Early the next morning, Granny Ye took the sleepy-eyed Zheng Pei to the town on a tractor. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 infoGranny Ye chose a set of wide black clothes and pants and cloth shoes for Zheng Pei, and also bought a small bag of rice, a small pot of rice wine and a rooster. The two were silent all the way to an elementary school in the town. Although Zheng Pei didn't know what Granny Ye was going to do, he saw a hint of ritual mystery from the expressions of the elementary school receptionists and Granny Ye greetings. The bald uncle, who claimed to be an accountant at the elementary school, took Granny Ye and Zheng Pei all the way to the hill behind the school, and asked Zheng Pei to carry the severed rooster to the left and right, and then sprinkled chicken blood in the rice and rice wine, respectfully placed these things on a big black and brown tree stump, and knelt down with his hands folded.

After watching Granny Ye breathe a sigh of relief, Zheng Pei finally couldn't help it. He asked secretly, "Mother-in-law, what are we doing here?" ”

Granny Ye replied with a smile: "Child, you are worshipping the snake god, and when you saw the sect leader for a while, your mother-in-law begged him to let you attend the altar." ”

Although Zheng Pei is submissive in his mouth, his heart is already earth-shattering. What kind of sect is this, worship gods, or something, doesn't it all exist only in martial arts novels? How come these things still exist when China is carrying out socialist construction in a big way? But Zheng Pei then smiled bitterly at himself, Ba Niang came out, and there was something so strange. Inadvertently, he noticed that the balding accountant was always secretly watching him. Looking at the other party's sharp and suspicious eyes, Zheng Pei turned his face and coughed in embarrassment.

"Bell, bell, bell" There was a sound of a bell ringing from the elementary school at the foot of the mountain. A group of children immediately ran out of the classroom, laughing, and chattering. The old man who rang the bell in the courtyard glanced back at the accountant on the mountain, and struck the hanging bronze bell twice, before slowly walking into the house with his hands behind his back.

"Mother-in-law, I'll see you in the church." The bald accountant said a word to Granny Ye, turned around and continued to walk up the mountain. Granny Ye motioned for Zheng Pei to follow. The three of them walked to the top of the hill and came to a village halfway up the mountain behind the mountain. Now it is close to noon, and every household in the village is not seeing fireworks, but everyone is sitting outside the door. When the three of them walked all the way, all the villagers looked at Granny Ye and Zheng Pei thoughtfully. There seemed to be scrutiny, mockery, and surprise in that kind of gaze, and Zheng Pei had goosebumps layer by layer on his body. As if he was not a person at all, but a domestic animal bought back by a balding accountant. Fortunately, the village is not big, and the strange eyes of the villagers did not torment Zheng Pei for long. The three of them came to a warehouse-like place in the village and stopped at the door.

"Mother-in-law, the sect leader is waiting for you." The bald accountant said, listening to the meaning that he was only responsible for leading the way.

Granny Ye nodded expressionlessly. She looked at the mottled and old doors of the warehouse, closed her eyes and frowned. Zheng Pei didn't dare to speak when he saw Granny Ye's thoughtful appearance. It wasn't until Granny Ye opened her eyes and pushed the door in that he hurriedly followed.

The warehouse is about the size of a classroom, but it's not as messy as it seems. The windows on both sides are tightly covered, and all kinds of strange paintings and graffiti are all over them. The light bulb hanging in the middle of the room flickered in the smoke, illuminating the various books and bottles and cans around it. An old man with an indistinct face sat on a wooden bed in the innermost part, draped in a blanket, as if he was closing his eyes to recuperate. Two guard-like people sat on the bamboo chairs in front of the old man's bed, and a man with long gray hair was taking care of the old man and putting a blanket on him. And the other one who looked Zheng Pei up and down was the man in black who was plotting against him in Granny Ye's house yesterday.

All of them don't speak.

Granny Ye stood in place like a clay sculpture, neither moving nor speaking. Zheng Pei was choked by the thick smell of smoke in the house, although he frowned and blushed, he was also afraid of this strange environment and did not dare to gnaw.

"Ahem, ahem!" Zheng Pei finally didn't hold back, covered his mouth and coughed a few times. He looked at Granny Ye, who was still like a clay sculpture. He stole another glance at the three people opposite, and the three didn't squeak.

After the beard draped the old man in a blanket, he picked up a hookah from the table next to him and put it on the old man's mouth, making him "purr" and smoke coolly. But before the smoke in the old man's mouth was finished, he coughed desperately. Flowerbeard skillfully picked up a piece of cloth from the bed, wiped it on the old man's mouth, and threw it into the sputum bucket on the ground.

