Chapter 16 Chapter Sixteen

Her daughter, Xiaoyue, was brought here in her belly. She was a natural beauty, and she matured precociously when she was in her teens, which made the younger generations who were two years older than her in the village follow her around.Ever since this girl came, the troubles in the village have increased... The village seemed very quiet. I saw a lot of lights from a distance just now, and the doors were closed in the blink of an eye.There is only a single headlight on the village field in the south, casting cold and lonely light on the roof of the house.The two walked towards the village with a huge shadow behind them.They knocked on the doors of several houses one after the other, asking where the village head lived, but no one answered.They don't understand that it's just getting dark early in the mountains, but it's not that late in reality. What are the villagers worried about?

Zhang Qun said as he walked, "It's strange here. I didn't hear a dog barking, and there isn't even a dog. This is impossible in a mountain village." She grew up in a mountain village, so she naturally felt that this place was abnormal. After thinking about it, Bingbing thought it made sense, and said nervously: "We forgot to ask the old man who drove the donkey what his name was and where he lived. Maybe he can help us?" Then they knocked on the door, knocking side by side from south to north, and kept shouting: "Fellow townsman, we are members of the exploration team, find us a place to live. How about telling us where the village chief's house is?"

A family opened the window. They just wanted to go up, but the other party was so frightened that they closed the window quickly.One family sticks a shotgun through the crack of the door, yelling that they will shoot if they knock again.A man stood behind the fence of his house and shouted loudly: "The village chief is not here. Go ahead, the second house behind the village!" They went to the back of the village.The houses in the village were not standardized, and where was the second house behind the village, which made the two confused, so they had to knock on the door again at the back of the village.It was getting late at this time, and no one cared about them.Both were hoarse, exhausted, and decided to give up.

They discussed going back to the south of the village, and sat in a warm place with a leeward wind near the yard for the night.When the two of them were walking back with their things on their backs, a strange figure appeared from the south hillside and ran over unsteadily.The two quickly hid back in fright.The strange figure was completely black up and down, and it jumped forward. When it passed the light, it was a pale young man who walked sideways with his shoulders folded. One foot was big and the other was small. Shrugging, stomping.The young man ran towards them, and they quickly hid behind the house, squatting beside a haystack, not daring to say anything.Unexpectedly, the man saw them, came over and stood in front of them and stared.Say nothing.The two of them hugged each other, not knowing what the man would do next.Unexpectedly, he snorted, turned around and ran away with his shoulders shrugged.

"This is a fool." Bingbing said, "Hurry up and call him, he can help us." Zhang Qun immediately jumped up and shouted after him: "Hey, don't go! Wait a minute, it's you!" The idiot really stopped.They quickly ran up to him, Bingbing handed him a pack of biscuits, the idiot tore a few times without tearing it open.Zhang Qun grabbed it, bit it with his teeth, and handed it to him again.He tucked his fingers together and shook himself for a long time before he took out a piece and stuffed it into his mouth. He grinned and said, "It's delicious, it's delicious."

Bingbing asked: "Little brother, can you take us to the village chief's house? Where is the village chief's house?" The fool tilted his head and muttered: "The village head is behind the village... The village head's dog is dead, and the old man's dog is also dead..." "Who is the old troublemaker?" "I'm afraid, Xiaoyue is here again." "Who is Xiaoyue? A female ghost? Where is it?" "Over there on the hill, look—flew into the woods." The two followed the fool's finger to see that there was nothing on the mountain at the head of the village, but they were still a little apprehensive.

"Don't be afraid, little brother, tell us who Xiaoyue is, okay?" The idiot stared and pointed at Bingbing's back, so frightened that Bingbing turned around quickly, and Zhang Qun also hid aside. "Hush! There are wolves over there, and wolves can eat people, run away!" He said and ran away. The two looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief.Zhang Qun quickly ran a few steps, stopped the idiot, patted him on the shoulder and said, "If you don't tell us, I won't let you go today!" Bingbing said: "Take us to the village chief's house, you big sister is very fierce!"

