The ancient trees are intertwined, dark and damp, blocking the sky and the sun, eternal silence and darkness, sadness and desolation. This is the eternal melody of the Yinyu River and the dim back behind the magical and gorgeous Shennongjia.
The massacre half a year ago left the Yinyu River with a thick smell of blood and stench, tattered corpses in the dark, devoured by albino animals like crazy, a mess and terror.
Like a master's ink painting, thick black ink is once again splashed into an already dark area, almost burying its last vitality.
This place has become a hell!
I don’t know since when, the rotting and dilapidated corpses in the Yinyu River disappeared, the thick blood and stench faded, the crazy animals returned to calm, and everything returned to the silence and darkness of the past.
I don’t know since when, the central area of Yinyu River, the only place with a little light, the ruins that were almost covered by history... disappeared. Replaced by brand new wooden houses, lush vines, and neat
Wooden fences, vegetable beds, and rows of wooden frames in front of the yard are home to abundant harvests of prey, as well as busy men and women.
A trace of life replaced the darkness of hell, and patches of light dispelled the darkness here. It was as if history was re-enacted, as if the illusory dream was refracted into reality, returning to the original lush scene, and returning to the peaceful and leisurely village era.
"...Mom...Mom..."
"...cluck..."
"Mom, give me a hug, give me a hug."
"...Sister...come and catch me...come...cluck..."
In the village, a child as white and cute as a porcelain doll bounced around a woman and a girl, smiling and dancing happily, with an innocent smile, delicate cheeks, and a carefree figure, just like this life
The bustling village is like joy rippling on the faces of all the tribesmen.
"Ya Ya, go catch sparrows with your sister." The girl ran to the child and lifted him up high with a smile.
The child smiled and narrowed his eyes, letting his sister hold him high, letting the breeze blow by, and letting the warm feeling infiltrate his smile.
"Ya Ya, let's play later. Come to mom." The gentle and virtuous woman waved to the child with a smile. The child immediately jumped out of her sister's arms, threw herself into the woman's arms, and held her tightly, happily.
He hugged and looked at the woman with a smile.
"Yaya, be obedient and eat more meat. Eat meat to grow your body and become as tall and strong as dad in the future." The woman took the broth from the bowl, scooped out a piece of meat, blew the hot air gently, and put it on the table.
On the child's lips.
The child nodded vigorously, smiled sweetly, smiled happily, looked intently, looked happily, opened his small red mouth and ate the fragrant meat, chewing it with satisfaction.
"Ya Ya, give it to sister to have a taste?" The sister suddenly came from behind, pinching the child's face with a smile, joking and playing around, and pretending to grab the meat in the mother's bowl.
"Sister, eat." The child took the soup bowl sensibly, scooped out a large piece of meat clumsily, and placed it in front of her sister.
"Yaya is so good." The girl giggled, scratched the tip of the child's nose lovingly, but pushed the piece of meat back.
The child's face is full of smiles, and his heart is full of happiness. He is completely immersed in this carefree and leisurely life. His smile is very pure, very true, and very charming, and from time to time it attracts the doting smiles and calls of the women nearby.
In the evening, when the men came back from hunting, a strong and handsome man picked up the child, held him tightly in his arms, smiled and pricked his delicate face with his beard.
The child giggled and played happily, calling "...Daddy...", "...Daddy..."
The woman and girl walked out of the house, took over the man's prey and the child in his arms respectively, and the family returned to the simple but neat wooden house while talking and laughing happily.
Everything is calm, comfortable, happy and tranquil; everything is full of slow sounds and laughter, warmth and satisfaction.
But... I don't know why, but the child's innocent smile is... filled with tears. Every time he looks at his mother and sister, he looks so straight... and looks at it... every time he hugs her so hard.
, almost burying his arms into their bodies, holding on to their clothes every time they came into contact, as if he was afraid of their sudden departure.
They seemed unaware, as if they didn't see the tears on the child's face, didn't notice the strange look in his eyes, and didn't feel the uncomfortable hug. Everyone was immersed in happiness and smiles.
There's something strange about the calmness.
The child is very happy, really happy, but occasionally in a trance; the child is very happy, really happy, but often sheds tears.
