Chapter 48: The Stormy Clouds of Guan Cun Village

  They were not fools at all, but pretended to be crazy in front of outsiders, and even Kang Jiuxiang was deceived. It wasn't until she overheard Huang Cang and Huang Song talking privately that they spoke clearly and accurately, that she asked them why they were pretending to be mad.

  The two people's explanation was just three words: There is a reason.

  Kang Jiuxiang was a woman who didn't care about those messy things, she just wanted to live a better life, and if there was a man who cared for her, that would be even better. So when Huang Canghai explained unclearly, she didn't press him for answers. After all, Huang Jibai was a superior person, and having some secrets was normal.

  But as people live together, many details gradually emerge.

  That day, I saw two pigs and a group of chickens at Huang Jinbai's home. In the corner, there were also old furniture that had been chopped in half. Kang Jiuxiang said that Huang Cang's daily work was to feed the pigs and chickens, while Huang Song chopped firewood all day. At mealtime, he would cook for Kang Jiuxiang. Day after day, no matter if it was windy or rainy, they wouldn't stop. But when she wanted to help, she was strictly forbidden by the two of them.

  So Kang Jiuxiang was very curious, and after secretly observing him, he discovered a detail: Huang Song's axe-chopping action was very regular, averaging one swing every three seconds. He could maintain this frequency for several hours without getting tired at all, like a machine rather than a human being.

  The firewood that had been split would be carried into the kitchen to cook, and after getting familiar with the Huang family, Kang Jiuxiang occasionally helped chop scallions and garlic. Then she discovered another detail that made her feel a chill run down her spine.

  There are many strange and supernatural stories in rural areas. Kang Jiuxiang has heard a lot of them, including the one about the road freezing to death and harming people.

  Anyone who didn't die of old age has resentment after death, it's just that this resentment is big or small. The freezing ghost is a person who died of hunger and cold on the side of the road, they envy the rich and wealthy living people, so they will make a fire in the wilderness to warm themselves up. Some nights when people can't hurry back home, seeing them will give rise to a sense of closeness, first to roast the fire for warmth, and secondly everyone gathers together, at night there is also someone to keep each other company.

  But that pile of fire would take the lives of living people, because it was ignited by the bones of a frozen ghost. The more people roasted the fire, the colder they became, gradually freezing to death beside the fire heap and turning into new frozen ghosts.

  Kang Jiuxiang had heard that the flame of a vengeful spirit was not red, but cyan, the same color as the ghost fire often seen in tombs.

  The color produced by Huang Song chopping firewood is also green.

  There is also Huang Cong, who feeds the chickens. Those who have fed chickens before know that when you hold out food and approach them, they get excited like wolves seeing a beauty. But the chickens in Huang's household are very calm, even if Huang Cong scatters the food on the ground, they will still slowly approach with an air of arrogance, pecking at their food slowly. And Kang Jiuxiang said that sometimes when she sits in the courtyard watching Huang Cong feed the chickens, she feels that those chickens are not only eating rice but also staring straight at her with their eyes.

  There are many places like this that aren't normal, she said. The yellowish-brown house should have a tunnel, but it's unknown what's underneath.

  There are also two brothers' mother's portraits, which are very strange. It is said that the two brothers died of illness at the age of three and did not exceed thirty years old when they died. If they got married early, they might not even have reached twenty.

  It was as if the person in the portrait was a 50-year-old old woman, and Kang Jiuxiang felt that the woman in the portrait was still aging, but she had only lived in the Huang family for a few years and hadn't paid attention before, so she didn't dare to confirm. Suddenly, she discovered that the woman in the portrait seemed to have two more fish-tail wrinkles.

  As she said this, I had the feeling of listening to a ghost story, always looking back at the window to see if there was a dark shadow outside. After she finished speaking, I let out a sigh of relief and asked: "So you're afraid of the Huang family and want to leave?"

  Kang Jiuxiang nodded, and I asked her: "Why didn't you just leave?"

  Kang Jiuxiang pitifully said: "I don't have any money, where can I go? And I also don't have an ID card, and I've become like this... I'd rather stay in the Huang family and be harmed by them than be caught by human traffickers and sold away."

  I heard her pitiful words and laughed, saying: "Others didn't say they wanted to kill you."

  Kang Jiuxiang said bluntly, "Have you ever raised pigs? People raise piglets to fatten them up and then kill them for meat. The Huang family doesn't make me work or marry me off to any man, so what's the point of keeping me around?"

  At this time, Kang Jiuxiang pouted and complained, really having a silly and cute look like a little pig, and I also roughly understood her situation. Recalling what Liu Weimin said unintentionally, he would rather give up his adopted daughter than be willing to... It seems that Kang Jiuxiang is indeed very useful to Huang Jinbai!

  One is saved, two are also saved, let Kang Jiuxiang be at ease, I will definitely take her away. Then I asked about Huang Jibai's affairs and asked if she had ever discovered that Huang Jibai was not actually Huang Jibai.

  Kang Jiuxiang didn't understand what I meant, so I explained it again and asked her, "Who is the person in the village who often goes to the Huang's house and seems very close to Huang Jinbai?"

  Kang Jiuxiang thought for a moment: "Deputy village chief, you're right. I think I understand now. He's a city person, and even a university student, but he came to be a village official here. The villagers all say that the deputy village chief spent money in town, and usually doesn't take care of things. Three days out of five, he can't be seen, and once he disappears, it's for ten days or half a month..."

