Chapter 11 Chapter 10 The Mother of the Dead Baby

Ai Nan's mind was in a mess, a gust of night wind blew, and she suddenly remembered the yard to the north of the nursing home, the room where she used to live, where the mysterious woman visited many times and held a baby.Ai Nan suddenly understood that the woman must be the mother of the dead baby, not Maizi's mother.This grave, this doll, and the baby clothes that appeared in the pond are all related to this woman. Thinking of this, Ai Nan was very relieved. She told the photographer this judgment, but the photographer didn't take it seriously.He said that mothers are reluctant to part with their own children, so why did that woman bring the baby to your room?Baby dies and puts in your bed again?This only proves that the baby is a non-existent thing. Although we saw the baby, held her, and buried her, the baby does not exist, it is completely our illusion.Or, the dead baby and Maizi are basically one person, and the woman is the child's mother.

Ai Nan was said to be confused by the photographer, she didn't know how his mind would turn everything into a mess.She said sharply: "Anyway, I think we have to leave here. The woman is more likely to appear in the north courtyard. Let's go there quickly, maybe we can meet her." "You mean to wait in the room where you lived?" said the photographer. "She won't go there." The reason why the photographer objected to waiting in the house was that he had other worries.He thought, what if he meets Maizi in that room?Maizi must think that he did not keep his promise, and told Ai Nan about their meeting.No, not in that house.

Ai Nan had already stood up and walked down the slope. She turned on the flashlight, and a strong light tore a gap in the forest.She turned to the photographer and shouted, let's go.She is a woman who never changes once she has made a decision.The photographer had no choice but to get up and follow. The nursing home in the middle of the night was like a dead city. When they passed through one desolate courtyard after another, Ai Nan kept shaking the flashlight around, maybe the woman would suddenly appear in the light. Arriving at the house where Ai Nan used to live, the photographer said in his heart before entering, Maizi, I didn't tell Ai Nan that you were here, she came here by herself, please don't misunderstand me.

Fortunately, the room was empty, and Maizi was not sitting on the bed. Perhaps, she only came here to play at dawn every day.The photographer breathed a sigh of relief.Ai Nan heard the breath coming from his nose, and asked him why are you so nervous?The photographer said I thought the woman was already here.Ai Nan said, didn't you just think she wouldn't appear here?The photographer had no choice but to say that he believed in Ai Nan, and women's intuition should not be underestimated. Ai Nan sat by the bed and told the photographer that you should also sit for a while.She turned off the flashlight, and the room suddenly fell into darkness, and they could only hear each other's breathing.

Unknowingly, Ai Nan half-lyed on the head of the bed, tossing and tossing for most of the night, her eyelids were already very astringent.She thought that if she could find this woman and find out the truth, she could persuade Liu Sheng to adopt Maizi. There was a noise from nowhere, and the photographer stood up vigilantly. He said I should go out and have a look, and Ai Nan said to be careful in the dark. Ai Nan continued to lie halfway on the bed, with the wind blowing on the window paper, Ai Nan thought that the noise just now might be due to the wind.Her eyelids closed slowly, and she became a little dazed.

After an unknown amount of time, Ai Nan heard someone moving around in the room, and she asked vaguely, "Have you come back, photographer?" "Hee hee—" A woman's laughter suddenly sounded in the room. Ai Nan sat up in shock. "Who are you?" she asked, turning on the flashlight at the same time. A thin-faced young woman appeared in the flashlight.She was wearing dirty clothes and a white sheet, staring at Ai Nan blankly. "Give me back my child!" the woman suddenly said, "Why did she disappear while sleeping on this bed?" Ai Nan said with a tight throat, "Is that the baby? She died and was buried on the slope outside."

"Wow——" the woman yelled, and rushed over to grab Ai Nan's face. Ai Nan desperately grabbed her hand, which was icy cold like a skeleton.The flashlight rolled on the ground, and beams of light shot randomly in the room.Fortunately, the photographer rushed in at this moment, and he rushed up and grabbed the woman tightly. Liu Sheng was furious over Ai Nan's failure to return overnight.Before dawn, when there was still no movement outside, I suddenly felt extremely sleepy.He cursed "bitch" again in his mind, then fell asleep on the bed. Strangely, he had a dream that had nothing to do with what happened tonight.He dreamed that he was eating with his father, and his father was holding the chopsticks with a pale face, just watching him stuffing something into his mouth to eat, and he didn't know what he was eating.There were people walking around outside the door, their faces were unclear, and they were all wearing only white or black clothes.Liu Sheng felt that these people were waiting for him to finish his meal, and then they were going to take him to another place. He felt extremely frightened and his body trembled unceasingly.Fortunately, he woke up soon, and when he opened his eyes, he felt a sense of relief from danger.But then I thought about it, how could I dream of eating with my dead father?Am I going to his place?Thinking about the environment in the dream, which was obviously a place of the underworld, Liu Sheng couldn't help feeling horrified.He thought, maybe I'm leaving here soon, and my dad wants me to burn paper on his grave.

