Before it got completely dark, we arrived at Granny Smallpox's residence.
There were a few bamboo houses, located on the edge of the canyon. Below the canyon was a rushing river, and above it was a suspension bridge. The suspension bridge must have been built a long time ago, and many places were already rusty and dilapidated.
Wu Yongchang pointed to the suspension bridge ahead and said to us, "Let's go. After we cross the suspension bridge, we will be able to see Granny Smallpox!"
Then we followed Wu Yongchang and stepped onto the suspension bridge.
The suspension bridge was a little shaky, so we all walked carefully holding the chains on the side.
Soon, we arrived at the other side of the suspension bridge.
But as soon as we got off the suspension bridge, we were stopped by someone.
The girl who appeared in front of us was a young Miao girl, about 18 or 19 years old. Her clothes were those of the Miao people, and her headdress was also that of the Miao people, which looked silver and shiny. When she spoke, two dimples appeared on both sides of her fair face, and she looked pretty.
"Stop! Who are you?"
The Miao girl shouted softly, blocking our way.
Wu Yongchang came over and said to the Miao girl with a smile: "Qiu Shui, you don't recognize me, I am Wu Yongchang from the mountain! I came to your place a year ago. We met once."
Miao looked at Wu Yongchang suspiciously. After a moment, she shook her head and said, "I'm sorry, I don't remember you."
An embarrassed look appeared on Wu Yongchang's face.
After a while, Wu Yongchang smiled again and said, "Okay, okay, if you don't remember, then don't remember. But we came here this time to ask to see Granny Smallpox. I hope you can take us there to see Granny Smallpox."
But Miao girl shook her head and said, "I'm sorry, my grandma is sick and can't help you. You should go back quickly! Come back later."
"But, Miss Qiushui, we really have something urgent to do! It's about Granny Chimu. We hope you can inform Granny Tianhua so that our trip will not be in vain."
But the Miao girl was still very stubborn. She pouted and said unhappily, "I've already told you that my grandma is sick. So she can't help you. You should go back first. Besides, my grandma won't see anyone outside Miao territory. Don't you know that?"
At this point, the Miao girl's eyes swept over us. Through her eyes, I sensed a lot of hostility.
It seems that something must have happened between people outside Miao and that smallpox grandmother, otherwise the smallpox grandmother and this Miao girl would not be so xenophobic.
I took a step forward, walked up to the Miao girl, and said gently, "Young lady, we really have something urgent to discuss with Granny Smallpox. Please help us."
The Miao girl's eyes were focused on me.
Her eyes surveyed me and she asked, "Who are you?"
I raised my head slightly and said, "My name is Yang Tianyi, and I'm a ghost-catching Taoist priest. This time, we came here to look for someone, but this person might have been captured by Granny Chimu, so we came here to ask Granny Tianhua for help."
But I didn’t expect that the Miao girl became even angrier after hearing that I was a Taoist priest who caught ghosts.
She said coldly: "You'd better leave. My mother-in-law won't help you. What my mother-in-law hates most is the Taoist priest who catches ghosts."
But we didn’t move.
Miao Nu said again: "You'd better leave here quickly. If my mother-in-law knew that you are ghost-catching Taoist priests, I'm afraid she would not let you go. She hates ghost-catching Taoist priests the most."
Damn, that smallpox
The mother-in-law has a grudge against the ghost-catching Taoist priest.
This is exactly what happened to us. We are really unlucky.
Wu Yongchang on the side spoke again and again, but was rejected by Miao.
Seeing that the Miao girl was adamant and refused to inform us, I thought for a moment and said to Wu Yongchang, "Mr. Wu, if that's the case, let's leave here first. Although we didn't see Granny Smallpox, you have done your best and we are still very grateful to you."
Sighing, Wu Yongchang said, "Well, that's all I can do. I was planning to help you, but I ended up wasting your time."
I smiled and said, "It's okay, Mr. Wu, you worry too much."
After saying that, we turned around and were about to leave.
But unexpectedly, at this moment, an old voice suddenly came from behind us.
"You said Chimu has captured your people. Is this true?"
When I turned around, I saw an old woman in gray Miao clothing standing there with a cane not far away. She was an old woman with wrinkles all over her face and dim eyes.
Many of her black hair had turned silver.
When Wu Yongchang turned around and saw the old woman, he said with surprise, "It's Granny Smallpox. She is Granny Smallpox."
Afterwards, we bypassed the Miao girl and, led by Wu Yongchang, headed towards the Tianhua grandmother.
"Hey! What are you doing? Who allowed you to come here?!"
Miao Nu shouted unhappily.
At this time, the smallpox grandmother also spoke up, "Okay, Qiu Shui, let them all come over."
"Yes, mother-in-law!"
The Miao girl named Qiu Shui bowed respectfully to Granny Tianhua, and then she stood beside Granny Tianhua.
When we left, Miao girl Qiu Shui glared at us fiercely.
Soon we arrived in front of Granny Smallpox.
Under the leadership of Wu Yongchang, we bowed to Granny Tianhua.
