Chapter 31 Chapter 31 "Old He, you fell into the pit! How...
broken!
The first thing Lin Xinghuo thought of was not his own honor of being blown up to the sky by the yellow-skinned maniac's lightning, but the black fox skull on his head.
This person will be arrested and reformed as a person who practices feudal superstition! Even though Lin Xinghuo is calm, he feels it is difficult at this moment.
But in the eyes of He Qing and others, what first struck them was not the little girl who looked like she had just crawled out of a pile of ashes, nor the only clean skull in the ashes, but the two fat and strong wild boars dragged by the thin girl!
Lin Xinghuo was just about to enter the health station. She dragged the pig's hind legs with her back to them, and her ferocious wild boar head was facing straight towards everyone.
The fangs are so long! The pig face is so ugly and scary!
The overall terrain on the Nanshan side is upward. The health station is a little higher than where the old branch secretary and others are standing. From their point of view, the huge bodies of the two wild boars almost cover most of Lin Xinghuo's body.
He Qing stared at the drag marks left by Lin Xinghuo dragging the wild boar, took a deep breath, and asked the old branch secretary: "Is this what you meant by staggering when walking early in the morning?" He Qing unconsciously used the honorific.
Those were wild boars! Two of them! He Qing's calves cramped a bit, and the smart and capable young clerk he brought with him slid behind the leader, leaving only his dark head exposed.
The old Party Secretary's face was frozen. He suspected that Xiao Lin, looking dusty and dusty, had just finished refining his elixir. It was his fault, too. After exposing the scheming of Deputy Director Qu, he'd been so complacent that he failed to think things through. Otherwise, he could have sent a nimble young man to report the situation first, and Xiao Lin wouldn't have walked right into the trap!
Huang Dazhuang wanted to slap himself twice. Why didn't he think twice and call Xiaolin out in such a hurry? Now that he was fine, what should he do?
The scene was eerily quiet for a moment.
Qu Xiangjin opened his mouth, staring at Lin Xinghuo and the fox skull on her head, with only one thought in his mind: this is the person his foster uncle in the capital is looking for!
Deputy Director Qu was both terrified and delighted: A life-saving escape! A ray of hope! This girl was finished. The leadership of the Buxiantun Production Brigade, who had shielded and allowed her feudal superstitions, would also suffer the consequences. He could even send work and propaganda teams to Buxiantun to vigorously promote class struggle... and with this wave of merit, he was promoted directly to the County Revolutionary Committee.
He pointed at Lin Xinghuo and was about to speak, but the old branch secretary sensed something was wrong and spoke first, "This is Comrade Xiaolin, our team's medical worker. Comrade Lin has made selfless contributions to the collective... Look, look at this wild boar! She's a pig-hunting hero, congratulations, Leader..."
The old branch secretary used his quick wit to suppress Deputy Director Qu's voice.
But at this time, Lin Xinghuo had calmed down again.
Lin Xinghuo glanced back and forth, thinking about how to deal with the situation after leaving these people behind. It wasn't that difficult, after all, there were very few people who weren't afraid of death. At this critical juncture, any explanation was meaningless; force was the more practical way to break the deadlock.
With a flick of her wrist, she flung the two wild boars, weighing over 600 kilograms in total, into the courtyard of the health station. Lin Xinghuo brushed the pig hair off her hands and looked up at the old Party Secretary. He was startled, as if understanding something. His voice trailed off, but his old arms and legs moved nimbly, and in a blink of an eye, he pulled Huang Dazhuang aside, several steps away from He Qing and the others.
"..." He Qing, He Qing's heart sank. He recalled the rumors the spring sowing team had heard from various production teams in the past few days. How half of the autumn hunting team had been attacked by wild boars, how a family had fallen into a snow pit on the way to visit relatives, and only found the whole family after the snow melted... Snow pits were hard to find now, but there were plenty of puddles and old forests, not to mention that they were now at the foot of Nanshan Mountain.
How quickly can a person's emotions change? Qu Xiangjin went from excitement to terror in just a flick of Lin Xinghuo's hand.