At this time, someone suddenly shouted in the yard: "Come on! Ai Nan has caught the ghost woman!" Liu Sheng was startled, and rushed to the yard in an instant, and it was Professor Xu who saw Zhang panic.Fern girl also came out of the house.While asking the professor, they walked out of the yard and rushed to the accident site.Stone didn't follow, he went back to the house to guard the wheat after listening to the situation in the yard.Maizi never woke up that night, and Shito wondered whether she was dead several times.He tried it by her nostrils with his hands, and a hot breath blew onto his fingers.

In the north courtyard, the ghost woman was locked in the house where Ai Nan used to live, and the photographer and Ai Nan guarded her inside.In order to prevent her from beating and arresting others, the photographer tied her hands with ropes. "Are you here to look for Maizi?" Liu Sheng approached and asked. Ai Nan became angry when she heard it, and she shouted at Liu Sheng: "She said, she is the mother of the dead baby! Stop thinking about it." Fern girl asked Ai Nan to shine a flashlight on this woman, and carefully identified it for a while, then shook her head and said that she had never seen this person before. "Where do you live?" Fern girl asked.

The ghost woman's eyes were terrified. "My child is not dead," she said. "I let her sleep here. There are quilts here, and it is very warm." Sister Fern still has an idea, she said: "Take her to the east of the town, there are more than ten families there, and see if anyone knows her." There is already light in the sky, and the night is receding into the woods and mountain crevices.A group of people took this ghost woman out of the nursing home.Liu Sheng was holding the photographer's digital camera in his hand, which he picked up on the ground when he was going out.The photographer said that he lost it when he caught this woman just now, so you can take it for me.

Walking into the streets of Fengdong Town, it was already daylight. Boss Wan was led out by the noise. After learning about the situation, he also said that he had never seen this woman, at least, this woman had never come to him to sell medicinal materials. "But it can't be a ghost." Boss Wan said, "It's already dawn. If it was a ghost, she would have already turned into a puddle of water." The people at the east end of the town were all alarmed, and gathered from different directions.It soon became clear that they had seen this woman a lot during this time, at first holding a baby, and then the baby was gone, and she was the only one wandering around the area.The villagers also gave her food, saying that she was so pitiful that she seemed to be suffering from a mental illness. "Where is she from?" Fern girl asked everyone. "She doesn't tell herself, who knows?" A middle-aged woman said, "Ask Mr. Hu, who has been wandering in the mountains all year round, so he may know where this woman is from." Hu Laoer came back late from the mountains yesterday and is still sleeping.After being woken up by a furry kid running away, he rolled his eyes and came down the hillside unhappily. "Uh, uh." He looked at the woman and said, "I've seen her before, she lives in Maozhugou." Everyone stuck out their tongues, Maozhugou is several tens of miles away from here, how did she come here with the baby in her arms? Hu Laoer said that he once stopped at her house when he was looking for black bears.This woman is called Juhua in her twenties, and the same name as the adopted daughter of the dead old woman here, but this Chrysanthemum is definitely not that Chrysanthemum, because the adopted daughter of the old woman disappeared at seven or eight years old. If she is still alive, she should be 30 years old. How old.When Hu Lao Er was resting at her house, he saw that Chrysanthemum's nerves were a little abnormal.Her old mother said that Chrysanthemum went to work as a babysitter in a faraway city with some people two years ago. When she came back, she found that her speech was not normal.It was later discovered that her stomach was already big, and there was nothing she could do.A baby girl was born.Chrysanthemum's mother felt ashamed to face others. It seemed that Chrysanthemum ran out secretly with her baby this time. Everyone sighed.The fern girl stuffed some money into Hu Laoer's hand and said, "Then please take this woman home, it's poor, don't forget to buy her something to eat." Hu Er Er returned the money to Sister Fern and said, "What do you buy here in the mountains? I'll bring some food and send her back." Seeing that the matter was clear, Liu Sheng left the crowd ahead of time and went to the nursing home.When he saw Ai Nan and the photographer standing side by side in front of the crowd, his eyes glowed. He had to go back to the house to see what photos were stored in the photographer's digital camera.Hearing from