There are a few lights in the small village at the foot of the mountain. Fang Liang rested his head on his hands and lay on a grassy slope, looking up at the rare starry sky in the city. The night breeze brushed his cheeks, bringing a hint of comfort, but his heart was always tightly bound by a person.

It was already the ninth day, and Fang Liang didn't find any clues related to his friends. Gu Liao seemed to have completely disappeared from this world, and he couldn't see anyone alive or dead.

The local police station symbolically sent a few people to search the nearby woods for a while, and their attitude was very perfunctory. They blamed all the mistakes on those who entered the mountain without permission, and also severely criticized and educated Fang Liang. Fang Liang knew that he was at a loss, and he didn't have the confidence to argue with them. He begged many times, but the police at the police station refused to help him find someone anymore.

Even so, Fang Liang still did not give up hope. He decided to stay in the village and continue to search for Gu Li's whereabouts. Even if all he finds in the end is a pile of white bones that have been eaten by wild beasts, he must bring the bones back, and he must not let his friend sleep alone in that deserted mountain forest.

Until now, Fang Liang's mind often recalled the scene when the two were separated. At that time, it was obvious that he accidentally angered the bear, but in order to save him, Gu Liao deliberately diverted the bear's attention and left him with the hope of survival. And he, like a coward, watched the beast follow his friend's figure, but he chose the opposite direction and fled.

Afterwards, he finally found the meeting place agreed by the two, but Gu Liao never came back. He waited in place for two days and two nights, and finally couldn't stand the torment in his heart, and began to look around in the mountains and forests for Gu Li's whereabouts. Fang Liang's aimless way of traveling quickly made Fang Liang disoriented, and if he hadn't met Xi'er in the woods later, he didn't know how long it would take him to escape from that place.

"Brother Fang Liang, it's so late, aren't you going back to sleep?" Just as Fang Liang was thinking about what had happened in the last few days, a girl's soft voice suddenly came from behind him.

Fang Liang hurriedly retracted his thoughts, sat up from the grass, and turned his head to see Xi'er and Xiao Hei with a worried face. "I can't sleep, come out and blow the wind." He replied with a smile, reaching out and touching Blackie's head.

After coming out of the forest, Fang Liang temporarily stayed at Xi'er's house. Xi'er's father has been missing for many years, and there is an older brother who goes out to work, and there are usually only two people in the family, Xi'er and her mother.

Xi'er's mother was a simple and kind Yi woman, and although she didn't speak much Mandarin and had some difficulty communicating, this did not affect the woman's hospitality in the slightest. Xi'er told her mother about what happened to Fang Liang. Perhaps it was this experience that reminded the woman of her missing husband, who was very sympathetic to Fang Liang and gave him a lot of help in diet and life.

For his own disturbance, Fang Liang's heart was very unhappy. Although he knew that Xi'er's mother and daughter did not ask for anything in return for helping him, in order to show his heart, he still insisted on giving them all the valuable things on him.

After a few days, Fang Liang had already established a good relationship with this family. It was precisely because of their trust and understanding that Fang Liang was able to continue to stay here and give himself a chance to atone for his sins.

Xiao Hei squatted in front of Fang Liang, wagging his tail excitedly, as if he was seeking more caresses. Xi'er looked at her dog and said with a smile, "I found that this guy likes you very much, and he rarely behaves like this in front of outsiders." ”

"Yes, maybe it's because I've had a dog since I was a child, and it's more affectionate to me." Fang Liang touched Xiao Hei's back a few times, and Xiao Hei suddenly fell to the ground, rolled around, and exposed his stomach. Fang Liang reached out to scratch Xiao Hei's belly again, this guy looked even happier. "I still have two dogs at home, a golden retriever and an Alaska, but unfortunately they are not as smart as Xiao Hei."

"Then what will you do with your dog after you have been out for so long this time?"

"It's okay, anyway, I have friends to help take care of them, and they are all very well-behaved......"

Perhaps because of the mention of the word "friend", Fang Liang's expression suddenly became melancholy. Xi'er could understand his feelings, took a few steps forward, and sat down on the slope beside Fang Liang, "You're still thinking about your friend's affairs, right?" She looked up at the starry sky like Fang Liang, even if it was a commonplace scenery, she still felt that it was beautiful.

The night breeze ruffled her long hair, giving off wisps of fragrance. Fang Liang held his breath and stared at the girl wearing Yi costumes beside him, and he was a little infatuated for a while.