Zhang Qun crossed his hands and said, "Snatch the bride! I'll tie you up and take you to the city! Do you understand?" Bingbing slapped Zhang Qun with a smile and said, "Let's go, little brother, to the village chief's house." The idiot didn't say a word.He tilted his head and walked ahead, and the two of them followed behind. Walking to the door of a room they had just visited, the fool picked up a clod of soil and smashed it towards the papered window.There was no response, the idiot smashed it again, and the lights in the room turned on.A man scolded: "It's this idiot again, why don't you fucking smash other people's houses? Is it because I fucked your mother?"

The idiot screamed like a chick gasping, shrugged his shoulders and ran away crookedly. At this time, Bingbing and Zhang Qun stepped forward, talked to the village chief, and continued to say that they belonged to the exploration team and would have to work tomorrow, so they couldn’t go back today, and wanted to find a place to rest. The village head of the level organization will help them.The village chief asked, are you human or ghost?They said they were human beings!How did the village head prove that you are human?They said, come out and have a look!The village head said so, you put your hands in through the window, I feel it is hot or cold.They reluctantly complied, and put their hands in through the window hole that the fool smashed just now.

In fact, the village head had already seen them through the paper hole in the window.His wife scolded. "An old dog can't get rid of eating shit, and you're taking advantage of other big girls?" The village chief smiled: "I don't touch it anymore, and it doesn't look like a ghost." Then he walked out of the house and said, "Let's go, go to the school in the south, spend the night together, and talk about it tomorrow." The village chief called himself Shi.He took them to the school, opened the door, threw the quilt he brought on the table, walked around the house with a cigarette, and said that the whole village did not come out at night, because of you and I took risks.They didn't answer, and stood there waiting for the village chief to leave.The village chief was bored, so he said okay, I'm leaving.

