() The town is ruined, the cold wind is withered, and the dust is flying.

In the direction of the cooking smoke, but after some turning and turning, and shuttling through various alleys, I found a place, and crossed a house, and entered a lonely courtyard.

It was a small, dilapidated courtyard surrounded by three dilapidated houses, and the walls of the courtyard were made of stones of various sizes, which were very low.

At the door, there was a chicken coop made of bamboo fences, and three old hens were nested in it, motionless, probably closing their eyes to recuperate.

In the corner of the courtyard wall, there is a stove for the fire, on which a rag shed is set up, to shelter from the wind and rain, the flame in the stove is burning vigorously, crackling, but there is no one around.

"Is anybody home, please?"

Shen Luo'er raised her throat slightly, poked her head inside, cautiously, and shouted tentatively.

You may not have heard it, or you may have lived in such a desolate place for a long time, and even if you hear it, you will subconsciously think that it is an illusion, and no one will respond for a long time.

Nan Tian and the two walked into the courtyard, looking deserted, Shen Luo'er looked at it, cleared his throat, and was about to shout again.

With a creak, the wooden door of an adobe house on the right opened, and an old woman staggered out of a pile of firewood.

The old woman had gray hair, and was dressed in a shabby and whitish cotton jacket, and her exposed hands were as thin and yellow as the bark of a tree, and were full of laceration and scars.

The thin body held a pile of firewood, as if it would be overwhelmed in the next moment, and the old woman's steps were small and slow, as if every step required exhaustion.

The old woman walked a few more steps, probably seeing the shadow of one or two people in Nantian, so she slowly raised her head, and was stunned for a while before she reacted, and greeted her with a smile: "A guest is coming!"

"Old man, are you alone at home?"

Shen Luo'er looked at the old woman's appearance, felt pity, and spoke.

The old woman is a little older, her ears are not very bright, and many voices have not been heard clearly over the years. The old woman said a little apologetically.

"No, no, it's not good to blame me, old man, I'll help you get firewood!" Shen Luo'er hurriedly waved her hand, her voice raised a few points, and then took a few steps over to help carry the firewood.

"The girl is kind-hearted, I'm really bothering you!" said the old woman a little embarrassed.

"You've been in there long enough! ”

Nan Tianyi's voice was cold, and he transmitted the voice to the main room.

Nantian used the internal breath to transmit the sound, Shen Luo'er and the old woman didn't notice it, but to the people in the house, it was like a bell, and it was endless.

In fact, Nantian felt that there were two breaths in the house early in the morning, both

It's a lingering breath, and I didn't care much about it at first, but now that the two of them are resting in the house, letting a dying old woman make a fire outside to cook, it's really not a human being.

But when the two people in the house came out in a hurry, Nan Tianyi was stunned.

A pair of young men and women walked out of it, looking flustered, but it was not what Nan Tianyi thought.

The man was dressed in a blue Confucian shirt, dressed as a scholar, his face was white and clean, and he was very handsome, but there was a hint of fatigue between his eyebrows.

The woman is less than ten years old, dressed in blue and white plain clothes, with a beautiful complexion, and at first glance she looks like a beautiful girl, hiding tightly behind the handsome scholar.

The two of them clasped their hands together, their expressions were slightly flustered, and after taking a closer look at Nan Tianyi and the two, they seemed to have unloaded their burdens, and they all secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

As soon as he saw the two of them, Nan Tianyi realized that he was afraid that he was thinking wrong, just with the temperament and dress of this man and woman, it could not be the old woman's family, and he was afraid that he would pass by like himself.

"This son, the two of us didn't mean to avoid it...... If you make the son unhappy, Xiaosheng apologizes first!"

After a while, the man dressed as a scholar gently patted the woman's hand as a sign of reassurance, and then summoned up the courage to step forward and salute neatly.

"It's also under Meng Lang, I don't know the specific situation, I disturbed the two, please forgive me!"

When Nantian saw that this scholar was talking in an orderly manner, humble and polite, he couldn't help but have a very good impression of him, and he was also at fault first, so he hugged his fist and saluted, and apologized.

