"Oh, I wonder what major event has occurred in our Cangzhou?"
Upon hearing Wei Shanhai mention Cangzhou, Lu Qing's mind stirred slightly, and he asked without revealing his thoughts.
"A couple of days ago, something happened in the prefectural government."
There was a brothel village, but for some unknown reason, it was massacred.
It wasn't a big deal to begin with. These small forces operating on the fringes of the law are prone to offending people and are constantly fighting each other, so it's not surprising that they were wiped out.
Unexpectedly, when the village was destroyed, the second young master of the Zheng family in the prefectural city was also there and was killed by someone.
This really stirred up a hornet's nest.
"Why is that? Is the Zheng family of this prefecture very powerful?" the old doctor asked curiously.
"The Zheng family of Fucheng is a powerful and long-established family."
Their background is among the best in the entire prefecture, making them one of the most powerful families in Cangzhou.
Although their clan's ancestor was a woman, she possessed profound cultivation and had been a powerful martial artist at the peak of the initial stage of the Innate Realm for many years.
Although he was later seriously injured due to some events, making it difficult for him to break through his cultivation level, he can still be considered one of the strongest innate realm cultivators in the prefecture city.
Wei Shanhai explained.
"Senior Wei, is the important matter you mentioned related to the Zheng family?" Lu Qing continued to ask.
It seems that the fact that Yuanyang Village is the stronghold of Qisha Tower has not spread far.
It's unclear whether the news was covered up by someone with ulterior motives, or whether the guests who fled at the time simply didn't spread the word.
“Not bad.” Wei Shanhai nodded.
"Originally, the death of the second young master of the Zheng family was not a big deal."
In this world, even disciples of top sects could die if they went out to train and were not careful, let alone a young master from a noble family.
But coincidentally, this Second Young Master Zheng was the grandson of the Zheng family's matriarch and was extremely favored by her.
After his death, the Zheng family patriarch went mad and killed all of Zheng Er Gongzi's guards.
They also detained all their wives, children, and relatives, threatening to sacrifice them all as human offerings to accompany Zheng Er Gongzi's grandson on the day of his burial.
Lu Qing did not react when he heard about the human sacrifice.
He was simply surprised by the ruthlessness of the Zheng family patriarch.
Not only did they kill a few guards who failed to protect them, but they also went so far as to kill the man's wife, children, and clansmen.
Is this really the behavior of a great family?
But when the old doctor heard the words "human sacrifice," he was shocked and his face showed disbelief: "Human sacrifice? Is the patriarch of the Zheng family really that cruel?"
"Master, what is human sacrifice?"
Lu Qing rarely saw his master so out of sorts, so he couldn't help but ask him what was wrong.
"Human sacrifice is an extremely cruel method of burial."
Before the old doctor could speak, Wei Shanhai had already begun to explain.
"This method usually involves giving the person to be buried alive a life-sustaining drug, then torturing them with various extreme punishments, and finally sealing them in clay when they have only one breath left, making them into clay figurines, and burying them with the deceased."
Because of the life-saving medicine, even if the person inside is turned into a clay figurine, they will not die immediately, and will always have a breath left in their chest.
Then, inside the clay figurines, in the dark and gloomy tomb, filled with immense fear, they felt their life slowly slipping away, and finally, in endless resentment, they died.
Lu Qing felt a chill run down his spine.
I never imagined that this method of human sacrifice could be so cruel. No wonder my master was so moved.
The old doctor's face was grim: "I remember that this method was too cruel and against the natural order, and it should have been abolished and banned by the capital long ago."
Wei Shanhai nodded: "Not only the capital, but even the sacred mountain has issued an order that the practice of human sacrifice is no longer allowed."
Therefore, such things rarely happen in the world anymore.
Even if someone were to use this method again, they would only dare to do it secretly and would never dare to make it public.
"Then why would the patriarch of the Zheng family risk such public condemnation and resort to such cruel and immoral methods?" the old doctor asked.
“That’s right, isn’t she afraid that the Holy Mountain will send someone to question her?” Lu Qing also said.
"I have no idea about that," Wei Shanhai shook his head.
"However, there are rumors that the Zheng family patriarch has gone mad."
She had two sons in her early years. Her eldest son had exceptional talent in martial arts and was one of the most famous young talents in Cangzhou at that time.
The patriarch of the Zheng family doted on him and intended to groom him to become the head of the Zheng family.
Unexpectedly, the eldest son of the Zheng family later offended a Xiantian Realm martial artist who was passing through Cangzhou and was killed on the spot.
When the Zheng family patriarch learned of this, he fought a great battle with the outsider who was at the Innate Realm and avenged his son.
However, she was also seriously injured, and her lifespan was greatly reduced. If you calculate it, she is now nearing her end and doesn't have many years left to live.
It is said that the second son of the Zheng family who died this time was the posthumous son of the eldest son of the Zheng family.
With such successive blows and his own life nearing its end, the Zheng family patriarch must have lost his mind, which is why he disregarded the sacred mountain's prohibitions and acted recklessly.
"Even so, she shouldn't have used the method of human sacrifice. This method is too cruel. It is said that those who are tortured by this method are filled with resentment and their three souls and seven spirits are trapped in the clay figurines, unable to enter the cycle of reincarnation or be reborn. It is too contrary to the laws of nature." The old doctor's expression was still not good.
"Senior Wei, since the capital has also explicitly prohibited and sought to abolish this law, is there no one in the prefecture to stop it?" Lu Qing asked.
"The rumor that the Zheng family is going to perform a human sacrifice is just that, and has not yet been confirmed. The Zheng family has also denied it outright."
Without conclusive evidence, even the city lord's mansion cannot do anything to the Zheng family.
Strangely, despite knowing that these rumors were extremely detrimental to them, the Zheng family did not stop them, allowing them to spread freely, which is truly perplexing.
Moreover, the Zheng family did indeed imprison the wives, children, and clansmen of those guards.
Therefore, many people feel that the rumors may not be entirely unfounded.
In short, the entire state capital is on edge right now.
I wonder if the Zheng family patriarch truly went mad in the end and committed that inhumane act on the day of her grandson's burial.
"I hope this patriarch of the Zheng family will have some compassion and not commit unnecessary sins."
The old doctor breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that there might still be a chance for things to turn around.
He has always been kind-hearted, and if the Zheng family patriarch were to actually hold a human sacrifice, he probably wouldn't be able to resist going to stop him.
"I hope so. I heard that among the clansmen who were captured after the deaths of those guards, there were children who were not even a year old. If even children suffer such extreme torture, it would be too cruel and inhumane," Wei Shanhai sighed.
Upon hearing this, the old doctor's expression turned grave once again.
On the contrary, Lu Qing's heart skipped a beat when he heard Wei Shanhai's previous words, and he guessed what it was.
However, he didn't show anything on his face and continued to chat with the two elderly people.
Next, Wei Shanhai shared some recent events that have happened in the world.
Although the Wei family lived in a remote corner of the country, they had always kept an eye on things happening outside.
Especially after experiencing the near extermination of his clan two years ago, and learning that the world was about to undergo a major change, he became even more sensitive to the movements of the outside world.
As a result, Lu Qing gained a lot of information about the world.
After Wei Shanhai finished chatting and returned to the villa.
Once Lu Qing returned home, his expression calmed down, and he began to think silently.
