Twilight is everywhere, the night of Lingshan is quiet and dark. Looking down from the halfway up the mountain, the rolling mountains around look like giant sleeping beasts. There is a thin crescent crescent falling on the sky, and the oak trees stretch out horizontally. , a sparrow landed on it.
There is a big temperature difference in the mountains, and on July nights, even wearing long-sleeved clothes is still soaking cold. After a whole day of trekking, everyone set up tents and sat around the campfire for dinner. The brothers of the Duan family set up a stew pot with stones, and the thick soup made from instant soup and canned beef was bubbling and bubbling on the fire. Yin Zhou picked a few tender corns, stuck them on the branches and roasted them over and over again.
The firewood crackled and burned, and the light reflected everyone's face.
The firewood with solid alcohol was very hot, and soon the broth was fragrant, and the vermicelli was almost cooked. Everyone was hungry after driving the mountain road all day. Eat and chew. Lin Yan and the little Taoist were wrapped in a thin blanket to keep out the cold, and from time to time they fought with Yin Zhou to grab the meat in each other's bowls. Xiao Yu didn't move his chopsticks, and sat quietly by himself opposite the campfire.
"Hey." Yin Zhou gently poked Lin Yan's arm, and glanced at Xiao Yu out of the corner of his eye, "This buddy hasn't recovered from that part of Han's family tree, you go and persuade him."
"... He can solve his knot on his own, so it's no use persuading him." Lin Yan put down his chopsticks, his expression froze.
Yin Zhou didn't know Lin Yan's statement last night, so he clicked his tongue, hating iron for being weak: "If he is in love with his family, let's teach him a lesson and think he's unlucky. Now it seems that the one lying in the grave is no good Why do you take him seriously, don't you like him, don't you take advantage of the fire?"
"I feel aggrieved seeing you so awkward all day long. I have to go up and chase him back quickly, or kick him and burn the coffin tomorrow to vent my anger. I have to pretend that I'm not far away or close. Is it a lie?" Yin Yin Zhou shook his head disdainfully, "Do you dare to say that you don't expect him to change his mind immediately and kneel down and sing Conquer?"
Lin Yan stuffed the corn into Yin Zhou's mouth: "Have you ever been in love and came here to point out Jiangshan? Brother, this is using practical actions to put personal interests behind and keep a love that is so impressive..."
Yin Zhou stared at him with wide eyes, and Lin Yan sighed: "Since you are ruthless, I will quit. Is it worthwhile to rush to sell at a low price?"
"It's useless." Yin Zhou took a sip.
The five people around the campfire were divided into two groups and looked at each other across the fire. On the opposite side were Xiao Yu and Ah Che. Here, Lin Yan, Yin Zhou and A Yan huddled together in a blanket to keep out the cold, and did not speak to each other.
Yin Zhou wanted to get out of the siege, he took a bite of the corn, and there was a circle of scorched black around his mouth, "It's dark and windy this month and there's no poker, why don't we tell a story, hey, the most edible fox, you take the lead in talking about the vixen What's the matter?"
A Che said disdainfully: "That was made up by a poor scholar to deceive people. A fox is the most selfish and self-protective. How can he hang out with others? Even the place where we live is set up with many traps. I'm not boasting. There has never been one in hundreds of years." The living have walked in."
Yin Zhou raised his eyebrows: "Isn't that the wild mountain?"
"That's what you see through the eyes of ordinary people." A Che shook his head, "First we have to wade through the fairy cave in the mountain. There are yakshas and evil spirits blocking the way, and corpses are everywhere in the water, but the fairy mountain on the opposite side is full of peach blossoms all year round. The eaves and corners of the house are upturned, and there are flourishing plants. Grandpa said that those houses were built after a place called Chang'an. Although I don't know where Chang'an is, it must not be as beautiful as ours."
Yin Zhou was stunned for a long time, and suddenly laughed: "Your name is Che, Hu Xiaoche, you little nonsense."
