Twilight Boundary

"We're starting our journey. We have to walk for several days. You kids, please be patient!"

Hu Ma and several young men followed the second master on the road, and gradually saw some scenery that was invisible in the village.

The cart was pulled by a sturdy ox with smooth combed hair. It was pulling the cart with wooden wheels as it swayed along the rugged mountain road. It was not going very fast. To put it bluntly, it was probably a few teenagers on the cart. When you get off the cart, you can run faster than the ox cart.

But after all, they set off a few days early, so they were not in a hurry, so they looked at the scenery along the way and listened to the second master bragging.

A day or two later, they gradually left the boundary of Laoyin Mountain and entered the official road. The road was smoother, but not much better. It was still uneven and bumpy.

Along the way, Hu Ma learned a lot of things. In this world, traveling far away is a big deal.

The first thing I fear the most is meeting evil spirits.

However, their car was filled with half-grown young men who had lit the stove, and there was also Er Ye, an old stove with sixty years of skill, so they traveled smoothly without encountering anything.

Of course, they were also careful. Before darkening every day, they had already found a place to rest, and stuffed the pond ash brought from the village into their chests. Normally evil spirits would find it difficult to get close to them...

But instead of encountering evil spirits, a wave of path-cutters did.

There was no slogan of "I built this mountain, I planted this tree". It was just a pile of rubble and a fallen dead tree blocking the way. A group of people wearing rags came out.

Some people held dung forks in their hands, some carried pickaxes, and some even carried a stick. Some held stones in their hands. They bowed to the people on the oxcart from a distance: "Fellows passing by, please do it." Okay..."

"Our village has been hit by a disaster and won't be able to survive the spring. Please do us a favor and give us some food to feed our children."

"There will be food after next year's autumn harvest. If you still wait here, we will double the food and return it to you..."

"..."

The young men on the bullock cart were all confused, but the second master waved his hand and jumped out of the bullock cart.

Then he started crying: "Fellow folks, our village is also poor. You see, we are all preparing to sell our children in the city."

"But there is still some dry food in the car. If you don't mind, take it."

"It's been a bad year. We, the fellow villagers in Laoyin Mountain, all rely on each other to help us survive..."

"..."

With a bag of brown rice, I poured three large bowls for the other party. The other party clearly saw that there was still half a bag in the car, but he didn't ask for any more.

He also enthusiastically moved up the stones and dead wood, and pointed out: "Twenty miles past this fork in the road, there is a mass grave. There are wild dogs that dig graves and eat people, and ghosts that are restless after death. Please be careful and don't go in there at night..."

"Thank you. I'll see you later."

The second master said goodbye to each other with fists in his hands, and watched from a distance as they placed the stones again.

Hu Ma carefully watched the second master's words and deeds, and intuitively told him that perhaps his experience in the world was no less useful than the tricks he had learned.

But among the young men on the bullock cart, when they were far away, some of them were eager to try, saying that they should take action just now. Although there were six of us in total, we might not be able to cure them. The second master slapped them on the head. : "Don't say this again."

"If you rely on fighting and killing, when will you finish killing?"

"..."

Gaining experience and knowledge along the way, on the fourth day, we arrived in front of Mingzhou Fucheng.

Hu Ma glanced at it from a distance and saw a big city suddenly rising on the ground. Looking from a distance, it seemed a bit majestic. When he got closer, he saw that the city was not small, but it was rustic and the walls were repaired. It has been repaired and there are still some traces of the fire.

Now, just a few seconds before the sun sets, the main gate of the city has been closed, leaving only the left and right small doors open.

The second master jumped out of the car in advance and led the cow to the city gate. The city guard, who was in tattered clothes and listless, saw an old man and a few kids, and he became a little impatient. He waved his hands and said: " It’s late today and we can’t enter the city, so just wait outside!”

The second master hurriedly smiled, took out the number plate left by the steward, and said: "Master, you see, we are going to the red lantern party to worship the queen."

"The kids in this car are all wanted by the Red Light Society."

"..."

"Can your concubine know it?"

The city guard changed his expression, looked at Hu Ma and the others, turned sideways, and pointed out where to go: "Walk close to the roadside, and make sure the cows don't poop. Go to the Xicheng Guangan'er Alley, and you can I found the lantern from the Red Lantern Club."

"..."

The second master eagerly agreed and drove the ox cart into the city.

It was almost nightfall, and in Dayangzhai, the folks had already returned home, probably had dinner, and were lying in bed to engage in the few entertainment activities.

But the weather in this city is indeed different. The carved buildings on both sides are lit with candles and the crowds are bustling. Passing merchants are wearing brocade robes, sitting in sedans, or riding tall horses. They are walking slowly through the middle of the street like a patrolling mountain god. Shopkeepers and vendors , shouting loudly to attract customers.

