My Years in the Folklore World

Chapter 394 Mountain Ghost
At this time, the girl named Xiu Niang walked in from outside, holding a ceramic kettle in her hand, and the faint scent of peach blossoms could be faintly smelled.

"Come, my friend Jiang, have a cup of peach blossom tea. This is peach blossom tea that I picked and dried myself, and mixed with some mountain herbs. It will help you calm your mind and body, and will be very beneficial to your body and mind."

The old man took the pottery pot and poured a cup of tea for Jiang Xinghuo. The faint scent of peach blossoms mixed with the smell of herbs gradually diffused in the air.

"Good tea."

Jiang Xinghuo thanked him, picked up the tea bowl and took a sip. The peach blossoms bloomed slightly on the tip of his tongue, filling his mouth with fragrance.

The old man also picked up the tea bowl and took a sip, then asked with a smile:

"My dear Jiang, I wonder what year and month it is outside now. How many generations has the Ming Dynasty been passed down? Is it the descendants of Emperor Yongle who are in power now?"

Hearing the old man's words, Jiang Xinghuo's heart moved slightly. Since the other party knew these things, then it must be that someone had come here during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty.

Thinking of this, Jiang Xinghuo shook his head and said, "The Ming Dynasty has perished for many years. Now it is a completely different era outside. It is no longer a world where imperial power is supreme."

"Many years...how many years then?"

The embroiderer in a red robe suddenly asked.

"Well... almost 400 years."

Jiang Xinghuo counted on his fingers and found that it had been almost four hundred years since 1644 in the Ming Dynasty.

"Four hundred years..."

After hearing this, the old man showed a trace of sadness on his face and sighed: "There is no time in the mountains. In the blink of an eye, four hundred years have passed. There is no chance to meet old friends again."

"The old man has an old friend from the Ming Dynasty?"

Jiang Xinghuo was secretly shocked. It had been more than three hundred years since the end of the Ming Dynasty. Even if the old man was just a child at that time, he would be almost four hundred years old now.

Can a person really live that long?
When Jiang Xinghuo was exploring the secular world, he also met many ancient masters, but most of them were inhuman monsters, and there were very few humans who had lived for hundreds of years.

This Taoyuan Village is really weird in every way.

At this time, Jiang Xinghuo felt the talisman in his arms getting slightly hot. The fire-releasing woman seemed to be reminding him and wanted Jiang Xinghuo to let her out of the talisman.

But Jiang Xinghuo didn't react at all. He just pretended not to notice anything and continued chatting with the old man.

The old man picked up the tea bowl, took a sip of peach blossom tea, sighed softly, and continued:
"At that time, I was still a teenager. There was a guest named Zheng He who came to Taohuayuan by chance from outside."

"That guest is not only well-read, but also proficient in astronomy, geography, and various foreign knowledge."

"He stayed in the village for seven days and left many precious gifts. He also left us some grain seeds. Otherwise, life in the village would not be so good."

Although the old man said it lightly, Jiang Xinghuo was quite surprised.

He didn't expect that the person who came here during the Ming Dynasty was actually the famous eunuch Sanbao who made seven voyages to the West and created the world's maritime history.

But on second thought, after the Jingnan Campaign, Zheng He went on a long voyage on the order of Emperor Yongle. It can be said that he spent almost the rest of his life drifting on the sea.

If you want to get to Taoyuan Village, there seems to be only one way, which is to enter by water by boat.

Perhaps Zheng He found the path to the Peach Blossom Spring by accident during one of his voyages, which is not something strange at all.

"Forget it, let's not talk about these things."

The old man smiled and said, "Since you have come to Taoyuan, my friend Jiang, why don't you stay here for a few more days and let the embroiderer take you around Taoyuan..."

"Then excuse me."

Jiang Xinghuo didn't hesitate and directly accepted the old man's invitation.

He took this opportunity to explore the Peach Blossom Spring to see if he could find any clues related to the secular world.

"Xiu Niang, take Jiang Xiaoyou to rest first, and come over during the luncheon."

The old man instructed the girl in red next to him.

"Okay, Grandpa, I'll take Brother Jiang to rest first."

Jiang Xinghuo followed the embroiderer and came to a house on the east side of the village.

The furnishings in the house were simple, with only a low bed, a clay pot, a wooden cabinet, and a stone basin.

Perhaps because no one had lived there for a long time, the house was filled with a musty smell from the thatch and linen.

"Wait a moment, Brother Jiang."

