Chapter 59 Chapter 6 Tiankeng Drum Human-Beast Melee

I talked to Tian Gudao about the Gu poison. "Ah! That woman cast the love Gu?! It's true that people die under the flower, and the Gudao is also romantic!" Tian Gudao began to envy me. "You just died under the flowers. Xiao Ge said that no one can cure this Gu, unless the person who cast the Gu is willing to dispel the Gu. But there is no danger of life, it's just that the other party's mental emotions are controlled by the other party, and he is loyal to him. " "That's a good thing! This is like a woman's dead skin relying on you, it's like a door-to-door delivery! Xiucai, you are really lucky, and you got lucky before you knew it!"

"It's a pity that I haven't finished the imperial examination yet. A man's personal marriage can be ignored, and his fame is the top priority! The affair between a man and a woman can only be considered after he has achieved fame." "Grandma, Kimchi, you really don't know your blessings in the midst of blessings, and Miss Tian's painstaking efforts were in vain. Hey, I don't know if I also fell into love Gu!" Tian Gudao suddenly felt a little depressed. "If you were hit by a Gu, it should be this Gu too. Wang Erya and Tian Xiaomei have a master-servant relationship, wouldn't they create two kinds of Gu? Maybe you didn't get hit by a Gu, because women who cast Gu won't do it at the same time; if only Tian Xiaomei knows how to cast Gu alone, so she wouldn't cast love Gu on two men at the same time. So, I think, you may not have been infected by the Gu. That Wang Erya is trying to scare you, it's blackmailing you!"

"I'd rather fall into the Gu, and of course I also want to fall into the Love Gu like you. In this way, I can also get lucky." "Love Gu is not necessarily a good thing for you. After being infected by this Gu, you will only fall in love with the woman who cast the Gu. You have no other intentions. Would you be willing to hang yourself on a tree for a flamboyant like you? " "Grandma, pickle, what you said makes sense. Fortunately, I didn't get a Gu, otherwise I wouldn't be able to play!" Tian Gudao's depressed mood just now disappeared without a trace, "Xiucai, you got the Brahma Mantra and Heavenly Staff this time. , can be regarded as a figurehead in the world of exorcising corpses, and I will follow suit. When you quit the business of exorcising corpses to take the exam, you will pass on all your skills to me, and let me show off at the next corpse exorcism meeting and become How about the new owner of the Brahma Mantra Heavenly Staff?"

"If you get the Brahma Mantra and Heavenly Rod, you will have to cleanse yourself from now on, and you will not get involved in fireworks, are you willing?" "This... this... Do you think that I am willing to get my hands on a woman, because I am following the master's recipe, and saving my life is the most important thing, that's all, I don't need this Tianzhang." Ghost Cub Yao was very interested in the Brahma Mantra Heavenly Rod in my hand, and grabbed it to touch and play with it. He was very curious. Seeing this, Tian Gudao said, "Xiucai, you are now a famous person in the world of exorcising corpses." , from now on, the ghost cub will carry the stick for you, so you can give him the stick boy, haha..."

Hearing this, Gui Xiyao nodded with an innocent smile on his face, and quickly stuffed the Tianlu corpse brand flag into Tian Gudao's hand, then carried the Brahma mantra stick on his shoulder, and walked forward in a hurry. I cast the Corpse Fast Walking Technique, and with a yell, the seven corpses also walked quickly with the wind blowing under their feet, Tian Gudao followed behind, trotting all the way, running in the direction of Laifeng. Not long after, the eunuch Qiu Sha and the other six corpses were sent to the destination, and after delivery, they headed for Liye... At this time, it was the early autumn of Guangxu thirty-one years (1905).

Time passed quickly, I didn’t realize it had been more than a year since I entered the profession, and I had enough money to spend and pay for the provincial examination.The Bingwu Kexiang Examination will be held in Hunan Gongyuan in Changsha Prefecture next year.I have to prepare to leave and go to Changsha Mansion to take the exam. After delivering the corpse, I rushed to Liye, packed my luggage and books, and then headed to Changsha. Go all the way quickly, and you will arrive at Liye in a short time. Back to Liye, back to the photo studio, I was touched by the scene, and I thought of Tian Xiaomei again.

