Chapter 14: A night in the mountains

After finding a guide, we set off in a hurry. I never saw the gang of people that Wu Laogui’s enemy mentioned, but I also didn’t rule out the possibility that Wu Laogui was always avoiding them on the road we took. After we decided not to fight until we got to the place,

The guide’s name is Zhang Cheng, and this name really is true to its meaning. After just a short day together, I felt that he was really a sincere person. He didn’t say much, but every word was true and reliable, in stark contrast to Wu Laogui.

After hanging out for a day, we got to know each other well, so we stopped calling Zhang Cheng our guide and started calling him Old Zhang, as he requested. The traffic here is not very convenient, plus the heavy snow and other minor problems, in short, it was not until the night of that day that we finally reached the foot of the mountain.

The climate at the foot of the mountain was not too cold, compared to the small border town we had stayed in before, but the north wind was still blowing ‘whistling’ and occasionally blowing up the snow on the ground. It looked like there had been a snowfall a few days ago.

Lao Zhang told me that there is a village not far ahead, where some of the families used to be hunters and now work for the forest farm. They still occasionally go hunting. He is familiar with this place and often comes here.

I asked Zhang with a smile, “Why don’t you stay in the city, but instead you often come to stay in this remote village?”

Lao Zhang smiled and said, “My ancestors have always had that strange dream. I dare not lose the skills of surviving in the mountains, and I dare not be unfamiliar with this old forest. I am afraid that one day I will have to help the people in my dream. Not only is this village familiar, but there are more than a dozen villages in this large forest that I am not familiar with. To say, I also have an older brother living in this village.”

I just smiled and handed an old Zhang a cigarette. At the same time, I felt that Wu Laogui was really lucky to have met such a sincere family. It was a dream that they had not only not lost their skills for hundreds of years, but also spent too much time in the old forest for hundreds of miles.

Thinking about this, I was a little worried for the old ghost Wu. This karma is too heavy, after all, it has delayed the lives of several generations of others. If one day the heavens want to settle accounts, this old ghost Wu is afraid that it will not be easy. As an old ghost that has wandered the world for hundreds of years, I believe that this old ghost Wu is clear about this. It is still determined to do this. It can only be said that beneath the superficial appearance of this old ghost, which is “heartless and insensitive,” there is a deep obsession that makes it do anything.

I don’t know why, but I’m a little worried about Wu Laogui. I walked in silence with Zhang for a while, and then I asked him, “That strange dream has been going on for so long, and it can be said that it has caused several generations of your family to lose their lives in this old forest.

Zhang took a puff of his cigarette and said very sincerely, “What’s there to complain about? Many years ago, my family was a mountain-dwelling people who lived off the land. We hunted in the mountains, gathered mountain produce, and occasionally dug wild ginseng. We lived a comfortable life. Besides, since the time of our ancestors, after so many years, our family has also spread out and multiplied. There have always been only one or two people who have inherited the craft, and they have always done so voluntarily. When it came to my generation, wasn’t this family planning? I have one son, and I’m a little worried. My son wants to go to college and study economics and management. I’m thinking about this dream, and I’m not happy. I’m also thinking about persuading him to apply to a forestry university or something, and come back to our hometown. For this matter, my son is a little angry with me. I was still thinking that if it really didn’t work out, I would have to let my son’s cousin, my eldest nephew, take over the business. I was worried, but I didn’t want to. The day before yesterday, I had a dream that everything would be fine, and I even dreamed of you guys. Hey, this thing really worked out, and I don’t have to worry anymore.

When it comes to his family, Lao Zhang has a lot to say. From his description, I found that this family really has no grievances. Inheriting the craft is all voluntary. In Lao Zhang’s generation, things may have gotten a little bit more complicated, but they were also resolved. It can be seen that Wu Lao Gui always has a little bit of luck, and he really hasn’t been affected by too much karma. Could luck be Lao Gui’s “built-in skill”?

Otherwise, with its unreliable appearance, why could it go to that school for so many years as an “undercover” agent?

