The strange story of moving rats
I had agreed with Yan Mo that I would attend the party, and everything was arranged quickly.
To my surprise, this matter seemed to only require my approval, and the process went very smoothly without any obstruction.
As I was typing on my phone, asking Zhang Jia how to proceed, the glass door of the shop knocked twice.
I didn't look up and told the guests to do as they pleased.
The visitor immediately laughed heartily: "Advisor, I'm here to pick you up."
I was surprised and stopped typing, then I saw a man and a woman standing at the door. The one who spoke first pushed the door open, looked around my shop with a smile, and then fixed his eyes on me.
"you……"
"She's young." The man answered briskly, introducing the people around her to me, "This is the broker. She and I are both from other families. Excuse me."
I looked at the two uninvited guests and didn't feel too nervous, but I vaguely felt that they were not friendly.
Because these two are so eye-catching, they will be the first people to be noticed in the crowd.
If Yan Mo or Zhang Jia is too busy to pick me up, and they really can't spare anyone I'm familiar with, I will definitely try to choose an ordinary guy to avoid attracting unnecessary attention to me.
Let’s talk about youth first.
This young man is extremely short and thin, but his head is a bit big, so at first glance he looks top-heavy. If I must describe it, it's like propping up an apple with a pair of chopsticks.
This person has very ordinary facial features and an unattractive figure. But he has a pair of exceptionally bright eyes, which make people feel that he is always paying close attention to the things and people around him. When he smiles, his two canine teeth are very contagious.
If it were a different time and place, this is a person who would be easy for people to ignore his appearance and feel genuinely close to him.
But from the moment he entered the room, I could feel him casually and almost contemptuously scanning the surroundings, and then he looked directly at me for all the conversations that followed. This uncomfortable attitude, in contrast to his unusually friendly appearance and temperament, gave people a strong sense of contradiction.
The lady next to me also gave me a very subtle feeling.
Because the first impression she gave me was one of being honest and solid.
What I want to say here is that this person's figure is not very burly. In fact, she is also very thin, with thin and smooth muscle lines, and her cheeks are also thin and hard, with shallow wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and the edges of her pursed lips.
I couldn't help but look at her for a while longer, but her expression remained like a deep pool, her brows were straight and her eyes were deep, and she stood very steadily in front of Nian Ziqing.
Yes, that's it. The broker seemed to be standing in front of the young man, intentionally or unintentionally stuck between us, with her feet firmly planted, and her center of gravity sinking downwards, giving people a strong sense of reliable protection.
Moreover, I had a very odd intuition that this action was not intended to protect the young man in a possible conflict, but to protect me.
This period of observation may sound long, but in fact it is only a moment. Now I have unconsciously become accustomed to reviewing the environment, people and things I am in within a short period of time.
"Consultant." Nian Ziqing called me again, as if very enthusiastically, "The party is still in a few days, why don't we go on the way... I'll take you around and have some fun?" The last few words had an indescribable meaning.
I stared at him and slowly narrowed my eyes.
My phone vibrated, and Zhang Jia was still asking me why I had changed my mind and wanted to join in the fun. I simply held my phone upright, took two photos of the young man with a bright smile, and sent them to Zhang Jia.
Nian Ziqing didn't mind, but the broker who had been standing by without saying a word slowly pressed down on Nian Ziqing's shoulder.
He paused, and the smile on his face became a little forced.
The broker nodded slightly to me and said in a steady voice, "Master, don't pay attention to him. We just caught him and are taking him back with us."
One called me Young Master, the other called me Consultant. I thought it was interesting, so I took a photo of the broker as well.
She was very straightforward and actually took out a neat 7-inch bare-headed photo from her arms and asked me to take a photo facing the photo.
I looked at her and felt vaguely familiar. Her style of speaking little, being serious and without much emotion reminded me of someone I know.
As expected, she said in a deep voice: "I am the foster mother and instructor of the batch of children in Grade 6."
That means he is my elder. After all, Gao Liu is the same age as my brother Zhang Tianyi, and he is two years older than me.
I was very surprised; it didn't look like this group was here to pick me up.
She said calmly, "I am Xu You's ex-wife. I'm sorry that my husband is causing you trouble."
