Chapter Four 1
After returning to the county town, Mu Linfeng called Wang Zhao and told him about his return to Mujiaying. He also told Wang Zhao that he had found the ancestral tomb-reading skills in the old house, but did not find any trace of the "Emperor's Burial Mountain Map".
Mu Linfeng concealed the fact that the tomb-reading skill was found in his great-grandfather's tomb, and did not mention the large amount of gold and silver found, because he felt that this was his family's business and there was no need to tell outsiders. Another important reason why Mu Linfeng did this was that he had vowed to be a "spiritual keeper."
When Mu Linfeng vowed to inherit his ancestral skills in tomb-reading, he felt that he was closely connected to everything in his family. He even regretted agreeing to join Professor Dongfang's research group.
Mu Linfeng had already thought about what to do next. He wrote a resignation letter and handed it to the manager in charge. In the resignation letter, Mu Linfeng did not explain the reason for his resignation. If his friends knew that he resigned to be a "knot", they would definitely think he was crazy.
The hotel manager personally tried to retain Mu Linfeng, but seeing that he was determined to leave, he did not force him. In fact, it was not difficult to find a chef like Mu Linfeng. Although they could not be found everywhere, they were not scarce talents either.
Mu Linfeng simply packed up his things, which were a few work clothes and some recipes, put them in his backpack and left the hotel.
Coming out of the staff passage at the back of the hotel, Mu Linfeng suddenly saw the cripple standing outside the door. When he saw him coming out, the cripple immediately tiptoed over to him. Mu Linfeng asked in confusion, "Why are you here if you're not going to work?"
"I'm waiting for the master to come out." The little cripple answered with a smile.
"What are you waiting for me for?"
The little cripple took the backpack from Mu Linfeng attentively and said with a smile, "I'll tell Master when we get home."
The lame boy's real name is Zhang Xiaosan. He just turned 18 this year and is a miserable child. He contracted polio when he was two years old. He was treated in time, but it left him with some sequelae. When he walks, his right foot always swings, and his body always tilts to the right with every step. Fortunately, it is not a big hindrance and does not affect his walking.
When Xiao San was in primary school, his father died in a car accident. His mother remarried with his sister, and he was left by his grandfather. The family misfortune changed Xiao San's personality. After entering middle school, he often skipped school and learned to steal.
Once, he was caught stealing in a supermarket by the security guard and was severely beaten. Mu Linfeng happened to see him and felt sorry for him, so he paid for the stolen goods for him, which was less than 200 yuan in total. Perhaps he was moved by Mu Linfeng's kindness, and Xiao San vowed to turn over a new leaf. So Mu Linfeng reported it to the manager and asked Xiao San to learn cooking from him.
Xiao San did not disappoint Mu Linfeng. He cherished this opportunity and was very hardworking when he was with Mu Linfeng. This kid was also very smart and could learn things quickly, so everyone liked him. Because his leg was a little lame, the chef liked to joke and called him "little cripple". Xiao San didn't care that others called him "little cripple". After getting used to it, no one called him by his name anymore. Xiao San has been in the hotel for almost half a year, and the hotel is considering hiring him as a contract worker.
After returning home, Xiao San first made a pot of tea for Mu Linfeng, and then asked with a smile: "Master, I heard that you resigned?"
"Yeah." Mu Linfeng agreed.
"I want to follow Master..." Xiao San said tentatively.
On the way back, Mu Linfeng saw through his thoughts but didn't point it out. In fact, Mu Linfeng was no longer in the hotel. It was really hard for Xiao San to survive in the kitchen alone. In the chef industry nowadays, most people form gangs and it is hard to make it alone.
Mu Linfeng pondered for a moment, and realized that he would need a helper in the future, and Xiao San happened to be a very good candidate, so he said to Xiao San: "Xiao San, you must think about this matter carefully, and don't regret it . As the saying goes, a cook will not starve even if there is a drought for three years. Being a chef is guaranteed to have food to eat. I don't know what will happen if you follow me..."
Before Mu Linfeng finished speaking, Xiao San rushed to say, "Master, don't worry. No matter what happens in the future, I promise I won't say a word."
Mu Linfeng threatened him, "I will be dealing with the dead in the future, are you afraid?"
Unexpectedly, Xiao San shook his head nonchalantly and said, "I have been very brave since I was a child. I dare to go to the graves alone at night. No matter what the master does, I will follow him."
