Chapter 3 Chapter 2 Wind Town

According to local chronicles, Fengdong Town was once a prosperous town in history, where the official post road passed by, and people who entered and left Sichuan would rest here.There is a huge ginkgo tree at the entrance of the town, which is the place where Concubine Yang Guifei of the Tang Dynasty stopped and rested when she entered Shu.The depression of Fengdong Town began at the end of the Qing Dynasty. To be precise, a strange strong wind penetrated this town more than 120 years ago. After the wind stopped, the whole town was stunned. , Then packed up their belongings and fled this place one after another.

The memory left by the ancestors is that the strange wind started one afternoon.At that time, the sky was getting darker and darker, and it entered the evening immediately after lunch.A gust of wind blew from the valley between the two mountains, and all the houses were rattled.People doing business on the street are huddled under the eaves, fruits, chickens and ducks are all swept up in the air by the wind.The tea shop at the west end of the village was too late to take precautions. The tea table placed in the open air was lifted by the wind, higher than the eaves.The people in the whole town were stunned, they had never seen such a violent wind for generations.The wind blows tight and loose until dark.In the middle of the night, the wind that had stopped for a while suddenly came again.This time, people heard people neighing and horses all over the mountains and plains, as well as the clashing sounds of countless swords and shields.People sat on the bed with their children in their arms in the dark, not daring to make a sound, and later they heard the sound of countless buildings collapsing.After dawn, people saw that the town was cut off in half, and the houses in the center of the town collapsed neatly to form a main road, as if a horse team passed through the town.People were petrified, and everyone knew in their hearts that it was not the wind that penetrated the town, but a bad omen, and the whole town began to pack up and flee from this place.

The rejuvenation of the town began in 1964. With the move of the military factory code-named 903 mailbox, a dream of prosperity came to Fengdong Town again. In the early 1990s, the factories were moved out one after another and finally closed, and the town returned to loneliness, but this time the loneliness can be described as a spectacle. Hundreds of empty houses and deserted streets made the years of more than ten years illusory. In addition to photographers and novelty hunters with a good sense of smell who occasionally visit this place, no one dares to step on the stone road in the town at night from the more than ten families remaining in the east of the town.

However, on the night when Liu Sheng and Ai Nan entered Fengdong Town, there were still rumors circulating somewhere in the town. The rumors against Liu Sheng were that this seemingly educated middle-aged man might be a The fugitive who killed someone, the evidence is that there is blood on his trousers, Boss Wan, who can smell the texture of various precious Chinese medicines, said it was human blood, and he knew it when he sat opposite Liu Sheng in the small restaurant. As for Ai Nan, it is rumored that she is most likely a fox fairy. The evidence is that she is pure white when it is dark, but turns red in the middle of the night, and she comes out from the back door of the house, wandering in the mountains and fields through the flowing mountain stream. It's like a fire.Ai Nan was very surprised when she heard the rumor a few days later. Whose eyes saw her in the latter half of the moonlit night?She was sure to be wearing a red nightgown that night. Apart from hearing the cry of "Mom" coming from the grass and moonlight, there was only hazy mountains and fields and a chaotic universe around her. She believed that this place, which was originally an empty city, had no eyesight in the second half of the night. Follow her.

This is the second half of the night in Fengdong Town, without the insidiousness of the empty city, but with the poignant beauty like the ruins of Mars.Perhaps because of the bright moonlight, Ai Nan's white skin and red nightgown turned into an elf in the mountains.In his sleep, Liu Sheng didn't know that she had quietly opened the back door to enjoy the moonlight. In his dream, Liu Sheng saw her nightgown falling on the rock, slowly melting and turning into a pool of blood, which flowed from the rock. It dripped down, and there were still a few indistinct corpses lying under the rocks, and there were fragments of cars and dislodged wheels emitting a thick fog of steam.Liu Sheng cried and threw himself on Ai Nan's body.When the world was spinning, he suddenly remembered that he should call the insurance company. This kind of common sense is what he heard from Ai Nan. In the event of a car accident or other accidental injury, the insurance company will rush to the scene as soon as possible to confirm the relevant claims. .Ai Nan is a workaholic, and at the same time an extremely cautious person. The sum of the various insurances she bought for herself has reached 1.6 million yuan.Liu Sheng once objected to her spending a lot of money on insurance, but Ai Nan said, do you think it is safe for us to buy a duplex house and a car now?I am not at all at ease in my heart. Although I have a high salary now and my body does not suffer from illness, who can guarantee that this will always be the case. We must buy a safety factor for the future.Unexpectedly, Ai Nan's words were right. Liu Sheng's hand left the cold body of Ai Nan, and took out his mobile phone to contact the insurance company, but there was no signal on the mobile phone. This damn deep mountain valley blocked any communication signals. .At this moment, Ai Nan in the pool of blood suddenly moved, Liu Sheng's heart beat wildly and leaned over to help her head, while shouting loudly, Ai Nan, Ai Nan...

Liu Sheng screamed and woke up from the dream, and saw Ai Nan sitting beside the bed in a red nightgown.Ai Nan asked, did you have a nightmare?Liu Sheng let out an "um" in his throat, his heart was still beating wildly, and his forehead was sweating.He said he dreamed of the car accident scene he saw yesterday afternoon.He didn't say that he dreamed that Ai Nan was also lying among the dead at the scene. He thought this dream was very inauspicious.He held Ai Nan's hand with great relief. It was cold. He asked Ai Nan what he did when he got up. Ai Nan said that he went for a walk outside. Ai Nan said that he heard the voice of a little girl in the grass calling "Mom." ", Ai Nan thought that she woke up suddenly in the middle of the night and wanted to go out for a walk uncontrollably, she must be bewitched by this little girl.

"This little girl named Maizi is quite strange." Ai Nan said, "After getting in our car, she didn't talk much. Her aunt got lost after getting off the car, and she didn't cry. She lived with us in the fog. At night in Shanping, she suddenly called me "Mom". More than 3 years old..." Ai Nan who was sitting by the bed looked dazed, as if the moonlight outside had not faded from her face.Liu Sheng has completely woken up from his nightmare, Ai Nan's state made him a little scared, he pushed Ai Nan and said: "How could you think of this? You are confused, how could this be our child... ..."

"Is it impossible?" Ai Nan murmured, "Why do I always feel a bit like our child, my heart skipped a beat when I saw her for the first time, I don't know why I feel this way." Liu Sheng sighed, hugged Ai Nan tightly and stopped talking. Since the child was induced to give birth more than three years ago, Ai Nan has often been in this trance state. Sometimes she would sit up in the middle of the night and say that she heard the child in the outside room Play.Is the price too great?Liu Sheng still believes that the decision at that time was wise, otherwise, would Ai Nan have the position and performance she has today?With the cars, houses and annual income they own, even in a big city like Shanghai, they can truly rank among the middle class, which is not easy.As for the child, it is okay to have it a few years later.It's just that at the time, I didn't expect that the induction of labor would make Ai Nan unforgettable for a long time, and her occasional trance made Liu Sheng feel a tingling pain in his heart.