A caracal crouched on the threshold, licking its paws. It fixed its gaze on one person: Qu Xiangjin! Of this group, only this deputy director of the commune's malice was evident. While the others could engage in "friendly discussions" using force first and then courtesy, this one must be eliminated. The caracal ...
Lin Xinghuo walked slowly and steadily, and He Qing and the others' hearts were beating like drums.
Getting closer and closer.
The skull on her head was illuminated by the bright spring sun, and it seemed to be inlaid with gold, making it look even more golden and jade-like and extraordinary.
As they walked, Lin Xinghuo casually wondered whether he should put the black fox skull away, lest any sudden movement would cause dust to fly onto the fox's skull. But the treasure bag that Mr. Mao had just given him contained not only wild boar but also stinking orchid leaves. These stinking orchid leaves were truly stinking. While the yellow-skinned stench was used to confuse the enemy, the stinking orchid's simple, focused odor was used to kill the enemy.
The caracal once said that this small storage bag was originally a sleeve cut from a tattered robe, and that it could be used as a storage bag because it was inscribed with the "Universe in the Sleeve" array. The fact that the stinking orchid could faint the caracal suggests its cultivation level is comparable to the caracal's. She was worried that the sleeve-made storage bag might not be able to keep out the stinking orchid's stench, and that it might marinate the fox skull...
Otherwise, put the fox head on the cat's head first?
Lin Xinghuo's thoughts were racing, and suddenly he felt his heartstrings move, and his head felt light, and the fox head was gone.
The caracal, which was licking its paws leisurely, had its tail hairs all standing up. At that moment, it felt that there was something extra next to the shadow it had projected into Lin Xinghuo's purple palace due to the contract!
He Qing and the others stared with their eyes wide open, their eyes nearly falling out of their sockets. The young official hiding behind He Qing rubbed his eyes with his fists, then opened them wide and looked again: No! The skull was truly gone!
In full view of the crowd, the skull on the girl's head vanished out of thin air! If He Qing hadn't worked in government for many years, he would probably be no better than the Red Farmer Commune representative who fell to his knees.
The representative from the Red Agricultural Commune was terrified. Trembling, he pulled two corn seedlings, still covered in soil, from his pocket, holding them in his hands, not daring to speak. His action unnerved the head of the nearby agricultural technology station, who also pulled a seedling from his bag, its roots even better protected than the Red Agricultural Cooperative's. Immediately, another agricultural technician and the representative also lay prone, their two hiding a handful of rice grains.
He Qing swallowed, feeling thankful he hadn't taken any. Just then, he felt his belt tighten, and the clerk, clutching his leader's pants, collapsed. He watched helplessly as his most favored assistant, weeping and snotting, began to dig through his pockets and briefcase for corn kernels—he had hidden two large handfuls of corn seeds.
The old Party Secretary's teeth ached a little: This is the working group from the county? How useless!
Huang Dazhuang saw them hiding the seedlings and seeds, but the old Party secretary gave him a look, telling him to leave it alone. Huang Dazhuang, with his poor acting skills, turned stiffly and looked up at the sky, letting them do whatever they wanted: after all, the seeds in the warehouse hadn't yet been touched by the little fairy.
But no one made as loud a noise as Xiang Jin's kneeling.
Qu Xiangjin's teeth chattered. That person, the one who was nailed alive into the coffin by Old Master Jin, came to take revenge!
This group of people knelt so quickly that Lin Xinghuo couldn't find a reason to show force.
That's fine. Lin Xinghuo looked at the only person still standing, wearing a formal Mao suit, and pointed at the health station: "Let's talk inside?"
Only when he actually started walking did He Qing realize that his legs were as weak as noodles and barely responsive. But no one paid attention to his strange gait. Compared to the others, who were supporting each other and stumbling like refugees from the three-year famine, he at least maintained his leadership.
In the past, shamans and witch doctors were prevalent in Selangor, and legends of supernatural beings were commonplace. Those directly managing and directing production in the brigades were especially likely to tell such stories. It's only in recent years that superstitions have been strictly prohibited, otherwise the elders in their families would still believe in them. But what about the claim that all such things are superstitions? How could they still be true?
