Merchant of the Underworld

At this time, the bus also arrived at the stop.

I got out of the car in a daze, following the flow of people, not even sure which direction I was going.

Suddenly, someone tapped me on the shoulder: "Follow me!"

I looked back in surprise and saw a dark-faced young man in his mid-twenties standing behind me.

He is not too tall, nor very strong, but he is very strong, with two small, bright eyes shining on his dark face. It looks extremely ordinary, but there is a hidden shrewdness in it.

"Are you Brother Zhang? I'm Hu Ke." Seeing me in a daze, the man introduced himself.

I have never met this person, and he has never called me. There are so many people at the station, how did he find me so quickly?

"Don't be stunned. Let's go quickly. You won't be able to catch the car in a while." Seeing that I was still thinking, he urged me hurriedly.

"If I can't catch the bus, where can I go?" I was even more surprised.

"Aren't you looking for someone who sells armor everywhere and has worked in factories 2, 3 and 5? Then you can only go to the old factory to look for clues first. The bus leading there only leaves once a day, and it will leave soon. If you miss it, you won’t be able to catch up. I see that you are in such a hurry, you definitely don’t want to go again tomorrow, right?”

After what he said, I was even more confused.

When Li Mazi asked him to help me, he might have told me about the armor in advance, but I only just learned about the news about factories 2, 3 and 5. How did he know about it?

And he even found the address of the old factory for me. Is this guy a good fortune teller?

Of course, since Li Mazi recommended him, he is extremely reliable. I have no doubt about this, I am just curious.

As I walked forward with him, I asked doubtfully: "How do you know about Factory 235?"

Hu Ke smiled, showing his shining white teeth: "Brother Li told me that you came to Zhengding to find someone who has sold armor. Just now I saw that you have been uneasy since you got off the car, as if you couldn't even figure out which direction to go. I was a little unsure about walking, but when I saw a stop sign, my eyes suddenly lit up and I stared at it for three or four seconds. You were staring at the end of the stop sign, which happened to be Factory 235."

"From this, I know that the clue must be related to the No. 2, 3, and 5 factories. Naturally, I have to take you to the old factory to have a look." Hu Ke explained.

"Awesome!" After hearing his explanation, I gave a thumbs up in admiration.

"Oh, that's right!" I suddenly realized: "Li Mazi said you were a soldier, a scout, right? Not everyone has this ability."

"Hehe, Brother Zhang, you are not simple either." Hook grinned.

"The 235 old factory, the train is about to leave, hurry up, hurry up." Not far away, a dark and fat middle-aged woman shouted at the top of her voice.

Parked behind her was a shabby minibus filled with farmers returning home. When we got on it, we saw that all the seats were gone, but this bus only ran once a day, so we had to reluctantly buy it. Got the ticket.

Soon, the minibus swayed out of the city and turned up a dirt slope.

Just in front of the slope, a few more farmers came up, squeezing everyone so that their chests were pressed against their backs, like sardines in a can.

The mountain road is already bumpy, and with so many people in the car, if it starts to shake, it will cause more trouble. From time to time, there was a smell of feet and stinky farts. I was so smelly that I almost vomited several times.

"Master, stop!"

I don’t know how long I stayed up, but Hu Ke, who was standing next to me, finally shouted to the driver, and then pulled me: “Brother Zhang, let’s get off the bus here.”

I quickly ran out of the car, put my hands on my knees, and retched for a long time before I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"The old factory of 235 is in the mountains. Let's climb over here to save time." After Hu Ke finished speaking, he headed towards the mountain road.

The reason for getting off the bus halfway seemed very reasonable, but I knew that he must have seen that I couldn't stand it anymore, so he changed his mind temporarily.

I looked up at him and followed him.

On weekdays, I feel that my physical fitness is pretty good. After using the Yin Yang Knife technique three times, I only break out a thin layer of sweat. Naturally, I don’t take mountain climbing seriously.

But after climbing the mountain, I realized that compared to this kid, I was as weak as a little kid.

He walked quickly, chatting and laughing with me as he walked, telling me how he met Li Mazi.

He was a top detective in the army, but when he changed his job, he discovered that none of the skills he was proud of were useful. The only one that was more reliable was that he could drive, so he worked as a long-distance bus driver for a while.

Once when I was passing through Wuhan, there was a long queue on the highway.

Feeling really bored, he jumped out of the car and wanted to breathe.

However, his action of jumping out of the car was seen by Li Mazi, who was also stuck in the road and smoking quietly!

Li Mazi was a man who knew what he was doing. His eye was caught by this extremely beautiful movement, and he immediately handed over a cigarette: "Brother, you must have been a soldier."

Afterwards, the two started chatting like this. Unexpectedly, the more they chatted, the more they got at each other's tempers. After that, they left each other's phone numbers and kept in touch frequently.

