Chapter 18 Fifty-second night Qingming rain

Although I don't like rainy days very much, I don't mind two kinds of rain. The first type is thunderstorms, which come and go quickly and quickly. If you don’t have the experience of running in the heavy rain with bare feet, you will not be able to experience the feeling of youthful passion, because as you get older Growth, human identity and body do not allow you to do anything here. The second type is cotton rain, you can hardly feel their existence, like mist, but the raindrops accumulated on the tip of the nose and slide down the face into the mouth will make you feel that it is raining.

The reason why I like these two kinds of rain is that there is no need to open an umbrella in this kind of rain.The former is useless to hold an umbrella, while the latter does not need an umbrella. Once the cold food is over, it is Qingming. The so-called first three and last four days, these seven days can be used to pay homage to relatives and friends who have passed away, but different people carry roughly the same sacrifices in their hands and go forward against the rain. Qingming rain is salty. That taste can only be tasted by people who are full of sorrow.I have always wondered whether it always rains because this day is designated as Qingming, or it is designated as Qingming because it often rains on this day.

When I got up early in the morning, the boss himself asked for leave, saying that he was going back to his hometown to worship his ancestors.This group of monkeys lost sight of the supervisor, so they were naturally terribly lazy, as they were in Spring, all of them squinted and yawned.I finished what I was doing, so I bought some fruit and went to the hospital. Those two people have been hospitalized for almost a week. As I expected, their injuries recovered quickly. I remember the attending physician told me in surprise that the recovery function of the two of them was almost twice or even faster than that of normal people. Gao, I smiled, disapproving in my heart, just saying that they are all athletes to prevaricate.

"Athlete? Is that child too?" The doctor still didn't give up. "Of course, don't you know that our country's traditions are always started from dolls." I continued to smile and said that April Fool's Day has passed, but it doesn't mean that you can't lie. When he entered the ward, he found that Ji Yan's bed was actually empty, and the quilts were stacked neatly.On the contrary, Li Zheng was lying there on his back, and when he saw me coming, he watched me coldly. "He went out, he went out in the morning." Li Zheng seemed to know that I wanted to ask, and told me in advance.

When I came yesterday, there was Li Duo here. To my surprise, she didn't blame me too much for Ji Yan's injury, but she was very concerned about Li Zheng's injury, and repeatedly said that we adults can't stand it a child. Because we agreed, let's say that it was injured when we went to the mountain to send the little fox back.Li Duo and Luo Lei didn't even doubt it.Facts have proved that the more intelligent a girl looks, the less she can use advanced lies, and the most common ones are the most effective. I handed him the fruit, Li Zheng shook his head, and continued to read Ji Yan's father's note.He and I were suddenly speechless, so we had to sit on the wooden bench in front of the bed by ourselves.

After a while, a person came in from outside the door. He stood up and looked sideways. It was indeed Ji Yan, but the injured arm was still hanging around his neck. Ji Yan looked a little haggard, but he was still in good spirits.When he saw me coming, he smiled and gestured for me to sit down with his other hand. "The hospital doesn't allow me to go out, so I have to visit the grave in a few days." Ji Yan said in a low voice.I suddenly felt that the air in the ward was very humid, which made me uncomfortable, but the corners of my mouth were still dry and cracked, and it was difficult to open my eyes.

There were only the three of us in the ward, and the rain outside the window was still the same. It wasn't heavy, but it didn't show signs of stopping. Fortunately, we didn't need to bring an umbrella.At most it was just a little wet. "Tell me a story, or I'm going to sleep." I propped up my hands, stretched, and took out an orange from the fruit I brought and peeled it.With the movement of my fingers, the orange peel slid down like clothes, and the room was instantly filled with the sour and seductive smell of orange peel. The aroma of orange peel is different from that of orange flesh.

