Youbao Chapter 27: Stone Beast (6)
The old Taoist priest led me around the crowd and walked a long way to buy some cooked food and steamed buns. I grabbed a big steamed bun in one hand and stuffed it into my stomach with saliva mixed with oil and water, while the old Taoist priest took me around like a tourist. He went to rice shops, supermarkets, clothing stores, and everywhere.
What on earth does this old man want to do?
Running around all afternoon and shopping with the old Taoist priest is more tiring than shopping with a woman.
This old man was totally inhuman, his legs and feet were busy all afternoon. Occasionally, he would show mercy and stand in one place for a while, but before I could sit down to warm up the bench in the store, he would walk out again.
If I had brought money with me, I would have found a hotel to rest in such a strange place. But before coming here, I thought that the Taoist priest's method of shrinking the earth was better than any other means of transportation and could save money, so I didn't bring any coins with me.
The old Taoist priest did have it on him, but I was too embarrassed to ask him for it.
This old man has been mumbling all afternoon. There must be a reason. If he said something he shouldn't have, I'm afraid he'll have to bleed me again.
In a blink of an eye, it was dark, and the lights of thousands of houses were shining. The old Taoist priest and I were huddled at the entrance of an alley. He stood there without saying a word, while I was desperately eating buns.
In the afternoon, I ate at least thirteen big buns, but I was still hungry. But the amazing thing was that the old Taoist priest had a unique skill of hiding things from his sleeves. He took a bunch of things to a place where no one would notice, stuffed them into his sleeves and they were gone.
While eating the buns, I thought, if I can combine the shrinking technique with the world in my sleeves and open a courier company, I will make a fortune. I will be the chairman, courier, public relations, and even the courier car.
I squatted at the entrance of the alley, looking outside from time to time.
The people in the town had already closed their doors and windows at this time, either watching TV or sleeping. Occasionally, one could hear the sounds of beatings and scolding and children crying, and the stray dogs and cats in some towns and villages would also start barking and meowing.
The moon was just a little girl, emitting a hazy light, hanging in the night sky that was like a black curtain. A few stars, some more and some less, carefully embellished the night.
This is a quiet town, without too much noise, which makes people's minds calm down.
The old Taoist priest was leaning against the wall, his long blue robe occasionally fluttering in the wind. Looking at the black belt around his waist, I suddenly thought of Lin Zhengying from Hong Kong and Taiwan films. It was a pity that the actor passed away prematurely due to a car accident, leaving many regrets for the world.
I finished the last bun and burped, and a smell of lard mixed with smell of lard came out of my breath.
Are you full? the old Taoist priest suddenly asked.
"Yeah. I haven't eaten so much in a long time. These buns taste really good. You should have a few too." I said contentedly.
Eat enough and stretch out your arms, said the old Taoist priest.
Damn you!! I couldn’t help but curse.
Of course, this kind of cursing can only be kept in my heart. Maybe one day I can't bear it anymore... Then I will find a reed marsh and curse the reeds like the prince in the fairy tale.
After I stretched out my arm, the old Taoist priest silently stretched out his hand and drew. My arm suddenly felt hot, and I saw the old Taoist priest wiped my arm with his right finger, and then drew on the talisman paper in his left hand.
I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been cut too many times, but recently I’ve felt uncomfortable if I don’t bleed for a day. Am I addicted?
The old Taoist priest drew a few pieces of talisman paper and handed me one: Stick it on your chest.
I still stuck the talisman on my chest. Strangely enough, it stuck without glue. I felt a warm feeling in my chest: What is this?
The old Taoist said: Although the zombies don't have much corpse qi, their fingertips and teeth have corpse poison. This talisman can protect your heart meridian.
Oh. I touched my chest curiously, but then I was stunned.
The Walking Dead? What the hell is that?
Let's go. The old Taoist priest called me.
I stood up quickly, but my legs were sore and numb from squatting for so long. I stamped my feet on the ground a few times, and when I saw that the old Taoist priest was almost gone, I hurried to catch up with him.
What is a zombie? Why did you suddenly give me this kind of talisman? I followed the old Taoist priest and asked.
You will encounter it tonight, just in case, you cannot protect yourself from that kind of thing with your ability, the old Taoist priest explained.
Uh...it's not like you'll necessarily encounter it.
Just follow me and you will definitely meet me.
Then is it okay if I don’t go?
OK. The old Taoist said: But zombies might come out, and without me around, those things are very dangerous.
Hehehehe... I laughed with a twitching face and felt hairy all over.
Just imagine, it's late at night, there's no one on the street. Occasionally a small whirlwind will blow up some torn newspapers or plastic bags, and when you look up, you'll see a few staggering corpses wearing ancient costumes at the end of the street, with blood coming out of the corners of their mouths and their faces turning blue.
