The Druid Master of Hogwarts

The latest website: The sky is gloomy, and the drizzle like a cow's hair is falling from the gray clouds.

I stood among the crowd, staring numbly ahead.

On the square in the middle of the village, the village chief was wearing that strange costume that he didn't know how to evaluate, dancing around the sacrifices, and chanting some spells that others couldn't understand at all.

Everyone, like me, watched quietly. In the whole square, apart from the weird sound of the village chief chanting incantations, there was only the desperate wailing and cursing of the sacrifices.

This is the seventh time I have participated in the village's annual Longevity Festival since I was sensible. From being ignorant at the beginning, to being shocked later, to being numb now, it only took me three years.

I have long been accustomed to this strange custom in the village, because compared with the strange habits of those people in the village, the Longevity Festival is actually nothing.

Coming to the festival this time is just a routine.

After the village chief finished dancing and chanting the mantra, he pulled out the crooked and five-pronged strange sword stuck on the side of the wooden pier. As in previous years, he stabbed each of the five sacrifices with the strange sword. , Let their blood be stained on different forks respectively.

"ignition--!!!"

Holding the strange sword high, the village shouted in a drawn out voice.

The surrounding villagers finally started to commotion, and everyone's faces showed excitement. In order not to look special, I also pretended to cheer along.

Several villagers went forward and pushed the five sacrifices into the big pit already filled with firewood, and then threw the torches into the pit. The firewood has been soaked in tung oil, not to mention the drizzling weather, it can be burned even in heavy rain.

In the flames soaring into the sky, the surrounding villagers cheered wildly, and of course I did the same.

After yelling for a while, I felt a little uncomfortable in my throat, so I quietly backed away, opening my mouth and not making a sound.

It wasn't until the flames in the big pit were extinguished that everyone's cheers gradually subsided, and they returned to the peaceful appearance at the beginning, but the expressions of many of them were no longer numb, but showed anticipation color.

I know what they are looking forward to, but it's been so many years, and I haven't seen anyone gain longevity through this ceremony, so I can't understand why they still look forward to it.

But...it doesn't matter.

I followed the villagers and lined up in front of the big pit. At the front of the line was the village chief's family. They each took a handful of ashes from the big pit and stuffed them into their mouths impatiently.

Followed by the "parents" and "children" of the sacrifices, and then other villagers.

I stood numbly at the end of the line, moving forward bit by bit as the line shortened.

This place is called Changsheng Village. According to the old people in the village, it should have been called Shangshang Village, because everyone in the village has the surname Shang, but I don’t know when most people in the village began to pursue longevity, so they changed their name. It's called Changsheng Village.

I don't know when this strange ceremony was passed down today. Anyway, I heard from "father" that it existed when he was sensible. I didn't know about it any earlier, and I wasn't interested in knowing.

As for the sacrifices of the Longevity Festival, some are travelers who strayed into the village, and some unlucky ones abducted by the villagers from outside, but most of the time, they are people from our own village.

Whenever the sacrifices are not enough, the village head will solicit sacrifices in the village, and then choose the right ones from the registered sacrifices. Occasionally, if there are still not enough sacrifices, he will randomly select from the villagers.

It's just that this kind of situation is rare, and I have only encountered it once in the past seven years. Most of the time, some villagers will take the initiative to hand over their "relatives", because in this way, they can follow closely behind the village chief's family, Give priority to eating long-lived ash...

Just like those few people just now.

In addition to the Longevity Festival, there is also a custom in the village that I find strange, that is, whenever a new child is born, it will be sent to a special nursery in the village, and then the villagers of that family will be able to start childcare after five days. A baby of about the same age was taken away from the center.

So everyone in the village actually doesn't know who their biological parents are, but no one has ever questioned this question...

No, some people have questioned it, but they have already become sacrifices, and after being burned to ashes, they were eaten by me and other villagers.

Finally it was my turn. Because of the rain, the ash in the pit was lumped together and stuck in this big pit that had existed for an unknown amount of time. I could even see the dirt left by countless villagers on the pit wall. fingerprint.

