The sunshine in May is hotter than in previous years. Under the winding mountains, people are walking in a long line on the dirt road in the rugged area. One after another, the figures are staggering, their faces are vegetable-colored, and their coarse cloth clothes are patched with many patches. When they look into the mountains,
, the dejected eyes showed a little hope.
It can be seen that the men, women, and children in the team are all people from nearby mountain villages, and some have come from far away. In the mountains where everyone's eyes are intertwined, at the end of the dirt road is a Taoist temple, which is dilapidated everywhere, and the mossy moss-covered courtyard walls are cracked.
The gaps and black tiles are filled with fallen leaves, as if this mountain has existed for as long as it has.
When~~
The bell echoed in the distance, and when a shaky figure walked out of it, the waiting people followed him across the threshold and walked into the temple. The figure who just came out staggered down a few stone stairs, and there was not a single piece of clothing intact on his body.
The old woman's skin was as wrinkled as a dead tree, her eyes were sunken, and the straw sandals under her feet were torn when she entered.
She sat on a stone on the side of the team, and quickly knitted the broken straw rope together with her hands and feet. After tying the knot, she put it on her feet and stepped on it twice. She carried the bamboo basket and continued to stagger down to the foot of the mountain.
From time to time, I said hello to people I knew well on the road, and quietly covered the linen cloth covered by the bamboo basket. Inside were two talismans, which I asked for from the Taoist priest today. One was posted on the door of the hall, and the other was burned.
Mix the ash with water and give it to the patients at home. This is the third time, and the effect is naturally there.
But every time he recovered, he would fall ill again within a few months. The Taoist priest said that if he used these two talismans again, he would be completely cured.
She believed it, and she had no choice but to believe it. All she had to do to see a doctor in town and pay for medicines was to drain her family's money, and nothing was cured. Now she could only hold this Taoist temple to pray to God and worship Buddha.
The old woman is a woman from the mountains. She has no real name. When she was young, she only remembered her surname: Liu. After she got married, she took her husband's surname. Later, when she got old, she couldn't remember any of her surnames. The sick ones at home were her grandson and son.
She was arrested and sent to the army, and she has not been back for several years. People in the village kept saying that her son had died outside, and her daughter-in-law ran away secretly one night not long after.
The old woman did not go to her daughter-in-law's natal family to ask for an explanation, so she just lived her life like that. Another year later, her beloved grandson became ill, and the disease almost killed her.
She went everywhere seeking medical advice, and wherever the doctor was skilled in medicine, she rushed there with her grandson on her back. In the end, she used up all the coffins and didn't even understand the disease. Seeing her grandson getting weaker and weaker, she thought to herself that her son was gone anyway.
If there was no more grandson, she would hang it around her neck with the hemp rope she had at home.
Once it's settled, it's okay to go with him.
This was her last thought. Later, someone from the village came back from outside and told the old woman that there was a Taoist temple in the mountains forty miles away from here. It was very mysterious. A single talisman could make the sick person recover the next day.
.
The old woman didn't believe it at first, but she couldn't stand it as her grandson's condition became more and more serious. She had no choice but to give it a last try and carried her grandson on her back overnight to a mountain called Wagou.
After handing over a few coppers that were the only ones left at home, I finally asked for a talisman from the Taoist priest. Following the method taught by him, I chanted it all the way back home and poured the talisman into water for my grandson to drink.
That night, the grandson, who had been ill in bed for a long time, was feeling hot all over. She woke up for the first time and called her "big mother". The old woman's heart melted and she was so happy that she didn't sleep all night, so she just stayed there.
The grandson stayed until dawn.
After that, the child's body bones recovered, he could go to the ground, run and jump, and even went to catch fish and toads in the ditch with other children of the same age.
But not long after, the good grandson fell ill again, with the same symptoms as before. The old woman also saved some coppers in her hand and went to the mountains again. But this time, more people came to ask for talismans. From the gate of the Taoist temple in the mountains,
, can be queued all the way to the foot of the mountain and then to the dirt road leading to the nearby village.
