The sun dispelled the morning mist and sprinkled the ground with golden glow.

In the village in the valley, rows of adobe thatched houses are neatly arranged, and in one of the vast courtyards, the branches of persimmon trees stretch out, and the few remaining persimmons on the tips are as bright as fire, embellished with a rare warmth in winter.

The thatched house, through the curtain on the left side of the main hall, is a dozen square rooms, with small windows facing the back of the house, and straw mats block the wind and light, and are lit purely by an oil lamp at the head of the bed.

The grease in the oil lamp was a little cloudy, and when it burned, it emitted an obvious fishy smell, which seemed to be animal fat with very poor refining technology, and the burning fire was not bright, illuminating the inner room dimly.

A small dark and thin figure was lying in the quilt that was mended, and at this moment, his eyes were closed, and his expression was distorted, revealing a look of great pain.

From time to time, there was a sound of talking, wrapped in the unique smell of incense ash, mixed with the smell of animal fat burning, mixed and fishy, indescribably boring.

The thin black figure was obviously sleeping unsteadily, and after some struggle, he suddenly opened his eyes.

"Whew...... Call...... ...... "Ji Li gasped for breath, in this cold winter day, he was covered in sweat, his underwear was completely soaked, and there was still a frightened look on his little face, as if he had just had a nightmare.

Looking at the familiar environment around him, Ji Li coughed a few times, wanted to get up from the bed, and stroked weakly with his hands and feet a few times, but he felt that the thin quilt pressed on his body seemed to be weighty, and he couldn't move for a while.

At this time, the curtain was lifted, and an adult woman in a shabby dress cautiously walked in with a bowl of black-brown medicinal soup.

The bowl of medicinal soup exuded the bitter smell peculiar to herbs and crustaceans, and as soon as it entered, it added to the already turbid air in the inner room.

The woman looked to be about thirty years old, her expression was tired and excited, her long yellow hair was in a low bun, probably because of hard work, a few strands were scattered at the moment, and she was pinned behind her ears indiscriminately, and the whole person was dusty, and her hand holding the medicinal soup was red and swollen, and her joints were thick, obviously she had worked hard for a long time.

As soon as she entered the door, she immediately saw Ji Li lying in the futon with her eyes open, and suddenly showed a hint of joy, and said very happily: "Awake?" Come and drink the medicine. ”

While speaking, the woman walked a few steps quickly, put the medicine on the bedside cabinet, gently helped Ji Li, gently put the medicine bowl to his lips, and motioned him to drink it quickly, "This is the medicine that your father specially grabbed for you, mixed with incense ash in it, and it was also offered in front of the ancestors, and it will definitely be able to cure the disease!" ”

Ji Li was weak, and he was able to maintain a half-up posture by holding the back of his neck by a woman, he looked directly at the medicinal soup in front of him, in his field of vision, this bowl of black-brown medicinal soup, due to the woman's action just now, there was a faint ripple.

The waves rippled out layer by layer, seemingly endlessly, and gradually became a dense mass of numbers, symbols, and graphics......

They wriggled like living creatures, as if they were about to break free from the shackles of the medicine bowl and pour into his body.

Ji Li's eyes suddenly showed a clear look of fear, he opened his mouth, and hurriedly said, "No, don't ......"

As he spoke, he looked up at the woman, and saw that the woman who had just been normal turned into a shell of numbers in his eyes, and those numbers were dense and strange, as if they were the evil ghosts in the legends mentioned by the old people in the village when they told stories.

At the same time, everything around me began to change quietly.

Oil lamps, cabinets, roofs, walls, beds, curtains...... Everything collapsed and turned into a vast array of numbers, symbols, and figures......

The whole world was turned upside down in an instant, and in Ji Li's eyes, it changed into a scene that he couldn't understand.

Ji Li's face instantly became extremely pale, he tried all his strength, suddenly broke free of the woman's embrace, and crawled back towards the bed, while closing his eyes, he screamed in panic: "Ahhhhh!!h ”

Looking at this sudden change of scene, the woman was stunned for a moment, and quickly put down the medicine bowl: "Ji Li, it's a mother, don't be afraid!" ”

"Ji Tanuki! Ji Tanuki ......"

The next moment, Ji Lixi leaned against the wall and fell straight down, lying motionless on the futon, obviously unconscious.

The woman's face turned a little pale, and she quickly knelt on the edge of the bed, covered Ji Li's quilt, and felt Ji Li's cold hands and feet, her heart was heavy, this young son's condition has worsened again!

