The night before I left, I was doomed to sleepless.
Like a woman in the boudoir, I spent most of the night complaining to myself in front of the dark woods outside the window, and then I called my father and talked for a long time.
In fact, my father and I are born to be incompatible. We only see each other at home during meals, and the conversations are mostly "Dad, I'm done, you eat slowly" and so on.
Occasionally, my father would get inspired and think about using his life experience to clarify my future direction, but the results were mostly unsatisfactory. He often ended up slamming the table and glaring at me to punish me as a father.
At this time, he and I talked a lot. We talked about the old things over and over again, even the time when he ate half of my candied haws in one bite when we were young, which made me cry. The father and son laughed and scolded each other on the phone, but I covered my face and cried for no reason, as if the emotions were not my own and came inexplicably. My father did not say anything, but just listened to me, a twenty-year-old boy, howling on the phone.
This may be the most gentle side of being a father.
I know very well that I am afraid. The fear of death is a person's instinct. Even if I have never enjoyed wealth and my life is as lowly as an ant, I am still full of attachment to this world. I grew up peacefully. To be honest, I have never suffered a bit of hardship. It's just that I always complain about the unfairness of fate like an angry young man. In the end, it's the greed in my heart that's at work. I've experienced great changes in the past few days, and all kinds of negative things have accumulated in my heart. Now it's finally time to face and settle the accounts. Finally, the flash flood broke out.
Unknowingly, it was dawn.
I also sobbed all night. No matter how much pent-up emotions I had in my heart, I almost released them. I looked at the rising sun and silently told myself that life must go on. For the sake of my life, I still have to struggle a little bit. Then I said take care to my father and hung up the phone.
I didn't have much stuff. Apart from the wind chimes and the Tianguan blade, I only had a Feng Shui compass. Seeing Zhang Xinya and the others were carrying a lot of bags, I felt embarrassed and took the initiative to ask my master for work. My master stuffed me with a lot of dry food, mostly compressed biscuits and dried beef. I packed a big backpack and was ready to go out.
Zhang Xinya and the others had already gathered in the yard and were stuffing one big backpack after another into the car. When they saw me coming out, they called me and the five of them got in the car and set off.
I didn't sleep all night, but the journey was long, which was a good time for me to catch up on sleep. Not long after getting in the car, I fell asleep drowsily. In the words of my master, I encountered a ghost makeup and hurt my vitality. The longer the time, the worse the situation. Even the strongest body can be dragged into a sickly state. It's normal to be sleepy. Coupled with the sleepiness, I slept like a dead pig and forgot about time.
"Hey, big brother, wake up!"
I don't know how long it took, I felt someone pushing me, I was still mumbling a little, but then a roar exploded in my ears: "Something big happened!!"
I lost all my sleepiness in an instant, just like a clockwork, I sat up straight, opened my eyes and asked: "What happened?"
"Oh, it seems that you know that this is a business where your head is on the belt..."
Lao Bai, who was sitting next to me, looked at me with squinting eyes and said unhappily: "Brothers came all the way here to beg you for a way to live, but you are sleeping comfortably, and your drool has flowed all over my shoulder."
I subconsciously glanced at his shoulder. Yes, it was all my saliva, almost soaking my chest. I felt a little embarrassed for a moment. I scratched my head and was about to say hello to Zhang Xinya and the others. Then I noticed that Zhang Xinya, Zhang Daoxuan, and Brother Yaozi all looked very solemn.
Did something really happen?
I rubbed my eyes hard and looked out the window. The setting sun was already hanging on the top of the mountain. It was about to get dark. The surrounding mountains were vast and covered with rosy clouds. I was already in the Luliang Mountains. I was in a valley with high mountains on both sides.
I remember this road. It was the only way to get to the tomb. Only this valley could be driven. There were low grass and trees. It took a long time to get through here!
"Why did I get here so late?"
This was my first thought.
Although the journey from Taiyuan to here is long, it only takes about seven or eight hours. We set out early in the morning and should have arrived at two or three o'clock, but it is almost dark now and we are still far away from the tomb.
"Why can't I get out?"
No one paid attention to me. In the huge carriage, only Zhang Xinya was talking to herself. The girl drove all the way with bloodshot eyes, staring at the front, like a demon, gritted her teeth, and drove into the valley with a fierce throttle.
The surrounding grass and trees flew before my eyes, and soon we passed through the valley.
Just when I was full of doubts, I suddenly saw another dark pass in front of me, and my pupils shrank sharply for a while!
We are back again! !
The same valley, I will not make a mistake, it is the one we just passed through, and now we are at the mouth of the valley again.
"Stop the car!"
Zhang Daoxuan waved his hand and whispered, "This is the fourth time. No need to try again. We've been tricked!"
I roughly understood the situation. My heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably. I have walked this road three times, including this time. The first two times were very safe. Why did something go wrong this time?
Could it be that... the tomb is getting worse now?
But it doesn't seem like it. It's at least an hour's mountain road from here to that place!
"Is it a ghost wall?"
For some reason, I had such an idea.
The so-called ghost wall, needless to say, is often encountered in the middle of the night in the mountains and old forests. It keeps circling around a place and can only be broken at dawn. Scientists say that it is the circular motion of organisms, and ordinary people say that it is wild ghosts making trouble.
"Ghost wall? It's just a trick. No clown would play such a trick in front of us. It's no different from seeking death."
