At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, the land of China was full of turmoil, disputes, people were displaced, and many people even did not hesitate to cross the ocean in order to make a living, which triggered a tide of "going to the South Seas", only hoping to get a bite to eat in a foreign land.

However, the Chinese have always had the profound idea of returning to their roots and the fox dying in the first hill, no matter how good the country is, they all hope to return to their hometown and be buried after death.

Zhang Shouwang is a member of the tide of "going to the South Seas", he followed his fellow villagers to overseas before he was twenty years old, hoping to make a world in a foreign country, but unfortunately, he worked hard all his life, but before his death, he ended up with a family wall.

Zhang Shouwang has two sons, the eldest Zhang is born, honest and diligent, has married a wife and has children, and lives by fishing.

What worries Zhang Shouwang is his youngest son Zhang Tianduo, who is twenty-five this year, neither talks about marriage nor does he do his job, he is idle all day long, causing trouble.

Zhang Tianduo has studied for a few years, can speak a few words of foreign language, with his qualifications and education, he could have found a good errand and lived a prosperous life, but Zhang Tianduo has no interest in this, he often said to Zhang Shouwang that he will return to China one day, and that is his own world.

Now that Zhang Shouwang is dying, he called his two sons to his side and said: "Naturally, you are honest, hardworking and diligent, very good, very good. ”

As he spoke, he looked at Zhang Tianduo and sighed slightly: "Tianduo, my father knows that you are very smart, but you always don't listen to your father's advice, and you are the most uneasy thing for your father." ”

Seeing his old father's concern for him, Zhang Tianduo felt that he should not be, in addition to making his father angry in the past few years, he had never honored his old man, nor had he ever done anything to make his old man happy, thinking of this, Zhang Tianduo's tears couldn't help but fall.

Zhang Shouwang reluctantly held Zhang Tianduo's hand, moved his gaze to the roof, and sighed softly: "That's it for my father's life, you don't have to be too sad, after I leave, Tianduo, you can go back with my bones, remember to bury me under the poplar tree on the outskirts of my hometown, where ...... There's your grandfather there...... Grandma is waiting for me, remember...... Remember......"

Seeing that the old father was about to die, as soon as the two brothers shed tears, they were about to cry, but at this moment, Zhang Shouwang suddenly grabbed Zhang Tianduo's hand, and the force actually caught Zhang Tianduo painfully, not at all like a dying person.

"Right...... By the way, after you go back, go find your third uncle, he ...... He can help...... Help you ......"

The last word was spit out, Zhang Shouwang couldn't take it anymore, his hand was loosened, and he passed away from the world.

A few days later, Zhang Tianduo took his father's ashes, bid farewell to his brother and sister-in-law, and after several months, finally returned to his father's hometown of Zhangjia Town!

Zhangjia Town, a well-known ancient town, is surrounded by mountains, traffic is blocked, and materials are scarce, and the reason why it is famous is because there is a Yizhuang that has existed for hundreds of years in the town!

Yizhuang is the place where the corpse is parked in most people's impressions, but in fact, Yizhuang is like the ancestral hall of today's surname clan, mostly donated by the rich, or to help the poor families in the clan, or to relieve the needy, there are also local Yizhuang is run by the government, for disaster relief, caring for the orphans and widows, and doing charity. Stopping the dead is just one of its functions.

This Yizhuang in Zhangjia Town is also known as "Xieyunzhuang", it is the only Yizhuang in Zhangjia Town, and it is also the only Yizhuang within a radius of ten miles.

This Yizhuang started in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, was destroyed several times in hundreds of years, but it was preserved by mistake, and it has been passed on to the hands of Fu Bowen, who is now looking at the villager, I don't know how many generations have passed, but it is still wind and rain, and it has become the symbol of Fangjia Town.

Zhang Tianduo's arrival caused quite a stir, some people in the older generation still remember Zhang Shouwang, when they heard Zhang Shouwang's last wish, many people sighed, there were thousands of people in the town who decided to cross the sea, but there were very few people who could die like Zhang Shouwang and return to their homeland.