Ji Yan twitched her nose twice in satisfaction, and smiled. "Do you know why cypress trees are always planted in front of the graves. Or do you always have stone tigers standing in front of the graves of important people?" Naturally, I couldn't answer, shook my head, and handed him a piece of orange. Ji Yan took it and put it in her mouth.Li Zheng was still concentrating on reading on the bed without any reaction. ""Customs and Customs" said: ""Zhou Li" Fang Xiangshi, on the funeral day, went to Kuang to drive away the elephant, and the elephant was good at eating the liver and brain of the dead. People can't always make Fang stand on the side, and the elephant is afraid of tigers and cypresses. , so there are tigers and cypresses standing in front of the tomb.' It means that this monster often eats human brains in the ground, but this monster is afraid of cypress trees and tigers, so people plant cypress trees on the graves and erect stone tigers in order to drive them away. This is the original intention of planting pines and cypresses all over the tomb. There is also a saying that during the time of Qin Mugong, Chen Sheren dug the ground and found something like a sheep. yun), often eating dead human brains in the ground. If you kill it, beat its head with two cypress branches. It can be seen that although the records are slightly different, most of them are legends that the pines and cypresses were erected to prevent the bones of the dead from being swallowed by evil spirits. In fact, the ancients The idea is quite restrained. If the cremation is done at sea like now, there is no need to worry about the bones.

"Speaking of Qingming, I suddenly thought of a person, but I still don't know whether I can really call her a human being. Perhaps, the boundary between human and non-human is difficult to define." Ji Yan's eyes suddenly shone with a strange light, and I Notice that every time he starts to narrate, there is always that light in his eye. "I happened to be twelve years old that year, and it was Qingming. But the rain was heavy that day. Although it was not a torrential rain, the rain was very cold, like ice water that had just melted, and it hurt my body. Then It’s still cold in spring, it’s like now, it feels like spring is gone, from winter to summer! My father and I were planning to sweep grandpa’s grave, but the rain suddenly became heavy. The people who hid from the rain and went down the mountain actually washed us away At the age of 12, although I was not yet able to cry out loud, I was still a little scared.

With the flow of people walking around, the passers-by next to me became less and less. Occasionally, a few kind-hearted people saw me, asked about it and left quickly, so I had to walk aimlessly. Although it is daytime, it is no different from nighttime.I can only distinguish the path under my feet with the faint light, so as not to let me slip down the steep slope.Until I came to a huge house. The beam is about three meters high. Such a house is rare now. It is very dilapidated and made of pure wood. I guess it may be an ancestral hall built by people on the mountain in the past, or it is specially for people to shelter from the rain or stay. .You know that sometimes the process of paying homage to a large family is very cumbersome, with many steps and a large number of people. It is not surprising to build a temporary accommodation on the mountain.There are two very thick mahogany pillars outside the door of the house, even an adult can hardly embrace them, but the paint has long since peeled off, and the color of decay is full, I can even see the big and small pillars on the thick pillars. Cracks and wormholes, some bugs are busy crawling in and out.

