Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 513 Plum Blossom Manor

As the sky grew darker, around 10 o'clock in the evening, the three of them went out and headed straight for the village cemetery.

On the way, the third uncle said to Xiao Ran: "Don't think that Qingcheng Mountain is the first cave heaven of Taoism. In fact, it is also very evil, especially the back mountain. In the past, this place was called Ghost Mountain."

Liumu followed behind and heard what the third uncle said. He agreed and said, "That is indeed the case, but it is not accurate."

"Hmm?" The third uncle turned around and looked at Liumu.

I only heard Liumu say: "It's not that the mountain is high, but it is magical if there are immortals. Qingcheng Mountain is a paradise, but if there are no people, it is just a mess. The same is true for the so-called ghost mountain."

"baffling!"

The third uncle curled his lips and looked down upon Liumu's words.

Xiao Ran did understand what Liumu meant. It was clear that this place was not a haunted mountain. The reason why there were so many ghosts was because of the Plum Blossom Taoist hidden in the mountain.

As they were talking, Xiao Ran and his three companions arrived near the ceremonial gate, but the third uncle did not continue to take Xiao Ran into the mountains. Instead, he stepped back and found a bush to hide in with Xiao Ran.

There were a lot of mosquitoes in the mountains, and in a short while, the mosquitoes bit the third uncle's face until it was full of pimples. What made the third uncle depressed was that the mosquitoes seemed to have targeted him alone. As for Xiao Ran and Liu Mu, the mosquitoes didn't even bite them.

"Third Master, what did you do before?"

Liumu was bored and lying in the haystack. He looked up and down at the third uncle and asked with a smile.

"What else can we do besides farming?" said the third uncle unhappily.

Hearing this, Liumu said with a meaningful expression: "Oh, I see you know so much, I thought you were also a gangster in the past."

The third uncle looked back at Liumu and said nothing, but Xiao Ran could sense a hint of murderous intent in the eyes of the third uncle the moment he turned his head.

"It seems that this Third Master is not the honest man that Hao Zhaowen said he was."

But I want to go find Meihua Manor. As for who the third uncle is, he has nothing to do with me.

The three of them waited in the bushes until almost dawn.

Xiao Ran suddenly opened his eyes and glanced towards the other side of the forest.

In the dark forest, the sound of suona was getting closer and closer. Xiao Ran had excellent eyesight. He looked through the forest and saw a team coming towards them with drums and gongs.

Just as Uncle San said, it was a lion dance team, beating drums and gongs and it was very lively.

It's just... this team was jumping around so much, and from time to time someone's leg would fall off, or the lion's head would twist and then roll out. It was heartbreaking to watch.

The Third Master did not have Xiao Ran's ability, but he could feel the cold wind in the air. He immediately took out a box from his pocket. Inside was a black powder. No one knew what it was.

"It should be time."

As he spoke, he lit the powder in the box and a wisp of green smoke floated out of the box.

The Third Master held the box in both hands, carefully spun it around himself, and then handed it to Xiao Ran: "Quick, hold the box and spin it around your body."

"What's this??"

Xiao Ran looked at the Third Master in confusion.

Liumu, who was standing nearby, leaned over and lifted his nose, then suddenly realized, "Rhinoceros fragrance."

"Hey, you kid also knows about rhinoceros incense?" The Third Master looked at Liumu with some surprise.

"Haha, raw rhinoceros horn cannot be burned. If it is burned, it will have a strange fragrance. If it touches clothes, people can communicate with ghosts."

As the great devil, how could Liumu not know this kind of thing? It’s just that he and Xiao Ran don’t actually have any use for this thing. Xiao Ran can see ghosts, so of course he can too.

However, the two of them still cooperated well, holding the box and spinning it around themselves.

As soon as the green smoke touched the two of them, Xiao Ran felt that there was something special on his body.

"Is it true? It feels like there is a thin film covering the body. This is a kind of evil spirit unique to the living rhinoceros." Liumu said.

Xiao Ran felt it and thought that this method was only effective for ordinary people. It was completely unnecessary for him and was not as effective as half of the Yin-Yang method.

"Here I come, come on, put on the lion head and follow me, don't run around."

