Starting with the flesh-based stimulant

Zhou He opened his eyes, his head still a little dizzy.

Voices could be heard coming from outside the door; the person sounded young and had a heavy accent.

"Uncle Han, why is the young master still not eating meat?"

Another middle-aged man with a similarly heavy accent ignored him, reached out and knocked on the door, asking:

"Young master, if this isn't suitable, I'll just find that old hunchback to carry the meat."

Although it was a question, without waiting for an answer, he continued to instruct the young man:

"Go find the old hunchback."

Zhou He tried to frown, but found that it seemed only his eyes could move.

He couldn't open his mouth, and his muscles were weak all over, as if he had been injected with a muscle relaxant.

Making this judgment is not difficult for Zhou and other professional psychiatrists.

When dealing with some highly aggressive patients, sedatives and muscle relaxants are commonly used.

But the question is, why am I in this state?

Zhou He slowly turned his eyes, looking around the room he was in.

It was a small mud-brick house, with newspapers pasted on all four walls, some new and some old, and fine dust from the past years moving with the beams of light.

[Grandpa Jincheng won't let us eat meat anymore] [Grandpa Taochuan lost his basin] [Grandma Mubushan bought a lamp] [Eating too much barley flour buns is bad for you]

The newspaper headlines were written entirely in vernacular Chinese, unlike any normal writing style.

Look down again.

In the center of the room, there was a small red altar.

On the offering table was a broken bowl, half-filled with bubbling water, as if it were boiling over a fire.

Beside the broken bowl, in an exquisite incense burner, stood a burning chopstick, its flame the size of a bean, dancing on its own without wind.

The offering table is located on the outside, next to a black earthenware pot. Paper money is burning in the pot, and the image of a thin old man is faintly visible on the paper money.

The atmosphere was eerie and unsettling, but what terrified Zhou He even more was that he had just realized something.

I haven't breathed since I opened my eyes!

Fear arose spontaneously; the only sound in the room was the faint murmur of a burning flame.

Zhou He felt like a ship adrift on a vast sea.

No.

Fear is an absolutely negative emotion for me right now.

He slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again, repeating this several times, trying to mentally convince himself to lock the fear deep within his consciousness.

Footsteps came from outside the door, and Zhou He tried hard to listen.

Old Han spoke first:

"Hunchback, following the old rules, let's offer this to the Buddha and keep our steps quick on the road."

"Don't worry, sir. We know. After all, we have the travel permit and have passed through the exit gate. We've been meat carriers for decades and have delivered hundreds of pieces of meat. You can rest assured."

"Of course I believe you, but this is wild meat today. If you're not careful, and you open your eyes, something terrible might happen."

The hunchback chuckled and stopped talking, then pushed the door open with a creak.

The blinding sunlight pierced into the dimly lit room, and Zhou He squinted to see.

It was a hunched figure, wearing tattered clothes and an old straw hat, looking like a hunchback.

The hunchback didn't approach. With the door wide open, he bent down, grabbed the broken bowl from the offering table, brought it to his lips, opened his mouth wide, and swallowed the still-gurgling water in one gulp.

He then braved the flames, grabbed the burning chopsticks, and tapped the burning end twice against his collarbone.

With a long sigh, the hunchback tapped his chopsticks on the rim of his bowl, making a strange, chanting sound, as if reciting or singing:

"Wearing tattered clothes, carrying a broken bowl, and holding a broken bamboo pole in his hand;

The bamboo pole taps against the rim of the bowl, while the speaker chants "passing three checkpoints."

The first hurdle is the human world; you are a bowl of rice in this world.

The second challenge is the Yellow Springs Inn, where the Yellow Springs Elder's surname is Yan;

The third challenge is the Jade Emperor's Palace. When you meet the Jade Emperor, do not speak any further.

Knock three times, pass three tests, and once all three tests are passed—then we'll set off in the sedan chair.

As Zhou He listened, he felt a vague sense of nausea.

The old hunchback's voice seemed to float in the air, enveloping his consciousness and making him feel even more drowsy.

His eyelids grew heavy, but Zhou He mustered his willpower and peeked through a crack.

The hunchback in tattered clothes bent down, placed the broken bowl over the incense burner, and threw the bowl and burner together into the earthenware basin.

The flames in the earthenware pot went out instantly, without even a wisp of smoke rising.

The hunchback turned around and walked closer, standing on the edge of Zhou He's kang (heated brick bed), and clicked his tongue softly.

Then, pulling hard with both hands, he hoisted himself onto his back with a "Hey!"

Zhou He's abdomen and chest were sore from the hunchback's pressure.

For some reason, when I picked myself up, the hunchback beneath me seemed to be chased by a dog.

Completely unlike the leisurely and composed demeanor she displayed when she first entered, she dashed out of the room in just a few quick steps.

He ran so fast that Zhou He could even feel the strong wind rushing towards him.

Stepping out of the room, one enters a courtyard, passes through a porch, and the person beneath suddenly brakes sharply, stops, and turns in a different direction.

Zhou He squinted, but saw that they had already arrived at the main gate.

The two wooden doors, adorned with faded and chipped door gods, were open inwards.

An old man wearing a dark blue woolen Zhongshan suit, reading glasses, and a ballpoint pen clipped to his chest stood by the door.

It must be the old Han who spoke earlier.

He held a willow branch with its leaves stripped clean, and tapped it lightly on the threshold.

Standing next to Old Han was a young man with pockmarked face.

That young voice from before must have been him speaking.

The young man was holding a black pottery basin, with yellow paper burning inside.

The flames roared, making the young man blink repeatedly.

Beneath Zhou He, the hunchback respectfully addressed Old Han:

"Master, I'll be leaving now. Is there anything else you'd like to say?"

"You know the rules, don't look back on the road, just be careful."

The old hunchback chuckled:

"Everyone in Tuozi Township knows I'm an honest butcher..."

The hunchback answered respectfully, but then seemed unable to resist asking another question.

Before Old Han could speak, the young man holding the basin next to him, probably unable to bear the smoke, said irritably:

"Stop talking nonsense! Get back to work, or you'll be scared to death when you open your eyes!"

Old Han slapped the young man on the head:

Keep your mouth shut! The old hunchback is on business. Besides, this body still belongs to the young master.

The old hunchback chuckled, bowed slightly to Old Han, and then turned to carry Zhou He on his back.

Two sparsely planted poplar trees passed by Zhou He's eyes.

The hunchback's footsteps kicked up dust on the simply compacted ground.

As they passed a large courtyard house, a sweet, cloying fragrance relentlessly assaulted Zhou He's nose.

The man beneath him snorted coldly, slowed his pace, and muttered to himself:

"Has Old Master Li been preparing food for several days in a row? His son certainly has a good appetite... Humph!"

After saying that, he seemed somewhat indignant and spat a mouthful of thick phlegm onto the ground, stirring up some dust.

"Where did this outsider come from, reaching into our pond and grabbing things? Damn it! We'll teach him a lesson sooner or later."