Chapter 33 short story xanadu

Xanadu exists in the ancient legends handed down in the village.In the village, everyone was obsessed with some details, and even got into a dead end, but only Fourth Master Li, could be said to be the authority on knowledge about this matter.Fourth Master Li is ninety years old, his body has shrunk to a height of more than one meter, but he has a snow-white beard that is one foot long.Fourth Master Li put the bamboo chair back in Heping and sat on it. When he lit a long pipe, the children surrounded him tightly, and some naughty ones even pulled his beard.From the intermittent narration of Fourth Master Li, the children learned that life in Xanadu was not necessarily very interesting, but a bit dull, because it was just a small society where men farmed and women weaved, and lived in peace without turmoil or war.What the children are interested in is the magical swing.It is said that the swing was hung on the side branch of a giant pine tree on the top of the mountain. It is hard to tell who climbed to such a high place to hang it, but it was a skilled craftsman.The rope is made of the finest ramie, the kind you don't see anymore.The thick white and bright hemp rope passes through the strong iron ring, and the pedal board is beautiful green sandalwood.When a person swings the swing into the air, the swing will make a whistling sound of the earth shaking and the mountains shaking. Also run to close the window.Everyone said that sound was "not good".The last to use the swing were two urchins, who were seen swinging in mid-air for a long time, and then disappeared, and the ropes of the swing were found to have snapped, cut with a sharp knife.Zhaoshan is a huge mountain that spans several counties. It is not surprising that people disappear in it, but there is a saying that is very strange.They said that the two children did not cut the rope, but "God's will".Since it was God's will, the bodies of the two boys should be found around.But in those two days, all the people in Xanadu went out, but they still got nothing.So those who hold this view stubbornly insist that it cannot be ruled out that the miracle happened to the children at the moment of flying into the air.But what kind of miracle?Did they grow wings and fly into the sky, or did some roc pick them up?Due to the ridicule of everyone, these people refused to continue their reasoning.

"You split up and go to the mountains to search carefully, and you can find the ruins of the swing." Fourth Master Li said with half-closed eyes. There was a boy who was far away from the group of children surrounding Fourth Master Ji. He was a thin, gloomy boy of fifteen. He lived in a temple next to the village and worked as a helper for others. pregnancy.He came every evening when Fourth Master Li was sitting on Heping and telling stories about Xanadu.When the children exclaimed "Ah! Ah!" to the story of Fourth Master Li, the boy had a sneer of disdain and his eyes were as bright as a night cat.

"Eat, eat what you grow, eat what you raise, sweet potatoes, corn, soybeans, and even rice. Pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks run around, and there is a school built on a big rock. deep valley." "There's still school! There's still school!" the children cheered. "There are all kinds of interesting things in the school, but there are no swings, and the game of swinging has been banned." Fourth Master Li opened his eyes when he said this, and looked at the children sinisterly. "Fourth Master Li is lying! Liar!" the children shouted, wanting to pull the old man's beard.

Fourth Master Ji dodged, protecting his white beard with both hands, he couldn't sit still, and was thrown to the ground by them, with his feet in the air, while the two little boys threw themselves on him. After a long commotion, which made the old man feel disheartened, the children gradually dispersed.Fourth Master Li put the bamboo back chair back up, spit bitterly, and sat down again to light his pipe.At this time, the old man began to look at the boy named Tai who was squatting opposite him.The boy was also looking at him, his eyes met, and the atmosphere was a little tense. Fourth Master Li always waited for Tai to come over and say something to him, even if it was to question him.And this homeless boy, Tai, stays far away every time and refuses to come, but he doesn't leave either, as if he is competing with Fourth Master Ji, which makes Fourth Master Ji hate him very much.Fourth Master Li remembered that Tai came to the village four years ago, along with his father. It was raining heavily that day, and there were signs of flash floods. The father and son hid in the temple dripping wet.Probably because of the cold, the father died of illness soon.From then on, Tai lived in the temple, went out to do odd jobs during the day, ate at the host's house, and slept in a small miscellaneous room in the temple at night.