The embroiderer turned and walked out of the room. After a while, she came back with a new quilt and pillow, as well as a box of incense herbs, which she lit under the bed and in the corners.

"This is the herb I prepared. After it is ignited in the air, it can quickly dispel the musty smell in the house. It also has the effect of helping you to sleep, so you can have a good rest at night."

"Thank you girl."

Jiang Xinghuo thanked him in a very elegant manner.

The experience passed down by our ancestors tells us what to say at the right time.

Taohuayuan has been isolated from the secular world for many years and still retains its ancient customs and practices. If we use modern customs to address young women, it may cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

You may even be regarded as a dissolute scoundrel by the other party.

"Brother Jiang, what is the world like outside now? Is it different from Taoyuan Village?"

The embroiderer looked at the clothes on Jiang Xinghuo and continued:

"The clothing you are wearing is very finely crafted, and the style is simpler than the Hu clothing. It will definitely be much more convenient if you go hunting in the mountains."

"There are many things in the outside world that are different from here, such as cars, airplanes, computers, and mobile phones..."

Jiang Xinghuo suddenly stopped talking halfway. The embroiderer had lived in Taoyuan since she was a child and had no impression of these things at all. Even if he told her, she would not know what they were.

really.

After hearing Jiang Xinghuo's words, a trace of confusion appeared on Xiu Niang's face. She asked puzzledly: "Cars, airplanes, computers...what are those?"

Jiang Xinghuo thought about it, took out his mobile phone from his pocket, found a few previously cached movies, and explained the functions of these things.

"Is this a car? It doesn't need horses or mules, but it can move freely and at such a high speed?"

"Is this... is this a crossbow? Even those thick-skinned mountain ghosts may not be able to withstand the power of these crossbows!!"

"This...this...woman...how...?"

The embroiderer's pretty face turned red and she turned her head away.

When Jiang Xinghuo looked at the screen, he saw a hot beauty wearing a white bikini. This outfit was naturally nothing special in modern times.

However, for some conservative ancient people, this style of dressing was obviously not acceptable to them. Even in the Tang Dynasty, when the customs were the most open, there were no women who dressed like this.

"Brother Jiang, can you make this kind of crossbow?" The embroiderer suddenly asked, pointing at the submachine gun that appeared on the screen.

Jiang Xinghuo's face turned red, and he shook his head and said, "Xiuniang, this powerful weapon is also banned outside. Only a few people are qualified to use it."

"Oh……"

A hint of disappointment flashed across the face of the embroiderer. "If we can get the help of this crossbow, the village won't have to fear those mountain ghosts anymore."

"Mountain ghost?"

Jiang Xinghuo frowned slightly and said, "Xiuniang, what is the mountain ghost you are talking about? A mandrill?" "It's not a mandrill, it's a mountain ghost!"

The embroiderer corrected Jiang Xinghuo's statement in a serious tone. It was obvious that she also knew what a mandrill was.

"The mountain ghost is..."

Just as the embroiderer was about to explain to Jiang Xinghuo what a mountain ghost was, there was a sudden cry of surprise and noisy footsteps from outside.

"problem occurs!"

The embroiderer immediately stood up and rushed out the door, and Jiang Xinghuo followed closely behind her, wanting to see what had happened.

"What a strong smell of blood!!"

The moment Jiang Xinghuo stepped out of the house, he smelled a strong smell of blood, and other villagers also ran away.

"Someone is injured, and the injury is serious. Otherwise, the blood qi wouldn't be so strong. I'm afraid the injured person is dying..."

Jiang Xinghuo was thinking about these things in his mind, but he did not hesitate at all. Instead, he arrived at the open flat ground in the middle of the village before the villagers.

A man with his upper body naked and covered in blood was lying on the ground. He was the young man named Chi Chihu.

"How could this be?"

Jiang Xinghuo was a little surprised, and then he thought of the mountain ghost that Xiu Niang mentioned. Could it be that Chihu was injured like this by the mountain ghost?
"Alas, Tiger Boy's injuries are too severe, his intestines have been pulled out, I'm afraid..."

A tall middle-aged man shook his head, a look of regret on his face.

"Grandpa Caowu, please keep watching. Maybe Brother Chihu can still be saved. I'll go back and get you some medicine."

The embroiderer held the middle-aged man's hand and begged desperately.

"Cao Wu, is Tiger Boy really hopeless?"

The old man also stood up from the ground, looked at the middle-aged man and asked softly.

The middle-aged man shook his head and said:

"Tiger Boy's wound was caused by the mountain ghost. Even if the wound is sealed, the poison on the mountain ghost's claws will kill Tiger Boy."

