"Come, hill, take ...... handle"

The old man in the robes docked the boat by the Yellow River, tied the rope, and greeted his grandson,

"Okay, here......"

In the rain, a young man in a red raincoat walked two steps from the bow of the boat to the old man.

Dressed in a robe, the old man squatted down again, looked at the female corpse lying on the boat, and said, 'Don't blame it',

Together with his grandson, one of them held the corpse's shoulders and the other of the corpse's legs, and moved the corpse to a simple frame covered with cloth.

"Hill, let's go. ”

After taking a raincoat from the side and draping it lightly over the corpse, the old and the young lifted the shelf where the corpse was kept, stepped off the boat, and walked along the riverside path towards the riverside hills.

......

On the side, not far away, watching the old and the young, the driftwood under Lian Ge also quietly docked on the bank of the river.

Stepping on driftwood and standing up, Lian Ge retracted his gaze, jumped softly, and stepped onto the riverbank.

Standing on the bank of the river, looking at the figure of the old and the young fading away, Lian Ge paused slightly and moved away again.

At the same time, with a wave of his hand, he removed the spell to block the rain.

In an instant, dense and rapid raindrops fell on the body.

......

“...... Old man, I am a passing tourist, walking here suddenly shower, I don't know if the old man can borrow me a place to shelter from the rain, by the way let me ask for a glass of water to drink. ”

Lian Ge moved his steps and walked to the front of the old man in the cloak and his grandson, and broke the effect of the 'Invisible Concealment' spell with a loud voice.

Hearing the voice, the old man in the robes and his grandson paused, turned their heads and followed the voice, as if they had only noticed Lian Ge beside him,

The old man looked at Lian Ge, and paused on the mouse on Lian Ge's shoulder,

“...... If you don't dislike it, please come with me. As he spoke, the old man turned his gaze to his grandson, "Xiaoshan, take off your raincoat and give it to this gentleman." ”

Hearing this, his grandson was a little puzzled, but he still did as he was told.

"Raincoats are not needed. Seeing this, Lian Ge shook his head slightly, and said with a smile, "Old man, your house should not be far from here, I can still get drenched in this little rain." ”

When his grandson heard this, he paused and looked at his grandfather.

The old man looked at Lian Ge again and nodded,

"Then sir, please come with me. ”

So saying, the old man carried the stretcher, beckoned his grandson, and continued along the muddy road.

Seeing this, Lian Ge smiled slightly, and also moved his steps again, walking beside the stretcher without hurry.

......

“...... I don't know what you're carrying, old man?" Lian Ge turned his gaze, glanced at the female corpse covered by a raincoat on the shelf, and asked out loud.

When the old man heard this, he turned his head slightly to look at Lian Ge,

"It's a poor man in the water of the Yellow River. As he spoke, the old man shook his head slightly.

“...... It was a floating corpse that my grandfather and I fished up from the river. Wearing a red raincoat, the young man who was only seventeen or eighteen years old hurriedly replied, with some pride in his tone,

"But don't be afraid, sir, this kind of corpse is nothing, every once in a while, my grandfather and I can fish one out of the river. ”

Hearing this, Lian Ge looked at the young man, smiled slightly, turned his gaze, and looked at the old man walking in front,

"The old gentleman is the corpse collector of the Yellow River?"

"Sort of. The old man turned his head, glanced at Lian Ge, and nodded, "It's also a job handed down from the ancestors." Hundreds of years ago, my ancestors fled here in the war, and they had no livelihood, so they ate this dead man's food.

In this water, salvage these poor people, and wait for other people's families to ask for them, and give some rice and grain to those who are willing to give it, and let him take it back if he is not willing to give it. ”

“...... Originally, when a corpse was fished, sometimes when others came to claim it, they could give hundreds of dollars. It's a pity that what I picked up today is a carrion corpse......" The young man who walked behind followed and continued,

"This kind of corpse, the face is so rotten that I can't recognize it, and there is no family to pick it up, like those who fish for corpses downstream, they have to throw this kind of corpse down. Only my grandfather and I will pick up a corpse like this and take it back......" The young man's face was a little proud,

"Grandpa said that we are eating the food of the dead, and those people are eating with the dead. ”

Hearing this, Lian Ge smiled slightly, and then turned his eyes to look at the old man who was walking in front of him and didn't speak again.

“...... Sir, where did you come from? There is a road from our village around here. The young man in the red raincoat was holding the stretcher, turning his head to look at Lian Ge with some curiosity.

"From upstream. Lian Ge smiled and replied.

"Did you come from the other side of the mountain?" the young man turned his head, a little stunned, a little confused.

“...... Hill, concentrate on the road. The old man who walked in front of him spoke up.

Hearing this, the young man answered and fell silent again.

Lian Ge glanced at the old man and smiled slightly.

In the rain, the muddy road became quieter, only the sound of footsteps mixed with the sound of raindrops lapping the grass and trees around him.

......

Then, Lian Ge and the old and the young walked along the trail a little faster in the rain, towards the hills not far from the riverbank,

Walking along the trail above the mountainside, after rounding a hill, a village surrounded by mountains comes into view.

Standing at the foot of the mountain and looking down, the village is in the col at the foot of the mountain, and the tall and low buildings are scattered along a winding road in the village.

Perhaps it was close to noon, and in the dense rain, a faint smoke rose from many houses in the village.

“...... Sir, wait a minute. ”

Walking to the mountainside at the back of the hill, the old man in the cloak paused, and the old man's grandson stopped before the old man could speak.

Hearing this, Lian Ge turned his gaze and nodded to the old man.

Then the old man and his grandson put the stretcher on the path on the mountainside for the time being, and walked down a tree on the side of the trail alone.

Under the trees, the rain was largely shaded by dense foliage, leaving a slightly dry area on the ground.

Waiting for the rain to drip from the robe, the old man leaned over and stretched out his hand to grope through the robe, groping for a handful of yellow paper money and a lighter.

Squatting down in the dry area under the tree, the old man held a lighter in one hand and yellow paper money in the other, shielding himself from the gusting wind.

"Smack. ”

The paper money was set on fire, and when it was completely burned, the old man put it on the ground where some paper ashes had accumulated.

“...... Thank you for your blessings and the smooth return of our grandchildren. ”

The old man stood up, hunched over, with paper money burning in front of him, facing the back of the hill, on the mountainside above the path, and whispered.

......

Listening to the sound that came from the wind, Lian Ge turned his gaze and looked at the mountainside opposite the old man,

I saw that on the side of the hill, there were graves arched one after another, from under the tree where the old man stood, all the way to the top of the hill.

“...... These are the graves of my grandfather and our ancestors, this kind of rotting corpse, this kind of unclaimed corpse, we have all buried them on the mountain, not only this mountain, but also the mountain opposite, all of them......" Seeing Lian Ge's eyes looking at the graves on the mountain, Lian Ge's side, the young man in a red raincoat, explained with some pride.

The voice, echoing in the rain, made the hill seem more and more quiet.

。