Go to the village chief's house?

The girl immediately came to her senses, turned her head and soon saw two women in their thirties, side by side, coming out from behind a thatched hut.

The two women, one with a long face and the other with a round face, were ordinary in appearance, their complexion was yellowish, and their hair was a little thin, the long-faced ones were wrapped in torn handkerchiefs, and the round-faced ones were tied in a bun with wooden hairpins, and they were wearing patched ancient dresses, the skirts were stained with some dust, and the people were also dusty, and they were walking and chatting.

They looked short and thin, but their strength was not small, one carried a large stack of firewood, and the other carried two buckets full of water, still walking steadily, without a little reluctance.

Maybe because they were chatting, they didn't notice the girl, and while talking, they walked directly into a nearby alley, and the voice gradually faded away.

The girl did not hesitate and immediately followed them.

Click, click, click......

The sound of footsteps shuttles through the alleys, perhaps because the villagers are working in the fields during the day, and there are few voices along the way, at most the sound of some poultry and livestock.

Occasionally, there are children who don't need to work, but there seem to be very few children in this village.

The girl followed the two women all the way to a thatched hut with a large courtyard, and heard the sounds of children on one hand.

Without knocking, the two women pushed open the hidden courtyard door and walked in.

In the yard, a tall persimmon tree is half exposed, and the bright red persimmons on the branches are like clusters of flames, which are gorgeous and dazzling.

This time, instead of immediately following the two women, the girl stood at the gate of the courtyard, reaching for her pockets again, and then feeling empty again.

She frowned, and after thinking seriously for a while, she remembered that she was going to the village chief's house.

And here, it's the village chief's house!

After thinking about her purpose, the girl immediately walked into the courtyard.

The yard is two acres in size, and although the hedgerows and ponds take up part of the area, the rest of the area is very large.

At this moment, in the open space near the thatched hut in the courtyard, several adult men and women are busy packing up their things.

A sacrificial table, dripping with wax and various rune papers, was carefully carried into the room by two adult men, while several other adults carefully swept the incense ashes on the ground with freshly made brooms.

The air smells of incense after the sacrifice.

At this time, a grim-looking, gray-haired adult man happened to come out of the house, the other man looked to be in his forties, thicker than the average villager, with a straight back, patched clothes, straw sandals, and a handful of freshly kneaded hemp rope in his hand.

Seeing this adult male, the two women who were carrying water and firewood just now immediately beckoned: "Village chief! ”

The village chief nodded slightly, and was about to say something to them, when he saw the girl coming over, he immediately smiled and said, "Uncle, why are you here?" What's the matter? ”

The girl immediately replied, "Let me think." ”

As she spoke, she touched her pockets a few more times, but still didn't touch anything.

The girl frowned again, trying to remember, she only remembered that she was coming to the village chief's house, and she didn't remember what she was doing at all!

Other than that, at the beginning, she seemed to bring something......

That's right!

It's an old hen!

She came to the village chief's house because it was related to the old hen!

Thinking of this, the girl suddenly said, "Village chief, where is your old hen?" ”

"I'm looking for her!"

※※※

In the southwest corner of the village, the simple courtyard door is wide open, and fresh blood stains drip all the way in, and the unique smell of blood is diffused along the way.

The blood stains passed through the courtyard door, the courtyard, the main house, and finally entered the kitchen.

The stove, which was originally clean and tidy, is a mess at the moment, with blood stains on the stove, a handful of chicken feathers flying on the ground, and a faint fishy smell of incomplete poultry firing in the air.

The straw and firewood from before the mouth of the stove were gone, and now there was some fuel that had come from somewhere.

The water in the tank is shallow, and there is still a layer of oil stains floating on the water, and the water in this tank is obviously not clean.

Step, step, step......

There was a sound of footsteps coming from the alley, two young couples in their twenties, the husband carrying a nail rake, and the wife carrying a basket of sparse wild vegetables, as if they had just finished their work and returned from the field.

Just approaching their yard, after smelling the bloody smell, the two of them immediately became alert, without any communication, and quickly looked around.

After making sure that there was no one nearby, he quickly exchanged a look.

The husband took off the nail rake, changed his posture, and seemed to use the nail rake as a spear, and walked slowly towards the courtyard; The wife followed closely behind and closed the courtyard door with her backhand.

As soon as the courtyard door was closed, the posture of the two of them changed, not at all like farmers working in the fields, but like special soldiers who had been professionally trained for a long time and had rich experience in indoor fighting.

Soon, the couple inspected the whole yard, together with the thatched house, and found that the marks they had made when they left, all the clues to the main house and the kitchen had been touched, and they were very open, as if the visitor had not found the signs, light or dark, but the bedroom next to the main house had not been stepped into at all.

