The ancestral hall is a place where the whole village worships their ancestors and prays for blessings. It is separated from the village chief's house by a stream, and a wooden bridge spans both ends. In the rainy season of July, the stream flowing down from Lingshan Mountain was buzzing, and a nest of fireflies was parked in the grass on the bank. The three of them walked by with gas lamps, and the green light rose from the stream, like a group of fluffy The stars gather at the bridgehead.
There is an old millstone in the yard of the village chief's house, and the yellow dog is sleeping peacefully under it.
The kang was by the window, and Lin Yan was covered with a green satin quilt sprinkled with peony flowers. He tossed and turned, unable to sleep, and got up every few minutes to look outside.
Xiao Yu never came back.
The old-fashioned clock in the outhouse rang. At eleven o'clock at night, it was still time to eat barbecue and drink beer in the city, but Duanjia Village was already silent, surrounded by dark mountains guarding a baby's sound sleep.
Lin Yan sat up in the dark, lit a cigarette and puffed it out. The appearance of the ghost walking out of the ancestral hall flashed in his mind, as if leaving a dream behind him, a bleak figure walked along the stream, and turned around for a while and said, "Let I'll wait by myself."
Xiao Yu never told him that he wanted to be alone, and he hated being alone.
Lin Yan put on a long-sleeved dress, pulled on his shoes, picked up the remaining half bottle of Fenjiu from the window sill, and walked towards the ancestral hall. The bright moon.
Lin Yan sat cross-legged beside him, and joked, "I don't sleep in the middle of the night, are you going to feed the mosquitoes all night?"
Xiao Yu glanced at him, carefully tightened Lin Yan's coat, and pulled the zipper to his chest.
"It's cool at night, don't freeze."
Lin Yan rested his elbow on Xiao Yu's shoulder, unscrewed the cap of the wine bottle and took a sip, let out a sigh of relief, and shook the bottle at him: "I stole it from the village chief's house and kept it for ten years. Hanamura, have a bite?"
Xiao Yu didn't speak, Lin Yan made fun of it, retracted his arms, and said to himself: "Ignore people, ignore people, I'll drink by myself."
The night wind blew the low reeds whirring, Lin Yan took out his mobile phone and looked at the time: "Sit with you for a while, until twelve o'clock, come back with me at twelve o'clock, I don't worry about you being here by yourself .”
"Afraid that I might not think about throwing myself into the river?" Xiao Yu smiled wryly.
"You're not that capable." Lin Yante thumped him on the shoulder, "I'm afraid that if Mr. Xiao is allowed to meditate here alone, if he gets mad, the whole village will hang himself when he wakes up tomorrow." If not, then I have committed a great sin.”
Xiao Yu said lightly: "I can tell the good from the bad."
Lin Yan took a sip of his wine: "I didn't expect such a high-quality man like me to be scumbag before, so I have no regrets."
Xiao Yu picked up a stone and threw it into the stream, which startled a big fish. A section of dorsal fin was exposed on the black and shiny water surface, and the fine water patterns lasted for a long time.
"There is still a little bit of his memory here." Lin Yan pointed to his temple: "Even if I don't want to, I can't get rid of Duan Ze. You have waited for him for a hundred years, and I will accompany you for the remaining twenty days. It's compensation."
The ghost gave him a deep look: "Why are you doing this, we've only known each other for two months."
Lin Yan suddenly turned his head: "Do you think that I am very miserable, for the sake of a little good at the beginning, I have to end up like this?"
Xiao Yu didn't speak.
"Doing something that doesn't ask for anything in return is probably out of kindness, but doing things that don't ask for anything in return day after day is not just because of kindness, but because of faith. Kindness doesn't have that much power."
Lin Yan fiddled with the wild dandelion in his hand: "I've been thinking about what a follower like me would insist on. Do you still remember Zhou Jintian, the boy who was attached to Yin Zhou's cousin waiting for his dad? The stepmother was scared to death, but after thinking about it, the reason why such a good-tempered person like me lost control was not because I sympathized with the child, but because Zhou Mo had tarnished my faith."
"Xiao Yu, you are the most infatuated, gentle, and indescribably kind person I have ever met. Even if you only want Duan Yihan from the beginning to the end, I still like you. I like you like I worship my elder brother, respect my friends, and love my children. It's just that I don't regard you as a lover anymore, and seeing you thinking about him like this, I feel that there are still some beautiful feelings worth believing in this messy world."
"Actually, the so-called unyielding relationship is like a ghost. It spreads like a ghost. Few have actually seen it. But as long as you believe, you will have the strength to hold on."
