"When did this strange thing start?"

"When exactly did the fight start, this little old man can't say clearly, anyway, when he finds out, everyone in the village is already in danger, and people are panicking."

The flickering lamps and candles illuminated the village chief's unstretched frown.

"At first, no one noticed it, and they didn't take it to heart. Mr. also saw it, our village is small, and there are only dozens of families in total, all of whom are villagers who know the roots, not to mention those big things, that is, whose family overturned the vinegar pot, whose child urinated on the kang, we can all know. ”

It was also an old man who spoke, his hair and beard were grayish-white, and his eyebrows were the same as those of the village chief, all twisted. With every word, he would sigh softly. Under the reflection of the lamps and candles, the wrinkles at the corners of the eyes and eyebrows seem to have grown a few more.

"And who first noticed this strange thing?"

Chang Tai moved the lamp and candle so that the candle light could shine on as many people as possible. In the shadows, he saw a middle-aged man and stood up hesitantly.

"Yes...... It's my home! The middle-aged man slowly stretched out a hand upward: "I am the third oldest in my family, and the people in the village call me Wang San, and this initial weird thing started from my home." ”

Chang Tai's eyebrows rose and asked, "Do you remember what happened?" ”

"My chickens have been stolen!"

As soon as Wang San's words were finished, Yin Yuan, who was gnawing on the chicken legs, stopped the movements in his hands, then blinked his beautiful eyes, lowered his head silently, and after gnawing the chicken legs fiercely, he found a dark place and threw it over.

pursed his lips, supported his cheeks, and immediately looked at Chang Tai with a focused look.

Chang Tai shook his head and moved his gaze to Wang San.

"Just lost a chicken?"

"If only I lost one."

Wang San looked grief-stricken, as if he had lost not his own chicken, but a child raised by himself. He held out ten fingers at Chang Tai.

"It's ten! That's a whole ten chickens. This chicken was bought by my mother from the market, and I plan to raise it and keep it for my pregnant mother-in-law. Our place is small, the people are poor, and the mother-in-law has nothing good to raise when she is pregnant, and these ten chickens have almost spent our family's savings.

This is nothing, after all, the mother-in-law and the child in her belly are important, anyway, what we have is strength, it's a big deal to work harder, earn more silver, and the days will come out. But this day, overnight, I stole all ten chickens in my house. My old lady couldn't stand the blow, and she became sick all of a sudden, and even my mother-in-law followed the fetal gas, and now she is still lying in bed. Sir, you say, this is infuriating! Ay! ”

"Not only Wang San's family, but also my sheep, were also bitten bloody by that thing."

Before Wang San's words fell, another timid voice came from the crowd. Chang Tai could hear that although the person who spoke was not very bold, the grief and indignation in his voice was not much less than that of Wang San.

"That's right!" The village chief opened his mouth again, took two puffs of dry tobacco, and looked up at Chang Tai: "First the chickens in Wang San's family, followed by the sheep in Guangmao's family, and then the cows and dogs in the village." At first, we didn't think much about it, thinking that it was the end of the year, and there were thieves in the village or some wild beast running out of the nearby mountains and forests, such as mountain wolves.

So, at night, I asked every household to close the doors and windows tightly, and then organized the young and strong laborers of the village to patrol the streets. For two nights in a row, the wife was peaceful, and nothing happened. But on the evening of the third day, the thing appeared. ”

"That thing?" Chang Tai and Yin Yuan glanced at each other, and Yin Yuan spread his hands, which meant to say: "Chicken, I stole one, but I have no interest in cattle and sheep, and it has nothing to do with me." ”

"Actually, it can't be said to be a thing." The village chief seemed to be a little embarrassed, and his eyebrows were entangled for a while before he continued: "That night, it was about the time of the third watch. Because they patrolled for two nights in a row, the big guys were also a little sleepy, and when they saw that the village was peaceful, they gathered in front of Guangmao's house to talk, and planned to survive the midnight, so they went home to sleep. ”

"That's right, right on my doorstep, and I was there at the time." The timid voice rose again, and Chang Tai finally saw clearly that it was a thin and small man who spoke, and he was only in his early twenties, depending on his age. When his eyes met Chang Tai, he was busy staggering, but after a little hesitation, he looked over very resolutely: "My cow at home is just like my brother, although I am a little timid, I don't want to let go of that thing." Because my family raises cattle, I have a straw shed outside my house, which was originally used to tie cattle in the summer. When it was cold, I put it aside and put some forage or something.