Lin Xinghuo threw Deputy Director Qu, who had collapsed into a puddle of mud, to the ground in disgust, and happened to bump into Wild Boar Head.
She sat down on the stone bench under the peach tree and tapped the stone table: "Today's matter..."
He Qing's cleverness as a security guard returned to him, and he repeatedly assured everyone, "Don't worry, we won't tell anyone! Not a single word!"
Others followed suit and swore.
Lin Xinghuo shook his head: "Words are not enough. Let's sign a contract."
A deed? A red deed or a white deed? He Qing's mind wandered, and he suddenly recalled the funerals of wealthy families in the old society he had witnessed as a child. The white, colorful paper money flew up to the sky, floating in the air. For a moment, it seemed as if ghosts were sandwiched among the living.
The leader's yang fire was throbbing, flickering, and Lin Xinghuo's eyes hurt. Lin Xinghuo glanced at him and threw a peace charm. This was to prevent the leader, who was pretending to be calm, from fainting before the two sides could reach an agreement.
He Qing reached out to catch it in a panic. A flash of light appeared on the yellow talisman, and He Qing felt his palm warm. The cold feeling spreading up his spine instantly subsided.
"Xiao Lin?" The old Party Secretary hesitated. How could we make a deal? What if they changed their minds after we let them go? But there seemed to be no other solution. He couldn't just throw them into the mountains to feed the wild beasts, could he? He shook his head, pulling himself together. No, no, no, these weren't some old bandit den.
Huang Dazhuang, standing alert at the gate like a door god, caught a glimpse of the old branch secretary's expression and felt a chill in his heart. He'd bet his father, who had abandoned his wife and children to run off with an actor, that the old branch secretary had no good intentions! He was afraid that after the little fairy had used her methods, the old branch secretary would have to use his own methods to deal with this group of people.
Lin Xinghuo brushed past the stone table, and the four treasures of the study instantly appeared on the table.
This time, even the old branch secretary and the other two were staring in amazement. Huang Dazhuang's sturdy figure swayed, and he covered his chest with his big hands like a palm-leaf fan: He kept calling her "little fairy, little fairy", but he never dreamed that this was really a fairy.
The old Party Secretary thought Lin Xinghuo would draft a deed, but she didn't. Lin Xinghuo began to draw the talisman under the gazes of those around her, some fearful, some confused, and some complicated.
This talisman is the most complex one in the appendix of the basic skills. It is called the Contract Talisman. As the name suggests, it is a talisman that can be used to conclude a contract. Lin Xinghuo just remembered it and his confidence soared.
However, the head and foot of the Qi Talisman alone were more complex than both the Peace Talisman and the House Guarding Talisman combined, not to mention the all-important core. Lin Xinghuo first traced them onto ordinary yellow paper, then practiced separately, only to master them before combining the three into one, completing the whole in one stroke.
After closing his eyes and contemplating for a moment, Lin Xinghuo took out a piece of ochre-yellow talisman paper from the box, dipped the glowing talisman brush into red ink, and wrote it in one stroke... With a "swish", halfway through the stroke, the talisman paper suddenly "bang" and shattered into a pile of paper scraps.
Lin Xinghuo pondered for a moment, then took out another one. He closed his eyes again, comprehended it, drew it again, and destroyed it again...
He Qing and others saw that the sound of the talisman paper breaking was getting louder and louder. The fragments were very large at the beginning, but now the fragments were as sharp as knives, and shallow grooves were cut on the stone table.
Everyone retreated to the corner diagonally opposite. After discovering that the talisman He Qing was holding could block the scattered "flying knives", even the old branch secretary and Huang Dazhuang hid behind He Qing. Everyone huddled like quails, but couldn't help but timidly stretch their heads to look.
Aside from Deputy Director Qu, the shrewd He Qing was the first to actually refuse to accept him. When Deputy Director Qu tried to move over, He Qing skirted around him like a hen with chicks avoiding a hawk. His agility was comparable to the way the old branch secretary had just pulled Huang Dazhuang to make room for Lin Xinghuo.
Deputy Director Qu's hands and feet were still weak. There was no other way, and Deputy Director Qu, who had been so ambitious before coming, could only helplessly burrow into the wild boar's arms, using the fat and strong wild boar to resist the flying attacks.