This time she waited for most of the day before she got the second talisman. When she returned home, it was already dark. Fortunately, before she left, the old woman entrusted her grandson to a neighbor to help take care of her. Nothing happened and she drank the talisman water as usual.
The sick grandson was bouncing around again the next day, playing around.
Sometimes, she just thinks about saving some money, spending some money for medical treatment, and raising her grandson up. When she is old enough and can stand on her own feet, she hopes that she will no longer get sick.
After the first time, the old woman was already prepared in her heart. She had calculated the time and rushed to Wagou to watch her grandson before he got sick. However, this time, she met a young woman on the way. She was not dressed like an ordinary woman.
people.
She was wearing a slim-fitting dress and her long hair was tied up in a bunch at the back of her head, making her look clean and tidy. What frightened the old woman was that the other person was holding a sword in his hand.
The only people who could run around with swords these days were either mountain robbers or young ladies from wealthy families, but she couldn't afford to offend any of them.
Fortunately, the woman did not have any ill intentions. She just asked her if she wanted to go to the Taoist temple in the mountain to seek talismans and asked the old woman to help guide the way. She had heard something about it on the way and wanted to come and see it.
The old woman thought that a lady from a wealthy family was curious, so she agreed to the other party's request and went together to seek the talisman.
…
"I don't know if the wealthy lady I met this morning is in the team."
After coming out of the Taoist temple, the old woman packed her straw sandals and walked all the way down the mountain. She glanced at the long queue from time to time, but she didn't see the woman.
"She is handsome and has a good figure. If she doesn't have a good life at home, how can she like to run around in the world? That would be fatal. It doesn't matter that she is not in the team. If something happens to her, it will be really unfortunate."
There is a mixed crowd in the queue, and everyone is there. If someone has a malicious intention to see a woman's beauty, even if the woman has some martial arts skills, she may not be able to withstand so many people. If she is snatched away, I don't know what misery it will be.
end.
The old woman walked a long way without seeing him. She just assumed that the other party had already left. When she turned around the intersection and headed towards her village, a familiar voice suddenly came over her.
"Auntie."
After hearing the crisp words, the old woman stopped and saw that the rich lady was still there, standing at the edge of the field in front of her, as if she was waiting for her.
"Miss, aren't you going to watch? Why are you still here?"
"Waiting for auntie."
The woman came to know her well, helped the old woman carry the basket, and walked side by side with her, "Is this basket the talisman you asked for?"
"Yes, it's still two." The old woman was somewhat fond of the woman, but she still subconsciously moved closer. As long as the other party dared to grab her, she would hold her down and hold her down.
"What's the use?" The woman uncovered the linen cloth and looked at the cinnabar script inside. "Auntie, can I take a look? If I don't take it away, I'll do it in front of you."
You could probably tell that the old woman was wary. After the woman explained something, and the old woman nodded hesitantly, she picked up a talisman and looked through it in her hand.
That moment.
The woman on the side seemed to vaguely see different emotions in the other person's beautiful eyes.
A cold light flashed across the woman's eyes.
Still with a smile on his face, he put the talisman in his hand back into the basket and handed it to the old woman, "Auntie, I want to tell you, it's better not to use this talisman. It's not a good thing."
"Isn't that a good thing? After using these talismans, my baby's illness has been cured."
"Didn't it take a while for you to reply again?"
"You...how did you know?"
"This talisman is called a life-borrowing talisman... I'll use my other life to lend a life to your child... But how much can I borrow? How many days or ten days? They all need to be paid back, so your child will get sick again after getting better.
I had to keep filling it with money."
The old woman took the basket, looked at the woman who explained to her warily, took a few steps back, turned around and left without saying a word.
The woman didn't say anything anymore. She turned around and looked back at the long queue in front of her. She waved the sword in her hand and walked towards the mountain.
Now that we have the evidence, there is no need to be merciful.
"It would not be a pity to kill those who confuse the people and defraud people of their property."