Daomu Biji: A Thousand Faces

Xie Yuchen didn’t answer the phone. Ah Tou watched as Liang Yanyan hung up and then stuck the lipstick into the cigarette pack.

"It’s at our expense now,” Liang Yanyan said to Ah Tou. "How much is my hospitalization fee? I’ll transfer you the money.”

"No, it’s fine. You had a work injury. I… I’ll be responsible.”

"Xie Yuchen is my boss, not you. Keep the receipt for now.” Liang Yanyan suddenly remembered something, “Where’s the guy with sunglasses?”

"I went to find him after I called the ambulance. He helped me get you here. Then he got a call and rushed off.” 

"He rushed off?" Liang Yanyan dialed Black Glasses' phone and found that the call was soon picked up.

The other party was very quick to answer.

"We’re heading to Guangdong. I’ll send you the address, so can you arrange the fastest route?"

"Oh, so you are all right."

"I can't reach Xie Yuchen. Can you help me deal with him?"

"He’s busy with other things. I’ll prepare the plane tickets for you and bring them over.” 

At this time, airport sounds could be heard in the background.

"Are you boarding for Guangzhou now?" Liang Yanyan instantly became alert.

"Ah, as you know, this situation is kind of dangerous. Let's forget about all the past things and cooperate. I don't want to bury two corpses in one day."

"‘Ah’ my ass. I don’t need your help. Are you trying to steal my business?”

The party on the other end laughed and started singing, "Ay hey! Hey, hey, hey! Hey, hey, hey!" before hanging up.

Liang Yanyan put her hands on her ribs, feeling extremely pissed off. When she saw Ah Tou looking at her, she said, "Let’s book our own tickets."

Long story short, Liang Yanyan dragged Ah Tou to the airport. They found the earliest flight to Guangzhou—which was at nine o'clock in the evening—and rented a wheelchair at the airport. Liang Yanyan got upgraded to first class because she was injured. Ah Tou watched the plane take off from her seat in economy class. This time, it was on Liang Yanyan’s dime and she even paid with a Black Card. Ah Tou looked at the credit card and felt bitterness in her heart. 

Oftentimes in novels, the adventures began by focusing on the changes in fate that would happen in the future, but Ah Tou had to worry about whether her credit card balance would be enough to complete the adventure. Poverty really existed to destroy all good hopes.

She couldn’t see Liang Yanyan from where she was sitting, so she listened to music and pondered over the legendary person she wanted to find. She felt as if she was also starting to become a legend.

It’s not as pleasant as I thought it would be.

After landing in Guangzhou, they called a car and headed straight to the village by the sea, which was near Jiazijiao in Shanwei. The trip took another two hours and there was no place for them to stay in the village. It was said that many places there were overgrown with weeds and a lot of villagers had moved away. Most of the villages in that area were also buried in grass, which was why the place was also called the Island of Grass.

The car had to stay with them; otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to get back. Ah Tou volunteered to take care of the fare, but her heart trembled like she was a constrained housewife. 

When the two got out of the car, Ah Tou immediately regretted it. The path into the village was full of lush weeds that almost reached their knees. Insects that were visible to the naked eye flew in dense clusters in front of the headlights, bumping into their mouths from time to time.

There were two flashlights in the car, so she took one while Liang Yanyan took the other one. Liang Yanyan swept the light around and saw a motorcycle parked by the side of the path.

"This belongs to the guy with sunglasses. He’s been in there for three hours and still hasn’t left yet. He hasn’t made any progress,” Liang Yanyan said. 

Ah Tou felt like she was involved in a competition that seemed to have a lot to do with her but also nothing to do with her at all.

She was just about to speak up when Liang Yan started advancing towards the village.

She followed along, realizing that she shouldn’t have worn pants that exposed her ankles. The grass scratching against her legs as she walked really hurt a lot. Liang Yanyan was also wearing her clothes, but the other woman was taller than her and had longer legs, so her ankles were even more exposed than Ah Tou’s were. Liang Yanyan simply used her socks to protect her ankles, but Ah Tou wasn’t wearing any socks. The driver also wanted to join them, so he took out a roll of paper napkins from the car and wrapped them around Ah Tou’s ankles with tape. 

By the time the two of them caught up, Liang Yanyan was already very deep in the village. Ah Tou quickened her pace and soon saw a wall with words written on it: Living Immortal’s Residence; Ask Heaven for Medicine; Heal and Save People.