When I arrived at the Tiger Skin Village, it was already ten o'clock in the evening, when the stars in the sky were not bright, the moonlight was very hazy, and the summer wind blew slowly, blowing on people's cheeks, perfunctory and frivolous.

Ye Chen still found a villager, but it happened that the person was the village chief. The village chief was a middle-aged man in his forties, and when he learned that Ye Chen was looking for Guo Aizhen, he was stunned. He looked Ye Chen up and down, as if he was examining a monster. As he watched, he distanced himself from Ye Chen.

He waited until he had reached a safe distance before asking, "Where are you from?

Ye Chen replied: "I am a friend of his husband, and I need to see her and give her something in person." ”

But it's not a lie, her husband has disappeared a long time ago. Where's the friend?"

"Her husband is not missing, he is still alive in the world, but he can't come back because of some things, so he entrusted me to send her something. ”

"Then you're late. The village chief shook his head and sighed slightly.

Ye Chen hurriedly asked, "What do you mean it's late?" Is Guo Aizhen in this village?"

"Half a month ago, she was still alive. There is no such person left in the village today. ”

"You mean she's dead?" Ye Chen was a little surprised.

The village chief nodded, and in line with the principle that it is not his own business, the village chief walked away after saying that.

Ye Chen took two steps forward, grabbed the village chief's shirt and said, "The village chief stays! May I ask if there is anyone in Guo Aizhen's family who does not have it? How did he die?"

"That unlucky husband is really, he has achieved nothing for half his life, so he left as soon as he said it, leaving her alone at home and waiting for death. I don't think he dares to come back, and he doesn't have the face to come back. Where are there any children and in-laws in her family, she has long been left alone, and it is usually our neighbors who take care of her. Even the funeral expenses were raised by our village. ”

"I see. I didn't know it. - What kind of illness did she suffer?"

"Cerebellar atrophy, coupled with lupus erythematosus, the flesh on the body is rotten piece by piece, and it is miserable. Don't talk about her, it's pitiful to think of her. When the village chief said this, he covered his face with his hands, as if he couldn't bear to see it.

Ye Chen let out a long sigh and said, "What a pitiful person." - Village Chief, can I go to her house?"

The village chief said: "I see that you are a serious person, so I will take you over to see the home where she lived before her death." ”

The village chief said and led the way in front, leading Ye Chen through the streets and alleys to a people's door. The village chief pointed to the closed gate and said, "No one dares to go in, I have the key, but I also advise you not to go in." ”

At this time, a few villagers came over, and they all came to watch the excitement.

Ye Chen said: "I am entrusted by someone, I must know the details, since I am here, how can I not go in and have a look?"

The village chief said, "Do you really want to go in and have a look?"

The villagers said: "Village chief, open the door and go in to have a look, I heard that there is a woman crying inside, which scared my child to cry a few times!" The villagers were gossiping, but they all hoped to take advantage of Ye Chen's arrival to go in and find out.

The village chief had no choice but to send someone back to his house to get the key and hand it to Ye Chen, who took the key and opened the gate. The moment I pushed the door in, I was greeted by a swarm of flies, buzzing over everyone's heads. A few timid villagers were frightened and fled.

Ye Chen said: "If you dare to enter, go in with me, if you are afraid, don't delay me here." ”

The village chief said: "Young man, I don't know where you are from, who your surname is, how dare you let you trespass into the house?"

Ye Chen said: "Village chief, if you go in with me, I will take a few glances and confirm that Guo Aizhen has passed away, so that I can be regarded as fulfilling my mission." If I hadn't been entrusted with it, who would have done this kind of errand? Could it be that I had lost my mind and believed that there was gold hidden in this house?"

The villagers chimed in: "It makes sense, when I was alive, this family was poor. The man ran away from home with oil on the soles of his feet, leaving a terminally ill woman waiting to die. If God had eyes, he would definitely make that man die a bad death. The poor woman died and became a lonely ghost. No wonder someone could hear the house in the middle of the night, and there was a faint cry. ”

The village chief reprimanded the villagers, telling them not to talk nonsense and be disrespectful to the deceased. followed Ye Chen into the house.

Ye Chen took advantage of the faint light of his mobile phone and entered the courtyard. The yard was covered with cobwebs, benches and tables with broken legs, and weeds spread from the most unlikely of grounds, leaving little room for them. There are three rooms to the north, and the doors are crawling with toads and lizards, and crows make nests under the eaves. A faded red paper blessing character can still be faintly seen on the glass window, the dust has been covered layer after layer, and the other side of the glass is boundless pitch black.

The terrible scene after the scene, the villagers watched their legs sifting chaff, their teeth chattering, and it was obviously the summer of May, but the chill came one after another.

"Let's go, I still have something to do at home, I'll go first. "A villager couldn't stand it anymore and ran away.

The village chief said: "Little brother, you are not small, there are new dead people here, and you are not afraid." You are a gentleman who values affection and righteousness, and you are entrusted by others and loyal to others, in fact, you have done your duty when you come here. ”

Ye Chen said: "Village chief, do you also have the keys to the three rooms in the north?"

