"Uh, auntie, this is Zhongzhai, right? We were just passing by, it was not early, and we wanted to find a place to stay, and by the way, we inquired about the situation. Apex "I fist to her.

"It's Zhongzhai, come in." The old lady let us into the house.

Her home is very clean, no different from ordinary Miao family, the only conspicuous thing is a pot of dragon sprouts planted next to the window.

After sitting down, the old lady poured a cup of hot tea for each of us, and politely said a few words, the old lady told us that this is indeed the frog clan, and she is the witch of the clan, and the clan calls her "frog mother-in-law", for this, I am not surprised, because her home is so clean is enough to prove that she raises Gu, as for the tea she gave, no one dares to touch it.

Xia Ti opened her mouth and said: "Granny Frog, we just want to find two Taoist priests, one old and one young, the old one wears a deputy iron mask on his face, I don't know if you have seen it." ”

I know Xia Ti, she is not the kind of person who likes to be in the limelight, probably because she was afraid that I would ask about the Divine Tree directly, which would be too abrupt and arouse the other party's vigilance, so I preemptively said something else.

"Taoist, I haven't seen it, we haven't been here for decades, and I rarely go out, even if someone really comes, I'm afraid an old woman won't know." The frog mother-in-law replied with an old dragon bell.

"Oh, mother-in-law, don't you people here go out very often? Why can't we see anyone in the stockade? Xia Ti continued to ask.

"Well, we are frogs, and like frogs, we don't come out until night."

It's strange that people are like frogs.

"Oh, mother-in-law, are you the only one in your house?" Xia Ti asked again.

"All dead, my man and a pair of sons and daughters died thirty years ago." Mother-in-law Frog has always been expressionless, but when she talks about this, her eyes are full of misery and sadness, they are a pair of old eyes that have been through vicissitudes, and there are no tears in her eyes, revealing the pain that teaches people to pierce their hearts.

After being silent for a moment, Xia Ti's lips moved slightly, probably wanting to comfort her, but before the words came out, Granny Frog said to herself: "Since you can find here, you probably have heard about what happened thirty years ago." Without waiting for us to talk, she continued: "It was that time when the people from the former cottage suddenly came to us to ask for someone, to ask for their witch doctor Ah Duo, that is a good girl with a beautiful heart, she has long been in love with my son, because the people of our Sanzhai can not go out, and there is no way to go to the front mountain to propose a dowry, invite them to come, so they can only follow the wishes of the children, and they are married, and the people of the whole village have come to eat and drink, and it has been lively for three days, but it has earned enough face for our family." But also blame us, think about this thing too simply, Ah Duo married to have to abide by the rules of the frog clan, can not go out of the mountain, so it didn't take long for the happy event to become a funeral, hundreds of men from the former cottage came to ask for someone, Xingshi asked for guilt, didn't say a few words to start his hands, burned, killed and looted, came three times, most of the clansmen died, we were the only ones left in the family, they were all burned alive, my good daughter-in-law Ah Duo also committed suicide in front of everyone's eyes, it's a pity that such a beauty who captivates the country and the city, my good daughter-in-law, You see, that's her favorite dragon sprout, and I've been planting it for her. After saying that, Granny Frog pointed to the dragon sprout grass next to the window, her mouth still trembling slightly

, but didn't make any more noise.

Everyone nodded, what Granny Frog said was exactly the same as what the Miao man said in the former cottage, it seems that they didn't lie, thirty years ago, that terrible thing did happen here, and Granny Frog's words also verified what Jinshan said, their clansmen in Sanzhai really can't go out of the mountain, if you say that the young man who went to Qianshan to find Ah Duo is definitely not a clansman from Sanzhai, then he is really very likely to be "Ghost Face Dao", otherwise Ghost Face Road would not be so familiar with this place, which is in line with my previous speculation.

At this time, Kongtongzi got up, bowed slightly, and said: "Immeasurable Tianzun, old man, the deceased is gone, don't be sad, cherish it a lot." We are just passing by, and we don't know how to go to Shangzhai? ”

The frog mother-in-law thought for a while and said: "Shangzhai still has to go up about ten miles, although it is not far, but the mountain road is extremely difficult to walk, very dangerous, only the patriarch can ensure that there is no mistake to find where, but unfortunately he also died thirty years ago, and now no one in the clan knows the way to Shangzhai, alas! It's a misfortune you're here. ”

I saw that this frog mother-in-law was also upright, and when she had said this, there was no need to hide it anymore, so I asked, "Mother-in-law, can you tell us about the sacred tree?" ”

Granny Frog should know the purpose of our trip, but she was still stunned, probably because she didn't expect me to be so straightforward, and after thinking for a while, she shook her head and said: "Shenshu, I shouldn't know more than you, and that is the holy relic of our Sanzhai, and it is the secret that we want to protect with our lives, I think it's not too early, you should also rest." Later, her tone was visibly displeased.