Granny Tianhua's eyes fell on me and she said, "Young man, tell me what's going on. Why do you say Chimu has captured your people?"
I thought about it, moved forward, and told Granny Tianhua everything about Zhao Xilan and what happened to us in Longtan Town and Sheshan.
Granny Smallpox listened to us calmly.
Finally, she nodded and said, "Okay, I'll help you. Just follow me first."
"Yes, Granny Smallpox."
Afterwards, we followed Granny Tianhua and entered her bamboo house.
The bamboo house where Grandma Tianhua and Miao girl Qiu Shui live looks a bit old, but it has the size of several rooms.
The bamboo houses were neatly connected together and looked very presentable. In the open space in front of the bamboo houses, there were actually quite a few lilac flowers planted.
So when we get closer, we can smell the rich fragrance of the flowers.
There wasn't much furnishing inside the bamboo house, just a bamboo table, chairs, and a number of miscellaneous items.
There was a fox skin on the wide couch of Grandma Ceiling, and she sat down gently on it.
As soon as we sat down, Granny Tianhua asked, "I heard that you are from the north, and many of you are Taoist ghost catchers. Is this true?"
I nodded and said, "That's right, Granny Tianhua, most of us are from Jiangbin City in the north, and most of the people here are ghost-catching Taoist priests."
But after hearing what I said, the old lady with smallpox suddenly stood up from the bamboo leaning.
she
His eyes immediately fixed on me, and he asked hurriedly, "What did you say? You said you were from Jiangbin City in the north?"
I didn't know why, but I still said, "Yes, we are from Jiangbin City. What's the matter? Granny Tianhua, do you also know a ghost-catching Taoist priest in Jiangbin City?"
Granny Tianhua didn't answer me immediately, but lowered her head.
After a moment of hesitation, Granny Tianhua slowly raised her head and asked, "Does anyone of you know Jiang Jiuzhen?"
When we heard Granny Tianhua mention Jiang Jiuzhen, Wang Jiuyang and I looked at each other subconsciously.
Seeing Wang Jiuyang and I react, Granny Tianhua asked, "Could it be that you two know Jiang Jiuzhen?"
I thought about it and said, "Grandma Tianhua, to be honest, my uncle Wang Jiuyang and I do know Jiang Jiuzhen, because Jiang Jiuzhen is my master and my uncle's senior brother."
"What? You are Jiang Jiuzhen's apprentice! He is Jiang Jiuzhen's junior fellow apprentice!"
When Granny Tianhua said this, her face was filled with excitement and surprise.
I nodded, "That's right, Granny Tianhua, I am Jiang Jiuzhen's apprentice, my name is Yang Tianyi."
Wang Jiuyang also said, "I am Jiang Jiuzhen's junior fellow apprentice. My name is Wang Jiuyang."
Granny Smallpox didn't answer us.
I noticed that tears appeared in her old eyes.
We were all stunned. What was going on? Why was Grandma Smallpox crying
Could it be that Granny Smallpox and Jiang Jiuzhen have some connection? This thought came to my mind.
The Miao girl Qiu Shui, who was standing nearby, hurried to the side of Grandma Tianhua and wiped her tears with a piece of thin cloth.
"Mother-in-law, what's wrong with you? Why are you crying? Did these people make you angry? If they make you angry, I will chase them away now."
The look in the Miao girl Qiu Shui's eyes when she looked at us became ferocious.
But Granny Tianhua quickly stopped her and said, "No, no, no, it's not them, it's me. I just thought of my old friends and felt sad. It has nothing to do with them."
The Miao girl Qiu Shui slowly helped Grandma Tianhua back to sit on the bamboo chair.
After a while, Granny Tianhua asked me, "Young man, you said you are Jiang Jiuzhen's apprentice, how do you prove it?"
How to prove it? This is not difficult for me.
I stood up, bowed to Granny Smallpox and said, "Granny Smallpox, I have mastered the Yin-Yang diagram. If you want to see it, I can show it to you."
Granny Tianhua said, "Okay, then show me how to do it."
"Can!"
Then, I took a step forward, and the energy of Yin De immediately flowed into my right hand, and suddenly the black and white dots on my right hand were filled with the energy of Yin De.
In an instant, the Yin-Yang diagram was completed!
The black and white poles shot out from the palm of my right hand, constantly converging and growing, protecting me in front.
Staring at the Yin-Yang diagram, Granny Tianhua's eyes were fixed. Her eyes seemed to have fallen into past memories, and they looked a little confused and fascinated.
After a while, Granny Tianhua came to her senses, waved her hands at me, and said with a smile: "Enough, enough, Yang Tianyi, please stop. I already know that you are Jiang Jiuzhen's apprentice."
At this point, Granny Tianhua asked me, "Is he okay now?"
The "he" that Granny Tianhua mentioned was naturally Jiang Jiuzhen. However, when she said this, she had a worried look on her face.
I am almost certain that this smallpox grandma is related to my fake master Jiang Jiuzhen. They may even have had a relationship. This is also possible.
(to be continued)
(End of this chapter) (End of this chapter)