"Go to sleep, it's almost dawn." Liu Sheng asked Ai Nan to lie down lovingly, and then lay on her side, holding her head on his chest. In this position, Ai Nan can fall asleep quickly . The moonlight has been covered by the clouds, and the fog has risen. Before the layers of black eaves in Fengdong Town can be illuminated by the morning light, they are melted by the fog again.At this time, if you look down from the middle of the mountain, Fengdong Town will disappear for a long time before or after dawn. There is no one, no roof, only the unique mist in the remote mountains and valleys, making people feel like there is a big boiling pot underground...

"Well, what kind of smell do you have?" Ai Nan woke up after sleeping for a while, she pushed Liu Sheng away, and moved her body to the side of the bed. "Look at you, here we go again, nervousness!" Liu Sheng replied angrily after being pushed awake.After more than four years of marriage, Ai Nan said from time to time that he had a peculiar smell, which annoyed Liu Sheng very much.When I asked her what she smelled, she sometimes said it was the smell of hospital disinfectant, and sometimes it was a basement smell, which was absurd.Liu Sheng said that she had a problem with her nose, should she go to see a doctor, but she insisted that it was not wrong, that there were indeed those smells, but not every night, usually every two or three months.For this reason, Liu Sheng bathed with fragrant body wash every night, but it was useless. She still smelled the strange smell at night periodically, and wanted to avoid him in horror.

"Don't be angry." Ai Nan sat up, rubbed her nose and said, "Maybe it's because of the blood stains on our clothes." At the scene of the car accident yesterday, Ai Nan's shirt and trousers were covered with blood, and now these clothes are packed in plastic bags and placed in the corner.And Liu Sheng's trousers were draped over the back of the chair, and the trousers were also stained with blood. "Just wash these clothes tomorrow." Liu Sheng said with a little relief, "You must always be thinking about that bloody scene in your heart, but in fact, the blood on these clothes doesn't have much smell, it's your allergic reaction. " The reason why Liu Sheng felt relieved this time was that Ai Nan found out the reason for the strange smell. In the past, she always said that Liu Sheng had the smell, which made people feel that she hated Liu Sheng.Once Liu Sheng quarreled with her, Liu Sheng thought it was because Ai Nan's annual income was twice as high as his, and he was secretly dissatisfied with him.In fact, Liu Sheng's annual income of more than 100,000 yuan is not too low. It is only because Ai Nan is too capable that he has the upper hand in the comparison. When Ai Nan thought he smelled bad, Liu Sheng was so annoyed that he wanted to punch her twice.Of course, he's an educated man, he can't do that. "Go to sleep." Liu Sheng said, and tomorrow he will contact mailbox 903 to make arrangements for his father. "Hmm." Ai Nan rolled over to the side of the bed, covering her nose with her hands and sleeping.Liu Sheng suppressed the anger in his heart, and fell asleep with his back to Ai Nan. The kid peeling the sheepskin outside the small restaurant yesterday evening is called Er Lengzi, who was born in Hebei and is 27 years old this year.Boss Wan, a medicine merchant, is his fourth uncle.The fourth uncle followed his master to purchase medicinal materials in Sichuan long ago.After the master died, the fourth uncle asked him to be his helper.The reason why they have been stationed in Fengdong Town for a long time is because the mountains are deep and the roads are remote, and many rare and precious Chinese medicinal materials can be purchased cheaply.Boss Wan dreamed of buying some ginseng that had grown for hundreds of years. He taught the herb pickers in the surrounding area the path and method of finding century-old ginseng, and promised that whoever found it would buy it at a high price. His wish was to receive it from the master. When he came here, he thought that he would be able to find this rare treasure. His confidence was based on his grasp of Fengdong Town. From some thread-bound books, he realized that the strange winds that appeared in the history of Fengdong Town came from the existence of the sky. A big hole, the strange wind comes from that hole.The hole is also called the eye of the sky, and its light shines on a certain place in the mountain, where the ginseng that grows can live for at least 500 years. "Instead of digging for some common goods, you might as well look for them on the cliffs. Whoever finds the century-old ginseng will make a fortune." Boss Wan said to the herb collectors in the mountains, "Don't fool me with crooked goods, I can't get enough of them with my eyes closed." I know if what you brought is genuine." The second fool just stayed with the fourth uncle in Fengdong Town for seven or eight years. When he had nothing to do, he opened this small restaurant at the same time. Fortunately, on the hillside at the west end of the town lived a group of drunkards and a fern girl, plus there were sporadic photography. Visitors and unidentified passers-by, 10 diners a day is enough for this small restaurant to survive. Er Lengzi didn't sleep well all night.Ever since the dark blue off-road vehicle flew lightly into the town