You have to tell your lover about this matter quickly!

Thinking of this, the woman didn't even care about the medicine bowl placed next to her, and hurriedly walked outside.

※※※

The bright moonlight is like pure silver, outlining the dilapidated thatched houses with a circle of crystal silver, and at night, the whole village is like a fairy tale, with an unreal dreamlike feeling.

Zhou Zhen ran quickly in the narrow alleys, and the cold wind blew from all directions, pulling out a thousand turns of the call sign in the cramped space.

As he ran, fog gradually began to rise around him, and the fog hung down like a light veil, blurring the illumination of the moonlight.

Visibility is getting lower and lower.

Zhou Zhen frowned, he couldn't see the houses on both sides now, so he could only rely on the memory of not knowing if it was a dream just now, and continue to move forward.

Just as he was walking, a familiar figure suddenly appeared in the fog ahead.

The other party was about the same height as he was now, with a thin silhouette, wearing thin clothes similar to his current style, standing quietly not far away.

The moonlight was like water, reflecting the mist into a milky white haze, and the figure stood in the fog, which was particularly conspicuous.

Zhou Zhen immediately stopped, his heart jumped, the figure in front of him was a child!

Moreover, it's the same kid who knocked on the door under the moon before!

Zhou Zhen hurriedly looked left and right to find a place to hide, but when he looked around, the fog was vast, churning and surging, obscuring his vision, as if he had fallen into a sea of fog.

For a while, there was no place to hide!

Zhou Zhen frowned, and could only tiptoe to hide in the fog next to him.

However, at the same time that Zhou Zhen found the child, the other party also seemed to have discovered him!

Zhou Zhen just took two steps to the side and entered a more viscous mist, the child immediately moved, and the other party instantly changed the direction of the original straight line, and walked towards Zhou Zhen with a clear goal.

Zhou Zhen's face changed slightly, without any hesitation, he turned around and ran!

The child immediately followed, spreading his legs and chasing after him.

The mist was like a veil scattered layer by layer, a little thicker, constantly reducing visibility, and soon, it turned into a vast fog, completely engulfing the four fields.

At the same time, a chill rises, soaking into everything.

※※※

The winter sun is shining, and in the spacious yard, a few poultry chirps are heard from time to time.

The radiant girl stood on the solid muddy ground, her shabby skirt and dusty farmhouse courtyard set off her like a rare pearl: "Village chief, where is your old hen?" ”

"I'm looking for her!"

The girl spoke very casually, her voice was sweet and crisp, like a jade bead falling on a gold plate, and it was full of a charm that was difficult to describe, refreshing.

The village chief "Chu Hu" was stunned for a moment, and he didn't react to the meaning of the concubine for a while.

At this moment, a familiar scream came from inside the house.

Chu Hu's face changed suddenly, and he didn't care about his uncle at the moment, and immediately walked quickly towards the house.

As soon as he entered the house, he met his wife Shu Tao who ran out of the inner room in a panic, and after seeing him, he immediately said anxiously: "Ji Li's illness is not good, and it has worsened!" ”

Chu Hu's face was heavy, and he quickly said, "I'll take a look!" ”

As he spoke, he lifted the curtain and walked into the inner room, and Shu Tao hurriedly followed.

This room was originally the bedroom of the two of them, and it was also the most airtight room of the village chief's house, but because Ji Li was seriously ill, Chu Hu and Shu Tao deliberately let it out for Ji Li's recuperation.

At this time, Chu Hu came to the bedside and bowed down to check on Ji Li's situation.

Ji Li's expression was frightened, his breathing was weak, and he lay motionless in the futon.

Shu Tao wiped his tears beside him and asked very carefully: "Beloved, do you want to sacrifice again?" ”

Chu Hu frowned, shook his head, and said, "I want to see the situation first, and go out first." ”

Shu Tao hurriedly replied: "Yes! ”

※※※

In the courtyard of the village chief's house, the concubine was standing at the door of the thatched house, and when she saw Chu Hu suddenly entering the house, she tilted her head and looked around very casually.

Soon, the uncle's eyes fell on the group of local chickens strolling around the yard.

These chickens seem to be a little thinner than the chickens in my impression, but they have a vigorous posture and bright eyes, and they seem to have very good meat quality!

So the concubine immediately walked over to one of the most vigorous old hens, grabbed its wings, and then walked generously into the main room, and into the stove on her right hand.

