Chapter 56: The tobacco pouch

In the vast mountains, I didn’t expect that there was a small path of bluestone slabs at the entrance to the mountain.

According to my thinking, this kind of hidden martial arts and villages should be hidden in the depths of the vast mountains. Even if there is no real secret passage like the Snake Gate, at least it wouldn’t be so obvious to make a small stone path, right?

I thought it couldn’t be that simple, and the path wasn’t the key. The key was a strange stone statue at the intersection of the path. At first glance, it looked like a cow, but on second glance, it looked a bit like a tiger. The hairs on its body were all standing upright, looking sharp and having a kind of otherworldly momentum. It also had a pair of wings.

What is this thing? I looked at it for a long time and couldn’t figure it out. I thought of some kind of monster in the “Classic of Mountains and Seas,” but I didn’t think it fit. But the master squinted at the carving for a few more times, then withdrew his gaze.

Because next to the sculpture sat an old man wearing typical Miao clothing, smoking a pipe with half-closed eyes. This was the key point of interest for me and my master. How could there be a person sitting here so early in the morning?

What’s more, it’s hard to figure out, because he looks harmless, but in fact he has a kind of aloofness about him, as if he’s refusing to talk to me and my master.

I remembered what happened last night. Didn’t someone come to watch us in secret? I vaguely saw a back, an old man. Could it be this old man? I wasn’t sure.

The atmosphere was a little bit tense at this time. Master took out a pipe and walked straight over. I quickly followed, and in a few steps I reached the intersection. I was about to walk past the strange carving and the old man when, suddenly, the old man, who was originally sitting cross-legged, casually extended one leg to block us.

I didn’t notice and almost stepped on the old man’s leg. I huffed and puffed, lifted my foot again, and was about to step over it. Even if it was a bit rude, I had no choice. It seemed that Master was thinking the same thing.

But I didn’t expect that, as soon as my master and I lifted our feet, the old man raised his foot a little higher, just blocking the way for my master and me.

I was a little angry. Even if he didn’t let us pass, couldn’t he at least talk to us? Why was he so quiet and just blocking the way for me and my master?

However, no matter how angry I was, I still knew one thing, and that was to respect the elderly. So I took a deep breath and simply stepped aside. I wanted to see what this strange old man was up to. Compared to my behavior, my master was even more calm.

He smiled and didn’t go over, but sat down next to the old man and took out some tobacco leaves, carefully filling up his pipe. This action made the old man sitting next to the stone statue a little surprised. He opened his eyes, looked at my master curiously, and then closed them again.

My master didn’t say anything, as if he hadn’t seen him, and lit his pipe on his own… I saw my master smoke a pipe, so I simply sat down on the flagstone road. It wasn’t easy to carry such a big bag of luggage, so I was happy to rest my feet.

Soon, the aroma of the tobacco spread in the air… The aroma was not as good as the kind of tobacco my master used to smoke, but it was still pretty good.

My master was not particular about many things, and his clothes were often messy, but he was very particular about three things: tobacco leaves, tea, and wine.

But good tea and good wine are rare, so the tobacco leaves became Master’s greatest enjoyment… So the tobacco leaves that he chose at random during his escape were actually not ordinary, and the tobacco stem he used for a long time was the best tobacco leaves from the past, so naturally it retained a hint of fragrance in it, and it was still very fragrant when mixed together. In short, it was much better than ordinary tobacco.

The master smoked his pipe quietly, and from time to time he pulled out his canteen to drink a few sips of water, looking very carefree.

After smoking half a bag of tobacco, the old man sitting next to him finally couldn’t hold back any longer. He snorted a few times and swallowed a few mouthfuls of saliva, which made me laugh a little. I had noticed that detail long ago. also had a pipe, and the pipe was as smooth as my master’s, so it looked like he was also a pipe smoker. It was normal for him to have such a reaction. I secretly admired that the old man was still the best. My master’s mind was actually more delicate than mine, and he came up with such a trick.

