Finally at the entrance of the village, Lu Rong stopped, hid behind a big tree and peeked inside.
He always felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't tell the specifics, until a gust of wind blew by, he raised his nose and sniffed, and finally understood.
That's right, Uncle Bai's aura disappeared, and there was a cold and strange smell, full of unknown dangers, which made him resist.
The village is like a rich man carrying the neighboring villages he passed by on his back. There are small courtyards and houses scattered here and there, and the one in the middle seems to be lit.
It was getting dark, Lu Rong made sure there was nothing unusual, and quietly walked out from behind the big tree.
Shen Jize was sleeping soundly and didn't even have a dream, but suddenly he was pushed heavily, and a flat voice urged: "Hurry up, don't stand still."
He woke up suddenly after dozing off, opened his eyes, and found that he was not lying on the bed, there were mountains everywhere, it was a wild land.
There were people on the front, back, left, and right, and he was sandwiched between them, as if he was heading in a certain direction.
"Go quickly, don't stand still." The voice urged again.
Shen Jize turned his head to look, and was almost close to a big snow-white face, so scared that he almost cried out.
The owner of that face took a step back and looked at him. There was no emotion in the narrow eyes, which were as silent as death.
Only then did Shen Jize see clearly that this was a middle-aged woman in red and green. The wrinkled face was painted white, and the thick powder was stuck in the grooves of the loose skin. The lips were blood red, and there were two round red spots on the cheeks.
If he saw this appearance normally, he would definitely find it funny, but at this moment he only felt it was weird.
Shen Jize also took a step back, but unexpectedly bumped into the person behind him. Just as I subconsciously said I'm sorry, I heard giggling from the people behind me.
Shen Jize turned his head quickly and saw a little girl.
The little girl was about his age, wearing a satin red gown and a black mandarin jacket, with two buns on one side and one on the right. Like the middle-aged woman, her face was painted white, but her lips and cheeks were bright red.
Shen Jize had only seen this kind of costume in costume dramas.
"Hee hee." The little girl smiled at him again.
But her eyes were empty, she didn't feel any joy at all, she just grinned and made a sound, no matter how you looked at it, it was abnormal.
It seemed that because of his movement here, the marching team stopped, and everyone turned their heads to face Shen Jize quietly.
Only then did Shen Jize realize that everyone in this team was wearing long gowns, their faces were painted white, and there were two round blobs of red on their cheeks. The eyeballs didn't move, they just stared blankly in his direction.
In front of the team was a black wooden sedan chair with big red flowers tied on it, which was carried by several people, and it was unknown who was sitting inside.
"Hurry up, don't stand still." The middle-aged woman repeated again, and handed him a wooden box in her hand.
Shen Jize looked down at the box, and saw that his clothes were wrong. He was actually wearing the same red gown and double-breasted black jacket as the little girl.
He doesn't know what's going on now, he just feels scared, everything is so weird and terrifying, it makes him want to get out of here quickly.
Seeing the middle-aged woman pushing the wooden box closer and closer, he suddenly mustered up courage, reached out and slapped the box away, turned around and rushed to the field on the left.
There was a sound of the wooden box falling to the ground behind him, and there seemed to be a commotion in the crowd. He didn't bother to look back, and only used the greatest strength in his life to rush forward, as fast as when he escaped from the deer demon before.
Fortunately, he has already experienced the stimulation of the deer demon, so he will no longer be frightened into crying loudly.
There was only the whistling of the wind in his ears, and there was no sound of footsteps chasing him. Shen Jize rushed forward with all his might, and stopped until he couldn't run anymore, holding on to the stone beside him for breath.
When he was calm, he began to take off his clothes, and after a rough tug, he stripped off the black mandarin jacket and the red gown and threw them on the ground.
Fortunately, he was still wearing his daytime T-shirt and shorts, so he wouldn't be running around naked.
Why am I having this horrible dream again? Shen Jize asked himself while looking around, wanting to see the surrounding situation.
Under the light that is not yet dark, it can be seen that this is a wasteland, about the size of a football field, filled with large and small soil bags.
The distance was shrouded in thick and chaotic mist, and in the intervals between the dirt bumps, it seemed that there were several pairs of eyes watching him.
Shen Jize opened his eyes wide and tried to identify, and found a stone tablet in front of each soil bag.
Suddenly, he thought of something, and looked down at the rock he was holding on to.
Sure enough, there was also a stone tablet with some small characters engraved on it, and he was leaning on the soil bag behind the stone tablet.
This... This is a cemetery.
Shen Jize jumped to the side like an electric shock, every hair stood on end, and hurriedly patted his back that was leaning on the dirt bag just now.
After clapping his back and clapping his hands, he looked around in panic.
It is impossible to go back the same way now, that group of people is too scary. But it's getting dark soon, so I can't just stay in the cemetery like this.
Not even in a dream.
The moon rose, illuminating the entire tomb pale, and Shen Jize walked between the tombs, wanting to go out from another direction.
