating.
The table was decorated with a variety of items.
Large pieces of meat with bones (殽, 朐) are placed on the left, while pure meat chunks (胾, 末) are placed on the right; rice and soup are divided into dry and wet types and placed on the left and right respectively; dishes are placed slightly further away from the diner, while condiments are placed slightly closer to the diner; drinks are also placed on the right side near the diner.
It's very particular.
Li Yu turned his head and asked Xiong Ba about banquet etiquette.
Xiong Ba said some things like "When it's time to eat, rise; when serving food, don't spit," "Don't wet your hands while eating together," and "Don't use chopsticks to eat millet." When Magistrate Liang heard this, he laughed and said, "Young Master Li is an extraordinary person sent from heaven; there's no need to stand on ceremony."
Amidst the clinking of glasses and the sounds of laughter and chatter, the atmosphere was lively.
During a break, Li Yu inquired about Bo Qing Gong from Xiong Ba. He was very curious about this scholar whom Chen Lizheng described as "learned and knowledgeable" but who actually spoke strangely.
Xiong Ba gave Li Yu a strange look and said, "Brother Yu, do you still remember that romantic affair you did when you first arrived in Chenwang Village?"
New arrival?
A romantic affair?
Li Yu smiled awkwardly.
This refers to the time when he first transmigrated, and the incident involving "Xiao Long Bao Hand-Grabbing".
Xiong Ba continued, "That young lady's name is Wang Rong, and her father is Bo Qing, also known as Wang Zhang or Wang Bo Qing."
"Oh." Li Yu was taken aback. Was there really such a thing? Could he still have the items appraised later?
After the incident, Li Yu did consider apologizing and clearing up the misunderstanding. But let alone the fact that she was a lady from a prominent family and would never show her face to him, he couldn't even get into the gate of the Wang family mansion.
However, Wang Zhang seems to be in a good mood now. The item appraisal should be successful, right?
Then, Li Yu thought of the "echo" again, so he asked Xiong Ba if he had heard it.
Xiong Ba nodded and said in a low voice, "This is 'ventriloquism.' Whenever Bo Qing speaks, there are repeated sounds coming from his abdomen. This illness has lasted for a year. At first, the sounds were small, like the chirping of insects. As time went on, the sounds grew louder and louder, becoming exactly the same as Bo Qing's. Many doctors and physicians have been consulted, but none of them could do anything about it."
Li Yu found it novel.
He'd always heard of "ventriloquism," but he never imagined there was such a thing as "ventriloquism disorder." However, he felt a strange sense of déjà vu with the description of this condition.
It seems familiar, but I can't quite place it right now. Why do I feel this "familiarity" or where have I seen it before?
When Magistrate Liang mentioned the "heaven-sent extraordinary person," the others seemed to only then remember Li Yu's "extraordinary person" identity and began to ask questions.
"Are these extraordinary beings truly from two thousand years in the future?"
"Was the Han dynasty still in existence at that time?"
Are there really tens of millions of extraordinary individuals?
What are virtual games?
What is an airplane?
"Above the bright moon, is there no moon palace?"
"..."
When extraordinary beings descend from the sky, they inevitably have to interact with the indigenous people.
At first, the indigenous people thought the strange people were physically weak and nothing special. But then they discovered that strange people were everywhere in the entire Gandan County.
Outside the towering city walls of Gansu County, the number of strange people gathered reached hundreds of thousands.
What horrified the natives even more was that this was the case not only in Ganzhou County, but also in the State of Zhao and the State of Ji. Official documents received by the county stated that throughout the entire Han Dynasty, from the Sili Commandery and the twelve provincial governorates to the Western Regions Prefectural Governor's Office, there was no place where these strange beings were not seen!
Beyond the Han Dynasty, the Northern Frontier, the Western Regions, the Southern Barbarians, and the Eastern Barbarians seem to be the same!
The thought of this sent chills down the spines of the indigenous people.
How many of these extraordinary individuals are there?
One trillion? One capital? One granary?
Putting aside other strange aspects, the sheer number of these individuals alone made the Han court hesitant and extremely cautious in its attitude towards these "outsiders."
Thus, the superiors set an example for the subordinates. The emperor and his ministers were cautious, and even the village heads and county officials dared not act rashly.
Only by investigating both openly and covertly can we uncover the truth.
The indigenous people present knew quite a bit about the strange people. But the more they knew, the more questions they had.
Hundreds of millions of people live in abundance; people can fly, travel underground, and reach the moon; they can cross mountains and seas in a day or two; even when separated by thousands of miles, they can chat and laugh as if the other person were right beside them...
All of this seems like something out of a fairy tale.
Li Yu spoke freely, recounting past events with deep emotion.
At the time, it seemed like nothing special.
The indigenous people listened with rapt attention, their hearts swaying with longing. Even after the giant python feast was served, they still found it hard to taste the food. It wasn't until someone exclaimed, "This python meat is a treasure!"
It turns out that someone gained a bit of [physical constitution] after eating the giant python's meat, and was overjoyed.
Only then did the indigenous people snap out of their reverie and begin to eat heartily.
Chen Lizheng then mentioned the matter of asking the county's craftsmen and physicians to forge scales and prepare snake gall and python eye medicine. Before Magistrate Liang could say anything, the county lieutenant readily agreed.
Well, needless to say, a few more pieces of python scale armor will have to be distributed.
Then, Chen Lizheng asked Boqing to appraise the [unknown fragments], [unknown scrolls], and [unknown animal hides].
Wang Zhang nodded in agreement.
Li Yu was overjoyed and stood up to offer a toast, which Wang Zhang drank with a smile.
That's it!
After sitting down, Li Yu thought that he would visit Wang Zhang after the banquet, or early the next morning, to have the treasure appraised. If he had the chance, he could also apologize to Wang Rong.
Just as he was pondering this, he heard Magistrate Liang calling out, "Young Master Li."
Li Yu responded, and then saw Magistrate Liang, flushed with wine and with hazy eyes, laughing loudly: "At the banquet, we appraise treasures and pick up lost gems from the sea of knowledge. Boqing, please enlighten us. Haha, this is quite an elegant affair."
Wang Zhang chuckled, but did not refuse.
Li Yu had no objection and got up to return to his new residence, but Xiong Ba stopped him, saying that he could go and get it himself.
In a village, Li Yu's new house was not far from the Street Bullet Room, but it took Xiong Ba a full quarter of an hour to get back.
Xiong Ba entered the house and went to Li Yu's side first. He scratched his head and said, "The scroll and the animal skin are still there, but for some reason, after searching the whole house, there are only fifty-three fragments left."
Li Yu said, "It's alright, it's alright. I'll put those hundred coins somewhere else and use them for something else."
Seeing the commotion, Magistrate Liang asked what was going on. Li Yu shook his head, took the fragments and other items, and presented them to Wang Zhang.
Wang Zhang spread out all the items and placed them on the long table.
He first took out an animal hide, and after some touching and examining it, said, "The Book of Rites, in the section on the funeral rites for scholars, says, 'One person is to be buried, wearing a ceremonial cap and robes,' Zheng Kangcheng..."
The echoing words were really hard to understand, but Li Yu saw what he wanted to see.
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"The Secret Records of the Resurrected"
[Rank] Mysterious.
[属性]常规召唤普通的民夫骷髅(武力1~30)，小机率召唤士卒骷髅(武力30~59)，极小机率召唤将帅骷髅（武力60-69）。
[Description] "Fu" refers to the act of summoning back the soul and restoring the spirit. By practicing this secret manual, one can summon the wandering souls between heaven and earth, and gather them into the body of a skeleton.
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