Chapter 6 Chapter 5: Ai Nan and the photographer are missing

Liu Sheng didn't realize it that night.He drank so much that he couldn't even remember how he got back to his room.Probably sister fern and stone helped him back to the room.It was almost noon when he woke up, and he realized that he was alone in the room.Trying to recall what happened last night, I vaguely remember that Ai Nan and the photographer were missing in the second half of the drinking, and when I returned to the room before dawn, I didn't see Ai Nan's shadow. The disappearance of Ai Nan and the photographer alarmed Meizi Fei and others in the south yard, and it was Professor Xu who hurried over to tell her.Professor Xu said that before the two came back that night, his heart was always up and down.Sister Fern was also a little nervous, so she asked Hei Wa to take his brothers to find them separately.

Liu Sheng stood on the hillside outside the nursing home for a while.Under the scorching sun, he half-closed his eyes and looked at the foot of the mountain and the bushes in the distance. Where did Ai Nan go?In any case, she has nowhere to go in this desolate valley, and Liu Sheng believes that she will come to meet him from the hillside in the next moment.However, it wasn't until he slipped into the shade under a tree, dazed by the sun, that a cool breeze made him realize that Ainan might have disappeared. Everything in the room was the same as before, Ai Nan's suitcase, toothbrush, and towels were placed in the same place, Liu Sheng felt as if he was pricked by a steel needle when he saw these things.What did Ai Nan and the photographer meet when they went out last night?Met a black bear on the hillside outside the nursing home?Or did they go up the hill and fall off the cliff in the dark?And this kind of conjecture is completely impossible. Then, in Fengdong Town, a place with little popularity, are there really ghosts haunting Ai Nan and the photographer who walked out of the house in the middle of the night?It was an absurd assumption, and what happened next brought it a step closer to that absurdity.

The incredible scene was discovered by Boss Wan.When he returned to the town before dawn, he heard his black cat meowing on the roof from a distance.Black cats meowing, ghosts haunting, this is a very ominous omen.Boss Wan was not afraid of being bold and bold after drinking. He walked to his room and yelled at the dark roof a few times.Boss Wan went into the room to sleep without thinking too much, and asked the second fool to press the door bar outside tightly before going to bed.After living in this deserted town for seven or eight years, Boss Wan felt uneasy for the first time. In the afternoon, I heard the news of the disappearance of Ai Nan and the photographer. Reminiscent of the meowing of the cat last night, Boss Wan stood on the stone road outside the door and looked around anxiously. He seemed to smell something in his nostrils. The ability to acquire medicinal materials.He walked up the deserted street, pushing open some rickety doors now and then to peek inside.In this way, he discovered a terrible sight.

When Liu Sheng was called by the fool to inspect the scene, Boss Wan squatted on the steps of the empty room in a daze.This is a restaurant that has been abandoned for many years, and a large iron pot that can hold one person has been stained with rust.There were two dusty wooden tables, and on one of them was an incense burner, with a few sticks of incense stuck in it, two-thirds of which had been burned.Boss Wan said that the incense was only burned last night, and he knew it when he took a sniff.The scary thing is that this is a kind of ecstasy incense. Boss Wan pulled out the extinguished incense and carefully identified it. Once this incense is inhaled into the lungs, people will become unconscious. .If a person is dying of illness, he will invite a sorcerer to "walk away from Yin".She ignites the ecstasy incense made of this special medicinal material, and then goes to the underworld for the patient in a coma. If the Lord of the Underworld has not removed the name of the patient, the sorceress will intercede with the Lord of the Underworld on behalf of the patient.After an hour, people pour cold water on the sorceress to wake her up, and she will tell the patient that everything is fine.

How could such a scene of "walking in the dark" appear in this abandoned empty house last night?No wonder the black cat keeps meowing, the cat is an elf, it knows everything.What was even more frightening was that a purple button was found beside the incense table, and Liu Sheng could tell it was from Ai Nan's clothes at a glance.She was wearing a purple short-sleeved shirt last night. Liu Sheng was very familiar with her shirt. It was bought at a famous women's clothing store in Shanghai before departure. Liu Sheng only felt a "buzz" in his head.How is this going?He grasped the thin old man's hand tightly and asked, Ai Nan, and the photographer, two big living people, they disappeared as soon as they disappeared.

Boss Wan has no idea.He said that I have stayed in this town for seven or eight years, and I have never encountered such a strange thing.He said that Ai Nan's face was not right when she heard the old woman's apparition last night. Could it be that after you asked for the old woman's hair, the old woman took Ai Nan away when she got angry.As for the photographer, he deserves to be unlucky, who told him to go with Ai Nan.The more Boss Wan talked, the more he felt that the dead old woman had done something. He brought three sticks of incense to Liu Sheng, and asked him to go to the old woman's house to offer incense and forgive his sins, otherwise Liu Sheng himself might die.

Liu Sheng suddenly regretted wanting the old woman's hair.He hated that guy named Boss Hu, who set this trap for Liu Sheng on the grounds that he lent his demented son for medical treatment.Maybe he and his only son with dementia had no good intentions when they came to push Liu Sheng's cart.That canyon looked eerie now, and his car getting stuck there was an ominous omen in itself.Now Liu Sheng felt that he should listen to Ai Nan and give the old man 50 yuan to push the cart.He saved money and promised to help him take his hair back, but at the mouth of the canyon, he met a ghost-like peasant woman and child to hitchhike.From that moment on, he and Ai Nan have actually fallen into the danger of yin and yang entanglement...

Liu Sheng went to the old woman's house to offer incense.At such a time, people can only believe in the existence of ungraspable things, but dare not believe in their absence.Boss Wan accompanied him up the hillside at the east end of the town. When he reached the old woman's door, Boss Wan stayed outside the door and refused to go in.He said that Liu Sheng's sincerity should not be disturbed, and no idlers should be present when offering incense.Liu Sheng had no choice but to push the door and enter alone. The smell of incense still lingered in the main room, and there were many bamboo sticks left by burnt incense sticks on the desk.Liu Sheng inserted the three sticks of incense respectfully, and took out the lighter to light the incense.The light in the room was very dark, and in the light of the lighter, Ai Nan's face suddenly flashed in front of Liu Sheng's eyes. He knew it was his hallucination, so he closed his eyes and collected himself.The smell of incense came into his nostrils, and a terrible thought suddenly hit him——would Ai Nan and the photographer be in the side room of the main room?The big bed appeared in front of his eyes, the dead old woman was lying on the bed covered with a red quilt, while Ai Nan and the photographer fell on the ground beside the bed, their terrified and stiff faces were horrible.