The village chief was stunned, but when Ye Chen asked, he shook the keychain reflexively, and the key to the small door and the key to the gate were hanging together.

Ye Chen picked up the set of keys, walked under the eaves, and muttered for a while before opening the bedroom door. A foul, musty air came to my face. It was deep and dark, and the most complete darkness in heaven and earth spread out in front of my eyes.

Ye Chen still walked in with his mobile phone. The village chief stood in place, looking at how many people were accompanying him, and then he was relieved to stand in place and never leave.

On the east wall hangs a picture frame, a picture frame with a sense of age. The wooden frame is carved with the pattern of the dragon flying and the phoenix dancing, perhaps due to the age, the wood was eaten by insects a few holes, the owner carefully smashed a few nails to fix the picture frame, it can be seen that when the owner was alive, how much he loved life and paid attention to details.

The glass of the picture frame was covered with dust, and a dozen photographs could be seen arranged crookedly inside. Ye Chen waved the dust with his hand, and suddenly saw a photo of a beautiful woman, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, young and handsome, tilting her head and leaning on the shoulder of a man beside her.

The man's appearance is heroic and extraordinary, with a bit of a military demeanor.

This pair of beautiful people are close to each other, happy and sweet, which makes people amazed by the shallowness of time.

Ye Chen thought to himself, this pair should be Guo Aizhen and her man, that is, the stranger he met on the mountain.

They were living happily together, but why did such a huge turn in their lives happen?

The village chief urged: "Little brother, we will all accompany you here to feed the flies." ”

Ye Chen motioned for them not to speak yet, because he saw that the photo suddenly fell to the edge of the frame, and a corner was exposed along the crack. He carefully pulled out the photograph, took out a piece of facial tissue, and wrapped it up, as if he had completed an important work of art.

With the help of his phone's flashlight, he looked at the furnishings of the room again, the ragged clothes were piled up on the floor, the furniture was crooked, and it was obvious that no one had taken care of it. In the large wardrobe, a half-old cheongsam was hung in the wardrobe, still hanging on the hanger, which seemed to be the best footnote to Guo Aizhen's bright time.

The village chief urged again: "Little brother, it's not too early, come out quickly." ”

Ye Chen stepped on his feet before coming out of the house. He still gently locked the door before turning around and leaving the courtyard with everyone.

One of the villagers said with trepidation: "I just heard the low cry of a woman. I don't know if it's my hallucination, it's like someone is crying near my ear. ”

The village chief scolded: "Out of breath! The guts are the same size as beans, and the face says." ”

Ye Chen took out a few hundred yuan and handed it to the village chief, saying, "I'm tired of everyone following me for a hard trip." This money is not a tribute, please laugh at it. ”

The village chief took it.

The villager said: "We also braved the great dry breath to accompany you to see the murderous house." ”

Ye Chen said: "I gave this money to everyone, and the village chief collected it on behalf of the village chief." However, it is not easy for me to come here, and I still need to know where Ms. Guo Aizhen is buried. Everyone who has time to accompany me to the cemetery, I have another filial piety. ”

The villager said, "Count me in." ”

The village chief said: "You all go and I don't go, why am I the village chief?"

So it was the village chief and the villagers who led the way, and Ye Chen followed to the cemetery where Guo Aizhen was buried.

"Can anyone help me go to the entrance of the village to buy some fire paper?" Ye Chen asked.

"I'll go, my family has a store. A villager rushed to say.

Ye Chen gave him twenty yuan, and he went to buy fire paper. When he came back, Ye Chen lit the fire paper and drew a circle around the fire.

The fire paper was burning on the side, Ye Chen distributed the money to the villagers and the village chief, Ye Chen said: "I melted the paper and left, I'm sorry for you, everyone is scattered." ”

And when they had the money, they went home.

Ye Chen faced the burning fire paper with a solemn expression. He didn't know what terrible things had happened to the couple, the love between them was so deep that it was enough for a man to desperately save his wife. How does a husband care about his wife when he is desperate? How does a wife miss her husband when she is desperate? These questions may be known only to the person concerned.

Ye Chen slowly opened the tissue, and the photo drifted into the pile of fire paper along the wind, gradually turning into ashes, and also freezing the sweetness and happiness on the picture forever.

"Ms. Guo, your husband hasn't forgotten you, you know? He is good, and you should be proud of him. ”

Ye Chen muttered and took out the plastic bag containing countless blue particles. When the fire paper burned out, Ye Chen buried the bag deep under Guo Aizhen's tombstone.

Silently, Ye Chen seemed to be still talking to Guo Aizhen's soul: "I guess he shouldn't let you wait too long." May you be reunited in heaven. ”

After doing all this, Ye Chen dialed the driver's phone, and the driver drove to pick him up, and when he returned to Jincheng, it was already two o'clock in the morning.

After staying overnight in a hotel, he had a strange dream, and he saw a woman flickering in front of his eyes, as if bowing. Then he saw a man, and the woman he had seen before him flickered before his eyes, as if he were bowing.