Lin Xinghuo was completely immersed in the world of the talisman. The caracal crouched on the table, its long tail occasionally sweeping away the talisman debris flying towards Lin Xinghuo's face. To the others, this strange, lynx-sized mountain cat was as calm and majestic as a divine beast guarding the house.
"Gurgle!" He Qing's stomach protested and he lifted the waistband of his pants with one hand. He Qing glanced at Lin Xinghuo in fear, but fortunately she was completely oblivious to what was happening outside, and the extremely loud sound of hunger did not disturb her.
The old branch secretary looked up at the sky and calmly lit his pipe: These people finished their guidance work early, so it's still early now.
As he puffed on a cigarette, the old man suddenly felt happy: the county work group was coming to the countryside to inspect the work, and the brigade was supposed to provide food, and good food at that, and also spend some of the brigade's reserves to prevent the spring famine. Hey, now it's the whole province!
Until the sky was about to get dark and the sun and the moon were meeting, Lin Xinghuo wrote calmly. Until the red pen moved to the end of the yellow talisman, it still did not explode like before - in the dim sunset, a purple light suddenly appeared, and the talisman rose up without wind and hung in the air. When the light was completely absorbed and hidden in the rune, the talisman paper fell into Lin Xinghuo's hands.
Letting out a sigh, Lin Xinghuo looked at it carefully: According to the appendix, after drawing the talisman, she has already entered the second-level talisman master.
"You guys..." After looking around and turning his gaze to the corner, Lin Xinghuo didn't know what to say.
In the southwest corner of the yard, a group of people were squatting or sitting: He Qing, at the front, held out her arms, holding a peace amulet, now staring blankly at the deed in her hand. The old Party Secretary sat next to He Qing, and the two seemed to be talking. Huang Dazhuang was huddled with a few young people, cracking pine nuts, his hand still half full. The two who had stolen the seedlings had already planted them in a broken clay pot in the corner. Every leaf of the tender corn seedlings had been wiped clean...
There was also Deputy Director Qu, who had curled up in the wild boar's embrace. This scene was even stranger than her image.
"Okay?" The old branch secretary patted his trouser legs and stood up, with He Qing beside him supporting him.
Lin Xinghuo nodded, pretending not to notice these people's 'tea party'. After thinking for a moment, he roughly explained the function of the contract talisman and said, "Everyone hold the edge of the yellow talisman and repeat the oath you said before."
Lin Xinghuo glanced at everyone and said, "You can come up with a unified statement."
The spring sowing team all looked at He Qing. He Qing quickly thought of the oath and repeated it to Lin Xinghuo, who nodded.
Each person recited the talisman several times, then nervously stretched out two fingers, pinched the yellow talisman, and then swore in unison. The talisman glowed purple. After everyone finished speaking, Lin Xinghuo tapped the center of the talisman. Whoosh! The talisman spontaneously ignited, emitting several thin strands of purple light that shot towards the eyebrows of the people and then disappeared into their bodies.
Qu Xiangjin frantically groped his forehead in panic. He had just opened his mouth but made no sound, so how could they be considered to have signed a contract?
Lin Xinghuo finally reminded him, "Not only does 'swearing not to tell' hold true, but if you actually attempt to violate the contract, the consequences of your curse will also come true. If you don't believe me, try it..." For example, if these people promise not to tell anyone else, then he won't be able to speak even if he wants to. But if he tries to write it down, he can write it, but what he writes will be unrecognizable, and the moment he actually writes it, the consequences of his curse will come true. Lin Xinghuo was curious to see it; after all, she had never seen the actual reaction to violating the contract.
As she reminded him, she gave Deputy Director Qu a meaningful look. Lin Xinghuo added with a smile, "What Director Qu just said silently was also a vow... Besides, if I can draw the first one, I can also draw the second and third. If you use the talisman alone, the effect will be stronger and the backlash will be faster."
The caracal felt the Purple Palace and found no strange patterns coming in. It jumped onto Lin Xinghuo's shoulder with satisfaction, retracted its claws to pretend to be a fur scarf, and squinted its round eyes to peek at its friend's profile.
