Chapter 69: The Secret of Gui Dao Bay (1)

Looking at Lin Jianguo’s reaction, I knew I had grasped the crux of the matter. My master had said before that if you don’t know the cause and effect of a matter, you can’t grasp a thread from the tangled skein, then untangle it and solve it.

Like the existence of Guidaowan, it is so mysterious that even the legends that circulate in the circle of cultivators are not clear to anyone. That year, the village that was submerged, the missing cultivators who went to investigate, a place where one could enter but not exit, a place where the ‘madman’ exposed the existence of immortals, and then made the circle of cultivators crazy, but they could not find it, and many people sacrificed their lives for it.

These are all legends about the mysterious Guida Bay. In short, no one on the surface has ever known where it is, and even less would have known that the opportunity to talk about Guida Bay would be in a town. Our group of people accidentally broke in, and we have been confused all the time. This is the first time I have had the opportunity to learn about all of Guida Bay. How could I miss it?

Under my gaze, Lin Jianguo quickly regained his composure. He looked up at me, and after a long silence, suddenly asked me, “Why is it the eldest son? What if it’s a daughter?”

“If the first one is a daughter, you wouldn’t call the eldest son the second son. Mr. Lin, I really need to know everything about Guidaowan. If you really don’t want to say, why are you talking to me in circles?” Faced with Lin Jianguo’s question, I was inexplicably anxious and couldn’t help but say this.

In fact, this kind of anxiety is understandable. It has been like someone looking for a way out in the dark with their eyes blindfolded, and they have already been in despair several times. When they finally have a chance to take off the blindfold, who wouldn’t be anxious and impatient?

“You are smarter than I thought, but you can’t overturn the entire tragedy. You don’t even have the ability to get out of Guidaowan. What’s the point of telling you everything?” Lin Jianguo shook his head gently.

A wave of cold disappointment quickly spread through my heart. I was a little anxious, but I had to remain calm. I said, “I still carry the hopes of the people in the town on my back!”

“If there is no hope, it is just a delusion. Over the years, I have seen it very clearly… why create more trouble? If you behave yourself, you might have a chance to live in Gui Ta Wan.” Lin Jianguo sighed.

“You can’t say it, but I don’t feel any power in you that is different from ordinary people. You can come out…” At this point, I paused, and then looked at Lin Jianguo pleadingly and said, “If you are willing to help me.”

“If I help you? This sentence was also said to me by one of the people in the group two years ago. They gave me hope, but they fell into despair.” Lin Jianguo seemed to be recalling something from the past, and a hint of guilt flashed in his eyes. He then said, “In fact, I don’t need to overestimate myself, and I can’t overestimate myself either. The reason I can come and go freely is because of the eldest son you mentioned.”

After saying this, Lin Jianguo stood up, turned around, took two cups from the shelf behind him and placed them on the low table, then took out the delicate little pot that had been placed on the small stove next to him and filled each cup with water.

The steam rose, and I couldn’t see Lin Jianguo’s expression clearly in the mist because I didn’t have the heart to look at it, and I was still in a state of grief.

The group of people two years ago might very well have been my master and his friends… I don’t know why I had such a strong thought, but I almost didn’t have to think about it to be sure of it. They were in despair, isn’t that the reason for my sadness?

But after all, Lin Jianguo didn’t say they were dead, so I still have hope. Besides, whether I go to Gui Dao Bay or not is no longer simply for the sake of my master and the others. I have to go.

Thinking of this, I suppressed all the emotions in my heart and said to Lin Jianguo, “Then tell me about your eldest son. Whether I have hope or not, at least you have nothing to lose. You don’t have to pity my life. You have to know that for some people, it is better to die quickly than to live on, at least without regrets. There are people like this, such as people who carry the hopes of everyone.”

Lin Jianguo lifted his cup as if he wanted to drink water, but it seemed that he was stunned. After a while, he put down the cup and said to me, “Okay, since you are so determined, I will tell you.”

I really wanted to ask about the people in the group, but I didn’t seem to have the courage to ask. Even though I was sure that the people in the group were my master and his.

Anyway, let’s first find out what happened at Guidaowan.

“The story of Guidaowan goes back a long time, because it is related to the history of our village… Our village, how should I put it? I’ll call it the Village of Thieves for now.” Lin Jianguo began to calmly narrate.

“Thief Village? Isn’t it a holy village? Why would a village have such a strange name?” Although I repeatedly told myself to be patient and listen to Lin Jianguo, I couldn’t help but ask this question. What kind of village would give itself such an indecent name?

“It’s called the Village of Thieves because the ancestors of everyone in this village were a group of sand dredgers from the Yellow River… They were sand dredgers, but in fact they also had another identity, that of grave robbers… It’s just that grave robbers who are active on the water are not as conspicuous as those who are active on land.” Lin Jianguo slowly began to tell the story.

As Lin Jianguo told the story, I began to walk into the history of the village with him.

Before, there was no such thing as a village of tomb robbers. There was only a small group of eighteen sand dredgers, each with their own family. They lived in small villages and only gathered together when they had a job to do.