Bingbing closed the doors and windows, and checked whether the door locks and inserts were safe. Zhang Qun said: "This is a broken place, not to mention ghosts, even people can't be guarded." Bingbing said: "Why don't we sleep together for a while?" Zhang Qun said: "I was so tired that I went to bed first. When the ghost came, I let her eat me first. If someone raped me, it was fine. I didn't even have the strength to struggle." Bingbing smiled and said: "I'm watching, you can rest assured and sleep well!" As she said, she took off the peach-pit collar she was wearing and bent down to hang it on Zhang Qun, but Zhang Qun pushed her hand away . "Thank you." Zhang Qun parted the clothes on his chest, revealing the same peach-pit collar he was wearing inside, and said, "I have one too, which was given to me by the mage later. Good night!" The next day, they walked out of the school house because they were carrying laptops and wanted to find a place to store their luggage.The two of them thought of the old man who was driving the donkey yesterday, but walking on the road in the middle of the village, they didn't even meet anyone who asked questions.They had no choice but to go to the head of Shicun's house again.The village chief's wife was here, saying that the village chief had gone out to dig wild vegetables.Asked why there are so few people in the village, the village chief's wife said that young people have gone to the mountains to earn money, and those who stay in the village are only the old and the young.Besides, so many people died in the past two months, and those timid people who had something to worry about were scared away. Just as he was talking, Village Chief Shi came back with a cigarette in his mouth and a handful of wild vegetables in his hand.His wife hurriedly took their luggage to the room. The village chief said: "I know you will come, so I'll get you some fresh food. Ladies' families don't understand these things, unlike us men who have been outside the mountains, seen the world, and know what people in the city like to eat." Bingbing said: "A large number of people from the exploration team haven't arrived yet. I'm afraid we will have to wait for them in the village for a few days, which will cause trouble for you, the village chief!" As he spoke, he took out three hundred-yuan bills and handed them to the village chief. The village head was not polite, glanced at his wife who was busy in the kitchen, took it and put it in his pocket, and said, "You two can stay in the school for a few days, this school has long been closed, and it has been empty for a few years. , Where do people live? For meals, they go door-to-door. People from above come to my village, such as those who install electric wires, those who show movies, and those who come to prevent epidemics once a year. They are all rounded like this. Who do you eat at? Just pay 10 yuan for a meal. The villagers are happy to have someone come to eat at home. Coarse grains and miscellaneous rice are rare for people in the city. It is difficult to earn money in the mountains, but it can also increase their income. I ate wild vegetable cakes at my house this morning, it was delicious! " The village head took the wild vegetables into the kitchen.Two people followed him in, wanting to help. Bingbing asked: "Last night there was a thin old man on the mountain, driving a donkey, who was it?" The village head said, "You mean Wang Youliang, right? He lives in front, and his son has recently traveled far. The old couple stays at home with a donkey. What do you ask him to do?" Bingbing said: "It's nothing, he's fine, he showed us the way yesterday." Then she asked, "Who is that female ghost? Why are the whole village so scared?" The village chief smacked his lips and said, "I can't tell. Many people died in the village in the past two months. No one saw the ghost's face. Everyone who saw it died." The village chief seemed reluctant to say more. The village head's wife was stirring the dough, and interjected, "It's said that Yingniang and her daughter did it. They said that their ghosts lingered and turned into ghosts to kill people and take revenge. They killed all the people who had enemies with their family." The village head glared at her: "Women know what, talk nonsense!" Zhang Qun wanted to send the village chief away. "Village chief, the two of us are helping my sister-in-law, you go outside to smoke." The village head went to the hall.Bingbing sat in front of the stove and lit the fire, while Zhang Qun pulled the bellows beside him.The wife of the village head poured the batter into the pot, stirred the porridge with a long spoon, and said in a low voice, "It's really a bit of a trick. Just think about it, the whole family of Yang Hongde, who had a grudge against their mother and daughter, died; then, The old village head that the woman hated the most, Wang Nao, also died, and even her uncle’s daughter Xiaoyuan died. Also, those who sealed her house in the past died one after another. Many people said that Her mother and daughter were harmed..." "What's Yingniang's name? What's her daughter's name?" "Yingniang's name is Yingniang. Anyway, many people call her Yingniang. Some people call her Ghost Eagle. She came from outside the mountain. She looks ghostly, with a high nose bridge, like an eagle, until she died. , is over 50 years old, her eyes are still black and bright, often watery, and all the men in the village have been fascinated by her. Her daughter Xiaoyue was brought here in her stomach, and she didn’t know Whose seed is it? She was born a beauty, and she matured precociously when she was more than ten years old, causing the younger generations in the village who were two years older than her to follow her behind. Since these two girls came, the troubles in the village have been thick That's it...that's it, sister. Turn off the fire, the porridge is cooked—" At this time, only a "bang" sound was heard, and the rice cooker exploded.The pot lid flew up and almost hit the head of the village chief's wife.The pot full of porridge flowed down from