The husband put away the nail rake, put it under the eaves casually, and said in a calm voice: "The traces are too obvious, and there is no concealment at all." ”

"It's supposed to be indigenous."

"The firewood and straw at home have been used, and chicken blood has dripped all the way, and the pot stove has been used, and the meat has been boiled in it......"

"It must be some indigenous who stole someone else's chicken, borrowed fuel from our stove, and water."

"When I left, I washed my hands in the water tank."

The wife also put down the vegetable basket, threw away a sharp stone hidden in the vegetable basket, nodded, and said, "The natives are easy to check, but there is no need. ”

"If we really find out, on the one hand, we may expose ourselves; On the other hand, it is also easy to cause unnecessary disputes and variables. ”

"The people of the 'Ash Order' must have seized more opportunities than we did."

"We can't show our flaws!"

The husband looked serious and asked very seriously: "These are all trivial matters, you just dug wild vegetables, and the range of activities is relatively large, have you found other members?" ”

When his wife heard this, she shook her head slightly and said, "No." ”

"I was worried about encountering people from the 'Ash Order', so although I walked around, I didn't dare to talk to others."

"Where's you?"

"I'm active outside the village, you are walking around the village, are there any clues in the village?"

"The village seems to be so remote that they don't interact with the outside world, so they don't need a name," the husband said. ”

"When they mention the village, they only say the village."

"I have no idea what dynasty the outside world is or what kind of jurisdiction this village belongs to."

"There are almost 400 people in the village now."

"There are nine surnames in total, and they are intermarried from generation to generation."

"Life in the village has always been very peaceful, and the current village chief is called 'Chu Hu', surnamed Fan. It is said that he is quite fair, and everyone is more convinced of him. ”

"Recently, the thing in the village is that his youngest son has been sick and has not been getting better."

"There are rumors among the villagers that the child has been poisoned, and the medicine stone has no effect."

"Ancient societies were very superstitious."

"It's the same with Huaguo."

"Chu Hu specially sacrificed for this son."

"That's all I hear now."

The wife listened and pondered, and then said: "The name is 'Chu Hu', surnamed Fan? This is the way of calling in the pre-Qin period of ancient China, where men were called names and women were called surnames. This village chief is likely to be from Chu in the pre-Qin period. ”

"It is said that ordinary people in ancient China were not qualified to have surnames at first, which was the patent of the nobles at that time. In the Warring States period, there were 'common people'. ”

"The surname Fan may come from the skills of the ancestors, who were weaving fences or similar occupations."

"This is more in line with the economic level of this village."

"But it's very strange that there are some things in this village that don't seem to exist in the pre-Qin period."

"What's more, the so-called evil may be the feudal superstition of these villagers, but it may also be a 'digital virus'!"

"We can find an excuse first and go to Chu Hu's house to investigate."

The husband nodded: "Okay!" ”

※※※

The moon is bright and the night is miserable.

Zhou Zhen cautiously pushed open the door again, and as before, he poked his head out and looked left and right, his hand tightly grasping the edge of the wooden door, ready to withdraw to the house and lock the door immediately.

His gaze swept over the courtyard enclosed by the hedges, and carefully observed the movement outside the hedges.

After a while, Zhou Zhen was sure that the naked eye did not find any danger.

He took the brick and went out for the third time.

Zhou Zhen did not run into the vegetable furrow at the door this time, but went around the side of the thatched house and the side of the window very carefully.

Although this thatched house has a hedge to form the shape of a yard, but in winter the hibiscus leaves fall, and the gap between the hedges is very large, Zhou Zhen is now a very thin child, he easily squeezed out of the gap in the hedge, towards a thatched house on the side of the thatched house.

There was nothing to eat in the vegetable patch, so he had to call the neighbor next to him.

Click, click, click......

The village is exceptionally quiet in the moonlight, and the faint sound of footsteps moves quietly in the night.

Zhou Zhen soon came to the thatched house next door, which was almost exactly the same as the one he lived in, with adobe walls, thatched roofs, dilapidated door panels, thatched windows, and hedges...... Moreover, on this side of the pond, it may be for the convenience of washing, there is not even a hedge, and the pond is directly used as a partition.

After looking at the whole room, Zhou Zhen walked to the wooden door, did not make any movement, quietly leaned up, and looked inside.

The moonlight is very bright, like an energy-saving lamp with a low wattage, illuminating the courtyard.

But when I peeked into the room, it was pitch black and I couldn't see anything.

