Chapter 36

Old Man August wiped the rain from his face, looked up... Before he could call out, a head already poked out from the tower, peering down with the light from inside, and shouted sternly, "Who's there?"

The firelight flickered, and the cold gleam of weapons could be seen in the watchtower, with no telling how many people were hiding inside.

Old Man August wiped the rain from his face and squinted, forcing a smile as he called out, "We are mountain guests here to dig for ginseng! It rained today, and we got lost, so we're a bit late. Please let us in for the night!"

"Mountain guests?" The man looked at them suspiciously. "Who's on the horse? Lift your clothes and let me see!"

Before his master could call out, Zhi Zun Bao had already pulled down his clothes and called out in a clear voice, "Uncle, sir! The rain is so heavy, I'm so cold and hungry! Please let us in!"

"Oh, child, quickly cover yourself," Old Man August pretended to pull Zhi Zun Bao's clothes over him and looked up again. "Please, sirs, my grandson is young and can't withstand the cold. The rain is so heavy..."

"Alright, I'll let you in," the man finally relented. "Wait a moment..."

At this, several voices called out, "Young Master, it's pitch dark, we can't open the door!"

"Cough, cough, cough..." A few coughs came from just the right place!

The man, hearing the coughs, turned to the others and shouted, "Shut up! Although the rules say we can't open the door when the lights are on, that's only for ordinary times. Today, we have dozens of people waiting. What's the harm? A few days ago, Father said we should do more good deeds to pray for Mother's recovery. Helping this old man and child is a great good deed!"

"But..." someone tried to stop him, but the young man immediately interrupted, "Do you want me to let them die and create sin, so Mother's illness won't improve?"

"I dare not!" No one dared to answer such a big statement, so they just smiled and said, "Young Master, we naturally hope Mother gets better soon! This is a good deed, we'll take care of it right away!"

Soon, the rough wooden gate creaked open, and four men with bows and arrows appeared on the watchtower, their arrows pointed at the area within ten yards of the firelight—mountain bandits often tricked the gatekeepers into opening the gate and then rushed in. This was a precaution for such an event.

No wonder it was a great merchant house!

The man opened the gate a crack, looked outside cautiously, and only opened it fully after confirming there was nothing unusual. The man who opened the door was a young man with a bright steel knife in his hand, accompanied by two other burly men. The three men stood in a 'pin' formation, clearly well-trained—how could so many people be guarding in such a heavy rain?

Is something happening?

Before Old Man August could think, the young man had already waved them in. "Come in quickly! You can go inside on your own. Remember, the red lanterns are brothels, the yellow lanterns are inns. Any business will have to wait until tomorrow... Eh?"

As he spoke, a sudden rush of hooves sounded in the darkness!

The three men drew their knives with a whoosh, their arms bent like fierce beasts, their eyes instantly fierce... At that moment, someone on the watchtower shouted, "Young Master! It's Young Master coming back!"

"Young Master?" The three men were delighted and sheathed their knives, rushing out to greet him. "Young Master is back! Young Master, Young Master..." They didn't care about the rain and rushed out.

They left the two men standing there, completely ignored!

At this moment, Old Man August realized that so many people were waiting here tonight for a reason. Because there were so many people waiting, the watchtower had taken the risk to open the gate at the second young master's command. Otherwise, in the dark, the few gatekeepers wouldn't have let them in.

As he was thinking, he heard the wooden stairs creak, and several people rushed down, holding raincoats and hats. The two men quickly moved aside to let them pass, but the young man in the middle stopped.

This young man saw that the two men, one old and one young, were thinly dressed and drenched, feeling pity, he took a hat from someone and handed it to Old Man August, and put a raincoat on Zhi Zun Bao, saying to himself:

"The rain is so heavy, take this hat and raincoat. Find a place to rest—sigh! It's not easy to find food, and at such a young age, you're already out digging for ginseng with your grandfather." He pulled the raincoat tight, "Go on, if you have any trouble in Kunshan Village, come find me. My name is Qin Lu, remember!"

Hearing the voice, it was the second young master who had ordered the gate to be opened.