yesterday evening, he has been a little fascinated, and the woman who got off the vehicle hooked his soul.In Fengdong Town, such a woman does not appear once a year.The fourth uncle noticed that his movements were a little stiff while cutting the mutton on the steps, so he came out of the restaurant and warned in a low voice, don't keep looking inside, there is blood on the trousers of the man with that woman, this pair of mandarin ducks is evil Here, be careful. The stupid man couldn't figure out that such a fairy-like woman could not be related to any crime.She is wearing a white dress, her face is like Guanyin, unlike the fern girl in this town, who is entangled like a red knot snake and makes people frightened.In the dead of night, the second fool climbed up to the attic to sleep, and the straw mat was stuck like a needle so that he couldn't sleep.In the middle of the night, he saw the woman again through the window hole in the attic, this time she was wearing a red dress, wandering in the field, and the fool finally got a little scared. Due to insomnia, Er Lian got up a bit late, but there was nothing wrong in the morning, the valley was steaming with fog, and people could not be seen clearly ten steps away from Fengdong Town, so that when the woman came to the restaurant, it seemed as if she had fallen from the sky. "Dude, do you have breakfast?" The man from last night asked from behind the woman. The second fool let the customer into the store, slowly raised the fire, took the bowl, egg noodles, and operated slowly, but his eyes kept looking at the woman.Today she wore a pair of denim shorts, her legs were moist and white, and she wore a small black shirt on her upper body. "Are you going to climb a mountain?" Er Lengzi mustered up his courage to ask. "We're here for business." Ai Nan replied, "Is there any left-behind offices in mailbox 903 in this town?" "What's the left-behind place? There's no one there." Boss Wan suddenly walked out from the room, which disappointed the fool. "All gone? What about the factory on the mountain?" Liu Sheng asked anxiously. Boss Wan said that when he came to this town seven or eight years ago, there was no one in the town on the mountain.There is no place to stay behind, this is what you urbanites think. "There is a nursing home in Box 903 in this town, and there is a cemetery near the nursing home. The employees of Box 903 died and were buried there, right?" Liu Sheng asked seriously. "Why do you ask this?" Boss Wan was a little puzzled. "The nursing home is still there. On the hillside at the west end of the town, there is a large area of ​​beautiful houses that have been vacant all these years. Anyone can go in and live there. The cemetery is full of grass. It’s full. What? Whose grave did you come to visit?” "Oh, we stopped by to take a look. My dad used to work at mailbox 903..." Liu Sheng swallowed the last part of his words, thinking that there was no need to explain everything clearly to the skinny old man. "Is there a man named Hu Laoer in this town?" Liu Sheng remembered the entrustment. "Hey, Mr. Hu, Blacksmith Hu, this lunatic." Boss Wan seemed very interested in this, "Do you know him?" "No, no," Liu Sheng explained that he met his elder brother Hu Boss in a canyon on the road and asked them to let Hu Lao Er bring him something.Liu Sheng also endured half a sentence, and didn't say that the thing he was going to bring was a zombie's hair. "Hu Laoer is a blacksmith, but since the town's depression, he has nothing to do. Like the more than 10 families living in the east of the town, he lives by planting corn and digging medicinal materials." Boss Wan said to Mr. Hu Er is obviously familiar with him, "But this man is a bit crazy, but he is not really crazy. Three years ago, he married a girl from the mountains. Less than a month after the marriage, his wife went to the mountains to dig medicine and was bitten to death by a black bear." Hu Laoer re-ignited his blacksmith stove, struck a 20-jin sharp iron spear, and went into the mountains every day to find the black bear. For three years, he traveled all over the peaks, peaks, mountains and mountains in the surrounding area without a single day. Rest. In winter, the mountains are covered with snow, and he goes into the mountains as usual to knock those caves and tree holes. Do you think this Hu Er is a little crazy?" Revenge on a black bear is so obsessed, Liu Sheng thinks this Hu Er is a paranoid.Ai Nan said that this man is a bit interesting, and his wife will be very comforted under the nine springs.Liu Sheng and Ai Nan walked towards the east of the village while talking about the person they were looking for.Liu Sheng's idea is that if he finds Hu Lao Er, he can not only complete the tasks assigned by Hu Boss, but also invite him to dig a tomb at the base near the nursing home and arrange the tombstone.Now that mailbox 903 has been left unattended, no one has been contacted and approved for the burial of my father.He originally wanted to ask Boss Wan to help with the burial, but immediately thought that Boss Wan was a businessman, and in this sparsely populated place, it would be no wonder he didn't use this to extort money.And Hu Lao Er is a local mountain man, so he must be honest and loyal. He is satisfied with helping out and collecting a few change.For so many years, Liu Sheng has always been careful