In the meantime, I couldn’t help but glance at Wu Laogui, who was arguing with Brother Chengxin. I heard Brother Chengxin say in a crazed voice, “After this is over, you just wait. If I don’t punish you properly, I’m not a member of the Old Li lineage. You obviously wanted to do that yourself, and you lied to me, saying that the successor of the medical lineage had to be transferred. Can you be more hateful?”

“You say that, really despise (spoil) people, what I said and did not conform to the rules of the ghost market? How much good do you want? If someone hears this, who is not right for me to give a thumbs up, saying that Wu Lao Wu is a good person, no doubt, good!” With Chengxin brother to worship it, Wu Lao Gui is not willing to admit defeat against Chengxin brother. As long as I don’t take a position, his mouth can say Chengxin brother to death.

Chengxin Ge was not really angry, but was just thinking about his own “naivety” and was a little resentful. I was too lazy to bother with their “verbal warfare.” As for Lao Zhang, what he saw was naturally Chengxin Ge talking to himself, but he didn’t ask too many questions.

I believe that families that have had strange dreams for generations are always more accepting of strange things.

As the group of people talked, the village at the foot of the mountain was reached. The dozens of households were gathered in one place, and the yellow light from each family’s window made people feel a little warmer when they looked at it from a distance.

Old Zhang didn’t lie. He really knew his way around the village, and soon led us to a family’s home, saying to us, “Rest here tonight, and tomorrow we’ll go up the mountain.”

The house that Lao Zhang brought us to was in a wooden house. The wooden house was new to me. As soon as I entered the house, I smelled a strong pine scent. I don’t know why, but in this wooden house, I always think of the bamboo house in the Bamboo House, which recorded my warmest years.

Lao Zhang’s brother, like Lao Zhang, is also a taciturn and practical person. When he saw Lao Zhang leading people here, he told his wife to prepare the meal without saying a word. In the meantime, a few cups of hot tea were poured for us.

Sitting in this wooden house, the fire was burning fiercely, and we were instantly warmed up. Drinking tea and chatting casually, it seemed that the freezing cold outside had nothing to do with us.

Old Zhang didn’t talk much to us, but he talked a lot to the older brother, telling us all kinds of strange stories from the old forest. The three of us felt that we had learned a lot, but listening to these strange stories, we also felt fresh, even exclaiming repeatedly, and even Ruoxue rarely listened with interest.

However, most of those strange stories are just ordinary people’s exaggerated myths, so I still had some doubts on my face. The old man looked at me, took a few puffs of his pipe, and said to me with a serious tone, “Big brother, to be honest, if you don’t go up the mountain on these cold days, I really won’t advise you. After all, these strange things have nothing to do with your life. But if you are going to the mountain, I must advise you. You really shouldn’t disbelieve these things. Although you may not necessarily encounter them, if you do, you will be too late to cry. In short, you should hold a reverent heart for everything on the mountain. If you are grateful for the benefits, you will always have a way out.

This is a true saying, and it reminds me of a saying my master told me when I was very young. Everything has its own reason for existing, and we should always treat them with respect and awe. This is exactly what I was thinking. I put away the expression of disbelief on my face and quickly thanked the old man respectfully.

Lao Zhang laughed heartily and said, “That’s true. Who in my family hasn’t encountered a few strange things? Following the rules can’t be wrong.”

While we were chatting, the eldest brother’s wife had already quickly put the food on the table. There was a large bowl of pancakes, a large bowl of pork and vermicelli, and a basket of green onions, with a large bowl of fermented soybean paste next to it.

The eldest brother said to us, “There’s plenty of meat and pancakes, but there’s not much fresh food because it’s so cold. But the pancakes with the green onion dip are delicious! To tell the truth, we were lucky a while ago. We hunted a wild boar with a few families in the village and got a lot of meat.

The food in the mountains really has a different flavor. The aroma and chewiness of this wild boar is not comparable to ordinary pork. The portions are enough, the taste is full, and the big brother is enthusiastic. We all, including Ruoxue, ate until our stomachs were full. The old ghost Wu looked up at the sky with a “mournful” look. I gave him a wink, meaning that he should go back to the soul jar and not suffer here. Chengxin brother smiled at Wu the ghost while eating, looking very pleased.

This is also considered to be the old forest, and the first night in the mountains passed like this.