Chapter 253 Leading to the Infinite Elsewhere
Like a tour guide, Haru Dai led Yin Xiu down a shaky rope ladder, and the two came to a small cave.
There is actually a rather exquisite wooden door in front of the cave, with the inscription "Wu Jian NO. 14" written on it.
Then Haruyo led him through the hole on the side of the wooden door.
When the lights were turned on in the spring, Yin Xiu discovered that it looked like a rather large study room, with carpets on the floor and a crystal chandelier hanging above.
Surrounded by several sofas and a desk sitting opposite each other, the wooden desk reached to the ceiling. The smell of earth and wood in the whole room was mixed together, going straight into Yin Xiu's nose.
If it weren't for the moss on the surrounding walls, this place would look like a high-end office space in Central.
"Sit down for a moment. I'm going to change my clothes first. If I wear this outfit, I won't be able to show off my professionalism."
Yin Xiu nodded, sat down on a sofa, and opened a bottle of wine on the table.
As soon as he unscrewed the cap, the smell of the full bottle of aged vinegar came out, waking up Yin Xiu's originally dull mind.
As soon as he put the bottle down far away, Haruyo walked out.
At this time, he had changed his attire, a black suit vest with white stripes on it, and a white shirt and trousers underneath.
On the breast pocket of the vest, there is also a very delicate monocle.
Under her feet was a pair of shiny brown leather boots with hollow carvings called "Oxford patterns" on the uppers.
In Haruyo, even her previous hairstyle has changed. Every strand of hair has been combed to make it shiny, and it is all gathered back, and it adheres to the scalp meticulously, glowing with oil.
His temperament was completely different from before, exuding a shrewd and capable aura.
"English names are all the rage now. If possible, I hope you can call me that."
As he spoke, he handed over a business card, "Chunlot Holmes."
"Okay, Haruyo."
Yin Xiu put away the business card, took out a pile of letters that he had prepared long ago, and handed it to Chun Dai.
Haruyo took the letters, put them on the table and flipped through them, then quickly raised his head.
Obviously he should have a photographic memory, or he could read very fast, reading ten lines at a time, just like Yin Xiu.
Folding his hands together, Haruyo asked: "So, you want to find that person named Smith, or a vampire, right? This is not an easy task."
Yin Xiu nodded, "Of course this is not an easy task, but Luo Wei said that if he takes action, it can be done quickly."
"cut!"
Haruyo smiled disdainfully, "Will your clumsy provocation method be useful to me?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he took out a pen and paper and started writing and drawing on it.
"The Mr. Smith you are talking about, and the [Lonely Hearts Club], there seems to be no connection between the two, but everything in this world, as long as it has been done, is inextricably linked, and it will never be wiped clean. trace."
Yin Xiu suddenly became energetic, "So you already have a solution?"
Haruyo shook his head, "No, you also said that this is not an easy task."
"..."
Yin Xiu resisted the urge to hit him and rolled her eyes.
Haruyo was introduced by Luo Wei, which was as unreliable as Luo Wei, but it didn't seem to be something incomprehensible.
Not sure what Yin Xiu was thinking, Chun Dai just continued: "But there are many strange people and strangers living in this [Infinite] world. Maybe they can help. We can visit these people."
[Are you a detective or a tour guide? 】
Yin Xiu spread her hands and said that everything should be done as Chun Dai said. Anyway, there is no better way at the moment.
Luo Wei said to look for him, so this person must have some redeeming qualities, or at least not many undesirable qualities.
After a pause, Haruyo asked: "Then have you prepared any souvenirs?"
"what?"
……
When Yin Xiu held several huge brown paper bags, he realized that there is a certain truth in the saying "money is not everything".
At least for the moment, he had to be convinced.
After coming out of Haruyo's "Detective Agency", the two of them didn't go anywhere else, but went into the department store.
A large bag of butter, two large bags each of salt and sugar biscuits, two bundles of tobacco cigarettes, half a dozen spirits, flint and steel, some antibiotics...
These brown paper bags contained what Haruyo called "souvenirs", and Haruyo even brought two shovels and chisels.
According to him, in an underground world like Wujian, these things are hard currency.