in spending money. It's not that he is stingy, but that he is afraid of living without money, and this is what he has to do to keep a good life. The fog had not lifted from the town, and the empty houses that lined the streets looked unreal.As Liu Sheng walked, he imagined the prosperity of this place many years ago. On Sundays, the employees of mailbox 903 must come down from the nearby mountain, crowding the place to the brim.There was a crossroad in the center of the town, and they turned eastward. Ai Nan said that they had to inquire about the situation of the little girl Maizi when they saw Hu Laoer. The butcher in Wushanping said that he had seen the little girl in Fengdong Town before. , Whether there is such a child, just ask Hu Er Er. As you go east, the houses on both sides gradually distanced from each other, and some slopes planted with corn appeared in the middle and behind the houses. This is the habitat of the last residents of Fengdong Town.However, there was still no one in sight, and a dead dog appeared on the side of the road. I don't know whether it was starved to death or died of illness. In short, it was a dead dog that was left unattended. "Why is there no one!" Ai Nan said, "We have to go into the house and look for it." There is a house on the slope on the left, which seems to be waiting for someone to ask questions.When they walked to the house, Liu Sheng pushed the door open and called out, "My fellow..." No one answered.They opened the door and walked in. There was a hall in front of them. Incense was still burning on the altar against the wall, which was a manifestation of the piety of the mountain people all their lives. "Someone lives here." Liu Sheng judged, and at the same time raised his voice and called to the side room, "Is there anyone?" There was still no answer, and Liu Sheng's cry echoed slightly in the main room. Ai Nan pushed open the door of the side room curiously, looked up, and there was an antique big bed in the semi-dark room, and there was a person sleeping on the bed, who hadn't woken up yet. "My fellow!" Ai Nan yelled as she walked to the bed.Suddenly, Ai Nan let out a hoarse scream, and Liu Sheng, who was walking behind, hugged her who was about to fall to the ground. There was a person lying straight on the bed, covered with a big red quilt.What was exposed outside the quilt was the face of a withered old woman. "Dead man!" Ai Nan yelled.She felt dizzy, and a strange smell filled her nostrils again. After noon, the July sun shone hotly on Fengdong Town.Walking out of the west end of the town, a large group of houses with blue bricks and red tiles appeared on the hillside.This is the staff sanatorium left over from Box 903 here.Half a mile away from the nursing home is a cemetery, and the grass is knee-deep now. You have to get closer to see some tombstones that are weathering and peeling off, as well as large and small graves. Liu Sheng had already dug a deep hole here, and he stood in the hole, throwing soil on it with a shovel.Ai Nan squatted by the pit, guarding the urn wrapped in red cloth beside her. For digging the pit, Liu Shengyuan planned to ask Hu Er Er to help him, but he went to the east of the town to look for him in the morning, but not only failed to find him, but also entered the house of the dead old woman by mistake.On the way, I heard from Boss Hu that there was an old woman in her eighties in Fengdong Town who had died at home for three years without decomposing. Unexpectedly, when they arrived in Fengdong Town, they broke into her bed. According to the mountain people who found it later, the lonely old woman's surname was Ding. Three years ago, people found that she hadn't left the house for a month. When they went to visit, they found that she had died on the bed.She was covered with a bright red quilt, her thinning hair was unruly, and her wrinkled face had sunken cheeks like a skull.It was a hot day at that time, but the corpse had no smell at all. People were confused, surprised, and then awed. No one dared to touch the corpse, let alone think about burying her.As winter and summer went back and forth, the corpse never rotted. The mountain people with a radius of hundreds of miles knew this miracle, and many people came to offer incense and pray for blessings.No wonder Hu Boss, a hundred miles away, wanted his brother to take some old lady Ding's hair and asked Liu Sheng to bring it to him when he returned to treat his demented son. However, Hu Laoer went into the mountain.The mountain folk at the east end of the town said that he took an iron spear into the mountain to look for the black bear that killed his wife. He did this every day for several years, but this time, Hu Laoer might not come back because Hu Laoer People who go into the mountain always come back every night, but this time they have been in the mountain for three days and haven’t returned home. People think it’s bad luck. There are more than a dozen families in the east of the town, all of them are old people and children. The young people have gone out to survive. Ai Nan asked them if there was a little girl named Maizi who was lost here. People shook their heads, saying that the children here are like dogs. It also revolves around adults, and no children are lost.Seeing the confusion on Ai Nan's face, Liu Sheng comforted her and said that the children in the mountains