Stepping over the threshold almost to my knees, I entered. The room is unexpectedly dry. It is hard for me to imagine that wooden houses in spring are less prone to humidity than our so-called reinforced concrete brick houses. Once you enter, you can quickly smell the smell that only wood products can emit. Strange smell, it feels like the smell of putting the quilt in the sun for a period of time, refreshing and comfortable. But there was nothing inside, and the empty room of Nuo Da formed a great contrast with my small stature.I yelled in the room if anyone was there, but the only response to me was my own echo. Although I could see every corner of the room at a glance once I entered, I still walked around worryingly, and finally confirmed that this place has been abandoned for a long time, because there is a thick layer of dust everywhere. I looked back, my wet footprints from the threshold to various places in the room, the footprints became lighter and weaker, as if drawing a wonderful pattern on the ground.I temporarily forgot the fear of leaving my father, and I was curiously observing this empty room. The rain outside the door has no intention of stopping. I heard from the elders that the heavier and longer the Qingming rain falls, it proves that the more people died that year. Qingming rain, the tears of the dead. "I heard this, but forgot to put the orange in my mouth, because my elders also told me so. Ji Yan didn't pay attention to my actions, as if he wasn't telling a story anymore, he didn't pay attention to the things around him, All immersed in childhood memories. "Suddenly, I heard a voice behind me. At that time, I remembered that I walked here alone. Could there be other people passing by to hide from the rain. When I turned my head, I saw a girl in a white knee-length dress. The girl seemed to be slightly older than me, with long, thick hair casually draped over her shoulders, as if a piece of black satin had been scattered.Her complexion was very white, almost transparent, and she stood with her back to the door, and the light almost penetrated her skin. But I don't see blood vessels. From the beginning to the end, I didn't feel that there was a trace of blood on the girl's face, but instead of being afraid, I felt very happy. Because finally someone was talking to me. There are two kinds of people in the world who are not afraid of ghosts and gods.Blind men and children. I am not blind, but I was indeed an ignorant child at that time.So I walked over and looked at the girl with a smile. The girl seemed a little surprised, but then laughed too. I looked down at her feet. She didn't wear shoes, but she wasn't wet either. There wasn't even a trace of rain on her whole body. From the threshold to where she stood, there was nothing unusual, as if she was floating. In general. 'Are you lost? The girl spoke, her voice was very bright, with strong penetrating power, as clear and transparent as spring water.But the strange thing is that her words were very clear, but she couldn't hear a single echo.I naturally replied to her that I came with my father, but got lost. The girl smiled, the combination of sculptural facial features was very beautiful. 'Let me chat with you and wait for your father to come. 'She came over and stroked my forehead gently.Then sat side by side with me on the high threshold.Her hands are not as cold as I thought, on the contrary, compared with the spring rain outside, her palms are warmer. 'Your clothes are soaked. If you don't dry them, the child's bones will be soft and the cold will be hard on you. It's not good for you. ' She said with a smile, while I looked at the clothes sticking to my body like glue in embarrassment. 'Why aren't you wet?Didn't you also come from outside? 'I suddenly thought of something, and asked the girl strangely. 'Of course I won't get wet, do you think one drop of rain can wet another drop of rain? 'I didn't understand her words very well. She seemed to know that I couldn't understand it at my age, so she stopped talking and just put her hands on my shoulders. After a while, I felt my body began to warm and dry. It turned out that all the water actually It was sucked out of the clothes, condensed on the girl's hand, and then slowly disappeared.It's just that after doing all this, the girl's face turned even paler. I chatted with the girl without saying a word, but her attention was always in the rain, outside the mountain, always absent-minded, as if she was looking forward to someone. I don't know how long it has passed, but I just remember that the sky is getting darker and darker, the rain outside is getting heavier, and the wind is blowing. The wind on the mountain is different from the wind in the usual days. I was torn apart, I only knew that I wanted to sleep more and more. Although I was looking forward to my father's appearance, I felt that this hope was getting smaller and smaller. At that time, I suddenly had a thought that if I died on this cemetery, it would be considered a worthy death. The girl looked at me with a sad face, supported my shoulders with both hands and shook vigorously, and I somewhat regained my sanity.But the head was heavy, and the fragile neck seemed to be unable to support it, as if it would break at any time. The surrounding temperature is getting colder and colder, and weeping can be faintly heard in the empty valley.I can't tell whether it's the spirits of those who go to the grave to worship or those spirits who linger on this world and refuse to leave.In short, my body has never been as comfortable as that time, as if my whole body feels light.The girl seemed to be in a hurry, and she gently brushed my face with her fingers, feeling like a faint wind blowing. 'Wake up, you will freeze to death if you fall asleep, the temperature on the mountain drops very quickly. 'But her voice became more and more distant to me, and was instantly swallowed up by the sound of rain. 'You are human, you are still so small, there should be things in this world that you can only miss. ' she said suddenly. 