Chapter 100 The Key: A Soft Rubber Fish for Book Friends
In my mind, this time it was definitely a sure thing.
But what I didn't expect was that the unkempt man only hesitated for a few seconds, looked around, and decisively threw down a rope. I didn't know what he meant, but Fan Tuan and I had already
Forced to a dead end, he immediately cheered up when he saw a glimmer of hope. Fan Tuan reached out and grabbed the rope. The man clung to the cliff on the dangerous road and pulled the rope in hard. I have fought with him and know his strength.
It's also very big.
In this way, my pressure was reduced a lot, and I suddenly felt as light as a swallow. I grabbed the ice ax and turned over to climb up from below. Then I quickly pulled the rope, and the two of them worked together to let Fan Tuan climb up. Waiting for Fan Tuan to come up.
When I arrived, my whole body was soaked with sweat, and I sat on the road panting.
I looked at the man. He put away the rope silently, hesitated for a moment, and stammered: "You let me go once, and I save you once. We are even."
His voice was very strange, like a person who was not very proficient in Chinese, but I knew very well that the only explanation for this result was that he had lived alone for many years, with no one to talk to, no opportunity to speak, or even a chance to speak.
The most basic language functions have been partially degraded. If this continues, he may become mute in a few years.
After saying this, he turned to leave, and I immediately followed him, walking through the dangerous road. He was carrying a large backpack made of rattan, and I didn't know what was in it.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" I asked him later. I could see that he was not good at talking and was shy about strangers, but it was difficult to find opportunities to communicate with him. I had to ask him something.
He shook his head and asked me, "Do you have any cigarettes?"
I took out the cigarettes I had just opened and handed the whole pack to him. He put it to his nose and sniffed, with a look of nostalgia and intoxication on his face. But he might not have smoked for a long time, so he lit the cigarette and just smoked it.
One mouthful and I immediately started coughing.
"Let's talk." I raised my head and looked around. Lao An and the others were taking another route. If they tried to intercept the target on the other side, they would definitely not be able to get there in a while.
"Don't ask anything, and I won't say anything. You and I don't know each other, not before, and never in the future." The man held a cigarette and said solemnly: "Although, I feel that I am destined to be with you.
.”
"Don't ask these questions." I knew that coercion would be useless, so I immediately changed the subject. Anyway, it would be good if I could find out a little bit about the situation: "Where are you going? Are you going along the way? If you are going along the way, I can accompany you. There will be someone to take care of you on the way.
.”
The man was smoking a cigarette and looking towards the other side of the mountain. His eyes were a little blurry and he said slowly: "Go to a place far away and don't ask anymore."
After saying this, he refused to say anything else. He held on to the big backpack and smoked two cigarettes in a row. It was obvious that he no longer had any craving for cigarettes. Smoking was just looking for the tobacco that had brought him back in the past.
of happiness, or in other words, memories.
After smoking his second cigarette, he stood up, put his backpack behind him, and left without saying a word. I didn't know how to retain him, but I knew that such a person might not be retained at all. When he wanted to leave,
Even thunder can't hit him. So this time I didn't follow him any further. I just watched his back from behind, gradually moving away.
When he walked out about a few dozen meters, he suddenly stopped, turned around, and started walking this way again. I also took steps to meet him. He stood in front of me, and he seemed to be holding something in his right hand.
"This time, if I find that place, I might not leave again." He stretched out his hand toward me, slowly opened his palm, and said, "I said, I feel destined to be with you. I have no use for this thing.
Here it is, here it is."
I looked at the thing in his palm and immediately felt a very complicated emotion. It was a metal bar as long as chewing gum. I didn’t know if it was a silver product. There were irregular saw teeth on both sides of the metal bar. This thing gave me a feeling.
It is a kind of sadness and grief. Biaozi and the others took this kind of metal bar from the body of King Yuantu before. But it is obviously not the one in Biaozi's hand. The metal bar in this man's hand has no chain and is only tied with
A knot of red silk thread.
"It may be useful, or it may not be useful." He handed the thing into my hand, turned around and left again, saying as he walked: "But it's useless to me."
"Can you tell me?" I asked from behind, holding something in my hand: "What is this?"
He stopped but didn't look back. He turned his back to me and said, "A key."
After saying these four words, he really left, without stopping any more, and gradually disappeared from my sight. I was thinking about his words, he was looking for a place, and looking at the direction in which he started, that place,
It must still be within the Kunlun Mountains.
"Let's go too." Fan Tuan interrupted my train of thought and said, "If we stay too long, Lao An will become suspicious."
"Yes." I nodded, put away the metal bar, and returned with Fan Tuan along the original route.