all look similar, and the people in Wushanping said that they had seen wheat in Fengdong Town, so they must have been delusional, or it was simply a letter. talking nonsense.Ai Nan objected, Maizi is very good-looking and special, how could he be misunderstood? In any case, Wind Town is not a place to stay for a long time.Liu Shengwen borrowed a shovel from someone at the east end of the town, and went to the cemetery at mailbox 903 to dig a hole.He had to bury his father's ashes as soon as possible for the return trip.The off-road vehicle was parked outside the small restaurant in the town. Liu Sheng carried the shovel and went to the car with Ai Nan to get the urn. When he met Boss Wan, he had to tell the purpose of the trip.Liu Sheng said that a tombstone is still needed, and he wonders if there are any masons in this town.Boss Wan shook his head, saying that he was looking for a stonemason to make a tombstone, and there was such a craftsman in a valley thirty miles away from here.Liu Sheng finally negotiated with Boss Wan, and the second fool would run the road on his behalf. The price of the tombstone plus the road fee is 500 yuan in total.Liu Sheng had no choice but to agree, and wrote the words on the tombstone to Er Leng, who asked Er Leng to leave quickly.Boss Wan figured it out and said that it would take three days to carve the inscription plus the round trip. Just three days, let’s go back as soon as the tombstone is erected.Liu Sheng thought while digging, his father was really too stubborn, he made a will before he died that he must be buried here, so the son had to obey.But it's understandable if you think about it. Dad participated in the third-line construction at the age of 31 and stayed here for 30 years. In a sense, he can be regarded as returning to his hometown. When the urn was put into the pit and the first handful of soil was sprinkled, Liu Sheng's eyes were wet, his lips were trembling, and he must be saying something in his heart.Ai Nan also remembered his father's appearance before he was alive, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, even though he was old, he could still see the vigor of his youth, and Liu Sheng looked just like his father.She also remembered how she and Liu Sheng got married.Ai Nan couldn't help crying. She let the soil in her hands fall like drizzle to express her daughter-in-law's heart. After the mound was built, the sun penetrated into a large cloud layer, and the wind blew in, making the grass near and far appear psychedelic.The incense, wax and money are all in the car. Let's pay homage after the tombstone is erected.Liu Sheng looked away from the graveyard, looking at the large house with blue bricks and red tiles in the distance. It was a nursing home. His father said that when he worked here, he would live there every two or three years. for a while. "We have to wait for three more days. Why don't we go to a nursing home? They are empty houses anyway, much better than those rat-running houses in the town." Liu Sheng pointed to the houses in the distance and said to Ai Nan. Ai Nan agreed, and Liu Sheng asked Ai Nan to go and have a look and wait for him there.He went to the east end of the town and returned the shovel before rushing back. The walls and gates of the nursing home are dilapidated, but the house is intact.Ai Nan walked in, and the inside was a quadrangle courtyard. There were several tall plantain clumps growing in the courtyard. The leaves were wide and thick, higher than the eaves.There are passages on the front and side of the courtyard. Ai Nan walked through the front shortcut, and there was another courtyard in front of him.Ai Nan chose the side shortcut this time, and it was still a courtyard house with the same layout and the same plantain. This maze-like architectural style made Ai Nan panic, and she wanted to leave quickly.However, after going through several passages one after another, she couldn't find the exit to the same courtyard. The courtyard was silent, and the sun, which had entered the clouds just now, came out again, and the slanting light hit it, so that half of the courtyard was covered with sunlight and half with the shadow of the house.Ai Nan stood on the porch and didn't dare to dress indiscriminately, she was afraid that the more she walked, the more she would get lost. At this time, a door behind her rang.Ai Nan turned around in panic, and saw a double door was being blown half open by the wind.She approached and looked into the room through the crack of the door. The layout inside was exactly like a hospital operating room, and there was an operating bed in the center of the room. Ai Nan had experienced this scene more than three years ago.This is an operating room unmistakable.Ai Nan took two steps back and stood in the yard. Isn't this a nursing home?Oh, by the way, it's no surprise that nursing homes always have hospitals attached to them. Although she found an explanation for the operating room, Ai Nan was still afraid.She quickly ran into another yard from the shortcut, but before she could stand still, a cough sounded from nowhere. "Who? Who's there?" Ai Nan shouted instinctively. There was a knock at the door, and a capable old man appeared at the door of the opposite room.Isn't this Professor Xu?When I first arrived in Fengdong Town last night, I met him in a small restaurant. "Professor, is