During this night patrol, the big guys were cold and panicked, so they gathered in the haystack in front of my house to get a little warmer. I still remember that I was talking to Ah Kun at that time, saying that I would go back to the house and boil some hot water to warm the stomach of the big guys. ”

"Not really. I also felt the gust of wind. It's so cold, a little colder than 39 o'clock. I was sitting outside the haystack, with my back to the street, and I felt the cold wind go up my spine, and my whole scalp was numb, cold.

I immediately felt that something was wrong, and then I looked at the sky. The moon was covered by a black cloud. Oh no! It's not a completely black cloud, but there is a hint of red, blood red in it. I was about to call everyone to look into the sky when I heard this guy shout. ”

"That's right! Yeah...... That's right, I shouted. A half-grown child stood up from the crowd. He first looked at the village chief, then squeezed out of the crowd, walked up to Chang Tai, and said, "I'm a dog!" Dogan is my nickname. My mother said that a cheap name is easy to support. Sir, don't look at me young, but I'm the most courageous of those people. ”

As soon as the dog's words fell, he heard a few sighs. The dog showed some annoyance on his face, stomped his feet, turned around and said to the crowd: "What are you sorry for, I was the most courageous, and I was the first to find the old lady!" ”

The three words of the old lady, as if carrying some forbidden spell, made the room quiet all of a sudden. The two candles that were only burning made the sound of the wick being burned.

Chang Tai coughed lightly, broke the silence in front of him, looked into the dog's eyes and asked, "Who is the old lady?" ”

"It's Aunt Li in the east of the village!" Dogdan's lips were a little dry, and he stretched out his tongue and smacked it: "This Aunt Li is a widow, and Uncle Li died when she was young." I heard my mother say that this Aunt Li originally had a child, a boy, but when she was seven or eight years old, she didn't know how to get lost. I can't see anyone in life, I can't see a ghost in death, Aunt Li hasn't found it for a few years, but those eyes are crying blind. Everyone saw her pitiful, so they often helped her, but later Aunt Li still got a serious illness, and the person was gone. ”

"Dead?" Chang Tai raised an eyebrow.

"Well, it's dead!" Goudan said and pointed to the village chief: "The village chief can prove it." The land where Aunt Li was buried was still found by the village chief, and the day of the burial was calculated by the fortune teller in the village, so we went to send it. The big guys all watched Aunt Li being put into a thin coffin and buried in the soil. But the night when something strange happened, we also watched it with our own eyes......"

The dog couldn't help but swallow two mouthfuls of saliva, and there was a hint of timidity in his still somewhat childish eyes.

"What did you see with your own eyes?"

Chang Tai asked, but his eyes fell on the village chief.

The village chief knocked the dry tobacco pouch in his hand, put his hand on the dog's body, and patted it lightly twice.

"Let the village chief talk about the rest of the words. You are young, don't remember this terrible situation so clearly, otherwise in the future, I am afraid that you will not be able to live in peace every night, and you will have nightmares every night. ”

Dogan pursed his lips and wanted to say something, but was pulled back by a woman standing up in the crowd. Chang Tai thought to himself, that woman was probably the mother of the dog.

When he sat down again, Goudan also raised his eyes to look at Chang Tai. Chang Tai nodded at him, and the dog grinned faintly and lowered his head.

"So, can the village chief tell Chang Tai what you saw that night? What is it that scares this villager so much? ”

"It's Aunt Li!" The village chief gently spit out three words: "I don't know what evil happened, that night, we actually saw the dead Aunt Li picking up a few domestic animals on the street." Although the moonlight was covered by black clouds, with the help of the lantern in front of the door, there were enough shadows, and we still saw her face. That's Aunt Li, although her face is a little paler and her movements are a little weird, but the villagers in this township have lived together for most of their lives, and they can't admit their mistakes. ”

"Is it really Aunt Li?"

"Isn't it Aunt Li?" Wang San, who was silent for a while, also spoke: "My family is next door to Aunt Li'er's house, and before her death, my family took care of her the most. ”

Wang San said, stomped his feet twice, and looked remorseful.

"That night, I was the first to rush out with a torch. I wanted to hold her down in the street and give her a good beating, but as soon as she turned her face, she stunned me. When I look at it again, isn't this Aunt Li who was buried in the soil by us not long ago, and the tattered clothes she was wearing were still the shrouds that my mother bought for her when she was well. ”

(Education 123 Literature Network)