Luojin Village.
"Huo Xue shouldn't be your real name, right?" The village chief said slowly, stroking his beard and looking at the woman in front of him who claimed to be Huo Xue.
The woman laughed and said, "If my name is not Huo Xue, what else can I call you?"
The village chief squinted at the woman and said, "I recognize you, you were here a long time ago..."
The woman opened her eyes wide and said in surprise, "Do you still remember me?"
"If I guess correctly, you should be the young master, Huo! Xue! Min!" the village chief said word by word.
The old people below knelt down and said, "Welcome the young master back!"
This scene frightened the boy next to him. He had been in Luojin Village for so many years and had never seen this side of these old people. For a while, he couldn't accept their behavior.
At the same time, he also developed a strong sense of curiosity and awe for these two so-called distinguished guests.
When the man and woman saw so many old people who were trembling when walking, they all knelt down. They couldn't sit still and quickly stood up from their seats.
The two of them were Huo Xuemin and Zilan.
After the two escaped from Chang'an, they ran towards Yuzhou.
The two waited for a long time at the place agreed with Huo Long, but Huo Long did not come. Instead, they heard bad news about the Huo family from Chang'an.
From then on, Huo Xuemin's soul hit rock bottom. She couldn't think about food or tea all day long, and she shed tears all day long.
Several times I was alarmed by the fetal gas, and almost had a serious health problem.
Until later, one day she suddenly found a letter on the table. Looking at the handwriting, it was suddenly written to her by her father Huo Long.
The letter stated that Huo Long left her a huge fortune in a place called Luojin Village in Yuzhou. If Huo Xuemin could read this letter, then he must have encountered something unexpected and asked her not to wait any longer. Go down and take out the wealth that has been hidden for many years.
However, the letter also said at the end that there was someone in Luojin Village who was responsible for guarding the wealth, and asked her to be more careful and be sure to take Zi Lan with her.
He also said that if the group can pass through Luojin Village safely, then the people in Luojin Village will be trustworthy. If Luojin Village is in danger, they must follow Zi Lan closely. Only he can break the situation.
On the back of the letter, a location was marked on the map of Yuzhou.
So Huo Xuemin took Zi Lan and came here all the way.
"Everyone, why do you need to give such a big gift!" Huo Xuemin said hurriedly, "Let's not mention that the Huo family has been destroyed. I am no longer the eldest daughter of the Huo family. You alone have guarded our Huo family in this remote valley for countless years. I should salute you all for your merits."
After saying that, Huo Xuemin bowed to the elderly people.
This move caused Old Man Li on the side to frown, while the old village chief had a cold look on his face, as if he didn't think much of Huo Xuemin's move.
"Ahem, since our distinguished guests are here today, I would like to trouble you all to cook two dishes at home. By the way, my son was hunting in the mountains a few days ago and caught a wild boar. Atong, go tell your father to hurry up. Come back soon, light a fire, cook the wild boar, and entertain the distinguished guests." The village chief coughed twice and said to Atong.
Ah Tong nodded, but before leaving, he stuffed all the remaining dried fruits in the plate into his pocket.
After a while, the old people got up and walked towards their homes.
The old village chief was left alone to accompany Huo Xuemin and Zi Lan.
"I don't know... what did the young master mean when he said before that the Huo family has been destroyed?" the old village chief asked worriedly.
"Well... my father is no longer here. Coupled with the suppression by the court, our Huo family is now the only two of us..." Huo Xuemin lowered his head, as if remembering some painful memories.
An imperceptible cold light flashed in the eyes of the old village chief, and then he comforted, "Young master, don't be too sad. The head of the family said at the beginning that he left a large amount of wealth in this Valley of Death that was enough to make a comeback. As long as you can use it to make a comeback." Take it out, I believe it will restore the glory of the Huo family!"
Huo Xuemin sighed, "I have no intention of reviving the Huo family. After all, everyone has left. I only came here because I saw the letters left by my father. In today's world, there is no trace of the Huo family. Location, I just want to find a place to spend the rest of my life quietly.”
After saying that, Huo Xuemin sighed deeply again, with deep sadness in her eyes.
The old village chief did not comfort her anymore, his expression seemed to be thinking about something, but Zi Lan kept staring at the old village chief with undisguised suspicion in his eyes.
The old village chief seemed to be aware of Zi Lan's gaze and glanced at him with a smile.
At this time, an old man suddenly came up with three bowls of steaming tea on a tea tray.
Huo Xuemin quickly helped the old man take the tea and put it on the table.
The old man raised his wrinkled face, thanked Huo Xuemin, and then left with a trembling step.
Huo Xuemin, who had not drank any water along the way and her lips were dry and cracked, picked up the shiny white tea bowl and took a sip to relieve her thirst.
However, Zi Lan calmly pressed her wrist and gave her a look, signaling her not to drink yet.
The old village chief on the side slowly picked up the tea cup, blew in the steam from the scalding tea, then drank half the cup, and looked at Zi Lan with his cloudy and old eyes. The meaning of this was self-evident.
However, Zi Lan didn't care about the old village chief's dissatisfaction. She still carefully observed the tea in her hand. Then she released the hand holding Huo Xuemin's wrist. She took a sip first and confirmed that there was nothing unusual before letting Huo Xuemin drink.
Huo Xuemin looked at the green tea leaves floating in the clear tea water, blew twice hard, and then drank the tea in one gulp.
