Of course there are rules, but I really don’t know what the rules are in this place. I also felt a little embarrassed when this slovenly looking person said so. I didn’t know what to do with the hand holding the knife. Should I put it back or continue to hold it? But just last night I was hesitant. At that moment, Da Mao suddenly pulled my sleeve and said to me, Brother Shankong, stop struggling, this room is full of ghosts.
Da Mao is an outstanding celestial eye master among the younger generation. When he comes to a place like this, he is naturally more vigilant than me. People who have opened their celestial eyes will not care whether the room is bright or dark. The field of vision they can see is far beyond what a mortal like me can see. So after he entered the house, he might not be able to see the man meditating on the ground clearly like me, but Da Mao must have seen the ghost in the house.
It wasn't until Da Mao said this that I subconsciously breathed hard through my nose and sniffed, and found that in addition to the dusty smell of old wood and stones, there was indeed a faint smell of rotten eggs in the room. So I put down the scimitar in my hand and said to the middle-aged man holding the candle, "Master, I'm sorry. We are indeed new here and don't understand the rules. If we bump into you, please remember us." I'm young and ignorant, please bear with me.
As you all know, I was not originally a person who could speak like this, but over the years, as if I have experienced decades of ups and downs, my speech has become much more old-fashioned. The man saw that I was apologizing seriously, so he walked past me, walked to the door, reopened the old wooden door that Da Mao and I had just closed a crack, and then pointed at a piece of wood hanging upside down from the door. Ji Feo said, "You didn't look at this before entering the house. This means that someone has occupied this pit. This is the rule of this ghost place. You are new at first sight. Get out of here before there is any trouble."
Judging from his tone, it seemed that he didn't care about our trespassing, but he was too lazy to talk nonsense to us. However, although this person's tone has not been very nice, he has never made any drastic action towards me. After saying this, he returned to the tattered straw mat where he had meditated and sat down, and then he meditated again. Then he coldly told Damao and I to remember to close the door when we go out.
Da Mao and I looked at each other, but neither of our feet moved. Although we now know that these shabby-looking houses actually have people living inside, probably the buyers or sellers here. If we go out now, we may not be able to find a house without hanging chicken feathers, and from now on, there are ghosts in the house. It is dark and does not sleep but meditates and watches. This guy is different from what I have seen in this industry before. any one. But this industry is all-encompassing, and there are so many capable people, but not all of them may have the luck like me to experience such adventures. So I asked, "Senior, are there any empty houses nearby that can accommodate us?"
The middle-aged man said lazily, "You have eyes, and your friend has opened his eyes. Can't you see for yourselves?" When I heard this, I was even more shocked. This guy was able to say in such a short period of time that Da Mao had opened his heavenly eyes, not his yin and yang eyes. This meant that Da Mao had already been seen through by this middle-aged man in just a brief moment of gestures. .
This guy might have some background, I told myself. Seeing that there was no hostility between us, I boldly walked up to him, knelt down and said to him, "Senior, I haven't asked for advice yet. Who are you?" I asked politely, but was rudely interrupted by this person. He said, it doesn't matter whether you know my last name or not. This place is not a place for little kids like you to play. Go away now, and you, the face-covered kid, suffered a big loss here with your master earlier, why haven't you learned your lesson?
I am even more sure that this person is hiding something secret. Otherwise, how could I recognize Da Mao at a glance in the darkness. And what he meant was that Da Mao and Wang Chengqian suffered a loss here. Da Mao said that he was just a child, and others could still have the opportunity to bully him, but Wang Chengqian was a long-established master, and his personality was definitely not that kind. People who are willing to suffer losses, could it be that Da Mao was drinking and angry at my house that day, but he actually didn't tell me the inside story?
Da Mao stammered, "Why...did you see it all at that time?" The man snorted and said, not only did I see it, but all the people on the long street saw it, but those people may not have as good a memory as me, and they just happened to remember you two, master and disciple. Hearing what he said, I felt a little relieved. If everyone here could recognize Da Mao just from his eyebrows, then Da Mao would be exposed. But the man went on to say, but don’t worry, everyone here is cleaning up the snow in front of the house, and they can’t talk to each other. I saw you two today because I have been here for the past three months. It was the first time I spoke.