Ache snorted through his nose, and continued: "In the mountains of my hometown, there are all kinds of mountain spirits and water monsters, flower demons sleeping on trees, and winged anchovy fish in the water, which look like monkeys on the right, always hugging them. The peach is gnawing, it will rain when it appears, there is a skeleton living not far from the entrance of the cave, it is said that it is a mason who has been dead for seven hundred years, knocking on stones all day long, very annoying."
"The village used to be very big, with one mountain connected to another. At the end of the mountain, there were three fairy islands, Penglai, Yingzhou and Fangzhang. Standing on the top of the mountain, you can't see the end at a glance, but now it is getting smaller and smaller. Grandpa said it won't be long, everyone. It might be gone."
"Why?" Lin Yan asked.
"Because no one believes it anymore, no one believes that there are fox fairies, no one believes that the sun will fall into the mountains, no one believes that Nuwa mended the sky, Jingwei filled the sea, and there is a kingdom of daughters on the other side of the sea. When I wrote the letter, they all died slowly, and the village was almost gone." Ah Che's ears shrugged.
"Grandpa said that language is a spell. Once you say that you don't believe in something, it will be completely invalid. There will be more people who don't believe in it, and there will be nothing." Ache shook his head, "A world without legends Terrible."
Yin Zhou wanted to continue asking questions with a playful face, but was kicked by Lin Yan and shut up all of a sudden. Ah Che's words reminded everyone of some childhood stories and memories. No one spoke for a moment, Xiao Yu put his hands on his narrow shoulders, and said softly, "Ah Che, is it homesick?"
"I don't want to, anyway, I don't have parents, and my grandfather is so fierce, no one cares where I go." The fox blurted out, fiddled with a small wooden stick in his hand, digging and digging in the mud.
After all, I am a child. After talking about life at home, the more I thought about it, the more I felt uncertain. I sniffed my nose twice, and said aggrievedly: "Well, I actually thought about it a little bit, just a little bit. This is the first time I have traveled far away..."
Ayan couldn't help laughing, and put down the carving knife in his hand: "I got used to it after a long time. When I was five years old, my parents had a car accident. When I was sent back, I looked like no one. People in the village are superstitious and talk about life The moldy head refused to help collect the corpse. I lived with the corpse for seven days before anyone came. Probably because I was too young, I don’t feel anything about the time when I talk about it now. The deepest impression is that when the door was opened, many people held the door and vomited. , I don’t even know why, I can’t smell the smell of carrion after staying in the house with the corpse for a long time.”
"Later, I lived on Baijiafan for several years. I left the village to earn money for my own education. At the beginning, I wanted to go back every day. After a long time, I forgot the feeling of homesickness. After a while, even my younger sister married It’s over, and I’m about to graduate.”
A Yan's tone was very relaxed, as if he was telling someone else's story, but after the words fell, there was a long silence. When he looked up, he saw that everyone was staring at him with unbelievable expressions. Turning red, he stammered: "Yes, isn't it very, very scary?"
Yin Zhou's face changed, he wanted to bite the corn to divert his attention, but when he thought of the rotten meat, he hesitated for a long time and didn't put his mouth down.
"Ayan, you are too..." Lin Yan couldn't continue, feeling a little guilty, "It would be great if I got to know you earlier, I live opposite the school, at least I can invite you to dinner on weekends, you can ask Yin Zhou, I'm very skilled."
"At that time, being a squad leader was incompetent enough. Seeing that you were being bullied by the same dormitory didn't help me. No way, don't live in that gloomy basement in the future, just move to my house. There are still two bedrooms vacant. Zhou comes to live here occasionally, and I reserve one room for you." Lin Yan said.
Ayan turned her head to look at him, her eyes were clear, and her blushing became even more intense.
With a crisp sound, the ghost on the opposite side broke off a branch in his hand, put the two parts together and threw them into the fire, said excuse me, pushed Ah Che away and walked away.
"What's the matter?" Yin Zhou asked.