Looking at the room they had rented across the street, I couldn’t help but recall the scene of the song competition in the street, and the scene of the couplet competition in Duocuilou. All these have been deeply imprinted on my heart and I can’t get rid of them. ... Seeing that I was going to Changsha to take part in the rural examination, Tian Gudao was a little depressed, and he, who was always eloquent, was also silent at this moment. These days, we have spent together with ghosts, cubs, and monsters, we are in the same boat, we share weal and woe, we depend on each other in life and death, we have already integrated into each other's souls, and we are already a pair of good brothers who cannot part.At this time, the breakup was imminent, and the three of them were very reluctant.

What's more, this time, we don't know when we will meet again.Thinking of this, I can't help feeling sad. The ghost cub knew that I was going to leave, so he was very obedient, and he didn't jump up and down like usual, squatting on the ground silently. Everyone was silent with each other and did not speak. After about a stick of incense, Tian Gudao took the lead to break the silence: "Xiucai, I know that when scholars go to take the scientific examination, there are schoolboys to take care of them. You also need someone to take care of you when you go to Changsha to take the provincial examination. Let's do it together." Let's go with you, the ghost cub will be your school boy, and I will take care of your food and daily life. In this way, you can devote yourself to the township examination. When you pass the exam, we will be honored!"

Hearing Tian Gudao's words, Gui Xiyao's eyes lit up immediately, he stood up and rushed to me, leaning on my lap. In my heart, I really hope that Tian Gudao and the ghost cub will accompany me, but I don't want Tian Gudao to waste the corpse because of me, and delay the opportunity to make money. Tian Gudao probably saw what I was thinking, and said, "Xiucai, actually I don't want to accompany you. I mainly want to go to the provincial government to see the world. If you win Juren, I still want to go with you." Going to the capital to have a look, it’s not worth living in vain.”

It is really well-intentioned for Tian Gudao to justify himself in this way. That being the case, I nodded in agreement. So, I went to the photo studio and laughed again. "Bang bang bang... bang bang bang..." Someone knocked on the door outside. Ghost Cub Yaofei ran to open the door, it was Ji Sanniang, the boss of Duocuilou. What are these girls doing again?Her nose is more sensitive than a dog's. When we got home, she came back: "Mr. Leng, I know you're back. It was thanks to your reminder that we got out of the siege last time. It didn't affect the feng shui of Duocui Tower. This time, I came here to thank you."

While talking, Ji Sanniang mysteriously took out something from her bosom, looked around for a while, and whispered in my ear: "I know you are going to Changsha Prefecture to take the provincial examination, and I have specially prepared something for you. baby!" Ji Sanniang stuffed it to me, and I took a look, and it turned out to be an entrainment that could be used to cheat in the examination room.This entrainment is made of white silk. It is about six feet long and more than a foot wide. The characters are like rice grains. content.In order to be able to cheat and find the required content in time, a lot of secret notes were made on the entrainment tape, and the entire content was numbered with words.The entrained white silk is soft and kneaded into a ball, which is easy to carry. This kind of entrainment, which is specially used to cheat in the examination room, I heard about it from my classmates and teachers before, but I have never had the chance to meet it. Now seeing it with my own eyes is an eye-opener.It is said that many students do not hesitate to risk entrainment in order to get their titles on the gold list. Some people even pay high prices to buy neatly written, secretive, easy to carry, and exquisitely made entrainment from others.Some hide tapes in pen tubes and inkstones; Others hide the strips in special candles, or make them in steamed buns, so that they are copied without anyone noticing... all kinds of things, and so on. "Mr. Leng, I spent a lot of money on this baby. A few days ago, a scholar who was going to Changsha to catch the provincial examination came to our Duocuilou to have fun. He ate and drank for several days, but finally found out that he had money It was stolen, so I had to go back to my hometown in Jingzhou to get the money, so I put the thing in my hands. According to him, it was ordered from someone else half a year ago, and it cost ten taels of silver." I picked up the pocket