Chapter 11: The Wild Shop (I)

Naman, the name of a very remote village, is also the last two words in the name of the place left by Guan Zheng before his death.

It's located in a little-known valley deep in the mountains, where you have to take a plane to Kunming, then a train, a bus to a small town on the border with Myanmar, and finally an ox cart or walk to get there.

Ruan Zhan's party did not go smoothly, first the plane was delayed, and they turned from anxious to helpless, and finally got on the plane, and actually made a little noise in the air. After getting off the plane, the three of them stayed in the local area for the night, and then transferred to the train, which was fine, but the rest of the car trip almost made Xiao Xia's bones fall apart. When they were finally able to take the last means of transportation, the ox cart, they found that the people who had not entered or left the mountain for two days could only go up the mountain on two legs.

At this time, Xiao Xia was so tired that she didn't want to speak. And Ruan Zhan has always talked little, carrying his and Xiao Xia's luggage and walking in the front, only Wanli is still full of energy to complain.

"You're wasting time and money doing this, so why don't you use your space-time warp?"

Ruan Zhan just didn't hear it.

"What else do you need to have purposeful information to perform this kind of spell, I think you just don't know how to do it."

"If you don't want to come, go back, who told you to come with you." Ruan Zhan stopped and found a shaded place, "Let's rest for a while!" ”

He wasn't tired, but although he didn't turn around to look, he also knew that Xiao Xia would not be able to hold on, but he was reluctant to support them for fear of burdening them.

He sat down a little lower, so that he could give up the comfortable boulder to Natsu and keep an eye on her. In this kind of deep mountain, there must be a lot of poisonous snakes and poisonous insects, Xiao Xia is a standard city doll, and she can't stand this.

Originally, he just planned to come by himself, but since he realized that Huang Boheng was very suspicious and had special intentions for Xiao Xia, he had to take her with him so that he could feel at ease, but this was a test for Xiao Xia.

And Wan Li is a keen traveler, I heard that this village is so remote, but it may hide a big secret, so he also asked for leave to follow, in fact, Ruan Zhan knew that Wan Li was intent on helping.

"I know you're distressed about Natsu, but have you paid attention to the weather?" Wan Li walked up to Ruan Zhan and whispered.

"It's because it's going to rain, so I'm resting for a while."

"Have you fallen for the Gu? Say such crazy things! Wanli looked up at the sky again.

He often travels alone, and knows that the weather in the mountains is changeable, not to mention that it is still the turn of spring and summer when it is easy to change his face. When they came up the mountain, the weather was still very good, but they didn't expect it to change at noon. According to his many years of travel experience, it will rain in less than two hours, and it will rain a lot. They are unfamiliar with the terrain and the terrain, which means danger.

"I inquired when I came, and a little further there will be a three-way junction that leads to a different village." Ruan Zhan raised his chin to the side of the mountain, "These three villages are either near the mountains or by the water, they are not close to the town, and they are all mountain roads, so there is a small shop at the fork in the road, which is a resting place for passers-by." In this situation, I can't get to the vine today anyway, so it's better to walk slowly. ”

"I wonder how you can ask the innkeeper for a long time?" Hearing Ruan Zhan say this, Wan Li finally felt a little relieved, "Really careful, and asked about the situation halfway." ”

"I admire you for always running around the world alone, but your life is still intact."

"What I care about is the customs along the way, which is more interesting, and the rest of the accidents are just small episodes."

"So what did you say after chatting with those beautiful Miao girls for so long?"

Wanli smiled and glanced at Xiao Xia at the same time. Seeing that although she was quietly drinking water and resting, the cells in her whole body were paying attention to the two of them. He knew that Xiao Xia was very unhappy that he and Ruan Zhan were always discussing things behind her back, and thought that the three of them were partners and should not hide everything from her, so he raised his voice to ensure that Xiao Xia could also hear it.

"Those Miao girls said that the village in the mountains here is a mixture of various ethnic groups, and most of them can play Gu, so don't violate other people's taboos or behave unfriendly, otherwise you will be Gu, and the light ones will get sick, and the heavy ones may die. If you ask someone to remove the Gu technique, it will be quite difficult. ”

"Didn't they say what the taboo was? Don't be offended. Xiao Xia spoke.

"Don't be afraid, people everywhere are similar, don't be too curious, don't break into other people's houses casually, just respect each other." Wan Li said, "But there is a kind of Gu Xiaoxia who may like it." ”

"You talk nonsense, I don't like that thing."

