A country lane at dusk, a golden silence envelops the wheat fields. The mountains in the distance were dressed in the color of the sunset, and the clouds as white as milk in the sky also became bright red like a fire belt.

It had just rained, and the smell of grass was blowing on the muddy path after the rain. In the afterglow of the setting sun, a few small figures were talking and laughing, playing on the country road, walking in the direction of the village.

These are all young children, and the oldest of them looks to be fourteen or fifteen years old, which is the age of playfulness. It was summer, the school in the town was closed, and the children in Dongping Village had returned home. After a day of fishing and catching knowledge by the river, now they see that it is getting late, and they know that if they don't go home, they will inevitably have a meal of "fried shredded pork with a leather whip".

"Brother Huazi, let's go home for dinner first! Tomorrow afternoon, you will continue to teach us how to catch fish! The three children stopped at the east end of the village and waved goodbye to the other two.

"That's it!" The other two older children waved their hands to them, and they walked towards the south of the village with a bamboo bag of loot.

"Huazi, you are so powerful, you have caught so many in one afternoon!" It was a tall, dark-looking boy who spoke. This child was born with thick eyebrows and big eyes, a strong physique, and a shallow scar on his face, which he accidentally rubbed when he didn't know where he was skinned.

And among these five children, it is this little fat man who looks the most domineering, but in fact, the real child king is not him, but the thin monkey-like ghost spirit next to him.

"Hey, what's that?" The lean young man's face was full of pride, and he said to the little fat man beside him: "If it weren't for Ah Niu and a few of them who were clumsy, I could have caught more...... By the way, Huzi, why don't we go to the mountains tomorrow to hunt fruits? ”

Zhang Hua said that the wild apricots in the mountains are now at the right time, and the fruits on the branches are golden and shiny, like small lanterns. I hit a few last time, and it tasted sour and sweet, and it was full of juice. Now it is estimated that it is fully cooked, and it is the best time to eat.

"Ah, Huazi, don't say it, I'm going to drool down." Wang Hu swallowed saliva when he said it, and his stomach growled.

Zhang Hua smiled, put the bamboo basket in his hand on the ground, turned around and unloaded the schoolbag.

Wang Hu leaned over curiously, and when the other party opened the bag, his eyes lit up: "Hey, Huazi, where did you get this telescope?" ”

"Of course my dad bought it!" Zhang Hua carefully took out the telescope and handed it to the other party, showing off his treasure: "Isn't this a good final exam?" My dad was happy and bought it at the supermarket in town when he picked me up. It's very expensive, it costs more than 100 yuan! ”

"That's nice...... See it so clearly! Wang Hu set up a telescope and looked at the wheat field in the distance: "You can see the chimney of the opposite village!" ”

"That's not it!" Zhang Hua was not in a hurry to ask for binoculars, he took out a cold meat bun from his small schoolbag, which his mother stuffed into him before going out this afternoon.

Zhang Hua and Wang Hu are both classmates and next-door neighbors. Although there is a big difference in the physique between the two, the honest and honest Wang Hu never bullied him, on the contrary, the relationship between the two friends has always been very good since childhood.

"Your stomach is screaming, it will take about twenty minutes for the two of us to walk back, let's eat this first." Zhang Hua handed the bun to the other party.

Wang Hu smiled stupidly, returned the telescope to the other party, took the bun and was about to send it to his mouth, when he suddenly remembered that Zhang Hua didn't eat it. He thought for a moment and broke the bun in half: "Give!" ”

Zhang Hua had oil on his hands, so he simply hung the binoculars on his chest, and the two children looked at each other and smiled, with a happy and pure smile on their faces. The two of them ate steamed buns and danced and chatted about going down to the river to play today.

"If only Li Minggang was here." Wang Hu stuffed the bun into his mouth, and wiped the oil on his mouth with his sleeve casually, still unsatisfied: "I said that I would play together before the holiday, but I don't know what's going on, he didn't come to the village to gather today." ”

The children of the same age in this village are all studying in the town, and Li Minggang is also their classmate, although he is not in the same class as them, but because of the same village, the three of them do not have much contact at school on weekdays.