When I came to the edge of the pit, I immediately pretended to be excited, then lay down on my stomach, grabbed a handful of ashes from the pit with my hands, stuffed them into my mouth, and swallowed them with some difficulty.

Then, I got up, and instead of patting the dirt on my clothes, I just looked happy and walked home swaggeringly.

It wasn't until I left the square in the middle of the village and I couldn't see other people around that I regained my expressionless expression and slowed down to walk towards home.

Although I don't like that home very much, I can eat and wear clothes there anyway, so even if I have to suffer a lot, I have to obey my "father" and go home on time every day.

Before sunset, I returned home, and the "father" and "mother" who had returned home after eating ashes a long time ago glanced at me, did not speak, but continued to tinker with their herbs.

I glanced at the medicine they were processing, and my face changed slightly. If I guessed correctly, I will be "boiled" again tonight. Once a prescription was tried on me for so long...

Generally speaking, my "parents" let me try medicine, never for more than a month, and after confirming the effect of the medicine, I will switch to another one. Could it be that the effect of this medicine bath is special? Or is it that they haven't figured out the properties of the medicine yet?

This is a bit rare. Although I don't like them, I have to admit that the medical skills of "father" and "mother" are indeed very good. The evidence is that I have been tried by them for more than ten years. He died, but he could still be rescued, and besides being relatively thin, he didn't even have a cold.

Forget it... Trying any medicine is not a trial. At least this medicine can be sure that it is not life-threatening, and the discomfort is nothing at all.

I didn't bother to think about the reason, so I went to the kitchen on my own.

Today's dinner is as rich as ever, I picked up the bowls and chopsticks and started to eat.

I didn't eat so well before, but "Father" probably worried that my body was too weak and I might die easily when trying medicines, so since more than four months ago, I have improved my diet...

I just don't know how long this kind of life can last, so I cherish it very much. The current three meals a day is also a rare time for me to feel happy.

After dinner, I stood up, cleaned up the dishes on the table, put them into the wooden basin beside me, and then took them to the yard to fetch some water for cleaning.

However, as soon as I walked out of the kitchen, I was stopped by "father".

"You don't need to wash, come with me."

I silently put down the tub and followed him to a room next to me.

In the center of the room, there was a huge wooden barrel, which was filled with about two-thirds of the brown liquid. The unpleasant smell of medicine spread to every corner of the room with the rising heat.

"Go in." My "father" said coldly and simply.

And I didn't say much, just took off my clothes obediently as before, and climbed into the barrel.

The temperature of the liquid medicine is very high, as soon as I entered the barrel, I immediately felt a burst of burning, and my skin quickly turned red, but... I can bear it, and... I have to bear it.

What's more, it's not the first time I've accepted this kind of medicated bath, I've been used to it for a long time.

Enduring the stinging pain of my skin, I soaked my body in it without saying a word, with only one head exposed.

And "Father" took two semi-circular wooden boards and covered them on the barrel. After the two wooden boards were combined, there was a circular hole in the middle so that I could put my head outside.

The "father" who had done all this left the room, and I gradually lost consciousness under the fumigation of the heat in the room.

I don't know how long it took, but I woke up in a daze.

As before, I was moved back to my bedroom, naked, and the smell of potion still remained in the bed.

After taking the clothes that were randomly thrown on the bed and getting dressed, I walked out of the bedroom.

At this time, the sky was already bright, so I took a sip of water first, and then came to the main entrance, and removed the chains that were wrapped around it.

The night in the village is very dangerous, because three years ago, there was a saying that using people's brains and blood as medicine can prolong life, and then several families were touched in the middle of the night, and their chests were opened. , the murderer has not been caught yet...

In fact, not many people in the village want to catch the murderer. Even if they occasionally track down, they still want to ask the murderer how their painstaking efforts will work.

Anyway, after that, when the sun sets in the village, every household will close their doors and windows to prevent others from entering and disemboweling themselves.

I went to "father" to test the medicine every day, and helped "mother" with some housework, so I took a fishing rod and a small bucket from the house and walked to the small lake in the south of the village.