"Don't worry about it." Lin Yan said lightly, "When he cared, he frowned and I felt like the sky was falling. Now that I see it, I'm only responsible for digging graves and organizing weddings, and let him do the rest."
As soon as the back stopped, his hands were clenched and released stiffly. The ghost opened a tent and sat in a daze, his side face sunk in the shadow that the fire could not reach.
The night in the mountain forest was extremely deep, and the bonfire was burning very vigorously, but it could only illuminate a small area, and the surroundings were dark. Everyone was chatting excitedly, and someone said something, and the conversation was suddenly interrupted, and there was a strange silence.
"Hey, why is no one talking?"
"Listen, I heard that a group of people were chatting, but suddenly no one answered the conversation, because there were ghosts passing by."
"Don't scare people at night." Yin Zhou still had a smile on his face.
As soon as the words fell, the edge of the pine forest trembled slightly, and there was a small clattering sound, as if being blown by the wind.
"Hush." The little Taoist suddenly became nervous, and moved his index finger to his lips, "Listen, there seems to be something nearby."
The bushes moved even more violently, and a strange sound came from deep in the dense forest, like someone jumping on the grass.
The ghost was close to the woods, and it also noticed that it stood up abruptly and looked around.
"Boom...boom...boom..." A dark figure in the woods was slowly moving. It looked like a human being, with a short stature. When it walked, it was up and down. Compared with walking, it seemed to be jumping up and down.
Crash—hula—crack—as if the animal's fur scraped the bushes, the soles of the feet crushed the fallen leaves, and the wormwood lay on the ground.
"Zombie?" Yin Zhou's voice trembled a little. Lin Yan quickly groped for the gun and dagger hanging from his waist. A Yan was the closest to him. staring at the dark woods. Da Chuan and Xiao Chuan were hunters. To guard against wild beasts, they had been staying on the tree and looking into the distance. When they heard the movement, they poked their heads out of the branches one by one to look down.
The flames were faint and shadowy, and the swaying halo made the surrounding bushes sway. The thing jumped closer, it seemed that not one, but a small group, scattered out of the forest, when the light of the bonfire blurred the outline of the first one. When the reflection was clear, there was a buzzing sound in Lin Yan's ears. The thing that was slowly jumping forward from the woods was actually a "human", with gray skin and sparse and long black hair on the top of its head. It barely had facial features. But there was only one leg, and the foot was growing back, and it was bouncing and moving towards the campfire.
Da Chuan gestured to Lin Yan, meaning that it was not dangerous, and then waved his hand to signal everyone not to move.
"Mandrill, how come there are mandrills here?" Ayan breathed a sigh of relief, "It, they generally don't attack people actively, they should be attracted by the bonfire." The night is quiet, his voice is very small, but everyone can hear it clear.
"What do they want?" Yin Zhou's voice trembled slightly.
A Yan shook her head, opened the paper bag, grabbed a handful of nitrate powder that can isolate Yin and Yang, and sprinkled a handful on Lin Yan, Yin Zhou and herself, "Probably passing by, let's keep quiet and wait for them to go .”
Lin Yan nodded, and wrapped his arms around Ah Che's shoulders, but the fox was very calm and spread out his palms. Balls of light blue phosphorous fire rose from his palms, turned into small balls of light and scattered towards the forest. With the faint cold light, I saw a total of seven or eight mandrills, and the closer they got to the campfire, a small row of mandrills slowly spread out, like amputated one-legged monsters, jumping up and down towards several people, their hairy heads seemed to be hanging upside down The mop head shakes and shakes with the jump.
"I'm so creepy..." Yin Zhou gasped.
Xiao Yu silently stood in front of the four of them, and the mandrills seemed to be afraid of evil spirits, so they slowed down their jumping steps.
At the right time, even the moon was hidden, and the only light source was the bonfire in the center and the floating silver-blue light cluster, illuminating this group of "people" one after another. When he was the closest, Lin Yan could even feel the thing's hair brushing against his shoulder, a faint smell of corpses, and when he looked down, his feet were those of a man, without shoes, and his thumb was covered in mud.
