Merchant of the Underworld

The bus put Secretary Dakang and I down, and we walked for a while toward the village. The rain ahead was not light, so I took out my raincoat from my bag and put it on. Considering the special circumstances this time, everything in my bag was wrapped in a layer of plastic wrap, and I also brought a lot of clean underwear and socks.

Secretary Dakang also took out a raincoat from the package he carried with him and put it on. He also took off a pair of cadre shoes with almost worn-out soles, tied them with a rope and put them around his neck. He said to me: "Mr. Zhang, I'm not afraid of your laughter." , I can’t bear to wear this pair of shoes that I can wear to see people in the village. Do you want to take off your shoes too? There is mud in front of me, I’m afraid it will stain your good shoes.”

I hesitated for a while, but finally took off my sneakers, tied the laces together, and hung them around my neck like Secretary Dakang.

The two of us walked into the big village, with the continuous rain above our heads and the rotten mud under our feet. We suddenly felt depressed. I can't bear to stay in this environment for even a week, let alone three months.

Fortunately, I didn't bring Yin Xinyue. I don't want her to suffer this kind of crime with me!

Looking around, the village is full of brick houses, with newly built cement roads on the ground, and terraces layer by layer on the hillside in the distance. This kind of field can provide good drainage and prevent waterlogging, but now there is nothing in the field, only black soil soaked in water.

I don't need to open my heavenly eyes to feel that the yin energy here is too strong, and the whole village is filled with yin energy. Of course, I am talking about the naturally occurring yin energy. How could it be possible that there is no yin energy if there is no sunshine for three months in a row?

The naturally occurring yin energy will breed some evil things. Secretary Dakang said that there are many water ghosts in the river. I think this is probably the reason.

I said to Oyu with my mind: "Why don't you come out and visit?"

Weiyu poked half of his head out of his backpack and looked around: "Bad brother, why did you come to a place like this? It's so wet and wet, my hair is stuck together, it's really uncomfortable."

"I thought you would like it because of the gloomy atmosphere here." I smiled.

"There are different types of Yin Qi! This kind of Shui Yin is the lower grade Yin Qi. The Tai Yin Qi during the full moon is my favorite."

As she spoke, she transformed into a human form, and the weight of her backpack suddenly doubled, but it was not that heavy.

Secretary Dakang shouted in a fuss: "Mr. Zhang, I just saw a little head peeking out of your bag!"

I explained to him that this was my spiritual pet. He admired me again and praised me for my skills. I smiled and said it was nothing.

Seeing Secretary Dakang return, every household went out to greet him, some holding umbrellas, some wearing bamboo hats, with joy on their faces. I noticed that they all wore clogs on their feet. It turns out that the rain in Shandong is relatively heavy, so they wear clogs when it rains. In fact, the Japanese clogs were brought there by Xu Fu, who was from Shandong. However, clogs have basically disappeared in China.

My bare feet were covered in mud. Secretary Dakang took me into a house and gave me a basin of water to wash them off. Then he found a pair of wooden clogs and asked me if I could get used to them.

Weiyu was about to move in the bag, grabbing her pink and tender hands and saying, "I want it too! I want it too!"

I said, "Bring me another pair of children's clothes."

After Odama put on her clogs, she walked around the house happily, making a clicking sound, probably thinking of her life in Japan. The owner of the house, a family of three, saw a little lolita in period clothes come out of my bag, and their eyes were as big as a bell.

Secretary Dakang said: "Mr. Zhang, would you like to go with me to meet the villagers first? I will introduce them to everyone."

I nodded: "Introduction is okay, but don't say that I am a savior. To be honest, I am a trader of evil things."

"Okay, okay!"

It was okay not to mention the result, but it reminded him of it. Secretary Dakang brought me to the villagers, and his first words were: "Folks, I have finally invited the great savior of our village... …”

I couldn't help but hold my forehead. Isn't this asking me to ride a tiger and be unable to get off?

Secretary Dakang's impassioned speech made the villagers excited and their eyes shining, hoping that I, the 'great savior', would give them guidance.

I could only try to save as much room as possible, saying that I actually had no ability and that I was just here to see if I could help.

Every time I said something, Secretary Dakang tried his best to defend me, saying that Master Zhang was being humble, how powerful Master Zhang was, and how kind-hearted Master Zhang was.

I thought to myself, this guy is so cunning, he is just trying to set me up! Later I understood his intentions. The reason why he praised me so much was to regain some confidence in the desperate villagers.

Secretary Dakang also introduced Oyu who was holding an oil-paper umbrella and playing with his head in the water, saying that it was my "spiritual pet that took ninety-nine and eighty-one days to refine". The villagers looked at it with admiration. Me, only Odama pouted and glared at me.

I won’t bear this responsibility! It was obviously Secretary Dakang who was adding fuel to the fire.

I thought that like last time, the villagers would be afraid of the fox fairy. But it didn’t happen this time. Later I learned that there is a fox fairy grandfather here, who is the protector of fishermen, so the locals have no objection to the fox fairy.

Sure enough, every place has its own customs!

Finally, after the formality was over, Secretary Dakang asked a female director named Li to prepare some good food and wine to entertain me. The village was already starving, so I said to keep everything simple and eat whatever is available.

Secretary Dakang smiled and said: "We don't have anything else here, but there are a lot of fish. I asked Aunt Li to go to the river to catch a few fish."

"Whatever! By the way, are everyone here surnamed Li?" I asked curiously.

It turns out that most of the people in this village have the surname Li, and only a few families have foreign surnames.

It was still early at this time, and Secretary Dakang planned to take me to the mountain to see the Black Dragon Temple, saying that it was a tangible cultural heritage of Shandong. I waved my hand repeatedly, saying that it was raining so hard to climb the mountain, and something had to happen.

I plan to go to the other side of the river to take a look first. Secretary Dakang insists on following me, but there is nothing I can do.

Oyu borrowed an oil-paper umbrella from a villager to hold it up. She is a spirit herself, so the rain has no effect on her. It was just for fun.

Seeing her holding an oil-paper umbrella and walking in front of her with wooden clogs, she is indeed quite cute!

The river used for fishing in the village is called Liucun River. There is a stone on the riverside, which is regarded as a scenic spot. It was the place where Bald-tailed Lao Li's mother washed clothes.

This place is called the hometown of Bald-tailed Old Li, and it seems to be well-founded.

On the way we passed Mrs. Li who was returning from fishing. Secretary Dakang said hello. Mrs. Li didn't seem to hear her, so we didn't pay much attention.

Secretary Dakang took us to a place overlooking the entire creek. The water flow here is relatively gentle and it is the best place for villagers to fish. At this time, the water level of the river rose so much that a piece of flat land in the middle of the river bend was submerged. I pinched the center of my eyebrows with my fingers, opened my eyes and looked into the river.

For a moment, I had the urge to swear!

I saw short black shadows swimming back and forth under the translucent river surface. These were not a dozen water monkeys, but hundreds or thousands of water monkeys!

Among the dense black shadows, there is something very, very large...