Ai Nan, he had taken a lot of photos of Ai Nan some time ago, so he had to see what kind of tricks the two of them were playing. When he walked up the hillside outside the nursing home, he glanced at the cemetery in the distance. He thought that the dream he had before dawn must be that his father missed him, and he had to come tonight to burn paper and offer incense. Suddenly, he saw a shaking figure in the cemetery.Who will be where?He turned and walked towards the cemetery, and saw the stone walking in the cemetery. "Hey, what are you doing?" he asked. Shi Shi said anxiously: "The wheat ran away. She wanted to bring her here to catch dragonflies, but she disappeared after running." "What's so strange about this." Liu Sheng said angrily, "This ghost child will disappear sooner or later, why are you looking for her!" After Liu Sheng finished speaking, he turned around and walked towards the nursing home. Shi Shi pouted at his back and continued to look for Maizi. When Liu Sheng returned to the house, he couldn't wait to call out the photos stored in the digital camera and watch them one by one.Except for the two group photos of Ai Nan with Maizi on the hillside, the others were all photos taken by Ai Nan some time ago by himself. Liu Sheng was dumbfounded when he saw these photos. He had never found Ai Nan so sexy.Her eyes are sometimes hot and seductive, and sometimes gentle and watery.She leaned lazily by the tree, and leaned her body stretched by the rock, her curves flowing like music.She can actually wear so many different styles of clothing, T-shirts, jeans, skirts, dresses, vests, shorts... just skirts, there are several styles from classic to romantic to modern, she brought so many clothes out How did he not notice?I just thought her box was very heavy, and I didn't ask her what it contained. In his memory, Ai Nan was always dressed in business attire, a suit or a skirt, with a white shirt collar turned out.She also puts on her make-up in a hurry when she goes out in the morning. She said it is to respect customers and people in the company.In his eyes, Ai Nan has always been a professional working machine rather than a sexy woman, and he did not treat her as a sexy woman. "It's coquettish!" He felt his blood welling up at the thought.He continued to adjust the photos to look out, and a swimsuit appeared in front of his eyes, which was taken by the pond.He looked at Ai Nan's exposed half-protruding breasts and plump thighs. Isn't this a kind of sensual seduction?How could she take this kind of photo behind his back? How did she change clothes on the spot?This is something that should only be done in front of people who have no secrets about their bodies.Liu Sheng felt his temples throbbing. It seemed that Ai Nan no longer belonged to him. At this time, the voices of sister fern and Ai Nan could be heard in the yard, and they were still talking about that poor woman.Liu Sheng immediately turned off the camera, and stood at the door as if nothing had happened. He saw Ai Nan wearing jeans and a white T-shirt, with beautiful and smooth lines. Why didn't he notice what she was wearing before? "Why are you in a daze?" Ai Nan looked at him and said, "I'm right, that woman didn't come to look for Maizi." "No, it's not." Liu Sheng thought, she didn't know that the wheat had been lost, and he didn't bother to tell her.After arriving in this mountain, he felt that Ai Nan became more and more evil. To Liu Sheng's surprise, Maizi suddenly ran out of the house.She opened her arms and ran towards Ai Nan. Ai Nan hugged her and asked affectionately, "Good boy, how are you playing with brother Shitou?" At this moment, the stone came back from the outside.He looked at Maizi in surprise and said, "I've been looking for you everywhere, why are you back already?" Liu Sheng also wondered, why is this kid's legs so fast?He clearly saw Shi Shi looking for her in the cemetery. "It wasn't fun there, so I came back." Maizi said childishly.Ai Nan asked where she went to play.She said it was a place where the dead were buried. Ai Nan looked at Shi Shi accusingly, and Shi Shi said that Mai Zi was going there to catch dragonflies.Ai Nan patted Maizi's face and said that she was never allowed to go to the cemetery again. Liu Sheng watched all this like an outsider.The mysterious woman has already figured it out, but the identity of Maizi is even more mysterious.The important thing is, why did she make Ai Nan fascinated?Could it be that she, who is just over 3 years old, just reminded Ai Nan of a child who was induced to give birth? After dark, Liu Sheng burned paper in front of his father's grave. According to Sister Fern, the paper ash flew away like a black butterfly after dark, farther and farther, higher and higher. Liu Sheng glanced at the confused night sky and wondered When will the next time you come to burn paper? When Liu Sheng went