Volume 1 Huangquan December Chapter 6: Depressed piano sound
It's a rainy season.
It was a continuous drizzle at first, and the raindrops were very light, like fine fluff on the face. But the rain soon became heavier, and rolling thunder came from the hazy clouds from time to time, which seemed to indicate a majestic rainstorm.
s arrival.
Only one night has passed since we said goodbye to the Qi Family Courtyard. It stands to reason that we can see the villages on the edge of Huansha City the next night. However, it has not yet reached the evening, and the sky is extremely cloudy. Before it rains harder,
I never imagined that an old yellow horse sprained its feet on a muddy road and could no longer go on.
The good news is that the shadow of the inn can be seen as far as the field of vision. The bad news is that when they get there, there are no extra guest rooms. There is only one inn here, between two large cities.
It is always standing and full of guests.
The coachman often comes here and has a good relationship with the shopkeeper. He can tie the horses and has a woodshed. But the master and the apprentice are not easy to deal with. The coachman has collected the money and does not deliver it to the place. It is indeed not competent enough.
.So he lent them a red horse with a white mane and said to them:
"Less than three miles further, there are several houses. One of them has two pomegranate trees planted in front of the door. When the flowers are blooming, you can see them at a glance. Just knock on the door and say that they are entrusted by Liu Chefu.
My wife will know about it and will prepare a room for you. The horse hitch is there, and I will go and get it. I really can't help you two."
So the master and the apprentice braved the increasing rain and rode all the way there. Within a quarter of an hour, they saw a small house with two red pomegranate trees at the door. They knocked on the door for a long time and finally waited.
They met an elderly woman. It took a lot of effort for Shan Hai to understand their purpose. She smiled as if she suddenly understood and went to prepare a room for them.
The yard is not big or small, but it seems a bit empty compared to a lonely old lady. The chickens in the chicken coop are tightly packed in the wooden house, and the big rooster standing guard has a striking red comb like a pomegranate flower.
He stared at the two visitors warily.
Not long after entering the house, there was another burst of thunder, and heavy rain poured down, as if the Tianhe River had burst its banks. It was not yet evening, and it was already so dark that it was difficult to see the northwest clearly.
Fortunately, most of the sound of rain was cut off in the house, so it was not too difficult for Shanhai to communicate with the old woman. After a few simple words, they figured out that the old woman's son died of illness, and he and Liu Chefu were as close as each other.
Brother, he supported the old man for him.
"Then when will he come back?"
After clearing away the dishes, the old lady asked him this. Shan Hai didn't know clearly, but from her slightly anxious look, it could be seen that there seemed to be something unspeakable and she needed help from someone at home.
So he really asked, and the old woman just said:
"It rained so hard today, it won't come tomorrow."
At that time, neither he nor Aluan understood what it meant. Unexpectedly, they would understand it the next day.
That night, Shan Hai did not sleep soundly. The rain was heavy, beating violently on the fragile window panels. Half asleep and half awake, he vaguely heard the neighing of horses and the commotion of chickens, but he didn't know if it was reality.
It rained all night and stopped. When it was just dawn, the air was still very cold. Shan Hai got up and saw the old woman standing at the door in a daze. He walked up and found a man lying at the old woman's feet.
The carcass of a sparrow.
"This is?"
The old woman sighed and finally explained everything in detail.
I don’t know since when, the carcasses of small animals will appear in front of the old woman’s house every day. Most of them are mice, birds, larger ones include hedgehogs, and even snakes. Without exception, they are dead. Every morning
, these corpses will appear in front of the old woman's house on time, which is extremely horrifying.
Aluan also woke up at this time and heard Ersan.
"Are the neighborhood kids playing tricks?"
The old woman shook her head and said that there were not many children nearby. She remembered clearly that they were all good children. Besides, some animals were not so easy to find or catch. If there were threats from thieves, a seventy-year-old woman could
Who is a threat and who deserves to be threatened? This fact is strange.
"It's nothing else. I haven't lost any chickens in the yard."
Shan Hai carefully observed the bird's body and found that there were deep marks on its body, as if they were made by wild beasts.
"Are those corpses from before still there?" Shan Hai asked.
"Whoever can survive it will be buried in the forest."
The sun has risen. It has been raining all night, the air is clean, and the sun has not yet heated up the land. It is a pleasant time. Just looking at the dead bird on the table is really a disgrace to the scenery.
It's also quite pitiful.
