844, Jade carving in stone (2/2)
The woman with a pale complexion and picturesque features, wearing a black cloth bag, held a pottery bowl in her hands. She stared at the dark curtain in front of her, wondering what she was thinking.
The meat, bones, and mushrooms in the pottery bowl gradually cooled down.
The woman put the bowl aside, took off the black cloth bag that wrapped her hands, revealing a pair of palms covered with a layer of yellow mud shell. She moved her fingers slightly, and the skin of the mud shell immediately cracked, and a trace of blood oozed out from the cracks.
——The yellow mud shell covering the woman's body was like her skin!
As soon as the skin cracked, blood gushed out from under the skin!
The 'host' frowned and looked at her hands with cracks, gently raised her arms, and slowly uncovered the cloth wrapped around her neck.
Under the cloth, the neck was also covered with a layer of yellow mud shell.
She picked up the mirror, checked her neck that had not improved at all, and couldn't help sighing.
During the time she was checking her condition, the layer of yellow mud shell that spread to her neck gradually progressed and spread upwards - the yellow mud shell covered her chin, lips, nose bridge... and finally stopped at the corner of her forehead.
The bowl of broth stewed with life and death grass that she drank before, and even the few life and death grass that she ate, only temporarily suppressed the spread of the yellow mud shell on her body!
The medicinal properties of life and death grass disappeared in a short time, and the strange disease on this woman continued to develop!
"The yellow soil buried my neck and is about to submerge my scalp. I wonder how long I can hold on?
Can I see my husband before I die?"
The woman whispered to herself.
The voice was strange.
She put away the mirror, pushed the pottery bowl to the edge of the carriage, and sat upright in the carriage, motionless.
Outside the carriage.
The members of the horse gang stood or sat next to the carts of goods.
They held the pottery bowls and chopsticks made of branches and ate heartily.
Drink up the soup, eat up the meat and mushrooms.
After dinner, people sat on the ground, took off their shoes and socks, and checked their feet.
The soles of these people's feet were also covered with yellow mud shells. After they drank the broth made from the grass of life and death, the yellow mud shells on their feet gradually faded away.
But the cracked skin in the state of yellow mud shells was still covered with bloody cracks.
A trace of blood oozed from the skin of the soles of the feet.
"After drinking this bowl of broth, can we last for another three or five days?
This time we traveled all the way from Sichuan to the secret hidden area to do business. We didn't make much money, but we all lost most of our lives." In the crowd, a man with a face full of flesh tied his socks and put on his shoes while joking with his other companions.
"Hey!
In this world full of evil, we are doing this kind of business where we have to make our lives on the edge of a knife. Sooner or later, we will definitely get into trouble!
If you walk by the river often, you will get your feet wet.
In the past, when we encountered those evil, we were lucky and were able to escape with our unique methods.
The evil this time is extraordinary - we are very lucky to be able to save our lives after encountering that evil. From now on, if we can live one more day, it will be taking advantage of the King of Hell!" The translator of the caravan, 'Changchun', threw down the big bone that he had eaten clean in the bowl and said with a smile.
His words caused his companions to echo him.
"Yes! What Chang said is right!"
"Anyway, I have made a lot of money, enough for my wife and children to spend for the rest of their lives, so I have no regrets!"
"Don't be so discouraged. Maybe we can encounter the seven-leaf life and death grass after this trip to the secret area. At that time, it will not be just a day or two of taking advantage of the King of Hell!"
"Yeah, why say those discouraged words!"
People shouted and laughed for a while. Some collected the bowls and chopsticks and went to the river to wash the bowls;
Some people sorted the goods and maintained the tents;
Some people gathered with the horse head to discuss the route to take tomorrow.
It was getting dark.
Several fires lit up in the temporary camp of the caravan.
The merchant 'Chen Bing' who had sold two ring-handled broadswords to Su Wu at a low price sorted out the goods, went to greet the horse head first, and then called a few tall and strong young men to go to a cart and unload a black box from the cart.
After opening the black box, the stone, which was more than one person tall and covered with cracks, appeared in everyone's sight.
"Damn it!
A broken stone robbed us of fifteen pieces of Shu brocade!"
Chen Bing spat fiercely, turned to look at Ma Guotou who was discussing things with Erguotou and Sanguotou, and shouted: "Guotou, let's cut this stone!"
"Just chisel it open!"
"Just open it!"
The three Guotou responded one after another.
They probably had already discussed the matter, and after a few words, they all stood up.
Patting the dust on his buttocks, Ma Guotou 'Zhou Bo' led Erguotou and Sanguotou to approach Chen Bing.
Seeing this, the other bored people in the camp also came over.
"There are so many cracks on this stone, a hammer and chisel can open all the stones..."
"You don't dare to use that much force, right? What if there is really a whole piece of jade inside?"
"Is Gabu so good?
