"Old woman!" Uncle felt sorry for Wan'er and didn't want to bring up the past. He frowned and slammed the bottom of his wine glass onto the table with a "bang!"
"No, Uncle, I didn't know about this. I'd like to hear it though." The little prince had finished feeding the shredded chicken and was lying contentedly on his lap. Wan'er looked up at her uncle and then at her aunt, her eyes filled with eagerness. "Some things have to be faced eventually. Uncle, don't worry about me. Wan'er has grown up a long time ago."
Wan'er's words brought tears to the eyes of both her uncle and aunt.
“This is what happened.” Auntie sighed and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. “Three years ago, during a very cold winter, one evening, the north wind was howling. The villagers had already gone into their houses to prepare for washing up and going to bed. Around eight o’clock, suddenly the sound of cats meowing came from outside, one after another, sounding shrill and strange.”
It's not springtime, so why would there be cats howling? Someone opened the door and went outside to check, but didn't find any cats.
When they woke up the next day, all the cats in the village seemed to have vanished suddenly. They went to ask around, and even those who owned cats hadn't seen their cats return.
Strangely, at the same time the following evening, the cat's meowing started again out of nowhere. This continued for three days in a row; the only sound in the village was the cat's meowing, but the cat was nowhere to be found. Later, your parents…”
My aunt's eyes were already red with tears as she spoke.
Wan'er stared at her blankly, unsure how to express her feelings.
Her uncle looked at her, hesitated several times before finally standing up, putting his hands behind his back, and walking behind Er Gou's chair. His eyes narrowed slightly. "Wan'er, don't take this to heart. After all, so many years have passed. Look at Er Gou; his behavior these past few days has been strange. I have a feeling he has a secret. He might not really be asleep right now. Talk to him; you might be able to find out something."
Turning to look at Er Gou, his face was full of expressions, occasionally grinning and snorting, with drool dripping from the corner of his mouth.
She was snoring loudly, her thick lips gurgling out like a windmill. Her arms and legs were stretched out to the sides of her body, her outstretched legs braced against the sides of the chair, and she lay on her back with her legs spread wide, looking like she was fast asleep.
"Brother Gouzi," Wan'er got up and took a few steps, then bent down and reached out to shake Gouzi's shoulder, but he seemed to have no reaction.
"Meow!" Just then, the little prince, who had been lying in the backpack, suddenly poked his head out and barked at Er Gouzi.
Upon hearing the call, Er Gouzi twitched its ears, opened its eyes, sat up straight, and looked around. Er Gouzi raised its hand and rubbed its eyes, and its previously wandering gaze miraculously focused.
After a moment of concentration, he seemed to wake from a deep dream. He looked up at Wan'er, stood up, and without saying a word, walked towards the door...
"Brother Gouzi, wait for me." Wan'er was taken aback at first, but quickly remembered the purpose of her trip, so she turned around and chased after him.
Just as she stepped out the door, to her surprise, Er Gou was waiting for her there.
"I should go back now. I'll take you somewhere at five o'clock tomorrow morning."
He spoke very softly, so his uncles and aunts in the main room naturally couldn't hear him.
It was already late, and only a dim, lingering ray of sunlight could barely illuminate the path through the fields outside the door…
Er Gouzi moved with light steps and quickly disappeared into the twilight that was about to engulf him...
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