"A person who has consumed zombie flesh?"
This phrase sounded strange and somewhat eerie.
"What do you mean?"
I asked, puzzled.
"Just as the literal meaning suggests, when a person eats zombie flesh, they are affected by corpse energy and grow fangs, and the green mist they exhale is corpse energy. Their body undergoes mutation much harder than an ordinary person. However, they are not zombies, and of course, not considered human, leaning more towards being monsters.
It seems that Lingxiang knows something. Who in normal circumstances would eat zombie flesh? Are they gorged on food?
"Zombie flesh tastes good?"
I asked with a frown.
"Who knows, I haven't tried it. But..." Lingxiang's tone changed, "I've heard that there were some old folks in the past who would refine zombies and give the zombie flesh to demons and monsters. As for what they would eventually become, I can't say for sure."
The circle is large, and many rumors and secrets are not well known. I have gained some insight as to why this monster would eat zombie flesh, but I'm afraid it's hard to figure out for a while. There are at least three doubts about it. The first is the old monk's words at the beginning, he said he could no longer suppress this monster. This means that the old monk knew about the existence of this monster early on, and the monks in the temple were also aware of this, which is why they all left. So who established this temple and made the old monks guard the old temple all along? The second doubt is about the monster itself. Even though it turned into a monster after eating zombie flesh, there is a mark behind it, which is likely affiliated with a former martial arts organization, or even as Lingxiang said, a master of the past. Why would it be so widely dispersed? What does this mark represent? The third doubt is that I realized that the true target of this deal was not the ghoul even before encountering the ancient monster. Zhu Zi has been in the Dao for a long time, so the intelligence should be quite accurate. It was originally agreed to capture the ghoul, but unexpectedly ended up with this ancient monster. Who exactly attacked the dead in the village? The ghost tiger? But why attack just one village? It seems like the matters on the side of the ancient monster and the temple are not connected, but in the end, they are still linked. Is there some hidden manipulation behind all this?
There are many doubts, and they are complex. They keep surging into my mind, causing a headache from too much thinking. Sighing, I said, "This matter can be considered settled. The things we agreed on before won't change, right?"
"No, I promise not to go back on my word."
Lingxiang replied readily.
Smiling, it seems that this desperate effort is not too bad after all. I got up from the ground, and the ghost tiger's teeth were left in the burning house. It's unlikely I'll get them back, and even if I did, they would probably be reduced to a pile of charcoal. I accompanied Lingxiang back to the village. The atmosphere in the village was still quite tense. Fatty didn't let go of Lingqian all night, and the two strong men didn't let Fatty leave the house; both sides were in a standoff.
It wasn't until I brought Lingxiang back that both sides eased up. Lingqian was also surprised that I had come back alive, but she didn't ask for details, and I didn't want to say more. After a brief explanation on both sides, we went to rest in separate houses.
Fatty and I stayed in Luoyang's house, which was quite spacious. There were a few animal skins hanging at the door, and although there was no dog, there was an old hunting rifle hidden in the house, its rifling nearly worn smooth.
The house was very simple, without many electrical appliances, and of course, there were hardly any household appliances in the village.
I slept heavily during the day, and it wasn't until evening when I woke up hungry. I went to the yard and saw Fatty and Luoyang having dinner. There were some flatbreads on the table and a pot of meat soup, which smelled delicious.
"Where did the meat come from?"
I eagerly walked over.
"Luoyang hunted a wild rabbit in the mountains at noon. It's really delicious. Have some. Oh, and I also have some alcohol, which I exchanged for grain vouchers at the entrance of the village. You should try it."
Fatty poured me a bowl of white liquor made by a hunter from the mountains. It carried a faint fragrance, and was not very strong when tasted, but this liquor had a strong aftereffect.
After a few casual chats and eating until we were seventy percent full, I thought for a moment and said, "Luoyang, I want to ask you something."
This kid mumbled in agreement while drinking his soup.