The so-called sand mining profession is very old. In the past, they used a boat to dig sand from the river and transported it to the shore for sale.

Lin Jianguo did not say when the eighteen sand miners existed, but from his tone, I’m afraid it’s been around for about two hundred years.

The profession of sand dredgers is naturally difficult, but these 18 sand dredgers are very wealthy. It’s just that they are wealthy and low-key and secretive, because their profession is not allowed to be seen in the light. They are actually tomb robbers, using the identity of sand dredgers as a cover to do tomb robbing.

“Don’t underestimate the Yellow River. It has changed course many times in history, flooding many lands and even cities. What do you think is hidden under the Yellow River? Not to mention the ancestors of our village, even ordinary sand diggers will dig out all kinds of strange and weird things from the riverbed, but many people don’t understand the value of some things! The ancestors of our village were different. They were not just a bunch of riffraff, but were led by a man named Lin Er, a tomb robber with extraordinary skills. They dug for sand only to explore a little, and then obtained valuable things from underwater. This is the original ancestor of our village.” Lin Jianguo explained the reason to me.

“So how did the village of thieves come about?” I couldn’t help but ask. In fact, I didn’t understand the connection between the history of the ancestors and the holy village.

“It’s simple. Even if you keep a low profile… the more you trade, the more people will take notice. I’m not sure about that part of the history, but in any case, the ancestors of the village of thieves got their hands on another priceless treasure, which finally attracted the attention of people with ulterior motives. The ancestors of our village fled with their families, relying on their familiarity with the Yellow River waterway to narrowly escape the repeated attacks. Unfortunately, the people chasing them were not just one person, but a group of people who had gathered together. Several of them were very influential, and this kind of chase could not be avoided with one escape after another… On one occasion, when our ancestors were desperate, they inexplicably ushered in hope.” Lin Jianguo briefly described that period of history.

It sounds like a scene from a martial arts novel, but I know that this kind of thing is nothing new in history. So-called novels are all derived from life. I was just surprised that this village had such a history.

From Lin Jianguo’s words, I also roughly guessed that their hope was probably to find the place where the original village of the thieves was located.

Lin Jianguo took a sip of water from his cup and said, “From your expression, I guess you may have guessed that our ancestors, during another escape, found a more secret tributary from an unusually secret waterway. deep tributary, people living on the Yellow River are generally wary of it, whether it is a legend or a taboo, they generally do not enter it easily… However, our ancestors had no other choice at the time, and they had to enter the tributary with their heads held high… and then discovered where the original holy village was located!

Did you discover it like this? It sounds very surprising. I didn’t say anything, but listened quietly to Lin Jianguo’s story.

He didn’t ramble on, but continued, “Isn’t it perfect? A hidden tributary, hidden in a plain behind the mountains, with a path that is also so secret, like a slit in the sky. Even if the enemy discovered it, the only entrance was so difficult to get through that it could not be breached by thousands of men. This is the origin of the Holy Village. A group of tomb robbers settled in this hidden place. At that time, it was not the Holy Village, but the Village of Robbers.

The village of thieves. It turns out that the holy village used to be a village like this.

“What’s next? There are some rumors, for example, that the village was flooded. Wasn’t it the village you mentioned earlier that was flooded…?” I knew the origin, but I couldn’t help but have more questions.

Lin Jianguo made a gesture of patience and then said to me, “Don’t forget what our ancestors did. After they escaped the storm, they naturally had to go back to their old ways. Besides, they didn’t know how to do anything else, so they could only do this. But with this secret location of the tomb-robber village, they were even more unscrupulous, because no one could find them.”

“Hmm.” I can imagine how reckless a group of tomb robbers would be after they had a secret place to stay, but what does the holy village have to do with them later?

“This is the original story of the Holy Village. The rest has nothing to do with the 18 ancestors of our village. They only left a legacy for their descendants to continue the business of digging sand and tombs on the Yellow River. Even in the era of war, our ancestors were still active, and the war did not affect our village. because of this kind of business, the people in the village lived a life of great wealth… At that time, the village of tomb robbers even became a myth in the world of tomb robbers. Some tomb robbers even said that our village was a holy place for tomb robbers, an existence that did not exist in this world, and that it housed the ancestors of tomb robbers…” When Lin Jianguo talked about this, he couldn’t help but sigh.

Indeed, it sounds very glorious, but this history is not at all glorious, so it is no wonder that he sighed.

“Those who do evil will die, not to mention those who move the dead. Moreover, I’m sorry that our ancestors in this land of China have also done a lot. For example, during the period of war, they sold our ancestors’ things and precious cultural relics on this land of China to foreigners. These evil deeds have finally come back to haunt them…” Lin Jianguo’s brow furrowed as he said this.

“What do you mean?” I thought things might have reached a critical point.

“That was in the 1920s. A talented person in our village discovered a secret… that there was a good thing hidden at the ‘doorway’ of our village.” Lin Jianguo’s tone became heavy, and then he added, “And that was the beginning of all the tragedies, and the door to Gui Dao Bay opened…”