Chapter 22: Are there really monsters?

But whether it was true or not, I wasn’t a party to it and couldn’t judge. It was Wu Laogui who was flying around, shouting, “It’s true, it’s true, it’s true. There are monsters in this forest.”

I was confused. What was Wu Laogui so excited about? But in front of everyone, I didn’t want to ask Wu Laogui what he knew, so I just held it in. I saw that Chengxin looked the same way I did.

As for Old Zhang, he glanced at Wu Laogui intentionally or unintentionally, and in the end he said, “Lao Shen, I can understand what you mean. Regardless of what Wu Daodan encountered, he was scared sick, which means that something inside is restless, so some ‘sticks’ came out to fight for territory. However, I always have to go to the deep forest, so I won’t go back with you.”

“This… this thing is not good? Can’t you go back another time?” Old Shen said, worried, holding a pipe.

“Well, it can’t be changed.” Old Zhang said in a depressed tone.

This honest man, once he has promised someone something, is as firm as a nail, and will not change his mind even if he is faced with a mountain of swords and a sea of flames.

“Lao Zhang, I don’t mean to be unlucky, but if you go into the forest and someone dies, what will you do? We mountain people are not afraid of dying in the mountains. To put it in the words of a cultured person, didn’t Chairman Mao say when he came out to study? “Lao Shen persuaded Lao Zhang.

But I applauded for Lao Shen’s words. Is this kind of pride the true nature of a mountain man?

Lao Zhang laughed and patted Lao Shen on the shoulder, saying, “I’m clear-headed. I just told you that these young men are capable. Do you not believe me or what?”

“Okay, I won’t waste any more time. You guys go ahead. We’ve set traps in the woods around here. If you catch a roe deer or something, don’t be shy. Just take it and eat it. Leave the skin and hang it on a tree. Save some energy for the deep woods. When you come back, we’ll have a drink together.”

“Okay!” Zhang agreed directly.

Lao Shen said he wouldn’t be long-winded, and he really didn’t. After a few words of greeting, he left with his men.

However, his words made us feel a bit depressed. Old Zhang looked up at the sky and said, “Let’s hurry up and get going. We’ll be able to reach the edge of this mountain tonight, and tomorrow we should be able to enter the forest.”

Old Zhang said this, so we followed him. Because we met Old Shen and his group, the relaxed atmosphere was gone. After all, the road ahead was vast, and no one knew what to expect. Especially me, I knew it too well. If we really met a monster, it would be my job to protect everyone.

Because the atmosphere was already dull, I didn’t ask Wu Laogui anything. Now it’s not the time to ask questions while traveling. On the way, Old Zhang deliberately took a detour to see the traps that Old Shen and the others had set. It was our good luck that one of the traps actually caught a roe deer.

Lao Zhang used a wooden stick to knock the roe deer to death, dragged it a mile or two away, and then began to carefully prepare the roe deer. I didn’t see it clearly, but I saw him make a few cuts on the roe deer, pull and pull, and the roe deer skin was peeled off.

These skills are not something we can learn. To quote Lao Zhang, you have to dedicate most of your life to the vast forest to have these skills. After watching for a while, I remembered Wu Laogui, so I waved at him to come over.

Wu Laogui was originally squatting in front of Zhang, watching him with great interest as he tended to the roe deer. When I waved at him, his face immediately turned into a “bitter melon face,” but he immediately made a respectful gesture and quickly floated over.

This old ghost is afraid of me!

“Let’s camp here tonight, have a meal, drink some hot water, and it will be dark soon. It’s dangerous to drive at night in the old forest.” Old Zhang looked up and said.

I actually understand that we are going into the deep forest. Old Zhang is a little uneasy in his heart. It is also good to stay in this familiar forest for another night. Everyone has this kind of ostrich mentality. Why aren’t we? So, when Lao Zhang said this, the three of us nodded quickly. Brother Chengxin signaled me to ask Wu Laogui a question, and he went to set up the tent. Ruoxue helped, and I stared at Wu Laogui for a long time, until his face started to twitch. I said, “Lao Wu, do you think that the few of us are not sincere with you?”

