False evidence

Chapter 273 Gray Mountain Opens (Part 2)
"What are you saying?!"

Shen San jumped off the carriage, staggered over, picked up the whip the driver had dropped, and whipped the reins wildly: "Turn around! Turn around..."

However, the strong, tall horse not only stopped but also bent its knees, lay down in the snow, buried its mouth in the snow, and trembled all over. No matter how much it was whipped, it wouldn't get up!

As Gray Mountain drew ever closer, Old Master Tang said sadly, "Third son, let's go! Go back and report the death! Come back and collect my bones!"

……

I interrupted Shen San and asked, "What is Gray Mountain?"

Xiao Shen closed his eyes tightly: "Mouse, a mountain made of piled-up mice."

I couldn't help but shudder.

If they could be piled up into a mountain, how many rats would that take?

Xiao Shen said, "There's a saying that's been circulating in our area: 'Don't mess with the women of the Hu family, the fur of the Huang family won't keep you warm; if the Bai family gets into a woodpile, move the stove outside the door; don't mess with Liu Chang and Ding Xi, and go to Huishan to pick up bones.'"

He explained, "I don't need to tell you about the five great families of fox, weasel, white fox, willow, and ash. You must not associate with fox spirits; if you skin a weasel, you are morally corrupt."

The Bai family is named after a hedgehog. Once upon a time, there was a family whose mischievous child saw a white hedgehog crawl into a woodpile... He tried to smoke the hedgehog out, but instead, he set fire to his own house, burning it to the ground.

Hehe, that brat was me. If I hadn't burned down my own family business, why would I need to be someone's servant?
In Northeast China, nobody eats snake meat. Changxian, that is, the Liu family. Although they are 'small in number,' they live off the land. If you offend the Liu family, you might get bitten unexpectedly when you cross the mountain…”

Seeing that he was silent, I took a deep breath and said, "There are countless legends about wild immortals in Northeast China, I've heard some... The opening of the gate in Gray Mountain is..."

Xiao Shen said, "The 'ash' in 'Hu Huang Bai Liu Hui' refers to rats. Do you know which people in Northeast China often worship rats?"

I shook my head.

Xiao Shen said, "The banks of the three rivers are rich in gold mines, and those who live in the Hui family are mostly 'gold rats' who pan for gold. At that time, gold panners mostly lived in dugouts, and most of them also lived in the Hui family."

Let's just talk about Gray Mountain opening the door. Actually, it's not hard to understand from a modern perspective: rats are great at digging holes, but rats also need to eat!
There's a legend in our area that people who pan for gold must make regular offerings to the Ash House.

In reality, the gray family is quite reasonable. If the offerings are cut off, they won't harm the people in the golden nest, since they are provided with food and drink.

But even in the dead of winter, they still need to eat and drink. Those who are unwilling to disturb the golden nest will disturb others.

So, you can think of the so-called "opening of the gate at Gray Mountain" as—the rats, driven mad by hunger, coming out to rob people! They rob for money, and... eat people!

Just imagining the scene gave me goosebumps. "Go on," I said.

……

Shen San grew up in the mountains. Although he had never seen it, he had heard the phrase "Grey Mountain Opens the Gate" so many times that he was sick of it.

Seeing the 'Gray Mountain' blocking the road, everyone knew what had happened.

This is treating hikers like offerings, something to be eaten!

Master Tang knew this too, but let alone his legs and feet being weak, even if his legs and feet were good and he could run... once the mountain was blasted, how could a person possibly run faster than a mouse in the snow that was up to his knees?
"San'er! Let's go!" Master Tang jumped out of the car and whipped Shen San's back hard with a tree branch that he had temporarily used as a cane. "Go! Let's go!"

"Master, you can't! If I leave, I'll be no human being!"

Shen San threw away his riding whip, forcefully hoisted Master Tang onto his back, and walked step by step in the opposite direction from Gray Mountain, shouting tremblingly:
"Damn it! My dad used to be a gold digger! Can't you spare me this time?!"

"Why don't you eat me! I'll be your offering! Spare my master! I grew up eating his rice and flour! He's my provider!" Shen San shouted as he walked, almost crying.

He was afraid that if the gray mountain exploded, thousands of rats would swarm in, and he and Master Tang would end up being gnawed into a pile of white bones.

Shen San didn't walk fast, and Hui Shan followed at a leisurely pace.

After Shen San's voice was almost hoarse from shouting, they reached a mountain ridge. Shen San looked back at the approaching Gray Mountain and resolutely said:
"Master Tang, boss, without you, even if I, Shen San, were alive today, I would still be a beggar. I'll just say one thing... this is all I can do to repay you in this lifetime."

"San'er!"

As soon as Master Tang called out, Shen San shrugged and threw him off his back.

“Shen San…” Master Tang rolled down the hillside.

Shen San suddenly turned around and walked towards Gray Mountain.

"Damn it! Come on! Come at me! Does the Hui family even care about reason? If you do care about reason, come at me! Don't touch my bread and butter!"

"Fuck your mother... Shen San'er!!" Tang Ye's crying and cursing came from down the mountain. "Damn it, go! Go!"

Shen San continued wading through the snow, his steps uneven, muttering to himself:

"I'm sorry, Master, San'er can no longer serve you..."

Seeing Gray Mountain approaching, Shen San suddenly roared and charged forward!

Shen San originally intended to sacrifice himself, but as he approached Gray Mountain, he suddenly felt something was amiss.

How come those rats, piled up like a mountain, don't smell bad?
Moreover, there really was a doorway made by a rat's body right in the middle of that gray mountain!

Just like a cave standing tall in the mountains!
Shen Sancun had given up hope and didn't think much of it, only stopping about ten feet from the 'gray hole':
"Today, Third Master will act like a master for once! I'm in deep trouble! I admit it! If any of you dare to hurt my master again, I won't let you off the hook, even when I'm in the afterlife!"

Having said that, he gritted his teeth, walked straight ahead, and entered the gray mountain gate piled up by swarms of rats...

Seeing that Xiao Shen was looking at me, I nodded: "We're friends enough."

Xiao Shen shook his head: "At that time, Master Tang hadn't even married my wife yet. I'm truly grateful for his great kindness to our family."

I asked, "What if we open the gate to Gray Mountain... and then go inside Gray Mountain?"

"I'm still here!"

Xiao Shen picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp. "I didn't get eaten by rats because the Hui family asked me to do something. This thing, hehe, is... hitchhiking!"

I said directly, "I didn't understand."

Xiao Shen stared at me and said, "When Gray Mountain opens its gate, there's a ghost behind it! They won't accept offerings, they'll only protect that ghost! In short—there's a ghost in the mountain. Their goal is for someone to take that ghost out of the mountain!"

I shook my head: "Now I can understand why Master Tang would allow you to be with... and his concubine. But you said there are people... ghosts in Gray Mountain... I really find it hard to make sense of it."

Xiao Shen chuckled: "What logic do you need? I'm still alive, married, and have children. So the result is—I gave the ghost a ride, fulfilling the collective request of the Gray family, right?"

(End of this chapter)