Lao Tong and Zhi Changle took turns on duty and sat at the door of the main hall.
Xia Zhaoyi was sitting on the door frame on the other side with her eyes closed, not knowing whether she was awake or asleep.
It rained heavily, and the yard was filled with splashes of water. It wasn't until Yinshi that the sky gradually cleared up.
Lao Tong yawned several times and was extremely sleepy. He saw the heavy rain gradually subsided by the firelight in the yard, and then he turned around a little bored and looked at the little girl opposite.
The little face is calm and quiet, the eyebrows are stretched, the hands are placed on the chest, leaning there, just like a little adult.
Lao Tong suddenly thought that at his current age, it seemed that he could be the father of this little girl.
At this time, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and then she opened her eyes.
Old Tong was slightly stunned and called out: "Ah Li."
Xia Zhaoyi looked up at the sky, then at the water filling the courtyard, and said, "The rain has stopped."
"Go over there and have a good sleep," Lao Tong said. "You can easily catch a cold here and your body won't be able to withstand it."
Xia Zhaoyi seemed not to hear, looking at the yard, lost in thought.
There are several fires in the yard, which are specially set up high to cover the "shed". Lao Tong and Zhi Changle will go over from time to time to add more firewood, so they are still burning.
The wind was blowing loudly, and the outer flames were extinguishing brightly, shining on the water, making it look unreal.
At the same time, the howl of wolves sounded in the distant mountains, and the sound was crisp and clear in the empty mountain. Old Tong beside him trembled and said softly: "There really are wolves here."
Xia Zhaoyi paused slightly, grabbed the spear on the side, stood up and said, "I'll go take a look."
"Ah!" Lao Tong also stood up quickly, "Ah Li, where are you going?"
"You stay here," Xia Zhaoyi looked sideways at him and said in a deep voice, "I will be back before dawn. If anything happens here, whether it is a beast or a human, you will do what we said before.
Yes, pull the rope hard."
Xia Zhaoyi handed him the rope hanging from the eaves.
Lao Tong took it, but still felt uneasy. He couldn't hold it back, but said: "Ah Li, where are you going? It's almost dawn, can't you go before dawn?"
Xia Zhaoyi smiled: "No, because we have to be on our way at dawn."
She doesn't have that much time to stay here.
After saying that, she turned around and left.
The mountain wind is strong and the night is very cold.
After she left the ruined temple, she climbed up a hillside with her bare hands, following the path she had discovered and calculated during the day.
The top is the best spot for collecting wind. She climbed to the top for a long time and sat down to rest at the highest point.
Her broken hair was blown by the wind at a high place, and her back was straight, looking coldly at the fire at the foot of the mountain on the other side.
It was very bright. Compared with the ruined temple, the fire here seemed to have burned down an entire house, and it was still getting brighter and expanding, obviously in order to cope with the wolf howl just now.
Looking up from the fire, there is a road leading to the place where the corpses were found today, not far nor near.
And the firelight looked down, and as you looked further, the road gradually became smoother, and it should be a place where you completely went down the mountain.
Xia Zhaoyi sketched a rough map of the terrain in his mind, then withdrew his gaze and stood up with the help of his spear to go back.
Lao Tong had been looking at the door. When he saw Xia Zhaoyi's little figure, he hurriedly waded into the water and ran over: "Ah Li!"
Xia Zhaoyi nodded, suddenly stopped, and looked up at him: "Old Tong, I'm sorry."
"What?"
"I made you worry about me," Xia Zhaoyi smiled. "You don't have to worry about me in the future. What I'm best at is protecting myself."
With that said, he handed him the spear in his hand.
Old Tong took it and said, "Where did you go just now?"
"Go and walk around. The mountains are nice. After the rain stops, there won't be much water and it will all flow down." Xia Zhaoyi said with a smile.
"Just walking around?"
"It's almost dawn."
Xia Zhaoyi raised his head and looked at the dim sky, then walked towards the main hall and said: "Old Tong, please help me wake up my uncle and Zhi Changle."
"Are you ready to leave?" Lao Tong nodded, "Okay!"
He ran in and quickly woke up the two people who were sleeping restlessly.
I was about to pack my things, but found Xia Zhaoyi still standing at the door.
"Cover your ears." Xia Zhaoyi said.
Lao Tong was puzzled, but he still covered his ears.
Seeing that the injured person over there also raised his hands to cover his ears, Xia Zhaoyi turned around, grabbed the rope hanging at the door, and pulled hard.
The rope led to the beams and eaves of the house, and then to the big tree in the yard. It was wound up section by section, with simple mortise and tenon joints made of wood as axes at the turning points. Finally, a big stone under the fire was brought up by the rope.
He was pulled out with a huge force and hit the bronze tripod in the middle of the yard hard.
The sound of "buzz" thunder suddenly sounded, spreading to every corner of the entire temple, and also to the entire empty mountain, and brought echoes far away.
It was crisp and ethereal, but also very heavy, as if it hit someone's chest directly, causing a dull pain.
At the same time, the fire collapsed, and the flames sank, falling on a row of firewood smeared with tree oil below.
The flames suddenly brightened and jumped up, almost burning the "shed" above to keep out the rain.
Lao Tong and Zhi Changle's heartbeats quickened and they were startled by the loud noise.
Xia Zhaoyi turned back to look at them and said, "Let's set out in an hour and pack up our things."
"Why, why..." Zhi Changle pointed to the yard.
It seems to have been said before that if you are attacked by a wild beast, you should use this trick. It will definitely work.
But now, for no reason...
Xia Zhaoyi looked at the burning fire and said softly: "I don't know how many people are still alive on this mountain, and I don't know that those beasts didn't go far.
She had no intention of rescuing the suffering and saving all sentient beings, but she also didn't want to watch those innocent people who had been in trouble and suffered misfortune fly to the flames to find refuge with those at the foot of the mountain.
"Some of the corpses we saw today had their heads cut off alive." Xia Zhaoyi added.
It's okay if she didn't say it. When she mentioned this, Zhi Changle immediately covered his mouth, and Lao Tong's eyes widened, with a look of shock and anger on his face.
"Let's go, let's pack our things. It will be dawn in an hour, and we will leave." Xia Zhaoyi turned around and said.
………………
The loud "buzz" sound resounded all over the mountain, echoing from the distant mountains, and it even seemed like the ground beneath my feet was shaking.
"what sound!"
"what happened?"
The big men who were still setting fires everywhere raised their heads and looked towards the mountain.
The steward who was sleeping inside was also disturbed. He sat up and shouted, "What's going on outside!"
"Sir, there was a loud noise suddenly from the mountain. I don't know what happened!" a man replied.
"Then send someone to take a look!" The steward's voice was sharp and harsh, "Are you looking for death? It's so late at night! Who is impatient to live!"
After I finished cursing, I realized that the sky outside the window was already bright.
The steward quickly shouted again: "No need to go and see, no need!" He put on his clothes and got up, "Get ready to go, pack your things quickly!"