After a long time, he sighed lightly and said, "Yes, recently, what has been on my mind the most is the scene of parting. I hurt him, it's all my fault......"

"It's already happened, don't blame yourself anymore."

"No, you don't understand." Fang Liang shook his head in distress, with a look of regret on his face. "When we were about to enter the mountains, my friend wanted to find a guide in the village to show us the way, but I stopped him. I thought my trekking experience would be up to the task, but I underestimated the terrain and environment. I didn't expect the two of us to meet the bear in the woods. Why did I run away at the time? Why not help him? If I hadn't been smart, my friend wouldn't have had an accident, and I am indeed to blame......"

"Brother Fang Liang." Xi'er put her slender little hand on Fang Liang's slightly rough big hand, comforted him and said, "Many things are unpredictable, don't blame yourself." Even if you find someone from the village as a guide, the mountains and forests are still full of unknown dangers. It's like my father, who hunted in the mountains for decades, and didn't end up ......."

Xi'er's voice stopped, and every time she mentioned her father's disappearance, her heart was always blocked. She lowered her eyes, stared at the silver bracelet on her wrist and pondered, and after a while, she smiled awkwardly and said, "I'm sorry, you look at me, I obviously came to comfort you, but I ended up lowering my mood." ”

"Don't say that, I already feel like I owe you a lot." Fang Liang in turn held Xi'er's little hand tightly. "By the way, can you tell me about it?" He looked at Xi'er's melancholy face seriously and seriously, and asked the question he was particularly interested in again, "How did your father disappear?" ”

"Hmm......" Xi'er hesitated for a moment, but finally replied, "Actually, that incident is not a secret, and most of the people in the village know about it.

"Four years ago, when I was in the sixth grade, there were a few strangers in our village. They claimed to be geographers and wanted to do an expedition in that forest. On the recommendation of the villagers, they approached my father and wanted him to be their guide and accompany them into the mountains. At first, my father didn't agree, because he was afraid that these people would have an accident in the woods and he would be held responsible.

"My father grew up hunting in the mountains with my grandfather and was very knowledgeable about his surroundings. He knew that the place they were going to was very secluded, and that even the locals rarely moved around the area, let alone inexperienced outsiders. Out of kindness, my father persuaded them to change places for investigation, but they insisted on going there as if they were determined to do so. In the end, they paid me very well, and I was persuaded to accompany my father into the mountains.

"These people have been gone for more than a week, and no one knows what they are doing in the mountains. When they returned to the village, my father was no longer in their ranks. I was anxious to ask them where my father had gone, but they were very surprised and told me that my father had come back alone four days earlier, because they didn't need his help anymore and they didn't know my father's whereabouts.

"When I heard the news, my mother fainted on the spot, and I hid in the house and cried for the whole day. In order to see his mother, his brother dropped out of school and went to work in the city. Although those people gave our family a sum of money out of guilt, we lost the breadwinner of the family, and our lives were still in dire straits.

Soon after that incident, the local government began banning nearby villagers from hunting in the forest. The villagers all believed that in my father's experience, it was absolutely impossible to get lost in the mountains and forests, and if a person went missing, he must have been attacked by a wild animal. Even though I knew that what they said was probably true, I was still very unwilling. I don't want my father to be in the wilderness, even if I can only find his broken clothes, my heart will not be as empty as it is now......"

"So the day I met you in the woods, you went to find your father? No wonder ......" Fang Liang looked at Xi'er in disbelief, and suddenly admired the strength and persistence of this Yi girl.

Xi'er continued, "For the past four years, I have been going back to that forest every one or two months. At first, my mother would scold me and beat me when she found out that I had entered the mountains without permission, because she was afraid that I would never come back, just like my father. But after a long time, she didn't bother to pay attention to me, because she knew that no matter what she said, I couldn't listen to her. And I think she actually hoped that I could find my father's remains, but the regret in the hearts of our whole family. ”

"It's been four years, and you haven't given up. My friend has only been missing for nine days, and I have no reason to give up. Xi'er's words strengthened Fang Liang's confidence to continue searching. He stood up, faced the dark mountains and forests in the distance, took a deep breath and said, "Even if others don't help us, we have to rely on our own efforts to find a glimmer of hope." ”

"Hmm." Xi'er nodded approvingly, and then said to Fang Liang, "Go back and rest early." I'll take you into the mountains early tomorrow morning, and we'll search the places we can find again. ”