it you?" Ai Nan was still in shock. Professor Xu was also a little surprised: "Why, you also live here?" Ai Nan said that she was planning to live here, but there were too many rats in the houses in the town.Professor Xu said it was good to live here, and asked Ai Nan to come into his room to have a look. This is a typical nursing home room, with a bed, a wardrobe, and a bathroom, but there is no water coming out of the shower nozzle. The professor said it was useless, but there is a better bathing place here, a hot spring under the cliff behind the nursing home, Great, no wonder the sanitarium was built here. Ai Nan felt at ease, with someone like a professor as a neighbor, it would not be too uncomfortable to live here for 3 days. "Where's the photographer?" Ai Nan thought of the bearded man drinking with the professor. "Early this morning, he drove away in his broken jeep. After leaving the mountain, he first went to Chengdu, returned the borrowed car, and then flew back to his hometown of Beijing." Professor Xu said appreciatively, "Those who are engaged in photography Yes, it's really worth the price to create. Oh, have you found a suitable room?" Ai Nan shook her head: "I just came in, every yard is exactly the same, I'm already dizzy." "Then let's live in the room where Lan Mo lived." The professor said, "Oh, Lan Mo is the photographer. His name is quite bookish, isn't it?" The room where the photographer lived was next to the professor. Ai Nan walked over to have a look, and the room where the photographer had just lived was reassuring. "Oh, I have to go out and pick up Liu Sheng." Ai Nan suddenly thought that Liu Sheng would not be able to find it here. "But, I don't know how to get out?" Professor Xu told her that after entering each courtyard, choose the east passage, and you can go all the way outside. "Here, the main thing is to choose the direction, otherwise everyone will get lost." The professor said with a little pride. This method is really effective, Ai Nan walked out of the nursing home after walking through several courtyards.She stood outside the door and looked around for a while, but there was no one on the hillside. Why hasn't Liu Sheng rushed over yet? Suddenly, she heard a cry in the courtyard.Listening carefully, it was Liu Sheng calling her name inside, but the cry was very frightened, as if a monster had strangled his throat. How many courtyard houses this labyrinth-like sanatorium is composed of, Professor Xu said that he would be able to tell just by climbing up the nearby hill.He said that from a height, the nursing home looks like a big chessboard with 32 square grids.When Box 903 was booming a few years ago, the complex had three functions: a nursing home, a hospital and a guest house.Why build a quadrangle structure full of bungalows instead of buildings? Professor Xu said that maybe it was because of the fear of the strong wind in history. Although there has not been such a strong wind that pulled trees and pushed houses in the past 120 years, but in this place On the site of Fengdong Town, who dares to say that the wind will never come again? Box 903 was completely removed, but within a decade or so, the walls and gates of the nursing home collapsed.This is all caused by some soft winds.Professor Xu emphasized that the wind here can make all the grass and branches point in the same direction overnight. Before the next gust of wind comes, these grasses and forests that have been immobilized will never fall in another direction. "Also, most of the doors and windows of these courtyard houses were damaged." Professor Xu said to Ai Nan and Liu Sheng who were sitting in his room, "But you found none, only the doors and windows facing the east remained intact, which means that only this direction is not damaged. When the wind blows, the other three directions are in the wind in turn, and the doors and windows are smashed." "So, the poisonous snake also sneaked in..." Liu Sheng said with lingering fear.Just now, when he came here to look for Ai Nan, he also lost his way in the courtyard complex.He accidentally walked into a room, and suddenly saw a red and gray poisonous snake sliding in from the window sill.His back suddenly felt cold, he jumped out of the room like an electric shock, stood in the yard, and shouted Ai Nan's name. "There are indeed quite a few snakes here." Professor Xu said calmly, as if he wasn't afraid at all. "However, it's much better than living in an empty house in the town, where the rats are so rampant that people can't sleep at all. As for the snake, as long as you don't provoke it, it generally won't attack people. Besides, Boss Wan also gave me something." Professor Xu took out a bottle of realgar wine, and he said that as long as he sprinkled some of this wine on the front and back of his house, the snake would avoid it far away. Both Liu Sheng and Ai Nan breathed a sigh of relief. With this magic weapon, they would not have any worries if they stayed here for two or three days. They just waited for the second idiot to bring the tombstone back and put it on the grave, and then they could return smoothly.Besides, with Professor Xu as his companion, living here seems very popular. Professor Xu has been living here for more than ten days, but the boss said that he came here for archaeology. After hearing this, Professor Xu laughed. He said that he taught