Liu Sheng didn't dare to think about it any further. He tried to open the door of the side room to take a look, but his legs were shaking before he could take a step.In the end, he still chose to go out.Boss Wan, who was standing outside the house, saw his face pale when he came out, so he quickly supported him and said that it would be good to offer incense. Liu Sheng's lips trembled and he didn't dare to express his thoughts. I saw the dark shadows of the sun floating on the hillside. After returning to the nursing home and lying down in the room, Liu Sheng seemed to be seriously ill.Professor Xu followed him to visit him, sat by the bed and said, "When Boss Wan leaves, let me tell you to lie down and rest at ease, and don't go out at night. Also, if you hear a voice calling your name, don't Yes. Everyone in the mountains knows that if there is a voice calling you in the middle of the night, it means that the messenger from the underworld has come to seduce your soul. If you say yes, you will lose your breath immediately." Professor Xu paused and said: "Of course We don’t believe these claims, but it’s always safer not to go out at night. Ai Nan and the photographer disappeared strangely. Sister Fern sent people to search all over the bushes at the foot of the mountain and found no clues. Alas, this matter also makes me confused .”

Dusk was approaching, and the first day after Ai Nan and the photographer disappeared.The mist from the peakless Tianji Mountain filled Fengdong Town, and the yard outside Liu Sheng's house gradually became dark, and the ferocious plantain tree turned from green to black. Liu Sheng cried. It was the first time in his thirty-eight years that he felt such fear and helplessness.He remembered that he had dreamed after he arrived in Fengdong Town, twice dreaming about Ai Nan's tragic death.At first I thought it was the impression left by witnessing a car accident on the road, but now that I think about it, why is there Ai Nan among those messy corpses?Is the dream modifying the reality a preview of the future or does the dreamer have this desire in his heart?No, no, he couldn't possibly want Ai Nan to die in his heart.Ai Nan is smart, beautiful, rational and capable. They fall in love and get married, and use their family as a fortress to meet the challenges of the society. They are the winners, which can be determined from the envious eyes of many people.In short, I swear to God, there is absolutely no other meaning in his dream of Ai Nan's death, it can only be an omen in the dark.

Liu Sheng sat up from the bed, and the dinner Boss Wan asked Erlian to bring to him was still on the table, and he had no appetite at all.Night was coming, there was no sound in the whole nursing home, and there was no sound in the whole Fengdong Town, Liu Sheng felt that his nerves would break at any time.He thought that he might die too, if the dead old woman took away Ai Nan's soul, she would not let him go.Because he was more involved than Ai Nan in the hair incident.Liu Sheng shuddered, he realized that his death would not exceed tonight.When the sun rose tomorrow, Professor Xu came to see him, and the room was empty.From then on, he and Ai Nan, the two distant visitors who entered Fengdong Town, disappeared and became another legend of Fengdong Town.Liu Sheng was so nervous that he almost screamed, and he pressed his knuckles to make a "beep". He used to think that he was not afraid of death.Especially in the hospital mortuary where he worked for two months when he was a part-time worker in his early years. Seeing the corpses pushed in softly from the ward, and then transported stiffly to the crematorium a few days later, he thought life was just like this. No one can escape this outcome. Since there is no way to escape, what are you afraid of?During that time, his heart was very hard, and there was a hint of sarcasm at the corner of his mouth towards the world, life, and himself. And now, when it was possible to die, he felt unbearably terrified.Worst of all, it was an unexplained death.If there is a hell, he will know why when he gets there, but he can't shout or defend. In the middle of the dark night, when Liu Sheng woke up, he heard a voice calling his name in horror.It was a woman's voice, very thin and floating.The voice was not outside the door, it came from somewhere deep in the nursing home. "Liu Sheng——" Cold sweat broke out on Liu Sheng's back immediately.That wasn't Ai Nan's voice, it was in the middle of the night, who called him?He dared not answer, for fear that a ghost would appear by his bedside if he answered.He wanted to turn on the light, but he didn't know if the light could block something like a ghost, in case it wasn't afraid of the light and didn't expose itself.He curled up on the dark bed at a loss, when he heard the voice sound again. "Liu Sheng——" His name was being called by a voice as thin as a gossamer, as if it came from a certain courtyard.This sanatorium, which has been abandoned for many years, has many courtyards. Who would run around in the courtyards in the middle of the night and call him? These desolate places where no one has been seen are now only snakes and weeds. Ai Nan and the photographer had been missing for almost 24 hours. Liu Sheng thought that he would lose sleep all night in the extreme panic, but he didn't expect that he could fall asleep unconsciously at this time. Liu Sheng felt