The cry of frogs came from the distance of the stream, the moonlight was cold, and the ghost's blue and white skin was covered with a layer of moonlight, as clear and clear as an exile.
Lin Yan looked at him and suddenly felt satisfied because there was nothing he could do: "I would imagine drinking a jar of good wine with you when the peach blossoms are in bloom, playing a good game of chess with you when the maple leaves are red, and buying one on your grave during Qingming Festival." I will cook an extra plate of dumplings for you on New Year’s Eve, pour wine on the ground to sacrifice you, and probably cry secretly once. But for me, the Xiao Yu who guarded me is dead forever, even if you reincarnate, we meet, You are not the person I am looking for, I will live a better life than you imagined."
"Everything goes with you now because of your faith. After July 15th, I don't care about you because of your dignity." Lin Yan stood up with his hands on the ground, patted the dirt on his pants, and smiled at Xiao Yu easily, "There are too many mosquitoes, I'm going back, Xiao Lang, just leave now."
The water in the stream should be clear and bright, there should be cattails growing, and green waterweed flaunting the bottom, but the night is too dark for anyone to see.
When I entered the room, the clock struck again, twelve o'clock sharp.
It was cold in the mountains, Lin Yan was wrapped tightly in the quilt, half asleep and half awake, there was a figure in the room, sitting quietly by the bed watching him.
"Come and sleep." Lin Yan patted the empty seat next to him.
Xiao Yu covered his side face with his hands, and said softly: "You sleep on your bed, I want to watch you, watch you all night."
"Have you figured it out, are you going to meet him in the mountains tomorrow?" Lin Yan asked.
"Go, even if it's a delusion from beginning to end, it's probably something I believe in."
"What?"
"From the beginning to the end." Xiao Yu said.
Lin Yan burst out laughing, and pursed his lower lip: "If I will never leave, you will stick to it forever. It's a pity that we are not destined, or we two fools are together, so fucking suitable."
The next day, before the dew was dry, Ayan knocked on the door with Yin Zhou, who was sleepy and blurred, holding a sleepy fox in her right hand. Yin Zhou wore his clothes backwards, and Lin Yan buttoned the wrong button when he opened the door. Dizzy, they climbed to the car at the entrance of the village to pick up equipment, and yawned one after another until breakfast.
When I came back, I found that it was not Ayan who got up early, but that the whole village had already started a busy day. In summer, at five o'clock in the morning, it was a good time to go to work in the fields.
Breakfast is very simple, white porridge, steamed buns with pickled mustard, because I was told that the mountains are high and the road is far away, I forced myself to eat more, even Ayan managed to drink a bowl and a half of porridge. There are thorns and thorns in the depths of the mountain forest, and there are many snakes, mosquitoes and cockroaches. After spraying the insect repellent potion bought by the little Taoist priest, everyone has the smell of dichlorvos. A Che put his tail to his nose in disgust.
Just as everyone changed into camouflage uniforms and was about to set off, the village head walked in with two young people on crutches.
"You don't know the way, so go into the mountains and follow these two kids. They are familiar with the forest, and they can help when they meet wild raccoons or weasel badgers. Dachuan Xiaochuan, you two come here."
The two look alike, both short and strong, with sunburnt skin, and they look as old as those who have been working in the fields all year round, but their eyes are simple and a little shy. Sure enough, the village head introduced It is said that the oldest of the two is called Duan Mingchuan, who is only nineteen years old, and the younger is seventeen, called Duan Shaochuan. Although he is young, he is used to running on mountain roads.
At first Lin Yan felt that it would be troublesome for outsiders to follow suit, but then he thought about how many people can help when there is trouble, and seeing that the two of them talked less and less honestly, he agreed.
After a short rest, a group of people carried their equipment on their backs and headed towards Lingshan along the path.
I went out early, the sun in July hadn’t played the heat, the birds were singing and the sparrows were flying in the early morning, and the cool dew was hanging on the grass blades. From time to time, villagers working in the wheat fields shouted and greeted a few people. It was quite an outing. Feel.
Passing through a row of wheat waiting to be harvested, the mountain road began to slowly go up. Layers of terraced fields were laid out on the east foot of the mountain, where cotton and soybeans were planted. Soon, even the terraced fields could not be seen around. The grove was full of modern and modern cemeteries. , Some of them had just been swept by sacrifices, and some firecracker skins were scattered on the ground.
The deep mountain road gradually becomes narrow and difficult to walk, with dense trees, and some even a narrow path in the bushes that can only be passed sideways. You have to cut off the long thorny branches with a knife to ensure that your hands and face will not be scratched.
