In the vast flat valley in front of the cliff, flames soared, green smoke filled the canyon, and the air was filled with the rich scent of pine.
The canyon was heavily guarded on all sides, especially at the entrance to the canyon, where five hundred Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, led by Cao Zhang himself, set up camp and made it impossible for anyone to get through.
A bonfire was lit and an altar was set up in the square in front of the cliff cave. Hundreds of people wearing animal skins and ghost masks were singing and dancing around.
There was a witch god on the high platform, with gray hair hanging down to his feet, his face could not be seen clearly, he held white animal bones in his hands, his arms were full of bells, and he kept chanting spells.
The Cao army looked solemn. Cao Hong and Cao Zhen stood at the entrance of the cave with serious expressions. It had been three days since the Sushen people had invited the great witch god of their tribe to come down the mountain to perform a ritual.
Cao Zhen said helplessly: "Three days have passed, and although the Prime Minister's complexion has improved a little, he has not woken up. I don't know whether it is good or bad."
Cao Hong gritted his teeth and said, "The Sushen people made a boast and fed the Prime Minister a lot of elixirs. If they can't save the people, they will be buried with him."
Cao Zhen frowned and said, "When I went to the Sushen tribe, I saw that their houses were dirty and messy, their horses were grazing on the hills, and their homes raised pigs. It was extremely smelly. Can such people really save lives?"
Cao Hong said helplessly: "The Prime Minister is critically ill and there is no cure. We are far away from the Central Plains. This is also a helpless move. We should try our best to save the dying horse."
Cao Zhenyan said: "I hope that thousand-year-old human face ginseng can have miraculous effects."
The reason why they believed the promise of the Sushen people was that they presented a thousand-year-old ginseng. Despite its age, it was still very plump, and a human face was faintly visible at the root. This kind of ginseng was said to be spiritual and had the effect of bringing the dead back to life.
It is said that this was an ancestor of the Sushen people. He went to the Tianchi Lake on the top of the sacred mountain Bushan Mountain to fetch water. On the way, he heard the sounds of a baby crying and laughing. He followed the sound and saw a ginseng running all over the mountain. He immediately asked the witch god to come out and it took three months to find the ginseng. He regarded it as a treasure.
Originally, the Xianbei Mountain area was the territory of the Sushen people, but after the arrival of the Donghu people, they were driven to the extremely cold land in the northeast, where their lives were extremely difficult.
After hearing that the Han army had defeated the Xianbei, the Sushen people decided as a clan to submit to the Han Dynasty and migrate to the Central Plains at all costs, so that they would no longer have to suffer from the ice, snow and cold.
Inside the cave, several witch doctors were busy, sweating profusely, staring at Cao Cao lying on the bed and chanting spells. This time, not only the most precious elixir was at stake, but also the rise and fall of the entire Sushen tribe was at stake.
Although Cao Cao's complexion had improved, his face had regained color, and his body was no longer shaking, he fell into a coma. This left the witch god helpless, and he personally performed rituals for two days, but to no avail.
Cao Chun personally stood guard by the bed, looking at these witch gods with increasingly cold eyes. In the past, Cao Cao would occasionally wake up and instruct them to deal with his funeral affairs, but now there was no movement.
Nurhai, the leader of the Sushen, had already collapsed at the door. According to his ancestors, the ginseng was like an elixir of life, which could bring the dead back to life as long as a person was still alive. According to ancestral teachings, clan leaders and witch gods were not allowed to take it, and it could only be taken out when it came time to change the fate of the tribe members, otherwise they would be punished by the sacred mountain.
After waiting for a long time for Cao Cao to appear, Nurhai saw that the Xianbei had been destroyed and thought that the time had come. He consulted the witches and gods for divination, took the initiative to find Cao's army, and boasted that he would save Cao Cao.
Wasting this magical herb is secondary. If anything happens to Cao Cao because of it, it will be the Sushen’s fault, and no one can afford to be offended.
Seeing that great wealth was about to turn into great disaster, the hearts of several leaders were colder than the ice in the Tianchi Lake on the Buxian Mountain.
The fire was raging, and the masked man performing the shaman act was already unsteady on his feet.
The tattooed old man had a hoarse voice, and his long flowing hair was now tangled and limp, hanging on the ground in a mess. He could barely stand with the help of his crutch.
In the evening, the witch god finally couldn't hold on any longer and fell to the ground with a low cry. The people who were beating drums and gongs around him also stopped in shock. Only the bonfire was still burning, rustling in the night wind.
The attendants stepped forward to rescue the witch god and fed him some medicine. The witch god slowly woke up, called Nurhai, said something in gibberish, and then fainted.
Nurhai looked ashen, and he found Cao Hong and sighed helplessly: "The Prime Minister is already terminally ill, I am afraid that the magic grass will not be able to save his life. Our mountain god cannot protect the heroes of the Han Dynasty."
Cao Hong grabbed his collar and growled, "Are you reluctant to use the traditional medicine and have used other herbs instead?"
Nurhai struggled and explained: "Not only has the thousand-year-old ginseng in our tribe been used up, but the bone powder of the white tiger hunted by our third-generation ancestor has also been added to the pills. There are also rare herbs such as deer antlers, bezoars, and sea urchins. This is a major event related to the rise and fall of our Sushen tribe. How dare I play it lightly?"
Cao Hong believed it a little bit, snorted coldly, pushed Nurhai away, and ordered: "Wait outside the cliff cave for my order."
Nurhai agreed immediately and asked the witch doctor and attendants to go outside to rest. Although the food and fodder given to them by Cao's army were rough, they were delicious delicacies to the Sushen people.
Since I visited Liaodong once when I was young, I knew what real "life on earth" was. I learned that the Central Plains is richer than Liaodong, there is more food and drink, and it is better than the immortal life passed down by their ancestors.
Nurhai could not forget this and returned to his tribe with a stolen linen collar. The witch god and several tribe leaders were all excited when they saw this sacred object and vowed to move their people to the Central Plains at any cost.
Although they lived in a simple cave outside Cao's camp this time, Nurhai and others did not want to leave at all. Compared with their stinky pigsty, it was simply heaven on earth.
Cao Hong casually arranged for the Sushen people to stay and hurried back to his residence, but he saw that the bed was empty. Cao Chun and several guards were not there. His face changed drastically and he shouted anxiously, "Where are the people?"
"Cough cough—" A slight cough suddenly came from deep inside. Although the breath was a little weak and mixed with echoes, Cao Hong was shocked and looked there in astonishment.
A familiar figure walked out slowly, supported by Cao Chun, looking excited.
"Prime Minister, you finally woke up—"
Cao Hong rushed forward a few steps, overjoyed. He was stunned for a long while before he knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face.
"Zi Lian, please get up quickly!" Cao Cao said weakly as he walked to the bedside and sat down, saying with emotion: "I thought my time was up and there was no cure, but who knew there was a miraculous elixir in this land outside the Great Wall? It seems that God is not forsaking me!"
Cao Hong stood up, wiped his tears but with a smile on his face, he walked out quickly: "I will inform the whole army right away."
"Wait a minute!" Cao Cao leaned on the bed and ordered, "This matter cannot be made public for the time being."
Cao Hong said anxiously: "The Prime Minister has been bedridden for half a month. The people are scattered and the morale is low. Fortunately, he has been resurrected. This is a time of great joy and encouragement for the army. Why do you still want to conceal it?"
Cao Cao smiled coldly: "The Sushen people live in nests without any occupation, and live with pigs and sheep. Such barbaric creatures dare to covet the wealth of the Central Plains. They are more dangerous than the Xiongnu and Xianbei. If we keep them, they will be a great trouble."