Running A Cemetery in North America

The architectural scale of Chai Family Village is a refinement from the outside in.

Initially, the perimeter consists of only some thatched huts and wooden houses, but as you walk toward the village center, the houses on the way become gradually ancient.

There is a strong sense of historical depth, as if these are ancient buildings inherited from very old dynasties.

"It's in the style of the Song Dynasty!" Shi Langfei looked at the houses not far away and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"You know about this?" Sun Yan scrutinized them more intently.

But to him, it was merely an old house, unable to identify anything related to the Song or Tang dynasties.

"Yes, I majored in architecture in college, studied the architectural styles from ancient times to the present in my thesis, and felt the houses here were somewhat peculiar ever since entering the village. You know, those houses on the outermost edges were built in the last few decades, while further toward the village center, I saw houses from the Qing Dynasty style, Ming Dynasty style, and now Song Dynasty style, which gives me a certain feeling," Shi Langfei said, frowning.

Lin Wan hurriedly asked curiously, "What kind of feeling?"

"This Chai Family Village has always been developing, with a history being quite ancient and enduring, never affected by the ravages of war from ancient times to the present. So, when their ancestors moved here, they initially built houses by the sea, and later generations continued to expand outward based on the ancestral residence. As the descendants lived through different dynasties, the styles of their houses varied accordingly."

"Auntie Chai seemed to have mentioned this before as well. Chai Family Village apparently existed even before the Great Tang," Sun Yan nodded.

"So, speaking of this, the history of Chai Family Village is indeed ancient."

Gradually arriving at the village center, this place clearly became much more spacious, and a black courtyard lay deep within the village.

The plaque with the blood-red characters 'Ancestral Shrine' made one involuntarily feel a subtle chill.

"This building... doesn't exist in historical records at all," Shi Langfei said incredulously.

"Can't you discern its dynasty?" Sun Yan asked.

"I can't at all, but this black-red color scheme has some resemblance to the Qin Dynasty; if that's true, then the past of this Chai Family Village has quite an incredible origin."

"Let's go in and take a look."

Following Lin Wan's gesture, the three people came to the wall and agilely climbed over the courtyard wall.

Behind the wall was a green grassy field, with many rare flowers and plants growing, and a peculiar vibe pervading the entire courtyard.

Besides the main house, the courtyard had eastern and western wing rooms. Seeing no sound of any human voice, Shi Langfei whispered, "We each take a room to inspect, use the Centipede Bee if you find anything."

"Alright." Sun Yan nodded, first heading towards the main house.

As expected of Chai Family Village's Ancestral Shrine, although it was just a small fishing village, the interior of the shrine was filled with all sorts of ancient items.

Some objects that seemed like bells and cauldrons closely resembled bronze artifacts, and the rusted appearance on the surface didn't look newly made at all.

Gently and carefully, Sun Yan walked in and saw a large number of spiritual tablets placed on the table in the center of the main hall, all appearing to be ancestors of Chai Family Village based on their inscriptions.

However, in the deepest part of the spiritual tablets, a sculpture covered with red cloth instantly caught Sun Yan's attention.

The sculpture was over three meters tall, looking extremely massive.

Sun Yan lifted the red cloth from a distance, and immediately a hideous and grotesque face appeared before his eyes.

Unexpectedly, it was a monster with greenish skin, possessing a human torso and limbs, covered in fish scales all over, with fins and some unobtrusive tentacles sprouting from its chin.

Although the four eyes were sculpted, they seemed exceptionally vivid.

What concerned Sun Yan even more was the presence of six tentacle-like extruding limbs behind the sculpture, resembling octopus's tentacles.

"What is this!" Sun Yan couldn't help but widen his eyes, a moment of incomprehension clouding his mind.

Why would the Ancestral Shrine of Chai Family Village worship a monster?

Moreover, the monster's appearance was so bizarre; Sun Yan had seen people worship Immortals and Buddha before, and in small rural temples, some even worship pigs, cows, and sheep.

But such a monster could be revered? This was the first time Sun Yan encountered something like this.

Covering the red cloth back quickly to prevent the villagers from noticing, Sun Yan promptly continued to search the remaining corners of the main house.

Soon he discovered a pear wood bookshelf in a corner of the main hall.

The cabinet housed dozens of blue-skinned ancient volumes, which seemed to be the genealogical records of Chai Family Village.

Taking out a book for scrutiny, the first page of the genealogy recorded seven names, but due to the typography being neither traditional nor simplified Chinese, Sun Yan, based on his educational background, could not decipher what those characters meant.

But as he continued to flip through the pages, he finally found a font he could barely recognize.

'Song - Chai Ao - Not chosen by Saintess Cizhou'

'Yuan - Chai Guang - Disciple of Saintess Cizhou, headed out to sea for cultivation'

'Ming - Chai Yi - Not chosen by Saintess Cizhou'

...

As Sun Yan read further, he grew more and more alarmed, finding the words sharply different from Auntie Chai's account. Chai Family Village had already begun making contact with Saintess Cizhou long ago.

Although he couldn't decipher the texts prior to the Song Dynasty, the narrations following weren't hard to guess as they pertained to whether one was chosen by Saintess Cizhou.

"If the people of Chai Family Village all believe in Saintess Cizhou, then what is the monster on the spiritual tablet worship table?" Sun Yan frowned.

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

Just then, a Centipede Bee suddenly sounded near Sun Yan's ear.

From the sound, Sun Yan immediately knew that Shi Langfei had discovered something, quickly placing the book back in its original location and leaving the main hall to enter the eastern wing room.

He found Shi Langfei standing by a floor tile, exerting force with both hands to pry, directly lifting the whole tile up and revealing a pitch-black cellar beneath.

"You're here, see my new discovery," Shi Langfei said excitedly.

Sun Yan walked to the mouth of the cellar to look down, and his expression instantly turned surprised.

The pitch-black cellar surprisingly housed a dozen or more men lying sprawled in disarray, entirely nude with their bodies covered in densely smeared talismans of ink.

Their eyes were wrapped in black cloth, making it impossible for them to see their surroundings.

"Chai Family Village actually imprisons so many people in the ancestral shrine, which is illegal; they must be plotting some sinister scheme behind the scenes."

Shi Langfei descended the ladder, with Sun Yan quickly following suit.

The two lifted one fallen man from the ground, reaching to remove the cloth covering his eyes, as he slowly opened them, several purple tentacles protruded from his eye sockets, writhing constantly on his face.

Sun Yan and Shi Langfei instantly became alert, ready to strike if the guy acted even slightly abnormal.

"Quick, leave, you shouldn't stay here..."

No sooner had the man opened his mouth than he didn't plead for help or inquire, but rather spoke fearfully to the two.

He drooled incessantly, body quivering: "While they haven't discovered you yet, leave quickly, or else you'll end up just like us, becoming forever tormented Sacrificial Priests!"

Sun Yan was astonished, for he had heard the term Sacrificial Priest before; earlier, when the villagers attacked Gu Xing, they too mentioned this term.

If these men were indeed the so-called Sacrificial Priests, Sun Yan couldn't help feeling a chill run down his spine.

What on earth is this group from Chai Family Village planning to do!