Because of nervousness, his back seemed to be pricked by thousands of small needles, and cold sweat leaked out, soaking the camouflage jacket in the cold and sticking it to his body.
"Boom... boom..."
The mandrill circled around for a while, passed between the stump-like people, and slowly jumped long. After the back of the last one disappeared into the night, Da Chuan and Xiao Chuan jumped down from the tree and slipped to the campfire , everyone relaxed, and slowly moved their hands and feet. It took less than ten minutes from the time the mandrill appeared to its departure, and the whole body seemed to stand for hours, numb from head to toe.
"Going away? Oh my god, it seems that you can't talk nonsense in the middle of the night, so what can you do..." Yin Zhou clutched his chest.
Ayan's expression didn't relax, he took out a cold dagger from the equipment bag, it was the one used to recruit the ghost of Er Xiangu, it looked old, he sprinkled a handful of cinnabar on the blade, bit the tip of his tongue Spraying a mouthful of blood mist, he signaled the others to follow suit. As soon as Lin Yan pulled out the dagger, Ayan snatched it away: "You've been hanging around with that ghost for a long time, even blood on the tip of your tongue is too dark, use mine."
"There shouldn't be mandrills here. Everyone, be careful. If something strange happens around you, or who... whoever suddenly behaves strangely, you should hurry up and make a noise."
"It's okay, this thing doesn't bite people. We have seen it several times when we came here to collect firewood and hogweeds, but we always left after jumping for a while." Seeing several people nervous, Xiao Chuan thought that the people in the city had never seen the mountain. Fine, simple explanation.
A Yan asked suspiciously: "There is the entire Mausoleum, or is it just around here?"
"It's right here, this half of the hillside." Xiao Chuan waved his hand back.
"Oops..." Ayan thought thoughtfully: "Mandrills are different from mountain spirits. Although they are all resented by people who died in vain after hundreds of years, mountain spirits grow in places with beautiful geomantic omens, while mandrills only appear They are mutated wild ghosts in places where magic formations or heads have been lowered. The appearance of this thing means that someone has been used nearby, and it has not been broken for a hundred years... "
"This tomb is weird. I'll go and write some talismans. Everyone will carry them with them tomorrow. Be careful when you use the shovel, and don't touch the cursed things."
The word sorcery made Lin Yan suddenly think of the soul-indulging technique in Nanyang Bowhead. The grandma and little girl who were inexplicably used as weapons were afraid of scaring the Duan brothers who followed, so they didn't dare to say it clearly. Yan glanced at Lin Yan, who happened to be looking at Lin Yan with worried eyes, and slowly shook his head after a long while: "The descending technique in the tomb is to prevent theft, one is already difficult, I wonder if we can deal with it this time."
The appearance of the mandrill made everyone a little uneasy. They hurriedly took apart the single sleeping bag set up by the woods, and put it together next to the campfire to form a big tent that could accommodate six people. Da Chuan and Xiao Chuan did not dare to violate the village The long meaning, insisting on not sleeping, perched on the branch of a hundred-year-old tree outside to watch the night in turns. The night dew fell, and the temperature in the barren mountain was getting colder and colder. Everyone spread out the few blankets they brought and covered them to keep out the cold. Lin Yan got into the tent and kicked Yin Zhou to the left, between him and A Yan. Open up a small open space, squeeze in and cover with a quilt.
"Yo, why are you squeezing here, the far left seat is reserved for you two."
Lin Yan pointed outside and threatened Yin Zhou with his mouth, but Xiao Yu hadn't come in yet.
"Okay, let's see how promising you are, go to sleep." Yin Zhou turned over impatiently.
The quilt was covered tightly, the curtain of the tent was lifted, Lin Yan closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep, Xiao Yu glanced at him, and held the curtain still, and said calmly for a long while: "Lin Yan, come out with me. "
Lin Yan felt that he should be snoring in response to the occasion, and Yin Zhou pinched his arm, and he let out a painful ouch, so he sat up reluctantly, and scratched his messy hair.
