There was a cloth shop in Jinan Prefecture. There were two bosses in the shop. The big boss was Zhang Hu, and the second boss was Li Biao . They were running a cloth shop, but they often dug things in the pile of dead bodies secretly. Gradually, they had some savings. The big boss Zhang Hu married a wife, Liu, who was one of the most beautiful women in the local area. Zhang Hu was very satisfied with her and held a big banquet to entertain relatives and friends. Li Biao felt very unbalanced when he saw that they were both from poor backgrounds, so why did Zhang Hu marry a wife while he could only watch. When he saw that Liu was so beautiful, he felt itchy in his heart and wondered how he could get this beautiful woman.
After Zhang Hu got married, he handed over the business of the cloth shop to Li Biao. He did not ask whether he made a profit or a loss. He spent the whole day with Liu, enjoying the pleasure of love. When the money he saved was almost spent, he went on a "business trip" with Li Biao and continued to squander it when he came back. One day, Li Biao told Zhang Hu that he had heard that there was an ancient tomb near Kaifeng, Henan, and it was either a high-ranking official of the court or a wealthy gentry. Zhang Hu immediately became interested and immediately planned with Li Biao how to rob the tomb, thinking that it would be better to do something big so that he could live a peaceful life for a few years.
After dawn, Zhang Hu told Liu that he had to go out to buy goods. Liu asked when he would be back. Zhang Hu said, "At least ten days, at most a month." Liu was a well-educated and sensible person. Although she was reluctant to leave, she still packed her husband's luggage and prepared the things he needed. After everything was ready, Zhang Hu said goodbye to Liu and Li Biao in tears and went straight to Kaifeng, Henan.
After arriving in Kaifeng, they stayed at the Kelaiyue Inn. They ate, drank and had fun during the day, and planned their tomb robbery plan at night. They bought shovels, crowbars, torches and other necessary things and put them into a sack. To make a long story short, they took action that night. After walking back and forth several times during the day, it was not much trouble to come at night. The two brothers arrived at the cemetery and started digging with a shovel. The tomb was divided into two layers, the inner and outer layers. They dug open the outer layer and looted all the accompanying collections inside, including gold, silver, pearls and agates, which filled half a sack.
Zhang Hu weighed it and was overjoyed: "Brother, these are enough for us to use for a lifetime. Let's get started and run!" Li Biao disagreed. He pointed to the stone coffin inside and said, "Look inside. Maybe there is a night-shining pearl as big as an egg in the dead man's mouth." Zhang Hu thought so too. If he wanted to do it, he might as well do it thoroughly. The two brothers used a crowbar to pry open a gap in the coffin, propped it up with a support column, and slowly pried it higher. Li Biao held a torch and Zhang Hu stretched his legs and got into the coffin. The body was rotten and only bones were left. Zhang Hu fumbled inside, handed out the bracelet and ring, and then continued to grope forward. Li Biao asked if there was anything? Zhang Hu said no, and Li Biao asked him to search carefully again. Zhang Hu was looking inside, and Li Biao thought: If I don't do it now, when will I wait? Thinking of this, he pulled out the support column supporting the stone coffin. Zhang Hu heard something wrong and looked back. He was shocked. He didn't expect that the brother who had cooperated for many years would do this to him. He tried his best to get out. Li Biao swung the crowbar and hit Zhang Hu with it without caring about the severity of the blow. After a few hits, Zhang Hu was knocked unconscious. Then he pulled out the supporting pillar, picked up the sack and walked away.