"Plus, he was running very fast when he just came back, so the poison has already entered his heart meridians. Both internal and external injuries may cost him his life."

When the old man heard this, the light in his eyes lost its luster, and his hunched body seemed to have aged a little more.

"In that case, let's prepare for Tiger Boy's funeral..."

The old man tapped the ground with his cane and said, "Also, from today on, someone will patrol the village entrance every night to prevent mountain ghosts from attacking the village at night."

When several young men heard the old man's words, they stepped forward and lifted up Chihu's body, wanting to send him home to prepare for his funeral.

"Wait a minute!"

Seeing them carrying Chihu back, Jiang Xinghuo immediately walked out of the crowd, stopped their actions, then came to the old man and whispered:

"Old man, I know a little bit about medicine, why don't you let me go over and take a look, maybe that brother can still be saved."

"Young friend Jiang also knows medical skills?"

When the old man heard Jiang Xinghuo's words, he immediately said:

"Then I'll have to trouble you, little friend Jiang, to go over and take a look. If you can rescue Tiger Boy, you will be the benefactor of Taoyuan Village."

"I don't deserve to be your benefactor, I can only do my best."

Jiang Xinghuo walked to Chihu's side and lifted the white cloth and herbs covering Chihu's abdomen. A hideous and horrifying wound appeared in Jiang Xinghuo's eyes.

The wound seemed to be caused by a large beast such as a tiger or leopard, but if you look closely, you can see some subtle differences in the wound that are difficult to detect with the naked eye.

Jiang Xinghuo waved his right hand, drawing a stream of water from the basin beside him, which cleaned the wound on Chihu's abdomen, revealing the hideous white flesh.

Then, Jiang Xinghuo placed his hand above the wound and used the technique of reviving dead wood.

The power containing pure vitality entered Chihu's body through the wound, clearing out the unknown toxins in his body while slowly repairing his injuries.

About five minutes passed.

Jiang Xinghuo stood up from the ground and looked at Chihu's abdomen. The hideous wound had disappeared without a trace.

Chihu's face, which had turned pale due to excessive blood loss, gradually turned rosy, and he looked like he was asleep.

"This……"

When the surrounding villagers saw this scene, some of them couldn't believe their eyes, but it was actually happening right before their eyes.

Only the old man and the doctor named Cao Wu showed a hint of surprise in their eyes and looked at each other.

"Well……"

After a moment, the red tiger on the ground let out a muffled groan and slowly opened his eyes.

"I...I'm not dead..."

Chihu struggled to sit up from the ground, looking at his intact abdomen with a hint of confusion in his eyes.

He clearly remembered that his lower abdomen was cut open by the mountain ghost's claws, but how come there is no injury at all now? Did he just have a dream?

"Brother Chihu, it was this guest from outside who saved you."

A man who was about the same age as Chihu pulled him up from the ground and told him what had just happened.

"He saved me!"

Chi Hu was startled at first, then he confirmed with other people, making sure there was nothing wrong, and finally, he walked over with a conflicted look on his face.

"I...you...I..."

Chihu's face turned red, and he grunted for a long time. Finally, he knelt on one knee on the ground and bowed deeply to Jiang Xinghuo.

"Chihu was disrespectful to the guest today. Fortunately, the guest did not hold a grudge and lent a hand to rescue him. This great kindness will be engraved in Chihu's heart and will never be forgotten!!"

Jiang Xinghuo was a little surprised when he heard Chihu's words.

It wasn't surprising that he would thank me, but it was surprising that his words showed that he was obviously a man who had read a lot of books.

"It's just a small favor, how dare I accept such a great gift?"

Jiang Xinghuo reached out and helped Chihu up from the ground, saying:

"But Brother Chihu was seriously injured. Although he has recovered, his vitality has been depleted. He needs to rest for a while and eat more blood-replenishing and qi-replenishing foods."

The old man also came over, bowed slightly, and said: "Brother Jiang saved Tiger Boy, he is the benefactor of our Taoyuan Village, I would like to thank you here."

Jiang Xinghuo said quickly: "Old man, you are too kind. Saving the dying and healing the wounded is the duty of a doctor. Why bother thanking me?"

the other side.

Several middle-aged men also went away in groups, saying with a smile: "Village Chief, we will go back and kill pigs and sheep. We must entertain the guests well for lunch today."

The old man also stroked his beard and laughed: "That's right, that's right, you guys go back and prepare, the lunch will be held in the village ancestral hall."

(End of this chapter)