A gust of wind blew, unburned yellow paper flew up and rolled in the air, with a strong smell of fireworks and a stench of soil.
He tried not to pay attention to the scenes on both sides, but the graves still fell clearly in his eyes.
Some soil bags have been grown for a long time, and only a small ball is left after being washed by the rain. The stone tablets are also crooked, and the words on them are blurred. There was even a time when I felt that my feet were wrong, only to realize that I was stepping on a small graveyard with only half of it left.
However, some of the tombs are very new, with white flags inserted on both sides, colorful paper pierced people standing upright, and all the sacrifices placed in front of the stone tablets are not yet broken.
Shen Jize walked forward in despair, telling himself repeatedly in his heart: This is a dream, don't be afraid, this is a dream, no matter how real it looks, it is still a dream.
It's just that when the wind blows, the sweat-soaked back feels chilly.
Dad... Mom... Uncle... Who will wake me up... Shen Jize wanted to cry, but he held back.
Men don't cry.
The front was almost at the end of the cemetery, and his pace was faster, but when he passed a new grave and pushed aside the white flag blocking in front of him, he suddenly stopped.
He saw the paper pricks standing beside him very familiarly. Life-size, wearing a red gown and a black mandarin jacket, with a big white face, red cheeks, and the corners of his mouth forming a strange arc.
— Just like the people in the team I met at the beginning.
Shen Jize stared at the paper pierced people, and his breathing became short of breath. After he calmed down a bit, he swished forward and rushed out.
He no longer pays attention to the road under his feet, except that he will walk around the big graves, and step on the small graves directly. Kicking over the dishes and bowls containing the sacrifices all the way, the jingling sounded non-stop.
Some pale bone-like objects were scattered around, he didn't look closely, just jumped and rushed forward, if he couldn't jump, he stepped on them directly, making a cracking sound.
After finally rushing out of the grave, he stopped abruptly.
Under the moonlight, next to the cemetery, the strange team that he met at the beginning stopped in front of him, and everyone watched him standing quietly without moving.
No one knows how long they have been here and how long they have stood here.
The middle-aged woman was standing beside the black wooden sedan chair hung with red flowers, holding a folded red gown and black mandarin jacket, as if she had been waiting for him.
Shen Jize finally cried. He didn't care whether the man was crying or wiped his tears. He gritted his teeth and cried until his whole body trembled.
He wanted to open his mouth to yell, whatever he wanted, no matter if it was his parents, uncle, or rich man Lu Rong, but it was as if he had been swallowed up, his voice was stuck in his throat and he couldn't utter a word.
In the dead silence, the middle-aged woman stepped forward, shook off the clothes in her hands silently, and put Shen Jize first in a red gown and then in a black jacket.
Her movements were stiff and rigid, but she was very strong. Shen Jize wanted to run, but she grabbed his arm and stared at him.
Shen Jize realized that his body no longer belonged to him, so he raised his arms uncontrollably and turned around, matching the woman's movement of putting on her clothes.
He opened his mouth and wept silently.
Crying that can't cry out loud makes people's liver and gallbladder split, and it is extremely painful.
After getting dressed, the middle-aged woman backed away expressionlessly, took the wooden box from a man standing sluggishly, handed it to Shen Jize, and signaled him to return to the team.
The team continued to move forward under the moonlight, silently, only a few sharp and rough calls of old ravens came from a distance.
Shen Jize walked among them heartbroken, holding a wooden box in his hand.
The little girl beside him giggled at him again.
His hands trembled, and he felt that he didn't want to hear hee hee again in his life.
Shen Jize didn't know where he was going or what he was going to do. This dream was beyond his knowledge, and it was so real that it didn't seem like a dream.
No, no, this is a dream.
He refuses to admit it.
After walking for a while, lights appeared ahead, reflecting the silhouettes of houses.
Is this a village? anyone there
Shen Jize was shocked, and hope rose in his heart.
Whether there were people there or not, the village and the lights represented popularity, and drove away his fears quite a bit.
The leading man in a long coat stopped and shouted in a hoarse and rigid voice: "Xiao Le—"
A suona sounded, piercing the quiet night mournfully, followed by the sound of the gong, and the sound was transmitted to the distance like a sound.
Without anyone's order, the advancing team stopped, and Shen Jize also stood still.
After a while, a group of figures appeared in front of the mountain road, walking in this direction, and stopped in front of them.
The leader was riding a tall horse, wearing a red gown, with a big red flower on his chest. Looking at his outfit, he was the groom official who was about to pay his respects.
Shen Jize's heart did not improve because of the arrival of this group of people, but became even more frightened.
Not to mention that the groom's attire and appearance are not modern, his face is also the same as that of everyone here, with red cheeks painted on his big white face, and the corners of his mouth are grinning exaggeratedly on both sides.
The sound of the suona and the gong became louder, making Shen Jize's forehead twitch.
After the bridegroom's team joined their team, the black wooden sedan chair that had just been put down was lifted up again, and they all headed towards the village.
Shen Jize held the wooden box and followed the team stiffly.