and checked it inside and out, and found that it is indeed a good thing for cheating, with detailed content and convenient carrying. It can be placed on the sole of the shoe, under the armpit, around the waist, or pretended to be a handkerchief.No wonder some people are willing to pay high prices for custom purchases. However, I have always hated cheating in the examination room, so how could I cheat! "A person can be without arrogance, but never without arrogance!" This is the ancestral motto of my Leng family. My fifth uncle, Leng Sansi, was unwilling to bribe the examiner, so he failed in his life.I will never be opportunistic, and I have to rely on my true ability to gain fame. So, I returned the entrainment to Ji Sanniang, and politely declined. Ji Sanniang thought I was a little embarrassed because of the nobleness of the scholars, so she said, "Mr. Leng, many of the scholars who come to our Duocui Building have prepared this thing, so don't be embarrassed. Besides, if others prepare Wouldn’t it be a big loss if you were the only one who didn’t carry this kind of treasure, it’s related to your future for the rest of your life!” I was furious when I heard this: "I don't have any moral shame at all, what kind of scholar is I worthy of?" Ji Sanniang didn't expect that her good intentions would be rewarded with accusations from me. She was a little unhappy, hesitated a few times, and left in dismay. Looking at Ji Sanniang's back, I blamed myself a little, I shouldn't be so kind to others. Seeing Tian Gudao, he hurriedly chased him out and apologized to Ji Sanniang. The next day, we set off for Changsha Mansion. Tian Gudao insisted on displaying the "Tianlu Banner", saying that if there is business on the way, he can pick it up by the way. We boarded a boat from Liye, crossed Fengtan, entered the Youshui River, and arrived at Yuanzhou. We were going to go east to Dongting from Yuanshui River, and then take a boat from Yuezhou to Changsha. When we came to the confluence of Youshui River and Yuanshui River, we landed and prepared to change boats to Dongting, but we saw a man running towards us panting.We asked him to rest for a while, and when he calmed down, we realized that someone had invited us to remove the corpse. We briefly asked about the situation.He said that he was a clerk of Hongjiang Xujitong Oil Co., and was appointed by the boss to find the exorcists and move the corpses. In the staccato narration of the fellow, we know what happened. Xuji Tung Oil Company is the largest tung oil firm in Hongjiang, and the owner of the firm, Xu, has monopolized the tung oil business in Hongjiang.Several other tung oil shops were not convinced, so they teamed up to fight against him, but they were still not his opponents. Therefore, everyone formed a grudge in the business field. Finally, those shops gathered a group of people, including the local A rogue and a ruffian, he went to the Xu Ji Tong Oil Shop to cause trouble. The deceased's surname was Ma, the chief shopkeeper of Xu Jitong Oil Co., the distant nephew of Boss Xu, a native of Wugang, Baoqing Prefecture, over fifty years old, and had no strengths except reading. He was an old boy, but the candidates repeatedly failed , not even a scholar.Boss Xu sympathized with him very much, so he arranged for him to be in charge of bookkeeping in his firm. Ma Tongsheng was very serious and sincere in his work, and won the trust of Boss Xu, so he let him be in charge of the firm. It is said that the group of local hooligans who came to make troubles destroyed everything they had when they entered Xu Jitong Oil Shop, beat everyone they met, and then walked away.Ma Tongsheng, who was in charge, saw that a group of people were about to slip away, so he went up and grabbed the leader of the villain tightly, trying to drag him to the official.The villain was very annoyed, took out a sharp knife, and stabbed Ma Tongsheng. After a while, Ma died of anger. Boss Xu reported to the police, and those villains also suffered retribution.Boss Xu, who lost his principal, was deeply saddened, and was grateful for Ma Tongsheng's loyalty, so he decided to bury the dead.Originally planned to spend a lot of money to ask someone to carry the coffin back to the hometown, but the Xuefeng Mountain, which is known as the natural danger, blocked the road from Hongjiang to Wugang. After listening to the guy's introduction, I sighed endlessly. Probably because of being a scholar, I feel very sympathetic to Ma Tongsheng's experience. Not only did he fail to pass the exam as a scholar in his whole life, but he also suffered such a murderous hand, alas! We decided to take this job. Although we have to drive the corpse to Baoqing Mansion, there are some detours, but there are still a few months before the