The space behind the door was not as dark as Ye Tiancheng had imagined. There was light inside, and while it wasn't exactly bright, it was sufficient to see the scene clearly.
The village chief's house had a facade with local ethnic characteristics, and the interior was equipped with more modern facilities. However, upon entering this secret room, one could distinctly feel a very uncomfortable atmosphere.
The interior was arranged in a very ancient and eerily peculiar manner, with no trace of modern elements.
Everything inside was made of wood, with wooden furniture and decorations. There was also an altar. The lighting was very dim, resembling old oil lamps, with a single flame burning quietly within a lampshade, its duration unknown, and when it might extinguish.
This seemed illogical. Either the flame could burn eternally, or the village chief would frequently enter this place to replenish the oil daily.
Considering how difficult the door to this secret room was to open, Ye Tiancheng found the village chief's dedication astonishing if he had to enter daily at a fixed time to add lamp oil.
What good could be done with such dedication, other than to worship an evil god…
Ye Tiancheng was now almost certain that if it were a normal act of seeking blessings from gods, there would be no need to create such a secret room and place an altar and idols within. Unless the worshipper himself knew that such things were problematic and could not be displayed openly.
He noticed that although this secret room was only two to three meters wide, a considerable space, anyone walking into it, especially an adult man standing inside, would feel very cramped. Yet, there was a staircase.
Ye Tiancheng walked to the edge of the staircase and looked down. He discovered that there was another staircase below, meaning this secret room was a three-story structure. He wondered if there were other entrances below. If he had thought of the space difference caused by the hidden floors earlier, would he have found these on the first and second floors as well?
If there were no entrances downstairs, perhaps they would have been wandering around downstairs.
It was truly thanks to the cleverness of the little fox, who had discovered the secret room on the third floor and the mechanism.
Ye Tiancheng did not rush to explore the secret room downstairs. Instead, he chose to focus on what was in front of him.
What he cared about most, of course, was the idol. To solve the problem, they had to get to the root of it, which was the "Mountain God." Ye Tiancheng could not afford to miss anything that might be related to the "Mountain God."
Ye Tiancheng walked to the idol and carefully examined the idol in the secret room.
Previously, among the crowd watching the procession, the "Mountain God" idol was inside a palanquin. The palanquin was not open, so the situation inside could not be seen. Therefore, Ye Tiancheng did not know what the "Mountain God" idol looked like.
Now that he could see it, Ye Tiancheng observed that the idol on the altar had a ferocious face and a peculiar appearance. It had horns on its head, resembling deer antlers. This was indeed similar to the legendary dragon horns, as dragon horns are shaped like deer antlers.
The upper body of the idol was very robust and strong, with bulging muscles, and it was indeed in human form. Its clothing was not neatly arranged, exposing its firm chest. The lower half of its body was not legs but a thick, long tail.
Ye Tiancheng looked at the thick tail coiled around a standing pillar. Judging by its scales, he thought it might not be a dragon's tail, but it was at least very similar to a snake's.
Snakes themselves are called minor dragons, and while dragons might not exist, snakes certainly do. It's not impossible for a snake to impersonate a dragon.
Throughout the long river of history, there have been many records of snakes impersonating dragons, and not only that, but there have been many. These snakes often yearned to transform into dragons and liked to act under the guise of dragons, with a fervent pursuit of dragon transformation.
As for the pair of horns on the idol, not everything with horns is necessarily a dragon, and it's not necessarily real either. After all, it's just an idol. This "Mountain God" could choose to grow horns for itself, or let the person who made the idol add this pair of horns.
On the incense burner in front of the idol, there were six burnt incense sticks.
Ye Tiancheng looked at the incense in the burner and couldn't help but frown. He wondered if the incense sticks were lit at the same time. This looked very wrong. There were rules for lighting incense; generally, one or three sticks could be lit, but not six.
In many people's minds, six is a lucky number, a good number. However, in reality, six is actually an inauspicious number. Only "six six" is auspicious, with the original meaning likely being similar to the principle of "when things reach their extreme, they reverse" or "negative times negative equals positive."
Furthermore, when paying respects to gods, one must not light six incense sticks. Three incense sticks are for revering righteous gods. Lighting six sticks can easily attract evil gods and spirits that covet incense offerings.
This is the tradition, regardless of whether it is true or logical. At the very least, people who worship gods properly would never do this. The six incense sticks inserted in the burner now, if they were indeed lit simultaneously, would further prove that what was worshipped here was not a righteous god, but definitely an evil god.
Ye Tiancheng carefully examined the incense burner and finally confirmed this point: the person who worshipped the god had indeed offered six incense sticks simultaneously.
The incense had not been lit for too long, nor was the time of lighting very recent. The burning of these six incense sticks had not been long ago, and the ashes still had a faint warmth. If Ye Tiancheng's guess was correct, they were likely lit before the village chief went out to preside over the "Mountain God" procession.
