Merchant of the Underworld

The fat driver took a deep breath of smoke and said: "Actually, you are not the first person to come to the Bulao Village. When I was very young, many outsiders came here because of its name, but they all came back disappointed! The legend returns. Legend has it that there is no immortal village at all. If there really was such a place, wouldn’t all the 1.3 billion people in China squeeze through it? From ancient times to the present, who among Qin Shihuang and Tang Taizong doesn’t want to live forever?”

"Actually, the so-called Fu Lao Village is a small village in the east of Qiuchi County! The place is surrounded by mountains and is very isolated. People in the village rarely interact with the outside world. And because all the young people in the village go out to work, their lives are There are some elderly people there, so we call it the Immortality Village, but it has nothing to do with immortality." The fat driver said.

Uncle Niu's eyes lit up after hearing this.

Seeing this, the fat driver continued: "Many people want to go to the Immortal Village to look for the Magic Fountain of Immortality, but all their journeys are in vain. And because the mountain roads there are difficult to walk, people often slip and fall to death, so gradually no one goes there. …”

Before he could finish his words, the thin woman shouted heartbreakingly from downstairs: "Why don't you go downstairs to sleep? Will you die up there?"

After hearing this, the fat man hurriedly rubbed his nose: "Anyway, the Bulao Village is a trap. You guys stay at my house for one night and go do whatever you want tomorrow. Don't jump into the trap again." After saying that, he went downstairs in despair.

I looked at Uncle Niu and asked, "What do you think?"

"I still want to go!" Uncle Niu is simply stubborn, and he doesn't know how to turn around when he understands the truth: "I came all the way here, and I must go to Bulao Village to see it. That is the last thing for me and Mavericks I have hope and I can’t give up.”

But the fat driver also said that the mountain road leading to Bu Lao Village is very rugged, and if you are not careful, you will fall into a cliff. It's hard for him to walk by himself, not to mention taking a consumptive son with him?

I thought about it and decided to go with him. Who knows that we are good people. Looking at the blue and black veins on my wrist, I thought to myself that if I helped Uncle Niu, would it be considered as a sinful virtue? You should forget it, after all, God has the virtue of good life.

Early the next morning, when we were preparing to set off, the fat driver had already driven away, and the thin woman was still chasing away flies. Hearing the sound, he tossed out forty yuan in change without even raising his head, and had no intention of paying any attention to us.

Uncle Niu and I were about to leave. When we were about to go out, the thin woman suddenly reminded us: "If you really want to go to Fu Lao Village, go in from the west path. Don't take the main road. It's not safe."

I looked back at her and saw that she continued to swat flies.

This couple is really interesting. They are both good people who are cold on the outside and warm on the inside. They are much better than some beasts in big cities. I smiled and said thank you, and walked out of the hotel with Uncle Niu.

The sun is shining brightly, and all the way eastward from Qiuchi County, there are neat and orderly paddy fields on both sides of the road.

Uncle Niu is a good man in the countryside, and he told me during his free time that this year's harvest would be bad due to heavy rain.

We walked for two or three hours, taking countless breaks in between. It was almost noon when we arrived at a dense forest. There was only one mountain road leading to the depths of the forest.

Although it is the hottest time of the day and the sun is blazing in the sky, there is still a layer of lingering fog floating in the forest. It is very light at first, and becomes thicker as you go deeper, making it almost impossible to see anything.

Years of experience in dealing with yin objects tell me that there must be something fishy about this mist. Is there really a powerful yin object nearby?

Uncle Niu obviously didn't think so. In his opinion, some fog in the deep mountains and old forests was normal. He carried the calf on his back and walked along the mountain road without thinking.

I thought about it, frowned and followed his footsteps!

It was extremely quiet in the big forest, not even the chirping of birds, and the surroundings were strange and scary. All I could hear in my ears was the weak cough of the calf, one after another, as if it might die at any moment.

I don’t know how long I walked, but the scenery around me still didn’t change much. I looked around and thought I might be lost, so I hurriedly called Uncle Niu.

Uncle Niu asked in a daze: "What should we do?"

I thought about it, bent down, picked up a small stone, and made a mark on the big tree on the roadside.

After walking forward for a long time, we returned to the big tree without any surprise.

Uncle Niu was obviously a little panicked: "Brother Zhang, what should I do?" Ever since he learned my name, Uncle Niu has always called me this, with deep respect in his tone.

Now it is certain that we are lost, and the most terrible thing is that we have been going in circles. Not only can we not find the way forward, we can't even find the way back. It's like two crickets trapped in a jar, spinning in circles no matter how you move!

Uncle Niu carried the calf on his back all the way. No matter how strong he was, he couldn't bear it. He put the pale calf on the ground and took out a water bottle to feed him water. I sat down cross-legged and analyzed it calmly. We must stop immediately and stop rushing in recklessly! Otherwise, when your physical strength is exhausted and there is no food and water to replenish it, you will definitely be trapped and die in the forest.

Suddenly, I thought of what the thin woman said before leaving the hotel. She reminded us that we should take the trail to get to Fu Lao Village. But along the way we only saw one road, not the so-called trail at all?

Maverick rested for a while, and his breathing became obviously much easier. In this weird silence, there was suddenly a sound of footsteps!

I immediately stood up from the ground alertly, looked over following the sound, and saw a group of figures walking out of the thick fog. There were seven people in total, all looking a little embarrassed. The leader was a young and strong man with bronzed muscles and carrying a huge backpack. He looked like a traveler who liked to wander around. Behind him was a girl with a sexy figure, who was dressed very similar to him. She should be a couple.

Behind the two of them, there was a chattering short man, wearing a dirty Taoist robe and a messy bun on his head.

Then there were a few boys carrying photographic equipment, and at the end of the team was a girl wearing a white shirt. Because she was too far away, she couldn’t see her face clearly. I just felt that her long hair was fluttering, and it looked very strange with the thick fog in the forest. The fairy spirit even gave me the illusion of a little dragon girl.

Seven people quickly spotted us and exclaimed: "Look, there seems to be someone in front of us!"

The muscular man at the head subconsciously pulled out a dagger and asked, "What do you do?"

His tone was very alert, as if he was ready to rush forward and start a fight at any time.

Before I could answer, the short Taoist priest jumped out: "Don't do it, let me take a look."

He walked over quickly, and when I got closer, I realized that he was short and fat, with pits on his face, especially the red rosacea that was particularly conspicuous. He looked me over a few times, showed his big yellow teeth and said, "Don't worry, he seems to be lost too!"

After hearing this, the team behind them all breathed a sigh of relief and walked over together.