Chinese and knew nothing about archaeology. He just came here to find some fossils. Professor Xu is sixty-two years old, and there are some silver strands in his hair.He took out two thin flakes of stone and showed them to Ai Nan and Liu Sheng.There is a small fish in the first piece of stone, and a bee in the second piece of stone. They are both vivid, as if they accidentally fell into the stone and were sealed up.The professor said that it was given to him by one of his students many years ago. The student's father used to be an employee of mailbox 903. It was his father who discovered these two ancient fossils in the mountains near Fengdong Town.Professor Xu has always wanted to come here to have a look, and finally made the trip until he was free now. "Don't underestimate these fossils." Professor Xu said, flicking the stone flakes with his fingers, "they have existed for hundreds of millions of years, which is earlier than the age of dinosaurs. What caused the earth to turn upside down at that time is already human beings. The unreachable secret." Ai Nan and Liu Sheng were amazed by the two fossils. Professor Xu quickly put the fossils back into a delicate wooden box with desiccant in it. It can be seen that he does not show this treasure lightly. Yes, regarding the value of fossils, Professor Xu said that they are priceless treasures. If they fall into the hands of ordinary people, there should be no problem in exchanging a fossil for the most luxurious car in the world today. "Really?" Liu Sheng exclaimed. "It should be like this," Professor Xu said, "I also heard people say it. No one can estimate how much such ancient fossils are worth." "Did you find any new fossils this time?" Ai Nan asked curiously. Professor Xu shook his head.However, he said that he would continue to look for it. Liu Sheng expressed his willingness to accompany the professor to the mountains for two or three days. The professor readily agreed, saying that he was worried about not having a companion. Changes in people's destiny often come from accidents, especially when you break away from your routine life. This kind of accident is destined to appear like a shooting star in the night sky, catching you off guard. Originally, on the evening of the second day in Fengdong Town, Ai Nan and Liu Sheng could relax and just wait for the return trip.The ashes of Liu Sheng's father have been buried. Three days later, people can leave as soon as the tombstone is placed on the grave.Hu Lao Er, who was not found, also appeared on his own initiative. After hesitation, he also agreed to go to the room of the dead but not rotten old woman, and take some hairs for Liu Sheng to bring to his elder brother who lives in the canyon. Hu Laoer came into the town at dusk.This sturdy middle-aged man has dark skin, wears a cloth jacket and trousers, and carries a long iron spear on his shoulder, with several hares hanging from the spear tip. This image is very similar to a certain hunter in "Water Margin" . When Mr. Hu appeared on Qingshiban Road, Boss Wan saw him first, and immediately told Liu Sheng, who was drinking with Professor Xu, that the Mr. Hu you were looking for came back to town.The bear hadn't eaten the man who hadn't returned after three days and three nights. Liu Sheng hurried out to greet him, and told him what his elder brother asked him to do. Liu Sheng saw fear flashing in his eyes. Pass. When Liu Sheng returned to the small restaurant, he told Ai Nan that he agreed.Professor Xu put down his glass and looked at Liu Sheng, curious that he knew people in this town. “我听说过这个胡老二，”徐教授说，“为猎杀一头黑熊已追踪三年了。我想他对山里的路径一定很熟悉，如果能请他带路，我们去找化石时一定方便得多。” 这是个好主意，刘盛表示等今晚胡老二送东西来时，和他谈一谈这个想法，并且，带路费都不用给，总之他也同时在寻黑熊，从某种意义上说，大家只是同路而已。刘盛只有等墓碑的三天时间，但愿这三天能有奇迹发生。化石，上亿年的鱼和蜜蜂，刘盛觉得能得到这种罕见之物是父亲的保佑，因为是父亲的灵指引他来到这个叫风动镇的地方。 刘盛和徐教授碰杯喝酒，两人的眼睛都有些发亮，坐在同桌的艾楠对此事有点似懂非懂，心里想着的是胡老二晚上就会送来那个死老太婆的头发，她觉得一切荒唐透顶，自从驾车进入这云遮雾障的山中，遇见的事一件比一件难于解释。小饭馆外面的光线暗了下来，她想起了那个叫麦子的小女孩，真的，她不像是山里的孩子，她的小嘴唇叫出的“妈妈”的声音传到了昨夜的月光下…… 这时，一辆旧吉普车驶进小镇，在小饭馆门外停下。今早就已离开这里的摄影家蓝墨又返回来了，这个络腮胡的男人带回一个令人震惊的消息，山体滑坡了！出山的公路被阻断了。 “那我们怎么回去呀？”艾楠紧张地站了起来，声音有点发颤。 “出不去了。”只有万老板不惊不诧，“山体滑坡在这里是家常便饭，没关系，你们在这里顶多住上一个月，公路局会把道路打通的。” “一个月？怎么行？”艾楠和刘盛几乎同时吼了起来。 万老板说这里又不是交通要道，能有人来疏通就不错了，摄影家表示他无所谓，在这里多留些日子，也许还能拍到一些好照片呢。 时间表的改变往往是命运的暗中安排。艾楠、刘盛和徐教授、摄影家一行四人出了小饭馆向镇西头走去时，天已完全黑了，街道两旁的空房子里传出老鼠的“吱吱”声。这是一座空城，老鼠在上百间黑暗的房子里吃什么呢？艾楠纳闷地想真的是啃柱子和房梁吗？整个镇中心只有万老板的小饭馆有人烟，难怪万老板养了三只大猫来镇守城池。 三只猫，有一只黑色的连万老板也觉得有点可怕，夜里它从阁楼上溜下来，暗黑中只有两只绿莹莹的眼睛。如果这黑猫爬上屋顶叫个不停，风动镇准会出事，三年前，胡老二的老婆被黑熊咬死，那猫就在屋顶上叫了很久，而胡老二是第二天才得知这个噩耗的。另外两只猫要温顺得多，万老板分别叫它们大黄和小黄，尤其是大黄，年龄大了，经常躺在碗柜边眯着眼，一动不动中保留着一点虎的懒散和威严。 来风动镇的外来客一年比一年少，万老板觉得这个镇很快要风化掉了。这个夏天，至今为止就只有四个人来到：一个找古化石的教授，一个摄影家，一对来此葬亲人骨灰的夫妇。万老板在小饭馆门外目送着他们向镇西头的疗养院走去，突然觉得正在开始的夜格外冷清，也许，是二愣子不在身边的原因，蕨妹子和那一群汉子两天没来这里吃饭了，也许是又外出了没赶回来吧。 万老板开这个饭馆纯粹为了消除寂寞。白天还好办，有采药人三三两两的来交货，晚上就只有独守空镇了，万老板的老婆在成都市场上有一个药摊，每月她派人来这里收一次货，顺车带一些食品和日用品来，万老板和二愣子用一些，也卖一些给方圆一带山民和过客，每年冬天大雪封山之前，万老板便赶回成都去，次年开春后再进山来，这种日子，倒也逍遥。重要的是，万老板觉得找到百年人参的日子正一步步逼近。 小镇的街道上已填满朦胧夜色，走出饭馆的四个人早已看不见了，万老板站在阶沿上伸了一个懒腰，正要进门时突然听见了房顶上的猫叫。 “咪噢———”，那只黑猫不知何时已爬上房顶，它的不祥的叫声让万老板打了一个寒噤。 当天夜里10点过，艾楠和刘盛住的房间外面，传来有人敲窗户的声音。 在这之前，艾楠的心情曾放松过好一阵子。虽说回到这座迷宫式的疗养院，穿过一个又一个空荡的四合院时有点紧张，但毕竟是四个人一起来，大家下意识地高声说着话，也不觉得害怕了，尤其是刘盛从车上带下来的那支手电筒，将连接四合院的通道照得雪亮，大家明确无误地很快就到了教授和摄影家住的那个院子。 摄影家首先开了屋里的灯，大家进到了屋里。这深山里能有电照明，还是托903信箱的福，这工厂当初迁来时，高压线也随之架进山里来了。 艾楠的心情好转是从看照片开始的。当时，刘盛和徐教授聊着明天上山去找古化石的事，摄影家见艾楠无聊，便拿出数码相机让她看存录在里面的照片。 “摄影不是简单的记录，而是发现。”摄影家说话时络腮胡随之动荡，颇有艺术家的感觉。“镜头可以发现世界的多样性，生命的复杂性，说到底，是发现我们自己内心的渴望。” 