The military daggers prepared by Lin Yan and the others were not very useful, but the machetes of the Duan brothers were good. The two of them fully assumed the duties of guides, and while opening the way ahead, they turned around and introduced the history of Lingshan to the team told by the old people in the village.
In fact, Lingshan Mountain does not refer to a single mountain, but a continuous stretch of foothills composed of three main peaks. There is a main peak on the east, west and north sides. From a distance, it looks like a chair facing south. Beishan The highest is the backrest, and the east and west mountains are shorter, resembling handrails. This kind of feng shui is very suitable for burying people, but unfortunately the main peak is a bit short, and there is a lack of good water in the south.
The Duan family village is in the east of Lingshan Mountain. The brothers of the Duan family said that the tombs that can be called "tombs" are mainly concentrated in the North Mountain, but the Duanze Tomb they are going to is on the West Mountain, which means that they have to be non-stop to get to the tomb before dark. After crossing two mountains, he rushed to the hillside where the tomb was.
When Yin Zhou heard this, he couldn't help wiping the sweat off his forehead: "Linzi, why don't you die in a lively place, and save us a little trouble, it's been less than three hours and my legs are already sore gone."
Lin Yan didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Next time, I'll try to lie down in Xidan. Not only can I get to the subway, but I can also eat hot pot after hanging up. It's not like eating bark every day here."
"I think, when the time comes, I treat guests to Xiabu Xiabu, and there are still a lot of coupons at home."
"Bah, that's bad luck." Lin Yan picked up a branch as a whip, and whipped Yin Zhou's forehead.
Da Chuan opened the way at the front with a bamboo basket on his back, which contained two live roosters used to ward off evil spirits. For several generations, the tomb will not be repaired in the future, and a square hole will be dug at random to bury the coffin, and then a monument will be erected to become the tomb. People in Duanjia Village were buried in a large grove passing by after death, and it was convenient to walk up from the village for 20 minutes to carry the coffin.
This is true. The style of thick burials reached its peak in the Han Dynasty, advocating "death is like life", and there are tombs that must be built, often occupying hundreds of acres of land. After the Northern Song Dynasty was captured, the style of funerals began to be simplified. Without good wood to build the tomb, Qianlong was forced to dismantle the Ming Tombs and steal Jinsinan. Therefore, tomb robbers love tombs before the Song Dynasty most. When they see bronzes, their eyes light up. There is even a unique skill called listening to thunder to find the tomb.
The journey went smoothly except for the sore legs and weak waist. When approaching the top of Dongshan Mountain, Yin Zhou stepped on a gaudy snake in the woods. He was so frightened that he almost climbed up the tree. Swiping down his spine, he picked out the gall and stuffed it into his mouth. Yin Zhou was so frightened that his expression was distorted, and it took him a long time to recover.
When the sun was setting, a group of people rushed to Beishan, set up a pot to cook dried noodles, the fox looked at the noodles, and then looked at the live chicken in Dachuan's back basket, pouted and sulked, Lin Yan had to open canned meat for him to satisfy his hunger, forgive That's right, he was scratched.
The sunset glow in the sky changed from strands of light pink to brilliant gold, and soon turned into a dull red as if burnt. When the last ray of sky dimmed, the team rushed to Xishan according to the scheduled itinerary. The wormwood fields swaying with pale blue wildflowers stopped.
"Probably around here." Da Chuan tucked the machete into his trouser waist, and gestured a large slope from the foot to the top of the mountain, "When I was young, Xiao Chuan and I saw that broken monument in the weeds when we were hunting and looking for herbs. I don’t know where to go.”
"It's okay, we can find it ourselves." Lin Yan sighed, threw the hiking bag on the ground, and wiped the sweat from his face.
Yin Zhou was heartless, and completely regarded grave digging as camping, calling for a tent to be set up and a bonfire, but both Lin Yan and the little Taoist frowned. , I’m going to break my foot after walking for a whole day, and finally arrived, so why don’t we celebrate?”
A Yan turned to look at Lin Yan: "You, what do you think?"
Lin Yan opened the equipment bag, squatted on the ground playing with the flashlight and the tent, always felt that something was wrong, after thinking for a long time, he raised his head and asked Ayan: "Do you also think... we seem to be going too smoothly?"
A Yan took out the compass, and pointed the pointer in Xiao Yu's direction with a flick.
"I can't see it either, forget it, let's rest first."
The constellation of Orion gradually appeared in the southeast, and the first night in the mountains and forests came quietly.