A group of young people from Dayangzhai all looked straight, including Hu Ma.

Those teenagers have never seen it before, but Hu Ma has seen it a lot in movies and TV series, but she feels that there are many things that are different, and it feels more simple and real.

Especially when they saw a strong man carrying a lazy-looking woman with small feet on his back, running in front of the car, the teenagers' eyes suddenly widened, and Hu Ma also looked over.

The second master caught a glimpse of their appearance, sneered, waved his whip, and said, "What are you looking at? That's Mr. Turtle, serving the big men in the restaurant behind Sister Yao's back."

"You must remember that no one is allowed to play tricks like this before you learn your true skills..."

"..."

"This thing actually has takeout?"

Hu Ma felt that she had gained more knowledge, and the teenagers became even more excited: "Second Master, how do you play this tune?"

The second master became energetic and gave them a show of praise, explaining in great detail everything about listening to music, feeding them wine, double continents, and little feet that had not been washed for a month.

But when it came to the key point, it stopped suddenly. Someone who had never heard of it said casually: "Then what? After getting under the bed..."

The second master's expression suddenly felt awkward. He turned around and slapped him in the face, scolding him: "Why do you ask so many questions?"

"Don't learn well."

"..."

"..."

They walked slowly in the city, and it took them more than half an hour to arrive at Duoganer Hutong in the West City. They saw that this place was really different from other places. Most of the pedestrians coming and going were wearing black clothes and wearing wide belts.

In the streets and alleys, red lanterns were actually lit, but they were different from those used for weddings, giving them a sinister atmosphere. When the second master arrived at the entrance of the alley, he stopped the oxcart and looked around. Not long after, two men in black came over. Ask what it is for.

The second master was busy and told the truth. The two men's expressions gradually softened and they pointed to a house in front of them: "Let's go over there."

After driving the oxcart, the second master asked the teenagers to get off the oxcart, and asked them to lift their belts and wipe the ashes from their faces. Then he took a careful look into the yard with a smile on his face.

Then I saw an old man wearing a short shirt and a mustache sitting under the pomegranate tree smoking a pipe in the quadrangle. He caught a glimpse of the second master and was about to ask. The second master hurriedly went up to him and said After learning the origin, he presented the number plate given by the steward.

"It's still a few days before I go to the altar to worship the empress. Why did it arrive so early?"

The old man with two mustaches took the number plate and glanced at it, his expression only looked lazy.

"The mountain road is difficult to walk. Are you afraid that it will delay your time?"

The second master replied with a smile, took out the coarse cloth bag placed on the bullock cart, opened it, and sent it over.

Seeing that the cloth bag was dirty, the old man was a little disgusted, but when he glanced around, he saw three dry strips of bacon inside. He felt strange in his heart, so the second master handed it to him, stretched out his hand, pinched it, and put it in Inside the mouth.

His upper and lower lips clicked, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

He hurriedly took the bag, stood up, bowed with a smile and said, "Brother, you are so polite!"

"They are all our children, what are you doing with them?"

"This green... I can't finish these strips of marinated meat, so I'll just keep it for now and help you each deliver it later..."

"..."

"But, but."

The second master didn't show any suspicion of being a petty person, and kept agreeing: "The village is poor and there are no good things."

"Just some marinated meat, don't mind it."

"..."

After the other party took the bacon, he called the boy in a green coat from the house and took it into the vat in the back room to store it.

He pulled up his clothes, took the key, and while leading the way, he said with a smile: "The place has been vacated for you a long time ago. I will take you there to live there first."

"We opened the altar with the incense master on the 29th to worship the Red Lantern Empress. It was our empress's birthday."

"After paying homage to the empress, I will arrange your respective places for you little ones, but don't worry, I will definitely help you choose a good place and find a good shopkeeper, so that you can save your wages and learn your skills..."

"..."

The group of people agreed repeatedly, and the man took the key himself and led Hu Ma and others to a house a street away.

It looks dilapidated and seems to have been abandoned for a long time, but it has a decent main room with east and west wings, as well as a concierge and stables. It is obviously a property that the empress would purchase.

The steward did not take them into the main room, but opened the door to the west wing. They saw a simple table and chairs, and a brick kang built half way against the wall.

"Okay, when we get here, we still have to sleep in Datongbu..."

Hu Ma thought to herself, but after taking a look, she was satisfied: "At least it is more spacious than the second master's place before."

Turning around to see the second master sending the steward out of the hospital, he thought to himself: "I came to this city to burn incense, and I don't know where I will be sent to work after that. That Erguotou man has so much energy. He must also be a powerful figure in the Empress Association."

"I don't know if I'll be able to see him in the past few days since I've been here..."