他说这些话时艾楠并没在意，她正在数码相机的显示屏上一张一张地欣赏他的作品。有山中的怪石，老树桩上抽出的嫩芽。从各个角度拍摄的风动镇景观，接着，照片上出现了人物，是一个正在跳舞的年轻女子，她穿着黑色的露背式长裙，二十多岁的样子，头发盘在头顶，一双大眼睛让艾楠有似曾相识的感觉。 摄影家指着这张照片说：“看不出来吧，她可是风动镇土生土长的姑娘，人称蕨妹子。” “可她一点儿也不像山妹子的样子？”艾楠疑惑地说。 摄影家说这是她跳舞时的装扮，如果你在镇上遇见她，见到的保准是一个地道的山里姑娘。蕨妹子是个孤儿，16岁那年被一个马戏团带走，两年后她和马戏团里一个叫黑娃的汉子一起跑回了风动镇。这对小情人像这里的所有人一样学种玉米和养几只羊为生，后来发现山那边的铁路上，能很轻松地从货车上掀下一些物品来卖，于是，他们便团聚了山里的七八个汉子一起干起了扒车的营生。 “这不是盗窃吗？”艾楠惊讶不已。 摄影家说在这穷山僻壤，不要说盗窃，就是抢劫也曾是部分人的生活方式之一，古书上就不是有“留下买路钱”的故事吗？我拍下她的照片，其意义是复杂的。你看，她穿的裙子就是从火车上掀下的货物之一，另外还有冰箱、电视、胸罩、牙膏等等。天很黑，爬上车的人也看不清楚，往往是掀下几箱货物了事。蕨妹子和那群汉子也住在疗养院里，在最南边的那个四合院。这两天没看见人，估计又是到山那边的铁道上去了。他们每次回来，都是兴高采烈的，一到晚上就喝酒、唱歌、跳舞、蕨妹子在马戏团学过舞蹈，她的舞蹈感觉特好，摄影家说他给她拍照时，自己并没有喝酒却感觉有点醉了。 摄影家的讲述连刘盛也听得入迷，徐教授已回到他的房间休息去了，摄影家一边收起相机一边说：“等蕨妹子回来，我让你们认识一下。” “他们不会抢我们的东西吧？我的那辆越野车可是新买不久的。”刘盛担心地问。 摄影家拍着胸口说不会，他们对人很友善的，不会抢人害人。艾楠说蕨妹子其实可以走正道的，到城里去参加演出团体不好吗？摄影家说她不可能那样，当初她是被人贩子骗去马戏团的，在那里像奴隶一样过了两年，她之所以逃跑回风动镇来，就是要自由自在地活。 当初，徐教授建议艾楠和刘盛就住宿在摄影家房间的，由于摄影家已经返回，他们只好另寻房间了，不巧的是这个院子里另外的房间里都没有床，最后只好在相邻的四合院里找到一个有床的房间，刘盛从徐教授那里要来了雄黄酒，在门前屋后都洒上一些，防止有蛇溜进来。院子里照例有矮树丛和两株高大的芭蕉，如果不是空旷得让人害怕，其实是很幽美的。 摄影家陪着他们收拾好房间才告别，临走时说有事叫一声，两个院子就一条通道连着，高声叫一下大家都能听到。 艾楠躺在床上，感到一阵其名的轻松。本来，出山的路被滑坡堵住了，曾让她焦急得发疯，为什么现在反而轻松了呢？也许，由于不可抗拒的原因，她突然为轻松一下自己找到了理由。几年来，她确实太累了，每天脑子里装满的全是保险公司的客户、客户，还有几十个业务员让她管理着，她买了跃层式住宅，可是她除了自己的卧室，对其余的房间一直都有陌生感，客厅里永远有女佣魏妈在那里看电视，她没时间在任何地方停留，除了睡觉，她永远处于工作状态中。刘盛抱怨说，她已将家当作匆匆来去的旅馆了。可是只能这样，身居上海其实不只是上海，在今天不这样干行吗？现在好了，山体滑坡出不去了，慢慢等着公路疏通吧。她就不应该轻松一阵子吗？ 房间里已关了灯，她感觉到刘盛侧过身来，正在寻找她的嘴唇。她主动配合了一下，他们吻住了。很久以来，艾楠少有这种心情。她有些歉意地伸手抱住了刘盛，她感觉到他有些意外激动。 这时，黑暗中传来有人敲窗户的声音。 “谁？”刘盛坐起身紧张地问道。 “是我。摄影家说你们住这里，我送东西来了。”一个粗重的男人的声音，是胡老二。 刘盛开了灯，穿上衣服后走出门去。他再进屋时，手上拿着一个火柴盒。 “那东西送来了？”艾楠紧张地明知故问，她不敢说出“头发”这个词，因为这个词让她恐惧，她要避免那个死老太婆的脸浮现出来。 “送来了。”刘盛的回答也避开了那个可怕的名词。他将火柴盒放在床头柜上。 “不行，放远点！”艾楠吼道。 刘盛将火柴盒移到靠窗的小桌上。 “最好不要放在这间屋里。”艾楠请求道。 刘盛想了想，将火柴盒放进了卫生间里，并且将卫生间的门关上。 他们关了灯继续睡觉，艾楠的思维却老想着那火柴盒里的头发，一小团已经失去光泽的灰白头发，它是从一个死而不腐的老太婆头上取来的。 刘盛在暗黑中抱住了艾楠，她推开了他。“你做的事让我心烦。”她说，“一点头脑也没有。” “帮别人一点忙嘛，也没什么。”刘盛辩解道。 艾楠坐了起来：“帮忙？你还不是就想省去50元推车费，才答应帮那个胡老大带这鬼东西的，这个东西有什么用？这能治好他儿子的痴呆症？真是鬼迷心窍！” “省钱有什么不好？”刘盛也有些恼怒了，“咱们又不是拥有千万亿万的大老板，就挣这么点钱，不省行吗？” “那你买车干什么？”艾楠反驳道，“几十万呀，省下来不好吗？” “你早有车了，我不该有一辆吗？”刘盛真的发火了，“挣了钱，不买车买房干啥？对，你挣得多一些，我发誓，我会赶上你的。” “嘘，不要和我吵架。”艾楠是个爱面子的人，她担心旁边院子里的教授和摄影家听到吵闹声。 “谁和你吵了？”刘盛嘟哝着转过身睡去。 艾楠也闭上眼睛，但老是睡不着。也不知过了多久，卫生间里传来难以名状的声音，像一双布鞋在水泥地上走动。 艾楠的身上出了冷汗，她推醒刘盛，凑着他耳朵告诉他卫生间里有奇怪的声音。 刘盛屏息听了听，然后开了灯，大声地咳了两声嗽，然后向卫生间走去。 他推开卫生间的门，一个可怕的形象出现在眼前———墙角站着一个人！确切地说，是一个没有躯干只有头颅的人，披头散发，看不见面孔！ 刘盛发出惨烈地大叫，这叫声让坐在床上的艾楠差点昏死过去，她想跳下床逃跑，可身子僵硬得动不了，只有嘴里发出了一声“救命”的呼喊。 离疗养院不远的地方有一处温泉，泉水是从崖壁的裂缝里弯弯曲曲流下来的。泉眼在哪里没人知道。也许是源远流长，温泉在崖壁下积成一方水塘时已几乎没有多少热气。但这样更让人舒适，泡在齐腰深的水塘里，头上是覆盖着崖壁的灌木，将塘里的水也映得绿汪汪的。 此时是早晨9点过，太阳已经出来，但山谷里的雾气还没完全散去，摄影家光着身子泡在水塘里，他喜欢在早晨沐浴，他认为人睡了一夜后身体中积满了浊气，需要用水冲去后才能重获清新。尤其是在这样的山谷之中，他躺在水边闭上眼时有天堂依稀可辨的感觉。 在这里已经呆了半个多月了，摄影家本来是准备昨天出山的。可是山体滑坡将公路堵住了，他留了下来，却意外地发现了一个差点漏拍的题材，这就是镇东头死去三年而不腐的老太婆。他早知道这件事，可怎么就没想到拍摄下来？可见创作是有盲区的，要不是昨天半夜刘盛和艾楠房间里发生的可怕事件，他仍然不会想到拍摄这具神秘遗体的。 摄影家从水里出来，一丝不挂地坐在冒出水边的光滑石头上。他是中国最逍遥的人了，虽已年届不惑，但无家无室，常年辗转于他想去的任何地方。先是长江源头、黄河源头等，后来发现凡是被镜头反复扫描过的地方不是他的艺术归宿。他脱离了一般摄影者的路径而独闯世界，他游走于深山僻地，坍塌了的寺庙、与世隔绝的人家等成了他镜头捕捉的对象。在黄土高原，他让一个牧羊女作模特，背靠粗糙的岩石拍下了一幅人体摄影作品，这幅作品犹如天籁，让艺术圈内及圈外的人都过目难忘，曾获得过全国摄影大奖。 摄影家浪迹天涯，身份证上的名字叫蓝墨，居住地为北京。他在京城拥有两套住房，是他先后辗转工作于两家国有单位分配给他的，后来住房改革时，出了一小点钱便买下了，五年前他辞了职，浪迹天涯的经费便靠这两套住房的租金。所以他现在回到北京，还只能住在父母家。他父亲是一个画家，对他丢掉画笔热衷于摄影一直耿耿于怀，父母对他的第二个不满便是他一直未婚，他父母认为一个人不传宗接代是人生最大的失职。但是他们不知道，摄影家自端起镜头的那天起，拍摄出经典作品的梦想就已经使他走上了一条不归路，金钱富贵成家养子在他眼中完全是别人的生活。Who is he?他是为艺术而生的蓝墨。他的作品留下来，将具有徐教授要找的化石那样的意义。 水塘附近传来有人一边走路一边撩拨树枝的声音。摄影家中断了遐思，站起身往通住水塘的小路望去，原来是同住在疗养院的艾楠正向这里走来。摄影家赶快蹲下身去穿上短裤，然后站在水中继续沐浴。 “喂，你好，你看见一个孩子从这里经过吗？”艾楠已经站在水塘边，对着摄影家神色慌张地问道。 “孩子？”摄影家感到莫名其妙，“这荒山野岭的，哪有什么孩子。” 艾楠说她刚才在房间里收拾东西，房门是开着的，她无意中抬头看见一个孩子在门外闪了一下，她略微迟疑后追出房门一看，孩子已跑掉了，院子里只两株芭蕉和半人高的草丛在风中动荡。她一口气跑出疗养院，抬头向远处的山坡张望，刚好看见一个孩子的背影钻进了矮树丛，她看得非常清楚，是一个小女孩，穿着红色的碎花连衣裙，这身影她非常熟悉，正是在路上搭车后又走失的麦子。这个小女孩的名字叫麦子，艾楠向摄影家解释说。 摄影家对艾楠所讲之事非常吃惊。但是，刚才这里肯定没有任何人走过。这水塘周围安静得树叶落地都能听见，一个孩子跑过不可能没有声音。但艾楠肯定地说麦子是跑向这里来的。 “也许，是你的眼睛看花了。”摄影家望着艾楠说，“昨天夜里的事吓得你昏了头吧。” 昨天夜里，艾楠一声“救命”的大叫，惊动了住在隔壁院里的摄影家和徐教授。二人跑过去一看，艾楠正在床上蒙着被子发抖，刘盛也脸色煞白地说不出话来，只是用手指着卫生间。摄影家和徐教授进了卫生间，开灯后看见里面什么也没有，只有墙角的一块砖头上放着一个火柴盒，旁边倒立着一个拖帕。二人等艾楠和刘盛平静下来，艾楠说发生了什么她并不知道，是刘盛面对卫生间的惨叫声使她吓得掉魂，因为她知道卫生间里放着死老太婆的几根头发。而刘盛说，他看见卫生间的墙角站着一个披头散发的人。摄影家和徐教授当即分析，那披头散发的“人”便是倒立在墙角的拖帕。摄影家说，黑暗会欺骗人的眼睛，我是搞摄影的，我知道什么叫错觉。虚惊一场，你们尽可以放心睡觉吧。 事情过去了，摄影家回到自己的房里时却想到，这死而不腐的老太婆让人们如此敬畏，甚至用她的头发都可以治人的痴呆，何不将她的尊容拍摄下来，定是少有的摄影作品。刚才，摄影家泡在水塘里时还想着这事，他知道拍摄死者是这一带山民的禁忌，那么，只有夜里去偷拍了，而他还不知道老太婆的住宅，也许得请艾楠带路才行，她说她无意中闯进过老太婆的房子。 现在，艾楠出现在水塘边，也许正可以谈谈这件事。 “绝对没有孩子跑过这里。”摄影家重复道，“你昨天夜里受了惊吓，今天头昏眼花是正常的。” “不，我不会看错。”艾楠一边喃喃自语，一边坐在石头上，将一双脚浸在了水里。她穿着一件很休闲的白色吊带裙，黑发束在脑后，像一个邻家女孩。她面容清秀，皮肤白皙，在摄影家的眼中也不过25岁左右的年龄。可是她说她今年30岁了，现在城里的女人，让人越来越难判断年龄。 摄影家继续给艾楠分析说，她看见的孩子很可能是幻觉。首先，镇东头农家的孩子就不会跑进疗养院去，因为大人们都警告过孩子，说是疗养院的空房子里有蛇。另外，她发觉门外有孩子闪过时对那孩子的衣服颜色没有印象，而她望见山坡上的孩子穿着红色碎花裙子，如果真是这样，那孩子在门外闪过时她就应该看见红色。 “你的分析也许有道理。”艾楠叹了口气说道，“屋里放着死人的头发，让人一夜也没睡好。 摄影家趁机接住这个话题，大谈死而不腐的老太婆给人们带来的敬畏感，接着便谈出了他的摄影计划。 “不！不行。”艾楠恐惧地说“我们当时是去村东头找胡老二，无意中闯进那座房子的，太可怕了，她躺在床上完全是一具骷髅，都被风干了。我不去，你实在要人陪，让刘盛带你去吧。” “刘盛不是进山找化石去了吗？”摄影家说。今天一大早，他就看见刘盛和徐教授出了疗养院，他们还带着帐篷，说是这次有胡老二带路，也许可以走得远一些，在山中住一夜也不在乎。 “你等着刘盛回来再说吧。”艾楠拒绝得很彻底，摄影家也不再坚持，女人总是胆小一些，让她夜里去那个恐怖的地方，实在勉强她了。 下午，摄影家独自去镇东头转了一圈，他没带相机，以防有人警觉到他的拍摄计划。他打听到了老太婆的房子，在一处山坡上，突兀地立着一座快要坍塌似的瓦屋，门窗紧闭，像闭着眼的死人。摄影家向那房子走去，刚到门口时便被从后面赶来的山民拦住了。他们说外来人不可以进屋的，老太婆已是他们供奉的神灵，外来人进去会冲犯了她。摄影家只好退回。 傍晚，刘盛和徐教授没有回来。摄影家和艾楠一起去万老板的小饭馆吃了晚饭，回到疗养院时，面对空荡荡的四合院，艾楠主动邀请摄影家去她的房间坐坐。 “我怕。”艾楠说，同时望了一眼降落在院子里的夜色。 摄影家说他下午顶着太阳去镇东头探访，出了一身汗，需要先去水塘洗洗才行。艾楠无奈地说，那我也去。她进房间取了游泳衣，和摄影家一道走出疗养院向山坡走去。 月亮已出来了，但还不太亮，山野里一片朦胧。突然，从水塘方向传来一阵阵水声。 “水塘里有人。”艾楠惊恐地说。 “不会吧。”摄影家也有些疑惑，“这地方鬼都没有一个，谁会在那里洗澡呢？” 二人钻进了水塘边的矮树丛，从树丛的缝隙中里见了一个正在沐浴的女人。她披散着头发，乳房尖挺，轻盈的身段在水花浇溅中像一个山中的精灵。