The Third Master ordered some raw rhinoceros and could see the lion dance team in the distance. He quickly called Xiao Ran and Liu Mu, and he put on the big-headed doll, picked up a small fan, twisted his waist, and walked forward.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran and Liu Mu covered their heads with the lion and followed the Third Master.

"This old man is not a good person. I think his hands are stained with blood."

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Liumu reminded Xiao Ran.

"What did you see?"

Xiao Ran turned around and asked. In fact, it was only when Liumu spoke and caused the Third Master to turn around that he noticed that this old man was not simple.

"Can you let me go back and rest?"

"If you don't tell me, I can let you go back and rest."

Liumu was startled when he heard this, and then he quickly explained: "This old man has a demon in his heart. As long as he has an idea, I can naturally feel it. I'm afraid that his purpose in helping you this time is not simple."

Liumu is not a human, he is a demon. People have evil in their hearts and demons will arise in their hearts. It is useless to hide in front of him no matter how well you hide.

"Just go and see."

Xiao Ran didn't care, as long as it didn't conflict with his own goals.

The three men emerged from the bushes, but before they could blend into the team, they were stopped by a black-faced man.

"Stop, where are you from? What are you doing?"

The Third Master seemed to be prepared for this. He took out two yellow things from his pocket and calmly stuffed them into the black-faced man's pocket.

"The guy who's eating lunch is passing by here and wants a bowl of water to drink."

Xiao Ran was a little surprised when Third Master said this. This was pure underworld jargon, and it didn't seem like an ordinary person could say it so smoothly.

"Oh." The dark-faced man glanced at Xiao Ran and Liu Mu behind him and said, "Your pair of chopsticks is not a big deal, but the water bucket is necessary."

You don't need a bowl of rice, but if you want to eat, you have to give a portion as a filial piety.

"Easy to say, easy to say."

The third uncle nodded, then took Xiao Ran and Liu Mu to follow the team.

"Third Master, what did you just say? Why can't I understand?"

Liumu stuck his head out and asked the Third Master.

The Third Master hit Liumu on the head with his fan and knocked Liumu back.

"I'll explain it to you later. Don't show up. Just follow my instructions."

Liumu curled his lips and cursed in his heart: "Old thing, if it were in the past, I would make you live a life worse than death."

At this time, a cool breeze blew in from outside, and there was a chilly wind blowing all around. The further we walked, the stronger the wind became, and when it blew on our bodies, we felt as if our skin and flesh were being scraped by a knife.

Xiao Ran and Liu Mu were naturally fearless, but it was hard for the Third Master who was walking in front. Xiao Ran saw that he was trembling all over as he walked.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran simply quickened his pace and walked in front to help the Third Master block the attack. After all, he was helping himself. Even if his motives were not pure, he could not let the other party fall here.

With Xiao Ran and Liu Mu standing in front, the Third Master obviously felt much better, at least he no longer staggered when he walked.

The road seemed to be getting longer and longer, but Xiao Ran felt like they were going in circles, so he looked back at Liumu.

"It's normal to be trapped in a maze. There are some tricks to this place. Just keep following."

Liumu stuck his head out, looked around, and then retracted it. He couldn't help muttering, "No wonder even the ghost messengers from the underworld couldn't find Plum Blossom Taoist. This is such a big maze that anyone who enters will be confused."

Xiao Ran was helpless upon hearing this and could only continue to follow the team.

After walking for about half an hour, Xiao Ran raised his nose and suddenly smelled a faint scent of plum blossoms. He looked out through the lion's mouth. He saw the same ceremonial gate in front of him. They had walked a long way and were actually back. The only difference was that there was a bluestone path behind the gate this time. On both sides of the path, plum trees were covered with dark purple plum blossoms.

"We've reached the entrance!"

The Third Master pointed to the front and said to Xiao Ran: "This is the real entrance to the ghost village. Listen to me from now on. Don't rush to run."

"What do you mean?" Xiao Ran looked at the Third Master in confusion, but the Third Master had no intention of explaining. He just waved his hand and said, "You'll know later."

As he spoke, the Third Master walked in front, waving his fan.

The team walked inside with drums and gongs beating, and soon, some houses appeared in Xiao Ran's sight.

