While the corpse-raiser Heishui was roaring, Wang Jiuyang and I had already quietly returned to the train.
After returning to the train, we found the female conductor and asked her to arrange for us to go to the infirmary.
Wang Jiuyang and I used the ashes from burning talismans to prepare a lot of talisman water in the infirmary. Then, everyone on the train drank the talisman water we prepared under the arrangement of the conductor.
As for the big hole on the top of the train that was created by our fight with the red-haired zombie, it was also dealt with by the female train conductor. However, many passengers still saw me, Wang Jiuyang, and the red-haired zombie through the big hole.
But this matter has already passed. Even though those people felt shocked and terrified, there was nothing we could do. It was just their bad luck that they saw that scene.
The train stopped at several stations along the way and finally arrived in Wenshan City near dusk.
Wenshan City is not the capital of Yunnan Province, but it is also quite rich. In the city center, high-rise buildings are lined up one after another, shops are lined up, and the streets are busy with cars and pedestrians. It can be said to be prosperous.
After we got off the train, if we wanted to reach Longtan Town, we needed to transfer to a bus going to the countryside.
After buying the tickets in the city, the five of us waited at the bus station for more than half an hour before boarding the bus to Longtan Town. The bus took us on the highway for a distance and then got off the provincial road.
It was already pitch black at that time, but with the help of the bus lights, we could still see patches of forests in the mountains...
On the way, I thought of Zhao Xilan and the Zhao family, so I asked Lou Xiaoman why she didn't contact Zhao Xilan's family when Zhao Xilan disappeared? !
You don’t know until you ask, and you’ll be shocked when you do.
It turns out that Zhao Xilan is the eldest daughter of the Zhao family and has been fostered in Lou Xiaoman's home.
Why would Zhao Xilan, who was of good character, be fostered in Lou Xiaoman's home
This is a long story, so let me explain it in detail.
Here's the thing -
The Zhao family is a family of ghost catchers.
More than 20 years ago, when Zhao Xilan was just born, the Zhao family's highly skilled ancestors calculated Zhao Xilan's fate and concluded that Zhao Xilan was born to be alone. If she stayed in the Zhao family, she would kill her biological parents and even affect the fortune of the Zhao family and family business.
Because of this, Zhao Xilan was abandoned by the Zhao family.
But Zhao Xilan's parents couldn't bear to see their child thrown away alive. After all, it wasn't a cat or a dog, but their own flesh and blood. So, they secretly gave the child to Lou Xiaoman, who had a good relationship with them and their husband.
Although they were raising her, Zhao Xilan's parents did not dare to see her. They only secretly asked someone to bring some money and property to Zhao Xilan from time to time.
But even such a secret matter was still discovered by the Zhao family.
The ancestors of the Zhao family were furious when they learned that Zhao Xilan was still alive, and drove Zhao Xilan's parents out of the Zhao family. At this time, Zhao Xilan's parents met Zhao Xilan.
But there are still some members of the Zhao family who are trying every means to harm Zhao Xilan, because Zhao Xilan's life is not good for the Zhao family.
About five years ago, when Zhao Xilan's parents were meeting with Zhao Xilan again, they were hit by a vehicle on the street and both of them died.
This incident made the Zhao family even more convinced that Zhao Xilan was the nemesis of the Zhao family and an ominous person.
Moreover, the Zhao family never stopped harming Zhao Xilan. If Lou Xiaoman had not rescued her several times, Zhao Xilan would have been killed by the Zhao family.
Although we live in a society ruled by law, sometimes things still happen where there is no evidence to prove the crime.
So the Zhao family used their ghost-catching skills to harm Zhao Xilan. But Zhao Xilan was not destined to die, and has lived to this day.
And it is not difficult to hear from Lou Xiaoman's words that Zhao Xilan already hated the Zhao family. I even guessed some secret things from Lou Xiaoman's description - that is, the death of Zhao Xilan's parents was not only because of Zhao Xilan, but also related to the Zhao family.
This is a bit scary.
Now let’s talk about our side.
The roads in the countryside are not easy to walk on, and many places are still dirt roads. Maybe it was because it rained a few days ago, there was still a lot of water on the road.
Even so, at around nine o'clock in the evening, our group of five arrived at Longtan Town.
Longtan Town is located in the southeast of Wenshan City. Although its economic strength is relatively backward, its tourism resources are quite good. Even at night, there are still pedestrians walking on the street.
According to a local fellow who was in the same car, there are more than 20 ethnic groups living in the county where Longtan Town is located, including Han, Zhuang, Miao, Yi, Yao, Hui, Dai, Buyi, Mongolian, and Bai.
It can be seen that Longtan Town is a gathering place for many ethnic groups. It is indeed true!
After getting off the bus, we entered Longtan Town.
I found that the buildings here are really unique. Most of the buildings are wooden structures, and there are many two-story wooden buildings among them, which are quite ethnic minority in style.
But on the one hand, it was late, and we had been on the train for more than a day, so we were in no mood to enjoy the scenery. On the other hand, we came here with a "mission", so we just took a quick look.
