"If you are a mountain monster, just tell us what you want. We have been walking this road for decades, and we will continue to walk for decades in the future. We can bring you whatever you want. I can’t believe that every time I pass by here in the future, I can sit down and have a cup of tea with you.” The merchant told Song You,
"If you want to do something evil, there are a lot of us out there in broad daylight. We are not easy to bully, and we are not stupid. We will not be fooled by you. I advise you to put aside your thoughts and find someone else."
"I have misunderstood you, I am really human."
"How to prove it?"
"It's absolutely true, why do you need proof?"
"Do you dare to point your finger at Thunder Lord?"
"There is a mountain god on this mountain, why do you point at Thunder God?"
"Which mountain god? The villain doesn't know..."
"Forget it, which Thunder Lord do you want to refer to?"
"How is Zhou Lei Gong?" Song You smiled and said casually: "I would like to ask Zhou Lei Gong to teach me a lesson. If I am not a human being, just strike me with thunder."
"..." The merchants looked at each other again. I know in my heart that this kind of oath may not have much real effect, but Song You has a kind face and gentle and polite conversation. Even if he is a demon, he does not seem to be a vicious one. In addition to wearing a Taoist robe, he also carries a They were relieved that a bay-red horse could swear calmly.
Then I thought about it, if the other party was really a monster and dared to attack a group of them in broad daylight, and also turned into a human being, I guess he was not a bad person, then they could only admit that they were unlucky.
It's better to be kind, don't anger others, and avoid conflicts.
"Mr. Misunderstanding! How offended!"
"What the hell." Song You quickly said to them, "You should be more cautious when walking in the barren mountains." This kind of life-saving philosophy of traveling merchants, even if Song You has encountered it many times, he still finds it interesting every time. .
"Sir, you are not familiar with the road, but you dare to walk alone in the barren mountains. He is not a ghost, but must be an expert. I don't know where to practice?"
"I can't be called an expert. I'm just a wandering Taoist who originally practiced in Lingquan County, Yizhou."
"There are other ways to Pingzhou. Why did you take this way, sir?"
"When we reach Xiangle County, we will take this route."
"There are monsters on this road."
"I'm brave."
"Where did you sleep last night?"
“There is no owner in a barren mountain, so you can stay overnight anywhere.”
"Sure enough, a skilled artist is brave."
"If you are calm in your heart, you will not be afraid of monsters." Song You smiled and looked at the group of merchants.
"Aren't you guys leaving too?"
"We?" The merchant talked back and forth with Song You. Although he did not relax his vigilance, he felt that he was not like a monster and was no longer on guard. Hearing this, he just shook his head and said: "We are used to it and know where to stay. If you walk faster on one day or slower on another day, you can reach the city or the edge of the military town. Secondly, we have no choice. This is the closest road between Pingzhou and Xuzhou. Although the other road is easy to walk, it is It’s much further away. Although there are no goblins and ghosts on that road, bandits and bandits are not necessarily easier to talk to than the goblins and ghosts. We are just making some hard money, so there are so many choices.”
"rational."
"Sir, have you heard that people disappear inexplicably along this road every year, and that people encounter ghosts here every year?"
"I'd like to hear the details." Song You looked at the group of merchants. The pot of ham and mushroom soup in front of them was still bubbling and the heat was rising. He said to them, "Would you like a bowl of hot soup? I'd like some dry food. "The merchant immediately refused.
Song You picked up the banana leaves wrapped with wild fruits and said, "I also have some wild fruits picked in the mountains. Do you want to try them?" The merchant still refused.
Song You was not surprised and did not ask twice. When walking in the mountains, it is okay to exchange a few words with strangers when meeting strangers, whether human or demon, but how dare they eat each other's food casually, regardless of whether they are humans or demons?
Evil people have their own methods of intoxication, monsters have their own methods, and it is common to use the method of making people stun people on food, water and drink. Song You only asked symbolically.
Once the etiquette is met, that's all. I just heard the tanned merchant say: "I don't know about those people who walk this way and only see the mountains but never come out. Whether they are eaten by monsters or tigers and wolves, they are walking on the edge of the cliff." Who knows? I accidentally slipped and fell down and died. I only know that my second uncle passed by here last year, but he saw countless goblins and ghosts." A young man standing next to him immediately asked: "What goblins and ghosts are there? ?How did we meet?"
"You're not so brave! You're not restless!" The merchant shook his head.
"I've been walking on this road for decades, and I haven't encountered anything out of the ordinary, so I thought it was nothing. I walked slower that day and didn't reach the place I was supposed to go, so I thought I'd make do with it in the mountains for one night, but in the middle of the night I felt light for no reason. When I opened my eyes, I found that I was sleeping in a market town. The lights were very bright. There were stalls and shops everywhere. People were coming and going, and everyone was holding a kind of lantern in their hand. "
"What lantern?" the young man asked with wide eyes.