These words were like thunder coming out of the blue. I was startled and my expression became a little stiff.
On the other end of the phone, Zhang Jia saw the photo and was sending me question marks and exclamation marks in astonishment.
"So...Aunt? Uh, no, Ma'am?"
I was halfway through my words when I felt a little annoyed, as if I had completely lost my emotional intelligence. I quickly changed the subject and said, "Ms. Broker, what on earth is this?"
The broker looked at me carefully, took the photo back, and smiled slightly. "Just call me Master's Wife."
Having said that, I vaguely smelled some scent of grudges and entanglements.
However, no matter how much entanglement there is, it has little to do with me. It is hard to say how much affection I have for Xu You, who only verbally took advantage of me and called me his apprentice once.
At this moment, he immediately changed sides and said affectionately:
"Master's wife, why are you here?" He put the snoring cat aside and poured her a cup of hot tea.
The broker gestured to Nian Ziqing beside him and said, "Didn't Xiao Rui go with Captain Yan to arrest someone?"
I steady my hand holding the teacup, and when I look at this stranger with a sunny smile, my face feels a little cold.
“From a travel agency?”
"Yeah. A deputy."
The broker took the hot teacup from me first. "But he has too much information. It may be related to a mystery that my family is looking for. Xiao Rui and I have discussed it and decided to take him home first and then deal with him."
The young man smiled and looked at me.
The travel company was related to the Goddess. If they saw some important images from the comb jellyfish and used them to make "prophecies" and threats, it would not be surprising.
"Due to family rules, I don't get involved much in the family's farm work," the broker said, "but I am the one who takes care of the family's external communications."
I nodded and understood where the name "broker" came from.
She looked at me and said, "We all think that youth is very important. We think that he needs to be alive and well."
"But you want him dead?"
"Of course, blood debt must be repaid with blood."
I was silent for a moment. This topic was too bloody. However, I could understand this simple and crude logic. It was really unfair if one could escape punishment or even be temporarily treated as a guest of honor just because he was "important".
"Master's wife, what I can do is to tell you the rules I have experienced as completely as possible, so that you can make a fair assessment."
I paused, my smile completely gone:
"Let him bear the responsibility for whatever sins he has committed. As for the rest, how useful the information he holds is, that is up to you to judge.
However... the comb jellyfish has retreated. I can be sure of one thing now. If it is something that happens in the next eight years, then the closed loop created by the comb jellyfish will no longer hold true. The so-called prophecy can be ignored."
"—not a prophecy."
Nian Ziqing suddenly said something from the side, looking at me with some fear and apprehension, then lowered his head and rubbed his hands.
"The Zhang family's gathering will be in a few days." He repeated to me again, this time with a confident smile, "Advisor, you probably don't know that the Zhang family's gathering place has always been fixed, in the ruins of a snowy mountain. There used to be a half-finished product there."
"That... strange story, yes, consultant, you invented this word to describe those things, right?"
"So far, all the strange stories that have been discovered have a common source. I don't know how the Zhang family summarized and characterized it. But they call this strange story "Moving Rat". In the long past, some people tried to imitate and concoct a new "Moving Rat", but ultimately failed, leaving only a half-finished ruin."
“That clumsy and failed imitation has a certain resistance or deception to the weird story.
If you want to find a place where everyone can safely discuss the clues of different strange stories they are pursuing behind closed doors, and avoid information pollution as much as possible, then the Snow Mountain Ruins is the best choice. "
I interrupted his chattering thoughtfully and sneered, "How could an idiot like you accidentally discover some clues about the ruins through the Goddess?"
Nian Ziqing's facial muscles twitched slightly.
"Goddess... Advisor, you know too much. So much that I cannot understand what you are talking about."
He sighed, "I kind of regret that the condition I proposed was 'recruitment'. If I had met you earlier..."
I ignored him and looked at the broker, a little speechless:
"Does he think I'm stupid? Just because someone comes up with some decent questions, creates some suspense, and sighs, I'm going to cry and beg him to give me an answer?"
Nian Ziqing was stunned, his expression completely frozen.
"So, my advice is, no matter what deadly core secrets he is hiding, don't ask him."