"Put on some clothes, it's cold outside."
The bonfire was a little smaller, and the ghost brought a bundle of firewood and sat silently by the fire. When Lin Yan walked out of the tent, he took a few deep breaths to calm down. Xiao Yu glanced at him, pointed to the open space beside him, and continued to stare at The bonfire in front of you. His side profile is very good-looking, with a straight nose bridge, and the firmness in his eyes has not been seen for a long time.
Lin Yan awkwardly walked across to him, the night was cold, he was wearing long-sleeved trousers and wrapped in a blanket to keep out the temperature below ten degrees, Xiao Yu was still wearing a thin summer dress, and he didn't know what the cold was, so he added to the fire. Picking up a piece of firewood, he said quietly: "Come and sit down, if you don't say something now, you won't have a chance to say it."
Seeing that he was still unwilling to get close to him, he sneered and said, "Lin Yan, you really don't have to guard me like a thief. Although Xiao Yu is not a human being, he is not an inhuman pig or dog. If you say you don't wait for me, even if you want to Follow me in everything, and Xiao Yu will never force you with those tricks."
"Take today's words as my last words."
Lin Yan groaned in his heart, and sat down side by side with Xiao Yu, staring at the fire in a daze.
Obviously they have been together all the time, but it seems that they have not been together so quietly for a long time. When they were vaguely still at home, they slept in the same bed every day, always looking at the ceiling in the dark like this, occasionally kissing, but most of the time they were depressed. They all cared about his body, just held hands, and slowly rubbed his knuckles with their fingertips. He talked about school, childhood, Yin Zhou, and the landfill in Shenjiayuan. The sunset glow in the sky when Hehe finished school... Later, when he arrived in Liumu Town, he knew that there was Duan Ze, and he never lived like this again.
Lin Yan stared at the bonfire, the flames were like a curled tongue, and the whole field of vision was bright red after watching for a long time.
"How are you doing recently?" Lin Yan asked suddenly.
"Not good." Xiao Yu turned to look at him, "What about you?"
"Not good."
Lin Yan gave a wry smile, Xiao Yu stopped him, his expression was still calm: "Listen to me, after remembering Yihan, I have been thinking about what to do with you. After much deliberation, the only thing I can do is to pay Yihan this life and the next life. For you, fifteen years, sixteen years, at most twenty years, I can always find you."
"No need." Lin Yan turned his head stubbornly.
"I know." Xiao Yu smiled, "You don't care about Xiao Yu's heart that has been given to others."
"Maybe you don't believe me, but I remember all the things that happened after I met you. I never forgot. Xiao Yu's feelings for you have never changed from the beginning to the end. When I remember Yihan, I betrayed you, but I would rather betray you, Xiao Yu." Yu is a person with nothing. I don’t know if he did good deeds and accumulated virtues in his life, but after death, he has a life on his body. In the next life, he is only worthy of being reincarnated as a cow, horse, chicken and dog. Yu, even if you are willing to wait, I will still harm you, I hope that you will be like Duan Ze back then, forget all the past and die in peace."
"You said that you want to stay with me for the remaining twenty days. Xiao Yu is not rare. People's so-called forever is only a few decades. It is far worse than what I want and what I can give. Xiao Yu is not blessed. I can't be a husband and wife with you, this farewell, I'm afraid we will never see each other again, Lin Yan, you are stronger than I thought, after I leave, remember what you said, live well, live for Xiao Yu to see."
Lin Yan was still staring blankly at the bonfire, the blaze was so dazzling that his eyes hurt, he couldn't help but clenched his fists, and said in a hoarse voice: "Just let yourself go, you are tall and powerful, you are infatuated and unrepentant, Then why did you provoke me? Who am I going to settle accounts with?"