Hearing the sound of gongs and drums outside, some figures came out of the house one after another.

Xiao Ran noticed that many of these people had long braids, and the clothes they were wearing seemed to be from a long time ago.

"Boom boom boom!"

At this moment, the team's mood suddenly changed and became hurried. The lions that were originally arranged in a straight line quickly dispersed to the left and right. Then several guys rushed up from the back of the team and erected four logs, each of which was about ten meters high.

With these four logs as the center, tables, chairs and benches were quickly stacked on top of each other to form a towering tower.

Twelve ropes hang down from the four corners of the Tower of Babel and are fixed to the ground with nails. These ropes are not only used for fixing, but also serve as rope ladders for the lion dancers to climb up.

"Climb up slowly later. Don't be in a hurry. Look carefully and tell me which plum tree in the yard has red plums."

"Tell you? How should I tell you?" Liumu asked puzzledly.

"It's simple. This rope is about 40 meters long, with a knot every four meters. The first eight meters don't count, and the last thirty-two meters represent east, south, west, north, southeast, southwest, northeast, and northwest. If you see a house with red plums, you stop in that direction. The number of times you jump represents the house you are in. If you climb up, stand in the corresponding direction and shake the lion's head a few times, that's the house you are in."

Xiao Ran understood what he said. He looked at Master San with a strange expression: "Master San, so you are going to... steal something?"

Hearing Xiao Ran's question, the Third Master grinned like a fox with its tail exposed: "Of course, this red plum is called Ghost Fairy Pill. Aren't you here just for this thing? You are responsible for reporting, and I am responsible for stealing. We will each have half of the plums we get."

Sure enough, this Third Master is really an old hand.

No wonder he agreed to my request so readily. It turned out that his purpose in coming here was for the plums.

But he didn't come here for these plums, and Xiao Ran didn't want to waste his time on this. When he was about to refuse, Liumu nodded and agreed.

"Okay, but we'll split it 70-30. We'll take 30 and you'll take 70. Don't tell me you don't agree. It's not easy to climb the Tower of Babel. You might even lose your life if you're not careful."

The Third Master curled his lips when he heard this: "Fifty-fifty at best."

"Fifty-fifty is fifty-fifty."

After Liumu agreed, he turned around and winked at Xiao Ran. Seeing this, Xiao Ran didn't say anything else. He didn't know what Liumu was planning, but he was definitely up to no good.

"Boom boom boom!"

The sound of gongs and drums became louder and louder, and lions began to climb up the ropes one after another.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran and Liu Mu put on the lion heads and jumped onto the rope in one step.

The rope was soft, and it was not an easy task for two people to climb up while tying the lion, but it was a piece of cake for Xiao Ran and Liu Mu.

The two men stepped on the rope, as light as a swallow. They looked back every three steps and turned around every five steps, which immediately attracted applause from the people around them.

"Why did you agree to him? Isn't this just a waste of time?"

Xiao Ran asked Liumu in the Lion Head.

But Liumu let out a sly laugh and said to Xiao Ran, "What kind of ghost elixir is that? I don't know where this old man heard the news from, but he actually thinks this thing is a treasure. It makes me laugh to death."

"What do you mean?"

"When I entered the village just now, I noticed the plums on these trees. They are called ghost plums, which are formed from the resentment of wandering ghosts. If a ghost eats them, it can guarantee that his true spirit will not dissipate for ten years. But if a living person eats them, it will be fun."

Although Liumu didn't say what the fun was, Xiao Ran could guess with his toes that it would definitely not be a good result. He would either become a madman or a fool.

"So you agreed to him because of this?"

Xiao Ran's face became a little gloomy. He didn't care about the life or death of this old man, but Liumu rashly made the decision for him, which made Xiao Ran start to feel angry.

Sensing Xiao Ran's displeasure, Liumu's heart trembled, and he hurriedly said: "Of course not, the life and death of this old man has nothing to do with us, but this place is very evil. As soon as I came in, I felt uncomfortable all over. What kind of character do you think the Plum Blossom Taoist is? Do you really think he is a good person? This old guy's methods are very dark. Do you know how he got the name of Plum Blossom Taoist?"