Later, Li Mazi also invested in a small plastic steel factory with him in Zhengding. Although the two did not meet often, they had a close relationship.

Therefore, when he received a call from Li Mazi this time, Hu Ke rushed over without saying a word!

"Brother Li said that you are his best brother and you have saved his life. This time he is really in an emergency and he asked me to help." Hook said and looked back at me: "Brother Zhang, don't worry. , I promise to do my best.”

I gasped and said, "Thank you very much."

After a while, I was too tired to walk, so he asked me to rest first and went into the woods.

After a while, he came back holding a big leaf, which was full of water and exuded a faint scent of pine: "This is birch sap. Drinking a little will quench your thirst and relieve fatigue."

I took it, drank it all in one gulp, and immediately felt better.

I stood up and was about to leave when suddenly the phone rang again. When I lowered my head and saw it was Li Mazi, I quickly pressed the connect button.

"Brother Zhang, haven't you checked WeChat?" Li Mazi asked anxiously.

"No, what's wrong?"

"Wu Laobao's grandson said that his grandfather remembered it again. The man's surname was Zhao, and he boasted that he was a descendant of Zhao Yun, the famous general of the Three Kingdoms. That armor was worn by Zhao Yun during the Northern Expedition," Li Mazi said.

"But just take it as a joke. My surname is Li, so isn't my ancestor Li Shimin?" Li Mazi laughed and hung up the phone.

I smiled along and was about to continue on my way, but something suddenly happened to Hu Ke: "Brother Zhang, the surname of the person selling armor is Zhao? He also calls himself a descendant of Zhao Yun?"

"Yes." I nodded.

"If that's true, then I know who he is!" Hook replied with certainty.

"How do you say it?" I became interested.

"There lives a beekeeper in the mountains just ahead. His name is Zhao Shihua. He also worked in the 235 Factory when he was young. He and my father are old comrades in arms. He always says that he is a descendant of Zhao Yun when he meets others. I was shocked to hear that, because I gave him the nickname Zhao Zisun. But I have never heard that he has any armor at home?"

"It doesn't matter so much, let's find him first." When I heard this, I was one step closer to hope, and I was extremely happy.

I don’t know if it was because of drinking birch sap that I found a glimmer of hope. Although the journey ahead was more difficult, I didn’t feel tired at all.

Before dark, we finally arrived at a small village.

There is an extremely thick willow tree growing at the entrance of the village. It takes three or four people holding hands to surround it.

The big willow tree has long since died, and its branches stretch out in all directions, like a devil's hand, clawing at the full moon in the sky.

Most of the houses in the village were dark, and only a few still had lights on.

As soon as we got closer, the dogs in the village began to bark one after another. At first they were barking one after another, but soon they became one, barking in unison with great rhythm.

"Ugh, woof! Woof woof woof!" Hook suddenly imitated the barking of a dog, which was so lifelike.

I don't know where he learned this skill from, but the dogs seemed to understand it, and their voices gradually became quieter.

"This counts as saying hello to them. They won't bite us again." Hook chuckled.

"You are really special in your ability." I was speechless.

"What are you doing?" Not far into the village, the person in front of us suddenly shouted, and at the same time a flashlight light was emitted.

We both squinted our eyes, and then we saw clearly that there was an old man and an old woman standing in front of us.

"Uncle, we are looking for Master Zhao to buy some honey." Hook replied loudly.

"Master Zhao? He no longer lives in the village. He is with Honey in the big col over there." The old man pointed his hand.

"Auntie, where are you?" I couldn't help but feel anxious.

There were mountains all around and it was so dark. She just raised her hand and pointed. Where could she find it?

"No need, I can find it." Hook comforted me, thanked the old lady, and then turned around and left with me.

"Do you know where he is?" I asked in surprise.

"Yeah." Hook nodded: "But we have to wait until tomorrow morning."

The night was already dark and it was impossible for both of us to go back.

The people in the village were very vigilant, and it was not suitable for the two of us to stay here, so we simply stayed in the mountains for one night.

Hooker was a top scout, so survival in the wild was no problem. Although the conditions were a bit difficult, he provided excellent food, drink and accommodation, and there was no danger. Not to mention snakes and insects, even mosquitoes could not get close to him.

I was already exhausted at the end of the day and fell asleep as soon as I closed my eyes.

Early the next morning, I was woken up by a scent of fragrance.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that this guy had somehow caught a big rabbit and was roasting it on the fire.

After the two of us finished eating the birch sap we had accumulated all night, Hook clapped his hands and said, "Let's go, Brother Zhang, the guide is already here."

"Guide?" I turned around and looked around. There was silence. No one could be seen.

"Where is it?" I asked with some confusion.

"Isn't that right?" Hook smiled and pointed towards me.

I took a good look and saw a bee landing on a small flower.

"Oh! So this is the guide." I suddenly woke up.

Since Master Zhao is a beekeeper, if you want to find his home, just follow the bees!