incredible about his state. After dark he has been sitting on the bed smoking.He remembered the day when he first arrived in Fengdong Town, when he went to the east of the town to look for Hu Laoer, he accidentally entered the room of the dead old woman. At that time, Ai Nan was walking in front of him. is a dead man.Maybe this is the reason why Ai Nan was caught in an accident before him. There must be some smell that got into Ai Nan's nostrils at close range. Next, a figure with disheveled hair appeared in the bathroom of this house. Although it turned out to be a mop standing upside down in the corner, if there is a ghost, it can change into anything.And all of this is because he put the dead old woman's hair into this room. Liu Sheng jumped out of bed, rushed into the bathroom with hatred for Boss Hu and Lao Er, his hand stopped in mid-air when reaching for the matchbox in the corner, he should throw the box containing the hair Where are you going?The point is, can he throw it away now, will it offend the old woman even more? Liu Sheng didn't dare to act rashly.He exited the bathroom and bumped into something under his feet, which was the little red shoe he picked up from under the banana tree outside the door.Liu Sheng's face was pale, and he felt surrounded by all kinds of mysterious things.Out of the same concern, he did not dare to throw away the little red shoe.This elf would enter people's dreams to bite people, Liu Sheng suddenly understood that he and Ai Nan had already fallen into bad luck. More than three years ago, Liu Sheng had seen this kind of little red shoes at home, and they were sent by one of Ai Nan's girlfriends.At that time, Ai Nan was pregnant, and some enthusiastic friends sent various small gifts early.At that time, Liu Sheng curiously held the little red shoes in his hand and said that it was the first time he saw such small shoes.Ai Nan said that you will know when you become a father. You are only a little bit big at the beginning, and your feet are even smaller, like a piece of young ginger.Later, Ai Nan underwent labor induction, and the child was gone. Liu Sheng couldn't remember what to do with the pair of little red shoes. Liu Sheng remembered many things that night, and this unstoppable memory also terrified him.Because he read an article that said that people would recall all kinds of things with lightning speed before dying.Thinking of this, Liu Sheng forcibly withdrew his thoughts, turned off the lights and closed his eyes to sleep.He thought that if he fell asleep, he could avoid fear, and even if he didn't wake up again, it would save a lot of torture.Unexpectedly, he really fell asleep, as if there was hypnotin in the air. However, this night is destined not to allow him to escape.He woke up, and someone called his name in the darkness.The voice as thin as a gossamer floated in the depths of the night, he did not dare to answer, his heart tightened like a piece of iron, he was nervous and desperate, but there was no way to escape. Later, the voice calling his name disappeared, and Liu Sheng was about to move his already numb limbs, when suddenly, footsteps entered the yard where he was, and then, a woman's voice came in from outside the door, as if right in his ears. Like an explosion. "Liu Sheng, open the door quickly." It was the voice of Sister Fern.Liu Sheng breathed a sigh of relief dripping with cold sweat. He turned on the light and walked towards the door, feeling his whole body limp as if he had fallen apart. After entering the house, Sister Fern complained that the courtyard of the nursing home was too complicated, and even she almost lost her way.She wants Liu Sheng to stay with her overnight. There are many dangers and dangers here, so he must avoid it.She said that Boss Wan just mentioned it when he brought her supper food. Tonight is a dangerous period. If he can manage to stay until dawn, Liu Sheng can live longer after the sun comes out.Boss Wan said that two ghosts, one old and one young, are haunting you, which is very dangerous.It's a pity that he hasn't bought a century-old ginseng so far, otherwise, if he sniffs that century-old ginseng on your and Ai Nan's noses, all evil spirits will run away. After listening to Boss Wan's story, Feimeizi became anxious. She thought it was important to save people, so she ran to the courtyard to the north to find Liu Sheng. The fern girl is quite different from the dance last night. A pair of calico pants and a short-sleeved shirt have restored her to an authentic mountain girl.Before leaving, Liu Sheng glanced at his watch, it was only a quarter past 12:12, it seemed like a long night had passed. "Is there a need to escape like this? Ghost, hmph, I don't believe in these things." Liu Sheng was very grateful to Sister Fern in his heart, but he refused to admit defeat in his mouth. He, a tall man, couldn't appear too timid. "Let's go." Fern girl pushed him, "Go to my place and drink. Wine can drive away evil spirits and keep you safe." Liu Sheng followed Fern Girl out of the labyrinth of courtyards, into a forest on a hillside, and came to the courtyard to the south.It was the same big house where I drank last night. The lights were on, and there were wine and food on the table, but there was no one there.Fern sister said that Heiwa took a brother over the mountain to the county seat, and they needed to contact new buyers for the goods they lifted off