Chapter 17: The Shadow Walker
What is Headless Inn?
In the literal sense of the word, it's an inn where people without heads gather.
A person without a head is naturally a dead person, so it can also be understood as an inn where the dead gather.
Colonel Di Ming said that this place is located in the depths of the Daliang Mountain and is a foothold of the Ancient Tea Horse Road. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, there were still many people walking on that road, and the tea and cloth produced from Yunnan went straight to Tibet along the ancient tea horse road, and then entered Nepal.
Later, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the 318 Sichuan-Tibet Highway was built, and the Ancient Tea Horse Road gradually declined.
The main road of the Ancient Tea Horse Road is on the Sichuan-Tibet and Yunnan-Tibet roads, and the Daliangshan Road is just a small branch of the vast road system. But because it is small, what happens is even more incredible.
The headless inn was originally not called the headless inn, but the househead inn, which means that even if you go out, there is a meaning of being in your own house and on your own kang.
At that time, the Headless Inn was very famous. The owner is also very generous, as long as there are guests coming, he will invite people to eat beef.
At that time, beef was a precious thing, and idlers couldn't eat it. Especially when the innkeeper said that as long as you stay at my house, you can eat free beef, and you can be full!
The word "full" is powerful, because a man who can make a living on the ancient tea horse road, which one is not the master who can eat and drink? If you don't need money, you can't eat it hard?
Some people even stayed here for seven or eight days in order to be able to eat free beef, until the caravan had to set off, and then they were reluctant to leave.
Someone said to the innkeeper, you can't go on like this. With so much beef, you're going to have to lose money.
But the innkeeper said with a smile, everyone likes it, money is something outside the body, and I am very satisfied if it can make everyone happy.
When Colonel Di Ming told me about this, I said at the time that this person was either a fool or a living Lei Feng.
Colonel Di Ming sneered and said, the fool has nothing to do with him, but if you want to say that he is Lei Feng, hehe, you haven't heard me finish speaking.
It is said that the innkeeper can't listen to the advice of others, or the guests will give free beef to eat, but after a long time, the beef can never be eaten.
Later, some people thought it was strange, because according to this way of eating, one cow a day is the minimum. In the few months since the inn opened, I have to eat hundreds of cows, right?
But why doesn't the inn even have a place to raise cattle? I don't usually see the boss go out to buy beef, where does this beef come from?
But this thought only lingered in his mind for a moment, and the merchant did not care. After all, in these years, everyone has their own way to get rich, and if you rashly inquire about people, you will offend people if you don't get it right, and you can't even eat beef.
It wasn't until later that a group of dart masters came.
At that time, the Qing government collapsed, and the dart industry basically stopped cooking in the mainland. After all, in the interior, the transportation system is already relatively developed, and even railways have been built in some large cities.
However, in western Sichuan, there is still a certain market for dart boards. Because western Sichuan is not as good as the mainland, there are mountains everywhere and water everywhere, and if you want to escort some items, you have to rely on the dart game.
There were only four of these dart masters, and the thing they escorted was also strange, an iron coffin that was only more than a meter long.
These four people were all strong men, and when they came to the inn, the coffins were placed directly at the door, which attracted the dissatisfaction of many merchants.
Some of the grumpy fellows even shouted at them to carry the coffin away.
People at that time were very superstitious, believing that these people carrying coffins were too bad luck and easy to pass on bad luck to themselves. So as soon as these four dart masters came in, they attracted everyone's disapproval.
The four dart masters didn't speak, silently moved the coffin, and then entered the inn. The innkeeper smiled and disagreed, and while confessing to the people in the inn, he arranged a corner spot for the four dart masters.
Then he greeted the man and brought a large pot of fragrant beef.
A dart master said that we have no money, and it is enough to send some coarse grain hot water.
The innkeeper said, no money! The house head inn is to let guests feel like they are in their own house, and they can eat with confidence!
The master suddenly looked up at the innkeeper, then lowered his head again. Then the dart master said that since this is the case, it will trouble the boss.
That being said, the four dart masters still refused to use their chopsticks, but just poured hot water on each of them, took out dry food from their bags and ate it for themselves. As for the fragrant beef stew on the table, they acted as if they hadn't seen it.
The merchants who sold tea bricks and silk laughed when they saw that the dart master did not eat beef, but ate hard dry food. But the man who spoke looked up and gave them a cold look, and the merchants felt as if they were being targeted by a poisonous snake.
The laughter came to an abrupt end.
Someone scolded in a whisper, but they also knew that these dart masters were not easy to mess with, and it was better to have more than one thing for everyone, so don't provoke them. People don't like beef, maybe they believe in Buddhism? What do you do with so much.
