Strange Tale

Long Jiuhe also came and went frequently.With a dark face, Si Ren helped the young man back to life, and called three other men and two women who had just recovered from their injuries, and led Qilin and Huan'er towards the direction where the outline of Dushuo Mountain could already be seen.

Seeing that Long Jiuhe often leaves, Huan'er was about to cry, but was bluffed by Qilin in time.It could be seen that Si Ren was really upset, she didn't dare to say anything more.

The young man Si Ren rescued with Tu Shanli's heart is Lin Sanqing, the fourth young master of Yongjitang, the largest pharmacy in Dushuo City.Yongjitang has more than a dozen branches in Dushuo City, and Si Ren had visited two of them when he was still there.

Knowing that Si Ren was going to Dushuo City, Lin Sanqing said: "If you don't mind, Mr. Ben, we can go back the way we came, so we can get there in less than a day."

"Ah?!" Si Ren stopped and turned to look at Lin Sanqing who had been on his shoulders, "How is it possible? It will take three days to climb Dushuo Mountain!"

"There are tunnels in the village, every family should have them. Isn't it?" Lin Sanqing turned around and asked the three people who stopped and stood behind with them.

The three were a pair of sisters and a boy of sixteen or seventeen.They nodded together, "Yes, we were also brought here from the tunnel."

Si Ren understood: No wonder those villagers can suddenly appear in his home without making a sound, so it saves the journey of climbing the mountain.But I still couldn't figure it out, "But...why is there an authentic tunnel at home?"

Lin Sanqing recalled, "Well - on the way to be arrested, I saw some records on the wall, and I heard them chatting during the break, which seemed to be related to the emergence of the village. Probably because of years of wars at first , someone dug a hole to temporarily avoid the disaster, and then the sky changed, in order to avoid the natural disaster, each family will use their manpower and material resources to dig through the secret passage to Dushuo City."

Si Ren nodded, "So that's it. Then let's take the tunnel, we can get there earlier, and we don't have to think about ways to get food."

No one raised any objections, and the group randomly picked a nearby house and abducted them.Lin Sanqing said that the authentic entrance was under the bed. They knocked and searched, and they found a very inconspicuous drawstring in the gap between the wooden boards under the bed.

Si Ren pulled the board away and was about to step in when someone said at the door, "Can I continue to walk with you?"

Everyone in the room raised their heads: Ye Chang was standing at the entrance.

Si Ren straightened up and looked behind him, "You alone?"

Also often smiled, "It's just me."

"Where's Long Jiu?"

"He went back. He said he was worried and asked me to follow you, but I didn't want to follow you secretly."

Si Ren didn't speak.Qilin quietly waved towards Ye Ye.Huan'er was about to run over but was held down by Si Ren.

He often raises his hand and points to the sky outside the window, "He's been 'walking' for a while, I'm sure I won't be able to catch up."

Si Ren understood that he meant that Long Jiu flew away, "Okay, then you come."

Several people entered the tunnel one after another.Si Ren and Lin Sanqing walked in the front holding candles, followed by the sisters, followed by Chang Huan'er and the other boy, and finally noticed the Qilin behind everyone.

The tunnel was narrow at first, and then gradually widened.Walking to the intersection of several trails where the dome and the walls suddenly opened up a lot, Si Ren looked at the length of the remaining candle in his hand, stopped and asked Yechang: "Do you have a Western clock? What time is it?"

He often shook his head to indicate no.Lin Sanqing touched his bosom, took out a chain with a watch on one end, "It's noon, it's almost twelve o'clock."

"No wonder you're so hungry." Si Ren rubbed his stomach that had already screamed several times, "Why don't you sit down and rest for a while?"

Everyone sat on the ground, and often put down their rings and sat next to Si Ren.Lin Sanqing was very witty, got up and hugged Huan'er who was about to run over to the side to tease him.

"Is there another reason why you don't let us follow you?" Ye Chang asked suddenly.

"Ah?" Si Ren was slightly surprised, "Why do you say that?"

"Before arriving at Ershen Village, you did a divination, right?"

Si Ren looked at it and often didn't answer.

He often continued to say: "The hexagram of Xie, the main evil, means gathering and parting according to fate. I was not asleep at the time, and I heard you talking to Qilin."

Si Ren pursed his lips, "Yeah, getting together and parting according to fate. Life is about getting together and parting according to fate. Hey, it's not good to marry a woman, and there's no fish in the kitchen. It's just that there's no getting together. Anyway, now that Long Jiu is back, we're all going our separate ways. Ping An, if something happens after we enter the city, it will be too late. My hexagrams are always accurate, so it’s better to be careful. But I’m really angry, no matter what, it’s too much to kill them all.”