"Well, you can help me from now on." Mu Linfeng agreed readily, "You must have heard that my ancestors were 'lumps', and I want to resume my ancestral business in the future."
"Hehe... everyone has been talking about Master these past few days, saying that you are amazing..."
Mu Linfeng knew that they must be talking about Zhu Fugui's family. Such things could easily be spread by people adding fuel to the fire.
The next day, Mu Linfeng brought the little cripple back to Mujiaying. Mu Linfeng planned to build a few houses in the front yard of the old house to live in, and then slowly renovate the entire old house. Mu Linfeng knew that his participation in the research group would not be a long-term thing, and he would live here in the future.
The first thing Mu Linfeng did when he returned to the old house was to look for the weasel that led him into his great-grandfather's grave. Mu Linfeng stood on the wall in the backyard of the old house and shouted "Brother Huang" twice towards the old locust tree forest behind.
The little cripple following behind looked at Mu Linfeng curiously and asked puzzledly: "Master, who are you calling to the forest?"
Mu Linfeng smiled but didn't say anything, staring at the eerie old locust tree forest. He could feel that the little creature was inside. The little elf seemed to know that Mu Linfeng would come back to find it, and it rushed out of the locust tree forest in a short while.
The elf seemed extremely excited when it saw Mu Linfeng. It ran around him for a few laps and then jumped onto the rockery next to it. It kept squeaking, as if it was telling Mu Linfeng about the two days of separation...
At this moment, Mu Linfeng seemed to feel that he and the weasel had a telepathic connection. He could understand the joy of this little elf after seeing him.
Seeing that it was actually a weasel running over, the little cripple was horrified and asked in astonishment: "Master, you...you were calling it just now?"
In order to avoid the suspicion of the little cripple, Mu Linfeng lied to him and said, "I have known this weasel since I lived here when I was a child. We have always been good friends. It is older than me, so I call him Brother Huang. From now on, there will be three of us living here, so you can call him Brother Huang too."
The little cripple shook his head and said, "I call you Master, and we both call him Big Brother. Isn't that messing up the generations? No way..."
"Where did you get all this bullshit from? From now on, we are brothers. You can call me Big Brother. If you call me Master again, I will feel like an old man."
"Hehe...Okay, I will call you two big brothers from now on...but it feels a bit awkward..." said the little cripple with a grin.
The weasel seemed to understand what we said. This kind-hearted little creature immediately jumped down from the rockery, stood in front of the little cripple and squeaked twice.
Mu Linfeng immediately smiled and said, "Look, Brother Huang is greeting you."
The little cripple squatted down with a surprised look on his face: "I didn't expect it to be so cute and could understand what we say."
As he spoke, he reached out his hand and gently stroked the weasel's head. Zhang Xiaosan and the weasel quickly became good friends. The interaction between humans and animals is sometimes simpler and easier than that between humans. Mu Linfeng, Zhang Xiaosan, and this cute little elf have set up camp in Mujiaying from today.
Mu Linfeng quickly put the matter of joining the research group behind him. Ever since he knew the duties of a vigil keeper and swore to be one, Mu Linfeng rejected this matter from the bottom of his heart and even considered quitting the research group.
Mu Linfeng believed that as a descendant of the Mu family, he must follow the ancestral teachings and strictly perform the duties of a coffin keeper. If he led people to dig up the ancient tomb on the "Emperor's Burial Mountain Map", he would not only violate the teachings of his ancestors, but also violate his own oath. Therefore, it would be better for him to withdraw from Professor Dongfang's research group as soon as possible.
Living in the mountains is much more comfortable than living in the city. Not only is the air good, but it is also quiet. Transportation is now very developed and it is very convenient to get in and out. Mu Linfeng plans to buy an off-road vehicle first. He likes Mitsubishi Pajero very much. Money is not a problem now, and using the money he finds to buy a car does not violate the teachings of his great-grandfather.
Mu Linfeng knew that he would probably have to travel around the world in the future. Although he had not found the "Emperor's Burial Mountain Map" yet, he could imagine that those secret imperial tombs must be mostly in remote and dangerous places. To go to these places, it would be impossible without a very good off-road vehicle.
