The next day, before dawn, Old Yantai was already pacing back and forth in the yard impatiently, waiting for the sunrise.
After waiting for more than half an hour, I finally saw the light of dawn in the eastern sky.
Today, Lao Yandian has changed into clean clothes. It is rare that he does not bring his pipe rod with him. His son has already been warned by him that he is not allowed to come to the backyard before noon.
In the center of the yard, there was a stone he found elsewhere, which was as big as a hunting dog's head.
Originally, he wanted to find a stone as big as a millstone, but because it was his first time to cast a spell, he shouldn't be too greedy, so he didn't go for it.
After tidying up his clothes, he first lit a stick of incense in the east as Yuan Ming had told him.
Afterwards, Lao Yandian began to imitate Yuan Ming's appearance the day before, walking around the courtyard, walking with strong steps, muttering words in his mouth, and bowing to the sky and the earth in all directions.
After walking around in a circle, he came to the selected stone, covered the stone with his hands, closed his eyes, and prayed sincerely.
After a moment, he took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes, expecting a miracle to come.
However, the stone under his hand did not glow with golden light and was still dark and dirty.
"Failed?"
Lao Yandian felt his mind buzzing, his vision suddenly went dark, and he almost fainted.
He finally managed to calm down, but he was still in a daze.
"Master Immortal will not lie to me. There must be something wrong... Yes, yes, I must have failed to do the steps properly... Come again, do it again." Old Yantai muttered in a daze, and immediately started casting the spell again.
After performing the ritual again, the result was, of course, still a failure.
A stone remains a stone and cannot be turned into gold.
The old smoker looked around, then at himself, and slapped his forehead suddenly.
"The immortal said that he was naked at that time. Yes, my clothes must be too luxurious, no different from gold and silver." Old Yantai muttered as he stripped himself naked.
"It will definitely work this time." He encouraged himself silently, having completely forgotten Yuan Ming's warning that there was only one chance.
If it doesn't work the first time, it won't work again.
The old smoker no longer cares about this. If he fails, it means he will lose everything.
He can't afford to lose.
At this moment, the old smoker, who was completely naked and had dark skin, looked like a monkey in the mountains, very funny.
He repeated the ritual that was destined to be useless and worshiped heaven and earth again.
But when he opened his eyes, all his expectations were shattered again, and the stone was still a stone.
"How could this happen..." Lao Yandai sat slumped on the ground, unable to accept it.
But at this moment, there was a sudden noise from the front yard.
Immediately afterwards, Lao Yandai saw his son and rushed in from the outside at a trot.
"You bastard, didn't I tell you not to come into the backyard before noon?" Old Yantai said angrily.
Tule couldn't help being stunned after seeing his father's naked appearance.
Lao Yandian picked up the clothes on the ground, and before he could put them on, he saw seven or eight burly men in black rushing in.
"What are you doing?" Old Yantai hurriedly tied his clothes and yelled angrily.
After he finished cursing, he discovered that these people were all thugs from Jixiang Gambling House.
"Abba, they insisted on barging in, saying they were here to clean up the shop. I...I couldn't stop them." Tu Le said with a sad face and aggrieved.
"You know my relationship with your boss, right?" Lao Yandian softened his expression, straightened his chest, and stepped forward to ask.
As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of hearty laughter came from outside.
"Old Yantai, no matter how good our relationship is, we still have to settle accounts as brothers, right? Your shop is mine now." You Zhuzha walked in from outside, holding up a stamped card in his hand
The piece of paper turned out to be a house deed.
"What did you say?" Old Yantai was stunned when he heard this, his eyes filled with disbelief.
You Zhuzha took out a few more pieces of paper from his sleeves and said:
"I said, your grocery store, inn, and those pieces of land are mine now. You can move out of my inn before noon."
Lao Yandian walked tremblingly to You Zhuzha, took a closer look, and found that the title deeds of the house he was holding were all his own.
He felt a surge of hot blood, and his eyes were instantly bloodshot.
"No, it's not true, you lied to me..." Lao Yandian lost his mind for a moment, waving his hands and grabbing the house deed in You Zhuzha's hand.
You Zhuzha was already on guard and dodged aside.
The thugs around him immediately swarmed up and set up the old pipe.
"If you don't eat the toast, you'll have to drink it as a penalty. You'll have to fork it out." You Zhuzha waved his hand, then walked into the backyard and looked around.
Yesterday, the young man gave him these houses and lands at a very fair price. He only made one request: he must come back after sunrise this morning to collect the houses.
He has made a lot of money from this business, so he has no reason to refuse such a small and innocuous request.
…
In a back alley outside the main street of Tiehu Town, Lao Yandai and his family of three were sitting on the stone steps in front of someone else's house, all of them looking gloomy and grimacing.
The old woman who has been taking care of the grocery store still hasn't figured out how her own shop and fields became someone else's.
The old smoker had not yet recovered from the previous blow, and looked completely lost.
He was extremely troubled by the old woman's questioning, and he couldn't swallow the breath he was holding in his heart.
Lao Yandian stood up suddenly, stared straight at the courtyard wall in front of him, and bumped into it.
