eighteen

There are people in the stove.

The sound of "tuk tuk" disappeared, and a dark red shimmer appeared in the crack of the door, and Zhao Zimai knew that someone had lit an oil lamp inside.

But who is that man? What is he doing in the stove?

Zhao Zimai held his breath and looked into the crack in the door with wide eyes, but at this moment, he heard a sound of "smashing it", accompanied by a "snort" gasp, a "suck" sound and a loud burp.

These unrefined and rude sounds of eating came from the Yuyin Mountain House, and they fell on Zhao Zimai's ears without shying away or hiding a little, so that he had to temporarily divert his attention from the stove room.

He looked at the Yuyin Mountain House, which was pitch black, unlike the stove room, it had no lights at all, even the door was locked, and a heavy brass lock was shining by the moonlight.

There was a voice in a well-locked room, and Zhao Zimai suddenly knew what was inside, and he also understood who had trampled on the leaves in front of the courtyard. More than one, more than ten, his ears keenly caught more and more sounds, some enjoying, some scrambling, the satisfied, the unsatisfied...... This room is full of wild ghosts, full of them, and there are probably a few hanging on the beams of the roof in every corner.

They are scrambling, you grab me, for fear of eating less than others.

Zhao Zimai's sense of smell, which he had lost just now because of his nervousness, was now restored, and he smelled the aroma of vegetables in the Yuyin Mountain House, so rich and tempting, even for him, a living person who had already eaten his stomach, let alone those wild ghosts who were hungry.

It turned out that the wild ghosts that were all over the mountains last night were coming here.

A Hundred Ghosts Night Banquet? Hundred ghosts night [ ] feast.

Zhao Zimai felt that his breathing became very short? He desperately tried to suppress it, but found that everything was in vain. He is very clear: wild ghosts do not eat people? But? Why would someone go out of their way to prepare a feast for them, and what was his purpose? It doesn't mean because of kindness.

Already sweaty in your palms? He picked at the rockery stone tightly, and moved towards the stove little by little. But the heart he just lifted was sinking little by little? Throat tight? There were tears in his eyes.

He knew that Master Lin was no longer there, and this fat chef who made the best cherry meat in the world, although he had only been his master for one day? But he was very grateful to him.

Zhao Zimai looked at the crack in the door of the stove room? Now he was a little closer, so he could see clearly the red stuff on the puddle, winding along the tiles, eager to burrow into his heart.

Is it blood? Master Lin's blood.

He bit his lip and forced himself to move forward? He heard his own heartbeat like a drum? Every sound is bleak and tragic.

His fingers suddenly cooled, and he touched something? Sandwiched in the stone crevices of the rockery. Zhao Zimai lowered his head? Pull something like that out of a crack in the rock? It was found to be a silver medallion with a name engraved on it: Chen Rui. The latter line reads: Qianzao, born on February 21 of the sixth year of Xianfeng. The last line is a few words: Chengxuan Qianxi Town.

It is a birthday eight-character brand named Chen Rui, which is very thin, and it is not a utensil of a rich and noble family at first glance.

It's just that, how could this Chen Rui's birthday eight-character card be here? And it doesn't look like it was accidentally dropped, but deliberately hidden in this rockery.

Zhao Zimai's fingers crossed the rough lines of the silver medal, and suddenly, a thought popped into his mind, and he was shocked. He couldn't help but gasp, and his body shook a few times, as if he was about to be knocked down by the wind that suddenly came from behind him.

It was him, and he did everything possible to lure him over, was it to ......

There was a tingling pain in the back of his head, and Zhao Zimai just looked at the silver medal in his hand, but he didn't realize that the door of the stove room was quietly opened, and now, the man had come behind him without making a sound, holding a blood-stained axe in his hand.

***

Chen Yuan loved to laugh very much, and Lin Songyao remembered that he always had a shallow smile on his face, no matter how hard life was at that time.

Of course, he is also very good-looking when he laughs, he is born well, with long eyebrows and beautiful eyes, and two pear vortices at the corners of his mouth, and when he smiles, he looks like a beautiful little girl.

Chen Yuan is Lin Songyao's best friend in Qianxi Town, they live on the same street, and they are of the same age, not only that, Chen Yuan's parents also set up a stall in Guandi Temple, so the friendship between the two is established naturally and steadily, it is a kind of mutual companionship, and it is even more precious in the difficult years.

Chen Yuan's business didn't need his help, so he always stayed in the Lin family's noodle stall, helping Lin Songyao pick up water and wash vegetables. It's a very tiring job, and two people do it together, talking and laughing, and it doesn't seem so tiring. Lin Songyao remembered that the nearest well was at the foot of the mountain outside the Guandi Temple, and it took half an hour to go back and forth. Chen Yuan loves to tell jokes very much, but often before a joke is finished, he laughs so hard that he can't straighten his waist first, Lin Songyao is not amused by the joke every time, but by his breathless appearance.

But when you get older and have been together for a long time, it is inevitable that some people will not be able to look at it and gossip. After all, two white and pure boys are rare in this kind of poor and remote place, and they are as good as a person, and it is impossible not to be manipulated.

The words that reached their ears were very difficult to hear, and Lin Songyao was so angry about this matter that he had to find those gossiping boys to seek revenge. Chen Yuan was much calmer than him, he said: "Song Yao, you see, there are thousands of people in the world, if you block one person's mouth, can you still block everyone's mouth?" Besides, the more angry you are, the more you want to trouble them, and the more it seems that you have evil intentions, so why bother talking to those laypeople? ”

"But I can't swallow this breath, I know who said it, it's Gangzi from the shop next door, he has long been jealous of the two of us, so he did such a dirty thing." Lin Songyao was still indignant.

"Song Yao, you...... Do you really mind? ”

Chen Yuan suddenly lowered his voice very softly, and when Lin Songyao raised his head, he was facing his pair of watery eyes. Chen Yuande's eyes have always been like this, as if there are autumn waves in them, and there is love without smiling.

But today, his eyes were particularly moving, and his eyes were shining with anticipation, staring at Lin Songyao's heart for an inexplicable "chuckle".

"Mind me...... What do you mind? He stammered.

"Mind if others say we're okay." Chen Yuan picked up quickly, as if he couldn't say this sentence if he took a step slower.