Why?
Because... all of this is strange and familiar at the same time, with a terrifying strangeness and an unreal familiarity.
It seems like I have returned to the beginning, and I feel like I am wandering in the river of history again.
Everything is so... similar to before...
Is this a dream? Why is it so real!
Is this reality? Everything has obviously disappeared long ago!
The child is happy, in a trance, happy, crying, immersed in it, unable to extricate himself. If this is a dream, he would rather never wake up again; if this is reality, he would rather sink into it.
As time passes day by day, the things the child experiences are all the most precious moments in life. Joy and happiness surround him so tightly that he is almost lost forever.
The child almost forgot everything and was completely immersed in it, but... precisely because of this particularly strong immersion and the few remaining situations, a strong fear silently grew in the depths of his soul. He felt unreal in a trance.
, but couldn't extricate himself from the sinking. He was vaguely aware of the fear, but he happily relived it over and over again.
In the end... the child completely sank, no longer thinking about himself, no other consciousness, lost in this world of reality and illusion, wandering in happiness and joy, satisfied in the arms of his mother and sister, and his tribe and people
In father's care.
Happiness is so real; joy is so clear.
Everything was so colorful and vibrant, but it was like an invisible whirlpool surrounding him...devouring him...
However, behind this real and clear happiness is the child's deeply closed fear! The fear under deliberate self-isolation! It has reached extreme fear!
In a trance, sinking and lost, I don't know how long passed.
The vitality in the village gradually began to wither, the noisy voices gradually became quieter, and the tribesmen rarely went out to hunt. My father began to become weak, with bouts of coughing and wheezing, and cries and sighs, which filled the village faintly.
A trace of worry and panic grew in everyone's hearts.
In the simple wooden house, the girl huddled in the corner, hugging the bewildered child tightly, looking at her mother who was getting thinner and paler day by day in horror, her helpless gaze resting on the mother's face with dull eyes.
Time passed by silently. Compared with the happy time passing by quickly, these dim and helpless days seemed so long. Unknowingly, the men became as skinny as wood, like tree roots outside.
It started to look pale and colorless, as white as an animal in the woods.
The smell of fear became stronger, as did hunger and despair.
The child was sensible and didn't make any noise. She didn't eat or drink. She just hugged her sister and buried her deeply in her arms so as not to disturb her relatives.
I used to be carefree, but now I feel helpless.
But the consciousness has been closed, and the child has completely returned to the past, immersed in this seemingly real and illusory scene, and re-walked through the scenes he had experienced in the past. But the happiness is no longer, and sadness is pervasive.
Because of hunger, the child's consciousness is somewhat blurred; because of depression, the child curls up tightly.
There was another long period of trance, and another period of eternal silence and loss. I don’t know how long it took, but a man in black robe knocked on the door that had been closed for a long time. There was a rustling conversation, and the man in black robe left.
, the father on the hospital bed struggled to sit up and crawled out of the house with difficulty.
The child vaguely heard something, but fell into a semi-conscious state due to hunger and weakness. He knew nothing and understood nothing until...
Waves of cheers rang out outside the house, and strange screams came into the dark room.
The mother woke up, the sister woke up, and the child woke up. With confusion and curiosity, they quietly walked out of the room.
There were people standing inside and outside the village. There was no more sadness or depression. My father and the men of the tribe were all gathered there, as if they were worshiping something or praying for something. In short, there was no more deathly silence.
There is some vitality.
The mother smiled, the sister smiled, the children also laughed, and the other women and children also showed happy smiles.
until……
After the pilgrimage, the men began to look for firewood and iron pots, and lit a fire while jumping.
They cheer, they jump, they wail weirdly, and they cry dully.
The pale skin, blood-red eyes, and thin body reflect the evil aura from another side, and the crying and wailing are foreshadowing something.
until……
"Three babies?" A thin old man smiled and waved to the children at home.
"Dad." The little man with pigtails running up to the sky happily ran towards the old man. The old man picked him up as usual and threw it into the air with a smile. But... this time, he didn't catch it like usual, but
He let his child fall straight into the scalding boiling water.