Volume 2: Corpse in the Yin Mountains Chapter 6: Snake Queen

  The journey wasn't fast, it took over 10 days to arrive in Guizhou, and we didn't dare enter the city. We went to a remote area and walked for another four days before finally arriving at Qing Shan County in Mang Yuan Mountain, which was mentioned by Old Zhou. Luckily, our Jeep didn't break down along the way. When we arrived, it was morning, and I went with Shi Tou to a small restaurant and ordered two dishes. We hadn't had many good meals over the past few days.

  Shitou drank two bottles of wine and asked me "What's going on with this car? There isn't even a place to park it!"

  I took two bites of food and replied, "Just wait and see, I'll definitely find a stable place."

  After dinner, Shi Tou and I got in the jeep. I drove around Qing Shan County twice before finally finding our target. I had Shi Tou get out of the car first with his backpack on, then I floored it and crashed into a black iron gate. Luckily my control was good, so although the noise was loud, the impact was small.

  I quickly reversed the car, then jumped out after braking and made an OK gesture to the stone. Soon, seven or eight people came out of the courtyard, all wearing uniforms. I hastily took out a cigarette and went forward with a smile, saying "Everyone, just now the car was not controlled well, you see how much money it is, I'll compensate."

  One of them said, "The door is not expensive, just give 200 yuan! However, what do you do? What brings you to Qing Shan County?" He looked at me with a wary eye.

  I accompanied the smile and said, "I'm here to collect mountain goods. The things from this place are popular in the city!" After finishing, I took out my wallet, flipped through it, and revealed a wry smile, saying "Look, I didn't bring enough money. Why don't we pawn the car first? I'll come back for it after collecting the mountain goods."

  He agreed and said "Alright!" Then he opened the big gate, I drove the car into the yard and told them "Don't worry, I'll go get the money, after collecting the goods from the mountain, I'll come back for the car."

  "I'm just a small credit union in the northern part of the county."

  After I walked out, Shi Tou gave me a thumbs up and said "You're still the best, crashing into a police station while driving."

  I lit a cigarette and smiled, "What can I do? Look at this county, it's so poor. There's nowhere to park the car that's safer than leaving it at the police station. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed such a place existed."

  The stone extinguished the cigarette butt with his foot and said, "There's no way around it. This place has rugged mountain roads, no arable land, and frequent natural disasters. Those who can survive in this place are strong enough."

  "Let's go!" I waved my hand and said "Hire a horse carriage and go to Lijia Gou."

  There aren't many motor vehicles in Qing Shan County, but there are a lot of horse-drawn carriages. When he saw us approaching, a middle-aged man threw away the dry tobacco in his hand and ran over, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, and asked with a smile, "Gentlemen, do you need a ride?"

  I nodded and handed him a cigarette, he rubbed his hands together, nodded and took it. I casually asked "Is this car leaving the city?"

  "Ah!" He put the cigarette under his nose and sniffed, then tucked it behind his ear and continued, "I've been to all the surrounding villages within a ten-mile radius. Some places are really hard to get to, and without someone to guide you, it's easy to get lost in the mountains."

  "How much does it cost for this car to leave the city?"

  "For places nearby, just give me ten or so bucks, and for farther ones, twenty or thirty will do!"

  I nodded and said "Okay, I'll give you 50 when we arrive." After finishing speaking, I threw my backpack onto his carriage, sat up and said "Go to Li Jia Gou."

  "Ah?" He suddenly turned his head around, revealing a look of panic.

  I frowned and asked "What's wrong?"

  He lowered his head and thought for a moment before answering "No way, we can't go there!"

  "What's wrong?" Shi Tou asked.

  He looked around and walked over to me, leaning in close to my ear and saying "That place is haunted by ghosts, you shouldn't go there either."

  "Ghost?" My heart skipped a beat, and I asked again "What's going on? Can you tell me about it?"

  He coughed lightly and said, "I've only heard that recently, Li Jia Gou has been having strange noises at night, and people have even died. I've also heard there are zombies."

  "Have you seen him?" I asked, staring at him.

  He shook his head and chuckled, "If you've seen it, then your life is spared."

  I thought to myself: It seems that Old Zhou hasn't completely deceived us, at least the corpse killing people is real. However, even if the corpse fakes its own death or becomes a zombie, once it leaves the place with heavy yin energy, it will be finished in just a few days.

  I patted him on the shoulder and laughed, "What ghosts or gods are there in this world? It's all nonsense." After finishing speaking, I took out two red tickets from the stone bucket and stuffed them into his hand. He lowered his head, constantly scraping the ground with his feet, it was clear that he was still hesitant, so I took out another one and handed it to him, asking "How about this?"

  He wiped his nose with his hand, nodded and said "Alright, I'll give it a go." Then he started to untie the horse's reins. I was taken aback and couldn't help but ask "What's going on?"

  He scratched his head and smiled, "I forgot to say that the Li family's ravine is impassable for horse-drawn carriages, we can only lead the horses on foot."

  It seems that Lijiagou is indeed remote, and Shi Tou will tie the mountain bag to the horse's back. He asked another driver to help him watch the car, and then took me and Shi Tou out of the city.

  "Big brother, what's your surname?" I asked casually.

  "My surname is Niu, you can just call me Old Cow."

  "Haha, how can someone with the surname 'Niu' (cow) be driving a horse carriage? They should be driving an ox cart!" I teased.

  He smiled foolishly and didn't get angry.

  After leaving Qing Shan County, Old Cow directly led us into the mountains, where there was only a narrow small road. He said that we wouldn't arrive at Li Jia Gou until midnight tomorrow, as it's too far away.

  "Old Cow, are you familiar with Li Family Gully?" I asked from behind him, puffing on a cigarette.

  The old cow turned its head and looked at me, shook its head and said "I don't know much about that place, it's too far away, I've only been there twice. But I heard they have monsters there."

  The old cow was also a talkative person, but at the beginning he was a bit nervous and uneasy. After several hours of getting along with us, he started to chat and laugh with us too. Mountain people have a unique temperament, on the surface they seem silly and timid, but in reality they are exceptionally resilient and strong. He told us that a long time ago, a group of people came to Li Jia Gou, seemingly to escape disaster, and signed an agreement with the local mountain god. The mountain god was responsible for protecting them from hunger and cold, making it impossible for outsiders to find them, just like in Tao Yuanming's Peach Blossom Spring. At the same time, they were also required that their descendants would never be able to leave the mountains, and what they had to pay was their freedom. In recent years, young people from the village have been leaving the mountains one after another to work in the city, provoking the mountain god Snake Niangniang, who has already descended her wrath and started taking revenge on Li Jia Gou's people. So these days, several people from Li Jia Gou have died. He also advised us not to go to Li Jia Gou.

  I patted him on the shoulder and laughed, saying "Old cow, there's no such thing as ghosts in this world, it's all nonsense."

  His face changed, and he clasped his hands together to bow to the empty air. Then he said, "I don't dare speak recklessly. I heard that a few years ago, someone built a Snake Goddess Temple on a mountain next to Li Family Gorge. No matter how severe the mudslides were, the temple remained intact. It's better not to offend the gods. And besides, I saw Li Er Gouzi, who came to the county seat to buy things the day before yesterday. He said that their village's immortal aunt is going to perform a ritual to worship the Snake Goddess in two days' time. You can still make it if you go."

  "Oh?" I chuckled and said "Well, I'd like to see it for myself."