In reality, the contract wasn't signed by Lin Xinghuo, but by the Chunbo team. Lin Xinghuo's final touch didn't even touch the contract; he merely sent some spiritual energy into it to enhance its effectiveness. With the power of a second-level talisman, it should last for the lifetime of these ordinary people. The only flaw was that the contract required at least two people to use it. This meant that if only one of the signatories was left alive, the contract would automatically become void. Even if they broke their oath, there would be no consequences.
Lin Xinghuo wasn't worried about this loophole. This year was already 1973, so as long as it was guaranteed to be effective for four years, it would be fine. After 1977, even if strange rumors were spread, it wouldn't matter.
After this matter was settled, the atmosphere relaxed noticeably. He Qing and the others seemed to have reached an agreement with the old Party Secretary, who smiled and invited them to stay for the wild boar feast.
He Qing unconsciously pulled up his belt again and said with a smile: "Then I'd rather obey than be respectful. Of course, Comrade Lin, I'll have someone send you the certificate for being the 'Pig-killing Hero' in two days!" While no one was paying attention, he quietly hid the amulet that Lin Xinghuo had given him that morning into the inner pocket of his shirt.
Huang Dazhuang rang the bell in front of the clinic, and soon the militia came running over. More people meant more work, and with the spring famine, everyone was starving. Before it was even dark, a large bonfire was already lit in front of the clinic.
Lin Xinghuo wasn't so kind as to let Deputy Director Qu eat her pork, and Huang Dazhuang, facing the commune's difficulties directly, was even less polite, and locked him up in the woodshed like a chicken. He Qing pretended not to notice and simply took the clerk's notebook. He chatted with the old branch secretary and wrote and drew at the same time. The two of them had already discussed the general plan for the county production department to take charge of Buxian Village's sowing and management.
The old Party Secretary's heart was burning with enthusiasm, and He Qing's face was also flushed. He whispered a promise: "Let's work hard in the brigade! As long as we achieve results, I will apply to the core leadership group to have the Bushantun Production Brigade directly under the county..."
The eighteen or nineteen-year-old clerk ate with his mouth full of grease, and while he ate, he didn't forget to pick up some meat for He Qing. He Qing picked up his belt again and rolled his eyes at him. The clerk chuckled and said, "Boss, I'll give you a belt later. Just bear with it for now!"
He Qing's mouth twitched, his heart aching. He only had this one leather belt, which had been in good condition for three years, but today this kid tore it apart, and the hole where the buckle goes in became huge. Glancing at the young clerk's lean waist, He Qing snorted in annoyance. Even if he cut off the part behind the broken hole, this kid could still fasten the remaining belt buckle, but he wouldn't give it to him!
"Why don't they sit at the same table with us?" The young clerk's attention was quick, and he found that the members were all staying away from them. Even the accountant didn't come to sit with the branch secretary and the team leader.
Lin Xinghuo, who was struggling with a first-order cleaning talisman, knew the reason, but she was in no mood to tell them because she had just been dragged back up the hill by Grandma Wei by the collar. Even her little daughter pinched her nose and said in a childish voice, "Little fairy, it stinks!"
As the saying goes, "If you live in the abalone market for a long time, you no longer smell its stench." Lin Xinghuo's family of six had absorbed the flavor, and they couldn't even sense their own "fragrance wafting ten miles away." The spring sowing team had been infected by Lin Xinghuo, so it's no wonder they didn't notice. They did smell it at first, but the sight was shocking. Then, they were too apprehensive to care about the aroma or the stench. While waiting for Lin Xinghuo to draw the talisman, they gradually accepted it and calmed down. Unfortunately, by then, the nine of them, including the old branch secretary and Huang Dazhuang, had already been numbed by the stench.
While eating meat, the members of the cooperative gathered in a huddle, all saying, "This wild boar stinks! Even all that pickled cabbage can't suppress the smell. Hey, do you smell the captain? My God, he rolled in a mud pit with a wild boar! Sister-in-law won't let him get on the bed tonight!"