I also often think, "Are you blaming me too?"

"Why should I blame you?"

"It's my fault that I didn't stop him."

Si Ren shook his head, "You said when Jin Ji died: you will never stop what he is going to do."

"It's best for you to understand. But..." I often looked up and looked at the opposite side, "There is one thing that I think you did without consideration."

"What?" Si Ren followed his line of sight.

I don't know what Huan'er said on the other side, Lin Sanqing said "oh" in surprise, he seemed really surprised, not like to amuse children.He also often stared at him, "You shouldn't give the heart of the nine-tailed fox to others easily."

Si Ren frowned, "Why do you say that?"

He often sighed, as if helpless, "At that time, Dudu's mother asked you to exchange Tu Shanli's heart with her for Tu Shanli's three souls and seven souls. Do you know how Long Jiu made Dudu agree to let go of the demon fox soul? Is it?"

Si Ren turned back and looked at Ye Chang, "What?"

"Small blade, small blade!"

Huan'er yelled loudly and ran over happily, "Small blade, small blade! Brother Sanqing said that his house is very big and has many interesting things. Let's live there!"

Lin Sanqing ran over to catch up with Huan'er and hugged her, "Grandfather, I just heard that your family is also in Dushuo City. It's been a long time since you came back?"

Si Ren stood up and reached out to take Huan'er from Lin Sanqing's arms, "Oh, yes, I haven't been back for some years."

"I don't know where the benefactor's family lives. I will send someone to take you there then."

"Well...let's talk about it later."

Seeing that Si Ren didn't seem to want to say more, Lin Sanqingchao often smiled as a greeting and turned away.

Si Ren sat down again, and whispered in Huan'er's ear, "Don't tell others about us."

Huan'er pouted, "Why?"

"It can scare people and cause trouble."

"But brother Sanqing is a good person, why else would you save him?"

"Uh...it's not a matter of good guys and bad guys."

"Then why did it scare him?"

He often touched Huan'er's head and got up to leave.

Just now when I was talking about the key point, Si Ren often walked away even if he didn’t want to give way, looking at his back and wanting to shout, but the little grinder next to him was still asking, "Xiao Ren Xiao Ren, look at me! Why, why did it scare Brother Sanqing? Why did it cause trouble?"

……

Everyone was tired after going on the road again, and they stopped talking, and Huan'er fell asleep lying on Yechang's shoulder.

When he was almost at the end, Si Ren saw the written records engraved on the wall that Lin Sanqing said.Not very detailed, but you can see the ins and outs.Lin Sanqing was right: this tunnel was dug by the predecessors of Ershen Village to avoid natural disasters and man-made disasters.

It was about to climb to the ground, Lin Sanqing checked the time again: it was already midnight.

The entrance and exit of the tunnel in Dushuo City is not far from the East City Gate, in a small alley, next to a butcher's pigsty.I don’t know what they used to do, but now it’s a wooden frame house full of feed.The surrounding area is very smelly, and it is estimated that there should be no one passing by during the day and night.

"Does the butcher's family know this tunnel?" Si Ren asked Lin Sanqing after everyone climbed out.

Lin Sanqing shook his head, "I don't seem to know, they did it secretly when they caught me."

He also often slaps off the dirt and grass sticks on his body, "I don't know it at first glance, otherwise it won't be so dirty."

Huaner woke up, she rubbed her eyes in Yechang's arms and yawned, "There are so many people..."

Qilin who was standing on the ground raised his hand and pinched her ankle, "Damn girl, are you sleepy?"

The two sisters, who were cautious and reticent all the way, looked around together, "How can there be so many people?"

Lin Sanqing didn't think much about it, and said with a smile: "In the eyes of children, five or six people are a lot."

Huan'er remembered what Si Ren had told her before she fell asleep, and didn't dare to say anything else.

Si Ren secretly wiped his cold sweat.He knew that apart from himself and Huan'er, Qilin and Yechang must also be able to see it: there are many lonely ghosts around here, and it can be seen that it used to be a cemetery.Probably because of the increasing population in the city and the expansion of the city wall, all the nearby wasteland was included in the city and gradually evolved into what it is today.This kind of place can only be suppressed by people who operate special businesses, such as butchers.Because ordinary people come here not only can't stand the taste, but also feel inexplicably eerie.When Si Ren was at home, he was rarely allowed to go out alone, so he didn't have the impression of being here.

He led everyone away from that unknown land as quickly as possible.After passing by the east gate, Si Ren stopped and looked up at the gate tower. Under the moonlight, a row of inscriptions on the wooden plaque could be discerned just like in those days——Dusuo travels a hundred ghosts, immortal city descends Taoshan.