Fourth Master Li had to sit on the Heping until late at night before entering the house. He dozed off, listening to the croaking of mosquitoes, and the heads of many horses appeared in his mind, and those horse heads all turned their backs to the sky and neighed alarmingly.At this time, Fourth Master Li would wake up with a start and look around in a panic, but the only person he could see in his field of vision was always the same person—Tai.Today's situation is a bit different. When Fourth Master Ji woke up from his dream, he also saw another black figure, that person walked towards the place where Tai was squatting, and then the two of them gathered together to have a private conversation.Fourth Master Li's old eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of fog at night, so of course he couldn't see clearly, and he was too embarrassed to get up to observe the uninvited guest. He sat on the spot and waited, he reckoned that the time had probably come.

Sure enough, after the man disappeared on the other side of the path, Tai walked towards Fourth Master Ji. "It was Brother Seven who came to urge me just now. Now tell me the whole story." Tai said. Fourth Master Li opened his mouth, but couldn't speak.He felt that the secret that had been hidden in his heart for eighty years and had been crushed by him was about to move again, and was about to be exposed in front of this child.He looked at Tai's hazy figure, feeling a little annoyed while sincerely admiring her.Tess didn't seem to mind his deceptive gimmicks and went straight to his point, and how patient he was.Fourth Master Li remained silent in front of Tai like this, falling into memories at an inopportune time.He recalled how he had spread the knowledge about Xanadu in the village for so many years, so that now men, women and children here are convinced, and they can tell some details about that society.However, what is the "why"?Fourth Master Li thought, "The original story" is an unbearable past event. He neither heard it from his father nor his grandfather, but experienced it himself. If you really forget it in your life, it is impossible to think about it now.And because he was not reconciled, he spread some peripheral discussions everywhere to calm the dissatisfaction in his heart.Not long ago, he heard one of his nephews introduce to outsiders: "Xanadu is still there. Think about it, how big is this mountain, and there is nothing hidden in it. If we can't see something, say it's not there. Existence, isn't that too conceited?" When the nephew said this, Fourth Master Ji blushed for no reason.

"I figured it out. There are a lot of difficulties in telling such things. You must be very embarrassed. But I am determined to conduct an investigation. You must be a little surprised, right?" The boy said this with a somewhat smug tone. "What's the accident? As the saying goes, a man grows old at the age of three. I've been waiting for you to make up your mind since the day you came to the village. How time flies, the sound of the rainstorm that day is still ringing in my ears .In the past two years, I often can't tell whether I am sleeping or awake. If you don't act, I won't be able to wait for that day."

If someone overheard their conversation, no one would know what charade they were playing.However, the old and the young are tacit.How they came to this tacit understanding is also difficult to imagine, because in fact, tonight is the first time they have talked.Sitting there, Fourth Master Li felt for the first time that his life had really come to an end, and a pair of young feet were taking his place. It seemed that there was nothing he could truly forget.Just yesterday, he heard that long-lost voice on the way to the latrine, at first he thought it was his hallucination, then he saw Teacher Yuanpu, the 70-year-old man also stopped, talking with him He also turned his face to the latrine and listened carefully.Teacher Yuanpu is also the one who likes to talk about Xanadu.Fourth Master Li walked up to Teacher Yuanpu and asked him what he heard, but he looked blank again, and then made a reproachful grimace, saying that he was breathing the fresh air blowing from the mountains.Fourth Master Li didn't understand what he was trying to hide.Fourth Master Li couldn't get comfort from the enthusiasm of the villagers. He was disturbed day and night because of the shameful forgetting, which was why he had to tell the children about those ancient events every night.Later, when he defecated in the latrine, he could still hear the creaking and creaking of pine branches, and the meaning of the noise was ambiguous.

When Tai returned to the temple that night, Seventh Brother had already waited on the steps for a while, threw three white cigarette butts on the ground, and he kicked a piece of the door frame in agitation. "It's best not to take anything with you. The idea of ​​leaving a way out is a bad idea. Think about it, if he hesitated the moment he flew out, would the incident still stand? How many people would pay it back without stopping..." He was still nagging, but Tai closed the door with his backhand behind him, shutting Seventh brother out.Later, Seventh Brother leaned over to the window and looked in. After watching for a long time, there was no movement.I had to go home quietly.