"You don't know, do you? The Susu people in Yunnan have a Gu poison called Fetish, which is very interesting. No matter what kind of bird, if it flies on the ground and dies, in the place where the bird dies, scrape off some powder, this is the 'love medicine', if you give it to the desired person after eating, you will never change your heart to love you, unless you eat the cat's claw, you can solve this medicine! ”

"You made it up, didn't you?" Xiao Xia was skeptical, but couldn't help but glance at Ruan Zhan, thinking that if there was really such a medicine, she would give Ruan Zhan a little bit, so that he would love her forever.

Ruan Zhan kept his head down, because of the cat's paws mentioned in Wanli's words, he suddenly remembered the black cat and the moving plant that Xiao Xia saw.

If Huang Boheng really had a problem, it was possible that those strange deaths were caused by Gu poison. In fact, he had some doubts before, and he also looked through some information, and it was said that there was a kind of Gu called Yin Yang Grass that could move. Assuming that the murderer is Huang Boheng, then the Gu under him is obviously much more ferocious, and the types are even stranger, including drugs, and the deceased has also gouged out one of his eyeballs.

Also, what is his motivation? What did the deceased feel before they died?

"I'm a little scared of what you said." Xiao Xia's voice rang in his ears.

"Actually, I've inquired about some home remedies, and it is said that as long as you don't eat or drink indiscriminately, you're fine. If we have to eat, we just quietly put the first bite of rice in our hands, and then leave the chopsticks for eating, and dig a pit with these chopsticks at the first intersection after leaving, and bury the rice in it. ”

"I still doubt you're talking nonsense." Xiao Xia couldn't help but smile when she saw that Wan Li was pretentious.

Ruan Zhan on the side had not joined the discussion, he looked at the sky, felt that the weather was not optimistic, and hurriedly beckoned the other two to walk towards the other side of the mountain together.

The rain came faster than they expected, and they turned a col, and the rain fell mercilessly. Fortunately, I saw a bamboo building in the distance, sitting alone in a pale clearing, looking crumbling in the wind and rain. But despite this, the three of them did not hesitate to run over and run into the only safe haven in the wind and rain.

There was no one in the store, and for some reason, Xiao Xia felt like she was in another world as soon as she entered this bamboo building.

This shop is no different from ordinary roadside shops, except that most of the furniture is made of bamboo, and it looks cool because there is no one and it is raining violently outside.

"Anyone?" Wan Li shouted, but no one answered. He shouted again in the newly learned minority dialects, but no one answered.

"Is it empty?" He glanced at Ruan Zhan.

In bad weather, it's not lucky to come to an empty house deep in the mountains.

"Stay here and don't move!" Ruan Zhan gave a brief order, and then carefully turned around the small bamboo building.

The bamboo building has two floors, the first floor is a canteen with five or six tables, and then a stove room and a room for storing miscellaneous items. On the second floor are three separate rooms, one of which looks like a guest room, but it is the type of big car shop, with only one bunk.

The whole house is clean and tidy, there are still a little ingredients in the stove room, and there are daily necessities in the room, as if the owner has left for some reason. It may be the reason why the mountain people are more simple, and they want to let the passers-by have a place to rest, so the rooms are not locked.

Ruan Zhanning calmly felt that there was no ghost qi, just because there was no one, and this was the middle of the mountain, which seemed a little heavy in the rain.

He hadn't heard of anyone at the bottom of the hill, but there was no other place to stay in the rain. Besides, no one had been to town for three days, and perhaps the shopkeeper had returned to the mountains on something.

He hesitated, and came down from the upper floor, the creaking of the improvised staircase at his feet was particularly harsh in the storm.

"No one?" Wan Li asked, the bag in his hand had not been put down.

Ruan Zhan shook his head, "Change out of your wet clothes first, and then eat something." ”

The rain had been falling intermittently all day, and they could not move. Fortunately, they brought drinking water and a little food, and it was not so embarrassing if they planned to use it.

I heard that the vine was electrified, but there was no wild shop in the middle of the mountain, and no oil lamps were found, so at night, they had to sleep first.

Xiao Xia was too tired from this journey, although she felt a little uneasy when she arrived in a strange place, but because Ruan Zhan and Wan Li were next door, and the rain stopped after nightfall, she only felt the mountain breeze blowing in through the window, like hypnosis, which made Xiao Xia sleep very deeply.

But when she was sleeping soundly, she suddenly felt someone gently push her.

