From the previous screech, it wasn’t hard to guess that hewashurt. I was different. I had no pressure or threat now. I boldly followed the source of the sound and found a spot of soil thatappearedto be protrudingseveral centimeters from the ground.

I squatted and saw light underneath. I admiredMr. Big Moleeven more now. That man liked digging burrows. He was like an old rat!

I raised my legand kicked awaythe wooden board thatwas coveringthe tunnel. Then, I jumped into the tunnel.

As I fell, my eyes locked onto my target. I sawMr. Big Molesitting cross-legged on the ground. Blood had stained his chest and mouth. Hewashurt.

As I landed, I squatted and beautifully swept my leg, which hitMr. Big Mole’shead. He screamed and fellto the ground. I took the chance to subdue him. I pulledhis arms togetherand immobilized him.

AfterI hadhim under control, I finally calmed my heart. Then, I noticed that he had a small bronze bucket in front of him. It containeda blackandslimy substance.In front of that bucket were rows of heads.

I carefully counted them. There were thirty-six heads. He had used their heads to control the thirty-six female ghosts out there.

Lu Ming also jumped into the tunnel. He heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that I had already subduedMr. Big Mole. Then, he walked to me.

When he saw the black substance, he was surprised. He sniffed and asked, “Isthisopium extract?”

After hearinghim, I also realized it.It was nowonder I thought it looked familiar. It was the extract from the opium poppy. This thing is more addictive than other poisons.

There was nodoubt thatMr. Big Molehad been using this addictiveandhallucinogenic substance to control the female ghosts.However,I was certain that he had put something else in the substance.

I pressed on his body. “You lost!”

“Yeah, that’sright.I lost.”Mr. Big Molesighed. Hiseyeswere red. “I didn’t expect that youwould save Lu from the magic formationsofast. I had underestimated you. I lost, and I have nothing to defend myself with…The plan Ipouredhalf of my lifeintowas destroyed in your hands, boy. I guess it’s my fate, isn’t it? I justregretthe deaths of my thirty-six ancestors.”

Mr. Big Molestarted to weep before he finished talking. However, hedidn’tsayanything to beg usor insultus. He had hiswayofhintingat us to endhis life.

“Brother,you're notconvinced yet, are you?”asked Lu Ming with a dispirited face.

Hepicked up the machete on the groundand walked towardMr. Big Mole.BeforeMr. Big Molecould answer, he suddenlystabbed the machete into his own thigh.

His thigh began to bleed hard. Lu Ming said, “Let theancestors solve their grudge. We, descendants, don’t need to join this,okay? This cut isa gift fromme.” Mr. Big Molehad never thought that Lu Ming would do that. His eyes sparkled, but he still wore a dark face. “I’m not satisfied.”

Lu Ming gave him a nod. He grabbed my shoulder tightly with one hand then used the otherhandto withdrawthe machetefromhis thigh.Blood spurted atMr. Big Mole’s face. At this moment,Mr. Big Mole’s eyes changed.

The extreme pain made Lu Ming sweat. He tried to keep himself upand aimedat his thigh one more time.

Mr. Big Molegrabbed the macheteand saidcoldly,“Mr. Lu, I see your goodwill. Butmany things can’tbe solved withjustgoodwill. Let’sgoout to see. If those ghosts go, itwillberesolved.” Then, he wiggledand crawledout of the tunnel.

AsI helped Lu Ming get out of the tunnel, we sawMr. Big Molegazeat the village. Hiseyes weresharp.

I followedhis line of sightandsaw a vast array of purple lightfromthe thirty-six ugly female ghosts. They were sitting around Lu Yu.

Lu Yu was talking and laughing with the women.Lu Yu’saloofandimmortal appearance was extraordinary.

Mr. Big Molesmiled at Lu Mingthen limped away. Although he hadn’t said anything, we knew his grudge was gone.

Lu Ming had stabbed himself onceinexchange for the settlement of the thousand-year grudge. It was rare good karma.