When Zhang Hu woke up, he saw a dark place in front of him. He reached out and touched the dry bones, and immediately realized his situation. He desperately used his head to push the lid of the sarcophagus. When his head broke, he used his shoulders to push it, but the sarcophagus still did not move. At that time, he was extremely desperate, thinking that even if he could not suffocate to death, he would starve to death. Thinking of his newly married wife at home, he couldn't help crying like rain. Thinking of the treacherous Li Biao, he hated Li Biao so much that his teeth itched. If he could get out, he would tear Li Biao to pieces. In this way, he gradually lost consciousness in anger, anxiety and hunger. After an unknown amount of time, he thought he was bound to die. Just when he was about to take his last breath, he suddenly heard footsteps. It sounded like there were three or five people, and they were discussing something. Zhang Hu's weak nerves became a little more active, and he judged that the people who came were also tomb robbers. After a while, a crack was pried open in the sarcophagus, and slowly, the gap became larger and larger, and then a foot stepped into the sarcophagus. Zhang Hu used all his strength to grab the foot. "Ghost!" The man was so scared that he screamed and ran away. His companions were also like a turtle chasing a watermelon – some rolled and some crawled. As soon as Zhang Hu breathed in the fresh air outside, he immediately regained some strength. He climbed out of the sarcophagus with difficulty. After climbing out, his strength was used up. He fainted as if his body was drained. When he woke up again, he had a little strength again. He instinctively crawled out of the tomb. A short few steps seemed to him thousands of miles. He had to use all his strength for every step. He had to rest for a long time after every step. After an unknown amount of time, he finally climbed out of the tomb. At this time, his only strength was also used up.
Like many stories of surviving a disaster, Zhang Hu was also saved by a person. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself lying on the bed, and an old man in front of him was feeding him rice. The old man told him not to move or talk. He said his name was Wang Zhong, and he was a doctor who was widowed and lived in the mountains without children. When he went out to collect herbs, he accidentally found him and saved him. Zhang Hu was grateful and felt very lucky to have survived a disaster. After his body recovered a little, Zhang Hu told the old man about his experience. The old man sympathized with his experience and told him to rest well and make plans after he recovered. Zhang Hu was thinking about revenge, so he was impatient. He sneaked out while the old man was out collecting herbs. Unexpectedly, Zhang Hu fainted on the road due to exhaustion and was rescued by Wang Zhong again. Zhang Hu was angry and anxious, and he was blown by the cold wind when he went out, and he fell seriously ill. Wang Zhong boiled medicine for him to treat his illness, and often advised him not to rush. Zhang Hu looked at his failing body, sighed repeatedly, and couldn't help shedding tears on his sickbed. To make a long story short, Zhang Hu was ill for more than half a year. During this period, he asked Wang Zhong to inquire about the whereabouts of his wife Liu. Wang Zhong asked someone to find out, and then told him that Liu was doing well at home, and Li Biao had never gone back. He also said that Liu missed him very much, but as a woman, it was inconvenient for her to go out, so she could only hope that he would come back soon. After hearing this, Zhang Hu calmed down a lot, and felt comforted in his heart. He just hoped that he would recover soon. In his spare time, he also learned a lot of pharmacology knowledge from Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong saw that he was studious, so he simply accepted him as an apprentice.
That day, Wang Zhong saw Zhang Hu off. Zhang Hu knelt on the ground and thanked him for his kindness. Wang Zhong helped his apprentice up and said, "Master, if I have done anything wrong to you, please forgive me!" Zhang Hu saw that he was vague and asked him what was wrong. Wang Zhong opened his mouth, but stopped talking. Zhang Hu did not ask any more questions and left Kaifeng and rushed to Jinan.
Zhang Hu was eager to return home, so he rushed to Jinan Prefecture overnight and returned home happily. However, it was not his wife Liu who lived there, but another family. After careful inquiry, he learned that Liu was dead. It turned out that since that night, Li Biao returned to Jinan Prefecture and made up a lie, saying that Zhang Hu was killed by bandits on the way to the dentist , and his body was gone. Liu believed it and was heartbroken. Li Biao even held a funeral for Zhang Hu in a formal manner and cried falsely. Not long after the funeral, Li Biao could not bear it anymore and made an impolite request to Liu. Liu had always been wary of Li Biao. When she saw that Li Biao was so presumptuous before her husband's body was cold, she couldn't help but doubt the cause of her husband's death. She suspected Li Biao in her heart, but she had no evidence to do anything to him. Li Biao coerced and lured, and the woman's family had to agree to it out of weakness. However, Liu refused to obey and was hanged in the boudoir after being forcibly humiliated by Li Biao. After Liu's death, Li Biao disappeared. Zhang Hu was heartbroken after hearing this. It turned out that his master Wang Zhong had known the truth for a long time and had been hiding it from him for fear that he would be sad. He wanted to tell him when they were parting but didn't. He looked around for Li Biao's whereabouts and vowed to kill this ruthless and ungrateful villain. After a lot of twists and turns, he finally found out Li Biao's whereabouts from a peddler. It turned out that Li Biao went to Dongchang Prefecture.
