Chapter 245: Death Without Life, Qingcheng Mountain
"I know, but this time it was my junior brother who was captured in the United States. When I was desperate, it was my junior brother who helped me. I owe him a lot of favors, so if I fail this time, it can be regarded as repaying that friendship."
Zhang Aimin could hear the worry in Du Ruo's words, which made his dead heart relax.
"What about your daughter? What are you going to do with her?"
Du Ruo's voice sank. He knew that masters like Zhang Aimin were all people with strong minds. Once they made a decision, it would be difficult to change it.
So he did not persuade him anymore, but just asked about his arrangements. If the other party wanted to entrust his daughter to him, he would definitely not agree. The two of them were at most fellow travelers, and their friendship was not to the extent of entrusting an orphan to someone else.
"Haha, no need to make any arrangements. A few days ago, I was doing odd jobs and she...she went to the river by herself...I couldn't save her..."
Even Du Ruo, who claimed to be a "god" with exceptional sensitivity and could easily discern other people's emotions, could not tell whether Zhang Aimin was laughing or crying on the other end of the phone, or even whether his words sounded heavy or relieved.
"..."
Du Ruo moved her lips but couldn't utter a word of comfort.
"What can I do to help you?"
After a long silence, Du Ruo finally spoke softly.
"My daughter loves flowers the most. I have scattered a lot of flower seeds beside the grave where she is buried. I would like to ask you to check if there are any flowers growing there next year. If not, please help me sow some more seeds."
Zhang Aimin spoke in a low voice, but every word was clear. He paused and said with a hint of pleading:
"Master Du, I don't have many friends, nor do I have anything valuable. I buried a box next to my daughter's tombstone. It contains my lifelong cultivation experience. I know Master Du may not appreciate it, but it is all I have. I hope Master Du will not despise it."
"Okay, don't worry. I'll go over there every spring when I'm free. Even if I can't make it, I'll ask someone else to help."
Du Ruo did not hesitate, this matter was not a problem.
"Thank you. If there's a chance, I'll treat Master Du to a drink again. My daughter will be buried at the foot of the mountain where we met. It's not far from the orchard. I'll send you the location later."
Zhang Aimin smiled. As a farmer, he had never had a good life, but he did not feel that life was hard. Originally, his daughter was his only hope, but now that only hope was gone, he might as well repay the only favor he owed in this life.
"Okay, I'll wait for you to call me again."
Du Ruo nodded, hung up the phone, put it aside, sat on the sofa, feeling a little complicated.
"What's the matter~"
Xiang Yuanyuan came out of the bathroom in a bathrobe. Seeing that Du Ruo looked a little strange, she leaned against Du Ruo and asked.
"Last time we went to Ah Qi's place to pick snow pears, didn't we meet an old man? His name is Zhang Aimin, and he called just now..."
Du Ruo picked up Xiang Yuanyuan and placed her on his lap. Then, while holding her in his arms, he gently talked about Zhang Aimin.
This time Du Ruo did not hide anything. He started from the moment he went to the Philippines to carry out the mission and continued talking about the content of the phone call he just received from the other party.
"So he's going to the United States this time, and I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to come back, right?"
Xiang Yuanyuan was not too surprised by Du Ruo's previous experience. She actually had some guesses about it. She did not feel too much regret for Zhang Aimin. She just had some emotion about Zhang Aimin's experience, that was all.
She is not a sentimental person. She is rather simple and only cares about things that she cares about. She has no curiosity about other things that have nothing to do with her.
"Well, the United States is different from other small countries after all. In addition, he is determined to die and has no worries in his heart. There is almost no possibility of him coming back."
Du Ruo sighed.
The chaebols in the Philippines are more like local rich men than chaebols, who are just the kings of a backward region. What's more, the chaebols in the Philippines are completely worthless, so the last reward was so low.
But the situation in the United States is completely different. Last time, Du Ruo was in a special situation. The locals had been eyeing the Hill family, but they did not take action because of the special nature of their race in the United States.
So after the incident, no one cared about the murderer, they only cared about dividing the profits. In addition, Du Ruo did not go alone, he had strong support behind him, so it was easy for him to get away.
However, Zhang Aimin would not have had such convenience in the past. Once he was targeted by the authorities, he would be unable to escape.
If there is still a bond in your heart, then there is still a slight possibility. If there is no bond...
"It's a shame that there is no life..."
The two of them felt a little emotional, but this sadness did not last too long. After all, Zhang Aimin had little to do with them, and they were not saints, so they would not be extremely grief-stricken.
Living a good life is better than anything else. Besides, Zhang Aimin doesn't need their sympathy or sadness. He chose his own path.
……
"Hubby, let's take down the small Qingcheng Mountain, and set off~~"
When traveling, mountain climbing is of course indispensable. This is Xiang Yuanyuan's favorite part, and Du Ruo naturally knows it. So after seeing the giant pandas, their goal for the next day was to climb Mount Qingcheng.