start of the Leaving Examination, so it is very early, and there is no serious problem.Seeing that we agreed, the guy finally breathed a sigh of relief and was very happy, so he negotiated a reward with Tian Gudao. We boarded the boat with him from Yuanshui and went south to Hongjiang. On the boat, an old man sighed deeply when he heard the man talking about Ma Tongsheng. During the conversation, I learned that the old man with white hair and silver beard was over eighty years old, and this time he was also going to Changsha to take the exam. Three men of different ages around him were his children and grandchildren, and they specially escorted him to take the provincial exam. I was very surprised when I heard this. Although this old man is old, he has a strong body and sharp eyes and ears.In particular, he has participated in scientific examinations for decades and never gave up, which is really strange.I couldn't help but feel admiration for him. The old man probably saw what I was thinking, and said with a smile: "Fame is the top priority for scholars, and everything they do all their lives is for this purpose, and it cannot be given up halfway. The Changsha County Supervisor will come, and he will be older than me." Twenty years old, until the age of one hundred and four years old, Daoguang 20th year Gengzike Township Examination, still failed in the exam, and finally was granted the imperial examination." The old man's speech is very detached, which made me feel deeply.Let me tell you the truth, I am also a scholar, and I am preparing to go to Changsha to take the provincial examination. When the old man heard this, he was very happy and warmly invited me to go with him.Since I still had to go to Hongjiang to drive away the corpse, I politely thanked him. The old man knew that my family was in decline, and he chased the dead body to earn money. He was very moved and praised me greatly.He told me that when I arrived in Changsha, I must have a round with him, and the two of them had a good talk.The old man told him that his name was Zhong Taishu, and asked his children and grandchildren to stay in the posthouse where they stayed in Changsha. Naturally, I was eager to have the opportunity to ask him about the examination room. This was my first time going to Changsha for the rural examination, and I was not familiar with the examination room.The conversation was very speculative, and it seemed that the two of them had forgotten each other. "Little brother, with all due respect, your appearance will affect your fame and official career." Seeing my damaged face, the old man directly pointed out, "Many people have suffered because of my appearance. He was once expelled from the examination room for his wretched appearance, and finally had to continue to apply for the next subject examination. However, the ancestral grave was filled with anger, and he was finally recorded. According to my imperial examinations in the Qing Dynasty, a candidate can participate in the "big examination" because he failed three subjects in the examination. Selected to be an official. The candidates who participated in the selection had a square face, and their bodies were fat, thin, tall and short, and they must be moderate and upright. My brother has a huge scar on his face, so I'm afraid there is something to worry about..." I've heard of a champion who was dismissed by the emperor because he didn't choose a good name.As for the appearance, this is the first time I heard about it, and I feel sad at the moment. Tian Gudao saw me at the side, leaned over and whispered in my ear: "Xiucai, it's okay, you forgot that the master taught us the disguise technique? It's never too late to change our appearance!" After being reminded by Tian Gudao, I feel a little better. At this time, the boat had arrived at Hongjiang, and I waved goodbye to the old man, and agreed to meet and talk again in Changsha City. After we disembarked and walked more than ten steps, we heard the old man calling on the boat, and we stopped immediately. At this time, the old man's grandson got off the boat, ran to me quickly, and handed me a piece of yellowed paper. I took it over and saw that it was a handwritten copy of the questions of the previous imperial examinations. The paper was damaged, which should be caused by the owner's frequent caress. Reading the exhibition volume, including four policy questions—— 1. The world situation is changing day by day, and talents are needed to do things. Schools, police, negotiations, and crafts are all things that people who don't learn can understand.If you want to do anything complicated, you must first expand your knowledge. The responsibility for Tao Cheng lies with the officer.The officials who set up libraries in various provinces are mostly written, seeking sincerely at the top and responding with falsehood at the bottom.It is advisable to formulate good laws and invigorate them. 2. The military system since the Han and Tang Dynasties is proved by today's situation. 