After the two were polite, they introduced each other, and Nan Tianyi directly said that Shen Luoer and himself were brother and sister, and they didn't want to be confined to their families, so they traveled around together.

And the scholar's surname is Du, and the plain woman's surname is Qin, the two of them were newly married, because they were bored at home, they went out together, they didn't want to be on a whim, lost the road, fortunately met the old woman who went out to find firewood, and was able to stay here.

But Nan Tianyi was keenly aware that what the scholar surnamed Du said was untrue, his eyes dodged from time to time, and he looked unnatural several times when he spoke, and Nan Tianyi obviously saw that the woman surnamed Qin still retained her virgin body, and she was a newlywed like this.

But everyone has secrets, and besides, he is not the same random set of rhetoric, Nan Tianyi doesn't want to ask more, but it's just a meeting in Pingshui!

"Huh...... I haven't had so many guests in many years, and it's not so lively...... The guests will rest first, and the old woman will cook for you. The old woman seemed to be very happy and said happily.

"Old man, is there no one else in your family?" Nan Tian glanced at the courtyard and couldn't help asking.

"The old woman had a son...... Afterward...... There was an illness in the town that year...... People are gone, no ......"

When the old woman heard this, she smiled, and she was quite proud when she said the word son, but then

Thinking of something, his tone was low and hoarse, and his eyes seemed to hide endless sadness, and he muttered in his mouth.

"I'm sorry!"

When Nantian saw this, he couldn't help but apologize.

"Old man, don't be too sad, my eldest brother is unintentional, but he is too straightforward and fast. Shen Luo'er also comforted again and again.

"Out of the way! Out of the way! All these years have passed...... Oh, the old woman should go and cook for the guests!" The old woman pulled out a far-fetched smile, and it could be seen that she was pretending to be relaxed.

In this way, Shen Luo'er couldn't bear it in her heart, and helped the old woman to help cook, and the woman surnamed Qin also went over to help, leaving only Nan Tianyi and the scholar surnamed Du standing together.

"Brother Du, have you met anyone else during your time in this town?" or Nan Tianyi spoke first, breaking the silence.

The scholar surnamed Du looked puzzled when he heard this, and said: "My husband and wife only arrived yesterday, and I don't know what jackals and beasts are in this wilderness, and I don't know how to go out for fear of danger, so I didn't meet anyone......

Speaking of this, the scholar surnamed Du moved in his heart, and couldn't help but ask curiously: "Why do you ask like this?

"Brother Du, you see, since the old woman is at home alone, why use two benches, one tall and one short, and the wear marks are different, obviously used by different people. ”

Nan Tianyi nodded slowly, pointing to a square wooden low table under the eaves of the courtyard, and there were two small wooden piers next to it as benches.

Hearing this, the scholar surnamed Du couldn't help but walk over, and after observing for a while, he nodded and said, "It is indeed a trace made by two different people...... However, didn't the old man say that there was no one else at home? ”

But he thought of something and said, "Could it be that there are other people in the town?"

Nantian nodded and said, "It's true that this is possible, but in the barren mountains and wild towns, an old woman lives alone, and it is always beneficial and harmless to have more thoughts......

Nantian didn't finish his words, but the scholar surnamed Du also understood what he wanted to express, his face was uncertain, and he changed for a while, and finally bowed to Nantian and said, "Xiaosheng thanked Nan Gongzi for his ......."

Nan Tianyi also saw that the scholar surnamed Du and the woman were powerless, so he kindly reminded him.

Because thinking about the discovery in the abandoned mansion just now, although many years have passed since I looked at the traces, I still feel a little uneasy in my heart.

Seeing that there was nothing to do here, it was better to go out and have a look, so he said: "Then Brother Du is here, I will go out first and circulate around." ”

The scholar surnamed Du couldn't help but say: "Nan Gongzi, please take care of it, you must pay attention to it." ”

Nantian nodded, informed Luo'er again, and turned around and walked in the direction of the deserted mansion......