"That's definitely okay!" Cai Qing's eyes brightened, and we got on the car again.
Within just a few minutes' drive, Cai Qing was more talkative than before, even offering to recommend guesthouses that he assured us are the cleanest and most cost-effective in Hèinǜ Village. He could also suggest local dishes that they, the villagers, often eat at restaurants with a guarantee of no disappointment.
Xuán Yíng didn't reply much, keeping her head down and looking at her phone. Cai Qing, however, continued talking animatedly.
The car stopped outside a rural courtyard, with a cemented ground. A three-story villa stood there, neat and imposing, forming a stark contrast with the slender Cai Qing.
A woman in her late thirties, with a beautiful face, was approaching us while wiping her hands.
Cai Qing introduced first, this is his wife of law, Liao Fang, and then again shouted his wife to go to pour tea for us.
After entering the courtyard, Cai Qing pointed to a spot in the western part and kept talking animatedly.
He talked for a while, and by the time the tea was set on a table in the courtyard, Cai Qing finally invited us to have tea.
Huā Yíng asked a few questions piecemeal, mainly about the high mountains in Hèinǜ Village and the legendary Taoist temple on the mountain.
Cai Qing was taken aback and said, "Taoist temple? Where is there a Taoist temple?"
This slightly tightened my heart.
Old Zhu didn't give much information at first. He said that there's a mountain in Langji City, with a Taoist temple on top and a mausoleum at the foot.
Only when we arrived at the place did he reveal the exact address of Shangláo Village.
Shanglao Village was hard to find, and as a result, Cai Qing, the local native, directly ruled out the existence of a Taoist temple on the mountain.
Old Zhu didn't say anything, and from somewhere, he took out a cigarette and sucked on it.
Cai Qing paused for a moment and then said, "There's no Taoist temple on Gaotian Mountain. I've lived here for over thirty years, and there's only a Buddhist temple at the foot of the mountain. That temple has quite a story; it's over a thousand years old. When it was brought in from outside, this temple was built, and it's been rebuilt countless times over the years."
"There are so many tourists in the village, who come to see the temple."
"That's our mistake," Huá Yíng whispered again.
At this moment, Cai Qing's wife chimed in, offering to sell us tickets to Gaotian Temple at cost price if we wanted to buy them.
Huá Yíng then added Cai Qing's WeChat, said she would collect the tickets tomorrow, and mentioned that it was getting late and they should go rest for the night.
Cai Qing didn't continue to follow us but instead handed over two addresses to Huá Yíng, saying that they were both convenient for eating and staying.
We first went to the dining place and ordered a private room. After all the dishes were served, Old Zhu started feeding Yang Guojin first.
I and Huá Yíng didn't say much, just eating.
After that, Old Zhu ordered another bottle of beer, and after eating and drinking his fill, he belched.
"All the information came from my brother's mouth. There's a city named Langji in Langji City, and there's a village called Shangláo Village. As for whether there is an abandoned Taoist temple on the top of the mountain, that slender monkey king hasn't been to the top, so he might not know if it's an abandoned temple."
"As for the location of the mausoleum at the foot of the mountain, it's up to you to find it. I can't tell you."
"Does the Buddhist temple and the mausoleum conflict with each other?"
Old Zhu's words don't conflict logically.
After all, it's been ten years, and my parents and the people of Huang Si back then were very secretive in their actions.
Maybe the Taoist temple on the mountain is a hidden place, completely unknown to others, known only to them.
As for the location of the mountain mausoleum, it should be the position Old Qinhead mentioned in advance?
After leaving the restaurant, we went to the inn recommended by Cai Qing and booked three rooms.
Old Zhu led Yang Guojin into a room, and Huá Yíng followed me into my room first.
We had dinner for a long time and the sky had already darkened.
Huá Yíng took the night pot off her waist and placed it at the corner of the bed.
Her meaning was clear without words; she wanted me to take Old Gong with me.
"Not very convenient, I need to use magic spells." I shook my head.
"You used to be quite convenient, and having Old Gong with you would be safer." Huá Yíng whispered softly: "Just be careful not to hit him with the spells, and everything will be fine."
I didn't respond.
We were silent for a few minutes, and then the sky turned completely dark.
Lao Gong's head emerged from the night pot, and he sighed, saying he had killed another ghost.
Huá Yíng scolded Lao Gong lightly and bit her lip, reattaching the night pot to her waist again.
Then, Huá Yíng and Lao Gong discussed today's events, asking Lao Gong to speculate on whether there is a Taoist temple on the mountain and the location of the mausoleum at the foot of the mountain.
Lao Gong tilted his head back, indicating that he was a dead master, not an alive god; he couldn't just hear a few words and say things he didn't know. He needed to see the place first.
Huá Yíng and I looked at each other, and then Huá Yíng said, "The place has already been found; there's a stone tablet that was unearthed during an earthquake. It was ten years ago, when my parents came here."