“How could that be? Cheng, you shouldn’t say that. Wouldn’t that ruin my reputation?” Wu Laogui looked indignant, as if I was going to tell him the truth, and he would show me his heart to prove it.

“But why didn’t you tell us at first that there are monsters in this old forest? You had to wait for Old Shen to say it before you mentioned it. Is it true? Is it really true?” I asked deliberately with a stern face, and then quickly added: “Anyway, we’re on this ship of yours, and we still have to go further down this road. If you know something, just tell us. If you want to hide anything else, we can just turn around and leave. Do you believe that?”

After hearing my words, Wu Laogui had a look of pain on his face, as if he wanted to slap himself a few times and scold himself, saying, “You should have kept your mouth shut and not said anything.”

But the words were out and couldn’t be taken back, and after being ‘frightened’ by me, the old devil Wu still opened his mouth: “In fact, I haven’t seen any monsters in the forest, but today when Lao Shen said these words, it reminded me of the time I followed that calf into the forest. He led us He led us all the way, but there were several places where he stopped and disappeared for a whole night. At first, we didn’t ask, but later, the number of times increased, and my eldest brother started to worry. After all, the five of us were not very capable, and we were alone in the forest overnight. Couldn’t we be afraid? So we asked.”

“So what did you say?” I asked, but I had a vague idea of what was going on. This guess made my heart suddenly shocked, but the truth is what happened, in the end it was Wu Lao Gui who said it.

“My brother asked, and the calf didn’t hide it. He told us that there are monsters in the forest, and they are active at night. He actually went out to negotiate with the monsters, asking them not to harass us, or else he would beat them up. He always listened, that’s what he said. At the time, we respected him as our master, and we admired him in our hearts and mouths. This big ability, but who knew this calf…” Wu Laogui gritted his teeth and added, “All I know is this. I haven’t seen the monster. Anyway, he’s the one who said it. Who knows if the calf is talking nonsense?”

I didn’t respond, but instead comforted the old ghost Wu a few words. But the old guy was like a heartless person. When I didn’t press him, he comforted him a few words, and then happily went to see Lao Zhang take care of the roe deer. Sometimes I really wonder if this old ghost Wu really took revenge seriously?

But what I didn’t tell Wu Laogui was that his former master, who had harmed him, was very likely to have really gone to fight the monsters. I didn’t make it up. That was what I thought just now. He went to fight the monsters at night, but his purpose was not to protect Wu Laogui and the five. It was probably to make these monsters not covet when he opened the tomb, and to establish his authority first.

So, this middle-aged Taoist monk is not a pushover. At least I don’t have any way to negotiate with the monsters or fight them. I can fight them, but this stupid tiger is still sleeping. Why doesn’t he have any sense of returning home? I’ll wake him up with a big slap one day!

But when I thought about it, I was secretly surprised. When did I start calling him a calf and slapping him around, and start speaking in such a thick accent?

Thinking about it, I was amused, and I quickly helped Chengxin and Ruoxue set up the tent!

At night, the bonfire was lit, and the roe deer skin was taken by Zhang to be hung back on the tree!

Above the campfire, a large pot was hanging, with the venison stewed by Zhang. He said that eating grilled food all the time would cause internal heat, but occasionally eating stewed food would not cause internal heat and would keep you warm!

The tent was set up behind us. It was a large tent that could accommodate three or four people, but in the forest, we always had to keep watch at night. It was the same old rule: Zhang would be on duty the night before, I would be on duty in the middle of the night, and Chengxin would be on duty the night after.

The night was as quiet as ever, except for the occasional cries of unknown things in the old forest. The emotions that had just been surging because of the monster had already calmed down. Tonight, it should be as quiet as the previous nights.

I looked up at the steam rising from the pot and smelled the aroma, thinking to myself.