3. Are there similarities and differences between the ancient financial management and the budget and final accounts of various countries? Fourth, the right and wrong of scholarly learning depends on the gains and losses of education.The ancient Situ Xiu Ming Confucianism, the method of appointing officials is to select scholars, excellent scholars, and build scholars.The Han Dynasty re-emphasized the Ming Dynasty, and restored the disciplines of filial piety, honesty, virtuousness, and virtue. At that time, Jia Dong's disciples were most called Yuanmao.Scholars in the Eastern Han Dynasty were distinguished by integrity and righteousness, and those who commented on it might flaunt their clear opinions, and they were sure to criticize them.The literature in the early Tang Dynasty was the most prosperous, and after the middle period, those who made progress even had the name of seeking confidantes and gentle volumes. They tried to find out the reason for the ups and downs... Today, I want to make evil spirits not flourish in the world. Where do we go from here? ... Tian Gudao saw that it was a question of merit and fame. Although he didn't understand the mystery, he was also very interested: "Xiucai, I say that the test of merit and fame is also destined. Such a scroll can determine a person's future. You Don't you think it's a bit sloppy and a bit nonsense? Besides, there are so many questions, how can you finish answering them in a short time?" "You think it's so easy to test for merit and fame! The township exam is divided into three rounds, each of which takes three days, and a total of nine days. If I can pass the exam in this round of township exams, I can be worthy of my fifth uncle and ancestors. Lah." I answered Tian Gudao, as if talking to myself. "Xiucai, you can definitely pass the exam. I think you look good and your seal is shining. You have been going smoothly recently. Didn't you just win the Brahma Mantra and the Heavenly Staff? You must pass the provincial examination..." Tian Gudao encouraged me. "With your kind words, I hope so." Hongjiang is a bustling shopping mall.Located at the confluence of Yuanshui River and Wushui River, it has green tiles and whitewashed walls, and many shops. The prosperity of Hongjiang is due to water transportation, trade, and prosperity. It is a giant town full of fireworks.It is famous for collecting and distributing tung oil, wood, paraffin and opium.Relying on the convenience of water transportation, it became the hub of material handling in the southwest of the Qing Dynasty.There are many oil brands here, especially tung oil. Most of the other provinces use tung oil here. Hongjiang tung oil can prevent termites. The Xuji Tung Oil Company we are going to is the leader of this business. When we came to Xu Ji, Boss Xu came out to greet us, led us in, exchanged greetings, and got down to business. Ma Tongsheng's body was placed in the backyard of Tongyouhang, and Tian Gudao and I checked the body. Tian Gudao lifted the deceased's shroud, and saw that there was a knife wound on his waist, and a ball of black blood was attached to the surface. The most worrying thing for the corpse hunters is that after death, there will be too many external wounds on the body, which will easily lead to the leakage of the yang energy lingering on the dead body. After a person dies, the remaining yang energy in the body is very important to keep the soul from leaving the body.The longer the yang energy is preserved, the longer the soul will be attached to the body.If the soul doesn't wander, it's relatively easy to get rid of the corpse. Once scattered, it will take a long time to gather the soul. Tian Gudao frowned when he saw a big hole in the body of the deceased, and quickly arranged the bill. We cast spells together and recited the soul-gathering spell. After the spell was finished, the ghost boy took out the cinnabar and prepared it. Tian Gudao took it and sealed the hole, then tied it with cloth strips, and then pasted the talisman. In order to buy time, we can drive the corpse and start. Before leaving, Boss Xu asked the clerk to take out a bag of things, saying that it was Ma Tongsheng's favorite thing, and he never left his body at ordinary times. I opened it and saw that it was all books. Among them, the engraved editions include "Mencius", "University", "The Doctrine of the Mean", "Shangshu", "Book of Rites" and "Spring and Autumn", these are the four books and five classics necessary for scientific research.Among them are "Four Books", Zhu