As dawn was about to dawn, Zhou Qiao drove his body to a back mountain. He vaguely saw a village in the morning mist, with more than a dozen houses scattered at the foot of the mountain. The early morning air was very refreshing, mixed with the breath of plants and trees. From a distance, there were several people floating up, washing away fatigue.

This place is like a paradise, making people feel relaxed involuntarily.

The trip was approaching his destination, and he planned to take a break here. Because he did not want to disturb the villagers, Zhou Qiao hid the body in a cave next to him, strengthened its three souls and seven spirits with secret methods, and then covered it up, and walked along the mountain road to the village. Several households in the village were rising, probably making breakfast. He walked to a door of a house and knocked on the door. Dong! Dong! Dong! A few sounds, after a while,

"Who?" An old voice came from the room, and then the door was opened, revealing an old man with gray hair and wrinkles. Seeing Zhou Qiao in front of him, the old man was slightly stunned: "Who are you looking for?"

"The old man is disturbing me. I am a mountain passerby. I am passing by you. I am a little tired and want to take a rest here. I don't know if it's convenient..." Zhou Qiao said.

"Of course! Please come in quickly!" The old man warmly greeted Zhou Qiao into the house.

Walking into the main hall, Zhou Qiao saw a long table, two chairs, a shabby bowl, and a pair of clean chopsticks.

"Young man, what are your name?" the old man asked with a smile.

"My surname is Zhou, and I have a single word Qiao." Zhou Qiao replied.

"Young man, the dew is heavy in the morning and the weather is cold. Come and drink a cup of hot tea to warm up your body. Few outsiders come in our village. You drink it first..." The old man went to the kitchen and brought the freshly prepared breakfast. A pot of porridge and a plate of pickles, which was very poor and simple. The old man took another pair of bowls and chopsticks and greeted Zhou Qiao to eat.

Looking at the breakfast on the table, Zhou Qiao did not dislike him. He started eating a few times, chatting with the old man while eating.

The old man introduced: "My surname is Pan. This village is called Panshizhai. She people, you can call me Grandpa Pan directly. Everyone lives here for generations. They rely on collecting yams, growing tea, and occasionally hunting to make a living. What you just drank was the black tea produced in this mountain."

Zhou Qiao did not expect that there were She people living here. He listened to the old man slowly talking about the customs and folk customs here;

The She people generally practice monogamy, and generally do not marry the same surname. Intermarriage is mostly carried out in the four surnames of Pan, Lan, Lei and Zhong within the tribe, and do not intermarry with foreign tribes. Here, the She people are good at embroidery, men are good at growing tea and weaving. On the third day of the third lunar month every year, the She people dye black rice and worship their ancestors, which is called "Blue Farm Festival", commonly known as "Shangsi Festival".

It is a traditional festival for the She people. Every day on this day, the She people go out in groups to "out out", collect black leaves, make black rice, commemorate their ancestors, and give them black rice to relatives and friends to wish for a good harvest. Each She tribe has an ancestral stick, and the ancestral stick is carved with a dragon head, which is the main symbol of the She people's totem belief. The legend of "Panhu" that is widely circulated among the She people in various places is also a relic of the She people's totem belief.

After chatting for a long time, Zhou Qiao did not tell the identity of the corpse-driver, but said that he came from the south and said a lot of words in vagueness.

Grandpa Pan didn’t have much doubt about Zhou Qiao’s words, but said that the young man was very brave enough to walk in the deep mountains and forests at a young age!

Zhou Qiao asked Grandpa Pan again about Panshizhai, and helped the old man do some miscellaneous work within his ability. After finishing his work, he found a chair and closed his eyes to rest...

Until the evening, Zhou Qiao said goodbye to Grandpa Pan. He secretly drew a peace talisman for the old man. It was similar to the Five Thunder Talisman in Maoshan Taoism. It has the function of attracting wealth, protecting the house, exorcising evil, and maintaining safety. It was placed on the table and pressed with a bowl.

After returning to the cave where he stored his body, he was now able to confirm that the mountain range he was in belonged to Jiangxi. He probably would have to go to the destination after another night of the mountain road. Finally, he had hope and drove the corpse on the way again. Unexpectedly, it started to rain in the middle of the night. Zhou Qiao put a straw raincoat on the body and barely got wet. He also put on a raincoat. The more he got to the destination, the more difficult the mountain road, the more he could do it. This kind of ghost weather was really terrible.

Zhou Qiao probably won’t see the sun until tomorrow, and it may rain. He will definitely not be able to continue his journey tonight. He simply found a place to shelter from the rain and stopped, preparing to wait until the rain stops before leaving.

The sky was lightning flashed, dark clouds were covered with rain, and the rain was getting heavier, clattering and crackling, and waves splashed on the water surface. Zhou Qiao looked at the dark night, with a lot of thoughts...

Suddenly, footsteps sounded in the distance, interrupting Zhou Qiao's thoughts. Zhou Qiao hurriedly picked up the copper bell and shook it twice, shouting in his mouth

"Yin people pass through the border, Yang people avoid it"

The sound came from a long distance in the darkness, and the foot steps in the distance stopped, and then quickly turned around and ran away. Zhou Qiao only heard him running and shouted, "Damn, where did the corpse-driver come from this place? I was almost scared to death..." The sound was like a middle-aged man's accent, maybe he was a nearby forest guard.

Hearing the man's complaints gradually faded, Zhou Qiao put away the copper bell and continued to sit on the ground and waited for the rain to stop.

It was late at night, quiet, and nothing could be heard except the sound of insects and the rustling raindrops. Zhou Qiao was disturbed by the sudden person, so he could only sit up again and stare at the dark night for a long time...

Before we knew it, the rain stopped and the morning sun rose. The golden sunlight shone on the entire mountain. Zhou Qiao stood up and put away the raincoat. The body gradually smelled of rotten. At noon, he finally arrived at his destination.

In an ordinary village, Zhou Qiao found the family according to the address to explain the reason. The family obviously knew what Zhou Qiao did. He looked at the body followed behind and cried loudly. He obviously recognized the dead relatives. Later, Zhou Qiao handed the body to the other party. Originally, the family wanted to ask Zhou Qiao to help with the funeral. Zhou Qiao refused to let go and was too tired and was settled in the house next to him to rest. The family found a Taoist priest who specialized in rituals and held a funeral.

After the funeral, Zhou Qiao said goodbye to the family and returned to Xiangxi alone. The journey back was much easier and there was no need to continue walking on the mountain road. Zhou Qiao looked at the 30,000 yuan he had just obtained and was preparing to go to Jingdezhen, which was not far away, and it was worth the trip.

Jingde Town, Jiangxi Province is about 30 kilometers away from the village. Zhou Qiao is taking an old-fashioned bus, with all the bends of big and small all the way. Zhou Qiao was so uncomfortable. He got off the bus just after arriving at the destination and couldn't control his retching. He was also dizzy. It took him a long time to slow down.

Jingdezhen is an ancient city with narrow streets and various items are sold everywhere on the streets, most of which are wooden or ceramic utensils, and some are bamboo and wooden board products. However, the prices are so expensive that Zhou Qiao decided to buy a few pieces of clothes to change, and then find a hotel to stay.

The hotel in Jingdezhen is relatively cheap, only 50 yuan a night, but this is because the hotel is facing the street. Zhou Qiao spent 80 yuan to rent it for a night. Although it was a bit expensive, the environment was pretty good and the bed was soft, so it was quite comfortable to sleep alone.
Chapter completed!