We can't deal with an old lady like we do with Jinshan, not to mention that people haven't offended us, and she is alone, so I guess she has already put life and death out of the way, and I was thinking about how to get something out of her mouth.

Suddenly, there was a sound of the door opening outside, and many doors were opened together, followed by many people walking out, the footsteps were very heavy, I always felt a little strange, how did these people come out all at once?

Everyone was also puzzled and looked at each other one by one.

Seeing this, the frog mother-in-law explained: "Oh! The tribesmen go out, we frog people are like this, as you said, the tribesmen and frogs have the same habits, they sleep at home during the day, and at night, after it gets dark, they will go out together, which makes you strange. ”

After she finished speaking, she arranged for us to go into the inner room to rest, and went into the bedroom on the other side.

Closing the door, I looked down through the crack in the window, and the people on the street were walking in twos and threes, they were very quiet, except for the sound of footsteps, no one spoke, maybe this is also their habit.

I whispered, "Why don't I go out and have a look, maybe I can find out the whereabouts of the sacred tree." ”

Qingyun Nuonuo said: "Also, don't go, it's a little scary here, a little scary, do you remember what the Miao man in the front mountain said, when they came to Zhongzhai for the last time, those who were killed by him came back to life, it is estimated that here, it should be haunted." ”

I said, "Alas! Qingyun, when did you become so timid, you are not a gentleman. ”

Kongtongzi said: "Yet."

Don't go out, ordinary people shouldn't know where the sacred tree is, and they can only speak the native language of the Miao family, and they can't ask anything, this black light is blind, we are new to the place, we are not familiar with the place, or be cautious and subtle, don't cause any trouble. ”

Xia Ti also nodded and said, "Yes, Brother Yang Zi, it's better to be careful, this frog mother-in-law is a witch and can use Gu, I think we have to take turns to keep vigil." ”

Everyone nodded in agreement, in fact, I didn't close my eyes this night, the people on the street dispersed unconsciously, and soon the sky was bright, and the frog mother-in-law knocked on the door and came in, and said with a smile: "Are you all awake, can you still get used to sleeping last night?" ”

Obviously, I didn't sleep well, but I could only nod awkwardly.

Kongtongzi hugged his fists and said: "Very good, very good, old man, bother, this is a snack, please accept it." As he spoke, he took out two taels of silver from his bosom and handed them to Granny Frog.

The frog mother-in-law smiled slightly, but did not reach out to take it, but said: "These yellow and white things are not needed in our place, the Taoist should take them back, anyway, I am the only old woman in this huge house, and the house is empty. ”

The monks gave money to their families, but before they could give it out, Kongtongzi was a little embarrassed, and said with a wry smile: "Immeasurable Tianzun, the poor Dao is grateful." ”

I also got up and clasped my fists in salute, "Mother-in-law, uh, it's just that we ......, I don't know ......"

Granny Frog raised her eyebrows, and said with a gloomy face: "You want to ask about the Divine Tree, I have already said it, I, an old woman, don't know anything, I advise you, it's best not to fight the idea of the Divine Tree, so that you can do it yourself." ”

I was a little angry, and I happened to have a seizure, so I heard Xia Ti smile and say, "Mother-in-law, thank you for your reminder, can you tell us how to go to Shangzhai?" ”

Stretching out her hand not to hit the smiling face, the frog mother-in-law sighed and said: "I can only take you out of the village, this village is built in the form of my clan's totem 'Milo frog', the whole village is a big array, very mysterious, it is difficult for non-native people to get out when they come in, as for the way to the village, you have to rely on yourself to find it, my old woman does not know." ”

We nodded and thanked us, and followed the frog mother-in-law out of the door, this is really worthy of the frog clan, not even a single mosquito, the scorching sun is over, there is a dead silence in the village, even if it is such a sunny day, it is always like a layer of mist blocking the road ahead, plus half of the figure on the street during the day can not be seen, it is really a little scary.

After walking around for a while, I was dazed by the identical wooden building in front of me, and suddenly, "Hey, hey, hey! There were a few strange laughs behind him.

Everyone looked back, only to see a figure, flashing past the intersection, "crazy old man" everyone shouted in unison, there is no mistake, it is clear that it is the crazy old man who entered the mountain with us.

"Chase!" I yelled and rushed out first. The rest of the people didn't say a word, and they followed.

Don't look at the crazy old man crazy, but his legs and feet are extremely fast, every time I turn an intersection, I can only see his body flash, and turn into another road, we chased a stick of incense, the crazy old man suddenly turned around, and disappeared.

Qingyun caught up and panted and shouted, "Oh no, no, frog, frog mother-in-law, also, it's gone." ”