the train.The brothers at home had already drank and gone to bed, so it was fine, quiet, and she came to accompany Liu Sheng for a drink or two. The bright sorghum wine was poured into the big bowl, and the fern girl held up the bowl and handed it to Liu Sheng and said, "Brother Liu, I will respect you first." rule. guest?Liu Sheng wondered why he became a guest in this den of thieves.Raising her head, Sister Fern was looking at him with a smile in her eyes.The principles of right and wrong in this mountain are different from those in the city; he felt it last night.However, while drinking, he still asked, if you pick up goods from the train, you won't be afraid of being caught and going to jail. Fern girl laughed, her voice was crisp.After all, she is a 23-year-old woman, not like the rumored heroine or robber.Fern sister said, collect some road money, this mountain has been like this since ancient times.I heard from the older generation that people in the mountains never take lives when they rob. Not only do they not hurt people, but they also return some of the property to the robbed as travel expenses.Everyone is looking for a way to survive, and no one will do everything. However, chopping a train is always bad.Liu Sheng didn't dare to say this, he was afraid that it would be to his own benefit to offend Sister Fern.Seeing Liu Sheng's dull look, Sister Fern thought he was still afraid of ghosts, so she said that he would not be punished for taking the old woman's hair.Fern sister said that the dead old lady Ding was a good person, so she died without corruption. "You think, who would dare to give birth to an illegitimate child, but old lady Ding did this." Fern girl took a sip of wine and said, "My mother fled into Tianji Mountain after she was pregnant with me. You can't escape, here we are, If you conceive a child in private, you will be stoned to death. My life is cheap, but I still thank my mother for not taking medicine to have an abortion, otherwise there would be no sister fern." Liu Sheng let out a "Garden" in his heart, as if the words of Fei Meizi had some meaning.Sure enough, Sister Fern went on to say with deep sympathy: "I heard from Ai Nan that if your child is still alive, he would be over 3 years old. How did this child die? What a pity." "Oh, oh", Liu Sheng was at a loss, "We never had any children, she was pregnant once, and she had a miscarriage." Liu Sheng made some revisions to the facts, that's all he could say. Sister Fern sighed to express her regret.She said that Ai Nan was so pitiful, if she could not be found this time, she would disappear without leaving any descendants. "However, the relationship between the two of you doesn't seem to be very good?" Sister Fern asked suddenly. Liu Sheng was startled, and hastily denied it.Why does this fern girl look at them like this?Liu Sheng even felt a little angry. "We love each other very much." Liu Sheng said from the bottom of his heart. "However, when I was drinking last night, I said why Ai Nan hasn't come back after leaving the wine table for a long time. You said let her die." Sister Fern said doubtfully. "Did I say such a thing?" Liu Sheng had no memory at all, and he felt that it was impossible for him to say this. Sister Fern said that he must have said it, but she made a siege for him, saying that it's okay to say an angry word between husband and wife.It's just that she found that Liu Sheng and Ai Nan were unhappy.When drinking last night, Professor Xu quietly told her that it was because the little girl named Maizi disturbed them. Sister Fern said that she was familiar with the whole area of ​​Fengdong Town, and she had never heard of a child named this. name. "I think Ai Nan's disappearance may be related to this child." Fern girl looked at Liu Sheng and said, I really want to help you.Don't worry, I don't intend to pull you into the gang.The road is broken, it's very uncomfortable to be stuck here, when I saw you drunk last night, I wanted to do something for you, but I didn't expect that Ai Nan lost it after that, and I will let my brothers look for it tomorrow. " Liu Sheng took a sip of his wine, looked at the girl fern gratefully and said, "Can you find Ai Nan?" Fern girl looked at the night outside the door and stopped talking.Liu Sheng suddenly thought for no reason, is it as quiet as this dark night when a person dies? Three days passed, and there was no news of the missing Ai Nan and the photographer.Liu Sheng didn't dare to go back to his room to sleep, so he drank with Fei Meizi every night, and slept on the floor of the big house after midnight.The middle-aged boy named Shi Shi brought him a quilt and said that it was still very cold in the summer night in the mountains.Liu Sheng knew that it was arranged by Sister Fern, but he was still very grateful to this loyal little brother.During the day, when Liu Sheng and Fei Meizi took a group of people to find Ai Nan and the photographer, the little brother ran faster than a dog on the mountain road. In the past three days, the scope of the search has continued to expand, extending from Fengdong Town to the entire valley, and even climbed a section of the way to Tianji Mountain.Professor Xu also joined the search team, and Liu Sheng noticed that his expression was a little frightened and sad.Professor Xu said that he came to Fengdong Town just to search, but he didn't expect to find someone in the end, which