Merchant of the Underworld

I picked up a shovel next to me for digging holes and burying piles, and smashed it against the coffin.

The sound inside paused, and then the sound started again, and it was shaking even more violently than before.

I listened carefully to the voice, turned around and shouted, "Don't be afraid, it's a human being!" Then I used a shovel to pry open the coffin lid.

When I told him that there was a human inside, Dad He was no longer so scared. After all, what was in the coffin was his daughter whom he had raised for many years. He and He An found two farm tools and stepped forward to pry with me.

After a violent blow, the nails of the coffin were finally lifted one by one, but before we could lift it, the lid of the coffin flipped up on its own with a creak.

The three members of the He family were so frightened that they took a few steps back, their faces full of astonishment!

After the coffin lid fell, a girl in red sat up from inside.

The girl had two long braids and looked very handsome, but her eyes were red and her mind seemed to be extremely dull.

"Xiao Ju!" As soon as Mother He saw it was Xiao Ju, she immediately rushed towards her and held her tightly in her arms.

Xiaoju didn't resist, but she didn't make any expressions or movements. She was just being held motionless by Mother He, staring at me closely with those fiery red eyes.

Dad He wiped his tears with a mixture of sadness and joy, then woke up and shouted to He An to carry Xiaoju back to the house. It was too cold at night, so don't let anything new happen.

Some of the escaping villagers were brave enough to look at her from a distance. When they saw that Xiaoju had woken up again, they quickly stepped forward to help.

With the help of everyone, Xiaoju was placed on the fire bed in the back room and covered with a large cup. The enthusiastic neighbor Aunt Zhang also made a bowl of millet and egg porridge.

Mother He was feeding her carefully while crying uncontrollably.

"That's good, that's good." Dad He didn't know what to say, so he kept repeating this sentence while wiping his tears.

Xiao Ju, however, seemed to be dumbfounded. She remained indifferent to everyone's actions. The expression on her face was dull, and she just kept staring at me.

"What kind of bullshit doctor is this! He's saying he can't be saved even though he's not dead."

"That's right! If our village hadn't always buried people late, all the living people would have been buried!"

"This child is destined to be lucky! At that time, her father, Qin Laowai, was the one who was stabbed a thousand times. He drank and gambled and acted like a random guy whenever he saw her crying. It's not easy for him to survive until now."

Everyone stood aside, some scolding quack doctors for harming people, and others lamenting Xiao Ju's miserable life. Then they all comforted the He family: "As long as you are still alive, you are stronger than anything else. Take good care of yourself and you will be fine."

After the villagers gradually left, I glanced at the three of them and said, "Have you ever offended anyone in the village?"

"No?" Dad He was very confused: "This is the ancestral land of our He family. Our ancestors have lived here for hundreds of thousands of years. Our He family has always had a very good relationship with the village neighbors, let alone offending anyone. There wasn’t a single altercation.”

He An also nodded: "Our He family has been a petition lawyer for generations. We have never paid a penny to submit petitions to the poor people. In the early years, there were not many literate people. Whenever the villagers had a big or small matter, they would write a contract and see. We were always asked to help with writing documents and the like. When I was a child, during the Chinese New Year, my grandfather would spend several days just writing couplets to the villagers. Our family has always been very popular, and we never said anything to offend anyone. Master, did you discover anything by asking this?"

I raised my chin slightly towards Xiao Ju: "Judging from what you have described, she is poisoned by fire snake poison. Her body is as hot as fire, and snakes gather in her body. If there are snakes coming out of her mouth and nose, it's already a poison." The disease is so severe that there is no cure. The doctor is right."

"Ah?" Mother He was very frightened when she heard this: "What should I do? Will Xiaoju be okay?"

"She is fine for the time being. It's just that the poison has just been suppressed and her consciousness is still a little unclear." I explained: "But what makes me strange is not the fire snake poison itself, but how the fire snake poison retreated inexplicably. ? It’s as if something in the dark saved her."

As soon as he heard the words 'something', Dad He frowned and paused and said: "Speaking of which, our He family is a bit strange. No matter what kind of danger we encounter or what kind of bad luck we encounter, , I can always turn danger into danger in the end, it really seems like there is some god protecting me."

He An then said: "Dad, this is why I invited Master Zhang here! No matter whether it is a god or a ghost who protects us behind the scenes, we can't forget its kindness and we must thank it! I'm afraid Xiaoju will also get the same thing this time Only with the help of gods can we come back from the dead, so we just take this opportunity to ask Master Zhang to help us investigate."

Dad He also nodded heavily at me: "Master Zhang, this is the debt our He family has owed for thousands of years. I leave it to you to help us find the great benefactor hiding behind the scenes!"

"Uncle He, don't worry. This is also the purpose of my trip. However, this benefactor of your family is so hidden that it's really hard to find him for a while. In my opinion, it's better to start with this enemy and figure it out. Who is harming Xiaoju, and then follow the clues to find out who the benefactor is step by step." I replied.

"Aunt He." I turned to Mother He and asked, "Did Xiaoju go to any special place before her accident?"

"No..." Mother He thought carefully for a long time, then shook her head: "Xiao Ju has a very well-behaved personality. Although she can't say anything, she understands everything and never runs around. She fell ill just after returning from Heitang that day. .”

"Heitang, where is that place?" I immediately became alert.

"It's a rotten pond next to our village. The water in the pond is pitch black and doesn't see light all year round. The villagers call it the black pond." He An explained at the side.

"Come on, take me to see you." I waved.

"Why don't we go there until dawn? The road there is difficult to walk at night." Dad He advised.

"It's okay, we just have to wait until night to see some clues." I said firmly.

When He An saw that I was determined, he comforted my parents with a few words and took me out the door.

The village is very big, and many fields are built in the village. The black pond is said to be in the village, but in fact it is four or five miles away.

No wonder He An’s father said that the road was not easy to walk. The ground was full of mud, weeds, and a lot of livestock dung. He An and I walked for nearly thirty minutes under the moonlight before we arrived at the black pond.