The one-eyed old man saw me choking on the dirt smoke and burst into tears. He couldn't help but smile and said: "These are tobacco leaves that are only found in the mountains of Guizhou! It's very good! If you can't get used to smoking, just give it back. You can Don’t smoke in vain.”
The one-eyed old man was about to reach out to take the cigarette in my hand. I hurriedly stepped back and said, "No, old man! I just asked what kind of cigarette it was, and I didn't say I wouldn't smoke it! What are you doing?" I even brought it back to ask for it!
When the one-eyed old man saw me hiding behind him, he didn't say anything. He withdrew his hand and squatted by the fire, smoking heavily.
Not to mention, the first few puffs of this local smoke were so strong and spicy that I almost choked to death. However, when I reached the second half of smoking, I began to vaguely feel that there was a faint sweetness in the tobacco. To be more precise, it was a sweetness mixed with fruity aroma.
I couldn't help but be stunned, looked down at the cigarette in my hand, and then smashed it again to taste the taste in my mouth.
I couldn't help but think to myself: "What kind of tobacco leaf is this? It's so fragrant. The silky feeling when inhaled into the nasal cavity, the pure sweetness, it's just like Dove!"
Thinking of this, I couldn't help but put the remaining half of the local smoke into my mouth and took a big puff. I didn't exhale immediately, but closed my mouth and let the sweet breath circulate in my mouth for several times. Only then did he spit it out with satisfaction.
The one-eyed old man couldn't help but smile when he saw my appearance: "Now you know this is a good thing!"
I nodded vigorously and sighed: "Old man, what on earth are you smoking? How come it has such a sweet taste?"
The one-eyed old man looked at me, and after a while he said slowly: "Boy, what kind of tobacco leaves are rolled in this local cigarette? You'd better not know. If you like it, just smoke two more. I There’s still half a bag, if things are done later, I can give it to you without any problem!”
When I mentioned the thing that the one-eyed old man asked me to do for him, I couldn't help but get curious and asked, "What exactly do you want me to do for you?"
The one-eyed old man looked at me, and then said word by word: "It's not you, but you three!"
I was surprised: "What? You want the three of us to help you do something? But now they..."
Before I finished speaking, the one-eyed old man suddenly put his index finger to his lips, made a silencing gesture to me, and lowered his voice and said, "There's something going on! Don't talk!"
Seeing the one-eyed old man in such a nervous state, I immediately closed my mouth, raised my ears and listened carefully to all the sounds around me.
However, I listened for a long time, and besides the deathly silence, there was still silence. There was no sound anywhere.
I looked at the one-eyed old man in surprise, but I saw that he was looking at the stone wall not far away with a frightened expression, as if he had seen a ghost.
I was shocked and asked hurriedly: "Old man, what's wrong with you?"
The one-eyed old man pointed to the wall not far away and said tremblingly: "It...it still found it here!"
"Him? Old man, who are you talking about?" I asked in surprise, looking in the direction of the one-eyed old man's finger, and found that there was a bright red "bloody handprint" on the wall at some point. .
I couldn't help but be shocked when I saw this bloody handprint, and secretly shouted: "Isn't this the same bloody handprint I saw in the corridor? At first, I thought that the handprint was left intentionally by Hua Muling, but now it seems Not at all. If it's not Hua Muling's, then whose is it? Who makes this one-eyed old man so scared? "
Thinking of this, I hurriedly asked: "Old man, do you know who left this bloody handprint? Who is he?"
But no matter how I asked, the one-eyed old man seemed not to hear my words, and was just talking to himself: "It's too late, hurry... you have to hurry... you must get there before it comes out." !”
I grabbed the one-eyed old man's arm and asked loudly: "Old man, what are you talking about? When is it too late? Where do you want us to go?"
The one-eyed old man still didn't answer my words, but he shook off my hand and strode behind the stone.
I saw the one-eyed old man rummaging behind the stone for a long time, and then took out a small gray-white cloth bag from the back. Immediately afterwards, he walked quickly to Hua Muling and Xiong Ming with a small cloth bag, and took out a small porcelain bottle that looked like a snuff bottle from the small cloth bag. After removing the cork, the whole space was suddenly filled with a smell of mustard. Mixed with the smell of expired stinky tofu, one sip will make you want to vomit for three days.
When I saw this, I quickly covered my mouth and nose with my hands. But the one-eyed old man didn't seem to care at all. He took the porcelain bottle and shook it under the noses of Hua Muling and Xiong Ming respectively. Then he poured some dark green viscous liquid from it and smeared it on the two people respectively. on the temples.
After completing a series of actions, the one-eyed old man carefully put the small porcelain bottle back into the bag and took two steps back.