to buy paper from Boss Wan, Boss Wan said that my place was about to become a commodity store. I hadn’t found ginseng for a century, but I was selling all kinds of miscellaneous things.Therefore, every time his wife came from the city to transport medicinal materials, she always brought a cart full of groceries. His wife was a shrewd person, but Boss Wan felt that this had dampened his ambition to find ginseng for a century.People really have no choice but to drift with the flow in order to live. Liu Sheng didn't expect Boss Wan to have such a sense of humiliation towards life.He advised him to let fate go, don't push himself too hard and feel at ease.He bought a large stack of money and some scented wax, and Boss Wan praised him as a dutiful son.He couldn't help telling Boss Wan about his dream, "I dreamed of eating with my dad, does it mean that I'm going to his place?" He boldly expressed his fear. Boss Wan couldn't explain it for a long time. "Not necessarily." He said, "The dream is the opposite. This may be that your father needs food money. It is just right for you to burn paper for him." When Boss Wan was talking, a black cat was pawing at his feet. Boss Wan kicked it upset, and the cat ran away with a strange meow. The words "dreams are opposite" comforted Liu Sheng.At this moment, he is burning paper in front of the grave, and inserting scented wax in front of the grave to light it. In the light of the fire and smoke, the face of his father in his lifetime is constantly emerging. "Dad, I'm leaving after the road is cleared." He said silently in his heart, "You can rest here quietly. There is your former factory on the Tianji Mountain next to it. You can visit it if you want to." Yes, but there is no machine, and most of the factory building has collapsed according to the mountain people.” At this time, Liu Sheng suddenly felt someone behind him, turned his head and saw that it was Ai Nan who was leading Maizi.When Liu Sheng came to the cemetery to burn paper, he didn't call Ai Nan, because he wanted her to know that she was no longer a member of the family.In recent years, he hadn't been tough on her, unknowingly, Ai Nan seemed to be the master of the house, why, just because she made a lot of money?He, Liu Sheng, doesn't like this anymore. I don't know if she has heard about the man in the mountains beating his wife out of the house casually? "I'm also here to burn paper for dad." Ai Nan squatted down and reached out to get money. "No need!" Liu Sheng blocked her hand and said, "You go back. Especially this child, don't let her here, dad still doesn't know where she came from?" Ai Nan's hands stopped in the air, her lips trembled with anger, she stood up and pulled the wheat and walked back, her tears rolling down on the graveyard. Liu Sheng continued to burn the paper, but his heart was agitated. "Am I being too ruthless?" he thought, "Isn't it ruthless for her to do whatever she wants? This is called retribution." Not long after Ai Nan left, Sister Fern came.She said what happened, and Ai Nan was crying in the room.Liu Sheng said to leave her alone, she had an affair with the photographer, and she has long since looked down on me, and the fern girl was surprised and said that there would be no such thing, you think everyone is like you, and you will stick to it when you see it.Liu Sheng said it wasn't you who seduced me, and sister Fei said forget it, and don't talk about such things in front of the grave.I just think you two are really nearing the end of the game.When Liu Sheng finished speaking, it was over.He put a piece of money into the fire and said, Dad, you won't blame me. Sister Ferenc squatted beside him, and also picked up Mingqian and burned them one by one. Liu Sheng glanced at Sister Ferenc's face reddened by the flames.Thinking of burning paper for Dad by a strange mountain girl, this must have been unexpected by Dad before his death. That night, Liu Sheng directly lived in the house of sister fern, sister fern said no, they were all in the same yard, Ai Nan would hear it, Liu Sheng said it was okay, wouldn't it be okay to bite a towel in your mouth?Liu Sheng then stripped off Fenmeizi and tried to get her up in a different way.Fern girl is obedient like a cat, which makes Liu Sheng extremely excited.Ai Nan has never been like this before, she always says hurry up, you have to go to work tomorrow morning and you can't be late, and you can't miss the meeting with the client.Liu Sheng loses interest as soon as he hears these words, maybe Ai Nan thinks he smells bad, even though he is now a middle-level member of the company.But in the early years, he worked part-time and guarded the morgue. He is a lowly man, and he is not worthy of her.Pooh!You bitch, why don't you let a man fuck you! "Do you hate me?" Fern girl said under Liu Sheng, she saw Liu Sheng's face was a little scary. Liu Sheng came