"Mother-in-law," the old man's voice was weak as if his life was on the verge of death, "I didn't think about it before I died...... cough cough cough ...... I didn't expect to see you again......"

Granny Ye didn't reply, but a subtle contemptuous smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.

"Alas...... I'm old, I won't live for a few days...... cough cough" Seeing that the old man had phlegm coughing up, Hua Hu picked up a piece of cloth to wipe it off for him.

"Sect Master, where is this?" Granny Ye finally smiled and said, "Our gang of people still want to enjoy happiness with you." ”

The old man seemed to be uncomfortable somewhere, tilting his head and shrinking his shoulders. The bearded man next to him turned his face to look at Zheng Pei and asked, "Mother-in-law, who are you?" ”

Granny Ye replied: "Ba Niang is dead, this kid is my newly found apprentice." ”

"Mother-in-law," the man in black opened his mouth, "you said that Ba Niang died, we don't know if it's true or ......."

"Alas," the old man interrupted the words of the man in black, and said slowly: "Mother-in-law said that if she is dead, she must be dead, cough cough cough ......" The old man coughed badly, waved his hand and motioned for Flower Beard to continue.

Flower Beard thought for a moment, sighed and said: "Let him pass the past, you have been here all these years, and we don't have a helmsman, and we always suffer in the open." ”

Granny Ye said with a smile: "Boss You, you are laughing, I am a lonely old woman who collects medicine, and it is not bad if I don't dislike people." ”

The man in black seemed to be very unaccustomed to such a strange politeness, and got up and walked straight to Zheng Pei. Zheng Pei was shocked, this man in black still remembered his secret tactics yesterday. Seeing him rushing straight towards him, he was already panicking before the other party approached. Zheng Pei clenched his fists to protect his chest, and silently recited the mantra in his heart, and the dark blue and black protective cover of the Scaling Technique enveloped him in it.

Granny Ye frowned, the man in black was surprised, and the flower beard squinted her eyes and stroked her beard.

The old man looked up.

"Granny Ye, this child you are looking for is really a baby." Flowerbeard said with a frown, and the word "baby" was said in a heavy tone.

Granny Ye raised her hand and only swept it lightly, and the protective layer on Zheng Pei's body was broken.

"This kid has some qualifications, but it's not as good as Ba Niang." Granny Ye sighed.

"I can't see it." The man in black looked at Zheng Pei with a sinister smile, almost like a hungry wolf staring at a piece of meat on the table. When he nodded and turned to walk back, Zheng Pei noticed that the left hand of the man in black behind his back was glowing slightly green.

"Alas, they are all good boys...... "The old man said with emotion, "Wow, after we die, we will depend on them in the future......"

"Oh, that's fine." Granny Ye said to Zheng Pei with a smile, "Quickly kowtow to the sect leader and ask the sect leader to bow to the altar." ”

Zheng Pei's whole body was already nervous at this time, not only the sweat on his face kept falling from his chin, but even the clothes and pants on his body were soaked with sweat and stuck tightly on his skin. Although he heard what Granny Ye said to him, he was nervous for a moment and froze in place.

"Oh, it's okay," said the old man with a smile, "this kid is good, open your eyes." ”

Flowerbeard nodded knowingly, and said to her mother-in-law, "Well, just in time for tomorrow night's altar ceremony." Tomorrow is the annual sacrifice, and the snake god can keep his eyes open. ”

Granny Ye smiled and owed, and reached out to drag the stiff Zheng Pei out of the room.

"Mother-in-law, I... I..."Zheng Pei wiped a handful of cold sweat with his sleeve and said hesitantly.

Granny Ye didn't speak, just looked at him coldly.

Zheng Pei froze for a moment and said in a low voice: "Mother-in-law, I want to go back to school......

The word disappointment was clearly written on Granny Ye's face. Her cloudy eyes instantly lost their brilliance and turned red slightly. Granny Ye's voice was a little helpless, but she still said it: "Child, it's good to study and be a big official, but with your current cultivation, it is also very promising to enter the Yunba Sect." ”

"Mother-in-law, I ......" Although Zheng Pei did not directly refuse, his heart still insisted in hesitation.

Granny Ye pursed her lips, but in the end she didn't speak. Her eager eyes were full of grievances, and she turned and walked out of the village.

"Mother-in-law!" Zheng Pei hurriedly followed, and his heart was also sad for a while.