Last night, the two of them did not feel sad for too long. They still meditated and practiced as usual, but they did not drink afterwards. Instead, they looked at the scenery outside on the balcony and enjoyed their time quietly. Qingcheng Mountain, because Zhang Daoling preached here, is a Taoist holy place, one of the four famous Taoist mountains, and the fifth of the ten Taoist caves.
Needless to say, the scenery is amazing. Besides, its fame is not top-notch in the country, and it is a weekday, so there are not many tourists.
Du Ruo and Xiang Yuanyuan climbed Mount Qingcheng, enjoying the natural scenery and tranquility of the mountain.
Xiang Yuanyuan is an expert at mountain climbing and has good physical strength. In addition, he has stopped drinking and practicing martial arts during this period, and his body has been in good shape, so climbing is naturally no problem for him.
As for Du Ruo, there is no need to mention him. In his eyes, perhaps only climbing Mount Everest can be considered challenging, and the challenge is not because of the height of the mountain, but because of the severe coldness of Mount Everest.
So in the eyes of the two, the small Qingcheng Mountain can really be easily taken.
When you come to Qingcheng Mountain, you must visit the Taoist temples in the mountain.
The two of them also visited places such as Tianshi Cave, Jianfu Palace, and Shangqing Palace one by one.
However, Xiang Yuanyuan did not go to burn incense and pray this time. She felt that she had always been happy. In this case, living in the present was more precious than praying.
After reaching Laojun Pavilion, Qingcheng Mountain was considered to have been conquered. After taking some photos, the two prepared to go down the mountain.
"Huh? Wait..."
After walking down from Laojun Pavilion for about ten minutes, Du Ruo suddenly stopped, sniffed around, and couldn't help but shout.
"What's wrong, husband? Is there anything delicious?"
Xiang Yuanyuan saw Du Ruo sniffing the air and couldn't help but sniff it as well, and asked out of curiosity.
It was a pity that she could smell nothing except the scent of grass and trees in the air.
"This smell is a bit special, it should be the smell of medicine. Let's go and take a look."
Du Ruo was a little curious. It was not just the smell of medicinal herbs, nor was it the bitter smell of boiled Chinese medicine. Moreover, it seemed to be somewhat refreshing to Du Ruo, which was rare. Du Ruo was a little curious and wanted to find out what it was.
After saying that, Du Ruo sniffed it, then took Xiang Yuanyuan and started to follow the smell.
Not far away, a path appeared. This path was different from the Qingcheng Mountain tourist route. The ground was not paved with bricks, but with small stones.
In addition, the path is designed to be somewhat hidden, so if you are not careful, it may be difficult to find.
As the two of them walked forward along the path, the smell Du Ruo smelled became stronger and stronger. Not only that, Du Ruo also smelled some scent of firewood.
After walking about two hundred meters along the path, a small Taoist temple appeared at the end of the path.
"There is also a Taoist temple here."
Xiang Yuanyuan looked at it with some curiosity. The Taoist temple in front of her was not big, with a total of three older buildings and a main building in the middle. There was a smell of incense and candles coming from it, and it was obviously used for offering incense.
There are two less imposing buildings at the back, probably for accommodation or something like that. There is an open space between the two buildings, so Du Ruo and Xiang Yuanyuan can't see what's going on inside.
"Come this way."
Du Ruo ignored the Taoist temple. The smell he smelled became stronger and stronger. Du Ruo pulled Xiang Yuanyuan and walked to the left side of the Taoist temple.
"Yeah, I smelled it too. It smells like some Chinese medicinal herbs, but I don't know what they are."
As they walked, Xiang Yuanyuan's nose moved, obviously he smelled the same scent.
After walking about thirty meters, we were already at the side of a building behind the Taoist temple.
The two walked to the end of the path, where there was a corner. After reaching the corner, they saw a forest.
The woods were a bit sparse, and near the corner of the building, a man with a sparse head was squatting in front of a very simple "alchemy furnace" and fiddling with something.
Why is it called a crude alchemy furnace? In fact, this alchemy furnace is too crude, a furnace made of yellow mud wrapped in iron sheets. It looks like a furnace because there is fire burning underneath. In addition, the special smell of medicinal materials coming out of it makes Du Ruo define it as an "alchemy furnace".
The man was wearing coarse cloth and holding a gourd in his hand. He squatted with his buttocks raised. Not afraid of the heat, he stretched out his hand and took out a black object from the "alchemy furnace".
The man was not afraid of the heat. He put the black stuff into his mouth, chewed it twice, then opened the gourd and took a sip. It seemed that he was enjoying it.
The man didn't notice Du Ruo and Xiang Yuanyuan. After eating the black thing, he reached into the furnace again.
This time, what he took out was a sweet potato.
(End of this chapter)