Fishing is one of my few entertainments. When the school is not in session, I will go fishing in the small lake in the south of the village or the river in the east of the village whenever I have nothing to do.

On the way to the small lake, I dug some earthworms and picked some fruits as bait for fishing.

When I got to the lake, Brother Min was already fishing there.

Brother Min is a child who lived diagonally across from my house. He has the same fishing hobby as me, and he is one of the few friends I have.

His situation at home is not much better than mine. He has to collect morning dew for his "parents" every morning, and he often has to accompany them to fast. His original purpose of fishing was because he was too hungry.

"Brother Yan, you are late today!" Brother Min greeted me from a distance.

I nodded lightly, then shook the small wooden barrel in my hand and said, "I dug some earthworms."

Then I found a fishing spot on my own and sat down, baited and cast the hook skillfully, and quietly waited for the fish to bite the hook.

After a while, Brother Min dropped his fishing rod and ran to my side, hesitating to say something.

I glanced at him and then withdrew my eyes. I was indifferent and didn't have too much curiosity.

"Brother Yan," he finally said, "Have you thought about leaving the village?"

"Have you forgotten the youngest son of the tailor?" I replied lightly.

The youngest son of the tailor I mentioned tried to escape from the village a few years ago, but he was naturally captured and burned to ashes as one of the sacrifices for the Longevity Festival that year.

Actually, he's not the first time I've seen a villager try to escape, it's just that I've never seen anyone succeed.

Maybe someone has succeeded, but was concealed by the village chief?

Who knows, I don't care anyway.

"I went to guard the sacrifice for my father two days ago, and then talked for a long time with the sacrifice who came from outside..." Brother Min was silent for a long time, and then said again: "He said that the outside world is not like this. Everyone knows their biological father, and they won't push people into the fire pit every year to burn them to death, let alone a group of people thinking about how to live forever!"

The more he talked, the more excited he became, and I could even see all the veins on his neck bulging.

However, I am still unmoved. I know that the people in the village are not right, but I have no interest in fighting against them.

Seeing my indifferent look, Brother Min flicked his sleeves angrily and left without even taking his precious fishing rod.

The next day, I didn't see Brother Min by the lake, his fishing rod was still left where it was yesterday, and I continued to catch my own fish indifferently.

On the third day, he still didn't show up.

On the fourth day, I saw Brother Min, who was covered in bruises, being dragged by two villagers towards the village chief's house.

It seems that my friend is missing one more.

I watched indifferently as Brother Min was dragged away, then turned around and walked towards the river in the east of the village with the fishing rod and barrel in hand...

During the recent period, I probably don't want to go fishing in the small lake.

...

Today is the day to go to school to report. Finally, instead of picking up my fishing rod and barrel, I dug out the schoolbag covered with a thin layer of dust from under the bed.

I slapped it hard a few times to get rid of the dust. I slung my light schoolbag across my shoulders and walked out of the house.

Because of the particularity of the village, apart from teaching us some commonly used characters in the first two years, the school in our village doesn’t even have textbooks since the third grade, and there are usually no classes to attend.

Occasionally, someone would shout around the whole village, let us gather at the school, just like yesterday.

And when we arrive at school, we are usually called to do some work - such as making some handicrafts, or helping to harvest wheat and the like.

But today we are not asked to work, otherwise I would not have brought the schoolbag that I have not used for a long time.

According to the notice in yesterday's announcement, today should be going to the school for a physical examination, and I brought my schoolbag to hold the medical examination report.

What I am a little curious about is that I only had a physical examination half a year ago, and it used to be once a year.

But...it doesn't matter, anyway, just be obedient and obedient.

As the school got closer, I put a smile on my face, greeted the acquaintances I met on the way, walked into the school gate, and walked all the way to my class...or grade.

The children in the village say that there are not many, and that there are not many. Basically, one grade is one class.

Smiling and nodding at those students who were familiar but not necessarily named, I found a seat at random and sat down.

