Chapter Ten Departure

  Before leaving, Oil Barrel handed me a map, which was a map of Er Long Mountain. It must have been drawn by Oil Barrel himself, and it was very rough. On the top, a red circle was drawn with a water-based pen. Without him saying anything, I thought about it and knew that this should be their destination. I carefully looked at it again, and found that it was a mountain in the depths of Er Long Mountain's forest. According to Oil Barrel's drawing scale, this mountain should be very high. Guangxi belongs to the Karst landform, with countless high mountains and steep peaks. But I lived with my uncle in Er Long Mountain for 14 years, so logically speaking, I should have some impression of such a high mountain. However, why did it seem like I had lost my memory about that period of time? No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't remember!

  My shop only has a small van, usually only Heizi drives it often, so the oil and water tank came out with 1500 yuan. In Anlong County, I bought a Hummer for Heizi to drive. This kind of business is like being a tour guide, which I've never done before. Although I have had many customers ask me to do this kind of job, but after all, it's not much money, so I refused. However, the oil and water tank price was very high this time, if I can earn this amount, I can have a good year.

  We packed our bags and put them in the Hummer, and after everything was ready, the car started and set off to Er Long Mountain. The one sitting in the front passenger seat should be Da Fu, because they were twins, I could only tell them apart by their hair length, long hair was Da Fu, short hair was Da Gui sitting on my right, oil tank on the left, I was squeezed in between them. From Anlong County to Fangchenggang City, Er Long Mountain is located in Shangsi County, and from National Defense Road, it takes another 50 kilometers to reach Shangsi, and then drive another 20 kilometers to Chenjiacun Village, which is considered the range of Er Long Mountain. After that, there are still two or three kilometers of mountain roads to walk on foot before truly entering Er Long Mountain.

  The car was very stuffy on the way, Hei Zi turned on the Hummer's radio 9570 'Female' DJ station, listening to music and driving with a smile. You Shui Guan kept staring at me with curious eyes, after a long time he swallowed his saliva and asked in a low voice: "Lu brother, I have a question for you".

  I didn't say anything, I just nodded slightly.

  "Hey, did you use some kind of face mask or something? You know, I haven't seen you in two days and Fat Brother thinks you look younger by a few years! Look at Fat Brother's current appearance, all pockmarked - it's the result of being reckless when we were young. We're both doing business, so for our future development to be better and faster, just tell me, okay?"

  I glanced at You Shui Du, wondering if he knew about my shedding skin. After a glance, I saw that his eyes only showed curiosity and expectation, without any other expression. I put down my guard and slowly said: "I don't use face masks, they're too expensive." You Shui Du let out an "uh" sound, clearly not believing me, patted his belly, and shook the loose flesh on his face up and down as he continued to ask: "Brother Lu, don't try to fool me with lies. Two days ago I saw you, and you weren't as pale as you are now. You can't possibly have gone to Korea in two days, and besides, it's not like men using face masks is a taboo topic anymore. Look at my face, it's all acne!"

  The oily water belly finished speaking and looked at me with a wronged expression, I was stared at for a moment and couldn't help but say lightly: "If you change into a new skin, you can also look several years younger like me".

  You Shui Dun's face was clearly disbelieving, and he chuckled and said: "Lu brother, I really didn't expect you to still like joking around. If I were to shed a layer of skin, the 'fat' oil on my belly wouldn't stay put!"

  He kept on talking to me in a roundabout way, trying to get something out of me. He didn't believe what I had already told him, which was the truth, so there's nothing else I can say.

  There are too many fake and true things in this society. Sometimes, when you tell the truth, others will think it's a lie, but when you tell a lie, they'll believe it's the truth. If you don't have the ability to distinguish between true and false, you'll suffer a lot in today's society. Those who are born liars, like to lie, and are good at lying, have a sharp knife that can harm people.

  The oil and water in my stomach churned for a long time, but in the end, they didn't get me to reveal what brand of face mask I used. Probably tired from talking, he leaned against the window and rested, while Da Gui with his short hair took out his phone and played "Exploding Gold Flower".

  I glanced at the time on the car's clock, 2:23 pm. Feeling bored and listless, I listened to the music in the car and dozed off.