Fortunately, the son beside him had quick eyesight and quick hands, so he grabbed his clothes and pulled him back.
Tule hugged the old tobacco bag tightly and shouted repeatedly: "Abba, no, you can't die."
"The whole family has been ruined, how can we still live..." Old Tobacco wailed in pain.
"Abba, I still have money, I still have money, we can still live." Tule shouted quickly.
Hearing this, the old smoker and the old woman were both stunned.
Tule felt relieved when he saw that he stopped struggling. He quickly took out a cloth bag from his sleeve and poured out ten shining silver coins.
"Abba, you usually take money very seriously. This is my own private money." He scratched his head in embarrassment and said.
"Oh, you are such a good son of mine..." the old woman almost cried.
The old smoker was stunned on the spot.
After a long time, with a bitter look on his face, he knocked the money out of Tule's hand and sat down on the ground.
"It turns out it's you...son, you've hurt me, it's all your fault..."
Old Yantai was so sad that he lay on the ground and cried endlessly.
…
At this time, Yuan Ming had naturally left Tiehu Town long ago.
The old smoker was just a small episode he encountered on his way down the mountain, and looking for incense was the most important thing at the moment.
Following the direction told by the casino owner, he left Tiehu Town and walked north for twenty or thirty miles when a rather tall mountain peak appeared in front of him.
According to the map Yuan Ming bought in the town before, he knew that the mountain was called "Jiuli Mountain" because the distance from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain was nine miles. There was a quite large temple in the mountain col called "Jiuli Temple".
”.
Yuan Ming walked on the mountain road and found that there was an endless stream of people from southern Xinjiang going to the mountain to offer incense. The smell of incense, candles and fireworks could be smelled from a long distance.
"It seems like this is it!" Yuan Ming thought to himself, mixed in with the crowd offering incense, and stepped into the temple.
Jiuli Temple is quite large in scale, with four or five courtyards at the front and back. Many of the walls are mottled, obviously showing their age.
Passing through two gates, Yuan Ming walked through a bustling square and came to the door of the main hall. Inside the hall stood a tall statue of a god with a black body and the body of a dog. He held a long sword in his right hand and a strange statue in his left hand.
The fan is in the shape of looking up to the sky and roaring.
Pilgrims came forward one by one, knelt down and worshiped the statue, lit incense and prayed, while the aroma of smoke curled up.
Yuan Ming listened to the crowd for a while and basically figured out that the god with the body of a dog and the head of a dog was called the "Hine Tooth God".
During his search for incense in southern Xinjiang, he also gained a certain understanding of the gods here. Each of the five ethnic groups in the northern region has its own gods. The residents near Jiuli Mountain are basically the Kasi tribe. This temple is dedicated to the Kasi people.
The “Dog Tooth God” of the Si clan.
The statue of this temple is said to be very effective in making wishes, and it is deeply believed by the people in the surrounding area, and the incense continues year after year.
Yuan Ming followed the crowd, offered a bunch of incense to the Hound-Tooth God, and donated a large handful of copper coins to the cabinet next to him.
"Thank you so much, donor. Lord the Dog-tooth God will bless you with safety and prosperity." A man from the temple nearby saluted Yuan Ming.
This man is quite tall, with long and thick hands and feet, and a calloused mouth. He seems to have practiced sword and martial arts.
"Thank you, Miao Zhu. I am here today. In addition to worshiping the Hound Tooth God, I have one more thing to ask for. Is it convenient?" Yuan Ming returned the gift and said.
As he spoke, he took out ten copper coins and quietly stuffed them into Miao Zhu's arms.
There was a smile on Miao Zhu's eyebrows, and he said noncommittally: "It's convenient for others, and it's convenient for yourself."
"Can I take a moment to speak?" Yuan Ming glanced at the still endless stream of pilgrims and asked.
Miao Zhu made an invitation gesture and led Yuan Ming to a corner.
"What's the matter with the donor? Please tell me directly." Miao Zhu said.
"I am looking for a person named Wu Sang. If you know where he is, can you tell me?" Yuan Ming asked.
"I have never heard of the person mentioned by the donor in the temple." After hearing this, the temple's blessing said after thinking for a moment.
"That man came here about half a year ago. He is in his thirties, has a big face and big ears, and is especially good at making incense. I may have concealed his name. I hope you will remember it carefully. I will be very grateful." Yuan Ming said,
He took out a silver coin and gave it to the temple for blessing.
"I have been in this temple for three or four years, and I am familiar with everyone from the host to the children. It is true that I have never seen the person the donor mentioned. I would like to ask the donor to ask elsewhere." This time,
The Miao Zhu, however, leaned slightly to avoid Yuan Ming's move of stuffing his silver coins. He apologized and turned around to leave.
Yuan Ming looked at the back of Miao Zhu, and slowly returned to the entrance of the hall. He looked around thoughtfully, then turned and walked out of the square. When he turned a corner, a black raven flew out from his body and headed towards
The eaves of the main hall flew away.
Yuan Ming kept walking and walked directly towards a side hall not far away.
This is a place for pilgrims to drink tea. Yuan Ming found an unoccupied seat and sat down. He took a teapot and a cup from the table and drank by himself.
This chapter has been completed!