The old woman was throwing food to the chickens. Occasionally, other birds flew over, and she also threw more food to them.
"Have you ever raised any other living creatures in the courtyard?"
"I have an old yellow-haired cat. I don't know how it came back after seven or eight years. Maybe it ran away because I didn't take good care of it."
Shan Hai stared at the tooth marks again, it didn't look like they were left by a cat.
At this time, the old woman got some hay and prepared to feed the horse. Ah Luan followed her to have a look. When she came back, she said that the horse seemed tired, as if it had been frightened last night.
He doesn't steal chickens, doesn't hurt people, and specializes in bringing dead things in his mouth to tease people. He can't think of anything else but monsters.
Because of the kindness of sharing a meal together, Shan Hai decided to take care of this noisy matter.
It was near the Dragon Boat Festival, and Lin Shanhai asked the old woman for some realgar wine. At dusk, he sprinkled the wine in a semicircle in front of the main entrance. In order to prevent the monsters from smelling the alcohol, he specially put a charm to cover it up.
.Humans and ordinary animals can still smell it, but this talisman is very effective against monsters.
When it got dark, after dinner, Aluan stood guard in the stable with his sword. She saw with her own eyes that Shanhai jumped up to the eaves in just one step. She had known that the disciples of Linxiaoguan were all very good at Qinggong. According to his senior brothers,
Mountains and seas are not only "without traces of walking on snow", even if they pass over the water or fly through the road covered with light dust, they will not stir up a ripple or disrupt the order of dust.
But because of her, he always walked indifferently.
I don't know if it's true or not. If he was really that amazing, why did he never show his skills in front of me, let alone teach him.
The night became darker after a few sticks of incense. The night wind was cold and tight, and Ah Luan wrapped herself tightly in her clothes, feeling sleepy. But at this moment, the red horse suddenly made a harsh neighing sound, and the henhouse suddenly collapsed.
The room was noisy.
Ah Luan clutched her sword and stuck her head out from the stable, staring at the door. Her head was still dizzy. As soon as she stuck her head out, she heard a strange scream. She couldn't tell what kind of animal it was. A cat-sized animal.
The black shadow "swiftly" crossed the door, as if it had been burned by something. It was still emitting wisps of white smoke and dropped something. Then, the figure of Shan Hai followed closely and crossed directly from the old woman's roof to the other side.
He climbed up to a house far away and headed deeper into the forest.
Aluan felt that he might have been confused by his sleep. When did Shanhai become so agile?
Surprised, she still grabbed her sword, carried the medicine box in the haystack, and chased in the direction of the shadow and Lin Shanhai. Before leaving the yard, she squatted down to check what the little monster had thrown down. Sure enough,
It was a chipmunk with many scars and its legs were still moving.
Lin Shanhai's steps were as fast as flying, and his body was as light as a swallow. He quickly passed over the scattered eaves like pebbles in the water, followed by the tree trunks. His steps were fast and light, and there was no sound when he stepped on the roof, and when he stepped on the branches
Not a single leaf trembled.
He chased the little shadow deep into the forest.
At some point, a light white mist gradually filled the quiet forest at night. He realized that this was not a miasma, but he could not explain its cause. It was as if the mist was deliberately fooling him so that he could not find the little monster.
's whereabouts.
He stepped on the ground, and the dead leaves were blown away by the silent wind beside his feet.
At the moment of landing, there was a distant and empty sound of the piano in the forest. This sound of the piano was just like the mist, it came from nowhere, it just rippled melodiously in the ears. There was no chilling desolation, and it was all
There are no sad appeals, just an indescribable silence that soothes people's hearts in silence.
Shan Hai held his breath and listened intently, slightly grasping the direction of the source of the sound.
In other words, it was more like the owner of the sound of the piano deliberately taught him to detect it.
The cold wind blew across his face, and the crowded tree crowns made a rustling sound. An unknown light shone between the thin trees, just like the fog and the sound of the piano, making people confused. The whirling tree shadows were reflected on the ground, and he knew
I am moving towards this light source.
He came to an open field.
In the dim light, there were shadows of countless animals. Facing the shallow night light, he vaguely saw a sika deer grazing on grass, a pair of squirrels leaping nimbly from one tree to another, and
Rabbits were jumping around in the open space. Even a gray wolf with its tail hanging down was quietly wandering among the music.
Among those living creatures, there was clearly the shadow of a sitting man.