"Oh, boy." Granny Ye said slowly: "Mother-in-law knows that you are unwilling, you can't force this matter, you can leave, mother-in-law will not stay." She stopped and looked up at the cloudy sky, and said to Zheng Pei in a consultative tone: "But there is no car to go back today, and it will rain soon, let's stay here for one night, will we go tomorrow?" ”

Zheng Pei thought about it and nodded with a smile.

Seeing Zheng Pei smile, Granny Ye also showed a kind smile. She took Zheng Pei to an empty dwelling, settled him down, and walked out. After a while, a little girl with pigtails brought Zheng Pei a bamboo tube and a plate of fried bacon. She blinked and looked at Zheng Pei, looking very shy with her hands behind her back, and before Zheng Pei could say thank you, she turned around and ran out of the house. Zheng Pei waited for a long time and didn't see Granny Ye come back, so he had to eat by himself. It's just that he wondered why he only sent him a plate of fried bacon to cook, without rice or steamed buns. But if you are a guest, you can't pick and choose, so you can pick up the chopsticks and sweep away the fried bacon.

After eating, Zheng Pei wiped his mouth. Boredom, he began to study the small bamboo tube that the little girl had sent with him. This bamboo tube is about a finger wide and about a palm long, and there are several circles of small bamboo threads tied to it. Zheng Pei picked it up and checked it in his hand, it contained something and was still a little heavy, and it was still hot at this time. Shake it, and there is no movement. When you smell it, it seems to have a sweet fragrance. A bunch of question marks flashed in Zheng Pei's head. He carefully removed the bamboo silk tied to the outside, and the small bamboo tube immediately split in half in his hand, and the aroma of rice gushed out. Zheng Pei took a long breath, as if the sweet aroma of rice could be smelled full. It's just that he turned his head to look at the empty fried bacon plate, and had to sigh softly. In desperation, Zheng Pei picked out a little rice with chopsticks and put it in his mouth, and he suddenly found that he had never eaten such delicious rice, glutinous and sweet but not sticky to his teeth, and there was a feeling that the more he chewed, the more fragrant it became. Zheng Pei laughed while eating, fortunately he didn't eat fried bacon, otherwise he would spoil the taste of the rice.

Zheng Pei ate this meal super fragrant, but the habit of serving rice without a bowl and using a small bamboo tube made him feel slightly unnatural. There was nothing to do after eating, and Zheng Pei didn't want to go out and suffer under the strange eyes of the villagers. He stood in the doorway and looked at the sky full of dark clouds, and although the mountain breeze was blowing, the air could still feel the annoyance of the low pressure before the rain. Zheng Pei went back to the house and lay down on the bamboo bed, not knowing if it was right for him to insist on going back to school, but the disappointed gaze that suddenly flashed in front of his eyes really made him worry for a while. He simply closed his eyes and forced himself not to think about anything. But after a while, he slowly opened his eyes again, looked at the roof that seemed to be infinitely far away, and silently asked in his heart: Mother, is it right for me to do this?

The rain came in an instant, but it was not as arrogant as the inky clouds. The rain is neither urgent nor slow, as if it is the care of God, patiently washing away the dust on every leaf. Finally, it converged into a stream on the ground, cleverly avoiding the attention of flowers, plants, birds and beasts, and quietly walked into the distance.

Zheng Pei listened to the sound of rain outside the house, and the sorrow in his heart was no longer hidden. He closed his eyes, and in a trance, he saw the little boy standing in the middle of the wasteland. He walked aimlessly through the dusty wasteland, and finally saw a field of colorful flowers at the far end. The little boy quickened his pace, waving his hands. He shouted and screamed, and his legs filled with strength. However, just as he was about to run into the flower field, he found a wide river running in front of him. The little boy looked back at the wasteland behind him, hesitated for a moment, and finally began to explore the river step by step. The flowing river is as black as ink. The little boy plucked up the courage to go into the water, but was immediately enveloped by the river and struggled to walk. Zheng Pei knew that it wouldn't be long before the child would be swallowed up by the river. He stretched out his hand anxiously to pull the child up, but his footsteps never seemed to run ahead of the child. And the little boy also seemed to feel Zheng Pei's presence, and his pure and bright eyes looked at Zheng Pei who was running. However, just as he stretched out his little hand to Zheng Pei for help, a giant python suddenly sprang out of the river!

"Run!" Zheng Pei screamed and woke up from his dream, his hair already soaked with sweat, and his hands were still tugging and wheezing when he sat up.

By this time it was completely dark. Zheng Pei looked out the window in the dark hut, the rain had passed, and the clear night sky was already dotted with silver stars. Zheng Pei wiped the sweat on his face with his sleeve, got up and walked outside. The gentle night breeze caressed his face, making his restless heart a little calm.