Zhang Hu hurried to Dongchang Prefecture, but found that things were not as simple as he thought. Li Biao was no longer the same as before. He bought a large house by Yanzhi Lake and became a wealthy man. He hired more than ten servants, and there were people protecting him when he went in and out. It was difficult for others to get close to him. How to take revenge? Zhang Hu racked his brains for this.
One day, a man came to Li Biao's door with a huge flower pot and asked the gatekeeper if he wanted flowers. The gatekeeper waved him away. The man refused to leave and insisted on asking the owner to take a look. The gatekeeper could not get enough of the pestering, so he had to go in and report. When Li Biao came out to see, the man was gone, but the flower pot was still there. Li Biao felt very strange and looked at the flower pot. There was nothing in it. The gatekeeper just put the flower pot in the yard casually, and Li Biao did not take it seriously. After a few days, Li Biao found a bud growing in the flower pot. After a few more days, the bud gradually turned into tender leaves. Li Biao finally knew what it was. He was very surprised and asked someone to move the pot of flowers to his bedroom, water it, fertilize it, and take care of it diligently.
Few people know about this flower, and even fewer have seen it. It is called "corpse-fragrant konjac", and it only grows in ancient tombs. Legend has it that where this flower grows, corpses will not rot, and will also emit a charming fragrance. Li Biao often haunts cemeteries, so he has a special feeling for this flower. Li Biao has robbed countless tombs, and he only remembers seeing this flower once. At that time, he was completely stunned. The beauty of this flower was simply unbelievable. According to ancient books, soaking the petals of this flower in wine can prolong life, strengthen the body, and is better than any tonic in the world. In a hurry, he only picked a few petals. After soaking in wine, the wine was fragrant and fragrant. After drinking it, he felt refreshed, as if he had ascended to heaven all of a sudden. Li Biao always wanted to meet it again, but unfortunately he never met it again after that time. Now that he accidentally got this flower, how could he not be happy?
Under Li Biao's careful care, the flower grew up day by day, and now it has grown several buds. On the day the flower bloomed, he invited many people to celebrate. The fragrance of the flower spread all over the street. Everyone was fascinated by the gorgeous fragrance of the flower and regarded it as a treasure in the world. Li Biao told everyone about its unique and wonderful uses, then picked half a petal and put it in the wine, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp. Everyone looked at him with envy. At this moment, Li Biao suddenly screamed, grabbed his neck and fell to the ground. Li Biao looked painful, his body twitched, and his skin was swollen and turned blue piece by piece. Everyone was shocked, and when they looked again, they saw that Li Biao had died.
The crowd chopped the poisonous flower into pieces and smashed the flowerpot to pieces. Unexpectedly, a poisonous toad jumped out of the soil in the flowerpot. As soon as the toad opened its mouth, venom shot out of its mouth. It turned out that the corpse konjac was not poisonous, but the toad was poisonous. The corpse konjac absorbed the toad's toxins when it was young, so it became poisonous.
It turned out that Zhang Hu knew that Li Biao loved this flower. Once he got the rhizome of the corpse-scented konjac by chance, so he came up with this plan to deal with Li Biao. Zhang Hu killed someone thousands of miles away and got his revenge without any effort. From then on, he did not return to his old business, but opened a medicine shop in Dongchang Prefecture, using the medical skills he learned to save people.