But the master told me that he actually didn’t know much about the inside story. He just heard someone accidentally talk about it more than ten years ago. Since this ghost selling market is relatively close to Chengdu, he himself is from Chengdu. People, so I wrote it down unconsciously, but I didn't bother to investigate the authenticity of this incident at the time. I just thought it was a bit strange, so I just treated it as an anecdote.
Of course, I dare not tell the master that what he heard was not anecdotal, because I have never seen this place with my own eyes. So I asked him if he could help me verify that I might have to go there to do something. This master is a veteran in the world of martial arts. If he didn’t have a very close relationship with Damao and I, even if he heard that I was going to this place to do something, he wouldn’t just casually come to find out what I wanted to do. This is a martial arts master. People of the older generation understand the rules. However, due to the inconvenience of communication in that era, fortunately, people were relatively conservative and not well-off financially. Therefore, generally people who lived in a certain place, unless they made a fortune or got into a big disaster, would not be able to do so. Will move easily.
So the master wrote me an address and asked me to go to this address to find a master named Liu. He said that he had learned about this rumor from Master Liu, but he emphasized that because this person did not come and go often, I can't tell whether he is still alive. Even if he is still alive, it is even harder to say whether he will sell us this face. Moreover, he can only help me to this extent.
After visiting many masters I knew in Chengdu over the past few days, this was the only news that I got any progress. So no matter what, Damao and I decided to give it a try. Before leaving, I asked the master, what hobbies does Master Liu have in his daily life? Because everyone has some hobbies, as long as they are within the scope of ability, we will try our best to gain favor and give something to you if you like it. Spending a little money is worth it. But this master told me that Master Liu did not smoke, drink, or be a womanizer. He lived alone all his life without children. The only one who served him was his apprentice, and that apprentice himself was said to be a leader. Master Yi Tou is about the same age as Master Liu. The two of them usually do things when they have something to do, and play chess when they have nothing to do.
In 1976, the vigorous revolutionary movement had just ended. Although the atmosphere had eased, the market economy was far from prosperous. In the past, you could only buy anything from supply and marketing cooperatives and small stores directly operated by the state or factories. If you were doing business privately, such as buying some glutinous rice balls and fried dough sticks, or drawing some candy figures, as long as you didn't get caught, you wouldn't be able to buy anything. If you have a bad attitude towards admitting your mistakes, generally no one will pursue them. Although there are small vendors, there are not many. This Master Liu likes to raise birds and play chess. I will know a little bit about it next time, but where can I find this bird for him? You can't just catch a few sparrows and give them as gifts, right?
After thinking about it, Da Mao and I both found that it is unrealistic to buy birds now, and it may not be possible to catch birds, let alone whether we can catch rare birds. So this idea was abandoned, but since I came to visit, I couldn't be empty-handed. Nowadays, what people are mainly short of is food and entertainment, so Da Mao and I scraped together the money we had and bought several kilograms of various fruits and a radio that was not too big, hoping to amuse the birds. It's just for fun. There are radio programs on this radio, and you can also learn national thoughts and understand national affairs. It is also a good gift, and the price is really not cheap.
Taking the master's address, we went to Master Liu's home. Master Liu lives in a small county in the northwest of Chengdu. This county has been famous for producing high-quality and delicious douban since ancient times, named Pixian.
At that time, Pixian County was just a small county that had just entered the urbanization stage. Except for the slightly more brick houses and roads than in rural areas, the rest of the place felt more like a suburb. There is neither the noisy and crowded feeling in the city, nor the quiet and natural atmosphere in the countryside. It is a place that makes people feel very good. We had the address in our hands, so we quickly found the other party's residence. However, it was already night when we arrived, and the other party was not young anymore. It was really rude to bother him so late at night. So I discussed with Damao Yi and decided to make do with it for one night and go there early tomorrow morning.
But Pixian County is a small county after all, and it is not easy to find a place to stay. Moreover, in plain areas, the temperature difference after nightfall is large and it will be colder, so Da Mao and I stayed in the waiting room of the station, pretending to wait. It looked like a night bus, with one person sleeping half the night and staying up until dawn.
Since we had visited the site in advance the night before and noticed that Master Liu's house at our address had lights on at night, so we felt that this person must still live in the same place. After all, the house was quite old and it would not be possible even if he moved away. Someone comes to take over. So when we knocked on Master Liu's door, he looked at us two young people with a surprised look on his face, so I quickly stepped forward and said, "Hello, Master Liu, we came here from Chengdu specially." I'm here to visit you. Your address was also told to us by a certain master. He said that you know each other and are friends. I hope I won't disturb you today.
