I held the gun, angrily watching the two of them come out of the crowd, Yuanmei said to the ninth master: "The ninth master, this is the person we are looking for", the ninth master's knife slowly put down, the third baby on the opposite side put down the earthen gun in his hand with a surprised face, the second master lowered my gun and said, "How did you bypass Baofu Town?" ”

Yuan Mei hurriedly said: "Now is not the time to talk about this, the ninth master should go." ”

Jiu Ye silently led the mule and looked at me expressionlessly, at this time a thin and tall man walked out of the team, looking older than Jiu Ye, this person glanced at me, hurriedly lay in Jiu Ye's ear, muttering a whisper, Jiu Ye lowered his head and thought about it, looked up at me, and said to Yuanmei: "I can't take this person." ”

Yuan Mei stared at the Ninth Master, frowned and said, "Please also ask the Ninth Master to have something to say."

The Ninth Master looked at me, sighed and said, "It's not good for us to block here, let's talk about it in front." ”

As the procession proceeded, people passed by me, all with a look of fear and suspicion, and a few of them even clinged to the mules and horses, as if I had an infectious disease, for fear of sticking to them.

The three of us followed the team, and I asked the second master, "Why are you two here?" Didn't you go to Guangxi? ”

"Don't mention it, I felt something was wrong when I ran out that day, and after thinking about it for a long time, I couldn't think of one, two, three, and then I simply went to Baishi Town to find Yuanmei, and wanted her to help me make a move, but guess what?" ”

Said and glanced at Yuanmei, Yuanmei took out two notes from her body and handed them to me, opened the first one, the pencil drew the whole paper, obviously rubbing, only to see that the unclear text on it read: "The bait has been released", the second is also rubbing, writing: "The fish has been hooked", maybe it is because the person who writes is less strong, the handwriting is relatively blurry, but it feels very familiar, judging from the paper, it should be the stationery commonly used in the base, this kind of paper and such handwriting, I quickly flashed a person in my mind.

Yuanmei looked at me in a trance, nodded and said, "These two notes were written by Zeng Rourou, the first was written after Cui Dali escaped, and the second was written on the day you left, understand?" ”

How could I possibly understand? Zeng Rourou, which one is this singing? What is Bait and What is Fish? Could it be that the second master and me are referring to it? If so, who is the one who is fishing behind the scenes?

The brain was chaotic, like a mess of paste, a thousand threads were entangled, and it felt like it was buzzing inside. The caravans, however, gradually stopped and gathered in an open field beside the avenue.

The three of us walked in front of the ninth master, and Yuanmei was just about to open her mouth to ask, but the ninth master waved his hand at her and said, "Look at the bottom of this baby's eyes." ”

When the rest of the Ma Gang heard this, they all gathered around, and the thin old man who whispered before looked like an elder, standing beside the ninth master with his hands behind his back, I don't know what kind of character it is.

The third baby and a few young people stood behind the second master curiously and fearfully, like a group of rabbits with enough food to eat, scrambling to pad their feet and desperately look inside.

Yuan Mei gently pulled down my eyelids with a blank face, and for a moment, I saw doubt, surprise and fear in her eyes, just at a glance, I saw her covering her mouth with one hand, and took three or four steps back, at this time there were also cries of surprise from the crowd, and then there was a noise, even the second master opened his mouth wide, as if he was in Yingkou when he first saw Jiaolong, but he was a little more afraid than then.

Yuan Mei stabilized her mind, turned around to push away the crowd, and asked Jiu Ye, "What's going on?" ”

"Hey, that bamboo forest can't go, he's fallen into a Gu."

: "Gu"?! The three of us let out an exclamation at the same time, and when the three young people heard this, their eyes widened like eggs, and they stepped back on each other's feet.

The thin old man nodded, took a step forward and said, "There is a bamboo house in the bamboo forest, do you know?" ”

I nodded.

"You're in, huh?" ”

I nodded.