is much more stressful than searching for ancient fossils.These are two lives. Professor Xu's voice was always trembling when he spoke. At dusk, the search team returned to Fengdong Town.Boss Wan was sitting on the edge of the steps, talking to the black cat squatting on the stone road.He said black cat black cat, you saw them disappear, you can point to me, which direction they went.After finishing speaking, he hissed, and the black cat ran to the east in surprise. When Boss Wan was about to judge that the person was in the east, the cat turned back and ran to the west, then flinched and ran up the eaves.Boss Wan shook his head helplessly.Sister Fern said, stop messing around, go get some delicious food and bring it over at night. When it was getting dark, Liu Sheng was sitting in the courtyard south of the nursing home, feeling dazed.Brother Yao put the erhu on his lap and played the desolate "Jiang He Shui".Hei Wa went to the county town to do business and has not come back yet, and sister fern said that it would take two days to go across the mountains and ridges only on one side.Among the vast and vast mountains, Ai Nan, have you found your home?Liu Sheng's eyes were wet again.He suddenly wanted to go back to the room where he and Ai Nan lived.For no reason, he felt that Ai Nan might have returned. Liu Sheng left this place, walked through a hillside, and entered the courtyard group on the north side of the nursing home. He returned to his room. Everything in the room remained the same, and there was no trace of Ai Nan's return.Jeans and T-shirts that Ai Nan washed before he disappeared were hanging on the line.Liu Sheng stretched out his hand to touch it, feeling a sharp pain in his heart.The little red shoe was still on the ground by the wall, as if exuding the peculiar malice of a dead child. It was getting dark, Liu Sheng didn't dare to stay for a long time, he had to go back to the courtyard in the south.There was wine and noisy people there, as if it was Liu Sheng's life-saving place. He walked towards the door, and when he opened the door, he suddenly saw a woman holding a baby standing in front of him, as if she had been standing outside the door waiting for him to open it. "Who are you?" Liu Sheng was taken aback, and at the same time instinctively took a step back. "Brother, I'm here to discuss something with you." The woman outside the door said standing in the darkness, "I heard that you and your wife really want a child, so I'll give this child to you. Willing to accept?" Liu Sheng felt his scalp numb, and there was a buzzing in his head. He finished thinking, and said that after Ai Nan disappeared, he would have trouble if he stayed in this room, but he didn't expect to escape after three days of hiding.The unrecognizable woman blocked the door with the baby in her arms, which made him surrounded the house with no way to escape.It was dark inside.In his panic, he couldn't even find the light switch. "Do you agree? I left this child." The woman in the dark said as she walked into the room.Liu Sheng retreated to the corner and let out a heart-piercing scream. When Liu Sheng woke up from the coma, he found himself lying against the wall, the room was brightly lit, and Professor Xu was squatting beside him. "I met a ghost." Liu Sheng said weakly. Professor Xu was also very frightened. He said that he heard Liu Sheng's screams in the next courtyard and rushed over, just in time to see a figure walking out of another exit of the courtyard.From the back, it was a woman walking in a panic.Professor Xu was about to ask questions, but the figure had disappeared. "Maybe it's a person, why did she come to you?" Professor Xu wanted to ease his fear. Where did they come from?Liu Sheng said, "Think about this nursing home, think about this Fengdong Town, it's getting dark again, where can someone find me?"Still hugging a child and saying to give it to me, my God, let's get out of here quickly. Liu Sheng and Professor Xu stumbled to the south courtyard before taking a breath.Brother Yao is still playing the erhu under the eaves, his figure can no longer be seen clearly in the darkness, only the sound of the piano is flowing in the yard. The food and drink had already been set up in the big room, except for Hei Wa and the brother named Scallion that he took away, the rest of the brothers were already sitting around the table.Boss Wan is talking about the miraculous effects of century-old ginseng.He said that he dreamed about this ginseng again last night, and it was the ninth time he dreamed about it, and he recorded it every time.He said that 9 is a limit number, which means that he will see century-old ginseng soon. Seeing that Liu Sheng and Professor Xu who came in from the outside had a strange look on their faces, Sister Fern told Liu Sheng about the strange things he had just encountered when he went back to his room.Brother Yao also came in from the outside with the piano between his arms to listen. The final judgment made by this gloomy middle-aged man made Liu Sheng terrified again. The luthier said that this was Ai Nan coming back to bid farewell to Liu Sheng.Ai Nan is dead, and she can only find her past child after she dies.She carried the child to give Liu Sheng a message. "But that woman is not Ai Nan." Liu Sheng said, "Although the face is not clear, it is definitely not Ai Nan, and the voice is wrong." "After death, everything