Chapter 6 Five Feet Road
I was busy asking the reason, it turned out that the old shopkeeper in the Republic of China when the reputation of the black and white, no one does not know the Baoding Fu “pin ware child Li”, more than once the guests from all over the world to come over, to his customized some strange and bizarre things, many years ago, there is a businessman who intends to plate, specifically to customize the “Golden Steel Umbrella” and left the chart and the alloy ratio of the secret formula, but when the old shopkeeper to “Golden Steel Umbrella” made a good, but the customer is “yellow crane, a secret recipe”. “, and left the chart and alloy ratio of the secret formula, but when the old shopkeeper to “Golden Steel Umbrella” made a good, that businessman is “yellow crane gone without a trace”, and then did not come back to get the umbrella, to the present after so many years, it is expected that the person has long been gone. I put the “Golden Steel Umbrella” in my hand.
I took the “Golden Steel Umbrella” in my hands, repeatedly look and look, feel the material, with the previous handle in general, with this thing with me, even if it is a mountain of fire, but also dare to go back and forth, can not help but a burst of ecstasy, and did not go to haggle at the same time, according to the old shopkeeper to open the price, as the number of money to pay the bill.
I see Li shopkeeper is also “old man”, may be able to listen to some information from his mouth, then asked him “Qingxi Town” where the location? Was there a king who had his head chopped off in ancient times?
The old shopkeeper said: “Look at you all spared no expense to buy these sharp instruments, and are knowledgeable connoisseurs, this time to the Wushan ground, certainly not to do some small move, and so stingy money, and more anxiety between the eyebrows, must not be for the money hook, if the old me is not wrong, most likely to save the matter of the rescue, with the people in the jianghu, in accordance with the nature of the time to help. The same is a person in the jianghu, according to reason should naturally be a help, but I am also a guest here, decades of old sickness, rarely go out on weekdays, the local scenery is not well understood, I’m afraid I can’t help.”
I politely said, “Old shopkeeper’s heart we all accept, in to find others to inquire is.” I said, “We’ll find someone else to ask around.” Then I wanted to leave with all the people.
The old shopkeeper said: “and slow, words are not finished, the old mei side only the youngest sister this a god-granddaughter, her family is the ancestry of Qingxi, why not let her say to you know.” Said greeted the youngest sister to come over, let her to come to speak about the Qingxi town.
The youngest sister did not know what we want to do, strange: “Qingxi Town? Early are gone more than ten years ago, the road hanging, simply can not go, you still look for it to do what?”
I heard the old shopkeeper said the youngest sister’s ancestry Qingxi Town, said: “Finally, there is a landing.” Hurriedly ask the end, the original in the Wushan mountain range, there is a very old town, named Wu town, this is the official name of the place, the local no one knows, no one knows.
Just according to the rumor that the place for the witch salty mound mound, so the town in the people avoid “witch” word, are called the town for the “green stream”, outsiders do not understand the situation, the mountain has a vein of resources, very rich, after having been more than the fire, and the mountain’s resources are becoming increasingly depleted, the population gradually The mountain is becoming more and more barren with the depletion of resources and the gradual loss of population.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the whole country “prepared for war and famine”, in order to implement the “air defense, anti-drug, anti-nuclear” three defense work, in the original pit to convert the war bunker and warehouse, in the seventy-one years around, the residents near the Qingxi relocated to the surrounding counties, but the local mines are numerous, crustal damage. Many local mines, crustal damage is more serious, air-raid shelter repair a section of the collapse of a section of the construction progress is not smooth, but with the change of events, the air-raid shelter repaired half of the work will be stopped and deserted, the entire town with the passage of time, has long become a forgotten no man’s land.
Although the youngest sister is Qingxi people, but not surnamed Feng, also do not know the ancient legend of the headless king, the people of Qingxi move the town when she moved with her family to this place, her parents died in the Cultural Revolution, leaving her alone, was the old shopkeeper to stay.
The youngest sister left home at the age of eleven, most of the things in Qingxi Town can still remember, she said that there are three roads in Qingxi, one is the waterway, now in the middle of summer, the river current surges, turbulence and danger, it is difficult to line; the road is in disrepair, a number of landslides, can not be passed; only a section of the ancient trestle is still intact, trestle for the Qin Dynasty, the construction of only five feet wide, so it is called the “five-foot road! Only one section of the ancient trestle is still intact, which was built in Qin Dynasty and is only five feet wide, so it is called “Five-foot Road”.
