It was raining heavily outside, the sky and the earth were almost connected in a line, and there were occasional lightning and thunder.
Not long after Qi Shan fell asleep, he was awakened by the noisy knocking on the door. He opened his eyes, straightened his clothes, and was about to put on his clogs and go to open the door, but Chen Tang opened the door before him.
The man was wearing a straw hat and raincoat, and looked anxious.
It was Muramasa from Qianjia Village.
Chen Tang turned sideways and invited people into the house.
"It's raining heavily outside, please come in and talk first, old man."
Muramasa waved his hand and declined: "No, no."
Qi Shan stepped forward and said, "Look, you look anxious, has something happened?"
"Have you two seen Ah Yan?" It was raining outside. Muramasa's face was wet with raindrops, which were dripping down. He didn't bother to wipe it with his hands. His voice was trembling a little, "That child... just because I didn't keep an eye on him, he disappeared!"
Chen Tang asked doubtfully, "Who is Ah Yan?"
"That's the kid who was playing with the young master earlier."
When he said that, Shen Tang knew who it was.
It turned out to be that silly-looking kid.
His name is "Ayan".
Chen Tang glanced at the situation outside the house and shook his head: "We have been in the house and didn't see him. When did he disappear?"
Muramasa: "Just now, a quarter of an hour at most."
Upon hearing this, Chen Tang's expression visibly darkened.
A quarter of an hour is fifteen minutes.
The rain outside was so heavy that even the straw raincoat and bamboo hat could not stop it. The wind was howling and the rain was pouring down. You could vaguely hear the howling of wild animals in the mountains, which was creepy. A child disappeared in such weather. Could he have been taken away by wolves and tigers that sneaked into the village
This is also what Muramasa is most worried about.
He said: "If he ran out to play, it would be fine, but I'm afraid he would be carried away by a big beast coming down the mountain..."
In recent years, there has been drought, low harvests, heavy taxes, and wars everywhere. The villagers have a hard time, and the wild animals in the mountains have a hard time too, often coming down the mountain to look for food. It would be fine if they just took away the villagers' livestock, but they would be afraid of taking away the children.
Similar tragedies have occurred three times in the past two years.
Qi Shan took down the bamboo hat hanging on the wall, put it on his head, tied the rope, and said, "Don't worry, father-in-law, I will help to look for the child. We will find the child eventually. On the bright side, maybe the child was taken back by the servants of the manor..."
Muramasa sighed.
He also hoped that everything was just a false alarm as Qishan said, and the child was not missing or taken away by the big insect but was taken back, but he knew that the possibility was very small. Ah Yan was not valued, and his quality of life in Zhuangzi was just enough to keep him from starving to death.
Half a month ago, he stayed in the village for four or five days before being picked up - this was the result of a villager from Qianjia Village who happened to meet one of the old ladies and deliberately reminded him. The weather tonight is so bad, don't expect them to come in the rain to pick him up.
Chen Tang said, “I’ll help look for it too.”
Qi Shan glanced at him and said, "Forget it. Why don't you check the weather outside? Otherwise, you might be lost if you can't be found."
Muramasa was grateful to Qishan for his help, but he did not approve of Chen Tang going out - this young man was still childish, only eleven or twelve years old, still thin, and looked only five or six years older than Ayan.
"These worries are unnecessary. How could I get lost? At the very least, it's better than asking the villagers to look for someone in the dark." Chen Tang borrowed a straw raincoat and a hat from Muramasa. Muramasa was worried and handed her an axe for chopping wood, which would help her get through if she was unlucky enough to encounter a big tiger.
"Ayan!"
The heavy rain made the ground muddy.
Although Chen Tang had good eyesight, she would step into puddles from time to time, and mud and water would splash when she walked, making the hem of her clothes dirty. After a quarter of an hour, she searched the fields near Qianjia Village but could not find Ah Yan. Other villagers also found nothing.
The longer the time goes, the less confident people become.
Qishan asked Muramasa where Zhuangzi was. He planned to go to Zhuangzi to ask - although the possibility of being taken away was not high, what if
Chen Tang volunteered: "I'll go too."
Muramasa sighed and said, "Then I'll trouble you two to make a trip."
The villagers of Qianjia Village searched in the direction close to the mountains. They did the same with the child who had been taken away by the giant insect. They searched all night long without success and finally found the intestines, pieces of meat and bones dragging out in the grass at the foot of the mountain.
"Word Spirit is so magical, why doesn't it have a function to protect against rain?"
Even though she was wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat, Chen Tang was still soaked. The feeling of the cold clothes sticking to her skin made her extremely uncomfortable. If the night wind blew into the gaps in the straw raincoat, it would raise goose bumps.
Qishan said: "Maybe."
Who made there so many words
Besides—
"Even if there is, not all words can be learned. If you hope that there is such a word spirit in the world, you might as well wear more rain gear."
Chen Tang trotted to keep up with him, not caring that his heavy steps would splash dirty water. It was already dirty anyway, so it didn't matter how careful he was. "Then is there any lighting device that won't get wet by rain? It would be convenient for marching in heavy rain or walking at night..."
Qishan: “…”
Zhuangzi is not far from Qianjia Village.
The two of them walked along the muddy path, one foot deep and one foot shallow, and it took them two quarters of an hour to find it. It was a courtyard surrounded by a low wall, and they could vaguely see the black tiles and white walls. The courtyard was pitch black, with no light, and from a distance it looked like the black shadow of a curled up beast.
Chen Tang stepped forward and raised his hand to knock on the door.
Dong Dong Dong—
At this moment, a flash of lightning jumped in the clouds, illuminating half of the sky, followed by a deafening thunder.
She was worried that no one inside could hear her, so she changed from knocking on the door with her fingers to knocking with her fists, gradually increasing the force - bang bang bang!
Just when she thought there was no one in the house, she vaguely heard a man's impatient reply: "Who is it? Why are you knocking on the door?"
After a while, the door opened.
The middle-aged man who opened the door was wearing a short brown robe and a scarf on his head. He seemed very unhappy that someone disturbed his sleep in the middle of the night. He glanced at Chen Tang and Qi Shan with an unfriendly look. Seeing that the two men, one tall and one short, were not very old, their expressions seemed to relax a little and became a little more friendly.
"Who are you two?"
Chen Tang replied, "We are travelers staying in Qianjia Village. We heard from Muramasa that the child named Ayan is from your village. He played in the village during the day and didn't return. He disappeared not long ago. Muramasa is worried that he was taken away by a giant insect, so he is looking for him everywhere."
The middle-aged man's expression eased a lot after hearing what Chen Tang said: "Oh, Ah Yan has been brought back. Thank you for your concern."
Received it back
Shen Tang frowned slightly.
With the help of the hat to cover it, it returns to its normal color.
At this time, Qi Shan crossed his arms and saluted the man, and said gently: "The young master is fine, and we are relieved. But it is dark and narrow now, and the wind and rain are strong. Can you borrow your house temporarily so that my two brothers can take shelter here?"
The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment when he heard this.
But he still turned aside to let Chen Tang and the others in, and said, "You two are also running in the rain for your children. It's okay if you just want to take shelter from the rain. But it's too late now. Everyone in the mansion has gone to bed. I can't entertain you two. I hope you can forgive me."
Qishan: "This is natural. Just have a roof to shelter you from the rain."
The two followed the middle-aged man into the courtyard.
There were several trees planted in the yard, with hemp ropes tied between the trunks for drying clothes. Clothes were hung on the ropes - seven or eight pieces for adults and a piece of child's clothing that was bleached by starch and patched.
Chen Tang glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, then looked away without leaving a trace.