changes." The luthier said, "Some of them are still skeletons when they flash into the underworld." This is an experience that Liu Sheng has never experienced in his life. In this deserted place, Ai Nan disappeared inexplicably, and the hope of finding her became slimmer day by day.He remembered that after Ai Nan had induced labor many years ago, when she came back from get off work several times, she would always see her sitting on the sofa with a doll in her arms in a daze.This scene is very similar to the woman holding the baby I saw just now... Liu Sheng cried loudly after drinking.There was fog and shadows in front of his eyes, and he didn't know where he was.He couldn't do without Ai Nan, he was going to die to meet her.He felt that someone was patting him on the back, a voice was telling him not to say something stupid, a bowl of hot soup was approaching his mouth, he raised his hand and knocked the bowl to the ground, and there was a sound of broken porcelain in his ears Voice. When Liu Sheng woke up in the middle of the night, he found that he was sleeping on the floor of the big room as usual, covered with a quilt, which must have been sent to him by his little brother Shitou.The lights were on inside the house, and the smell of alcohol still lingered in the air.He suddenly realized soberly that Ai Nan would not come back, he had disappeared, she was dead, and her reunion with the lost child might happen sooner or later.This means that he will go back to Shanghai alone.A road blocked by a landslide may be about to be cleared.He walked to the town, opened the door of the off-road vehicle, and drove out of the boundless mountains.When he returned home, Mama Wei, the maid, would be extremely shocked to see him come back alone.The house will look empty, this is a jump house that has just been bought, and the stairs with carved railings no longer have the mistress's feet to walk slowly down. He has to deal with Ai Nan's funeral, and he has to face the future life alone.Suddenly, the 1.6 million yuan insurance that Ai Nan bought jumped into his mind, and his whole body shook. How should he manage the money.He was the beneficiary that Ai Nan wrote down when he bought the insurance, but should he also give some to Ai Nan's parents?This matter has to be handled by a lawyer. Giving her parents 100,000 yuan each may be the final solution.Then, he will have 1.4 million yuan left. 1.4 million yuan, his life will start anew.Liu Sheng sat up from the floor, he walked to the dining table, there was still leftover wine in the big bowl, he picked up the bowl and took a big sip, his throat and heart were instantly hot. The next morning, the sun was shining into the yard, and the green mountains were behind the roof.Liu Sheng walked out of the door, stood in the yard and took a deep breath of cool air.The doors of the other rooms in the yard were tightly closed, and the men in the den of thieves were still sleeping.Maybe because she heard his movements, Sister Fern walked out of a room.She was wearing a white shirt and calico trousers, and she was holding a washbasin in her hand. "Brother Liu woke up so early." Fern girl said with a smile, "You were drunk last night." Liu Sheng said apologetically that he felt uncomfortable and drank a little more, and he is fine now.Fern girl went to a well in the corner of the courtyard, Liu Sheng took a look at her back, the flexible waist and round arms looked very vivid when fetching water. Liu Sheng walked out of the yard and came to the outside of the nursing home. He looked at the roof of Fengdong Town and the mountains under the sun.His life is about to start again, what kind of woman will he live with?She should be beautiful and simple, but not as wild as the fern girl.She doesn't have to go to work, she can just do housework at home, and on weekends, he drives her out to play.She loves him and adores him, he is the pillar of her life and spirit. There was an eagle hovering over the mountains, and Liu Sheng felt that it was like his own shadow.At this moment, Sister Fern had already walked beside him. "No, this is an eagle that eats dead bodies." Fern girl said, "What did it find there?" Liu Sheng turned to look at the fern girl, his legs suddenly felt weak. Under a steep cliff, there are several black roofs crawling.Ai Nan and the photographer were sitting on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs in a hut that was ventilated on all sides.Next to them was a bright red coffin, the lid was not closed, and the smell of the dead body made Ai Nan want to vomit. The light was so dim that it was hard to tell whether it was dawn or dusk.After a while, the sky was getting darker and darker, and Ai Nan confirmed that another night had come, which meant that a whole day had passed since they left Fengdong Town. The last memory is what happened last night. She and the photographer came out of the yard of Fern Sister and went to the east of the town to see if the old woman appeared. When they returned, they passed through the dark streets of Fengdong Town. She and the photographer were there One who suffered an accident and lost consciousness.When she woke up, she didn't know where she was, and the coffin next to her made Ai Nan scream when she just opened her eyes, but no one paid attention, as if this place was no longer in the human world. In Windswept Town, the cat's eyes still gleamed in the darkness.The