Wow~~Wow~~
Night crows are screaming on the dark mountaintops, and the moonlight is like water spreading over the rolling foothills. The night is not yet deep, and behind the gaps in the black woods, there are dim lights on, indicating a mountain village with only a few households.
The broken window frames reflected the shadows of people walking, and there was the sound of dishes and chopsticks being put on the table, followed by a voice talking and laughing.
"Old man, you are the same. If you have trouble with your eyes, how can you walk around in the mountains? If you bump into something and fall, it will be troublesome. If you encounter a wolf in the mountain..."
"Don't talk nonsense!"
A woman's voice scolded. In the dim light of the oil lamp, the woman sitting on a low stool in the corner bit off the thread she was sewing, stood up and snatched the bowl from her husband's hand, rolled her eyes at him, and then walked to the shabby square table over there, "Old man, don't mind it. My man is not very talkative and always says bad things. Don't take it to heart."
The wind pushed in through the window frame, and the flame of the oil lamp on the square table swayed.
In the firelight, an old man in dirty and worn clothes had his eyes slightly closed, his hair and beard were white but neatly combed. Hearing what the woman said, he laughed twice and reached out to take the bowl and chopsticks handed to him.
"It's okay. People who speak their mind are usually kind-hearted. How could I be angry? It's the hostess's family who have good vision."
The old man's laughing words made the village woman smile. She turned around and glared at her man, meaning: See? It's me who has good taste, not you.
The man scratched his hair awkwardly and squatted by the door, laughing without saying anything. The old man over there took a few bites of the simple food and said with a smile: "The harmony of a family is a matter for two people. It can't be achieved by just one of them. By the way, I have to say that the children in the family must also be included."
The woman, who was a little dazed when she saw the old man calculating, suddenly heard the word "son". She lowered her head, pinched the corner of her linen clothes and went to the wall. Her shoulders twitched slightly, and she walked to the stove and stared blankly at the remaining fire in the stove.
"What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"
The old man calculated again, his face froze, he sighed, and then smiled again: "I was wrong, I shouldn't have mentioned your sad story, but you don't have to be sad, let the dead go with the wind, I just calculated again, you two should have one more child."
Hearing these words suddenly, the man squatting by the door's eyes suddenly lit up. He quickly got up from the ground, sat opposite, and hesitated while rubbing his big hands. But the woman sitting by the stove came over and spoke first, her voice trembling.
"Old man, are you really good at fortune-telling? Will my husband and I have a son?"
"My calculations are not bad, I think it's correct."
The old man turned his head slightly, staring at the woman's belly with his half-closed eyes as if he could see something, stroking his white beard and nodding: "It is indeed pregnancy, I would like to congratulate you two first."
The couple opposite looked at each other. The man was dull but not stupid. He subconsciously reached out and touched his wife's belly, and his voice began to tremble.
"Really...really?"
There were outsiders present, and the woman's face turned red. She pushed her husband's hand away, covered her belly and turned to the side. Thinking carefully, it seemed that she had not had her period for two months. She had forgotten about it because she was busy working in the fields. Now that she thought about it, her face suddenly lit up with joy, as she thought she was really pregnant.
When the man saw the woman's expression as she protected her belly, even a fool could tell that she was pregnant. He looked at the old man opposite, bowed and thanked him, and hurriedly brought the bowl to the old man for more food.
"You are really a living god, old man. I... I am a farmer and can't say much... I don't have anything to thank you for at home. If you don't mind, just eat more... eat more..."
'hehe.'
Over there, the old man stroked his beard and shook his head, waving his hands: "How can I be called a god? I just know how to read people's faces and fortune. My ability is not even half as good as my master's."
The old man was none other than Wang Chengen. Wang was half-blind and had come out to travel around the mountains and rivers to comprehend the mysteries of nature. He was on his way back to Chang'an at this time. When he passed by a village in the mountains at night, he came to stay for a night and have a meal.
"Old man... you still have a master?"
The man respectfully placed the bowl in front of Wang Banxia. Looking at the old man's age, he thought that his master might really be a mountain immortal. The couple looked at each other, not daring to be negligent, and knelt on the ground together, kowtowed to the old man.
Hearing the kowtow, Wang Banxia was shocked and nodded and stroked his beard. He felt light and fluttery, but he still opened his mouth, stretched out his hand and raised it lightly.
"Hey, what are you doing? Get up."
After the man kowtowed heavily, he helped his wife up. His eyes were red on his rough, dark face. He picked up the clay pot, poured a bowl of cold water, and handed it to her.
"Old sir, my wife and I finally had another child, but we don't want him to be gone again. Please save him, sir."
Hearing the sound of the pottery bowl hitting the table, Wang Banxia frowned, and with a heroic look, he stretched out his hands and said, "Your last child passed away. Do you have any other explanation?"
The man next to him was speechless for a moment. The woman next to him sat down at the table and continued her husband's words in the light of the lamp, saying: "Sir, our previous child was killed by a monster."
Wang Banxia, who was sitting upright and nodding, swayed and almost fell to the ground. The man next to him thought the stool was old and unstable, so he reached out to help him up. "Don't blame me, sir. We don't have much property at home. It was bought when we got married. It's been a while."
Wang Banxia steadied himself and sat down again, saying calmly, "It's okay." Then he turned to the woman and asked, "What's going on? Is there a monster here?"
The woman nodded.
"Yes, my child was seven or eight years old at the time. My husband and I were working in the fields. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew and we heard the child screaming. When we looked back, there was only a straw sandal left on the ridge of the field. Later, several families in the village helped to search for several miles around. Finally, we found the torn clothes on a hill in front. There were... There were a few strands of hair and blood on it..."
Having said this, perhaps recalling the tragic scene of the past, the woman stopped talking and started crying, covering her face.
Wow~Wow~~
In the darkness outside the house, night crows cried hoarsely. The wind whimpered over the eaves. As the oil lamp swayed, Wang Banxia's throat rolled and he swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
"… I can only tell fortunes, but I can't exorcise demons. That's the skill of my other junior brothers."
The crows' cry was creepy. When Wang Banxia thought of this, the food on the table no longer smelled good. Even the tiredness from the journey was swept away. He stood up calmly and walked towards the door.
The man hurriedly followed him: "Old man, where are you going?"
snort!
The old man snorted coldly, unbolted the door, opened the door and walked out. His lifeless and half-closed eyes looked at the mountains in the distance in the night.
"It would be fine if I didn't hear it, but since I heard that there is a demon causing trouble here, how can I just sit there and watch."
"But... but it's already dark, old man, it won't be too late to go until tomorrow morning."
"Hmph!" Wang Banxia snorted again, his expression solemn. He slightly turned his head, flicked his wide sleeves, and walked out of the eaves. "How can we leave the matter of exorcising demons overnight?"
Under the eaves, the couple held hands tightly and looked at the back of the old man who was walking with his hands behind his back, adding a sense of mystery.
"Old sir, you are truly an expert!"
Immediately, the two of them bowed towards the darkness ahead.
The moonlight brushed across the village like water, bypassing the old man who was standing by the low courtyard wall. He walked slowly, but the moment his footsteps landed, he quickly quickened his pace, hugged his sleeves, and ran quickly.
"We can't stay here for long, retreat quickly!"