Yin and yang are separated, and its abyss is like the sea. Even though he was only in the river, Chen Feng had the feeling of being in a sea of dead seas.

On the other side, the scenery is undoubtedly not very wonderful. Chen Feng tried it, and his secret power was working normally, so he had the bottom.

The ferryman did not speak, nor did he collect the ferry money, and when Chen Feng stepped ashore, he disappeared into the river, as if his man and his boat had never appeared.

It was all low hills, overgrown with ugly flowers and thorny thorns. Corpses crawled among them, and even though the corpses were stabbed, they did not feel pain.

Seeing someone approaching, they seemed to be able to feel Chen Feng's breath, and stretched out their hands as if they were begging. It's just that Chen Feng has nothing to give them.

Among the hills, there are some very dilapidated houses, the wood of which has long been eroded by the wind and rain and rots at the touch of it. Chen Feng couldn't see the specific situation clearly at all, it was covered by a layer of mist.

Why did I come here? This is a question that Chen Feng is very puzzled about.

There is a path leading to the wooden house, paved with broken wood. The pieces of wood had long since rotted, and when they stepped on it, they fell into the dirt in thirds.

Chen Feng walked over, and the mist around him immediately rushed over, making his vision even more blurred. Although the fog was not very heavy, Chen Feng had a very uncomfortable feeling, as if there were a pair of invisible eyes looking at him in the fog.

After approaching the wooden house, Chen Feng smelled a stream of aroma - it was the smell of meat!

The smell of meat was endless, Chen Feng came to the front of the wooden house, and saw a thin old woman sitting in the wooden house with the door open, using a wooden stick to pluck firewood. Above the flame was a bronze tripod covered with green patina. There was a "gurgling" sound from inside, bursts of water vapor came out of it, and the smell of meat was coming from inside. The old woman sat leisurely by the fire, squinting her eyes, sniffing the aroma emanating from the ding, and kept tasting with a broken spoon and adding ingredients to the soup.

In addition, she was still leaning on the spine of an unknown animal on the tinder, turning from time to time, sprinkling spice foam. The bones gradually turned yellow, giving off the smell of slanderous meat. The old woman carefully picked at the meat in the gap between her backbones, chewing it with relish and slurping.

Chen Feng thought, this old woman is quite good at enjoying life.

Hearing someone coming, the old woman raised her head sharply and grinned at Chen Feng. Among her only two black teeth, there was a red bug with its head shrunk and conspicuous.

She was very old, her face was wrinkled and dusty, as if she hadn't washed it in a long time. Only those eyes, also with a little green, are as deep as a waterhole.

"Old woman, may I ask where this is?" Chen Feng asked.

"I don't know where this is, how did you get here?"

"I came in by mistake. ”

"Oh, that's unusual. But there are only you and me here, and I can't judge you by my experience here. ”

"Old woman, why did you come here?"

The old woman didn't speak, but laughed "hehe". After laughing, she didn't answer Chen Feng's question directly, but told a story: many years ago, a horse found a rich meadow and often came here for a full meal. A large buffalo discovered the secret and often came to graze when the horses were not looking. When the horse found out, he felt that the big buffalo had encroached on his territory and wanted to take revenge on him, but he couldn't do anything about it. So I asked someone to help. The man said, "Horse, I have no way to do it, except to put a bridle on you, and I will ride on you, so that I can catch up with it and punish it." As a result, the man punished the big buffalo on horseback, but the horse was also tied to the trough.

After speaking, the old woman asked Chen Feng, "What do you think of this horse?"

Chen Feng thought for a moment and said: "This horse is trying to take revenge for a little thing, and in the end it will make itself a slave and lose its most precious freedom, which is a bit stupid. ”

But the horse didn't think so at the time. In the middle of the river, there are fish jumping into the fisherman's net, and in the sky, there are birds exposed to the hunter's bow and arrow, are they doing it on purpose? Are they really stupid?"

"What you mean is that it's not their stupidity that determines their situation, it's who they are. Whether horses are in the eyes of shepherds, or fish and birds are in the eyes of fishermen and hunters, they are destined to be enslaved, captured and hunted?"

"yes. Whether the horses pay attention to the buffalo or not, the fish and birds determine their direction in advance, they cannot escape the control of the shepherds, fishermen and hunters. Their fate was decided early on. ”

"If a horse can flee into a wild valley, if a bird can fly into the mountains and forests, and if a fish can swim into the sea, then it will be out of man's grasp. ”

"But there may be wolves in the valley, venomous snakes in the forest, and sharks in the sea. So, where you live is not a fateful factor. Do you understand what I'm saying, young man?"

"You mean, strength comes first. As long as you are strong, no matter where you are or what you do, you can decide your own destiny, instead of being controlled and bound by others. ”

The old woman let out a crow-like "quack" laugh a few times: "Maybe it is, maybe not, don't talk about it." I like you a lot, young man. Come, I'll treat you. As she spoke, she took out a broken bowl from the side, scooped out a bowl of black broth from the ding, and handed it to Chen Feng.

Under the gaze of her green eyes, Chen Feng suddenly returned to the scene when he received the soup of life and death in the bamboo building of the morgue.

Chen Feng didn't answer. He didn't know what would happen when he drank it. Perhaps, he may not be able to afford one.

"Drink it. Drink it, and you won't feel tired, you won't feel bored. The old woman's voice was like a hoarse erhu sound, lingering in the humid air.

Chen Feng couldn't help but stretch out his hand and take the broken bowl in his hand. It's a bowl of fragrant broth, so why not drink it? Sit down, take a break, drink it, and enjoy the rare calm. Perhaps, all the sorrows and troubles will be forgotten.

Thinking like this, Chen Feng slowly approached the bowl of broth to his lips, and finally drank it in a big gulp.

Seeing Chen Feng drink it obediently, a strange smile appeared on the old woman's face, as if the sun-dried orange peel had been rubbed many times in her hand.

"Good boy, drink it all. The old woman's voice was like broth in a bowl, and it was impossible to refuse.

When a whole bowl of broth was drunk by Chen Feng, he felt a little dazed, and he began to see things in front of him clearly, nor could he hear the voices around him clearly. Only the old woman's laughter was clear.

"Dangchang", Chen Feng's hand loosened, the broken bowl fell to the ground, and his whole body fell down.

The old woman looked at Chen Feng with a smile, as if she was looking at the black cat she had raised for more than ten years, full of love and kindness: "It's been so long, I finally have a companion." ”

(End of chapter)