photographer yelled at it, and those green eyes shot up to the roof.Ai Nan was a little scared, and walked close to the photographer.The empty houses that lined the street greeted them like a black honor guard.Suddenly, several black figures jumped out from the guard of honor and surrounded Ai Nan and the photographer.One of the black shadows was directly in front of Ai Nan, the distance was too close.It was a pale face with no nose or lips, only two rows of bare teeth.Ai Nan fainted with a scream. The moment she fell to the ground, she saw that the photographer had also fallen to the ground, and a ghost with a long tongue was leaning over to look at him. Next, Ai Nan felt a strange fragrance in her nostrils, and then she didn't know anything.When she woke up, she found herself lying on the ground, her hands and feet were tied with ropes, and she struggled to sit up. In the dim light, she saw the photographer sitting on her side, and beside her was a gloomy coffin. Ai Nan screamed feebly.She hurriedly asked the photographer: "Lan Mo, have we been carried to the underworld by ghosts? Are we dead?" The photographer moved his bound body, and there was a kind of light in his eyes, which contained near-death despair. "It's over, it's over." The photographer murmured, "After I die, you must try to escape. I have already told them that you are innocent. I said that if they kill innocent people, you will become Even ghosts will come to catch them. They seem to be a little afraid of this. Ai Nan, you must hold on, this is the most absurd tragedy in the world." Ai Nan's head was dizzy, as if falling into a fog.The photographer was so numb that he couldn't sit still anymore, so he leaned his back against the coffin.He raised his face and let out a long sigh, "There is a dead person in this coffin. Tomorrow morning, they will bury me and this coffin in a pit..." The photographer said that the fatal disaster was caused more than half a month ago.At that time, he had been wandering around Tianji Mountain for several days with his camera bag and tent on his back.At dusk that day, he suddenly found several houses of mountain people under a steep cliff. When he approached, he heard the cry of a lamb. Several lambs are suckling.A wrinkled old woman looked on with a smile on her face.She picked up a lamb and stroked its soft down with hands as old as pine bark.This scene made the photographer's eyes shine. He said, old woman, don't move. May I take a picture of you?The old woman did not understand him, when a thin, middle-aged man with sunken cheeks and high cheekbones came out of the house.He said what do you want my mother to do?The photographer quickly explained that it was photography, that is, taking a photo.Photographers know that some of the mountain people in the deep mountains have never been to the county seat in their entire lives. When cars first appeared in Fengdong Town, some mountain people fed grass to the cars parked on the roadside.Therefore, photographers try to explain to them what photography is.In the end, the skinny man nodded half-understanding, while the wrinkled old woman was still at a loss. 接下来，摄影家让老太婆继续抱着羊羔站在羊圈旁，她树皮般苍老的手在羊羔雪白的绒毛上抚摸时让摄影家激动不已，他想将这幅摄影作品命名为“羔羊”，他觉得这幅画里有人类全部的意义。 光线已经暗了，摄影家拍摄时用了闪光灯。当雪亮的电光一闪时，干瘦的男子在旁边发出惊叫。 “你这是什么东西？”他盯着摄影家手中的尼康相机问，“怎么有打雷前的那种闪电？” 摄影家又费力解释，最后和满脸迷惑的这对母子俩分手离去。没想到，照相后的第7天这老太婆便一命呜呼。死前先是说眼睛胀痛，接着叫心口痛，出不来气。老太婆的儿子左思右想，认为老母的死是摄影家用那个发光的仪器在她身上作了试验造成的。那光像闪电一样刺进人的眼睛和心脏，谁受得了？于是，老太婆的儿子与远近的亲戚一合计，决定去风动镇捉拿摄影家来陪葬，杀人抵命，天经地义。 “你赶快给他们解释呀！”艾楠听完摄影家的讲述后着急得大叫道。 摄影家绝望地摇头。他说他比艾楠先醒来几个小时，老太婆的儿子已经到这棚屋里来过了。他对这个干瘦的汉子解释了许久，没有任何作用。“完了！”摄影家说，“我最后只得对那个愚昧透顶的家伙说，你们不能害了这个女人，她与这事一点关系也没有。”那个家伙哼了一声就走回那边房子去了。 艾楠只觉得天昏地转。她被捆绑着的手脚已经麻木，她感觉到身体已经死去了一部分。摄影家背靠着棺材坐着，他脸色苍白，仿佛棺材里死人的凉气已经抓住了他。 天已经黑了，有一盏油灯的光摇晃着向这棚屋走来。来人将油灯放在棺材盖上，蹲下身解开了艾楠脚上的绳索。艾楠看见了一张干瘦如猴子的脸。 “你们不能这样！”摄影家像野兽一样吼着。 “你明天到阎王爷那里去吼吧。”干瘦的汉子说，“你害死了我老母，阎王爷要罚你下油锅的。” 艾楠被干瘦的汉子带出了棚屋。“我给你一条生路。”他说，“你发什么抖呀，不会要你死的。” 转过几丛茅草，艾楠被推进了一间屋子，里面油灯昏暗，人影幢幢，想来都是这家人的亲戚吧。这间堂屋的侧面是睡房，艾楠被推进这里，坐在床边上。 干瘦的汉子脸上有了温和的表情。他说你别怕，只要做我的媳妇就没事了。他说老母被山外来的人害死了，该送他一个媳妇才行。“我们山里人就是穷一点。”他说，“我40多岁，该有个媳妇了。几年前从人贩子手里买来过一个女人，可是她命太薄，不到3天便在这间屋里上吊死了。” 艾楠本能地抬头一望，房中正有一道横梁，不太高，也许站在床上伸手就能摸到。 也许是为了争取艾楠的好感，干瘦的汉子给她解开了手上的绳子。“你今晚就住这里。”他说，“你放心，我睡外间。明天老母下葬后再办喜事。其实，你跟着我们山里人，亏不了你的。不过，你别想跑，这山上到处都有野兽，跑出去你也活不了。” 干瘦的汉子出去了，艾楠听见他反锁房门的声音。她想着明天早晨就要发生的恐怖惨剧，想着摄影家此刻在黑暗的棚屋里背靠棺材坐着的样子，她对自己的处境反而不害怕了。她脑子里出奇地冷静。人在生死线上的冷静连自己也觉得不可思议。 夜已深了，前来这家农户奔丧的人都已睡去。干瘦的汉子和他的几个表兄弟还在堂屋里喝酒，突然，侧面房间里传出“砰”的一声，是凳子倒地的声音。 干瘦的汉子跳起来，打开房门冲了进去。屋子里一灯如豆，昏黄的光圈中，那个如花似玉的女子已在房梁上悬空而垂…… 满天星斗，深夜的山野荒凉而诡秘。艾楠和摄影家拼命地跑着，树丛、岩石和茅草不断地和他们擦身而过。没有方向，也没有选择，他们一头钻进大山的腹中，不断地深入，离死亡越远越好。 就在半小时前，当那个干瘦的汉子和他的兄弟们冲进房间扑向那个悬梁自尽的假人时，艾楠在混乱之中从门后闪出来，并且一转身锁上了房门。那个悬梁的假人是她用床单包着枕头制作出来的，老天在最后时刻给了她这个逃生的智慧。当几个汉子被锁在屋里大呼小叫时，艾楠已在棚屋里解开了摄影家手脚上的绳索。然后没命地向星空下的山野里逃去。 很快的，有晃动的火把追来。艾楠将讨厌的裙子卷起来在腰间打了一个结，转眼看见摄影家正在地上拣石块准备狙击。她拉了他一把说没用的，快跑吧。凭感觉，那些像搜山犬一样的山里人很快就可以追上他们，气喘吁吁之中，一个山洞出现在他们眼前。艾楠望了一眼黑漆漆的洞口，没办法了，躲进去再说。 洞里有一股凉气，艾楠跟在摄影家的身后摸索着往里走。艾楠说不会有黑熊吧，摄影家说没有闻到腥味。黑熊也许不住这里。突然，有火光从洞口映进来，摄影家压低声音对艾楠说，我们赶快往里钻，他们也许要进洞来寻找了。 谢天谢地，这是一个深不见底的山洞，黑暗中感觉到洞内时宽时窄，并且出现过不少岔洞。摄影家拉着艾楠的手慌不择路的往前走着。为了防止头撞在岩石上，摄影家的另一只手始终往前伸着，靠着潮湿的洞壁为自己引路。 火光果然跟进了山洞。艾楠的心“突突”地跳着，在黑暗中跟着摄影家沿着山洞七弯八拐地往深处逃，终于，身后面暗下来，没有一点儿光影了。为了保证安全，他们仍然摸索着往前走了一会儿才停歇下来。 他们在洞内坐下来，喘着气不敢说话，紧张地听着有没有声音往这边跟过来。就这样过很久很久，一直到确信跟进洞内的人早已离去，摄影家才长出了一口气。 “他们走了？”艾楠在黑暗中小声问道。 摄影家作了肯定的回答，有一种死里逃生的轻松感。“我们现在还不能出去，”摄影家说，“等天亮前他们回去睡觉了才行。” 在茫茫苍苍的天脊山中，一个不知名的山洞在地下蛛网式地张开，艾楠和摄影家已粘在这网中而他们却全然不知。黑暗、孤独和寒意使他们相拥在一起，摄影家感到艾楠的身子一直有点发抖。他点燃了一支烟，在打火机的火光中看见艾楠斜靠着他似乎已经睡着了。 一切恍然若梦。那些把脸涂成鬼怪的家伙把他们从风动镇劫走以后，摄影家从迷魂香中醒来时的第一个感觉便是如在梦中。