I was going to ask the one-eyed old man what he was going to do, but before I could say anything, I heard two "wow, wow" sounds. Xiong Ming and Hua Muling, who originally looked like two dead people, suddenly turned to one side and began to face outward. He vomited black water at the risk of his life.
Hua Muling was okay. After vomiting four or five times, the vomit became normal and no longer turned black.
But Xiong Ming on the other side was not so lucky. This guy was like a big bear who had drunk too much. He was holding on to the stone on one side and vomiting black water one after another. What made his scalp numb was that , the black water spit out was actually mixed with countless black loaches the size of fingernails.
After those fingernail-sized loaches rolled on the ground for a while, they suddenly froze, and then they started to explode on the ground like tiny firecrackers. When did the black and red flesh splash? It's everywhere.
Seeing the scene in front of me, I couldn't help but feel chills running down my spine. At this moment, Hua Muling, who was half-sitting up next to me, suddenly swayed and was about to fall down again. When I saw this, I hurriedly ran over and helped her.
Hua Muling had obviously regained consciousness after vomiting. She looked at me and asked, "Just now... what happened just now?"
I looked at Hua Muling's weak and bloodless face, feeling a little distressed in my heart, and sighed: "There are eggs of a blood loach in this water. You and Dali Xiong accidentally drank the water in this river." , that’s why I said it. Fortunately, this old man saved you two."
As I spoke, I pointed at the one-eyed old man standing aside. At this time, the one-eyed old man did not look at us, but kept staring at the bloody handprint on the wall.
Hua Muling's reaction when she saw the one-eyed old man following the direction of my finger was almost exactly the same as my first expression when I saw that guy.
Hua Muling asked in shock: "How...how could it be him? Why is he here?"
I shook my head and smiled bitterly: "This is what I still can't figure out."
While Hua Muling and I were talking, Xiong Ming, who had been vomiting wildly, finally vomited all the bits and pieces in his stomach. With a "pop" sound, the guy sat down on the ground, and from time to time he made a very unbeatable moan.
After a while, Xiong Ming slowly said: "Grandma, I feel like I almost died this time."
After saying that, Xiong Ming looked up at me, and then at the one-eyed old man standing aside. And when he saw the one-eyed old man, he jumped up as if he had stepped on a switch.
Xiong Ming clenched his fists and asked loudly: "Why is this old guy here? Hu Tian, do you think this old guy set a trap for me, Mr. Xiong? Did he cause me to suddenly faint? Now You almost vomited out the gall again?"
As Xiong Ming was talking, he was about to roll up his sleeves and hit the one-eyed old man. When I saw this, I immediately stopped him and told Xiong Ming the whole story in the simplest and clearest language.
I spat and talked for a long time, and then Xiong Ming reluctantly put down his fist and said through gritted teeth: "Grandma, I owe you a favor, and I will pay you back if I have the chance!"
But who would have thought that as soon as Xiong Ming finished speaking, the one-eyed old man immediately turned around and looked at him, saying word by word: "You don't have to wait for the opportunity, there is a chance now for you to repay me for saving my life."
After Xiong Ming heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and then said loudly: "Sir, you really know how to get downhill!"
The one-eyed old man ignored Xiong Ming's aggressiveness, but turned to me and said word by word: "Don't forget, you still need tiger-skinned Houttuynia cordata! Don't forget, you promised me that you would do something for me. Something.”
Xiong Ming listened at a loss and asked loudly: "What tiger skin or grass? Hu Tian, what did your uncle promise him?"
I stretched out my hand to stop Xiong Ming and told him to shut up and stop talking. When Xiong Ming saw this, he stood aside angrily and stopped talking. I turned around and looked at the one-eyed old man and said, "Of course I remember. So, I I keep asking you, old man, what do you need me to do for you?"
After hearing my answer, the one-eyed old man nodded with satisfaction and said, "I need you to go to a place and help me get something."
I asked: "Where are you going? What are you picking up?"
The one-eyed old man pointed at the wall with bloody handprints and said: "You don't have much time, it has already come out, you must rush in front of it to get there and get that thing. I didn't originally intend to let you go here. There is a way. However, at this point, we can only take the risk and give it a try."
I asked in surprise: "Old man, I don't quite understand what you mean."
The one-eyed old man said: "You don't need to understand what I mean, you just need to remember what I said. I will only say it once, and it depends on you whether you live or die next. Listen carefully! Behind this stone wall It is a passage that extends all the way down. You walk forward twenty-seven steps and then turn right, then walk forward forty-seven steps and then turn left, and finally walk forward seventy-six steps and stop. At this time you You will hear twenty-four tones of the bronze bell. When the eighteenth toll rings, you will clap three times on the left wall. Remember that it is the eighteenth bell. Remember that it is the wall on the left. Also remember to clap three times. More is not enough, and less is not enough. Otherwise, you will be responsible for the consequences, do you understand?"