Who knew that the merchants didn't care, but the innkeeper couldn't sit still, he served fragrant beef, but the dart master refused to eat it, isn't this not a loss of face?
So the innkeeper ran over again and said, "Masters, but the beef is not to your liking?" Why don't I give a few of you some barbecue?
A dart master looked up and said, "No, we don't eat your beef."
The innkeeper thought that the dart master was afraid that it was poisonous, so he personally picked up the chopsticks, took out a piece of beef and took a bite, and said, "Everyone, if you are worried about the medicine in it, then I will give you a few tastes first." Don't worry, the househead inn has been open here for a few months, and its reputation is well-deserved!
Who knew that when the dart master saw the innkeeper eating beef there, they all showed a disgusted and disgusted expression. One of the younger dart masters also put his hand on his waist, as if he wanted to draw a knife.
When Colonel Di Ming talked about this, he suddenly asked me, Yu Buren, do you know what the identities of those four dart masters are?
Without thinking, I said, the Huangquan Yin Dart on the bank of the Dadu River, right? It is said that they take not only the darts of the living, but also the darts of the dead. The things escorted are even more bizarre and varied. can carry a coffin on the road, except for the Yin Dart Master on the bank of the Dadu River, I can't think of anyone else.
Colonel Di Ming smiled slightly at this time and said, That's right. These four dart masters are the Yin Walking Dart Master from the banks of the Dadu River. The reason why the Headless Inn is called the Headless Inn is that it has a lot to do with the four people.
Yu Buren, you must listen to the story I am going to tell you next, because it will determine whether you can come back alive from the Headless Inn.
As soon as I heard Colonel Di Ming say this, my heart suddenly shook, no wonder Colonel Di Ming told me so carefully, it turned out that it also has a very important relationship with what we have to do.
said that the four Yin Dart Masters saw the innkeeper eating beef there, and they suddenly couldn't help it. The bearded dart master in the lead stood up as soon as he slapped the table and said, "Shopkeeper, we are just passers-by, and we don't interfere with the river water, so why bother?"
The innkeeper was a little confused, and said, why did the four guest officers say this? The so-called rely on your parents at home and rely on your friends when you go out. Everyone is a person who begs for a living on the road, a few people live in my store, I invite a few people to eat beef, there is no problem?
The bearded dart master said coldly, "Boss, are you sure you want us to eat this beef?" He said as his hand was on top of the knife at his waist.
The three companions around him also pulled out the guys, their faces were gloomy, and they had the intention of fighting if they didn't agree with each other. As a result, the other merchants in the inn were not happy at this time.
Originally, the boss kindly invited you to eat beef, but if you don't eat it, you just draw a knife and prepare to beat someone? It's really a dog biting Lu Dongbin, and he doesn't know the hearts of good people. What's more, the four of you guys are running around with coffins, and everyone has long looked at them unpleasantly.
So a merchant shouted and said, "Ge Laozi, what are you doing?" If you bully people, you have to ask your grandfather if you agree!
The men who go south and north all have guys on them, after all, I don't know when they will meet bandits, road rage or something along the way. So after a few words, the merchant reached out and took out his dagger, and walked over angrily.
As soon as he left, those merchants who ate beef for nothing felt that their mouths were short, and now the innkeeper was threatened by four yin and yang weird guys, and they all wanted to show a hand.
In an instant, the four Yin Dart Masters were surrounded.
The bearded dart master glanced around coldly, and then said to the innkeeper, friend, do you really want to turn your face?
The innkeeper rubbed his hands with a smile and said, you don't have to turn your face, you see, everyone wants you to eat a few bites of beef. You just take a bite and I promise they won't do anything.
The bearded master suddenly laughed. He said, "Okay, boss, I didn't want to worry about this, but if you have to, then don't blame me for tearing my face."
He took a step back, and suddenly kicked over the beef bowl on the table.
In an instant, beef, soup, pots and pans, etc., fell all over the ground.
A merchant was furious and said, "Turtle son!" Is it the other way around? Day you immortal board, hit me!
The surrounding merchants were afraid that the world would not be chaotic, so the copyist was ready to vent his anger for the innkeeper. Who knew that after only a few steps, the bearded dart master shouted violently, he jumped on the table, pointed a single knife at the broken beef pot on the ground, and said, "Stop!" Look carefully, whether this pot is beef or human flesh!
Everyone looked at it and was immediately shocked, because the head and hooves of the cow fell to the ground in the overturned beef basin.
But what kind of bull head is that thing? It's clearly a hideous-looking human head, and a pair of boiled and sparse little arms!
The flesh on the man's head and face was rotten, and the eyeballs in his sockets had changed color. The main thing is that the hair of the head is not cleaned, and it is boiled like weeds, dirty, and smelly.
The merchants who were still eating meat just now vomited on the spot!