山洞外也许快天亮了吧，如果不是艾楠救了他，这时他一定已被推着向葬他的土坑走去了。摄影家熄灭了烟头将艾楠冰凉的臂膀抱得紧了些，他想将自己身上的热量传一些给她。 艾楠突然惊恐地叫了一声，她醒了。她说我们赶快走吧，不然我们会死在这里的。她说她刚才梦见那个叫麦子的小女孩了，小女孩脸色苍白，嘴里叫着“妈妈”远远地向她跑来。艾楠说麦子一定是个魂灵，她一直在找妈妈…… 摄影家听着艾楠在黑暗中讲她的梦，有一种毛骨悚然的感觉。他打燃火机望着艾楠的脸说，我们走吧。打火机的光亮照着凸凹不平的洞壁和洞顶，他们拉着手向外走。然而，可怕的情形发生了，山洞在他们面前出现了三个分岔，哪一条道通向出口呢？他们选择了右边的山洞，在七弯八拐之中走了很久以后，发现没路了，是个死洞。再退回来走，连刚才那个三岔口也找不着了。暗黑的山洞无限延伸，沿途都有岔口通向不同的方向。 打火机的火苗突然缩小，糟了，燃气快完了。摄影家松开指头，黑暗一下子淹没了他们。“还有一点点燃气了，留着关键时刻用吧。”摄影家握着发烫的打火机对艾楠说。 黑暗中浮动出艾楠的哭声，她说完了，我们出不去了。摄影家用劲握了握她的手说，别害怕，我们摸索着走，总会找到出口的。 艾楠平生第一次体会到绝境的含义。当他们用了几乎一整夜的时间也走不出这座深埋在大山中的地下迷宫时，死亡的黑袍不声不响地罩向他们了。又累又饿，他们本能地吸着洞壁上渗进的水滴来苟延残喘。在沿着洞壁转过又一道弯之后，艾楠跌倒了，是多少次跌倒已经记不清了，不过这次跌倒她已无力也无心爬起来。她意识到，人在某种时候，是宁愿死亡的。 摄影家这次没有像前几次那样鼓励她，咒骂她，也没有用有力的手拉起她，他自己也不行了，他们倒在了一起，坚硬的岩石被压在身下也不觉得疼痛。 “我知道了，有的山洞里发现白骨是怎么一回事了。”艾楠绝望地说，“也好，活着太累了……” 摄影家在黑暗中长吸了一口气说：“我们真会死吗？我从没想过会是这样。虽说人都会死的，但现在来还是太早了点。艾楠，都怪我的事连累了你。” “也许，都是命中注定的吧。”艾楠感到全身一点儿力气也没有了，“八年了，我就没度过假，没想到这次从家里一出来就回不去了。” 艾楠闭上眼睛，看见黑暗中灯火闪烁，那是上海的夜景。穿着睡衣的她从露台上返身回到客厅。她的脚上穿着绣花拖鞋，铺着地毯的楼梯以优美的弧形道向她和刘盛的卧室。早晨，她在闹钟的铃声中一跃而起，推一把熟睡的刘盛说快点起床，去公司要迟到了。她匆匆地化妆，在早餐桌上时因为匆忙常和刘盛顶撞几句，意识到自己的性急后她摆摇手说，OK，我们不说了，是我太急的缘故。然后是拎包下楼，她和刘盛分别打开自己的车门———一部中档轿车，一部越野车，两辆车一先一后地驶出这座很时尚的住宅小区…… 摄影家在黑暗中听见艾楠的哭泣声，便抱住她的头说别害怕，我们讲点快乐的事也许会好受些。 “小时候，我家住在北京的一条胡同里。”摄影家自顾自地说道，“我一听见卖冰棍的叫声就馋得很。我爸在画室里作画，我就会跑进去东看看西翻翻，一直搞得老爸心烦，他就会掏出些零钱塞给我说，到外面买冰棍去。” 艾楠停住了哭声，沉默了一会儿她说：“可是，人想要的东西越来越多，是不是？只是人死了，什么东西也没用了。” “是的，什么都会消失的。”摄影家抚着她的头说，“不只是人，各种事物，景物也都会消失的。所以我喜欢摄影，留在我的照片上的东西便不会消失了。” 摄影家接着讲出了他对风动镇东头那个死而不腐的老太婆的拍摄计划，他说他一直没敢给她讲，是担心她接受不了这种形式而拒绝合作。 “要在这之前，我肯定会拒绝的。”艾楠声音微弱地说，“但现在，要做这事也来不及了。你想让大家看生命的变化是不是？其实，没什么变化，从生到死，就这样，什么也没有发生……” 艾楠不再哭了，不知道是身体极度虚弱还是开始接受死亡这个事实，她感到恍惚而平静。摄影家抱着她的头，抚摸着，他的手指插进她的头发抵达头皮，给人一种专注的安静。她喜欢这样，甚至是渴望，刘盛说她这是没有安全感的表现，他的手总是没有耐心，在她的头上短暂抚动之后，很快便滑向她的躯体上去了。可是，激情之后，刘盛却喜欢将头靠在她的胸脯上，她用手抱着他的头，他变成了一个孩子。其实，男人和女人都有在某种时候成为孩子的愿望。动荡不安的世界每天每天袭击着他们的心和身体，他们孤独而恐惧，需要被爱并受到保护。 恍惚中，艾楠听见打火机响了一声，火光一闪又熄灭了。“没有燃气了。”摄影家说，“艾楠，我们还得走，爬也要爬出去，这样等下去会死的。” 艾楠无法动弹，她的身体已经不受支配了。她喃喃地说死吧死也没有什么。摄影家拍着她的脸，先劝她后咒骂，他骂她是懦弱的人，是混蛋，他说背也要背她出去。 可是，能出去吗？在这纵横交错的黑暗的山洞里，艾楠突然无端地想到，那个能进出于她梦中的小女孩会找到这里来吗…… 胡老二坐在屋檐下发呆。这是掩藏在天脊山中的一处农家小屋，屋后山峦叠翠，屋前有一道山涧，激流从台阶式的乱石中冲撞下来，发出很响的水声。 一个四十多岁的农妇从屋里出来，她是胡老二的表姐，长得大手大脚，身架壮实。她说：“老二呀，听表姐的话，回风动镇去安心过日子吧。要不，出省去打工挣点钱，回来重新娶一个媳妇。” 胡老二是在山中转悠了几天后路过表姐家的，表姐说前几天地里的玉米被踩倒了一大片，还留有黑熊的足印。胡老二无比兴奋，便在表姐家住下，每天扛着铁矛去周围的山岭中寻找那一头冤家。三年了，他必须找到它，刺死它，不然他去他媳妇的坟前烧纸时将无话可说。 表姐已大半年没见到胡老二了，原以为他已放弃了这种鬼迷心窍的行为，这次见他仍然如此，便成天劝说他回心转意。“一头黑熊嘛，又不是人，你这样久记它的仇做啥。”表姐说，“你媳妇遇上了它，也是她命短，有什么办法。” 胡老二这时变得像一个哑巴，他一声不吭地站起来，扛着铁矛向山岭深处走去。表姐望着他的背影叹了一口气，转身去坡地上照料玉米去了。她有四个儿女，除了一个丫头送给了远房亲戚外，另外三个儿子最小的也有17岁了，现在都在南方打工。这些儿女在小时候到差点饿死过，不然也不会将小丫头送人了。她的丈夫这段时间去山顶挖虫草去了，每年7月正是挖虫草的季节，方圆几百里的人都会翻山越岭向山顶聚集。大家都在讨个活路，只有她的这个表弟被黑熊偷了魂去。 这天黄昏，胡老二回来时使他的表姐大吃一惊———他是背着一个女人回来的。在他身后，还跟着一个满脸络腮胡的男人。 胡老二是在一个山洞口发现摄影家和艾楠的。这是一个山里人也从不敢进去的山洞，在山的南北两面各有一个出口。摄影家和艾楠是从北面进洞的，一天一夜过后，摄影家背着半昏迷的艾楠从南面出口爬了出来。 真是命不该死，艾楠在这家山民的床上醒来时，看见胡老二像看见奇迹似的流了泪。摄影家站在床边高兴地说好了，没事了。胡老二的表姐给她端来了煮鸡蛋和玉米粥。天已黑了，从厨房里飘来的柴火味使艾楠有一种回到前世的温暖。 艾楠在半夜时分醒来，她想方便，但不知这户山里人家的厕所在哪里。胡老二的表姐在漆黑中发出轻微的鼾声，她小心地越过她的身体下了床，开门走出屋去。 头上的夜空一半被大山遮去，另一半布满诡秘的星斗。有风吹来，艾楠将手压在太阳穴上定了定神，她虚弱的身体有点摇晃。屋前是一片空地，前面有山涧发出很响的水声，侧面是一道斜坡，有黑乎乎的树林。艾楠走进树林，方便后站起来准备回屋时，从夜风吹来的方向突然响起一个小女孩的哭叫声。艾楠全身一震，本能地往前跑了几步便跌倒在地上。 艾楠慢慢地抬起头来，从树丛中望见一户农家的一角，原来这山坡上还住着一户邻居，孩子的哭叫声就是从那里传来的。艾楠慢慢地向这座房子外的土墙走去，在推开院门的一刹那，孩子的哭叫声再次响起。 眼前的情景将艾楠惊呆了———刘盛正站在院子里，将一个3岁多的小女孩头朝下地提在手上，旁边是一口大水缸，小女孩在水缸上方惊恐地惨叫。艾楠看清楚了，这小女孩正是麦子。突然，刘盛的手往下一沉，小女孩的头被浸进了水中，哭声戛然而止，替代哭声的是“咕噜咕噜”的水泡的声音。 艾楠大叫一声猛冲过去，她一掌推开刘盛，伸手从水缸里拎起了小女孩。“麦子！麦子！”她抚着小女孩的脸伤心地叫着。麦子双眼紧闭，嘴里鼻孔里慢慢地淌出血水。艾楠伸头往水缸里一看，满满的一缸血水，血水里还漂着一个弯曲着的身子的胎儿。 这时，艾楠听见了狰狞的笑声，她抬起头来，看见刘盛手里拿着一条绳子向她走来。艾楠本能地用手护住咽喉向后退去，她知道刘盛要勒死她了。突然，她的脚下被什么东西绊了一下，身子向后一仰便倒进了水缸里。这是一口长方形的大石缸，艾楠沉进了水底，她感到全身冰凉。慢慢地，有一团鲜红的血光出现在她眼前，同时她听见人的说话声。 艾楠从昏迷中醒来，眼前是一盏晃动的马灯。摄影家从地上扶起她问道，半夜三更的，你怎么跑到这坟地上来了？ 艾楠靠着摄影家的肩头，借着胡老二表姐手中提着的一盏马灯，看见自己果然是身处坟堆之中。刚才在夜色朦胧中走上山坡时一点也没注意到。胡老二的表姐说，半夜醒来后发现艾楠不在床上，心里正犯疑，便听见屋外的山坡上有动静，出门找来时，看见她晕倒在坟地里。 “你听见孩子的哭声了吗？”艾楠心有余悸地问道。 胡老二的表姐说，她听见的是一个女人的嘶叫声，好像被谁掐着喉咙发出来的。艾楠失声叫道，那是我遇见鬼了。胡老二的表姐忙说我们赶快回屋去，住在这深山里几十年了，胡老二的表姐与死去的父母就相会过好几次。有一次她半夜听见动静后出来一看，门外正坐着一个头上缠着白帕子的老头，看身影很像她死去的父亲，胡老二的表姐失声发出惊叫，再定睛时那人影已经不见了。 艾楠回屋后躺在床上听胡老二的表姐讲她的经历，但艾楠始终不敢讲出她遇见的鬼是谁，因为尽管小女孩麦子可能是死去的人，但刘盛却是一个大活人呀。并且刘盛要用绳子勒死她，她晕倒在坟地里以后怎么会出现这些事呢？ 摄影家回屋后也睡不着觉了。被这一番响动惊醒的胡老二坐在床上，对着跨进门来的摄影家问发生了什么事。听完摄影家的讲述后，胡老二瞪大眼睛说，艾楠遇上“鬼引路”了。不然她不会半夜摸到坟地去。他说这种事经常有人遇到，在床上睡得好好的，突然就起床向外走。所以，你在山里走夜路时，如果遇见同路人千万不要搭理。你要观察他的眼睛里有没有光，如果他的眼睛里有雾，那就糟了，一定是一个正被鬼引着走路的人。 胡老二脑子里装的这些东西一定来自山里人的代代传闻，摄影家由开始从不相信这些东西到现在有些将信将疑，因为他突然意识到，他和艾楠被鬼一样的家伙劫持到山里的经历值得推敲。 摄影家对胡老二详细描绘了山那边那户人家的状况，包括正要下葬的老太婆，他的儿子和亲威，还有这家人饲养羊羔。胡老二想了很久后肯定地说他不认识。但他接着说天脊山的南边和北边他都走过若干次了，三年来他为追杀那头黑熊把这大山的沟沟岭岭都搞得像自己掌纹一样熟悉。“没见过你说的这户人家。”胡老二说“你看清楚了棺材里的人吗？是不是你照过相的那个老太婆？” 摄影家说：“她的脸上盖着一块白布。” 胡老二大吃一惊，他说我们这里没有这种习惯，如果是老年人死了，脸上都是盖着红布的。“不对不对，你们一定是被鬼拖走了，你说的那几间房子，其实就是几个坟堆。”胡老二说完后望了紧闭的房门一眼，这个下意识的举动让摄影家顿时出了冷汗。 “幸好逃出来了。”摄影家尽管不能相信胡老二的话，但还是深感庆幸。 胡老二摇了摇头，说等几天我去山那边看看，如果那道陡崖下没有人家只有坟堆的话，你和艾楠可能很难真正逃脱了。唯一的办法是，回到风动镇后，给镇东头的丁老太婆烧烧香。这山里没有寺庙，现在这方圆一带的人都相信丁老太婆是佛，给她烧烧香可以驱邪避灾的。你想，她死了三年不腐，这说明阎王爷也要给她磕头的。 胡老二打了一个呵欠，说天快亮了我们睡觉吧，说完便倒头睡去。摄影家听着这屋里屋外的寂静难以入眠。走南闯北很多年了，这次在风动镇的经历实在让人迷惑。一切都是由艾楠和刘盛这对夫妇来到风动镇后引起的。而艾楠对他的吸引也有点不可思议，是的、吸引。摄影家在这一刹那间才明白自己已经爱上了这个女人。自从进出山里的公路被山体滑坡堵住之后，他就没想过公路多久能疏通的问题。他想在风动镇呆得越久越好，这种心思的含义他现在才突然明白。 但是，某种邂逅是危险的。艾楠到达风动镇时就带着一个游魂般的孩子的阴影，接下来会怎样呢？ 这时，另一间屋里突然传来艾楠的一声惊叫，惊吓声显得朦胧，然后又是让人心里发慌的寂静。第九章黄昏时分，太阳已经从山峦后面掉下去，天边泛滥着红光，而顶上的天空已变成青灰色。一只鹰在很远的天空盘旋着，刘盛望见它时已没有最初遭遇的那种震颤。尽管蕨妹子说过那是一种专吃死尸的秃鹰，但刘盛此刻再次看见它时，感到的却是一种莫名的宁静。 刘盛坐在疗养院外面的山坡上，第一次感到孤单也是一种可以享受的东西。艾楠失踪后已是第4天了，他必须接受艾楠生还无望这个事实。他曾经想去那鹰盘旋的下面找一找，看看有没有尸骨和衣服碎片类的东西。可蕨妹子说，隔山跑死马那地方可远着呢。并且，那鹰也不会老在那里等着你，你进山之后很难准确地找到那一片地方。 黄昏的天空下，刘盛伸了一个懒腰，世界上少了一个人，天地万物依旧平静地展开，仿佛要以一种圆满来弥补个体的缺失。这天上午，刘盛已经驾车去返程的路上看了一下，滑坡现场确实很厉害，成吨成吨的岩石彻底淹没了公路，他看了一下车上