Moss lay on the bed made of broken door boards, her whole body seemed to be on fire, and the terrible torment began.He may be about to do something, something he can't say or think clearly, and it is very likely that he will die for that thing.That matter was related to Fourth Master Li, but because Fourth Master Li kept silent, Tai's actions lost their basis.The expression on his father's face when he was about to die was also clear that he had something to entrust to Tai. He held onto Tai tightly, his eyes were bulging, but he just couldn't say it.He died and woke up again, repeated several times, shaking Tai's shoulder vigorously, but still couldn't speak.Finally, he yelled a few times and closed his eyes angrily.In the second year, Tai got acquainted with the legend about Xanadu, and after a few more days, he gradually understood why his father took him across mountains and rivers from a distant hometown to come to this place.Probably at that time he felt that his days were numbered, so he left his flesh and blood in a place where he could start a new career, so that the surrounding environment could educate him.At this moment, his father's blood-red, bulging eyes were fixed on him, forcing him to think intensely.But Tai couldn't think anymore, because his thinking also lost its basis.Tess clenched his fists tightly and beat hard on the door a few times, involuntarily let out a long howl like his father.The oil lamp on the window sill jumped a few times, then went out immediately, and the moonlight shone in the room.A shadow slowly moved to the window, like a child, and Tess felt that the person was watching him.