For those "indigenous people" who have no access to the ground all year round, survival materials are much more precious and useful than money.
"Living in Wujian, many people can't see the sun all year round. I'm not sure whether some of them are human beings. They may be monsters or other things.
House prices were too expensive, and some people couldn't live up there, so they moved downstairs, only to find that the land down there was really vast and sparsely populated.
No matter where you want to build a villa or a warehouse, you don't need approval from this bureau or that department. Even your neighbors don't have to say hello to them, because they don't exist at all.
As long as you have a chisel, a shovel, or even an iron spoon, you can dig if it doesn't collapse. Once you dig out the place, it will be your blessed land. "
"Blessed Land and Cave Heaven?" Yin Xiu asked doubtfully.
This word is clearly a special word for people in Taoism, or even Qi refiners.
Because today's Taoist priests, except for a few old monsters hiding in the Tianshi Mansion in Longhu Mountain, few say that they are "cultivating immortals".
Celestial masters like the Mao family and the Ma family only take exorcism as their duty and do not expect to become immortals.
The one who has the most hope of ascending to heaven in this world should be Nangong Baixing, but the old Celestial Master doesn't seem to care about this. He just hides in the mountains and drinks tea leisurely, and occasionally goes to Nanyang for business trips. I don't know if it is... Go do something.
Haruyo nodded, "The blessed land of Dongtian, the blessed land of Dongtian, is what those in black robes say repeatedly. Anyway, they all mean the same thing."
"Huh? There are also people running societies underground?"
Haruyo glanced at him and said, "Even in the underworld, there is the Yama Palace, with bull heads and horse faces, and wherever there are people, there are societies.
But I think that group of people are more like the legendary Qigong practitioners. They are mysterious and rarely interact with others. Sometimes I see them stretching out their hands and jumping around. "
Yin Xiu wiped the sweat from his forehead and hesitated: "How about I go back and clean up some guys first, and then come back?"
"no, I'm fine!"
Haruyo patted him on the shoulder repeatedly, "We are not looking for them to fight, and those people don't like to fight with others. They only like to make alchemy, making a certain area filled with smoke all day long. It's not that easy to bump into them. .”
Yin Xiu sighed, "I hope so."
"Of course it should be so. I have always been very lucky, and the fact that you can find me proves that you are very lucky. Today is the time when we are lucky." "But I..."
Just as Yin Xiu was about to open his mouth to refute, he was pulled away by Chundai and ran to an old man in ragged clothes at the corner of the street.
The old man was holding a stick and a bowl in front of him. He was dozing in the corner with a broken straw hat on his head.
"Let's talk to this beggar first," Haruyo said.
Yin Xiu couldn't help but think of the Beggar Clan disciples he met in the provincial capital before. Those people were so well-informed that it was scary.
The method of transmission from one beggar to another is secretive, fast, and difficult to detect by outsiders.
Ensuring the uniqueness of the message channel also ensures its own value.
"What beggar? Can he talk?"
The old man lifted a corner of his hat, revealing an eye that was blind due to severe cataracts, like the eyeball of a dead fish.
Haruyo was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said: "Then you are indeed a homeless person..."
"Jiyou! You have to call me street friend! This is the most fashionable term at the moment. Why are you, a young man, so out of date?"
As he spoke, he took off his hat again, revealing his other normal but cloudy eye, and glanced at the two of them.
"Ask for directions or inquire?"
"Buy a ticket, buy a ticket to the pier."
Haruyo smiled at the street friend, then nuzzled his chin at Yin Xiu, motioning for him to take out the money.
Yin Xiu took out her wallet and asked, "How much is it?"
The street friend stretched out his hand, and Yin Xiu took out five yuan and handed it to him.
The man glanced at the money, then glanced at Yin Xiu doubtfully, and then snorted: "What, are you sending beggars away? Five yuan per person!"
Yin Xiu shook his head, took out another five-dollar bill from his pocket and handed it over, "What, is it okay now?"
The street friend accepted the money with satisfaction, put it under the straw hat, and then whispered: "At a quarter past three, under the second cellar manhole cover on Chunfeng Street."
Haruyo took out his pocket watch and saw that it was [-]:[-]. He immediately stepped away and started running without looking back.