I think my master must have noticed the old man’s subtle movements, but he didn’t say anything. After another minute or so, the old man couldn’t help but open his eyes and start filling his pipe with tobacco leaves.

The atmosphere was a bit strange. The three of them didn’t say a word. They didn’t even know him. They just sat side by side on the cobblestone road, looking very intimate. What would happen next? No one had a clue.

I am a layman when it comes to smoking tobacco, but even I can tell that the old man’s tobacco leaves are much worse than my master’s. Mixed in with the fragrance of my master’s tobacco, they are almost pungent.

He probably noticed this problem too. After taking two puffs, he looked rather bored, and then looked at Master’s pipe and swallowed two mouthfuls of saliva. He estimated that the fire was almost ready. Master suddenly handed his pipe to the old man and said, “Would you like some?”

The old man looked at the master, his eyes clearly showing that he was tempted, but he still refused rather stiffly. He lifted his pipe and said, “I have it!”

The voice sounded rather hoarse, as if he had been shouting for a long time and had damaged his voice.

The master was not angry at this rejection, but instead smiled and took another long drag on his pipe in front of the old man. After exhaling the smoke slowly, he said, “My tobacco leaves have a very special flavor. As the saying goes, friends are made with wine, and what you need is someone who understands wine. It’s not bad to make friends with tobacco, and I see that you also understand tobacco.”

While talking, the master once again handed the pipe to the old man, his eyes sincere. The tobacco leaf burned slowly in front of the old man, who moved his throat twice. Finally, he reached out and almost snatched the pipe from the master’s hand, and began to smoke it.

Between the clouds and the smoke, he also enjoyed closing his eyes, looking intoxicated.

The master was not annoyed by the old man’s rude and impolite behavior, but just smiled and watched… When he gave it to the old man, the master still had a bag of tobacco left, but it didn’t take long before the old man smoked it all.

At this time, when he handed the pipe back to my master, he looked at us with softer eyes, but more of a feeling of wanting more. He couldn’t help but lick his lips with his tongue.

“Does this tobacco have a kick?” Master asked.

The old man probably softened his harsh voice because he was being nice, and said, “It’s strong, very good. I’ve never smoked such good tobacco leaves.”

Even though his voice was still hoarse and unpleasant, his tone was much softer.

Master smiled and patted the old man on the shoulder. The old man didn’t object, and then Master stood up and walked towards the mountain without saying a word. I immediately realized what was going on and quickly followed Master up the mountain.

This is what the master wanted. You smoked a bag of my tobacco. How dare you stop me?

Sure enough, this time the old man didn’t stretch out his legs to stop us, but when we had walked less than three steps, we suddenly heard the old man’s voice behind us: “You… you can’t go up the mountain?”

My master and I turned around at the same time and glanced at the old man. Although he looked a little embarrassed, his eyes were resolute, and it seemed that he had made up his mind not to let us go up the mountain.

Master squinted slightly, habitually stroked his beard on his chin, even though it had already been shaved clean, and then asked knowingly, “Why can’t you go up the mountain?”

“Anyway, anyway, you just can’t go up the mountain.” The old man seemed to be a man of few words, and because he had smoked my master’s bag of tobacco, he seemed to lack confidence.

“Is this mountain contracted by your family? Then we’ll take another route.” The master acted as if he was really going to take another route, but the truth is that no family can contract such a large mountain, right?

As a result, my master and I walked down the mountain for a few steps. The old man was anxious and stopped us directly, saying, “You can’t take another road.”

In fact, apart from this cobblestone path, where else is there a road? What does this old man mean?

The master then changed his expression and said, “Brother, this is not right, is it? You can’t own the whole mountain, and you can’t stop people from taking another route to the mountain. Besides, I’ve been good to you, haven’t I? I’m willing to share my expensive tobacco leaves with you. You can’t treat me like this.”

At this point, I finally fully understood my master’s intentions. He wasn’t trying to get up the mountain with a bag of tobacco. He was setting a trap for the old man to fall into… He wanted to know more!