"There was a female baby who died there, a long time ago, since then, the bamboo forest is haunted, it is said that as long as it is a male baby, or it will not be able to go, even if it is close, ten days later will definitely die." ”

Yuan Mei suddenly asked, "Are you talking about the thing they said in the town tavern before?" ”

The old man nodded, Yuanmei looked at me and said, "Yesterday at noon, when we were eating at the tavern in Baofu Town, I heard the guy in the store talk about it, and I thought he was deliberately scaring me, but I didn't expect it to be true." ”

"Of course it's true, pull a girl doll who has nothing to do, and run to scare you a female doll?" The thin old man was a little unhappy, I understood what he meant, each place has its unique legends, these legends are often closely related to local living habits, customs and taboos, and the local people have lived peacefully and soundly for dozens or even hundreds of years by abiding by these habits and taboos, and naturally they will never accept the casual questioning and contempt of outsiders.

Yuan Mei knew that she had said the wrong thing, and glanced at the thin old man with her head down and apologetically, the thin old man snorted annoyedly and took out a long cigarette pouch from his waist, turned around and sat down next to the ninth master, and the two smoked dry tobacco together.

I took out a cigarette from my bag, threw it to the second master, lit it myself, and had the intention to give it to the three children, but as soon as the cigarette was handed forward, they all brushed back, I shook my head and asked Yuanmei with a wry smile: "What is the origin of the thin old man?" ”

"Oh, he's the real three-pot head of the horse gang, Uncle Long. ”

"What about the three babies?" ”

"The third baby is his son, Uncle Long is old and can't walk, and he plans to let him take over." ”

No wonder, in addition to the big pot head, the most powerful and important thing in this horse gang is these three pot heads, because the things he manages are too special, money! He is responsible for the eating, drinking, and lazing of dozens of people along the way, daily expenses, and the number of accounts collected after delivery, which shows that the relationship between this person and the ninth master is extraordinary.

"What the hell is going on with the bamboo house?" "It's strange to say, I see that the second master and Yuan Mei are safe and sound now, but I think that this Gu is not a matter of collapse, maybe it is because I have walked too much on the edge of life and death, and I am numb.

"Actually, I didn't understand it too much, I remember that it probably means that many years ago, there was a big family in Baofu Town, what is the surname?" Ah, yes, Zheng, the one surnamed Zheng seems to have something to do with the caravan, once"

"What are you talking about, hey, Xiaofei, you speak well, you speak!" Uncle Long's face was full of displeasure, he gave Yuanmei a fierce look, sat back on the ground, and slammed his cigarette pouch on the stone.

Yuanmei pouted, snorted, found a relatively clean stone to sit down, and picked up the wildflowers on the ground without raising her head.

The crowd flashed, and out of it came the child named Xiaofei.

This child is only seventeen or eighteen years old, thin and dark, and feels more like Uncle Long's own than the third baby, and only moved two small steps forward from the crowd, so he didn't dare to move, timidly lowered his head, rubbed the corners of his clothes that had been rolled up, and looked ashamed like a little girl, I couldn't help but wonder, with his body and shy character, how could the horse gang accept such a person?

He looked at Jiu Ye and Uncle Long apprehensively, and whispered, "There was once a woman who died in the bamboo forest because of a man. ”

As soon as these words came out, there was a burst of laughter in the crowd, and even Yuan Mei, who was angry on the side, couldn't help but snort, and the three babies shouted teasingly: "On weekdays, I am frightened, and I retreat at a critical time."

The second master's teeth chattered, his brows were tightly locked, and his hand involuntarily touched into his arms, I saw that he was really anxious, so I quickly patted him gently, and said to Xiaofei: "Take your time, don't rush." ”

Xiao Fei shouted unconvinced: "Don't laugh, Ge Laozi." He glanced at me a few times, took a deep breath, puffed up his chest and said: "More than 30 years ago, there was a wealthy businessman surnamed Zheng in Baofu Town, who relied on goods for his business, and he sold goods and goods you know, that is, he sold our mountain goods and salt here outside, and then sold things from outside.