I immediately unfolded the map, asked the youngest sister to draw the direction of the route, it is best to be able to the town of Qingxi “pit, air raid shelters,” the specific location of the details to be explained.
At this time the old shopkeeper said: “still see what map? Let the youngest sister to lead you to Qingxi well, the future has the opportunity, you take her out of the mountains, let her see some of the world, learn some real skills or not.”
I did not expect the old shopkeeper willing to let the youngest sister for the expedition as a guide, I begged, on the other hand, but I am afraid that she will be in danger, we went into the Wushan Mountain to find the ancient burial mound, only to save the people, I and Shirley Yang, fat man, these three are needless to say, Sun Jiuzhi in the Cultural Revolution is a real test of the people, and the youngest sister how to eat the risk? She has a long and short, I’m not “tearing down the east wall to make up for the west wall”?
I was about to decline, but heard the old shopkeeper said: “My family this youngest sister for people clever, bold and big, with me for many years to learn the art, as much as possible to get the pin child teaching, but also the mountain grew up in the child, over the mountains in the mountains, surely can help you a little.”
The youngest sister refused to agree, she said to the old shopkeeper: “No, you’re an old man, I went who will take care of the dry master to eat and drink tea?”
The old shopkeeper said: “Silly child, dry master this year more than eighty years old, there are a few days to live? You’re in the prime of your life, how can you stay in the mountains and waste your time? Are you willing to marry that bald man with a big spoon in the future? Though I am old, I still have my eye, and I see that the spirit and temperament of this group of Harrier brothers is most benevolent and righteous, and they are all characters who are going to do great things, so you can just go with them to break into the world, make a lot of money, make a lot of money, and then, if I am still alive, you can come back to fetch Godfather to go out with you to enjoy your happiness.”
The old shopkeeper insisted on letting the youngest sister to lead us into the mountains, and entrusted me to take her to the city in the future to do things, Shirley Yang and I discussed a little bit, think there is a local people to lead the way is no better than not letting her in the front of the risk is that, so it should be down, and right to be recognized as my sister, in fact, I also can not figure out where this generation is from the theory out.
At this time, Prof. Sun came in from the outer room and said: “I just went out to look, the car seems to be driving, we have to hurry on the road.”
Drivers in the mountains are not willing to wait for people, we had to wrap up some of the groceries to be used, hastily bid farewell to the “honeycomb mountain” old boss, five people each carrying a backpack rushed out of the grocery store, jumped into the car has been started, the body in the constant bumps and shaking, all the way out of the mountain town.
I sat in the back seat, looked at the hands of the “Golden Steel Umbrella”, heart really good a strange encounter, but I hope that this omen, smooth to find the “Tomb of the Earth Immortals”, read here, I immediately asked the youngest sister, in the vicinity of the Green River whether there is what? “Immortal” legend?
The youngest sister said: “The old family around the King Feng buried in the tomb of the Immortal said, but the people say that the Immortal is a demon fairy, that grave is the Demon Immortal Tomb, because the Immortal will be demonic, the most fascinating mind, he said that into the tomb will be able to live forever, cheated many people to give him a living burial, but this is the legend of the early years, and now no one knows that the Demon Immortal Tomb is true or false, but the Qingxi Town does have the name of Feng, but the Immortal Tomb is the only place in the town where the Immortal is buried. Qingxi Town does have a surname Feng.”
I want to ask some more things, but see the youngest sister some can’t let go of the old shopkeeper, reluctant to look out of the car window, then comforted her and said: “I’m a few years younger than you are now, when I have left home, shouting the slogan of the vast world of work, thousands of miles to go out to work out, the fat man is the year with me a piece of the go.”
Fatty listened to me mention the great days of the year, also came to the force: “That time is really just students young, full of brains are rebel reasonable hook, dare to laugh at the yellow nest is not a husband ah, sister, you’re early twenties, but also with the old shopkeeper pampered? But the fat master was only eighteen years old, alone at night to the mountains to see the green, bumped into a ghost, called the day should not be, called the ground does not work, no incantation to read, had to be hard to hold on to ……”
The youngest sister is, after all, young at heart, extremely curious, listening to the fat man said he encountered a ghost, they can not help but ask us what is going on?