"This tea is very sweet and delicious. I wonder what kind of tea leaves are used? I have never had this kind of tea." Huo Xuemin smacked her lips and said.
The old village chief laughed and said, "This is all the blessings given by this valley. This valley is located towards the shade, and few people go in on weekdays, so this kind of peculiar tea is produced. This tea tree is located at the top of the valley, where it grows all day long. It absorbs a lot of cold and gloomy air, and can only see the sun once or twice during the hot summer season.
My son also saw this tea tree by chance. So he picked a handful and gave it to everyone. Unexpectedly, the tea was also delicious when made into tea, so he would pick two handfuls every time he went up the mountain. If the young master likes it, I will ask my son to grab a few more for you when you enter the valley tomorrow. "
"Then I'll thank you, senior." Huo Xuemin pouted, looking very happy.
Although she does not practice martial arts, she has always had a wide range of hobbies, and she has been practicing tea ceremony intensively for many years. Huo Long also invited several tea ceremony masters to the mansion to teach her individually.
"Then when will we go to the treasure hiding place tomorrow?" Zi Lan put down the teacup and asked in a deep voice.
The old village chief pondered for a moment and said, "There is dense miasma in this Valley of Death, and there are also all kinds of poisonous snakes and insects. It's getting very late today, so why not go into the mountain at noon tomorrow."
Huo Xuemin nodded and said, "Okay, let's go there at noon tomorrow."
Zi Lan looked thoughtfully at the wisps of smoke coming out of the bamboo building in the forest in the distance.
In the evening, Luojin Village was still deserted, but there were two relatively complete tables set up among the thatched houses, and plates of dishes were served one after another on the tables.
Most of the dishes are vegetarian, and the only meat dishes are cured fish and bacon.
Huo Xuemin and Zi Lan were not idle either. After saying hello to the village chief, they started walking around this small Luojin Village.
Not long after, Zi Lan frowned.
Huo Xuemin noticed that Zi Lan's expression changed, so she leaned over and asked softly, "What's wrong with you? Did you find anything wrong?"
Zi Lan said softly, "Have you not noticed that in this village... it seems that only the village chief's family has children? Moreover, it seems that I have only heard of the village chief's son, not the village chief's daughter-in-law. As for this place In other elderly people’s homes, there is only one elderly person, or a couple of elderly people, and they all seem to have no children.”
Hearing this, Huo Xuemin was also filled with doubts. She couldn't help but nodded and said, "When you say that, it's true. This village is indeed very weird. Moreover, I have a vague impression of this village. It seems that my father took me here. Once upon a time, this village was not just that big, there were hundreds of families living here. But what happened here and why did it become like this?"
Zi Lan shook her head and said, "It's hard to say. We don't know yet whether the people in this village are trustworthy. You can't just follow others around. You must follow me closely. I have already sensed the health of the old man here. They all seem to be very weak, and it seems that they will not live very long. Maybe in a year or two, there will be no more people in this village than one can count."
Huo Xuemin was shocked when he heard this, "Is it so serious? Then how about we take them all out after we get the wealth. They are staying here for our Huo family. I can't just watch them abandon the outside world. In the prosperous world, they spend their whole lives in this isolated valley. And perhaps with the medical skills of the outside world, they can extend their lives for a while, so that they can enjoy life before death. "
After hearing this, Zi Lan thought for a moment and said, "If we can really get that wealth safely, then it is not impossible to take them out."
While the two were talking, they unknowingly came to an ancient well.
This well is located in the corner of the village and seems to be the source of daily water for people in the village.
An old man was struggling to lift the bucket and threw it into the well, as if he was about to fetch water.
Upon seeing this, Huo Xuemin hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Grandpa, let me help you. Just go and sit next to you and rest."
The old man smiled and said, "Then I'll trouble you, I'll trouble you."
Zi Lan calmly walked to the well and glanced down.
This was an incredible sight, and Zi Lan's expression suddenly changed.
This well is not deep. Zi Lan mobilizes her inner strength and can directly see the situation in the well with her eyes.
In the dim twilight, he actually saw several disheveled heads in the well.
Hidden by countless strands of hair, he could still see the blue scalp on these heads.
The ripples caused by the impact of the barrel made these heads rise and fall in the well water, looming.
If ordinary people saw this scene, they would probably be so scared that they would pee and run away crying.
However, Zi Lan was not an ordinary person. He used his inner strength to quickly calm down, and then stopped Huo Xuemin who was about to step forward.
"There's something in this well, don't come over."
Huo Xuemin was immediately startled and asked, "Is there any danger?"
Zi Lan didn't know how to explain to her for a while, so she could only pull her away from the well.
The old man who was sitting on the ground resting nearby saw this and stood up and said, "You young people are not capable of doing this rough work. It's up to me, the old man, to take action."
Seeing the old man walking towards the well, Huo Xuemin hurriedly advised, "Grandpa, don't go near that well, there is danger in the well!"
The old man looked into the well with a smile and said, "Where is it? Our village has used this well for so many years, how could it be dangerous!"
After saying that, he started to turn the wheel vigorously and began to lift water.
Seeing the old man struggling to fetch water, he was panting from exhaustion. Huo Xuemin couldn't stand it anymore and hurriedly stepped forward to help.
Zi Lan is still where he is, quietly observing the surroundings. If something happens, he will take Huo Xuemin away as soon as possible.