back to his senses suddenly, and quickly whispered in the ear of Fern Girl, "You make me so excited!" The fern girl giggled, and she quickly covered her mouth with her hands after laughing twice.Did she say that the outside would hear it?In the dead of night, the voice can be heard far away, Liu Sheng said it doesn't matter, sister fern said that you men are not good people, Hei Wa chased me like a dog, but soon he made love to that smelly woman in the county.Liu Sheng said don't scold me, sister fern kissed him and said how could it be, you made me die like hell, I really don't want you to leave here. After being exhausted, the two hugged each other on the bed and talked.Liu Sheng said that a person's life is very long, but there are too few happiness like tonight.Did Miss Fern say that you have never been happy before?Liu Sheng said that it was only when he was a child. At that time, his father was in a military industrial enterprise, and then he came to this mountain. The salary was increased and the subsidies were added. I vowed to make a lot of money, and now the money I earn is higher than many people, but my life is getting worse and worse. Fern sister said, you city people always have to compare with others, of course it is painful.As the saying goes, "people are better than people, than dead people". It's better in our mountains. We can live our days however we want, just like the ferns on the mountains, obeying the will of heaven. Liu Sheng said, Is that what your mother called you Fern Sister?Fern girl said that my mother didn't understand these things. I was born on a hillside, and the ground was full of ferns, so my mother called me that. "My mother's life is miserable." Sister Fern suddenly felt uncomfortable, "I was pregnant with me at the age of 20, so I had to sneak out of the house and hide on Tianji Mountain. My mother's home was in Fengdong Town at that time. The town is very lively, the streets are full of shops, restaurants and so on. Every Sunday, the workers of the 903 mailbox will squeeze the town to burst. My mother is very beautiful. Everyone in the town says that the girl from the Jin family looks like Duohua. Do you think it’s a big deal that she suddenly became pregnant with an illegitimate child? She fled to the mountains and never went down again. I was raised by planting corn. After she died, some people with no conscience stole her A silver bracelet that she wears on her wrist all the year round was stolen from her grave, alas, my mother is really miserable." Liu Sheng stroked Fern girl's face to comfort her. "Who did your mother have sex with before she got pregnant with you?" He asked curiously. "It goes without saying." Fern girl said: "They say I'm from mailbox 903. When I grow up, people here still say that I'm not like a mountain girl, but like a girl from the city." "You are really different." Liu Sheng said, "No wonder you fascinated me all of a sudden." Liu Sheng's hand began to stroke Meizi Feren's body again. Unexpectedly, Sister Fern turned over and straddled him like an electric shock.Tired and unprepared, he was excited by the fern girl's forcible fondling. "My mother was murdered by a townsman, and I want to take revenge on you!" Sister Fern straddled him violently as she said. Liu Sheng was about to climax in astonishment and pleasure, but the fern girl suddenly left his body. He looked at her in bewilderment, and she said, "I've had enough!" After finishing speaking, she smiled like a vixen laugh. Liu Sheng really wanted to punch her twice, he sighed with complicated emotions and said, "You are a bad woman!" At this time, Maizi's cry suddenly came from the yard, and Sister Fern said what happened to the child?Crying in the middle of the night, as if caught by a ghost, Liu Sheng said to ignore her, because she was a ghost child. Strangely, Maizi's cries did not stop, interspersed with Ai Nan's inquiry, and then Shitou's voice also rang out. "No, they all woke up," Fenmeizi pushed Liu Sheng and said, "You have to go back to the room quickly, it will be difficult for them to find out that you are not in the room after a while." "Let them find out." Liu Sheng said coldly, "In short, I can't reconcile with Ai Nan. Simply, after Ai Nan leaves, I will run the wolf dog farm with you." Fern girl was taken aback: "What you said is true? Didn't you leave with Ai Nan?" Liu Sheng nodded resolutely. He said that he had a headache when he thought of going back to work in the company. "Stay with me. You will stay with me until I grow old." Fern girl leaned on his body and said, and he felt tears dripping on his chest.He put his arms around her head. Outside, the crying of the wheat has stopped at some point, and the night in this desolate place is like a bottomless abyss.Liu Sheng became confused.There was always a bunch of flames dancing in front of his eyes, which was the scene of