I have the intention to try the youngest sister’s courage, if she even listen to a ghost story are trembling, I might as well send her back quickly, then she said: “I have heard of this, after I joined the army, the fat man in the mountains of the Northeast encounters, said out of the real scalp numbness, anyway, we are sitting in the car is idle, so let the fat man to tell you about it.”
Shirley Yang and Professor Sun also feel curious, are quietly listening to the side, only to hear the fat man cleared his throat, swing round open Kan:
Location in the big Ha溂 sub-commune group of mountain camp production team outside of Tuenzi, the time is 1970, is also a summer night, the mountains of midsummer night should be very cool, but that night I do not know how, may be to have a big thunderstorm, sweltering surprisingly hot, the sky a star is not.
On that day, Fatty Wang and another youth were assigned to the mountain “watch the field”, is to guard the opening of a few acres of land on the slope of the mountain, where the planting of all the bracts, mountain boars like to gnaw on this stuff, it gnawed more, spoiled more, bracts of the ground it rolled is a hutong, so to the night someone has to keep watch, hear the movement out! When they heard the noise, they would come out and knock on the washbasin to drive away the wild boar.
That night the other youths have something to do, Wang Fatty had to go up to the mountains alone to watch the field, he set a rabbit during the day, and when he went out from Tuen Mun along with a kettle of soil burnt, he was happy to eat and drink their own food and drink, in the field to pack up the rabbits, his mouth grunted with the model opera “Red Lanterns” excerpts, and so on the rabbit roasted from the inside out, nibble a mouthful of rabbit meat, drink a mouthful of soil burnt, the mood is floating. Drinking a mouthful of roasted earth, the mood is fluttering, feeling that the mountain life is quite nourishing, but it is a pity that no wild boars have recently come out to make trouble, and I can not find an excuse to put a couple of shots through the addiction.
Is complacent, a rumble of thunder, soybean-sized raindrops fell, the fat man hurriedly clamped the wine pot carrying half of the gnawed rabbit fled back to the hayloft to hide from the rain, but the shed leaks everywhere, simply can not stay, he thought, the end of the bud land has a mill, deserted for many years, why not to that side of the avoidance?
This extremely simple mill from before the liberation of the mill, but there have been many years no one has been in, I do not know what the reason is, Fatty Wang which cares about that a lot, lifting his foot to push open the wooden door, inside the dark, full of collapsed ash, but better than being poured into a soup chicken outside, he put the rest of the soil burned all into his stomach, four leaning back on the wooden box to sleep, not much longer will have snored like thunder.
Fatty sleep this sleep is very fragrant, do not know to sleep to what time, half by the thunder woke up, vaguely feel this day how never bright? Turned over and went back to sleep.
At this time to listen to the ear side of a woman crying, Fatty Wang is cross-brained people, and not much heart and lungs, focusing on trying to sleep, who knows that the ear of the cry is getting closer and closer to the feeling of the fast drilling into the head, he cursed in a daze: “Crying what he cried mom!”
He was scolded, the woman’s sad cry sound suddenly no, fat but did not even think about what is going on, is still continue to sleep, after a while, heard a woman in the ear said: “You do not press my shoes, do not press my shoes, you press my shoes I want your life …… ”
This sentence is clear, the fat man half asleep half awake is still listening to extraordinarily real, can not help the whole body up a piece of chestnut out of the Tengdi sit up, spare him the courage, but also has been out of a cold sweat, and then look at the mill in which there is no woman, the sun is shining outside the door, the sky is bright.
Fatty heart feel different, cursed a few words, get up to see, the original under the body on the wooden board, placed a pair of women’s cotton shoes, shoes also embroidered two proudly red peonies, fat man wiped the cold sweat on his head, the heart initiated ruthless, muttering to himself: “This guy, to the real thing.” He picked up two shoes and threw them on the ground, stepped on them fiercely, and then left.
Back to Tuen Mun after he blew up the matter to the people, everyone said more than ten years ago, a small daughter-in-law in the mill hanging, dying in a pair of new cotton shoes, even the shoes were buried in the grave, no one to go to the mill by the Pod, how could the fat man last night to see that pair of shoes? How could the fat man have seen those shoes last night? There are good people, and ran to the mill to see, also did not see any shoes, are said to be the fat man stealing drink soil burn drink dizzy.
Fatty also confused as a serious matter, after so many years, did not see any ghosts come to claim their lives, but to recall today, the night stayed in the mountains, pressed the female ghost’s shoes slept all night, but also really feel some of the shrugs hair bone, God knows what kind of evil that night was hit.
