Chapter 9: The Legend of Guidaowan (8)

After returning home from the strange wooden house, Liu Er was extremely uncomfortable all the way. One kind of discomfort came from his heart, and the other kind came from his own feelings.

The discomfort he felt was easy to explain. It was because he had been so close to the so-called living dead, and had been exposed to too much negative energy. As for the faint, strange feeling of being watched, he deliberately ignored it.

The discomfort in his heart was about the helplessness of the matter. He knew very well how dangerous it was to guard the “living dead,” but he had to let a dozen well-armed men guard it. In order to maintain the appearance of peace, he had to hide the truth from them… These people might have already been labeled “victims,” but when Liu Er was a child, he loved to read historical books and chronicles. and especially loved reading historical records. He understood that there were countless such things in history, and that it was just a matter of choosing one of two options. Sometimes, you have to sacrifice the small in order to choose the big. Compared to those dozen people, whether it was the timber distribution office or the peace of mind of the townspeople, it was extremely important. If it went to the state, the rumors would spread, and no one would have a good life in the future.

“This weather.” Thinking of this, Liu’s heart grew heavier and heavier. In the falling snow, his steps turned in a strange circle, not heading home, but heading back to the timber distribution office.

He went straight to the workers’ dormitory, asked where Niu Dazhuang lived, and knocked on his door.

When Niu Dazhuang opened the door, it still made Liu Er’s eyes black, but after two or three hours, the yin energy on Niu Dazhuang’s forehead became more and more intense, like a dark cloud covering his head. His face was pale, and the whole person looked like he had a “nasty” feeling.

Of course, Niu Dazhuang himself is not annoying, but because of the evil spirits that have possessed him, people’s instincts will subconsciously avoid him, and they will hate him for no reason! Do you think that underground occupations really have no influence? Can tomb robbers walk around the world in style? No, they are destined to have bad luck because of the evil spirits that have possessed them, and people don’t like to be near them, just by instinct.

But Niu Dazhuang is the one who gets shot.

“You can come in.” For people who are valued by the leader, Niu Dazhuang is naturally respectful and attentive. He quickly stepped aside to let Liu Erye enter the room. There were two other people in the room. Liu Erye just glanced at them and felt that they were not very good. He was probably also “involved.”

“I’m not coming in. I still have some questions for you. Can we talk outside?” Liu Erni coughed twice, looking harmless, and invited Niu Dazhuang.

Niu Dazhuang hesitated for a moment, but in the end he put on a thick military coat and walked out with Liu Er. They walked on the snow outside the workers’ dormitory. Niu Dazhuang was shivering all the way. He was such a strong man, and he was dressed thicker than Liu Er… Liu Er sighed in his heart and said, “If you trust me, go to the countryside and find something to bathe in. The recipe is calamus, wormwood…”

Liu Er said a long list of names. Niu Dazhuang looked at Liu Er with confusion and said, “You said these things, I know, but aren’t these things used for the Dragon Boat Festival?”

“Dragon Boat Festival? Do you know? The real Dragon Boat Festival is a day of poison and evil, and it is only then that this custom of warding off disasters and calamities came about. How do you think this recipe came about? This recipe was passed down by the Taoist masters of that time to benefit the people… It is most effective in driving away evil and poisons. You must soak in it twice every seven days for 49 days. I don’t want to ask you any more, but you must be able to feel that something is wrong. If you don’t believe me, you can roll up your pant legs and take a look.” After saying that, Liu Erye no longer bothered to talk to Niu Dazhuang, but instead headed home, striding away without looking back.

In the midst of the heavy snow, Niu Dazhuang shivered. He knew that Liu Er was right. On his leg, where he had been caught the night before, there was a black mark that had inexplicably appeared. But there were some things that one could not think about, and some things that one could not say. Even a rough man like Niu Dazhuang knew that… He was moved and knew that Liu Er had taken a risk.

“It’s best not to stay in the factory for a while, just stay in the countryside, stay away… As for the black mark on your body, it will fade away slowly.” Mr. Liu Er was still worried, so he added one more sentence.

Niu Dazhuang was so grateful that he didn’t know what to say. If he had knelt down and kowtowed, it would have been too conspicuous near the workers’ dormitory. He could only watch the back of Liu Er’s figure and sigh in his heart that he was a great man.