him burning paper in front of his father’s grave. After a while, they seemed to be driving again, and the urn wrapped in red cloth was dancing on the car. He thought it was his father who brought him to this unexpected place? Suddenly, Fenmeizi screamed "Ah", and burrowed into Liu Sheng's arms. Liu Sheng woke up from the trance, patted Fenmeizi on the back and asked her what's wrong? Fern girl said in fear: "Maizi! Maizi is standing in the house!" Liu Sheng looked up, but he couldn't see anything in the dark room.He turned on the light, but there was no one in the room. "You read it wrong," he said. "The door is well bolted. How can the wheat get in?" Fern girl said: "I saw her staring at me fiercely." Before dawn, in a desolate yard to the north of the nursing home, dilapidated doors and windows opened with big black gaps.Ai Nan and Professor Xu stood outside the back window of a house, nervously watching the sky gradually brighten. Ai Nan squatted at the back window of this room and looked into the room, but there was nothing inside except for an empty big bed.This is the room she used to live in, will Maizi appear here?Professor Xu said that he heard the photographer talking to Maizi here at dawn.Professor Xu said that if Maizi was really beside Ai Nan at this time, what the photographer saw could only be a shadow, an illusion. Ai Nan was skeptical, so she asked Professor Xu to witness it once before she could rest assured.Liu Sheng always said that Maizi was a ghost child, and Boss Wan looked at Maizi in a strange way. Could it be that he was bewitched?Last night, Maizi woke up suddenly and cried for a long time, which made her at a loss.Ask her if she has a stomachache?She nodded for a while and shook her head for a while, and then said that there was a sound in the yard that frightened her.Ai Nan opened the door and walked into the courtyard, the courtyard was empty in the middle of the night.Brother Shitou was also awakened, and came out to ask what happened?Ai Nan asked, did you hear anything in the yard, but Shi Shi didn't hear anything.Maizi finally fell asleep again, Ai Nan caressed her face, it was warm and smooth, with two wet teardrops hanging down, could this be a ghost child?Ai Nan went out before dawn, Maizi was sleeping soundly, she came out and locked the door behind her, so that Maizi couldn't get out even if she woke up. It was dawn, and the photographer went out on time to meet Maizi.He thought that since he saw this ghost child, he couldn't tell Ai Nan. The only way is to persuade her to leave Ai Nan. He planned to persuade Maizi to let her leave here today. The photographer can "psychically" see Ghost child, this ability has been there since childhood.When he was about 5 years old, he was taking a nap in the house. When he woke up, he saw the neighbor kid Doudou kicking a ball outside the window, so he ran out to find him to play, but Doudou was gone.He opened the door of Doudou's house and said to his mother, I want to play with Doudou.His mother said that Doudou had already gone to play at his grandmother's house in the countryside.The next day, the family learned that Doudou had drowned in a small river in the countryside the day before.After learning about his experience, the photographer's mother said that the child could see the dead. While thinking about the past, the photographer has entered the house where Ai Nan once lived.Sure enough, he saw Maizi again, sitting alone on the big bed.Maizi was very affectionate to him this time, and raised her hand to let him hug her.Maizi said that other friends no longer play with her, and she wants to play with the photographer uncle often in the future.The photographer was still a little frightened as he held the fluffy wheat, he was worried that the blood from her mouth would flow on his clothes.He put her down and said, Maizi, you want to play with me, but you have to leave Ai Nan.Maizi shook her head and said she couldn't do it because Ai Nan was her mother. At this moment, Ai Nan and Professor Xu had come around from the back window and appeared at the door.Through the hole in the rear window, they saw the photographer enter the house, and then talked to the empty bed, with his hands still in the gesture of holding a child.Everything was clear, the photographer must have gone wrong, and he had to be woken up in person. Ai Nan looked into the photographer's confused eyes and said, "Photographer, are you dreaming? There is nothing in this room, what are you talking about?" The photographer is as embarrassed as a thief who has been caught. He said he was walking around casually, talking to himself inadvertently. He has this habit, and he likes it when thinking about problems.After speaking, he walked out unreasonably. Ai Nan shouted at his back: "Don't believe your own wild thoughts, don't!" Ai Nan turned her head and smiled helplessly at Professor