"It's Brother Seven, right? You go back! It's none of your business here!" Tai said this deliberately, in order to embolden herself. "It's Fourth Master Li. Open the door and let me in." Fourth Master Li had to stand on tiptoe to sit on the door panel bed. In the dark, Moss felt a little strange to him, as if he was an old monkey, only the smell of cigarettes on his body reminded him of his dignity.He stretched out his cold and skinny hand to pinch Tai's wrist, and Tai sneezed several times, and his whole body immediately cooled down. "I still don't understand," Tess said. "You'll see right away. You just have to help me, and I'll remember." Fourth Master Li moved his body, and his old bones cracked. "You move my legs to the bed and straighten them, I can't move anymore." Tess knelt down, embraced those two thin legs, and put them on the bed. Once again he felt that the old man was like a monkey. Fourth Master Li leaned on Tai's rice husk pillow, panted heavily, and straightened his legs.Still holding Tai's wrist tightly, he told Tai intermittently that the voice was everywhere, and he turned his face back and forth in the meadow, whether he was facing the valley, the fish pond, or the big houses in the village, Still facing the rice fields, I can hear the same voice now.He finally figured out that he must remember the forgotten thing tonight, so he could communicate it to Tess.Then he and both of them will be at ease.But now, he wants to ask Tai to pinch his legs for him, only in this way can he be sure that he is awake. The moss was massaging for Fourth Master Ji, each stroke pressed against the old man's bones, because those two legs really didn't have much muscle left.The old man trembled and kept saying, "It's comfortable, it's comfortable." "Isn't it your fiction about the swing? If you were the child who fell, why didn't you get hurt? And you didn't fly into the sky, you were in the village every day." "Ah, ah, ah! I'm thinking! I think—, I think—, you don't suspect Xanadu, do you?" "How could it be! Didn't my father bring me here just because of it? I remember one night when we were on the road, in the wilderness, three wolves were chasing us, and we both felt that we must die... Hey , you're not interested in such things, are you?" Under the moonlight, Moss saw Fourth Master Ji's beard as white as snow, with one hand resting on the beard, his eyes slowly closed.Excited, Tai still massaged him attentively, with rhythmic strokes.Suddenly, those legs became stiff and gradually cooled down.Tai's hand stopped moving, and two tears pooled in the corners of his eyes. Regarding the death of Fourth Master Li in Tai's room, the villagers talked a lot.On the day of the funeral, Tess did not go. He went to help in a neighboring village.People were very resentful, saying that Tai was so heartless, that he was a homeless vagabond after all, and Fourth Master Li really trusted him in vain. From then on, Tai became alone in the village, and no one wanted to answer him. The children scattered around when they saw him approaching from a distance, and said that he had a "ghost smell" on him, and they couldn't get rid of him if he touched him. Their. After some time the villagers elected a new authority on Xanadu knowledge, a seventy-five-year-old woman who had lived with the pig for many years.At night, this old woman, called Mao Niang, sat where the Fourth Lord Ji in Hepingli used to sit. The children flocked to her and surrounded her, wanting to listen to her.They are unaware of the changes in the village. "It's true that Xanadu is in the mountains. Look at this mountain. It's so big—so big that no one can tell how big it is." Mao Niang said, banging her pipe vigorously, "but the most important thing is not Not the swing, but a stone mill." "A stone mill?!" The children's eyes were as wide as copper bells. "There were also two children who looked around the stone mill all day long, and then disappeared. The stone mill is so big, people suspect that they have been crushed long ago, and they were eaten by everyone together with the grain." The children were completely silent, and the smoke from Mao Niang became a fascination. Tess sneered from afar.He thought to himself, this Mao Niang is really different from Fourth Master Ji.With her cunning, the urchins definitely dare not touch her a finger.Tess wondered how she hadn't discovered such a powerful old woman in the village before.After the death of Fourth Master Li, Tai saw that the road in front of him became more and more blurred. He often stayed up all night, sitting on the door plank bed and meditating for a long time. He was thinking about why Fourth Master Li Did not disappear, but remained in the village.What is the whole story of the matter?The more he thought about it, the more he felt that heredity was a terrible thing, especially the inheritance between Fourth Master Li and him.Now Tai looked at the seventy-five-year-old Mao Niang, and couldn't help but feel a throbbing in her heart, thinking, could she be the witness? Mao Niang has been watching Tai for a long time, and she is waiting for Tai to come to her. Tess moved slowly and hesitantly, noticing for the first time that the old woman's gray hair was so lush and flaring around her face in anger that she looked a bit like a lion. "You child, resentment is useless, you should bow your head and obey orders." She said while puffing. "But let me know something, and be kept in the dark like this... Could it be that my father has an appointment with you people?" "Where have you been thinking?" She tapped her pipe sharply. "It's not good to think wildly. Who would have an appointment with a man like your father? To use an analogy you don't like, he's like A dog that was being chased in a hurry broke into the village." Hearing what she said, Tai's father's distraught look appeared in front of her eyes, and she couldn't erase it. Tai lowered his head and walked home, he thought, autumn has come and the nights are getting colder, but this Mao Niang sits on the lawn every day to watch the night.Was she waiting for something to show up?In the morning, he passed by Heping to the neighboring village, and saw the old woman dozing on a bamboo armchair, her pipe dropped on the ground, and the tobacco was blown all over the ground by the wind.At such times, Tai always felt chills down his spine, thinking that in this village, a belief could have such a long history.When he reached the corner and was about to enter the temple, he heard Seventh Brother calling him one after another, but he didn't come close.He knew that Seventh Brother was urging him, but he still hadn't made up his mind.He had already visited the mountain once the day before yesterday, when Seventh Brother maliciously pointed to a deep hole and asked him to get in, but he didn't get in after thinking for a long time, Seventh Brother angrily called him "weak".After entering the room, Tai's heart suddenly brightened: Why didn't she stay?If you stay in the village, can't you think about the things you have to worry about every day?Could there be another place like this in a village where everyone was talking about the same thing?He opened the window and heard Seventh Brother still calling him on the spot, the voice was high and low, extremely persistent.At this moment, he felt that he had understood his father's will. That night the moon was like a big silver plate. At first it was Mao Niang who knocked on his window. There were several figures swaying on the window. Tai hurried out of the door and saw outside the temple gate, in the darkness, the whole village had come. In groups of three or four.Buzzing and buzzing, everyone shut up when they saw him come out.From the miscellaneous room beside the temple gate, Seventh Brother's voice came clearly. Tai hesitated at last, and finally followed Seventh Brother onto the path.The villagers' discussions sounded behind him again, as if they were about to catch up. When he turned around, he saw that they were still in place.Tai's legs began to shake, and her teeth chattered.Seventh brother walked ahead, walked for a while and then turned back to wait for him to follow, and repeatedly comforted him, saying that Xanadu is by no means a place to lead people to a dead end, and he will return to the villagers smoothly. Just like the case of Fourth Master Chi, what happened that night has completely disappeared from Tai's memory.Seventh brother did not come back from the mountains, it is said that he ran away.Time passed year by year, and Tai finally became an old man.Tai didn't like to talk, he just sat in a daze in Heping, keeping the stories of Xanadu in his heart.The children were playing in Heping, but no one came to him.He patted his knee lightly, knowing that he, too, had become an authority on that matter.