This story was told to me by my master when I was a child, and my master was the child who blew the trumpet in the funeral procession. Ever since I heard this story, I have had strange dreams about a mirror and a bathtub, and in the mirror I could see a rickety old lady sitting in the bathtub, with her back to me, saying nothing, doing nothing, just with her back to me.

Naturally, I don't believe in any ghosts and gods, and cowardice can't do what we do. I don't know if you have heard of it, but there is a kind of people in this world, who are agile and have special skills, and they specialize in doing things that are not easy to do for others, and they only need to pay them a considerable amount afterwards.

This kind of person is called a professional errand runner in the industry.

The errand runner can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period in China, and gradually developed and grew in the Song and Yuan dynasties, divided into the old school and the new school. The old school made a living by running errands, and the disciples were not allowed to take care of other occupations and concentrate on running errands. The new school likes to reform and encourages its disciples to integrate into society and keep pace with the times, so the new school is often more scattered and does not have a strict hierarchy.

My master's school is the new school. After graduating from university, I went back to my hometown in Luoyang with my junior brother and sister, and opened a small antique shop in the old city, which was opened on the old street behind Lijing Gate, Luoyang is the ancient capital of the Nine Dynasties, and the antique shop is more or less a little performance here, plus it is a small scenic spot here, and the tourists who come and go every day are not three or fifty thousand but also seven or eight thousand. Of course, we don't make money by this, otherwise we would have starved to death.

Recently, new products have been being released in the store, and the summer vacation is coming, and the number of student customers is gradually increasing. The summer in Luoyang is especially hot, scorching hot, if you go out for a run shirtless, you can smell the protein when you come back. I once encouraged my junior brother to go out and do this.

Just as I was thinking, as soon as the octagonal wind chimes rang at the door, I knew that there was a customer in the store, but it was not a customer.

"Master, why are you here?" The junior brother had sharp eyes, put down the tall glow-in-the-dark cup in his hand, and poured tea on the dog's legs.

I glanced at him, got up from the master's chair, and while making a chair for the master to sit first, I saw off the two customers in the store, hung up the sign that the store was closed, and closed the door before sitting down in front of the master.

It's not that I'm too cautious, it's just that my master is an uninhibited person who likes to travel all over the world, and we haven't been able to see him a few times in the year we have been apprentices.

The master took the Biluochun served by the junior brother, only lifted the lid and smelled it, and put it on the low table on the side: "There is work." ”

My heart tightened, and sure enough, I guessed correctly. According to our usual rules, we have a special contact channel for the work, and we generally do not alarm the master, let alone the master to inform it in person, which shows that this work may be a little unusual. My brother also saw the clue, glanced at me, and sat down next to my hand.

Master took out a map from his backpack and a bank card: "Follow the map to find an ancient book." ”

I knew that the card must be a deposit, so I took the map and found that it was a hand-drawn sheet of leather with an unfading pen, like the original. Very few employers will give us the same thing directly, either because he has a lack of brains, or because he is too short on time and he has not had time to copy it.

I looked at it and soon realized that this was a map of Luoyang, and the main direction of our operation was on the northeast side of Luoyang. Those who are familiar with a little history know that there is a group of tombs in Pishan. Who will need to run to the mausoleum complex to get something? And who will put things in the mausoleum complex? I hope I'm thinking too much.

The junior brother took the map and swept it with big eyes, and with a hey, he said poorly: "Bishan? An ancient book again? Master, could it be that this time, we are going to fight backwards? ”

"Don't talk nonsense!" I glared at my junior brother, although I also had this confusion in my heart, but running errands and fighting are two natures after all, besides, it is impossible for Master to be so rash. I then asked, "Master, what kind of book is it?" ”

The master shook his head slightly: "The specifics, you will know when you arrive." Ten days later, the equipment is ready, and you are ready to go. ”

I was stunned, although it is not the first time that we have taken such an urgent job, and in this case, the remuneration will be much more generous than usual, and the business in the store has been sluggish recently, and most of the junior brothers are bothering to take care of it, and it is time to take such an order. But this time, I was not happy at all, but faintly felt a little uneasy, the most important thing to take the job is in addition to the middleman, that is, the goal of the work, must be clear, just like driving must have a steering wheel, and practicing courage must look at the curse 2.

I glanced at my junior brother and saw that he was also squinting at me, and he glanced at the bank card and raised an eyebrow. I knew where his mind was, this kid probably had itchy skin, I didn't bother to pay attention to him, and said to the master: "Don't worry, Master, we will definitely complete the task." ”

Master nodded, and suddenly sat up straight, I knew that what I was going to explain next was the purpose of Master's personal visit this time: "But Xiao Qian, I'm afraid this mission will not be so easy, you and Xiao Dui must be extra careful, remember, everything is adaptable." The master paused for a moment, and then said, "Also, when we get to the mouth of the horse's hoof, one more person will be added, and this time you will act together." ”

It's not that the remuneration is not easy to share, but people like us live underground, and the more work we take, the more secrets we know, so generally we have a very reliable intermediary between us and our employers, just like Master and them, so that we and our employers will feel safe. So after listening to Master, my junior brother and I were stunned for a moment, but it didn't look like Master's expression was joking.

"Holy!" The junior brother glanced at the bank card, "Isn't that the gratuity-" Before he finished speaking, the master waved his hand and stopped him: "This situation is a bit special, but you can rest assured that it is safe." ”

I'm worried in my heart, we are absolutely assured of the safety of the work that Master has taken, but what is the origin of this person and how is his skills? Could it be just a whim, a whim, and I and my brother and I have to take care of it when it's over? It's not clear, it's just a drag oil bottle.

Master saw my thoughts at a glance, and he relaxed a little, took a sip of Biluochun, and said to us: "I don't know where he came from, but I know that he is an old school. ”

As soon as I heard this, I was relieved, the old school had strict rules and exquisite craftsmanship, and all of them were first-class masters, and only their old school looked down on our new school, so I immediately became worried again. The junior brother is excited, we have lived in the Central Plains for a long time, each doing our own thing, almost never had the opportunity to contact the old school of people, the legend of the god list has heard a lot, the junior brother said that this time how to learn both hands, no matter how bad it is to open your eyes.

Speaking of tediousness, we took a few common things with us and set off.