Xu. Ai Nan returned to the south courtyard, the door was still locked behind her back, Maizi must still be sleeping soundly.She entered the door, but there was no wheat on the bed!She scanned the room in surprise, and found that Maizi had fallen asleep sitting on the floor next to the bed, and beside her were Ainan's small round mirror and a comb.The child must have woken up and got out of bed to play, and then fell asleep sitting on the ground while playing.Ai Nan carried her back to the bed, the child was too light, and she had to increase nutrition in the future.Because of getting up too early, Ai Nan was also sleepy, so she slept next to Maizi. At noon, Ai Nan took Maizi to Boss Wan's small restaurant for dinner.Liu Sheng was sitting in the corner drinking alone, and he didn't say hello when he saw Ai Nan coming in.Ai Nan ignored him, and left after eating with Maizi. When Boss Wan came to refill Liu Sheng's wine, he asked, "What, did your husband and wife quarrel?" Liu Sheng was noncommittal, and Boss Wan went to sort out his medicinal materials after being bored with the discussion. After another glass of wine, Liu Sheng suddenly remembered that he couldn't stay for long and had to bring food back for Meizi Fei.Sister Fern was sleeping late in the house, and she said that her stomach hurts a bit.Before going out, Liu Sheng touched her smooth face and asked what was going on. She said that she might be pregnant.Liu Sheng smiled and said what a joke, how could it be so fast?The fern girl suddenly hugged him and said, what if there is really one?Liu Sheng said no, no, no such a coincidence, but his heart was a little drummed, he forgot everything in his passion, it was really a bit risky. Liu Sheng was about to leave the house with the food for Sister Fern, when Boss Wan came out from the back room.Holding a silver bracelet in his hand, he said to Liu Sheng: "Help me see, how much is this thing worth?" Liu Sheng casually asked, "Where did it come from?" "A passer-by sold it to me." Boss Wan said proudly, "Huh, I knew it was a thief when I smelled it. It was dug out of the tomb. The smell can't fool me. I'll lower his price, 50 yuan I just bought it for money, look, it’s worth hundreds of dollars, right?” Liu Sheng was shocked.The silver bracelet was dug out from the tomb. Could this be the one that was stolen from the tomb of Fenmeizi's mother?He took the silver bracelet and took it to the bright place of the door to carefully identify it.Suddenly, his face turned pale and his hands trembled a little.Boss Wan said what's wrong with you, he tried to calm down and said, this is the bracelet that was stolen from Sister Fei's mother's grave, I bought it for her and returned it to her. Boss Wan was also taken aback, not expecting such a coincidence.He said that since this is the case, just treat it as my return to Sister Fern. Liu Sheng thanked Fei Meizi, and went out to the nursing home.On the hillside outside the nursing home, he sat down, his head was sweating, and his eyes were staring straight at the vast mountains.He looked at the words engraved on the inner side of the silver bracelet with trepidation again—Miao Jin He Bi. "Jin" is the surname of Feimeizi's mother, and "Miao" is his father's name.He remembered that when he engraved the tombstone of "Liu Quanmiao's Tomb" for his father, the second fool also said that your father must be short of water in the five elements. God!Fern girl is his half-sister!No wonder Ai Nan always said that when she first met Miss Fern, she had beautiful eyes, a bit like his eyes.When he and Ai Nan fell in love, Ai Nan said that his eyes were beautiful. Liu Sheng sat on the hillside blankly, and felt powerless when he tried to stand up several times, his legs were trembling and he couldn't control himself.What did he say to Sister Fern?How to face her?He wanted to throw the silver bracelet into an uninhabited valley, or sink it into a pond... Suddenly, a pair of hands covered his eyes from behind, and the voice of the fern girl sounded like thunder: "You are still here leisurely, I am so hungry! Hey, what is this?" Fern girl let go of his eyes, grabbed the silver bracelet and took a closer look.Looking at it, she bit her lips.She looked at the words on the inside of the bracelet, looked at Liu Sheng's terrified expression, and saw Liu Sheng's father's tombstone in front of her eyes... Sister Fern's lips were already biting blood. "Brother——" she howled and knelt in front of Liu Sheng, then got up, and ran desperately to the house of the nursing home. Sitting on the hillside, Liu Sheng felt the ground tremble like an earthquake.He looked at the roofs of the large windstorm town below the hillside, and he heard the noise of the town.He saw his father standing under the eaves and talking to Miss Jin, her purity like a spring made his father fascinated... Liu Sheng's legs seemed to be