Afterward, we didn’t disturb Lu Yu and his women. I supported Lu Mingand wentback to the hotel. I sprinkled some Yunnan medicinal powder on his wound and helped him drink a glass of charm water.

SinceLu Ming had lost lots of blood, he should be weak. However, he looked cheerfuland high-spirited. He saidto me,“My ancestor told me thathe will leavewith those female ghosts…”magic

I smiledand gavehim a nod. It wasn’t out of my expectation.

Lu Ming laughed for a while.Since I hadn’t asked him anything, hesaid,“You haven’t asked me why my ancestor used his cane to knock my head in my dreams.”

“Doyou think that Idon’t know anything?” I laughedand scoffed athim.

Actually, afterI had talkedto the waiter, Irealizedone thing: The old man only appearedwhen Lu Ming had a meeting for a business deal withJapanese people.

I had keptit on my mind. Later on, Ilearnedthat Lu Ming was about to sign abigtea packaging deal with a Japanese company.

Lu Ming had used his power in the tea productionindustry to buy the best quality teasforlow prices in China. The tea was thentransported to Japan for packaging. There, they would label the tea as “Japanese-branded Tea” then transport the tea back to sell in the Mainlandformuch higher prices.If they worked in thisway, Lu Ming and the Japanese company could earn big profits. However, it wasn’t fair to the tea farmers and the consumers in China.

Thiswas about harmingpeople whilebenefitingoneself.

Sincethe old ghost had come to stop this dirty business, he knew he wasn’t an evil spirit.After knowing that the old ghost was the Tea Sage Lu Yu, I had completelyuncoveredthetruth.Lu Ming had deceivedme the entire time. Not only did he know that the ghost was Lu Yu, but he also knew why Lu Yuwastroublinghim. He tricked me into assisting him. He wanted to get rid of Lu Yu and wanted to getadeal with the Japanese company.After thinkingabout it, the way he had handled this story was like a kid!

“Aren’t you mad at me? Ididn’t tellyou the truth.” Lu Ming was embarrassed.

I gave him a wry smile. “How could I not be mad? Right from the start, I didn’t want to get involved in this.However,It’s good that you’verecognized your fault.”

Lu Yu was gone. However,sinceLu Ming had resolutely stabbed his thigh, I guessed he had made everything clear in his head. He wouldn’t cooperate with the Japanesecompany.

Indeed,thesecond weekend after I had left, Lu Ming called meand toldme that he had cuttieswith the Japanese company. Moreover, he was buildingatea house in Xishuangbanna to pay tribute to Lu Yu the Tea Sage, for his contribution to the world.

“I will put all of my savings into this tea farm. I will make all thevisitorsfeel the charm of Chinese tea culture.”

“Whydoyou want to do that?”

“It’s in memory of my ancestor. And, I want touse my effortsto impart the inheritance of our culture to the next generations.”

“It seemsyou’veunderstood your ancestor’s idea well…” I smiledand felthappy for him from the bottom of my heart.

Although our lives are getting better and better, we are losing the precious culture imparted to usbyour ancestors at everysecond that passes.

Why is that? Because more and more people favor foreign winds.Theyfeel that the moon inaforeign country is rounder than the moon in China.

It makes them learn IELTS to master English and blame the Chinese language for being old and out-of-date.

It makes them kneel to Korean starsand drool overtheir handsomeOppas shamelessly.

Theyhadforgotten that, five thousand years ago, China was the center of the world. Thanks to Chinese culture, Japanese culture and Korean culture were derived.

Lu Ming was lucky that at the critical moment, Lu Yu appeared and pulled him back. But there was only one Lu Yu in this world. Who would come to pull us back? I didn’t want to see the great Chinese people graduallyfallto degeneration.

In memory of the Tea Sage Lu Yu, I changed my ringtone to a song the people had written for him, called“Grandpa’s Tea.”

“When grandpa makes tea, there’s a flavor called home. My white-haired grandpa. Whenyoudrink tea, you are not allowed to talk.”

“Lu Yu made tea. He didn’t care about wealth or fame. With a skinny horse, he traveled the world…”