Yang Qingnan walked out of the woods, and the path led to a stone staircase that winded down, and the final destination of the stone steps was a small silent village. There are 20 houses in the village made of bluestone, and there are farmland and fruit trees outside the village, but there is no trace of anyone.

He looked at the distance as he walked, and after observing for a while, he was more sure of what he was thinking. Dare to love this small village is now not a single villager, and the enclosure where the poultry were originally kept is empty.

The vertically patterned walnut door was fastened with a small iron hook, and only large furniture such as tables, chairs, and beds were left inside, and other daily necessities should have been taken away, as if they had been looted by robbers.

But Yang Qingnan still didn't believe that there was no one living in such a beautiful village. He searched the next few houses, all the same, until the last one was an old house with a roof overgrown with wisteria.

There lived a friendly old couple who told the distressed outsider what had happened.

It turned out that the village was built by the first people who came to the island, and there was no village chief and no name. After that, they lived in isolation, and to this day, like the Sarks who first arrived, they never thought of leaving.

But one day, this peace was shattered, and a mainland merchant ship landed on the island and quickly established the town. A self-made tycoon saw the island's rich mineral resources, and took his men to mine everywhere, and also used it to develop tourism and make the town prosperous.

The people of the village had a close relationship with the Quirrell who had only a lump of desire left in their heads, and they were not satisfied with the simple life they had now, so they abandoned the village and chose the town. No matter when and where, anyone's desire to pursue a better life will not change.

"Alas......" the old woman sighed slowly, and said her heart, "Actually, it's good to live here, it's calm and orderly, we don't like to live too noisy life. ”

"I know." He felt that something was missing from the house, and when he saw a fluffy white cat leaping into the woman's arms, he asked, "But what about your children?" They ......"

The couple was silent and did not speak, and Yang Qingnan had already guessed a few points.

The old man was lying in a rocking chair made of rattan wood, as if he were asleep, and his wife was knitting a light brown sweater on the chair, which was supposed to be for his son or daughter. The two old men are looking forward to it so eagerly, and they are integrated into the dream they have created, Yang Qingnan hopes that this beautiful and harmonious peace will not be broken again.

Faintly, there seemed to be a musical note beating in the air above his head, and he listened intently, and a light and long song floated into his mind, touching every nerve in his body.

Yang Qingnan vaguely remembers where he heard this pastoral song, it seems to be called "Dream Seeking Minor", but he only listened to the accompaniment at the time, and now he can sing the approximate lyrics.

The picture in his pocket watch made him ponder.

I don't know how long it took, but Yang Qingnan finally remembered that it was time for him to go. Before leaving, he always thought about what he could do for the couple, and stood still hesitating without daring to disturb them.

"If our son comes back, he should be as old as him." The old woman seemed to be speaking to her wife.

Yang Qingnan moved his hands and feet and slowly walked out of the house, and then gently closed the door.

The bustling traffic in the village was gone, only rows of uninhabited stone houses remained, and he suddenly remembered that the fruit trees planted at the end of the village were still flourishing, as if they had been carefully tended.

Sure enough, there was indeed an old man in charge of guarding the orchard, about seventy years old, who was an old smoker. But he had to guard against not people, but a group of robbers called the Evil Birds, and in addition to the common thrushes and finch, there were also notorious crows, which were most fond of spoiling.

Before Yang Qingnan came, some yellow finches climbed the branches and jumped around, and after Yang Qingnan came, they flew away like ghosts. He didn't think what was going on, probably because he was afraid of him, a jungle lover.

I saw him climb up one of the fruit trees full of red peaches, intending to pick some juicy and plump fruit. Suddenly, a loud voice stopped him: "Hey! What are you doing! ”

Yang Qingnan turned around suddenly, but he didn't see anyone, so he continued to climb up.

"Hemp eggs! You thought I was dead, didn't you? ”

The sound frightened him almost from the tree, and when he looked down again, an old black man was standing at the bottom of the tree, and his eyes were no different from those of the executioner in the square.

"Ah, uncle, I'm sorry I didn't see you." Yang Qingnan slipped down from the tree and apologized vigorously, "I didn't know that this orchard was yours." ”

"You said you didn't see it, hmph, you can't be from Ladd's side, right?" The old man looked at him with his hands behind his back, his eyes shining.

"No, I only came to this island the day before yesterday."

"It's okay, I don't blame you, anyway, the village is gone, and no one will come to eat my fruit." As he spoke, the old man wiped the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand, "It's just that you steal it without my permission, which makes me very angry." ”

"Yes, it must be hard to keep watch in the orchard day and night."

"Hmph, it's good to know." The old man raised his hand and silently smoked his cigarette stick.

Yang Qingnan understood what he meant, he climbed up and quickly picked a few peaches down, and grinding it would attract dissatisfaction. He had come to thank the old man, but the latter closed his eyes and pretended not to see anything.

The old house was deserted, and when Yang Qingnan came here again, the two old men had already gone out to work, and the white cat was napping on the chair. He placed Peaches next to the family photo, and the smiling faces of the three of them were deeply imprinted in his heart, when their son was still very young and his parents were very young.

From the village all the way north to the town of Rade, as the old man said. However, there is a steep valley between them, and it seems that it will take a lot of time to walk the main road. Yang Qingnan was in a hurry, and there was not much food.

He had to get there before dark.

It is easy to get lost in the Black Forest, and Yang Qingnan once got lost, so he had to sleep for one night. It was a terrible feeling, and even with the help of a makeshift tent and sleeping bag, I still couldn't sleep soundly, as if there were wild beasts watching over me.

The most dangerous thing about exploring in the wild is not encountering a beast, but getting disoriented. Once upon a time, there was a young couple who went to the mountains to make trouble, and because they couldn't find their way down the mountain, they became mentally ill, and finally when the police found them, they barely survived by chewing grass roots.

Yang Qingnan tried his best to avoid such a situation, although he himself had eaten a lot of grassroots. If he insists on going north, then he must calm his mind first.

The terrain of this forest is relatively complex and inhabited, with protruding rocks, hidden mud pools, and rotting tree roots all objects that he deliberately avoids, and even if he encounters a hornet's nest, he needs to take a long detour.

He doesn't know the forest here, just as the forest doesn't know him.

"It's grandma's, it's still over." A rock wall miraculously appeared in front of him, and Yang Qingnan stomped on it ruthlessly. But then he thought about it again, because the texture of the rock formation didn't look like brittle gravel, and it wasn't so high that it seemed to be crawlable over it.

Yang Qingnan grabbed one side with one hand and turned sideways. What he saw after this made him cry.