Don't dream!
He may have explored this stone beforehand!"
"..."
While everyone was talking, several young men had already moved the stone out of the box, each holding a hammer and chisel, and started to knock along the cracks on the stone.
Layers of stone skin fell off as they knocked.
On the spot that once showed a bit of green light, after the stone skin and stone chips fell off, a piece of jade material with oily head and delicate texture was revealed.
Seeing the piece of jade material as big as a fist, the caravan members who were talking a lot, with a few greetings to Gabu and his relatives mixed in from time to time, were suddenly stunned for a while.
Then, a burst of laughter rang out from the crowd.
"Hahaha!
We actually picked it up! "
"Old dog Gabu, you have no eyesight!"
"This jade is definitely bigger than a fist. Fifteen pieces of Shu brocade bought this stone, it's worth it!"
"It's better not to get too happy too early. What if you suddenly can't get the jade out later? Be patient and don't be impatient. Be patient and don't be impatient..."
People's comments became less and less as the stone skin peeled off layer by layer.
Finally, the stone skin on the entire strip of stone was chiselled cleanly.
And all the caravan members surrounding the jade material that showed its full appearance had solemn expressions on their faces.
There was silence everywhere!
——The jade material with all the stone skin peeled off is as tall as a person.
The whole piece of jade is turquoise in color, beautiful under the firelight, and has a moist head - this is an excellent piece of jade that is as tall as a person!
This piece of green jade has been carved into a lifelike woman.
The woman's face is like an upside-down peach, and the slender handle of the peach becomes the woman's neck.
She wore a thick robe, and her hands were not visible in the sleeves.
The robe is covered with "longevity" patterns.
A whole piece of jadeite as tall as a person appeared in a stone. Although there is no such thing in a million, and such a large jade is a priceless treasure, it is still common sense. Within speculation.
However, if this piece of jade is more like a naturally carved female statue——
The whole thing became weird!
The firelight illuminated the small strawberry-like lips of the jade carving woman on the ground, as well as her two eyes as big as apples. There seemed to be a luster in those eyes. The caravan members who looked into her eyes shuddered suddenly, and suddenly felt the surroundings passing by. The wind is much colder.
Although people gathered around the jade sculpture, everyone felt a strong sense of coldness in their hearts - a feeling that even people living in groups could not dispel!
"Who can put a jade sculpture in a stone?"
"Although this stone is full of cracks, it is definitely not something that can be faked in the Secret Realm. The stone is real, and the jade carvings in the stone are also real!"
"Jade carvings are naturally formed..."
"Jade has spirituality, but it was shaped by God into such a weird woman... This is definitely not a good thing!"
Amid people's low discussions, Ma Guotou stared at the jade carving of a woman on the ground for a long time. The more he looked at it, the more he felt that there was an unspeakable evil aura in this jade carving. The thick robe full of longevity patterns made him feel deep in his heart. Brave the cold.
Listening to the comments of the people around him, he finally raised his head, looked around at the faces of the caravan members, and said solemnly: "Brothers, if there is nothing abnormal about this jade carving, let's take it back to Han Dynasty - it can be sold. The price is definitely beyond your imagination!
Have you really thought about it?
Should I put down this jade sculpture, or should I continue to carry it and ignore its inherent evil? "
"Throw it away!"
"Ma Guotou, throw away the jade carving!"
"I'm afraid that before we can bring the jade sculpture out of the hidden realm, it will turn into a real person and kill us all!"
The members of the horse gang spoke out one after another.
Their opinions were surprisingly unanimous.
"Okay." Ma Guotou 'Zhou Bo' nodded and said, "I'll discuss it with the proprietor."
After speaking, he walked to the proprietor's carriage and whispered a few words to it.
After receiving the reply, Zhou Bo turned back to the crowd and said: "The proprietor agreed.
Put the jade carving into a box and sink it into the river at the foot of the hillside.
Let's set off immediately and not stop here! "
People heard the sound and moved.
Some people packed the tents, some carried the goods, and some brought the horses.
Ma Guotou led a few young men to put the jade carvings into wooden boxes and tied them tightly with ropes. They hung a pole on the knots and carried the wooden boxes to the river at the foot of the hillside. They pushed the wooden boxes directly in. In the river!
Seeing the wooden box rolling down the fast river and disappearing in an instant, Zhou Bo and others breathed a sigh of relief.
Holding torches, they turned back to the camp.
Everything is ready.
The caravan set off again.
In the river below the hillside, the water surged violently.
The black wooden box that had been swept up by the waves at the bottom of the river suddenly floated up from the water.
The wooden box was pushed by the river water and lay across the bend of the river.
The waves splashed and hit the wooden box.
Amidst the waves of waves, the lid of the wooden box was pushed up by a force - the ropes tied to the box broke, and a white, slender snake-like arm stretched out of the wooden box.