  It should be the destination, the car shook a few times and stopped. I opened my eyes to look around and saw the three words "Er Long Zhai" hanging high at the entrance of the village. The small village under Er Long Mountain has only some elderly people and children. This is a common phenomenon in Guangxi, left-behind children and solitary elderly people. People in the village are still living in a traditional way, going out with the sunrise and returning with the sunset, simple and plain. The only way to make money is to rely on tourists coming from outside to earn a meager living. I'm 29 years old and approaching 30, just like the left-behind children and solitary elderly people, I've lived for almost thirty years without knowing my own biological parents. Every time I ask my uncle, he would intentionally or unintentionally avoid answering, so I got tired of asking. If this were to be told to others, it would probably be laughed at as a joke.

  Hei Zi parked the car in a villager's home, an old and worn-out bungalow with three rooms. In the spacious courtyard, there was an old, worn-out table and several stools, giving off a desolate atmosphere. The villager was an elderly man over 50 years old, with white hair and deep wrinkles on his face, which were etched by time. His skin was dark, and he wore traditional Zhuang ethnic clothing. Although he looked old, his bright eyes made him appear spirited. He was indeed a simple and honest farmer.

  The oil-water tank (a nickname for someone) had rented the Hummer to be parked in the villager's home for three days at a price of 100 yuan. For the villager, 100 yuan could do many things, so he readily agreed and even invited us to stay for dinner, which I declined.

  I signaled Hei Zi to take the oil-water tank away first. After they left, I took out 100 yuan from my pocket and looked at the villager calmly, asking him in a neutral tone: "In recent days, have there been any strange people coming to the village? Have they gone to Er Long Mountain?"

  My fellow villager's eyes lit up as soon as he saw the bright red "Mao" in my hand, and he hastily said in unstandard Zhuang language: "Yes, yes, yes! A few days ago, a group of people with big bags and small bags like you really went up to Er Long Mountain. There were four of them in total. They came to our village and didn't say much, oh! And their car is parked in our village, not far from my home. Just after they left, a 17 or 18-year-old girl came, sneaking around and following that group."

  "Huh? I took out another red Mao from my pocket and shook it up and down, asking: "Is there an old man among them?"

  The old man was so delighted that his hands were shaking, saying: "Yes! Yes! Yes! There are two old men among them, about the same age, and two young people, one with glasses who looks cultured, and one with dyed hair, like a hooligan."

  Two old men? It seems that it should be Liu Lao's mysterious person in Beijing! As for the two young people, they should be a kind of rich and noble character. The purpose of the little girl behind me is unknown. I put the banknotes in my hand, gave the banknotes to my fellow countryman, carried my equipment bag on my back, and walked out of my fellow countryman's yard, and joined forces with Hei Zi and others.

  I naturally wouldn't tell You Shui Du about Liu Lao Tou and his gang being on Er Long Shan, because up until now I still can't figure out his true intentions - whether the treasure of the demon king really exists on Er Long Shan or is just an elusive 'myth'. As the old saying goes, two birds in the forest are not as good as one bird in hand. Only what's in your hands is truly yours.

  I ordered everyone to check their equipment packs to see if anything important had been left behind, and if so, to go back and get it. Unimportant things didn't need to be mentioned. It was now 16:34, and although going up the mountain at night was taboo for hunters, Oil Barrel insisted on going up the mountain at night, saying there was no time and that they had to hurry. Two or three minutes later, I looked over at everyone and they all nodded in unison, indicating that everything was ready. I took a look at Mount Er Long, towering high and majestic in the southeast, and suddenly felt a pang of sadness as memories of my childhood flooded back. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "Let's go."

  On the east side of Er Long Zhai, there is a small path that must be taken to reach Er Long Mountain. This small path winds and turns, just like the sheep intestine path remembered by scholars. In November, the winter in the south is not as harsh as in the north, where nothing grows. Every few steps, a few wild grasses with gray dust on them appear along the road, trampled by people going up the mountain to chop firewood or hunt, and are about to die in the November winter. I walked ahead leading the way, followed closely by You Shui Guo, then Da Fu and Da Gui, with Hei Zi bringing up the rear.