"Isn't it, think about it...... From the beginning of the holiday to the present, it seems that I haven't seen him. Zhang Hua was a little worried: "He won't fail the exam and be locked up by his parents at home to do his homework...... No, his parents love him so much on weekdays, it's like a treasure, it shouldn't be! ”

"Huazi, when you say that, I suddenly remembered something." Wang Hu stopped suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Hua asked curiously.

"In the past few days, my mother has always told me not to go to the sorghum field in the west of the village to play...... Ask her why, and she won't say. She warned me not to go, and if she found out, she would go home and break my legs. Wang Hu recalled his mother's expression when she spoke, and always felt that she was afraid of something.

"Sorghum field in the west of the village...... Hey, doesn't Li Minggang live around there? Zhang Hua reacted suddenly.

Wang Hu nodded and continued: "There is another matter, have you heard of it...... The old goddess in the next village seems to have been invited by someone. I've been staying in the west of the village for the past few days, and I heard my dad get drunk and say, it seems that someone's child has fallen into evil, and the old goddess is shouting to him! ”

"Why don't my parents know about this?" Zhang Hua frowned.

"Of course, my dad also went to the west of the village to find someone to drink at night a while ago, and found it when he came back from the night road. He said that this matter should not be made quiet, otherwise it will be a big problem...... He also warned my mom not to talk nonsense. No, seeing that I've been running outside lately, my mom told me when she was worried. She said that if we were still hanging out at night, we would be hooked by lonely ghosts like that child! ”

Wang Hu said, looked up at the deeper and deeper sky, and showed a frightened expression on his face: "Don't say it, the more you think about it, the more panicked you become, Huazi, let's go quickly!" ”

"No, Huzi, you said that the child who was hooked by the soul can't be Li Minggang, right?!" Zhang Hua's attention was distracted by another matter.

"I ...... How do I know...... Maybe it's just a coincidence......" Although Wang Hu said this, his expression became more and more panicked.

And after Zhang Hua listened to him, he suddenly turned around, and it seemed that he was planning to go to the west to have a look.

"Huazi, what are you doing?!" Wang Hu grabbed him suddenly, his face pale.

"Of course I'm going to his house to see how it's going!" Zhang Hua looked at Wang Hu with a very serious expression: "Huzi, you say, how does Li Minggang treat the two of us at school on weekdays?" ”

Wang Hu was in a dilemma, and said, "It's good...... He studied well, his parents also loved him very much, and he gave him a lot of pocket money on weekdays, Li Minggang would invite the two of us to eat popsicles at the commissary, and also copied our homework...... However, now that it is getting late and it is about to get dark, let's hurry home......"

"Huzi, you are too unrighteous! Now that people may be in trouble, now that we know, we must go and see him. If you don't go, I'll go by myself! Zhang Hua shook his head in disappointment, pushed his partner away and left the trail alone.

Zhang Hua did not believe in the soul hooking and evil in Wang Hu's mouth. The teacher at the school said that there are no ghosts or gods in the world, and everything can be explained by science.

He walked for about ten minutes, and it was already completely dark. Fortunately, although the village is poor, it is not backward. A few years ago, the government funded the construction of street lights, and even if he walked at night, he did not feel afraid.

"It's already dark, and I guess I'll have to be scolded again when I go home." But even so, Zhang Hua, who has a righteous heart at a young age, thinks that when he goes to visit his sick brother, it is nothing to be beaten.

The fish caught today can just be given to Li Minggang's family to replenish his body. The fish must be fresh...... Seeing that the fish in his pocket had been out of the water for a long time, he came to the stone slab by the river alone, bent down and soaked the bamboo basket in the water. Seeing that the fish slowly regained their vitality, Zhang Hua lifted the basket and slowly walked back to the shore.

At this time, the path was silent, and only the sound of his own small footsteps and the chirping of cicadas in the trees could be heard. Not long after leaving, Zhang Hua suddenly heard some strange movements behind him. He lowered his head suddenly, and suddenly noticed that under the street lamp, a long and narrow shadow appeared at his feet......