"Is it dawn? I'll sleep for another five minutes! The bright moonlight in the mountains made her mistake it for dawn, and she muttered a sentence half-asleep and turned over to face the wall.

The hand that pushed her paused for a moment, then continued.

"Three minutes." Xiao Xia thought that Wanli had told her to get up, and begged.

The force of shaking her body was a little more intense.

"A minute." She negotiates.

However, the 'person' who shook her seemed to get angry and pushed her hard.

Xiao Xia also ignited a fire, and used his hand to suppress the hand on his shoulder, but he felt that something was wrong under the touch.

It was not a warm hand, nor Ruan Zhan's stable hand, but a pair of small hands that only a woman had, cold and piercing, stiff and withered.

She was startled, immediately came to her senses, and quickly turned over and sat up, but the hand on her shoulder was still there. Looking sideways, it was indeed a pair of small and beautiful women's hands, white and miserable under the moonlight.

However, it was just a pair of hands, and the owner of the hand was nowhere to be seen. Only a pair of hands rested on her shoulders!

She immediately stood on end, and screamed, but she didn't make a sound.

Subconsciously, she tried her best to pull the hands, but the hands seemed to be glued to her shoulders, stubbornly refused to leave, and she couldn't get up, she struggled, still couldn't make a sound, and finally had to throw off her clothes and throw the ghost hand into the corner.

She stared at the corner, and she didn't dare to come out.

In the darkness, there was a sound of Suosuo, as if something was arching, forming a figure in the corner, and before Xiao Xia could react, he 'brushed' and pounced, stopping less than half a foot in front of her.

It's a Miao girl! The face is delicate, but the complexion is pale and bleeding from the seven holes!

"Don't sleep in my bed!" She screamed viciously, "Don't sleep in my bed!" ”

"Ruan Zhan!" Natsu finally screamed, and the voice was especially loud in the quiet night, but there was no echo in the next room.

"Don't sleep in my bed!" Miao Nu continued to approach, and a smell of corpses also hit her face.

Xiao Xia hurriedly grabbed the talisman on her chest, and Miao Nu was so shocked that she took a step back.

At this time, a crisp bell suddenly sounded in the quiet night.

Jingle Bell -

The Miao girl said 'ah' and retreated to the door, but she didn't leave.

Jingle Bell -

Another crisp bell rang, as if it was a little closer to the wild shop, and then with the bell, it got closer, and slowly reached the window of the room where Xiao Xia was.

At this time, Xiao Xia didn't dare to scream, for fear of attracting something. But she didn't understand why Ruan Zhan, who had always been vigilant, couldn't hear such an obvious voice, and why didn't she make any moves?!

The ghost of the Miao girl blocked the door and prevented her from going out, she gritted her teeth and slowly got up from the bed.

The squeaky sound of the bamboo bed and the angry grinding of her teeth from the Miao girl made Xiao Xia's heart tremble, but she insisted on keeping her head close to the window and secretly looking down from the side.

At the end of the mountain road came a group of shadows, the leader of whom was dressed in white cloth and wore a large hat, which covered his face.

He had a brass bell in his hand, and it was from there that the bell rang. Every few steps he took, he rang the bell, and the five or six figures behind him jumped to the sound of the bell.

The few 'people' who followed behind lined up, each with a white bag on their faces, and a rope in the middle, and walked towards the wild shop with the crisp bell!

Note: Gu is caused by many insects stirring together. The Compendium of Materia Medica says: The person who creates Gu catches a hundred worms and puts them in a vessel. The big ones of these hundred insects eat the small ones, and the last big insect that lives in the vessel is called Gu. It can be seen that Gu was originally a medicine specializing in treating poisonous sores. Later, they were used to harm others. Poisonous scams are mostly cultivated in the southern provinces of Chinese mainland, and there are many types, including dung crickets, horse locusts, golden silkworms, grass clams, and picky clams. When others are not paying attention, the person who releases the Gu puts the Gu into the food, and after eating it, he will be infected with the Gu poison, and the person who is infected with the Gu poison will be infected with a chronic disease. From a modern point of view, this is a man-made disease caused by the poison of many protozoa. Some Gu are very harmful to the human body, it is like a corpse insect born on the corpse of a person after death, after invading the human stomach, it will eat the human stomach. Its resistance is very strong, it cannot die by drowning, fire cannot die, and knives cannot cut to death (see the Compendium of Materia Medica quoting Cai Youcong).

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