"I guess my brother and I will leave the day after tomorrow. We didn't get too seriously injured, and resting for a few days will allow us to leave. Before we go, brother wants to ask you something. Do you want to be a hunter for the rest of your life, wandering in these mountains?"
Luoyang put down his bowl and looked at me somewhat awkwardly, with a hint of skepticism in his eyes.
"Hey, to put it simply! Your mountain brother wants you to come with us. Are you willing to come to Shanghai with us? Although we can't guarantee that you'll live a wealthy life, with us, you will not go hungry. Of course, if you don't want to go, we won't force you."
Fatty found me too wordy and started to clamor.
I smiled and didn't say anything, just nodded at Luoyang. This kid lowered his head, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Let me think about it, okay?"
"No problem, anyway we're leaving the day after tomorrow, so take your time to think it over tomorrow. If you don't want to go, we'll have another chance to come and visit you at Daheshan later. We've been through thick and thin together, we're all brothers now. Come on, let's drink a toast!"
Fatty raised his glass first, the three of us clinked glasses, the white liquor went down our throats, burning all the way to our bellies. We shivered all over, laughed, and smoked.
Life rushes by in a few decades, living freely through a lifetime.
The day after tomorrow, Fatty and I packed our bags, ready to take the village ox cart down the mountain. It was still early in the morning, and the ox carts in the village were about to leave. It would be in the afternoon by the time we could leave the mountain road.
"Where's the kid?," I asked as I smoked.
"Nope, haven't seen him, oh well, the mountain kids are not willing to leave home. They live off the land, and once they leave the mountain, they feel they've lost their sense of belonging. Let's go..."
Fatty and I felt a bit regretful, but we actually hoped that Luoqiong would show up. Just as we were getting on the ox cart, a shout came from behind. I turned around and saw Luoqiong running towards us with a canvas bag on his back, waving his hand.
"Hey, this kid really came!"
Fatty laughed and said.
I nodded, and Luoqiong got on the ox cart and said with a smile, "I feel like I need to see the world outside, broaden my horizons, but I don't have the money for a train ticket."
"What's to worry about, I have it! In the future, the three of us will go out into the world together, and we must make a name for ourselves."
Even today, I still vividly remember the scene then. The rising sun was slowly emerging, the sunlight was still soft, and the sky was still somewhat dim. Fatty stood on the ox cart with his back to the sun and made a charging gesture, Luoqiong scratched his head, looking like a silly child. And I smoked, leaned against the swaying ox cart railing, looking up at the sky, my long-unseen hair falling in front of my eyes, and the wistful stubble on my face was starting to harden.
I was wearing an old black leather jacket, but I didn't look anything like someone who grew up in Shanghai.
"I want to be an eagle soaring in the sky, flapping my wings to fly through the forest. The king of the sky, a fearless and free warrior..."
I recited quietly, and Luoqiong looked at me strangely and asked, "Shan Ge, what are you talking about?"
"Don't f*cking ask him, this guy's got a touch of artistic disease again, definitely composing poetry. Look at him, he looks like a tortured intellectual, hahaha..."
The three of us laughed as we set off, returning from the forest to the cement world.
After returning to Shanghai, my parents forced me to work, so they found me a job at a grocery store, which involved filling bottles with soy sauce. The job was particularly easy, I often daydreamed during the day, while the shop assistants chatted and snacked on sunflower seeds all day, and I read books secretly.
"When do you get off work, kid?"
Fatty came to see me on Friday and started shouting as soon as he came in. I looked at the clock and said, "In ten minutes. What's up? Want to treat me to dinner?"
"You treating me is more like it. You've been working and I haven't seen you treating anyone. Luoqiong is staying at my house. Today, Zhusi came looking for me."
When Fatty said that, I immediately became nervous. It had been a while since I returned from Daheshan, and I had not been able to find Zhusi.
"We're meeting at seven o'clock tonight, next to my house at Jufu restaurant, both me and Luoqiong are going."
After Fatty mentioned the place, I immediately nodded. It was time to meet Zhusi!