filled with lead, and when he walked step by step into the south courtyard, Ai Nan stood in the courtyard and said to him: "Sister Fern is gone!" "Gone? Why?" Liu Sheng's voice was so small that he couldn't get out of his throat. "Who knows why?" Ai Nan said anxiously, "She ran into the house like crazy, broke a lot of things, then packed up a small bundle and left. Shitou and I went to persuade her and asked her Why was she in a hurry to leave, she blasted me and Shishi away like crazy. Liu Sheng, do you know what happened?" Liu Sheng's lips moved, but he couldn't say a word.He walked into Sister Fern's room silently, and it was a mess.He shook his hands and looked around, but there was no note left. He returned to his room like sleepwalking, closed the door with a bang, and fell on the bed like a dead man.He heard Ai Nan and Shi Shi take turns knocking on his door, and he jumped up like a beast and roared, "Go away! You bloody bastards!" Ai Nan was at a loss in the yard, Shi Shi called her into the house and said in a low voice: "After Miss Fern came back, she chanted a word while crying bitterly in the house." "What did she say?" Ai Nan asked nervously. Shitou said that the fern girl cried and said, "My God! How did you let my brother come to me?" Ai Nan's heart skipped a beat. Sister Fern said she was an illegitimate child. Could it be... Seeing Ai Nan's extremely nervous appearance, Maizi hugged her leg and cried in fright. Shi Shi also said that he found Liu Sheng's room was empty last night, and later heard him talking in the room of sister fern.Shitou said that sister fern walked away crying, maybe she had a conflict with Liu Sheng. Ai Nan understood everything.Her heart was empty, the kind of emptiness without love, hate, or concern.She picked up Maizi and said, "Come on, let's go for a walk outside." The clouds in the mountains were low, hanging like a curtain over the empty Fengdong Town. At night, Ai Nan had just put Maizi to sleep when Shitou knocked on the door. 石头说：“艾楠姐，刘盛在外面的坟地里嚎哭，像狼一样，太吓人了，他一边哭一边说，死！都给我死，我也不想活了。” 艾楠心里一阵难受。她说：“石头弟，你陪我去劝劝他好吗？” 石头说这时去坟地有点害怕，不过我还是要陪你去。他们出了院子，站在疗养院外面的山坡上远远望去，坟地那边是一片黑暗。 石头说，我刚才就是在这里听见哭声的，我从没听过刘盛发出那种声音。可是现在，坟地那边怎么一点儿声音也没有了呢？ 石头说：“他已经离开那里回来了吧？” 艾楠的心里闪过不祥的念头，她肯定地说：“不会，他若回来会遇见我们的，只有这一条路。” 艾楠和石头迎着夜风向坟地走去。这风从下午吹起就没有停歇过，万老板在晚餐时担心地说，一百二十年前的那种大风可不要再来才好。艾楠站在风中感受了一下，风力并不大，三四级的样子，没什么可担心的。 坟地越来越近，一个个坟堆开始出现在艾楠的手电光中。除了风撕扯着树叶草丛，周围没有任何动静。 艾楠终于找着了那个墓碑，“刘全淼之墓”几个字在手电光中显现。艾楠张望着空寂的四周，放开嗓子叫道：“刘盛———” 艾楠的声音一出口便被风卷走了。她心里一阵阵发紧，刘盛到哪里去了呢？ 回到院子，艾楠和石头首先进了刘盛住的那间屋子。没人，衣物牙刷什么的都摆得好好的。墙上挂着幺哥没有带走的那把二胡，黑油油的像一件古董。 艾楠回到自己的房间，坐在床边心烦意乱地吸气。麦子今晚像特别懂事似的，乖乖地睡去一动不动。 夜已很深了，艾楠对站在门边的石头说，睡觉去吧。夜里惊醒点，刘盛回来了就叫我，我得好好劝劝他才行。 这一夜，艾楠几乎是大睁着眼睛熬到天亮的。刘盛一夜没有回来，只有石头时不时地在院子里溜达一圈，然后在艾楠门外轻声说，他还没有回来。 第二天，在万老板的小饭馆里，大家都在为刘盛的失踪着急。摄影家说，需不需要去山里找找？徐教授说不太可能吧，他一个人在深夜进山去做什么。万老板说他也许在和艾楠赌气，气一消今天就会回来的，不用太着急。 只有石头知道的事情多一点，他凑在艾楠耳边说，他不会去寻死吧？ “不，不。”艾楠拼命摇头，但心里对刘盛会不会去死却没有把握。 正在这时，一辆吉普车开进了小镇。公路通车了？大家都喜出望外地拥到小饭馆门外去看，车上下来两个二十出头的小伙子，徐教授亲热地迎了上去。通车了！徐教授的两个学生说，他们在报纸上看见这一带发生山体滑坡的消息后一直很着急，因为他们说好了要来接徐教授出山的。根据报纸所说的通车时间，他们驱车出来后还是在雾杉坪被堵了好几天，今天公路一通他们就急忙赶来了，徐教授要走了。可是他说刘盛没找到，大家不能一路走他放心不下，摄影家说你老人家先走吧。困在这里都要生霉了，你先回城去舒坦舒坦，这里有我呢，我等着找到刘盛后再和他们一起走。 徐教授同意了。回屋收拾好东西后，又特地找到艾楠悄悄地对她说：“有一件事，我一直不知道该不该告诉你，看现在的情况，还是告诉你为好。” 徐教授说，前些时候他去水塘洗澡时，在树林里看见刘盛和蕨妹子在水塘边做爱。他惊呆了，赶快钻出树林原路返回。这事他一直闷在心里，不知道该不该对艾楠讲。 艾楠淡淡地说知道了，我会处理好这事的，徐教授你一路走好啊。于是挥手和徐教授告别。 徐教授走后，艾楠坐在摄影家的屋里发呆，摄影家问麦子呢？艾楠说石头陪着她在南边院子里玩。摄影家含意不明地说，这孩子…… 摄影家摆弄着他的相机，他遗憾地告诉艾楠，他为她照的那么多照片全被删除了。是刘盛干的。发现神秘女人那天，他让刘盛替他拿着相机，后来他取回相机时发现里面的照片一张也没有了。“刘盛还相机给我时，眼光凶得很。”摄影家说，“这让我一直有点怕他。” 艾楠叹了口气，摄影家说别急，等刘盛回来我们就可以离开这里了。艾楠说人都走光了，你搬到南边院子里来吧，摄影家说你害怕吗？我搬过来就是。不过你得答应我一件事，今天晚上去镇东头照相。 镇东头？照什么？艾楠头脑里乱糟糟的一时没反应过来。 “你忘记了？”摄影家说，“那个死而不腐的老太婆，我以前不是对你讲过吗？” “不行不行，我现在一点心思也没有。”艾楠说，“况且，我也不能接受那样照相，和死人在一起，还要脱掉衣服，吓死人了。” “但是你不知道，这真是一件伟大的作品！”摄影家两眼闪闪发光，“一个死而不腐的老太婆———一具骷髅，和一个生机勃勃的年轻身体在一起，这将是摄影家史上的奇迹！公路也通车了，刘盛会回来的，我们拍了这幅照，一切不就都圆满了吗？” 看着摄影家恳求的目光，艾楠知道这么久以来他一直在期待着完成这幅作品。他的疯狂想法并不是完全没有道理，但是，要她去参与拍摄真是太难了…… “这样吧，”艾楠在情急之中突然产生了一个好想法，“我修改一下你的构思怎么样？” 摄影家疑惑不解地望着她。 艾楠说你不用拍题名为“生命”的这幅照片了，改一下，题名为“母子”。八十多岁的老太婆不是有一个叫菊花的养女吗？七八岁走失后至今没有回来，而村民说她之所以死而不腐就是在等待菊花回来。另一个，老太婆屋里至今还放着给小时候的菊花买的玩具娃娃。这就够了，你将玩具娃娃放在老太婆怀中，这幅叫做“母子”的照片不是同样具有震撼力吗？ 摄影家大喜，直夸艾楠是个艺术天才。他说太好了，这能表现出女人顽强的生命延续力，比他自己构思的那幅单纯表现女人身体死亡过程的作品更好。 艾楠松了一口气，摄影家却接着说，你还是得陪我去，我需要一个帮手，我带有电池射灯，你得给我打一些辅光，夜里拍摄辅光更重要，不然画面没有立体感的。 “不。”艾楠叫道，“为什么偏要在夜里去拍呢？” 摄影家说老太婆正成了村民们的神，如果白天去拍的话，村民们看见了一定不会答应，他的相机也会被村民砸成碎块。 “但是，我还是怕去那里。”艾楠恐惧地说。 “好艾楠。”摄影家不知道该怎样才能取得她的协助了，“看在我从山洞里背你出来的份上，你就帮助我这一次吧。” 艾楠无话可说了。她和摄影家约定，今天晚上等村民都入睡后就出发去镇东头。 深夜，艾楠等着麦子入睡后，叫来石头守着她就出门了。石头真是个懂事的弟弟，也不问艾楠要出去做什么，只是对着她的背影说，千万要小心一点啊。 摄影家已经在疗养院外面的山坡上等她了。他背着一个胀鼓鼓的摄影包，一副精神振奋的样子。艾楠在山坡上站了一会儿，她望着坟地的方向，侥幸地想刘盛也许就在这一刻向山坡走来。 摄影家的提醒使她收回思绪，他们在黑暗中向风动镇的路口走去。吹了一天的风这时停止了，但夜空乌黑一片没有一颗星星。艾楠的手电光像剑一样在黑暗中开了一道口子。 “不行，得将手电关了。”摄影家说，“不能让任何人看见我们的行踪。” 艾楠说这风动镇鬼都没有一个，谁看见咱们了，摄影家说以防万一嘛。 艾楠只得关了手电，在黑暗中深一脚浅一脚地走着。摄影家很关照地拉住了她的手，他们神不知鬼不觉地穿行在风动镇黑色屋檐的夹缝中。 “我觉得有人在后面跟着我们。”艾楠紧张地说，她似乎听见了后面有一点儿响动。 他们停下来往后看，黑漆漆的什么也看不见，也没有任何声音。 “你太紧张了。”摄影家说。 他们继续拉着手往前走。事后艾楠想起，摄影家正是在这一夜走向不归路的，可当时怎么没有一点儿预感呢？