The streets were still fairly bright, with big red lanterns hanging on the doors of many houses.
In the past, lanterns were filled with candles, but now they are filled with light bulbs. This saves energy and can also decorate your home.
After walking for a while, Lou Xiaoman took out a red paper bag from her body and handed it to me.
She said, "Tianyi, let's start looking for someone here. If your sister Xilan has really been to Longtan Town, then we can use your compass to find her."
I nodded and reached out to take the red paper package.
When I opened the red paper package, I found a yellow paper with "birth date" written on it and a lock of black hair.
Lou Xiaoman explained: "That strand of hair belongs to your sister Xilan."
I nodded, and then found a place where no one would notice me. I placed Zhao Xilan's birth date and the strand of hair on the compass and burned them.
The white smoke from the ashes penetrated into the compass, and soon the compass needle responded and began to rotate. However, the frequency of the needle's rotation was somewhat unstable.
This means that Zhao Xilan might not be in the same place. But how could a living person not be in the same place
I was surprised by the result.
Wang Jiuyang came over and looked at my compass.
I noticed that his brows also frowned slightly.
After a while, Wang Jiuyang took out a compass from his pocket that was smaller than mine.
He said to me, "Your compass is too big and may not be sensitive enough. Let me try it."
I nodded and poured all the black ash on the small compass.
Soon the needle of the small compass also started to move, but the frequency of the needle of the small compass was the same as that of my large compass, and it also became unstable.
I shook my head and thought, that's not right.
But Wang Jiuyang said calmly: "Come on, follow me! I already know where Zhao Xilan might be."
Although I was confused at heart, I still followed him.
The four of us followed behind Wang Jiuyang, while Wang Jiuyang in front of us kept his eyes on the small compass. It was still late at night.
This scene seemed a bit strange to the villagers and tourists in Longtan Town. They didn't dare to approach us, as if the five of us were crazy.
It’s better not to get close, so we don’t have to waste time explaining.
I approached Wang Jiuyang and asked, "Uncle Jiuyang, isn't your little compass also very unstable? How can you still determine the direction?"
Wang Jiuyang glanced at me and said, "You don't even understand this. I really doubt how my senior brother taught you those methods?!"
I was a little embarrassed at the time and said with a smile: "Don't blame my master, it's my poor learning skills."
Afterwards, Wang Jiuyang brought the small compass to me and showed it to me.
He explained: "Tianyi, did you see that? There is a small needle in the middle of this small compass. That small needle is the most sensitive. It can determine the direction that the large needle outside cannot."
When I saw the small black pointer, I suddenly understood.
Then, guided by the small compass, we walked in Longtan Town for more than ten minutes.
Finally, the needle of the small compass determined a direction.
There is an inn in the center of Longtan Town.
At first glance, the inn is divided into three floors, with a gatehouse and two rows of red lanterns hanging in the front. Walking inside, it looks a bit like a tube building, but it is definitely not a tube building. It's just that the corridors on each floor are connected to form a circular corridor.
There is a wide staircase in the middle of the inn, which leads to the second and third floors.
On the inn's plaque were written four characters in a flamboyant style: "Longtan Inn". The characters were also painted with gold lacquer, and under the dark red light of the lanterns, the four characters shone brightly.
As soon as we arrived at the door of the inn, a young man came to greet us.
The young man was a man, wearing Han Dynasty clothing, giving people a sense of time travel. He was not very old, about 18 or 19 years old, and a little shorter.
"Dear guests, do you want to stay in the hotel?"
The young man bowed to us and spoke politely.
Lou Xiaoman looked at me and then said, "We are staying in the hotel, a total of five people."
When he heard that we were going to stay at the hotel, the young man smiled even more. He quickly said, "Dear guests, please come in!"
Then he took us into the inn.
Not far from the entrance of the inn, there is a counter. The counter is also decorated in a simple style, and there is a large golden abacus hanging on the wall next to the counter.
Behind the counter stood a middle-aged woman wearing a Han hat, writing something in a notebook with a ballpoint pen. She was probably calculating the bill.
Hearing the footsteps, the middle-aged woman raised her head slightly.
I found that this woman's appearance was a little disappointing.
The young man looked at us and quickly said to the woman, "Boss, these five guests want to stay in the hotel!"
Just as I was about to speak, Lou Xiaoman had already walked up to the counter.
Lou Xiaoman took out a photo of Zhao Xilan from her cloth bag and showed it to the female boss.
"Boss, can you please take a look? Has this girl ever been to your place?"
"Have you ever stayed in your inn?"
The five of us all looked at the female boss.
The female boss put down the ballpoint pen in her hand and looked at the photo.
Then she shook her head and said, "This girl is very beautiful, but she has never been to our place."
But Wang Jiuyang's pointer has always pointed here.
At this time, Wang Jiuyang squinted his eyes and said, "Boss, you can't lie! Take another good look. Has this girl been here before?"
Wang Jiuyang's tone seemed a bit stiff and cold, which made the female boss and the "waiter" stunned for a moment.
(to be continued)
(End of this chapter) (End of this chapter)