"It's a bit smelly, but the more you eat it, the better it smells. Even the stinky ones are surprisingly delicious!" Wang Huzi said, "I heard from Uncle Cen that there are stinky tofu and stinky fish in the south, and the stinkier they are, the better they taste!"
The spring sowing team stayed in Buxiantun for another night. The oil lamp in the brigade office was on for half the night. Accountant Wang, who had refused many times, was forcibly dragged into the office by Huang Dazhuang, and was forced to work on the abacus with a bitter face.
"Secretary Chen, don't worry." He Qing changed the address back to what he was addressing, but this time it wasn't from a superior to a subordinate, but rather from a close comrade who had reached a consensus: "I will deal with the issue of Qu Xiangjin seriously!"
Lin Xinghuo didn't show up for the farewell party for the spring broadcast team. Qu Xiangjin was just a small fry, and his mother's power was a mere castle in the air, propped up by Qu's stepfather. If those two fell, she would naturally fall too. Lin Xinghuo was thinking of Qu's mother's adoptive brother, who had changed his surname to "Lin" and was hiding behind the scenes. Unfortunately, Qu Xiangjin knew very little about this family and couldn't even recall their specific names.
Lin Xinghuo went to Qu's house again at night. As expected, Qu's mother knew the news of Fei Xinli's family's demise earlier than Qu Xiangjin. Lin Xinghuo took advantage of Chou Lan's bad reputation to pretend to be a yellow-skinned man. What was surprising was that Qu's mother didn't even know the specific situation of her adoptive brother's family. She even told Qu Xiangjin that the recipient of the phone calls and telegrams was just a messenger from Wai Badao.
Mother Qu continued to complain, "It's been so many years since my foster brother married me back home, and I haven't seen them since I returned to Xue Province. They used to send letters, and the address was the Lunan Post Office in Beijing. They only told me about phone calls and telegrams in the last two years, and they were still at the Lunan Post Office. I don't even know who answered the phone... God of Wealth, you know what the Jin family was like back then. My foster brother was afraid that someone would find out about his background, so he couldn't be more cautious... God of Wealth, I want to ask you something, about that fox bone my foster brother gave you..."
However, Qu's mother knew the name that the eldest grandson of the Jin family changed after he fled to the capital. She said that she was afraid that after she left, her adoptive brother might change his name again out of caution - changing names is really easy these days, so Qu's mother's name is now changed to "Red Heart".
Lin Xinghuo was not in a hurry. After knocking Qu's mother unconscious, she placed the yellow fox neatly at the head of her bed.
"The fox bones are not theirs, but they can be returned to their original owner." This woman could even coax her own son into submission, and she didn't care about other people's lives. He shouldn't be scared by her gift.
Lin Xinghuo did not follow to see what happened to Deputy Director Qu. He took advantage of his merit to get Hei Sable Keai, who had now moved into the backyard of the mountain residence to join in the fun. After coming back and telling Lin Xinghuo the whereabouts of Wei Chunfeng and her brother, he excitedly jumped on the back seat of He Qing's bicycle.
He Qing felt the back of his bike sink. He looked back and saw a sleek black sable raised its paws and bowed to him. Suppressing his rage, He Qing held onto the handlebars and yelled at the young officer who had nearly fallen into the ditch, "What are you panicking about? Ride faster!"
The young official, with Qu Xiangjin tied to the back seat, felt so heavy that he could only stand up and pedal with resigned sympathy. The head of the agricultural technology station held the handlebars with one hand and supported Qu Xiangjin's bicycle with the other, shouting from the front, "Come on, Xiao Chen!"
Instead of entering Fangmaji Commune, the group took a shortcut and headed straight to the county town. They ate some dry food given by Butiantun on the way and did not arrive at the county town until the afternoon.
As soon as we entered the compound, Director Zhang, the leader of the core leadership team, came over and said, "Why are you back so late? Old He, something happened, something serious! Deputy Team Leader Qu has stopped working and has been taken away for investigation!"
Before He Qing could even take a sip of water, Director Zhang's resounding voice echoed throughout the entire second floor of the Revolutionary Committee building: "Old He, you fell into the pit! Why does it stink so bad?"
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The author has something to say: Weekends are always busy, so the updates are late. Sorry for the long wait, little angels.
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