The candles in the small room had been burning for a long time, and the door was open a small crack, so I could see clearly at this moment that there were several baskets on the ground in the room, containing radishes, apples, vegetable leaves, etc. They are all things that can be eaten raw. Although vegetable leaves are not delicious when eaten raw, they can satisfy hunger. This man said that he has been here for several months. Could it be that he has been relying on eating these things for these few months? Survive?
It seems that if I want to get something out of the other person's mouth, I have to give him the truth first. So I told him that I have two masters, and told him the names of my two masters. When he heard Lin Qishan, the man was indifferent, but when he heard Qin Bukong, he opened his eyes and looked at me. After a long time, he said to me, young man, there must be a limit to lying. Qin Bukong died a few years ago, but everyone knows that this weirdo never married a wife or had children in his life, let alone accepted an apprentice. You will lie next time. When talking about something, remember to understand it first before speaking.
When I heard him say this, it meant that he knew Qin Bukong's name, and he felt a little proud in his heart. It's just that he didn't know that Qin Bukong had accepted a stubborn disciple like me, which meant that he and Qin Bukong were not very familiar with each other. Maybe they just heard some rumors in the world. So I took out the Miao Wu scimitar from my bag again and told him that this knife was passed down from Qin Bukong, and the gray hair on it was Qin Bukong's hair. After saying that, I handed the knife to the man in front of me.
I'm not worried that he will take my knife away and not give it back to me, because the knife must be sharpened with a spell so that it can become one with the person wielding the knife and achieve the effect of defeating the enemy. Even if most people steal it, it can only be used as a tool to cut pigweed. This person held the machete and looked at it for a while, looking at the dirt and marks on the welding joint between the handle and the blade, and then he believed what I said. He stood up and said to me, young man, since you are Senior Qin's apprentice, you and I are considered peers, so you don't need to call me senior anymore. I am just a down-and-out person who really cannot bear the title of senior. My name is Jiama Dan. I won’t go into details about my master’s sect. It would be an insult to my sect.
Jiamatan, when I first heard this name, I didn’t know what these words were written like. But I know that "Jiama" is a Qiang surname. The naming of the Qiang people is a bit different from that of the Han people. Most of us take the father's surname, while the Qiang people not only have the father's surname, but also the name of the place where the house is located. For example, if the house is built under a wall, the person may have the surname "Qiang" . Another important source of the name is that the Qiang wizard gave a name after certain calculations. It is possible that the name is not the surname of the parents, or it may be completely random and has nothing to do with the family, but because it is obtained by the wizard after calculation, the name will often be valued more by the user.
Of course I will not ask why Jiama Tan is in such a miserable state. His dirty living environment, slovenly appearance, and standard of living where he eats carrots and greens every day are enough to explain the problem. But this person is very observant and can see the crux of the problem at a glance. In addition, he is not hostile to me and is an experienced person in this place. If you ask him about it, you may be able to get some clues.
But the question is, can I trust this person, especially when we have just met. After Jiama Dan told me his name, he stopped talking. Maybe he told me his name out of respect for Qin Bukong. I originally wanted to ask for some inside information, such as whether there is anything worth exploring in this Sanchuan ghost market, what are the forces behind it, etc., but before I could speak, I saw Jiama Dan under the table again, with his legs crossed. , then put his hands on his knees and closed his eyes.
So I couldn't ask the question I had in mind, because it would be very impolite to ask again at this moment. So I stood up and said to Jiama Dan, let's say goodbye first. Maybe we will stay here for a while. If there is anything I don't understand, I hope Brother Jiama will give me some advice.
Since he said he was of the same generation as me but was so much older than me, I didn't know what title to use to call him, so I simply called him "Brother Jiama".
Under the dim light, Jiama Dan nodded slightly, which was regarded as acquiescence. But the way he said nothing seemed to be driving us out. So Da Mao and I turned around and left the house, and as he said, we closed the door when we left. However, I secretly noted the location of this person, thinking that no matter what, I must first see with my own eyes how this ghost market operates.
So after Da Mao and I went out, we looked for a house without hanging chicken feathers.