  It seems that the deputy village chief is indeed Old Man Huang. Tomorrow, I'll tell Liu Weimin to catch him and give him a good beating. After saving Wenjing, let's hurry up and leave. I don't want to go to the mountain to invite any coffins!

  One night, I don't know if Kang Jiuxiang slept or not, but I was wide awake all night. Next to me lay a fragrant and beautiful woman who had made up her mind to follow me. In my heart, there were ten thousand little ants crawling around, making me feel itchy and wanting to do something. But unfortunately, my little brother (penis) wasn't cooperating, and as soon as I had any thoughts about it, it would ache painfully.

  The next morning, when I was woken up by the noise, Kang Jiuxiang was already dressed and sat cross-legged at the foot of the bed, propping her chin with her hands and staring blankly at me, making me feel flustered. I asked her what was going on outside, and she said that county officials had brought many people and were being blocked by villagers at the village entrance.

  The purple-robed old man's helper has arrived!

  I got up and wanted to go out and take a look, but Kang Jiuxiang said: "You'd better not go, your friend just called and told you not to show up, saying that those people all came for you!"

  As soon as I heard this, I was furious and quickly asked her what she meant. Wasn't getting beaten up last night enough? What the hell is she calling someone to beat me up again?

  I don't know, so I called You Wu, but he didn't answer. A few minutes later, he came in knocking on the door, winking and making eyes at Kang Jiuxiang, not avoiding her presence at all. He said directly: "Wang Zhen, this time we're going to play big, a lot of people have come, Lao Ye has already investigated clearly, last night it was the Lingnan Ji family who beat you up, now there's also a group from Shaanxi, confronting the previous group, only Beijing's group is missing. Lao Ye said they will definitely come too, just don't know when."

  This group and that group, they surrounded me and made me dizzy, it was only after great effort that I finally got to the bottom of things.

  The Qi family of Lingnan, the "You Lai Wo Wang" of Shaanxi, and a group in Beijing, these are the three forces that Liu Weimin cannot easily shake.

  These three forces are more complicated, belonging to the kind of professional treasure hunters, only with different business scopes. For example, the Ji family in Lingnan used to follow a group of bandits under GMD, and later did some smuggling and other businesses. They usually searched for antiques all over the world, and their appetites gradually grew bigger, specializing in messing with those legendary things.

  You come and I forget is an antique group, openly buying and selling, secretly excavating, occasionally taking on tasks, helping people find rare treasures.

  These two forces are of a family and gang nature, the road is very wild, while Beijing's is very simple, they call it the Sixth Archaeological Team, which is organized by the Taoist Association, specializing in relics and ancient tombs, excavating antiques and handing them over to the state, only eyeing some very special things.

  I said the government is very powerful? Isn't it just a group of officials? The real masters are all in the deep mountains and old forests.

  "You said at the beginning, I also thought so, no matter how big the background is, we are running solo, and the hammer can't hold down the feathers! But Lao Yezi said that next to our country's number one, there is always a deputy director of the Taoist Association following him, do you understand? They are not only officials, but also very powerful!"

  The demolition man was brought in while bragging outside, and the Shaanxi people who arrived early today were clearly informed by someone.

  Don't even think about making eyes at Kang Jiuxiang, and then he said to me: "The old master said that if it's that person who wants to stir up trouble here, the No. 6 archaeological team will probably come too, and with three parties in a stalemate, he'll be safe. So the old master said last night's plan is off, he'll think of a way to chase these people away."

  What did I say?

  "You, as the Little Heavenly Master of Dragon and Tiger Mountain, have a certain status in the village. So you'll take the lead, bring your people together with ours, and first deal with those who beat you up last night!"

  I looked at the two people in the house and asked him: "Who is Liu Weimin? Are you the only one?"

  "I'm not his person, I'm his own grandson. The old man said that his people will arrive tonight. The Ji family's people are living in the relocated house, you take people to beat them up, don't kill them, make them feel like they're dying from shame, spit on them, pee on them if you have to, just make sure they can't show their faces in Guanxi Village anymore!"

  When it comes to Liu Weimin, I suddenly thought of those sturdy men I saw at the train station that day, taking them to fight, and they were so powerful. After beating someone up, they even tied up the deputy village chief and Wenjing was rescued too!

  Just as I was about to go crazy, several men burst in through the door, wearing tight-fitting clothes and having bulging muscles. The leader was a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy with a pale and clean face, wearing sunglasses and looking very cool, but his mouth was curled up in a cold smile, showing a disdainful expression.

  He looked around, took off his sunglasses and said to me: "Are you the little angel of Dragon Tiger Mountain?" He walked into the house, with the rest following behind. The man sat down in a chair, raised his legs, and looked arrogant all over his face: "Little angel doesn't sound good, from now on call me Cupid! My name is Zhuang Shenhai, tell me the secrets of Guan Cun Village, and you can set the price."

  I looked at You Wu, and he whispered to me that this was the Shaanxi man who had just brought people here this morning. He was still frowning and being cold towards the people from the Qi family at the village entrance, but somehow he slipped in!

  Liu Weimin asked me to join forces with others, but it seems like they have ulterior motives!