Of course, in the eyes of true Taoists, Liu Ershao was wrong about many things in this whole incident, but he had the conscience and bottom line of a true Taoist. He did not let Niu Dazhuang die, but instead took a certain risk to remind Niu Dazhuang, which was a kind of spirit.

Niu Dazhuang was reminded, and perhaps a flash of inspiration suddenly crossed his mind. He left the workers’ dormitory at the timber distribution office that afternoon, and was able to escape with his life.

Standing in front of his own door, Master Liu did not rush to enter, but looked at the door for a long time before calling out to his wife and son, making sure they had prepared a brazier in front of the door. He would not enter until he had crossed the brazier.

The old woman complained that this practice was inauspicious, but when she thought about comparing herself to her husband, she realized that she didn’t know anything, so she shut up again.

She wanted to ask Liu Er for more details, but he was busy as soon as he returned, and he was busy in his strange room, so the old woman didn’t have a chance to ask. But that room was where he kept the things he needed when he helped people with their weddings and funerals…

In the evening, Mr. Liu also took a bath to purify himself. Apart from this, he had no other way to do it. He didn’t even have the ability to write a talisman. However, he thought that he had never entered the room to see the corpse, so he felt that doing this was also a way to put his mind at ease.

At night, the old woman naturally asked Liu Er about it. He just said that he had gone to a friend in the countryside to drink, and after passing by a mass grave, he felt uncomfortable, so he came back and did some work.

The old woman mumbled a curse about superstition and fell asleep. She didn’t imagine that something big had happened at the lumber yard.

Meanwhile, ten strong men gathered outside the dilapidated house where the corpse was kept, lit a huge fire and began to guard the door.

By nightfall, the snow had not stopped, so these men had no choice but to build a makeshift, crude tent and hide underneath it.

In fact, people who live in places where it snows a lot should know that it is not too cold when it snows, and it is only when the snow melts that it is really cold. But today was strange. It was only snowing, and the men were shivering and their backs were inexplicably covered in goose bumps.

“I think I’m dressed enough, but it’s so cold! Even the fire is not warm, it’s really weird,” one of the men said with emotion.

“Shh, don’t say bad words here. You know how many things have been put in this broken house?” Another man next to him pushed the man unhappily because the man had said something evil. In this cold night, in such a creepy place, people’s nerves are extra sensitive.

“Bah, what are you doing with your feudal superstitions? There are so many taboos? It’s just a corpse, right? The leader said it was only of scientific research value, so let’s guard it and don’t let the spies get a hold of it. You guys are still men, why are you so scared?” The two men’s conversation made Wei Dahan listen in and he couldn’t help but scold them.

Wei Dahan was considered the leader’s trusted worker and the head of the workers on this night shift. Many workers discussed in private that if there were any promotions next year, Wei Dahan would inevitably become a cadre. Therefore, during their daily interactions, many workers would flatter him to some extent.

When he shouted like that, naturally everyone dared not discuss anything, but instead bowed their heads and began to drink the inferior wine in silence to relieve the cold… As for whether they believed this line of reasoning, that was another matter. All they could say was that the conditions offered by the leaders were too good, and they were also a group of workers who were close to the leaders, so there was no way they could refuse this matter.

However, the mysterious way the leader had forbidden them to spread the news beforehand made them somewhat believe that there might be something fishy about it, and that it might be of scientific research value.

Seeing that everyone was quiet, Wei Dahan was satisfied. He also took a big drink. He was in the office this afternoon and knew more about the whole thing, but he wasn’t completely informed. He just knew that the corpse had to be disposed of and that nothing could happen before it was disposed of.

Although he outwardly appeared to be respectful of the leader’s actions, he was actually somewhat disdainful. He thought that it would be better to burn the corpse as soon as possible, and that it was too cowardly to drag on like this! Besides, if anything could go wrong, he, Wei Dahan, was famous for his courage.

There are countless stories about his daring deeds, such as sleeping in the morgue with a dozen corpses for a bet, or spending the night at a mass grave. This is not bragging, but something that really happened.

“A bunch of cowards.” Wei Dahan didn’t know what he was thinking when he cursed, and as for whether he was cursing the leader or the workers, I’m afraid only he himself knows.

Outside the dilapidated house in the middle of the night, there was a fire that seemed to be flickering on the faces of the men, and the windows of the dark dilapidated house looked like a pair of strange eyes silently watching the ten men.