"It's just a very ordinary lantern with no shape. It has nothing to do with lanterns. It's just the people carrying the lanterns," the merchant said,
"At first glance, I thought these people were human beings, but when I looked carefully, where were they human?"
"what is that?"
"There are all kinds of fairies and ghosts, and some of them have transformed into humans at most. But think about it, who would come here in the middle of the night to chase away a gathering of fairies and ghosts?"
"and after?"
"My second uncle was frightened. Later, a ghost in uniform came to him and talked to him. How could he speak? Then he was taken out by the ghost by his clothes. In the end, the third uncle The next day, Lao Xu and his team passed by and saw my second uncle on the roadside, so they brought him back." The merchant said,
"I got seriously ill when I came back. I'm fine now, but let alone walking this road again. Even if I ask him to go around the village at night, he won't dare. Every time he eats with us, he has to take this thing with him." Let’s talk about it again.”
"real or fake?"
"I don't think it's true. This road is inherently evil. I've heard that some people have encountered similar things before." The merchant paused and said calmly.
"But all fairies and ghosts are not necessarily bad. Just like what my second uncle met, he accidentally broke into someone else's place, but others didn't harm him or do anything to him. Instead, they treated him He brought it out.”
"..." Song You felt that this merchant seemed to be nodding at him, and he felt funny and interesting at the same time.
The two teenagers opened their eyes wide and listened with great interest. The merchant also warned them: "So when you take over our work in the future, be sure to remember not to walk at night or sleep in the mountains, otherwise you will encounter ghosts, and you may not have such good luck." After a pause, Added another sentence: "There is really no way to encounter them. You must remember that goblins and ghosts are just like people, most of them are reasonable. Don't offend others, don't anger them, and be respectful and polite to them. They won't do it." I can easily harm you." Okay, click again.
Song You didn't say anything, just took a bowl and drank soup. The two teenagers nodded with endless aftertaste. One of the young men was brave enough to look at Song You and asked tentatively: "Sir, have you heard of similar things? Didn't you encounter it last night?"
"I've heard people talk about it. They say they open the market here in the second, fifth, eighth, and late winter months." Song You only answered half of the answer, and then looked at the middle-aged merchant.
"But you are right. When walking in barren mountains, you should try to avoid walking at night. If you really can't avoid it, you should cover your head tightly at night. Don't run around and look around. If you stray into the world of monsters and ghosts, it will not be good for people after all. Once you encounter them, you must remember that demons and ghosts also have intentions, and don’t just treat them as savage beasts or dirty things.”
"Isn't that true..." The middle-aged businessman's eyes flickered, thoughtfully. It wasn't until he heard this that he confirmed that the Taoist in front of him was probably not a monster. Even if he was, he should be a kind one.
Then he said: "I just don't know the opening time of this monster. How do you know it?"
"I heard that too, I don't know if it's true or not." Song You smiled and shook his head.
"You can try to avoid it in the future, or you can tell the traveling merchants on this road, but don't spread it too far, lest those idiots who yearn for monsters and ghosts come to come specifically and encounter danger again."
"Yes..." Song You raised his head and drank the soup. After adding ham, the soup was indeed much fresher, and even the color of the soup changed a bit. It was a pity that old hens should be used as the soup base, and then the mushrooms and ham were cooked in, then it would be beautiful.
This happened to be the last bite. After Song You finished drinking, he went to the mountain spring to wash dishes. When they came back, this group of merchants had basically rested enough and did not want to stay any longer and wanted to continue on their way.
Song You then stopped by the roadside and said goodbye to them.
"Take the first step!"
"Farewell!" A group of people, horses and mules passed by him. The dark-faced merchant couldn't help turning his head to look at him.
This Taoist and a girl is certainly strange. If we say that the Taoist's complexion is fair and fair, with no traces of weather or sun exposure, we can only say that he has a noble bearing.
But the girl was extraordinarily beautiful, with glowing white skin, no trace of tanning or redness, and no trace of dust or dirt on her body or face. This is extremely rare for children these days, let alone walking in the mountains. , sleeping in the open air.
There are many legends about immortals, gods, demons and ghosts in Pingzhou, and demons and ghosts often appear in this mountain. It is normal to regard them as demons and ghosts at first.
As for now - either a demon or a master! It was just what the Taoist said at the end... At this moment, the merchant saw the Taoist turn around to pack his things, wipe the pots and dishes and put them in the quilt, and then put the quilt on the horse's back, and on top of the quilt, there was a Holding a lantern with a simple shape.
Isn’t it late February today? The Taoist turned to look at him. The merchant was stunned for a moment and wanted to quickly look away, but he stopped unexpectedly and instead raised his hand in that direction.
"What's wrong, Uncle Yang?"
"nothing."
"Why did you give up to him again?"
"Let's go." The businessman shook his head, still feeling that way in his heart - this young gentleman is either a monster or a master.
It's just that no matter whether you are a demon or a master, if you have Taoism, good character, and sincerely help others, you can be called a god.