After a while, the teacher of our class, an unsmiling middle-aged woman, walked in quickly.

She glanced around the classroom, her eyes seemed to linger on me for a while, and then she said straight to the point: "We will start the physical examination now, and the people whose names I call stand there immediately."

She pointed to a medical scale in the corner of the classroom, a thing that could measure weight and height at the same time.

Each classmate was called up by the teacher. I leaned lazily against the wall and stared at the sky outside the window in a daze.

"Business words!"

The teacher's voice pulled me back from the state of emptying my mind. I collected myself, then got up and walked forward.

Stepping on my heels to take off my shoes, I stood barefoot on the rectangular iron block of the medical examination scale.

The pointer on the dial shook for a while, and stopped between the two numbers 30 and 40.

I recalled a little bit, it seems that the last physical examination was in a similar position? It seems that the food improvement during this period is of no use...

The teacher recorded the data on my physical examination form, and then stretched out a black iron rod from behind the dial. The iron rod was connected to a flat piece of wood, and the teacher pressed the wooden piece on top of my head.

It's just that she was probably too tired, and she couldn't hold the iron rod firmly, and fell back several times. It took a lot of effort to measure my height.

The teacher returned the physical examination form to me. I looked at it, and it seemed to be similar to the previous physical examination, and there was no change. But I didn't care about these, I stuffed the form into my schoolbag.

Soon, the physical examination was over, and I slowly returned home from school.

"Where's the watch?"

As soon as he stepped into the house, "father" and "mother" greeted him uncharacteristically.

Although I was a little surprised, I still passed the form obediently.

The two of them seemed a little excited after reading the form. Before I could ask anything, "father" dragged me into the house, while "mother" closed the door, but did not tie the chain.

After entering the house, "father" let me sit on a chair and then went into the pharmacy. I didn't know what happened, so I could only sit on the chair in a daze.

After a while, I heard a noise coming from outside, and then "mother" walked in with a group of people...

It is the teachers of the school and the village chief.

And "Father" also came out of the pharmacy at this time.

"Are you sure?" the village chief asked.

"I'm sure!" My teacher and "parents" nodded their heads excitedly, and "father" replied: "For the past six months, I have been feeding him a lot of fish and meat, and feeding him some tonics from time to time, but his weight And there is no increase in height!"

"Mother" also added: "We have tried all kinds of ways to feed him before this, but it didn't produce the same effect!"

"So... did you eat something special outside?!"

My teacher rushed up, clasped my shoulder firmly and asked, her face became extremely ferocious, and the light in her eyes made me chill for a while.

I looked blankly at my "parents", the village head, and other teachers. Their expressions and eyes were exactly the same as those of the teacher.

At this time, I reacted belatedly, they seem to think that I have obtained immortality?

And...the expressions on their faces... Isn't that the expression of the villagers at the Longevity Festival when they were waiting to go to the pit to get the ashes?

They want to eat me!

I finally figured it out.

I didn't care about anything at first, and suddenly panicked. I struggled hard, trying to break free from the teacher's hand.

However, her hands clasped my shoulders tightly like iron clamps.

"Say! How on earth did you do it?!" She asked loudly with a greedy face.

That ferocious face almost touched the tip of my nose.

Looking at the terrifying look that was almost poking into my brain, I finally couldn't help but scream out...

"what!!!"

I sat up suddenly from the bed, my forehead and back were wet and cool.

Stretching out my hand to wipe the cold sweat off my forehead, I looked around in a little bewilderment.

The familiar furniture around me and the charging mobile phone by the bed made my beating heart gradually calm down.

"It turned out to be just a nightmare..."

I let out a long sigh of relief, then picked up the phone by the bed and glanced at it.

Saturday, April 16, 2022 at 7:34 am.

Today is the weekend, and I still have to update the code words without taking a break... When I think of this, I can't help but feel a sore nose, and I feel sad.

I pinched my thigh resolutely.

it hurts……

not a dream...

"Ugh……"

ε=(′ο｀*)

...

?Recommendation ticket??Monthly ticket?