the stove, annihilating the fire below with a puff, and large clouds of white smoke came out.Looking into the pot again, there was no rice in it except for a big hole at the bottom of the pot.The village head's daughter-in-law turned pale with fright, and sat there paralyzed, with a fear that had never been seen on her face.Bingbing and Zhang Qun were also in a daze for a long time. The village head's wife raised her hand and slapped herself in the face: "Bah, bah, my stinking mouth, talking nonsense! I should be hit!" There was no porridge, so the village head went to the neighbor's house to borrow a tea bottle of boiling water, served hot pancakes, and asked everyone to bring breakfast.Throughout the meal, the village head's wife didn't say anything, her face was always gloomy. The two had breakfast and said they were free and wanted to take a look around the village.The village head led them to walk in the middle of the village, and said that my village is called Shimen Village, and my ancestors came here hiding from bandits, and I don't know how many generations I have lived here.This place is in the middle of a ravine, where Henan and Shanxi don't care. There are mountains for hundreds of miles. If you want to see the car, you have to run more than 60 miles of mountain roads. So usually few people come here. The sky is high and the emperor is far away! Bingbing didn't want to hear this, she was still thinking about Yingniang and Xiaoyue. "Village chief, where did Yingniang and Xiaoyue live when they were alive? Where is their house?" The village chief was stunned for a moment: "In the northwest corner of the village, the house has already collapsed." Zhang Qun asked: "We think it's very interesting, who in the village is familiar with Xiaoyue?" The village head said: "There are many people in the village who are as big as her. Xiuyun, Lu Sheng, and Xiao Ai, the daughter of Uncle Nao's family, all went to school with Xiaoyue. Sufang, Mingxuan, and I are a class lower than them. Xiaoyue first went to the primary school in front, then the village school stopped and went to the joint school in Badong on the other side of the mountain. Then Xiaoyue and the others went to the county town. The students of that class now, the married ones , Those who went out to make money to make money, few stayed in the mountains. Maybe Lu Sheng is still at home and came back from the city last year.” "Where is Lu Sheng? Can we talk to him?" Zhang Qun asked. "He lived in the front. He went to the city to work as a construction worker and broke his leg. His wife also ran away with others. He was heartbroken in the city and came back. He raised a piece of land and fed a few pigs to live by himself." Bingbing asked: "Then how did Xiaoyuan die?" The village head said: "Why do you keep asking these questions? Xiaoyuan has been dead for more than a month, probably eaten by wolves...Why mention these things? I really don't want to talk about them. You people in the city are just curious and listen to others. If you talk about it, you will think that you have encountered a big and strange thing, and there are too many strange things in this mountain." As I walked forward, I saw a young woman standing at the door eating melon seeds, squinting and smiling at the village chief. The village head struck up a conversation with her and asked her if the child went to school?Has the man written yet?As he spoke, he snuggled up.The woman said, there is still some shredded tobacco at home, do you like it, village chief?The village head said of course I like it, and my addiction to smoking is just coming up!The village chief went to get the shredded tobacco, went in and closed the door. Zhang Qun and Bingbing looked at each other and smiled, and took the opportunity to walk away. They saw the fool again, he was sitting on the hillside in the east of the village, talking something.Opposite him was an old woman collecting firewood, with gray hair and dressed in black, she was listening to the fool and looking at her.Bingbing waved to them, but the idiot didn't respond, and the old woman waved her hand to greet them.The two of them didn't stop, they walked and asked to arrive at Lu Sheng's house. They were surprised to see Lu Sheng. The village chief said he was only 35 years old, but he looked much older than his actual age, with a gray face, a beard, and two homemade crutches. He dragged his legs from the house. walk out.He was afraid that the room would be looked down upon if it smelled too bad.The two chatted with him, asked him about things when he was in school, and asked about his situation when he went out to work.Lu Sheng's eyes were full of melancholy, and he said that every topic was a lament.He kept saying that his life was miserable, his parents died before he graduated from middle school, the pillars of his family fell, his life changed, he could no longer stand the wind and rain, and now he was almost dead. But when talking about the things in school, Lu Sheng still couldn't help the light in his eyes. At this time, Bingbing handed a photo to him.It was a photo of Jiang Lan that was remade before coming here. "Look—have you seen her? Does it look familiar?" He picked up the picture and looked at it, his eyes widened, and finally he raised his head in surprise. "She?—she's dead. Where did you get it?" "Is this Xiaoyue? Are you sure it's her?" Lu Sheng was full of panic, and hurriedly handed the photo to Bingbing: "I don't have anything to do with her, I don't know, and I didn't hurt her. Don't ask me, don't ask me." He turned and moved into the house. Zhang Qun wanted to step forward and pull him: "Hey, haven't you finished yet?" Lu Sheng shouted: "You go, you go!—" The two had no choice but to leave his house. Bingbing said: "It seems that this Xiaoyue is Jiang Lan." Zhang Qun said, "But he said Xiaoyue is dead?" "There was clearly something wrong with her death." "That means Xiaoyue is not dead." "Yes. There must be a mystery to her past." "Let's find that old man Wang Youliang and see if he knows about this?" "At his age, he must know the past."