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

I squatted and saw light underneath. I admired Mr. Big Mole even more now. That man liked digging burrows. He was like an old rat!

I raised my leg and kicked away the wooden board that was covering the tunnel. Then, I jumped into the tunnel.

As I fell, my eyes locked onto my target. I saw Mr. Big Mole sitting cross-legged on the ground. Blood had stained his chest and mouth. He was hurt.

As I landed, I squatted and beautifully swept my leg, which hit Mr. Big Mole’s head. He screamed and fell to the ground. I took the chance to subdue him. I pulled his arms together and immobilized him.

After I had him under control, I finally calmed my heart. Then, I noticed that he had a small bronze bucket in front of him. It contained a black and slimy 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 subdued Mr. Big Mole. Then, he walked to me.

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

After hearing him, I also realized it. It was no wonder I thought it looked familiar. It was the extract from the opium poppy. This thing is more addictive than other poisons.

There was no doubt that Mr. Big Mole had been using this addictive and hallucinogenic 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’s right. I lost.” Mr. Big Mole sighed. His eyes were red. “I didn’t expect that you would save Lu from the magic formation so fast. I had underestimated you. I lost, and I have nothing to defend myself with… The plan I poured half of my life into was destroyed in your hands, boy. I guess it’s my fate, isn’t it? I just regret the deaths of my thirty-six ancestors.”

Mr. Big Mole started to weep before he finished talking. However, he didn’t say anything to beg us or insult us. He had his way of hinting at us to end his life.

“Brother, you're not convinced yet, are you?” asked Lu Ming with a dispirited face.

He picked up the machete on the ground and walked toward Mr. Big Mole. Before Mr. Big Mole could answer, he suddenly stabbed the machete into his own thigh.

His thigh began to bleed hard. Lu Ming said, “Let the ancestors solve their grudge. We, descendants, don’t need to join this, okay? This cut is a gift from me.”

Mr. Big Mole had 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 other hand to withdraw the machete from his thigh. Blood spurted at Mr. 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 up and aimed at his thigh one more time.

Mr. Big Mole grabbed the machete and said coldly, “Mr. Lu, I see your goodwill. But many things can’t be solved with just goodwill. Let’s go out to see. If those ghosts go, it will be resolved.” Then, he wiggled and crawled out of the tunnel.

As I helped Lu Ming get out of the tunnel, we saw Mr. Big Mole gaze at the village. His eyes were sharp.

I followed his line of sight and saw a vast array of purple light from the thirty-six ugly female ghosts. They were sitting around Lu Yu.

Lu Yu was talking and laughing with the women. Lu Yu’s aloof and immortal appearance was extraordinary.

Mr. Big Mole smiled at Lu Ming then limped away. Although he hadn’t said anything, we knew his grudge was gone.

Lu Ming had stabbed himself once in exchange 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 Ming and went back to the hotel. I sprinkled some Yunnan medicinal powder on his wound and helped him drink a glass of charm water.

Since Lu Ming had lost lots of blood, he should be weak. However, he looked cheerful and high-spirited. He said to me, “My ancestor told me that he will leave with those female ghosts…”

I smiled and gave him a nod. It wasn’t out of my expectation.

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

“Do you think that I don’t know anything?” I laughed and scoffed at him.

Actually, after I had talked to the waiter, I realized one thing: The old man only appeared when Lu Ming had a meeting for a business deal with Japanese people.

I had kept it on my mind. Later on, I learned that Lu Ming was about to sign a big tea packaging deal with a Japanese company.

Lu Ming had used his power in the tea production industry to buy the best quality teas for low prices in China. The tea was then transported to Japan for packaging. There, they would label the tea as “Japanese-branded Tea” then transport the tea back to sell in the Mainland for much higher prices.

If they worked in this way, Lu Ming and the Japanese company could earn big profits. However, it wasn’t fair to the tea farmers and the consumers in China.

This was about harming people while benefiting oneself.

Since the 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 completely uncovered the truth. Lu Ming had deceived me the entire time. Not only did he know that the ghost was Lu Yu, but he also knew why Lu Yu was troubling him. He tricked me into assisting him. He wanted to get rid of Lu Yu and wanted to get a deal with the Japanese company. After thinking about it, the way he had handled this story was like a kid!

“Aren’t you mad at me? I didn’t tell you 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’ve recognized your fault.”

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

Indeed, the second weekend after I had left, Lu Ming called me and told me that he had cut ties with the Japanese company. Moreover, he was building a tea 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 the visitors feel the charm of Chinese tea culture.”

“Why do you want to do that?”

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

“It seems you’ve understood your ancestor’s idea well…” I smiled and felt happy for him from the bottom of my heart.

Although our lives are getting better and better, we are losing the precious culture imparted to us by our ancestors at every second that passes.

Why is that? Because more and more people favor foreign winds. They feel that the moon in a foreign 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 stars and drool over their handsome Oppas shamelessly.

They had forgotten 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 gradually fall to 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. When you drink 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…”