This experience is the fat man in the team encountered the real thing, but at this time he Kan will come out in the car, from the intention to show off, refused to say the original story, not inevitably to add oil and vinegar, adding a lot of sensationalism of the horrifying bridge.
But the youngest sister child bold, simply can not bluff her, just feel a few points of stimulation novelty, and do not pay attention to how scary, but also made fun of the fat melon package gas, pulling the rake to tell a scary story are not told vividly.
I secretly nodded: “this girl, really have a can do something difficult and dangerous guts.” Just want to inquire about the legends of the ancient tomb of the Immortals near the scenery, then took the opportunity to say that the youngest sister’s courage is really extraordinary, in the old country is not always listening to ghost stories? May as well tell us some to listen.
The youngest sister said that the history of Qingxi Town is very old, opened a few hundred years witch salt mine, witch salt is a special geological salt, can be processed into edible salt, salt tax is very heavy in ancient times, private mining of salt is to drop the brain, most of the private sector are stealing digging and mining for profiteering, so the size of the mines along the Green River is not less than 1,000, around the time of the Qing Dynasty, almost all mined, and the mountains can no longer find a new vein of salt, coupled with the later The large-scale construction of air-raid shelters made the mountains full of holes.
“Natural, artificial, semi-artificial,” a variety of caves crisscrossing the grotto, cumulative superimposed on each other, some places can be dozens of miles deep, outsiders can not walk, digging deeper will inevitably see a lot of strange and bizarre things, so a variety of legends, she had often to the mines to play in the mine, anyway, not too much to understand, and do not feel horrible. She didn’t think it was scary.
I heard these situations, can not help but secretly complained bitter, see this last point of hope, are to be thrown into the East China Sea to go, Qingxi’s various projects, the mountains are almost dug through, but no one has never found the “Tomb of the Earth Immortals”, I do not know the “view of the mountain too much” in the end to make the means of what? I don’t know what kind of trick the “Guanshan Taibao” used to cover up the sky. It is also possible that the “King’s Tomb” is just a false legend, does not exist in the world.
However, the youngest sister said, mentioned the “cave salt” thing, witch salt is already extinct resources, now no longer seen, I used to do when the engineers, have not heard of the mountains can also dig out salt, but this matter is somewhat in line with the ancient riddles in the Immortals of the earth “well cutting salt, ask the ghosts to ask for money! But this matter is somewhat in line with the ancient riddle of the Earth Immortals, “Cutting salt from wells, asking ghosts for money.
Thinking of these, I will be “a good king, body without a head; the mother does not come, the mountains do not open; burning wood to start the pot, boiled liver and lungs; digging wells to cut salt, asking ghosts to ask for money; the bird road across, a hundred steps nine times; want to visit the earth immortal, first find the sheep …… “the language of the query, ask the youngest sister if she know what secrets are hidden in these words?
The youngest sister is also at a loss, she has never heard of the Feng family secrets under this fairy hints, I do not know what words to play what a riddle, but to say that the “cut wells to cut salt, ask the ghosts to ask for money”, must be referring to the “Qingxi” town, and then there is no mistake, the old saying that the mining of witch salt mining pit as “salt wells”. In the old days, the mining pit of witch salt mine was called “salt well”, which is only the local name of the township, and most of the outsiders have never heard of it.
“Woo salt wells” are occupied by local magnates, the poor only have to do “hard labor, kiln slaves”, witch salt mines are often methane gas, the ground and at any time out of the groundwater, miners, kiln slaves to work in the wells, every time to take many risks, there are often a large number of kiln slaves to die in the well, so the The local Minyan said, “Cutting the well to cut the salt, ask the ghosts for money”.
I see finally have some clues, but only this paragraph, it is still difficult to understand the whole meaning, it is estimated that in order to understand the mystery of the “ground fairy village”, is still to crack the first sentence “a good king, there is a body without a head”, according to the step-by-step gradual speculation, the residents of the town of Qingxi in the old days have long been dispersed Everywhere, want to find a few more people to explore are not possible, those ancient legends, but also certainly more than the Ming Dynasty graves even longer ago, nowadays people may not be able to know, my brain thoughts are chaotic, is not paying attention to the place, I only see the car window outside the clouds open fog dispersal, far away from the show a pale rich and upright peaks, magnificent and beautiful, quiet and hazy, do not feel that look into the eyes.