We returned to the starting point and waited for another hour. Lao An and the others also came back. They took the wrong road and didn't even see the shadow of the man. Lao An asked me, but I didn't tell the truth. In desperation,
, he could only take the people and leave here as originally planned.
When I returned to the mainland from the vast Kunlun Mountains, it felt like a world away. The city I was familiar with in the past suddenly seemed a little strange to me, and even the food, clothing, housing and transportation were a little unfamiliar to me. After each action, Lao An would give the people in the team a special gift as usual.
They will have a holiday to let them rest, and they will also be given some money as subsidies. This time is no exception. Everyone in the team received money. Xiaoqiu and Yue Lun died in Kunlun Mountain. This kind of thing cannot be said clearly, but Fan Tuan told
I and their families all received a compensation.
I have already given up the house I rented before, and now I have no place to live, so I simply live in a shabby bar where I usually party. Under normal circumstances, Lao An will not carry out activities continuously, and there must be at least a few months of buffer between the two activities.
and preparation time, so it’s relatively free.
But after resting for a few days, Lao An said he would take me to ship goods, and explained a little by the way. Members in the circle basically have no jobs and have to live and support their families. They also need a lot of funds for activities, which costs a lot, so when taking action
Some useless antiques found will be sold at a price. Lao An has been doing this for several years and has regular customers.
"I will take you there twice, and you will be responsible for this matter from now on."
"Why?" I asked, because Lao An said that Biaozi was responsible for these things in the past.
"It's nothing." Lao An smiled and said, "The reason is very simple, he is not as good as you."
I don’t know what Lao An means by “not as good as you”. After returning from Kunlun Mountain, Biaozi’s condition has not fully recovered. Although he is awake and can move around, his body is a bit weak and he often does evil things.
In my dreams, I often dream of a jar shaking in front of my eyes, and occasionally I can hear that kind of shrill whistling sound. In short, it is not good, and it is extremely stressful.
The next day, Lao An took me out. This kind of transaction was done more than once or twice. They were all regular customers, and they didn’t have much to spend. The prices were about the same. Lao An took me there mainly so that I could have a good time.
If your face is familiar, it will be easier to discuss business with others alone in the future. People in the old city are very particular about the occasion to discuss things. They like
Doing this in teahouses is probably a tradition left over from the Qing Dynasty. Until now, some people still think that talking over a wine table is very rude, and only going to teahouses to drink tea and talk business is classy. Teahouses in the old city
There are not many, just a few, but most of them are such "high-end" customers, and the prices are shockingly expensive.
The teahouse we went to is on an old street. The private rooms in the teahouse are large and very quiet. Different from teahouses in other places, the tea ceremony masters here are all elderly people. They don’t look as pleasing to the eye as little girls, but
The skill is indeed on point, and a cup of tea seems to have some other meanings besides the proper tea aroma.
After waiting for about twenty minutes, I heard someone going upstairs. Then, the door of the private room was pushed open, and a man in his mid-thirties or eighty-year-old appeared at the door of the private room first. This man had a few very big eyes on his face.
He has big pockmarks, but his facial features are very regular. He is wearing a homespun sweatshirt and holds a bunch of pineapples in his hand.
As soon as he saw him, Lao An's eyebrows jumped. The two of them should know each other, but they seemed a little uncomfortable. The man stood at the door, smiling, and said in a sinister way: "Oh, this is not
Mr. An? What a coincidence."
Lao An's mouth moved, wanting to say something, but in the end he didn't say it. He looked at the man with the pockmarked face, as if he was holding a raw olive in his mouth, sour and bitter. He paused and said:
"Shuangcheng, long time no see."
"That's what I'm saying. It's been a long time since I last saw you. You and I are no match for each other. We run errands here and there to make ends meet." The man refused to come in and stood at the door and said, "It's a coincidence that I only arrived a month ago.
Old lady, if I hadn’t come here, I might not have been able to see you?”
What is the relationship between the two of them? Friends? Enemies? I don't know yet, but I can tell from their conversation that this pockmarked man is not the real owner, but may be the boss's assistant.
Lao An was silent again and said nothing more. Mazi stood at the door and kept smiling, but that smile was quite unfriendly. I could see that there was a vague indescribable expression in his eyes that occasionally looked at Lao An.
Out of hatred.
In this awkward atmosphere, another person came upstairs from outside the door. His footsteps were very slow and accompanied by bursts of coughing. Lao An stood up immediately, turned around and whispered to me: "Here he comes."
I thought that the boss who was talking about the matter came over, and the pockmark at the door took a step back to make room. Not long after, the seller of this transaction finally appeared outside the door.