I said again, thinking it was inexplicable, what kind of person would come here to show off. No matter what schemes you have, your image as a travel agency has already been solidified in my eyes. You are a mess and "idiots". Do you know if you can be a little more self-aware?
The broker laughed silently, as if he couldn't help laughing.
Then I remembered that she was my teacher's wife after all. I was afraid that all the middle school syndrome stories and my innocent "superpowers" that I had done in front of Xu You could not be hidden from her. I was suddenly embarrassed and coughed dryly to cover it up.
However, I still reserve my advice.
"People who claim to be smart often have a strong desire to talk. The more dangerous the situation is, the more they want to take charge of the whole situation." I said, and my face turned red. "So once they find information that they overlooked, and find that the situation is out of control and they have been deceived, they will often be easily driven crazy."
"Why ask him? Aren't we going to the party venue in a couple of days? Action is worse than words."
The broker looked at me, his expression changed slightly: "You mean..."
I couldn't help but laugh. The bad feelings in my heart were a little hard to control, and my eyes were probably shining.
"I have some things I want to ask my family, but I am an outsider after all. The title of 'young master' is not appropriate, and I don't like it very much. If I really want to ask about something, I'm afraid everyone will be too distant and play Tai Chi with me, which will be very boring.
So... a trade?
Will my family open the site to me? I, along with this sunny and cheerful new guide, will go down and see it for ourselves.”
Nian Ziqing looked as if he had been punched in the chest. He suddenly raised his head and looked at me in disbelief.
I am familiar with this expression. It is the look when the situation is out of control and the person dare not doubt himself for being stupid, but can only doubt that I am crazy.
I smiled at him too:
"I'll personally accompany you to the ground, you're welcome. When the time comes for you to die, remember to share any clues you have with me in time, I'll need them. It's okay if you don't provide them, anyway... every time I encounter a ghost story, they are alive and well, right?"
"you--!"
"It's harmful to others and not beneficial to myself." I nodded and confirmed to myself, "But I like to take the initiative when I have to face things. So-called "smart people" don't like or dare not suffer losses, but it doesn't matter, I dare."
"Now, you'd better tell me some of the prepared speeches. Otherwise, I will have to tie you up and throw you down when I get down to the ground."
"..."Nian Ziqing looked at me and cold sweat slowly rolled down his face.
He subconsciously took a step back, but the broker only moved slightly and still held his shoulders firmly, making him unable to move.
"...creating gods." He said, "The name [Moving Rat] comes from Nestorianism. At that time, the Tang Dynasty experienced a round of destruction and revival of Buddhism. During this period, Nestorianism, as a new religious sect that came from the west, was extremely prosperous for a time."
I know this. Nestorianism advocates worshiping God.
But in order to make the Tang Dynasty strong, no matter which gods or Buddhas they worshipped, they had to bow their heads and change their customs to adapt to the Tang Dynasty.
In the ninth year of Zhenguan, the dusty missionary, Bishop Alopen from Persia, once carried the scriptures with him, "carrying the true scriptures on the blue sky and looking at the wind and the law to overcome dangers and difficulties."
As for the supreme gods in the teachings, they had to transliterate them in the "Preface to the Lost Scripture", reading them as Yishu, Moyan, etc. The so-called Yishu also borrowed from the local Buddhist culture and also refers to the sun and the moon.
"So, the people who were caught up in the ghost stories at that time could not find the corresponding image in traditional beliefs, and could not explain some of the overly distorted and bizarre rules. So they borrowed some concepts from Nestorianism and called that destination, which looked like a god or devil but was definitely not, "Mouse Moving."
"In the snowy mountains... they built a huge underground palace.
The sun and the moon are above it, and countless pathways symbolizing light radiate from the belly of the mountain.
However, once a person walks in, no matter which way he walks, he will deviate from his route and walk under the sun and moon. Anyone who is exposed to the moving rat for a long time will be distorted and lose his shape, turning into a pile of unknown things.
Nian Ziqing looked at me, completely speechless. "The Zhang family gathering is just outside the underground palace, in a village at the foot of the mountain. You'd better stop talking about taking me underground. That's not a place that mortals can enter."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