Given that the village already believed in the Dragon God, Ye Tiancheng couldn't help but suspect that the village chief's worship was not of their original Dragon God.
Most people in the village believed in the Dragon God. If they were to worship and offer sacrifices to the Dragon God, there would be no need for secrecy. It was likely that some evil god had taken advantage of the situation and impersonated the Dragon God.
He wondered why a village chief would do such a thing.
Ye Tiancheng couldn't help but think that it was probably all for profit. Profit drives people's hearts. It's not surprising for overly greedy people to do anything. As long as there is profit in something, someone will do it, and the greater the profit, the more people dare to take risks.
He recalled how the village had suddenly developed into a tourist resort in recent years, and then it seemed to make sense.
This was because Ye Tiancheng remembered that when the villager explained things to him earlier, he mentioned that the "Mountain God" procession had only started in recent years.
It was likely that the "Mountain God" was increasing its fame and influence, trying to attract more believers.
Thinking further, considering the results of the tourism resort's development in recent years, the grandeur of the "Mountain God" procession earlier, the information Nie Chongyang had found, and the reason for Xiao Miaomiao's appearance here, the outcome was evident.
The number of "Mountain God" believers was increasing. Regardless of whether they genuinely believed in the "Mountain God," as long as they received benefits after offering sacrifices, they would continue to do so.
And the faith and incense offerings required by the "Mountain God" were naturally obtained.
However, things would not be so simple. After all, the conditions for the "Mountain God" to fulfill people's wishes could basically be confirmed as harming the interests or even lives of innocent people.
Seeking blessings from gods is not a problem. Most people seek psychological comfort and do not intend to do bad things. However, things that harm people like this should be destroyed.
Ye Tiancheng reached this conclusion in his heart.
However, he certainly couldn't touch the idol now. Ye Tiancheng knew this well. He was more worried that the idol worshipped in the village chief's house might be even more different from those in ordinary homes.
The main reason was that he had already entered and seen it, so he might as well observe more. After all, he wouldn't get into trouble so easily.
Most importantly, regardless of whether he had been discovered or not, if he was truly discovered, then it would be better to see more and lose less. Opportunities are rare, and time waits for no one.
Determining that there was nothing else of particular value on this floor, Ye Tiancheng decided to continue down the stairs.
He had already checked all parts of this floor and found no trace of the village annals, so he had to look further. Of course, if there was anything else of value, Ye Tiancheng would definitely pay close attention.
The two connected floors below stored more items. Ye Tiancheng finally found what he was looking for, and even more things he needed, to the point where he couldn't look at them all.
Ye Tiancheng thought that since he had come this far, there was no need to hide so much. He unscrupulously took all the things he wanted. After all, he had the Nuwa Stone with him. Although carrying so many things himself was not very convenient, he could completely ask the Nuwa Stone to help him carry them, and then he could examine them later after they went out.
He cleared out all the village annals stored here and even found something interesting – the village chief's diary.
He didn't expect the village chief to be a literary youth in his youth and to like writing diaries to record daily events. Ye Tiancheng looked through it roughly. The village chief's diaries from childhood to adulthood were all here. It seemed he hadn't written in recent years, but the previous ones were all there. Ye Tiancheng didn't miss a single one.
This was because he saw something interesting inside, which might help determine the origin of the current "Mountain God."
After finding what he wanted, Ye Tiancheng began to walk back. When he returned to the third floor, perhaps the soundproofing in the secret room was quite good. It was only on the third floor that Ye Tiancheng heard the little fox's voice.
"Brother, brother, hurry out! Someone's coming! If you don't come out, I'll have to close the door! Brother, can you hear me?"
Hearing what the little fox said, Ye Tiancheng quickly walked towards the door, taking two steps at a time, and replied to the little fox, "I'm coming out, right away!"
The little fox urged him repeatedly. Ye Tiancheng said, "Hurry, hurry, the sound is very close!"
Ye Tiancheng dared not delay and immediately rushed out. After the little fox confirmed that Ye Tiancheng had finally come out, she gently turned the hidden door mechanism of the standing coat rack back a little, then let go, and the hidden door of the bookshelf began to close rapidly.
After Ye Tiancheng went out, he truly heard the movement outside the room. Someone was walking towards the village chief's room. The footsteps were not very clear, but Ye Tiancheng and the others had extraordinary hearing, so they could still discern them. The footsteps grew closer and closer, and finally stopped at the door.
Who could it be, arriving at the village chief's bedroom at this time?
Had the procession ended?
Ye Tiancheng felt that unless the sky fell, the village chief would not likely appear at home prematurely before the "Mountain God" procession ceremony concluded.
Could it be the village chief's mother? Would she have suddenly arrived?
However, he didn't think it was likely. Although the footsteps were light, they conveyed a sense of steadiness and stability. The person was at least not in poor health, and it clearly did not match the conditions of the village chief's mother.