The stove room of the village chief's house is very spacious, and as soon as you enter, it is a three-pot earthen stove, and at this moment there are four or five adults around the stove, who are busy spreading.

Next to the earthen stove, a simple cabinet is piled up out of adobe, and further inside, there is an indoor poultry pen, in which an adult man is cleaning with a broom.

Seeing the concubine come in, still holding a familiar old hen in her hand, an adult woman who was working on the stove immediately asked, "Uncle, what are you going to do here?" ”

The concubine replied very dryly: "I'm going to cook this chicken." ”

Hearing this, these people in the stove room immediately understood that Ji Li, the village chief's family, was sick, and the concubine came over to help make chicken soup and replenish Ji Li's body......

The daughter of the concubine family is really sensible!

Thinking of this, the people in the stove laughed, and the concubine was going to say kiss when she was old, and sure enough, the girl was older, and she was intimate.

So, a woman who was burning the fire pointed to the back pot and said, "There is hot water here, you can get it quickly." ”

"By the way, when cooking, put more water."

"Ji Li's young and frail body, this will be sick, I'm afraid it's not suitable to eat meat for the time being, drink more soup."

The concubine looked at the woman strangely, Ji Li's illness, what does it have to do with her cooking chicken?

Forget it, there are still so many old hens waiting to eat for themselves, and they can't be delayed by these little things.

She carried hot water and the old hen and went out, and began to defeather and wash neatly.

※※※

The moonlight was quietly sprinkled, and the mist in the valley was surging like a sea.

Ji Li's eyes were hollow, his expression was dazed, and he followed a blurred figure, walking forward with one foot deep and one foot shallow.

I don't know how long it took, but the blurred figure suddenly disappeared.

Ji Lifu stood in place, like a sculpture, motionless.

Suddenly, a cold wind blew, and the cold was to the bone, Ji Lixi shivered, and suddenly came to his senses.

He looked around and saw that he was standing alone in a graveyard!

The fog is vast, restricting visibility, and as far as Ji Li's eyes can see, there are low graves.

Almost none of these tombs have been erected, and the few that have a slight trace of repair have only a wooden board inserted in front of the grave.

The planks are of different shapes, colors, and sizes, and there is not a single word on them, which does not seem to be used as writing material, but as some kind of mark, and all the planks have been decayed to varying degrees by the wind and rain.

The grave is overgrown with weeds, the gaps are uneven, a puddle of water has accumulated, and some hibiscus and other miscellaneous trees grow sparsely around it, and not far away, there seems to be a wild gardenia.

A little farther away, there is the texture and color of the cloth, hidden in the long grass, as if it was discarded at random, and the dark shadow under the cloth is deep and cold, faintly emitting an icy smell.

The cold wind is blowing, the grass and trees are swaying, the branches and leaves are whispering like ghosts, and the moonlight is blurry, refracting a little light, as if the dark places are full of dense eyes, staring at the civet closely.

"Ah!!!h

With a scream full of horror, Ji Li sat up from the bed suddenly, he quickly looked around left and right, the familiar bedroom, the drowsy oil lamp, and a tall figure kneeling beside the bed was Chu Hu.

Chu Hu's face was solemn, and he was staring at him without blinking.

Ji Li was sweating profusely, and said in a weak voice: "Father......"

Chu Hu wiped his sweat with his sleeve, then took out a black scarf and blindfolded Ji Li's eyes neatly.

"Ji Li, from now on, don't open your eyes."

"Tomorrow, sacrifice again......"

"Now let's drink the medicine first."

"Obedient."

※※※

Moonlit night is silent.

The hedgerow-enclosed courtyard wall swayed slowly in the cold winter night, stirring the milky mist.

A figure quickly crossed the courtyard and pushed open the wooden door of the thatched house.

Zhou Zhenfei rushed into the house and quickly closed the door.

His face was pale at the moment, his chest was rising and falling violently, and when he was sure that the latch was fastened, he immediately crouched down, turned around, and leaned on the crack of the door to look out.

The door was empty, and the moonlight shone on the stones at the feet, as if a layer of silver had been plated on the stones, and it looked cold and luxurious.

Zhou Zhen carefully observed for a while, but did not see the child chasing after him, so he breathed a sigh of relief.

Feeling that his body was already cold, but it didn't affect his actions at all, Zhou Zhen faintly felt that something was not right!

Just then, the knock on the door rang again.

Knock knock!

(End of chapter)