Xiao Yu was silent for a while, then threw the last two sticks of firewood into the bonfire, ignored his questioning, and continued: "This tomb is strange, since you have done this for Xiao Yu, if there is any danger, even if it is gone for three days I want to protect you, soul and soul, don't stay too far away from me when you enter the tomb tomorrow, and be obedient."
"It's cool at night, go back and cover the quilt tightly, and I will guard outside."
After the ghost finished speaking, he waved his hand to signal him to go back. He was still sitting by the campfire, looking at the dark hills in the distance, his eyes distant and calm. Lin Yan's face turned blue, he staggered back two steps, picked up a piece of gravel from the ground and threw it hard at him, shaking his lips: "I'll see if it hurts, you don't know it hurts when you become a ghost Is it?"
The stone was hitting his back, and there was a spot of mud on the white T-shirt, which was particularly eye-catching.
"If you raise a dog, you still know how to repay your kindness. What are you doing picking you up? Am I living too comfortably and self-harming? Xiao Yu, you are really not as good as a dog!"
Lin Yan staggered back, only feeling that he was a ball of sand, and under the alienated gaze of that ghost, his internal organs were scattered into a ball, and he could not form an army.
Suddenly they dispersed, summer night, the sound of rain, the wedding dress, the small temple, they held hands to escape from groups of swaying ghosts, the fog was thick, the lecture, the temple owner, he took himself out of the female ghost's hands time and time again Get it back... The hospital leaves, embarks on a journey, the ancient tomb, farther and farther away...
"I really wish I could have left you in that temple." Lin Yan gritted his teeth, resenting for no reason, wishing he could be crushed in the Leifeng Pagoda, at the bottom of the West Lake prison, at the foot of Wuzhi Mountain, "Get lost."
Xiao Yu turned around and looked at him, there was no anger in his eyes, not even sadness, they were as calm as stagnant water.
"Lin Yan, you don't really care about me that much. Except that Xiao Yu is a ghost guarding you and waiting for you. What else do you know? Lin Yan, I'm tired. I'm obsessed with past and present lives, and I'm exhausted with a knife in my heart. , I don't care about you, I don't deserve you, I don't even know how to tell the two of you apart, Xiao Yu is not as rock-solid as you think, and probably also selfish and wants to listen to others when he knows that the so-called love of his life is a joke It's okay to say it... Xiao Yu can't wait, can't wait."
The ghost walked towards him, straightened Lin Yan's collar, lowered his head and whispered in his ear, "Lin Yan, I love you, but if there is an afterlife, Xiao Yu doesn't want to see you anymore."
Lin Yan looked at Xiao Yu's face and suddenly smiled miserably. He thought, the heart can actually be as strong as a rock, invincible, never afraid of the scorching sun and cold, without sadness or joy, without regret or shock.
"Ah! What the hell am I doing!" There was a strange cry from the camp, and the tent was pulled open with a snort. Yin Zhou took the lead, took Ayan and Ache out one by one and ran towards the campfire. The hills were endless, just now Lin Yan and Xiao Yu were submerged in the silence, Yin Zhou saw the two of them face to face, their smiles were uglier than their tears, so they stood still and scratched their heads.
"We... are we here at the wrong time?"
Lin Yan quickly wiped the corners of his eyes with his fingertips, cleared his throat: "It's okay, tell me, what's the matter?"
Yin Zhou's face turned pale, and he pointed to the tent and said, "Just now... I was in the middle of sleeping, and suddenly someone pulled my arm hard. I thought it was you, but suddenly remembered that you were outside, but when I opened my eyes, I saw that you were sleeping. A dirty little girl crawled out from under the quilt, I was so scared to death, she stared at me with dark eyes and smiled, desperately stuffing things into my hands."
As he spoke, he stretched out his hand towards Lin Yan: "Here, this is the thing. Once I call the child gone, it will be left."
In Yin Zhou's hand was a headless rag doll, whose neck was torn apart, revealing balls of gray cotton wool, which looked very old.