Xi Annotated Edition, and "Zuo Zhuan", "Gongyang Biography", "Gu Liang Biography" and other books. There are also many manuscripts in the package, most of which are study results, as well as questions about children's examinations, township examinations, general examinations, and palace examinations of various dynasties. I was very puzzled, why the deceased was still a child in his fifties, but why he had handwritten questions for the township examination, general examination, and palace examination.The answers to these questions are full of secret and fluffy small print. Each article consists of breaking the topic, inheriting the topic, starting the lecture, starting, starting the part, middle part, back part, closing the part, falling or ending, etc. There are eight parts in total. , four to five hundred words each.Judging from the handwriting, some should be written by Ma himself, while others should be filled in by others. All the books in the package looked dilapidated, probably due to repeated grinding. It can be seen that the old boy studied very hard in his life, but he gave so much and received little return. I can't help but feel sorry for Ma Tongsheng and feel sad! Seeing the stereotyped essays written by Ma Tongsheng in the package, some of them were very insightful and literary. Once he died, these stereotyped essays would lose their meaning.In fact, even if he was alive, these articles would be of little value.As early as August twenty-seventh year of Guangxu (1901), the imperial court issued an imperial edict to reform the imperial examinations: the second examination of the township association, the first examination of five essays on my country's political history, the second examination of five essays on politics, arts and learning from various countries, and the third examination Try two chapters of "Four Books" and one chapter of "Five Classics".Stereotyped formulas are not allowed for the meanings of the "Four Books" and "Five Classics". Ma Tong should have known about the reform of imperial examinations during his lifetime, but I didn't see his new text of policy questions. I felt a little strange. "This distant nephew of mine has devoted his whole life to gaining fame, but he always loses his name every time. It's so pitiful! But after he failed the rankings, he didn't lose heart. He insisted on taking part in the boy's exam every time, and he never failed every time. He really has perseverance. , but the heavens blame people..." Boss Xu sighed and expressed emotion when he mentioned that Mr. Ma was keen on imperial examinations. I also sigh with me.From Ma Tongsheng, I saw the diligence of scholars in pursuit of fame and fame. It can be said that everything is inferior, and only reading is high! Before leaving, Boss Xu asked the clerk to take another bag of silver and entrusted us to deliver it to Ma Tongsheng's family as condolences and pensions.Over the years, Ma has only read books of sages and sages, and rarely takes care of his family. The family is often struggling and the economy is not well off. In order not to waste time, we immediately got up and walked. Starting from the Hongjiang River, we performed the corpse fast movement technique, and arrived at the foot of Xuefeng Mountain in a short while. Xuefeng Mountain is named for the perennial snow on the top of the mountain.It starts from the border of Hunan and Guangxi in the south, connects with Nanling, and its tail leans over the Dongting Lake area.The entire mountain range stretches for more than 600 miles, spans 200 miles, and the peaks and ridges are as high as 400 to 500 feet.It is the watershed between the two different natural landscapes in the east and the west and between Yuanjiang River and Zishui River.In the deep mountains and old forests, forest musk deer, South China tigers, leopards and other exotic animals appear from time to time. Xuefeng Mountain has a well-developed water system. The tributaries of the Yuanjiang River, Wushui, Xushui, and Yiwang River, the source of Zishui and its tributaries, Pingxi and Chenxi, all come from both sides of the mountain.Two main streams cut through the middle and north section of Xuefeng mountain, and the river course turns in a zigzag shape, forming a canyon. Although the mountains and water systems are developed, the drop is huge and it is difficult for ships to pass. Therefore, corpses cannot go by water, they can only go over mountains and ridges. In addition, the mountains are undulating, the slopes are steep and the roads are steep, and the corpses are difficult to maneuver. This kind of work. When we came to the foot of Xuefeng Mountain, we stopped the quick movement of corpses.Because the speed of the fast-moving dead bodies is too fast, our physical strength will not be