Old Man August and Zhi Zun Bao thanked him repeatedly, but Qin Lu only smiled and turned to go out the gate.

Outside, several horses had already arrived!

The two men followed the directions and walked inside. The village was built according to the mountain's terrain, with layers of houses, most made of stone and wood, sturdy and practical, even ancient bows and arrows couldn't cause much damage, living up to its reputation as the first village in Kunlun.

There were three distinct levels. The top level had large houses, all built with large blocks of blue stone and gray mortar, only about seven or eight in total, arranged neatly. The middle level had houses made of rough wood and stone, perhaps a hundred or more, closely packed. The bottom level had two streets, with houses made of unpeeled logs, large and sturdy, each with its own lantern and sign.

Not far away, a large group of people entered, leading horses and holding umbrellas, laughing and talking, following the stone stairs up to the largest house in the village.

The young man who had given them the raincoat and hat was among them, walking closely with a tall man, talking to each other, their faces looking quite similar— "So these are the two sons of the old man of Kunshan Village!" Old Man August thought, "No wonder they look familiar, those two bare-bottomed boys have grown up..."

Suddenly, he noticed something unusual about a man at the front of the group. His movements had a graceful, otherworldly quality, as if he were used to wearing long robes and wide sleeves.

Is he a Taoist?

As he was thinking, Zhi Zun Bao suddenly dropped the raincoat and said, "Master, the second young master who talked to us just now was very strange, did you see?"

"Hmm?" Old Man August was surprised and asked, "You mean he let us in during the rain? What's so strange about that?" He was still thinking about the man, so he answered absentmindedly.

"No!" Zhi Zun Bao explained urgently, "I noticed something strange about his shadow—didn't you notice? His shadow seemed to have an extra part at the shoulder, like... like..." He thought for a moment and continued, "Like he had a pair of horns!"

"Horns?" He became alert, "You mean an extra horn-like thing at the shoulder? In the shadow or the soul? Did you see clearly?"

This was more important than the man, who cared about him?

"I saw clearly!" Zhi Zun Bao answered confidently, "It was in the shadow, not the soul—Master, you know I can see those things! When he gave us the raincoat and hat, you didn't notice, but I did. The shadow suddenly had an extra part, but it quickly disappeared!"

"An extra part in the shadow... appeared and disappeared..." He muttered to himself, very puzzled, "If what you say is true, the second young master should have something like a parasitic soul. Logically, he should be weak and pale, but he doesn't look like that..."

"But his mother is sick!" Zhi Zun Bao argued, "Master, I remember you said that such a situation can also be caused by a malevolent spirit!"

"No, no!" He laughed and shook his head, "A malevolent spirit wouldn't hide in someone's shadow; it would hide in an object, like a jade, a painting, a handkerchief, or a head ornament. On the other hand, something hiding in the shadow would be a parasitic spirit, which wouldn't cause illness in others, only in the person it's attached to... Cough, cough, Bao, you're mixing up what you read in books!"

Hearing his master mention the books, Zhi Zun Bao panicked and started to explain, "No, no... Master said to apply what we learn, so I was trying to see... Hehe, Master, I'm so hungry!"

He quickly changed the subject.

Old Man August knew his intentions but didn't want to scold him since they were about to part ways soon, so he laughed and gently tapped his nose:

"Alright, I won't say anything this time. Go back and review the relevant chapters—there's an inn ahead, let's go eat something first." He added, "We won't meddle in the second young master's affairs; he probably has his own plans."

He immediately thought of the man with the graceful gait—could he be here for this?

Zhi Zun Bao, being clever, guessed from his master's expression and smiled, "Okay, Master, if you say we shouldn't, we won't!... Master, Master, can we have noodles today?"

"Sure, let's have noodles." Old Man August led Zhi Zun Bao to the door of the house with the yellow lantern, turned to help him dismount, and a waiter immediately came over, "Oh! Gentlemen, what brings you up the mountain in such heavy rain? Please come in, please come in..."

The waiter's expression changed as soon as he saw their clothes, "What would you like to eat?"

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