Zhang Tianduo buried his father in accordance with his father's wishes, he couldn't help but breathe a long sigh of relief, and finally, he returned to this magical land.

Recalling his father's dying words, Zhang Tianduo thought in his heart: "Dad asked me to find the third uncle, I don't know if he is still living in this town." ”

For this "third uncle", Zhang Tianduo's brothers have not heard their father mention it since childhood, every time they talk about this "third uncle", Zhang Shouwang will always show a look of admiration, and his words are also full of respect.

This so-called "third uncle", in fact, is not Zhang Shouwang's brother, he is a name of Zhang Shouwang's father, when the mountain bandits sacked Zhangjia Town, Zhang's family was burned clean by the mountain bandits, Zhang Shouwang was rescued by the "third uncle" and survived, later, the "third uncle" because he did not want to involve the two brothers of the Zhang family said goodbye, until he went to Nanyang for many years to receive a letter from the "third uncle", and learned that he was still in Zhangjia Town.

Although Zhang Tianduo often heard his father talk about this "third uncle", what he said was only the story of the "third uncle" who killed bandits and saved people, in addition, Zhang Tianduo only knew that the third uncle's name was Fu Bowen!

In fact, this time Zhang Tian took it back, looking for this "third uncle" is secondary, what he really wants is to explore the mysterious things in this magical land - "Xiangxi Three Evils".

Why Zhang Tianduo is interested in these things has to start with Father Tony he met when he was in school.

This Father Tony had been to Xiangxi as a missionary when he was young, and by chance he would see one of the mysterious three evils in Xiangxi - to drive out corpses, and since then, he has spent a lot of energy to explore this mysterious thing, but unfortunately, this mysterious thing is difficult for locals to explore, let alone such a blonde and blue-eyed foreign devil.

In the end, Father Tony had to give up and move to the South Seas mission.

When Father Tony heard that Zhang Tianduo's ancestral home was the Xiangxi he had explored when he was young, Father Tony told him all kinds of strange things he had encountered in Xiangxi, and since then, Zhang Tianduo has developed a strong interest in these mysterious things, which is the main reason why he has never forgotten to return to his hometown.

Although Zhang Tianduo is eager to explore the mysterious things that Father Tony said, he knows better that he grew up overseas and is not familiar with life, and if there is no one to guide him, it is almost impossible to move an inch, just like returning to his hometown this time, the journey alone is very tortuous.

Zhang Tianduo decided to find the "third uncle" first.

A month later.

Zhang Tianduo asked almost half of Zhangjia Town, but no one knew that there was a person named Fu Bowen in the town, and he hadn't even heard of it.

The more Zhang Tianduo searched, the more disappointed he became, and his heart became more and more uneasy, there was not much left of the entanglement he carried, if he didn't find this third uncle again, I am afraid he would have to live on the streets.

On this day, Zhang Tianduo inquired about Fu Bowen's whereabouts one by one as in the past, and suddenly, he heard a commotion at the end of the side street, and ran over to take a look, it turned out to be a funeral procession.

Zhang Tianduo's curiosity was aroused at once, in Nanyang, he had also seen the funeral procession, but it was completely different from China.

There were about 30 people in this mourning team, most of them wore linen and filial piety, bowed their heads and said nothing, and marched all the way to the south, strangely, there was no coffin in the procession, and it didn't look like a funeral, and he couldn't help but follow in his heart.

Behind the mourning team were a few nervous fools and naughty children who didn't understand the world, and as the mourning team drifted away, the children began to lose interest in watching the excitement and slowly left, and those fools were also attracted by other things and gradually dispersed.

When he arrived outside the town, Zhang Tianduo was the only one left behind the mourning team.

Zhang Tianduo didn't realize that he was the only one left to follow the mourning team, and he became more and more curious: "Where is this mourning team going?" ”

I don't know how long I walked, but after turning a small forest, the mourning team finally stopped.

Zhang Tianduo looked from a distance and saw an ancient Zhuangzi in front of the mourning team.

Someone in the mourning team came forward and knocked on the door, and not long after, he saw a half-hundred-year-old man walk out, and then, the old man did not know what to say, and the mourning team walked in.