able to keep up with time, especially if we are fast-moving on a steep mountain like Xuefeng Mountain, our physical strength will be even more exhausted. Xuefeng Mountain is dangerous, with undulating mountains, and it will be impossible to go out for a while. Because of this, it is usually inaccessible.Occasionally, people are seen, and most of them are accompanied by caravans.People who are alone are generally afraid to pass, because there are wild beasts in the mountains, and there are bandits blocking the road to rob. In addition, the mountain roads are long and full of miasma. The three of us drove Ma Tongsheng's body into the mountain from the north slope, and after going up and down several times, we came to a place called Chanziping. Entering Chanziping, you will feel the wind blowing in the forest.I reminded Tian Gudao to pay attention to the movement around him. "Senior brother, I'm afraid of a bird. We have your Brahma Mantra Heavenly Rod. Ordinary ghosts should not be able to get close." Tian Gudao replied. "We haven't seen how much power this Brahma mantra stick has, so we'd better be careful!" I reminded him. Going further in, there are people shaking from time to time. Tian Gudao murmured: "It's really crazy. Before this mountain forest was very quiet, and no one came. Why did this place suddenly become popular?!" I am also very puzzled. We looked around and found that many caves had been dug in the mountain, and there were thatched sheds next to the caves. A man was picking soil out of the cave, and a woman next to the cave took the basket and dumped the soil at the foot of the slope ahead.A two or three-year-old child was sitting and crawling on the ground, playing leisurely. We stopped him and asked about the situation. "We came here from Chenyang to dig for gold. There are many fellow villagers here. There is gold in the mountains here. As long as you are willing to work hard, you can still get a harvest. It is much better than farming. If you are lucky, you will get rich If you dig here for a year, you can live comfortably for the rest of your life." The man talked to us. "Boom..." While talking, suddenly there was a loud noise from the mountains not far away. "That's someone firing cannons, digging holes in the mountains!" Seeing our doubts, the man explained, "But we generally don't fire cannons, and choose to dig holes by hand. The progress of firing cannons is much faster, but it is very unsafe, and it is easy to cause caves to collapse. So , People died here within a few days. They were all buried by landslides caused by mountain cannons, or they were accidentally injured by mountain cannons and died because they couldn't escape... Hey, four or five people have died since I came here. Those who came here to pan for gold There are also a lot of people from other provinces. After they died, they couldn’t go back, so they dug a hole on the side of the mountain and buried them on the spot. Look, there are many new graves below.” We looked in the direction of the man's finger, and there were indeed many new graves on the mountainside, some with paper flowers and flags inserted indiscriminately, and some were just piles of new soil... And in the middle of these graves Not far away, there are many caves. In a small stream downhill, many people washed sand in the stream. A wooden sieve and a large basin are common tools used by gold diggers. "My fellow, how long have you been here, have you found any gold?" Tian Gudao expressed a strong interest in gold panning. "Our family has only been here for half a month. We have panned for some gold, but it is far behind others. After all, we are novices. But it is much better than staying at home and farming. We have already panned for three coins. It's gold, and it can be sold for a lot of money." The man showed a satisfied look. "How about we exchange silver with you for some gold?" Tian Gudao said to the man. "Shh! We can't exchange it with others alone. There is a gold head in charge here, and the gold he finds can only be redeemed by him. If he is found selling gold privately, he will be kicked out of here." The man said cautiously. "We trade privately, and Jintou won't know. How about our price being 20% ​​higher than his? Our silver is too heavy, not to mention taking up space. The main thing is that it is hard to carry and it is inconvenient to walk." Tian Gudao seduced the other party. The man looked at us suspiciously for a while, and probably saw that we were not bad people or blackmailers, so he carefully pulled us into the shed he built and told the woman to watch the wind. After entering the shed, the man opened the hidden pockets sewn inside the jacket, and took out a tightly tied brown cloth bag. The cloth bag was opened, revealing a large and a