Brother Yaozi said expressionlessly: "Besides, ghost wall is going in circles, we are walking in a straight line. It's broad daylight, why build a wall? This kind of ghost trick depends on the terrain of mountains and rivers, which is deceptive. In broad daylight, everything can be seen clearly, so it can't be used."
I looked at the master. He looked around expressionlessly, sometimes looking at the surrounding mountains, sometimes looking at the valley in front, and he didn't make a conclusion for a long time.
"Hey, it's not that troublesome. I'll ask for directions!"
Lao Bai waved his hand, then opened the car window, put his two index fingers in his mouth, puffed his cheeks and blew. A loud whistle sounded in the valley. Not long after, a sparrow fluttered out of the woods, and actually went straight in through the car window, and landed in Lao Bai's palm, chirping at Lao Bai.
The magical thing is that Lao Bai also rolled his tongue, and bursts of bird calls came out of his mouth, and he and the sparrow went back and forth, which was very lively.
"Is he talking to the bird?"
I widened my eyes, with a look of curiosity on my face, attracted by such a magical method.
"It's talking to the birds."
My master smiled and patiently explained to me: "The biggest feature of Xuanmen is that there are many talented people in the south, who are proficient in all kinds of tricks, good at all kinds of strange and lewd skills, familiar with tricks, and their methods are elusive and unimaginable. On the other hand, there are many strong men and warriors in the north, who are strong enough to move mountains and are extremely brave, just like water and fire, with distinct characteristics. Lao Bai is the best among the talented people in the south, and you, Brother Yaozi, are the most courageous among the strong men in the north."
I was fascinated by what he said, and my master took this opportunity to tell me about these strange things.
The five kinds of things he mentioned do not refer to the variety of things and unpredictable changes, but some ancient professions. For example, Wuhua refers to the five types of people in ancient times: tea girls, doctors, singing girls, jugglers, and porters, while Bamen refers to the eight types of people: Jin, Pi, Cai, Gua, Ping, Tuan, Diao, and Liu, most of whom make a living by talking.
"Don't underestimate these people. They are all different kinds of people, peddlers and porters... Hey, they are very capable!"
My master laughed and said, "In ancient times, transportation was inconvenient, there were many poor mountains and swamps, and it was extremely dangerous. You can't imagine what these people who have no fixed place to stay and wander around to make a living have to face. There are beasts, demons and evil spirits in the mountains. If you don't have some skills, you can't jump around for a few days. Each of them has unique skills and there are always some means you can't imagine. For example, Lao Bai's ability to talk to beasts is the skill of the local ox flower porters in Wuhua, which is called asking for directions in the mountains."
I became excited and forgot about the current embarrassing situation. I asked hurriedly: "Lao Bai still knows these methods. Are there still these people now?"
"Yes!"
Before my master could speak, Brother Yaozi took over. He was a rather dull person on weekdays. He stretched out his rough big hand and patted my shoulder, saying: "Jingzhe, you and Eryatou are good friends. You have just entered this business. I have to warn you a few words. In this business, you must not judge people by appearance. Treating people by their status will suffer a great loss. For example, the various kinds of people my uncle mentioned do still exist now, but they are no longer the bottom of the market who make a living, but talented people who travel around.
When you go out in the future, if you meet tea pickers who are still carrying baskets to pick tea, barbers who are carrying barber poles to greet people in the countryside, or red boat singers and prostitutes on the Qinhuai River, you must be careful and don't let them hurt you.
In short, in this society today, if you still do those ancient trades, don't offend them easily, because you never know what means the seemingly down-and-out opponent has!"
I could tell that Brother Yaozi was sincerely warning me with these words. He and I had never met before. Even if he told me these things for the sake of my master and Zhang Xinya, it was out of absolute goodwill. He could have kept it to himself. For a moment, I was less afraid of him and nodded quickly.
"For example, he..."
Brother Yaozi suddenly glanced at Lao Bai who was talking to Jia Que'er, and said with a sneer, "This is a powerful character. His parents died when he was thirteen, and he went out to the society wearing his father's tattered suit. The suit was hanging down to his knees, but he was not vague at all. He worked as a pimp on the brothel boats on the Qinhuai River, carrying young girls on his neck to send them to the customers, jumping and jumping between the bow and stern, and practicing good water skills. He also learned all the skills in bed by osmosis. He also followed the barber to shave people's heads everywhere, but he didn't learn the skills of shaving the hair to change his fortune, but shaving the pubic hair...
Hey, in short, don't underestimate this person. He started learning skills at the age of thirteen, and he was successful at the age of thirty. In seventeen years, he followed all the masters in various fields and learned countless skills!"
I was shocked and my eyes were opened. When I looked at Lao Bai again, the look in his eyes was different. It turned out that he was a big shot!
At this time, Lao Bai seemed to have finished questioning the sparrow, and then he pinched the sparrow's butt hard.
This is a beast, not even a little bit of a bird is spared, and he used his nose to pinch it hard. I saw that he almost squeezed out the sparrow's shit, and it screamed and flew away in panic.
And Lao Bai smelled his hand in a perverted way, and then he smiled and said: "The little mouth is really sweet, but the butt is a little small, otherwise I can't help it."
This is probably the legendary not even letting the bird go. I hurriedly moved away from him. In short, his image in my heart has been completely destroyed. I heard that he knows so many weird ways. Who dares to mess with such a person? He has no bottom line at all!
After being perverted, Lao Bai seemed to be very satisfied. He sniffed hard and said to us: "The matter has been clarified. We are unlucky and have run into big trouble!"