But the master turned to another man who was enjoying himself on the rocking chair in the living room and said, Master, this should be for you.
Then I realized that the person who opened the door was just Master Liu's apprentice. I saw Master Liu standing up from the rocking chair, approaching the door and saying, "Young man, since you are so-and-so's friend, come in." When he said this, he kept staring at the fruit and the radio in my hand. In order to make the radio look more like a gift, I went to find a red scarf to wrap it, and he was beaming.
So Da Mao and I entered the room. After a few brief greetings, I also introduced myself. What surprised me a little was that although Master Liu didn't know who I was or who my master was, he had heard about what Qin Bukong and I had done before. So he stood up and patted me on the shoulder with some joy and said, "It's really amazing. You are young and promising, and your future is formidable."
Then I also introduced Da Mao around me. Although I was helping Da Mao investigate this time, after all, it was my relationship that found this place, so it was more appropriate for me. Besides, I am older than Da Mao. I have grown a beard in the past two years. relationship, and looks much older. I said that Da Mao is the only student of Mr. Wang Chengqian, the master of Fa Tianyan in Pu'an, Chongqing, and he is also the best master of Tianyan among the masters of our generation. Master Liu also happily patted Da Mao on the shoulder and said, "It's amazing. He is young and promising, and his future life is formidable."
It was exactly like the one he said to me, so I figured that was his mantra.
After chatting for a while, Master Liu asked me, "Young man, you guys are delivering fruits and radios. What on earth do you want to see me for?" Don't be secretive, just say it directly. I really like you two young people. If you continue to be so polite, it will change.
Okay, I also like happy people, so I stood up with Da Mao, bowed deeply to Master Liu respectfully, and then said, Master Liu, to be honest, I came to visit you this time because I actually want to Let me ask you something. You mentioned this to a certain master more than ten years ago. You said that there is a special place near Chengdu for selling ghosts? We came here today just to know where this place is.
Master Liu seemed to be hesitant, and his hesitation told me that he knew, but was just deciding whether to tell us or not. So I said to Master Liu, to be honest with you, my little brother just went to that place last month, but because he was entrusted by someone, he was blindfolded when he was brought in and sent out. , so the exact location cannot be determined. Master Liu asked, now that he has come out, why do he still want to go to that place? What the hell is worth going to?
His words undoubtedly confirmed my speculation, and he indeed knew it. So I told him, because this little brother of mine saw a lot of things in it that I thought were unreasonable. As you know, there was a big earthquake in the north a few days ago, which killed many people and gave many people the opportunity to make a fortune from their deaths. . We don't want to evaluate whether this is good or bad. It's just that these ghosts were bought and used for what purpose. It is indeed unknown. Moreover, these people who died violently will cause trouble if they are not careful. You are also an expert. You should understand the tricks in this.
Master Liu was silent, and I added, and I heard that it is precisely because there have been so many deaths recently that the market was originally only open on the first and fifteenth day of every month, but now it is open every day, and the people doing business every day are different. . If this status quo continues, I'm afraid our industry will be in trouble sooner or later. Master Liu frowned and then nodded and said that it was indeed the case, but even though he knew where this place was, it was true that others could not go there casually, because the place was a bit strange. When standing on the bridge, it looked like a dense bamboo forest. Even if After getting into the bamboo forest, you have to take a total of 7,749 different steps before you can reach a hidden path. This road leads directly to the ghost market. If most people don't know how to get out of this way, even if When you enter the bamboo forest, all you see are bamboos.
Da Mao said yes. When he and his master were blindfolded, they had to go through many twists and turns until they finally arrived. It turned out that there were specific steps to follow, just like a formation. Master Liu said, yes, so that place has existed for decades, and except for a few people in the industry, it has never been discovered by the outside world. And if you want to go to that place, if you are just going to have a look, that’s fine. If you have any purpose, I suggest you be more cautious.
I asked Master Liu why he said this. Is there any danger? Master Liu said that it is never dangerous to deal with ghosts, but the real danger is humans. I heard that in recent years, this ghost market has been firmly controlled by one person. I hope you are not going to provoke this person.
I asked, who is it?