Yin Xiu immediately followed him without hesitation. His long windbreaker was picked up by the strong wind, making a hunting sound, and he immediately caught up with the spring generation.
Haruyo turned around and cursed: "That bastard didn't tell you earlier. This place is still several hundred meters away from Chunfeng Street."
Yin Xiu didn't say anything, just followed.
After experiencing many strange things, he has already understood that sometimes if you ask, the opportunity will often be missed in the slightest moment of hesitation.
When you don't understand something, the most effective thing is to follow what others do.
Sure enough, after running forward for a while in Chun Dai, they came to Chunfeng Street.
I don’t know why it’s early afternoon, but there’s no one on the street. It’s deserted, like an empty city.
Haruyo looked at his pocket watch and saw that the hands pointed exactly at three-fifteen.
"Help me, let's step on it together!"
As soon as Harushi finished speaking, the two of them jumped up without hesitation and stepped on the second manhole cover.
puff!
There was a muffled sound, and the manhole cover that was originally made of iron was replaced by cardboard at some point.
The two people stepped on it with their weight and strength. They stepped through the manhole cover and fell down.
Under them was the dark, fast-flowing sewer, and the rumbling sound of the water made people's eardrums hurt.
Just when the two of them were about to fall into the sewage, a small boat appeared out of nowhere, as if it appeared out of thin air specifically to pick them up.
With two muffled thuds, Yin Xiu and Chun Dai fell onto the small sampan, causing the boat to sink into the water.
Yin Xiu covered her head, endured the pain and reluctantly got up, and looked around.
It was still dark all around, except for a dim lantern hanging on the boat.
What's even weirder is that besides him and Haruyo, there is a third person on the boat.
The man should be considered a boatman. He was tall and thin, and his face was hidden under a robe made of linen. From Yin Xiu's point of view, it was just darkness.
The boatman didn't even look at the two of them. He just stretched out the long bamboo pole that served as an oar, pushed it in the bottomless water, and the boat slipped forward without making any sound.
"Is this the ticket you bought?" Yin Xiu asked through gritted teeth.
Haruyo obviously fell badly, and it took him a while to realize that Yin Xiu was asking him a question.
He frowned, and just as he was about to speak, the two of them were enveloped in a cold murderous aura, and their eyelids twitched wildly.
The source of the murderous aura was the boatman. He was holding a long bamboo pole with one hand. His bones were clearly defined, and his complexion looked a little pale because he had not seen the sun for many years.
His other hand was hidden in his sleeve, and seemed to be holding a knife, or maybe something else, but the two of them didn't see it anyway.
The boatman whispered: "In the boundless land, no one can speak."
His voice was hoarse but extremely authoritative, carrying a kind of coercion that was irresistible.
Therefore, Yin Xiu and Chun Dai fell silent, just sitting quietly and letting the boatman take them through the sewer, which was large enough for a tram to travel.
Apart from the sound of water being cut by the hull of the boat, there were only the faint sounds of insects all around.
When they got to a slightly brighter place, the cave wall reflected the water light from time to time, and the waves were rugged. Sitting on the boat, Yin Xiu felt that the small boat seemed to be guiding them to the underworld.
Finally, when they couldn't tell the direction at all, the boatman suddenly picked up the bamboo pole and smashed it against a spot on the cave wall.
It was a hole that had long been blocked by dead branches and other dirt. Covered by moss, it looked like it was just part of the sewer cave wall.
After being hit by the boatman like this, there was a hole there.
The boatman pushed the long bamboo pole under the water, and the whole boat jumped out of the water as if it had grown legs, and the boat and people got into the hole.
After being separated from the sewer lines of Hong Kong Island, they truly entered the world of "Infinite". The deep loneliness seemed to have materialized, pressing heavily on them.
When we got here, the boatman asked, "Where are you two going?"
His voice was still so hoarse and gloomy, but it also had a faint feeling of calmness.
Haruyo looked around at the dark water, and then said to the boatman: "Go to the place where you can get all the news."
The boatman paused and said, "Tongten Pavilion, right? Then sit tight, that place is not easy to get around."
As soon as he finished speaking, the boat began to slide slowly in the iron-like stagnant water again.
(End of this chapter)