Merchant of the Underworld

The surface of the pond was pitch black, without any light, like an irregular block of ink spread at the end of the village.

"The pond is not very deep, but the mud is very thick. When I was very young, a big cow fell into it and was stuck in it. No one in the village dared to go near this pond, not even cats and dogs. If you don't walk from the side, how could Xiaoju come here safely?" He An asked very strangely.

"Something's wrong!" I glanced around and said, "Look, there is a flat land behind the pond, and there are deep pits on the left and right sides, but it seems to be fixed here and does not spill out at all. ?Even the surrounding soil is dry, there is no water stain at all, and not a single blade of grass grows!”

"It's been like this since I can remember." He An explained: "No matter how much rain it rains, the pond never swells, and even when there is a drought, the pond never shrinks."

I nodded: "The yin energy in the pond is also very strong, even stronger than some large tombs that are thousands of years old. There must be something weird here! Who else in your village often comes here?"

"This place is so far away from the village, and it's dark and smelly. Who will be fine... Oh, that's right!" He An suddenly shouted: "Uncle Qin, who is Xiao Ju's biological father. He often sits here and drinks, but he He was shot for committing murder many years ago, and no one else comes here except him."

This is where Xiaoju's accident happened. The only person who came here frequently before was her dead biological father.

Combining these two things is not that simple!

He An seemed to have thought of something, and pushed up his glasses: "You mean, it was probably the curse that his biological father placed on her before he died?"

"It is possible, but it is unlikely. After all, she is his biological daughter. Even if he is a heinous murderer, it is unlikely that he would lay out such a vicious and long-term plan to frame his daughter. It is very likely that he is related to He was deeply involved with someone, by the way, who was he killing?" I asked.

"He was a ranger. I was still young at that time, and I didn't know much about the specific situation. My father never mentioned this to me, and neither did anyone in the village." He An thought for a moment.

It seems that this matter also involves an old case.

"Is there anyone left in the victim's family?" I continued to ask.

"No, the ranger moved to the village temporarily. I heard that he is an orphan. His parents have died long ago and he has no brothers or sisters. Besides, even if he does have any relatives, he has no revenge to take. Uncle Qin has been killed. Xiaoju was only six years old when he was shot. Besides, so many years have passed since this incident, so it’s unlikely that it was caused by this old case.”

He An analyzed it and then concluded: "Is it possible that the black water pond has been hidden from light all year round, breeding some ghosts, and Xiao Ju happened to be passing by, and was contaminated with something dirty?"

"Absolutely not." I shook my head: "Fire snake Gu is not a dirty thing, but a real evil spell. In other words, she must have been harmed by someone. It seems that she wants to unravel your He family. The mystery really needs to be investigated from this old case..."

I took out my phone, turned on the flash, and looked carefully at the black water pond.

There was no grass growing beside the pond, and there were no traces of animal claws at all. Apart from the gloomy air everywhere, I didn't find anything special, so I had no choice but to return with He Anxian.

The He family's parents still stood by Xiaoju's bed.

Xiaoju was sleeping soundly, but her brows were still furrowed tightly, as if she had seen something extremely terrifying in her sleep.

I asked Mother He to cook a bowl of ginger soup for her, add more salt and garlic, and drink it when she wakes up. Then he called Dad He into another room and asked him about Heishui Pond and Xiao Ju’s biological father!

Regarding this past incident, Dad He was reluctant to mention it at first, but when I told him that it was probably related to the murderer behind Xiao Ju's murder, and even related to the protector of the He family, he sighed and started talking about it.

At that time, Lao Qin had a very dull and honest temperament, and would not tell anyone what he had in mind.

But his wife, Xiaoju's mother, was very aggressive and scolded him all day long, saying that he had no ability and could not make money.

Lao Qin was forced to go out to work with the villagers.

When he came back at the end of the year, he found that his wife was getting married with the ranger.

Lao Qin felt very aggrieved, but he couldn't talk about such scandals, so he had to drink to drown his sorrows, sitting by the black pond every day and sighing.

Finally one day, Lao Qin blocked the two people who were fooling around, and then hacked the ranger to death with several axes.

Lao Qin didn't run away at that time, he just sat upright in a pool of blood and drank...

"The impact of that incident was extremely bad, but Xiaoju was innocent. I saw that the child was really pitiful, so I adopted her and told the villagers not to mention her again. So many years have passed in a flash..."

"What about Xiaoju's mother?" I interjected.

"Lao Qin didn't hurt her on the day he killed her. Maybe he wanted to keep her to raise Xiao Ju! Someone saw her running out with disheveled hair, and then disappeared. No one has seen her again." Dad He sighed. , woke up from the memories of the past, looked at me and said: "Could this matter be related to Xiaoju's strange disease?"

"It has something to do with it!" I was very sure: "The problem lies in the black water pond!"

"I just checked. The yin energy there is very strong, and it is the coldest place in the whole village. The fire snake poison that Xiaoju has possessed is an extremely yin technique. Only this kind of place can contain it. A cold poisonous poison. Moreover, after hearing what you said just now, I have a guess - Xiaoju's mother must not have left the village back then, but jumped into the black pool."

"Jumped into the black water pool?" Dad He was also stunned, and then said: "We also had such speculation at the time, and even went to salvage it, but we didn't find anything. Besides, Xiaoju is also her biological daughter, why? Are you going to harm your own daughter?"

"Uncle He, Blackwater Pond has become a place harboring evil spirits. We cannot leave it alone no matter what. Why not take this opportunity to clean it out completely. Otherwise, it will harm the villagers! It is Xiaoju who was poisoned this time. , relying on the protection of your He family to escape the disaster, but other villagers may not be so lucky!" I advised.

Dad He nodded: "We have always thought that the pool is weird, but there has never been any good solution. If you really have an idea, I will discuss it with everyone tomorrow."