Zhou Zhen held his breath and listened carefully, but he also couldn't hear any movement.

He frowned slightly, this family was the same as the house he lived in, there was not even a light at night, and the probability of food in the house was probably not high......

Thinking so, Zhou Zhen knocked lightly on the door, and then said very quietly: "I'm Bo Qian, can you open the door for me?" ”

As the words fell, there was still dead silence in the room, and there was no response.

WhewW......

The cold wind blew, stirring the rough clothes, and there was the crisp sound of tree branches being broken in the distance, and under the frosty moonlight, I felt especially chilling.

Seeing that this family had no intention of opening the door, Zhou Zhen continued: "I have something very important, open the door first and let me in?" ”

There was still no sound in the room, as if no one was there.

Zhou Zhen didn't give up and said: "Actually, I got a lot of food here......"

After trying several times in a row, the house was always as quiet as death, as if it had been vacant for a long time and had no popularity.

Zhou Zhen stood outside the door, his heart beating like a drum, he didn't dare to stay here longer, because he didn't know when, the little boy who knocked on the door before would appear.

Therefore, the house before the meeting was never opened, and there was no response, so he immediately left and went to the next house.

He climbed through the hedge and came to the door of the second house, which was a little larger than the one before, and there was a tree planted in the yard, but the leaves had already fallen, and it was bare, and there was no variety to be seen for the time being.

Zhou Zhen was the same as just now, first leaning on the crack of the door and looking inside.

The room was dark, and there was nothing to be seen.

He knocked on the door again and said the same thing.

There was still no response from inside.

Zhou Zhen didn't stay long this time, and turned around and went to the third one.

Soon, Zhou Zhen knocked on the doors of several houses around the pond, but no one opened the door for him, let alone gave him food.

The moonlight shines on the ice of the pond, and the white water vapor evaporates, as if it is a tangible cold air, and the wisps of it penetrate into the air, diffuse between the heaven and the earth, and soak into the bones little by little.

Zhou Zhen's body was getting colder and colder, and in order to prevent accidents, he quickly returned to his thatched hut.

Closing the door, Zhou Zhen lay down in the thin futon on the ground, and wrapped himself tightly with the tattered quilt on the bed.

Even so, he didn't feel any heat, only that he was in the ice cellar, and there was no heat.

Moreover, because he had gone out for a few runs, he felt extremely sleepy, and his eyelids kept fighting, and he would close if he was not careful.

Zhou Zhen was strong and seriously thought about all the details after entering the space-time tunnel......

"If the experience of the day is all a dream......"

"Then, when I get up in the middle of the night and see the door open, and the child, who suddenly appears next to my bedside, it is not a dream......"

"But if the daytime experience is not a dream...... I ended up being dragged away by Uncle Dolphin and Nakamatsu. ”

"Uncle Dolphin and Zhong Song, there was obviously a big problem at that time."

"They pulled me into the fog, why did I end up in this thatched hut?"

Thinking about it, Zhou Zhen's eyelids began to close again, and he immediately shook his head vigorously and continued to think......

"There is another possibility......"

"Daytime is reality, what I'm experiencing now is a dream!"

"When the vegetables in the field are brought to the house, they become dirt......"

"Knocking on the neighbors' doors one by one, not a single family responds......"

"These are very much in line with the logic of dreams."

"However, if it's a dream now, then I'm in danger!"

"This shows that in reality, I am still in a coma, and I am being taken to unknown places by Uncle Dolphin and Zhong Song......

Thinking of this, drowsiness hit like a flood bursting the embankment, Zhou Zhen pinched himself hard, and used the pain to barely regain his consciousness.

"If it's a dream now, then I don't have to worry about hunger and cold, but the most important thing is to find a way to wake up immediately."

"But if you're wrong, the daytime experience is a dream......"

While thinking about it, the cold wind shouted, scrambling to get involved from the cracks.

The bedding shrunk, the old straw rattled, and the temperature in the house dropped a lot.

Zhou Zhen felt that the futon wrapped around his body was as if there was none.

His brow furrowed, and he quickly decided...... Go out one last time!

Go to the village chief's house!

This is the only place where he can find clues now!

So, Zhou Zhen got out of bed immediately, this time in order to save his physical strength and preserve the temperature of his body, he didn't bring any more bricks, opened the door directly, and walked out.

The moonlight outside the door was like frost, and the four fields were silent, exactly the same as just now.

Zhou Zhen followed the route he remembered during the day, walked out of the courtyard surrounded by hedges, and quickly ran in one direction.

The village under the moonlight is quiet and quiet, like a picture scroll with cold tones.

Ask for a commuter pass!

(End of chapter)