Thinking of buying a car, Mu Linfeng suddenly understood why his family had so many good horses in the past. There was a long row of stables in the old house. Although the house collapsed, the horse troughs carved out of bluestone were still there. There were seven or eight two-meter-long horse troughs, and one could imagine the scale of the stables at that time. The reason why the ancestors raised so many good horses must be to travel long distances to guard those secret imperial tombs.
Mu Linfeng handed over the task of building the house to the cripple, and he calmed down and studied the "Tomb-Looking Notes" written by his ancestors. Mu Linfeng believed that as long as he learned the experience of his ancestors, he would naturally master the skills of tomb-looking.
Mu Linfeng temporarily lived in an old house of an uncle not far from the old house. The whole family moved to a new house by the road at the foot of the mountain. The whole courtyard was empty and very quiet, just right for studying. The quiet and comfortable environment made Mu Linfeng temporarily forget his worries and concentrate on studying the art of tomb divination.
There are a total of 18 volumes of "Grave Notes" left by the ancestors of the Mu family. From the first ancestor to his great-grandfather, each ancestor left a copy. However, Mu Linfeng found that there were no notes from his grandfather and father. Mu Linfeng realized that perhaps his grandfather and father did not find these notes left by the ancestors.
At this moment, a thought flashed through Mu Linfeng's mind. The "Emperor's Burial Mountain Map" was most likely in the hands of his grandfather or father, because after his great-grandfather knew that the Japanese devils were looking for him, he sent his grandfather away. His great-grandfather might have asked his grandfather to take the most important thing with him, and his grandfather might also pass the "Emperor's Burial Mountain Map" to his father.
Because his father suddenly disappeared when Mu Linfeng was very young, it is very likely that he did not have time to pass it on to him... and the sudden disappearance of his grandfather and father is likely related to the identity of the keeper...
Considering this, Mu Linfeng realized that he might be able to find clues in the notes left by his great-grandfather, so he found the notes written by his great-grandfather and began to read them carefully.
When Mu Linfeng's great-grandfather disappeared, his grandfather was less than fifteen years old and was away from home. Some of the stories about what happened were told by his grandfather after he came back from the village. There may be some discrepancies between the facts and the stories. By the time they reached Mu Linfeng, they had already been turned into legendary stories.
After Mu Linfeng finished reading the notes left by his great-grandfather and combined them with the stories he had heard before, he finally figured out a clearer clue of the cause and effect of the whole incident...
Mu Linfeng's great-grandfather was named Mu Dingwu, and this name is said to be very particular. Mu Dingwu himself was born in the wood element of the five elements, and he was also a "big forest wood", which was a relatively prosperous "wood". And the surname "Mu" itself happened to have three drops of water. Among the five elements, wood is born from water, which makes the wood of the five elements even more prosperous, so it must be restrained, so the characters "Ding" and "Wu" were added to his name, because "Ding" belongs to the fire element of the five elements, and fire is born from wood, so it can weaken the prosperity of "wood". And this "Wu" belongs to gold, and gold restrains wood, so the five elements of the great-grandfather's prosperous wood tend to be balanced.
Chinese people value peace the most, which means balance and harmony. Peace runs through every aspect of our lives, as can be seen from the "Book of Changes". The balance of the five elements is the highest state we pursue.
Without further ado, let's get down to business, because the contents of these stories have many connections with what Mu Linfeng encountered later.
After the Japanese occupied Qingzhou in 1938, they stationed a large number of troops in the city. Because Qingzhou is located on a major transportation route and has been a battleground since ancient times, the Japanese army stationed a battalion in the ancient city. A standard battalion of the Japanese army had 1,100 people, and there were more than a thousand puppet troops in the city.
The commander of the Japanese army was a colonel named Pu Kenichirō, who had been a university history teacher before the war. He was well-versed in Chinese history and had a hobby of collecting antiques.
Pu Jianyilang knew that Qingzhou was an ancient cultural city with a large number of precious cultural relics. Therefore, in his spare time, Pu Jianyilang used various means to collect cultural relics.
After some traitors learned about Pu Jianyilang's hobby, they also catered to his hobby and helped him to plunder and rob cultural relics in the local area, causing the wealthy merchants and intellectuals in the ancient city to secretly hide the antiques in their homes, bury them underground, or send them to relatives in the countryside. Some people even smashed all the bottles and jars in their collections at home, preferring to smash them rather than give them to the Japanese. Therefore, half a year after Pu Jianyilang arrived in the ancient city, it was difficult for him to find valuable cultural relics.