In this situation... this is a movie!!!
The old Taoist priest seemed to have been here many times before. He took me left and right and passed through several alleys.
Have you been to this place before? I asked him.
The old Taoist priest nodded, then stopped and whispered to me: After you go in, you go find the stone beasts and I will tie them up.
them?
The person who bought the stone beast, said the old Taoist priest.
How do you know where they are? I asked in confusion. The old Taoist priest has been wandering around all day and has never followed anyone.
The old Taoist said: You don't understand these, I will explain them to you later. The stone beast will sense you and the jade pendant that can communicate with the underworld, so just search for it according to the abnormal situation you experienced last time in the Taoist temple.
I said "oh" and suddenly became nervous again: But what if zombies really come out?
Pray for the best and wait for me to rescue you. The old Taoist said: But that may bring more enemies and your situation will be more dangerous.
Hehehehe... I laughed neurotically again: Otherwise, I'd better keep watch for you outside. If anyone comes, I'll tell you to run away.
The old Taoist priest turned his head and looked at me, staring at me and making me weak all over, very scared. The old man's aura was so terrifying that he was more frightening when he was silent than when he was speaking.
So, under the guidance of the old Taoist priest, the two of us climbed over the wall and entered this small farmyard.
If I could sing at this moment, I would like to sing: The wind is whistling and the Yishui River is cold, the hero is gone... I really want to run away.
The yard was not very big, and the owner had built a two-story building with tiles on the outside, reflecting a faint light under the moonlight. The old Taoist looked at a lighted room in front of him, pointed to the other side, and motioned me to go over.
I was so frightened that I ran along the wall. When I turned around, the old Taoist priest had already walked to the lighted house. He seemed to be walking casually, but there was no sound of footsteps. At this time, he looked more like a ghost than a ghost.
The old Taoist priest didn't tell me what to do, so I had to keep walking along the wall, trying to find a window to climb in.
At this moment, a cold snort sounded from the other side. The sound was so loud that I was shaking all over and my back was covered with cold sweat.
Then I heard footsteps and the sound of a door opening in the small building.
Who are you? This is my home, how did you get in? Someone shouted.
I squatted in the corner on the other side and heard the old Taoist priest reply: Four meridians of Heavenly Corpse and Four Meridians of Walking Corpse, why did you come to this town for no reason?
The old Taoist priest's tone was very domineering, but I was thinking: If he is so powerful, why did he bring me along as a burden and ask me to steal the stone beast? This old man always does weird things.
It turns out that you are a fellow traveler. This is the residence of my lineage of zombies. We raise a few small zombies, so we send people to stay here every year. I have something to do today, otherwise I will definitely treat you to a drink. Someone said.
The old Taoist priest asked: "Among the four branches of the Heavenly Corpse, your branch is the most fond of doing evil and causing a lot of trouble. Otherwise, how could the world know how to make such a ghost movie? Call out your leader today. I will ask a few questions and then leave."
Go quickly. A voice sounded in my ears.
I was startled and looked around, but there was no one around. Was I seeing a ghost?
What are you waiting for? There was another voice, and this time it turned out to be the voice of the old Taoist priest. This is amazing, could this be the voice transmission over thousands of miles mentioned in martial arts novels?
I didn't dare to delay any longer and groped my way to the back of the house. Before leaving, I heard someone laughing and saying: So you are the senior master, I wonder why you are here today.
The old Taoist priest replied: "I have seen what happened to you today, and I also have information about this kind of thing. If you want it, then take it. If you don't want it, I will leave."
I was surprised and angry. What on earth did this old man want to do? Why did he even tell others about this? Isn't this just alerting the enemy?
I didn't listen to the rest of the conversation, thinking that I should quickly steal the stone beast out while everyone else was out. The old Taoist priest probably said that to lure everyone who was still hiding in the house out.
Only later did I realize how naive I was. I was so focused on the fact that there was someone in the house that I forgot that the old Taoist priest gave me a talisman to drive away miasma, which could temporarily save my life from the zombies' attacks.
There was indeed a window at the back of the house, but it was locked. I tried to open it several times, but it wouldn't open.
Just when I was getting anxious, I heard footsteps in the room. I quickly squatted down without even daring to breathe. At this time, I heard the old Taoist priest say: I am really sorry to bother you.
Senior, you are so kind. We are grateful for giving us the news of this thing. Someone responded with a smile.
How did this old man come into the house? Do you want me to come in? I was confused.
Not long after the group of people passed by, the window suddenly made a slight click and then opened a little. I was almost scared to death, thinking someone had come out. But after a while, there was still no sound near the window, so I dared to slowly stand up and look.
The room was already dark, and even if I put my ear close to it I couldn't hear anyone breathing or moving.