"One branch of plum blossom conveys four methods. From now on, the mountains and rivers are filled with the fragrance of plum blossoms." Xiao Ran said.

"Let go..." Liumu was about to swear when he heard that, but when he saw Xiao Ran staring at him, he held back the last word and shook his head and said, "That was all after he became famous."

Back then, this person was unknown, but suddenly he emerged as a rising star and opened a Taoist temple in a place like Qingcheng Mountain. How could such a huge Qingcheng Mountain ignore this?

The Manchus entered the country and the country was in ruins.

It is fine when the country is peaceful and the people are prosperous in all dynasties, but when the country is in ruins and dynasties change, there will always be demons running rampant and evil ways everywhere that bring disaster to the world.

However, the Plum Blossom Taoist single-handedly swept through the ten demons and nine sects in the world. Over a period of sixty years, he killed all the evil forces in the world so that they dared not show up. But this person also particularly liked plum blossoms.

Every time someone is killed, the corpse will be turned into fertilizer to plant plum blossoms.

Later, the whole mountain was covered with plum blossoms. In the cold winter, the snow was white, and only this plum blossom forest remained. The red plum blossoms looked like blood, and seemed beautiful, but if people knew the inside story, they would only feel their scalp tingling.

The plum trees in Shu are gorgeous in snow, and white bones are piled up under the trees.

This is where the name of Plum Blossom Taoist comes from.

And it wasn't just the evil ones who died at the hands of Plum Blossom Taoist. There were also people in the righteous path who couldn't stand his way of doing things and were killed just for arguing with him for a few words.

This even triggered a dispute in the martial arts world, and masters of both good and evil gathered their troops to encircle and suppress him, but in the end, they just added a few more plum trees to the plum forest.

Such a ruthless guy has been hiding here for so many years. How can he be a place where people can come and go as they please? And he even allows people to steal plums?

"To put it bluntly, with the skills of Plum Blossom Taoist, how could he leave such a flaw for people to find easily? I'm afraid he did it on purpose. It's not that simple."

Xiao Ran felt relieved after hearing Liumu's explanation. He stared at Liumu for a long time and said, "Tell me the truth, you treated Plum Blossom Taoist like this, have you ever been beaten by him?"

Liumu was stunned when he heard that. He immediately raised his head and sneered, "Are you kidding me? I am like a fallen ship in your hands. It's just a plum blossom..."

Halfway through his speech, Liumu suddenly remembered that he was still on Plum Blossom Taoist's territory, and the arrogance on his face immediately collapsed. When he spoke the rest of the time, his voice was as soft as a mosquito, and even Xiao Ran couldn't hear clearly what he said.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran stopped asking questions and climbed up while dancing the lion dance. At the same time, he looked around and noticed that there were several bright red plums hanging on the plum trees of several nearby families. He asked Liumu to pass a message to the Third Master below.

After receiving the message from Liumu, San Ye calmly withdrew from the crowd.

Not long after, Xiao Ran saw something on the plum tree shaking, and he knew that the Third Master had succeeded.

He also took the opportunity to raise the lion's head and look down from above, and found that the shape of the huge village in front of him was actually the same layout as the plum blossom.

But after looking around, I didn't see the so-called Plum Blossom Manor.

"Strange, Plum Blossom Manor is not in the village, is it outside the village?"

Xiao Ran tried to look in the direction outside the village, but it was pitch black and he could not see anything.

So he could only continue to climb up slowly, passing messages to the Third Master as he climbed.

Uncle San has been successful many times, and the villagers were attracted to see the lions, so no one was left at home.

Although Third Master is quite old, he is quite skilled. Plums fall into his hands one after another, making his face flush with excitement.

At this moment, Master San suddenly noticed that there seemed to be a particularly large and red plum on the plum tree next to him, and his eyes immediately lit up.

"Eating plums this big will surely prolong your life!"

He stood up and climbed up the plum tree. Looking at the plum in front of him which was as big as a baby's fist, the joy on his face was beyond words. But just as he reached out his hand to pick the plum.

Suddenly, the plum in front of him shook violently, and a crack appeared on the plum. A red eye stared at the Third Master and let out a sharp scream: "Hao Lao San! I've been waiting for you for many years!!"

(End of this chapter)