small pile of hard objects that looked like dried dung. He carefully fiddled with the hard objects in the paper ball and said, "Look, this is gold, worth more than two renminbi." Tian Gudao reached out to pick it up.With a flash of his body, the man put the gold aside.Tian Gudao quickly took out the silver and paid it to the other party. The man weighed it, and finally handed the gold to Tian Gudao: "Don't open the bag to look after you go out, you can only open the bag to check after you have walked ten miles away, otherwise I will be in trouble if the gold head finds it!" Tian Gudao nodded in agreement, wrapped the gold carefully and put it in his bosom. We continued to drive forward, and when we said goodbye, the man reminded us: "This mountain forest is often haunted by ghosts. I guess it is the ghosts of the dead who came to pan for gold from other places. Be careful and get out of this forest as soon as possible to avoid accidents." We spread our pace, shuttled through the mountains, and headed towards Baoqing Mansion. After walking about three miles, it was already dark.We were going to find water and some dry food, and there was a thatched shed not far in front. Afraid that the rushing corpse would frighten others, I asked Tian Gudao to wait outside, and went to ask for water by myself. I pushed the door open and entered, only to see two men dressed as scholars drinking tea and playing chess.These two people, one old and one young, look at their conversation as if they had forgotten each other. I asked them for water, but two scholars kindly invited me to sit down. Among them, the young scholar got up to pour water for me, and the old scholar invited me to play chess.I don't refuse either. The two played chess while talking.The old scholar introduced himself as a Juren of the Qianlong Dynasty, and the young scholar was a Jinshi of the Qianlong Dynasty. I was very surprised: "You are neighbors? There is a big difference in age, but the friendship is very good!" The old scholar said: "My surname is Li, and I am a local. I have been familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics since I was a child. I think I am full of knowledge and knowledge, but every time I take the exam, I always..." Seeing my suspicious eyes, the old scholar continued: "The reason why I failed in the exams is because of my younger brother. Both of us, both brothers, were smart since we were young, and both of us could read. The neighbors were very envious, saying that the tomb of our Li family's ancestors showed spirits. , even Mr. Private School said that we brothers will definitely gain fame. However, our family fell into poverty after a while, and our family was so poor that we could no longer support us to study. However, my mother tried every means and borrowed money from others. For one person to study. But my younger brother and I both want to study. At this time, our parents are very embarrassed. They are both their own flesh and blood, and they are both very talented in studying. Seeing that the time for the scientific examination is coming, my brother and I miss it very much. Participating, but my parents were in a dilemma. So, I used my brain and put some crotons in my brother’s meal to make him have diarrhea. He lost weight very quickly and his body was about to collapse. Seeing this situation, My parents let me take the scientific examination, and sure enough, I won the provincial examination for the first time. Since then, I have participated in the general examination several times, but there are always problems." "What's the matter?" I asked hastily. "It was the first time I went to the capital to participate in the general examination. The night before the examination, I felt sick to my stomach. When I went to the examination room, I developed dysentery. I had to go to the latrine forty or fifty times a day. After such a toss, I naturally failed. .” Li Ju said with regret in his voice. "If you didn't pass the exam the first time, you can come again the second time." I said. "Yes, I went to take the test for the second time, but another accident happened." "What accident?" "I felt very good in the first two exams. By the time of the third exam, my answers were smooth and smooth. But when it was time to turn in the paper, a pot of ink next to it was knocked over, obliterating all the exam papers... This time, again Didn't pass the exam!" "Why do things always go wrong?" I was surprised. "It's all my brother's fault!" "What's the matter with your brother?" "I haven't finished the story just now. My brother was depressed because he lost the opportunity of the scientific examination. Later, I don't know how to know that I put the croton in his meal, so he threw himself into the river in grief and anger one evening."