But don't look at this Zheng family's gold and silver mountains, mules and horses, this Zheng master married five wives in a row, but has been kneeling without children, empty family wealth but no one inherits, for this matter, Chinese and Western famous doctors, gods and goddesses do not know how much to invite, every day in and out like a marquee, spending money is more like the Yangtze River, seeing that Zheng is fifty years old, the wives still can't hold their stomachs.

On this day, a cloaked and ragged Taoist priest passed by Zheng's house, and when he arrived at the door, he looked up and down, left and right, and laughed, and was about to go inside, and the housekeeper saw this, thinking that a madman had come, and he was going to coax him out with a stick.

When a few family members heard this, this crazy Taoist priest actually dared to scold, and surrounded him in a few steps to make a gesture to fight, but the Taoist priest did not suffer the loss in front of him, and turned his head and ran.

In the afternoon, a maid read this to the third aunt of the Zheng family, and when the third aunt heard it, she panicked instantly, and called her henchman Fu Bo to ask him to hurry up to find this crazy Taoist priest, and told him to settle down first after finding it, and then quietly come in through the back door in the middle of the night, and take it directly to the side room, and never make a noise.

When Fu Bo left, the third aunt told Master Zheng about it, and the two closed the door in the side room, whispering, and didn't even eat dinner.

In fact, this Taoist priest didn't go far, just sitting outside the idle building in Baofu Town, as soon as Fu Bo came out, he looked at it from a distance and smiled, and took the initiative to wave his hand to say hello. Daoye, I've been hungry for a long time, come on, that's it.

After saying that, he turned around and walked inside, the little guy looked at Fu Bo behind him, he didn't dare to stop, he could only go upstairs to please, he was afraid that the other guests who sat down would be disgusted, and the Taoist priest was not outside, followed the young man, went up to the second floor with his hands behind his back, went directly into the box, took the menu, even wine and meat, north and south dishes, ordered eight or nine kinds, the little guy didn't dare to move with the list, stared at Fu Bo with a strong stare at Fu Bo, Fu Bo was also the second monk of Zhang, and said in his heart that this Taoist priest didn't understand any etiquette? As the saying goes, the prime minister has seven officials in front of the door, and he Fubo is also a leading figure in this Baofu Town, and now he is whispering in front of such a Taoist priest who wants food, and it is not good to say it.

But the master's family instructed to invite someone, if he was offended and ran away, it would be more troublesome, and after thinking about it, he nodded to the guy helplessly.

After a while, the wine and food were all served, and the Taoist priest didn't say a word, like a hungry ghost reincarnated, he took a plate and a bowl, and swept it clean, as if it had been washed.

Fu Bogan stared, not even a fish bone, and when the Taoist priest was full of wine and food, Fu Bo suppressed his anger and asked with a smile: I don't know where the master came from, and he practiced in that Taoist temple?

The Taoist priest stood up, leaned against the window, and while picking his teeth, he looked at the Zheng family's mansion below, and said leisurely: I am an idle cloud and a wild crane, and the four seas are my home.

After hearing this, Fu Bo almost jumped up angrily, he was clearly a charlatan, and he dared to ask for three or four, he really regarded himself as a master, and he didn't know what the third aunt liked about him, and he said that he couldn't run away, so he said that he didn't find it, and the third aunt wouldn't do anything to me.

was pondering, listening to the sound of footsteps on the stairs, the young man entered the box with tea and a few snacks, the Taoist priest looked at it, grinned and smiled and said: I just said, how can the Zheng family be so incompetent? It's good, it's good.

After listening to this, the young man looked at Fu Bo with a flushed face embarrassedly, and whispered: This is the lotus paste cake that my shopkeeper specially honors you with Duyun Maojian and Deshun Zhai, and I ask you to take care of it in the future.

Fauber gritted his teeth, he had the intention of killing, he couldn't say a word, he suppressed his anger and waved the young man away, poured a cup of tea, turned his head, looked out the window, poured himself a drink, and only hoped that it would get dark soon. ”