I suddenly understood that there was another reason for Huá Yíng to go to Cai Qing's house.
In general knowledge, she knows much more than I do, so she had already made all the necessary preparations for Lao Gong.
However, since it wasn't yet completely dark, we didn't go out, as it would be odd to return to Cai Qing's house at this time.
I and Huá Yíng agreed to set off at midnight, when the time would be appropriate.
Afterwards, Huá Yíng went back to her room, and I set an alarm clock, then lay down to rest.
I had been traveling down the mountain all night and had been jolted about all day, leaving my body and spirit extremely tired. However, my mind was unusually clear, even slightly excited.
Excitement is not the same as being exhilarated.
Ten years have passed. Since leaving my parents' mansion, this may be the closest I've been to them...
It's also back in Jin Yang that I've received real, genuine information about them.
I forced myself to calm down. Without adequate energy, it's impossible to figure everything out...
I lay down around 8 pm and didn't fall asleep until around 9 pm...
The alarm clock at midnight rang exactly on time, and I opened my eyes immediately.
Just as I went to open the door, Huá Yíng was standing outside, and Lao Gong was slightly tilting his head and humming vulgar tunes.
We quietly left the inn, and the front desk staff were all asleep.
The bustling Hèinǜ Village in the evening was now extremely quiet, with the crisp chirping of insects constantly echoing in our ears, coming from somewhere unknown.
When we returned to the courtyard of Cai Qing's house, the moon was high in the sky, shining bright and white.
It was less noticeable during the day, but at night, I could see a mountain standing behind Cai Qing's house.
No, it should be the mountain behind Hèinǜ Village.
The mountain was extremely tall, massive and wide, giving off an incredibly imposing feeling. It seemed as if a person were sitting there, but the top of the mountain was enveloped in mist and the light was dim, making it invisible. Abstractly speaking, it looked as if the person had no head.
"Whoa!" Lao Gong made a sound with his mouth, sighing.
"What a wonderful mountain, what a wonderful mountain!"
I and Huá Yíng didn't interrupt Lao Gong's words. He fell off the night pot and rolled into the courtyard, making a gurgling sound.
The courtyard had an iron gate, so I and Huá Yíng didn't go inside.
Lao Gong's mouth was muttering nonstop, and his speech was too fast for us to understand.
After a while longer, Lao Gong rolled out of the yard, not returning to the night pot, but rolling forward again.
To be honest, while Lao Gong's rolling and bouncing is amusing, it's much better than his head rolling on the ground like a ball.
Old Gong rolled for a very long time, and when he finally stopped, a massive temple appeared in front of us.
The temple walls were a deep red and very tall.
The temple gates were tightly closed. The temple halls inside were even taller, and we could see part of the walls and a complete temple roof.
The tablet above the gate read "Gaotian Temple," exuding an air of restraint.
"As for the top of the mountain, whether there is an abandoned Taoist temple, we haven't been there, so we don't know."
"Liang is within the mountain, and the tomb entrance is nearby." Old Gong said while tilting his neck upwards.
The suspense in my heart finally lifted a bit.
I thought he was going to say that the entrance was right in the middle of this Buddhist temple, but that would really be a joke.
Following that, Old Gong rolled off in another direction.
That direction was around the side of the Buddhist temple, heading towards the foot of Gaotian Mountain.
I and Huá Yíng quickly caught up to Old Gong.
However, as we just rounded the corner of the Buddhist temple, I felt as if I saw something with a glance, and I stopped in my tracks.
I slightly concealed my figure and twisted my head back, causing my pupils to constrict immediately.
Because, I saw Yang Guojin.
Yang Guojin is normally crazy and foolish.
But at this moment, his back was straight as a rod, and he had walked right in front of the main gate of Gaotian Temple.
Then he walked slightly to the right and continued into the temple.
There were steps there, just blocking Yang Guojin's figure.
"Xian Shen, what's wrong?" Huá Yíng's shout brought me back to reality.
At this moment, Old Gong was hanging on the night pot attached to Huá Yíng's waist, staring at me in a daze.
"I saw Yang Guojin."
I reached out and pointed towards the steps.
"Only Yang Guojin, no Old Zhu."
"He... seems quite odd."
After I spoke, Huá Yíng's face showed a trace of confusion and unease.
"He's crazy, isn't he? How could he come all the way here..."
"And he walked right to Gaotian Temple?" Huá Yíng's tone was also full of confusion and doubt.
I furrowed my brow and walked towards the steps.
I quickly reached the bottom of the steps, only to see a narrow and small hole there.
Yang Guojin's figure had vanished...
Suddenly, a shadow seemed to be emerging from the hole.
Huá Yíng had just come to my back, and she was particularly alert.
In the next second, a chubby cat's head with matted fur and a squashed face emerged from the hole.
The cat made a terrible yowl, darted out after it, and disappeared down the dark road behind...
