Chapter 38: No road in the deserted village

The car was driving on a bumpy mountain road, and I was so dizzy from the shaking that I felt faint. The master had been waiting for the people to arrive, and there were two people, an old man and a young child. As soon as they arrived, the master had everyone have lunch. The group of sixteen people split into three vans and set off in a very low-key manner.

“Sanwa, are you feeling better?” My sister-in-law turned her head and asked me with concern.

“Well…ugh…” I was fine when I didn’t speak, but as soon as I did, I couldn’t help but throw up.

“Look at him, so unambitious, so earthy, that’s what happens when you haven’t been on a bus before.” My master’s legs were crossed on the back of the front seat, and he was talking quite carefree.

I didn’t have time to argue with him, and finally after I had finished vomiting, I felt much better. Qinhuai said angrily, “This is the consequence of not taking me to eat cold noodles. Chen Chengyi, you won’t die from vomiting.”

“Qinhuai, you disappeared the other day. I couldn’t invite you even if I wanted to.” My sister-in-law is a straightforward person who also protects me. When she saw Qinhuai insulting me, she quickly defended me.

After I finished vomiting, I looked at Qin Huai with a weak look and said, “Of course he didn’t show up. Didn’t you see how beautiful the cashier was at the front desk? He went to her.”

“Hahaha…” My sister-in-law laughed. She is like that, always laughing without a care in the world.

During the three days we were waiting for the master, Qin Huai and I both fell in love with my sister-in-law. She had a great personality, was easygoing, and was straightforward.

Master was laughing behind us. I looked at Qin Huai with a hint of resentment and said, “Qin Huai, are you a real buddy? If so, let’s switch places.”

“No, I’m not going to change. You think I don’t know that you threw up because of the smell of Master Jiang’s feet? You can keep your seat.” Yes, I threw up because of the bumpy mountain road and because Master’s feet were really…

He sat in the last row and had to put his feet on the back of my chair. Could I not throw up?

As soon as Qin Huai finished speaking, the master very “impartially” divided one of his legs onto Qin Huai’s chair back, then began humming a little tune and closing his eyes to relax.

This time, Qinhuai gave me a “melancholy” look. In less than two minutes, the kid finally couldn’t hold it in anymore and opened the window to throw up.

My sister-in-law started laughing again, and there was a very shy laugh mixed in. I looked over and saw that it was the young man from the group that Master was waiting for. The whole way, the kid was very quiet and didn’t say a word.

What about the old one? He fell asleep as soon as we got on the bus. I thought these two were not easy to approach, but I didn’t expect the kid to laugh.

Before I could say anything, Qinhuai had already stuck it on and shouted, “Hey, buddy, I finally heard you squeak. My name is Yang Qinhuai. Hello.”

“My name is Sun Qiang.” The boy spoke with a local accent in Mandarin, and he wasn’t shy when he spoke.

But this Mandarin really made me feel a sense of intimacy towards him. When I first arrived in Beijing, wasn’t it the same?

“My name is Chen Chengyi. Hello.” I also extended my hand.

He shook my hand and smiled happily, saying, “I know you. You are the apprentice of my grandfather’s good friend.”

I was confused by this, but I noticed that the kid had really white teeth.

The car continued to bump, and soon Sun Qiang and I, as well as Qin Huai, had established a friendship. We had a great time chatting, and even the stench of the master’s feet was ignored. From Sun Qiang, we learned that he and his grandfather were originally mysterious corpse-chasing people. The interesting things he said about the corpse-chasing people made Qin Huai and I listen with great interest.

Time passed by as we talked, until the car came to a sudden stop. We didn’t realize what had happened until then.

The driver said apologetically, “The road ahead is in bad condition, we can’t get through.”

The master then put away his “deadly” legs and stood up and said, “If we can’t drive through, we’ll walk. It’s been abandoned for so long, and the road hasn’t been repaired here. It’s good that we can drive here.”

The driver gave a smile of apology and said, “So we drivers will just wait for you here?”

“Well, don’t wait. Come back in about a week. If you don’t see us, wait here for three days. If we’re not out after three days, you can report it directly to the higher-ups. Got it?” My master said.

At this point, the two cars behind us also stopped, and a middle-aged man came over. He had just heard my master say this, and couldn’t help but interject: “Master Jiang, are you sure it will take a week?”

This middle-aged man was also a Taoist priest. He was somewhat aloof, and I had not talked to him directly during the few days I had been in contact with him. However, I had heard from others that this man was quite talented in Taoism and had high magical power. He was also a member of the Shan lineage, but his position in the department was not as high as my master’s.

My master looked at the man and said, “Yuan Yi, do you think this is a simple matter?”

Yes, the visitor’s name is Yuan Yi, and his Taoist name is quite similar to mine. Jingyi, when my master called out his name, I finally remembered his name.

“I don’t think it’s simple. After all, that zombie is still very powerful. But no matter how powerful it is, it’s still a zombie. Our only problem is finding it. As for dealing with zombies, I personally have many ways to do it.” Yuan Yi said.

My master looked at Yuan Yi deeply, and then said to the drivers, “You can come back in a week. After all, it takes time to find the old village chief.”

When Yuan Yi heard my master say this, his face immediately turned dark. After a moment of silence, he left with a grunt.

Qin Huai said in my ear, “Who the hell is this? I don’t even know him in this department, and he wants to ride on Master Jiang’s head?

As for me, my fists were clenched tightly. To question my master was no different from hitting me in the face. Although my master and I did not have a proper relationship, he was always someone I respected, admired and loved deeply, just like my father. I whispered to Qin Huai, “Watch it. I’ll find a chance to fight him one-on-one.”

No matter how quietly I said it, my master still heard me. He glared at me fiercely and said, “There are some things that you don’t need to fight for.”

I understood that this was already a very serious warning from my master. Whenever he spoke to me in this tone and with this expression, it meant that what he said was very important and that I must carry it out. I knew this from a young age.

I lowered my head and dared not say anything else, and my clenched fist loosened.

At this time, the master had already gathered the people together and said, “The car can’t go in, so everyone pack up and let’s walk in. I’ve been here before. It’s less than two miles away, and it’s the first deserted village, which is also the most remote village.”

No one complained. Everyone knew that they were not here to play. So, when Master said so, everyone silently packed their luggage and prepared to walk into the deserted village.

We were entering a place that had been uninhabited for more than 30 years.

Soon, everyone had packed their bags. Everyone basically had a large bag on their back. Brother Sheng and his wife said that they had brought some scientific instruments and reagents, while most people had brought weapons and dry food.

As for me, I also had a big bag with a lot of Master’s magic tools and the like.

Watching this scene, I felt very moved. Scientific instruments and Taoist magic weapons were both there. Truly, there is nothing in this world that cannot be tolerated, and there is nothing that cannot be integrated. It is actually meaningless to stubbornly insist on one side and reject the other.

The great way of the world leads to the same destination, and perhaps in the end, people will discover that there has never been any difference, only the hearts of people are different.

I was lost in thought, and my master slapped me on the back and said, “What are you thinking about? We should go now.”

I looked back at my master and smiled, saying, “Master, I was just thinking about the world’s great path, which leads to the same destination.”

“Haha, yes, it may take thousands or tens of thousands of years, and you and I may not see it, but it is also a beautiful thing that we have lived through this process.” The master suddenly said with great pride.