'Aren't you? ' I asked her with a smile.Seeing that I was willing to answer her question, the girl also laughed. Whether she was anxious or smiling, her face seemed to be made of water, so transparent and real, without any impurities, without any artificiality. Just like a newborn baby, it laughs when it is happy and cries when it is angry.But people are often like this, the more they grow up, the more they enter the world, they throw away all the things brought out of the mother's womb. It is said that people can swim when they are just born, and they are very good at water. Soon after birth, they are often placed in the pool to exercise their water skills.And some people gradually forget their own nature.I don't know if this is human evolution or degeneration. The Spartaks bathed their children with strong alcohol when they were born. If the child was not strong enough, he would die of convulsions on the spot. No one would cry and mourn for his death, including their parents, because they were not strong enough. A person who is good will be eliminated sooner or later on the battlefield. So at that time, I suddenly understood the truth. Most of the time, I still have to rely on myself, because when you want to rely on anything, you betray your back, you can't turn back, and you can't predict what is going on behind you. A wall, or a piece of paper. After all, I woke up and looked at the girl. Although my body was weak, it was much better, because I didn't feel as cold as before. The girl's clothes have never been rolled up by the mountain wind, as if she lives in a different space from mine.I saw waves of white mist formed in her palm, and the white mist enveloped me. It turned out that this mist separated the cold air from the strong mountain wind. 'Thank you. 'I didn't say much, because every word I said would take more energy, thank you, these three words are enough.But the girl didn't answer me, her face became paler and paler, and she could be seen very clearly even in the almost dark night, she was like the moon in the dark night, exuding a silvery warm light, but the light was getting stronger and stronger. It was getting dimmer. She always kept the same movements, but her body gradually became transparent. I wanted to reach out and grab her. When I was a child, my thoughts were very simple, because I already knew that she was going to leave. The child's thoughts were very direct. , Of course, what is going to go must be grasped and stayed. But all I hold is air.The moment I reached out, she was completely gone.Only then did I know what Gone with the Wind is, the girl seemed to have never been here, or I seemed to be just having a dream in this old wooden house. When I couldn't tell whether I was still in a dream, I actually heard my father's cry in the sound of rain. The cry was full of helplessness, self-blame and despair.I ran out immediately, also shouting in the direction of the sound. Finally, my father and I met again. He didn't scold me, but just hugged me tightly as soon as we met. I felt his body trembling. At that time, there was a mixture of fear and excitement. I have never seen him always calm in front of outsiders. The calm and suave father would shudder. 'It's fine. 'Father only said four words, and then hugged me up.I insisted on refusing to leave, and told my father about the girl. At the end, I asked him again and again if it was my dream.After listening to the father, he bowed his head and said nothing, and took a long time to shine the flashlight on the ground. There was a puddle of water on the ground, very ordinary rainwater. 'That's when the rain spirit.They can only live in the tomb mountain, they are the monsters that the rain from the sky flows through the tomb, carrying the dead's obsession with life.And they can never become enlightened, and they can't leave. As long as it rains, the rain spirit will appear to help those who get lost on the mountain, preventing them from freezing to death or getting lost. ' Father explained in a low, magnetic voice. I curiously asked where the rain spirit went.Father didn't speak. 'Go back to the sky, as long as she has helped people, she will return to the sky again, and when it rains next time, she will turn into a girl again, wandering in the mountains, helping those in need.In fact, there may be your grandfather's wish in the rain spirit. 'My father smiled, picked me up, wrapped me in his clothes, and I fell asleep quickly, clinging to my father's broad, thick and warm chest.When I woke up again, I was already at home. After that time, my father no longer took me to visit the grave, no matter how much I begged, he would not agree.So my wish to see Yuling again never came true. Even later, after my father passed away, I also went to visit the grave, but I only heard the legend of the girl in white from other people. The Qingming rain falls every year. But I never saw her again. "Ji Yan smiled as she spoke, she was as cute as a child, then she lowered her head and shook her head. "If your injury is a little better, I'll go with you." I saw that he was a little sad, and I looked out the window. It was still raining in Qingming. Although I couldn't see clearly, I could only judge by looking at the puddles on the ground. , Stretching out his hand, the raindrops falling on his palm made his palm a little itchy. "But I guess I won't be able to see her anymore. Rain Spirit will only appear in front of those who need help. Like her name, Rain Spirit has no impurities. It simply makes us feel ashamed." Ji Yan nodded. Nodding his head, he spoke slowly. He seemed to think of something suddenly, walked over to Li Zheng who was on the bed and said: "Your legs are not good, how about I help you to worship?" Li Zheng raised his head and looked at Ji Yan coldly. "No need, I hate those red tapes, not to mention," Li Zheng said here, suddenly paused, "not to mention I don't even know where they are buried." He said the last sentence very quickly, very lightly, very random.After Li Zheng finished speaking, he put the notes beside the pillow, covered him with a blanket and fell asleep. It's starting to clear up outside, and the bit of rain is starting to die down, and I can see a little sunlight peeking through the cloudy clouds. Once the Qingming Festival is over, I hate the long rainy season. Everyone said that the weather will really get better after the Qingming Festival. I took a long breath, and the air was very fresh.The sound of the door opening and silver bell-like laughter sounded behind me, and I knew who was coming.