Chapter 100 Wedding and mourning (31)
When Yan Shixun wanted to pull Yang Tu out of the village house where they were temporarily hiding, Yang Tu was clinging to the door frame, somewhat reluctantly.
"Brother Yan, I'll tell you whatever you ask, but don't drag me out."
Yang Tu shuddered, his eyes filled with fear: "There are dead people outside!"
Yan Shixun readily let go of his hand and raised his arms to Yang Tu, indicating that he had no intention of forcing him to take action.
"Okay, then you stay here alone."
He chuckled and shrugged: "I hope those things won't find you hiding here - who knows, maybe among a group of dead people, you who are alive will be very conspicuous."
After saying that, Yan Shixun took a step forward, turned around and left.
Yang Tu was horrified and quickly let go of his hands that were clinging to the door frame. He ran a few steps and grabbed the back of Yan Shixun's clothes.
"Brother Yan, you can't leave me here alone! This is where Yang Duo's body was buried. It's the seventh month of the lunar calendar now. Yang Duo, Yang Duo will come back!"
"Yang Tu." Yan Shixun's voice was calm, without any loud shouting, but it carried a strange sense of shock, which made Yang Tu, who was originally anxious and flustered, suddenly stop talking and looked up at Yan Shixun.
This handsome and unruly young man turned his head slightly and glanced behind him.
He seemed to be chuckling.
"You should know Yang Duo much better than I do. You heard from Yang Han what happened to Yang Duo back then, and you also experienced her revenge on the Yang clan over the years."
Yan Shixun asked softly, "A person who has been dead for decades is still unwilling to give up her resentment in her life. Yang Tu, tell me, will she just brush it off like this?"
"Do you think that by waiting here, you can avoid all dangers?" He raised his thin red lips slightly and smiled sarcastically: "Yang Tu, you are an adult now, don't be so naive."
"——Every minute and every second you waste now is bringing danger closer to your life. You are pushing yourself towards your own death."
Yang Tu felt as if a basin of cold water was poured over his head, making him so cold that even his blood froze.
He looked up blankly, and felt that Yan Shixun's smile was so mocking and wanton.
"Since you are so afraid, don't pin your hopes on the kindness of the evil ghost. She doesn't have that kind of thing. If you don't take the initiative to attack, you can only sit and wait for death, trembling in the corner waiting for Yang Duo to come and kill you."
Yan Shixun said this to him.
Yang Tu's hand, which was holding the corner of Yan Shixun's clothes, slowly slid off the cloth as if losing strength and fell down weakly.
"I……"
Yang Tu's eyes were filled with tears and his voice was trembling, but he hesitated several times and finally gritted his teeth and said, "Brother Yan, please take me with you!"
"Don't leave me alone in a place like this." Yang Tu's voice was filled with tears: "If I really die, Brother Yan, you must take me home."
What on earth had Yang Duo done in the past few decades to make a young man like Yang Tu, who had never seen her alive, so afraid of her?
A hint of doubt flashed through Yan Shixun's mind, but he quickly softened his brows and assured Yang Tu: "Don't worry, you will die after me."
The blood-red full moon hangs high in the night sky, making the mountains and forests tonight look like a sea of blood.
After the group of villagers holding red lanterns passed by, the area near the farmhouse, which was already deserted, seemed even quieter and more empty.
When Yan Shixun walked out of the abandoned village house, he subconsciously narrowed his eyes and looked around.
The surrounding area was very quiet, with only the sound of the flowing water of Moon Creek, and all the houses around were silent.
It was as if all the houses were like the one where Yan Shixun was hiding, having been abandoned for many years and their owners had disappeared.
It was just that the owners of these houses seemed to have experienced a period of extreme panic before leaving. Thick wooden boards were nailed to the windows of every household, and several of them even had their walls raised. Yan Shixun could vaguely distinguish the different colors of the junctions between the new and old bricks and tiles.
He couldn't help but think of the farmhouse's wall.
Logically speaking, in places like this where the entire village has the same surname, people would trust each other more because of blood ties and common interests, and would not build their homes like fortresses, as if to guard against attacks and dangers from outside.
Even if there is a conflict with neighbors, probably not many people would build a three or four meter high wall and fill the top with broken glass and nails.
In most of the villages Yan Shixun had seen, the walls were less than two meters high, especially those of houses built in a row. The height of the walls between some houses was so high that people could even pass things to each other through the wall.
With such precautions, and judging by the fading and damage of the red bricks, the newly raised wall should be no more than two years old.
So, what happened at that time that caused the villagers living near the farmhouse to become so alert and even abandon their houses in the end?
There was no one around here to ask, and Yang Tu had been coming here less and less as he grew older. Except for a few friends he had grown up with, Yang Tu didn't know the details of other people's affairs.
Yan Shixun thought for a while and decided to put his doubts aside for the time being and walked along the village road towards the village.
Yang Tu followed Yan Shixun in fear, turning his head nervously to look to the side every few seconds. Before long, cold sweat had soaked his clothes.
After walking about a hundred meters inside, the originally desolate roadside scene began to gradually change. The village houses on both sides of the village road began to become more old, more crowded and popular.
Unlike the area near Moon Creek, this place officially marks the beginning of the village. Villagers from successive generations have built houses here and have lived here for decades or even hundreds of years.
Yan Shixun also noticed the villagers who opened the door and walked out of the yard. They were all wearing brand new and neat suits. Although most of them were not well-fitting and looked like something someone had just casually drawn, their completely different dressing style from that during the day showed how serious they were about to attend the event.
While the villagers were walking deeper into the village, before they could turn around and see Yan Shixun and the other man, Yan Shixun quickly grabbed Yang Tu and hid directly to the side of the wall. He only cautiously stuck his head out and looked forward along the plane of the wall.
The villagers opened their doors one after another, came out of their homes and walked onto the village road, all heading in the same direction with happy faces.
However, Yan Shixun suddenly discovered something strange——
There is absolutely no communication between the villagers.
The houses here have been built for decades, and they have long been neighbors who see each other every day. However, when they were going to attend the grand wedding together, when they saw each other, not only did they not say hello, they didn't even look at each other.
It was as if there was no need for communication between them at all.
Or the sensory conditions they have are not sufficient to support their communication with each other.
Yan Shixun frowned, realizing that beneath the villagers' joy, there was actually another kind of stiffness and emptiness hidden.
It was obvious that the villagers were all smiling, but that smile was not a smile that came from the heart or a fake polite smile. Instead, it was an even more fake smile, like a smile that was painted on. Even the arc of everyone's grinning mouth and the angle of their squinting eyes were exactly the same.
Their eyes were very dark, unlike the normal people's faces that one encounters in daily life, which are not very three-dimensional, but rather have clearly defined shadows and lines. The black eyeballs seemed to be deliberately drawn with an ink pen, and the shape of the eyes was also an angular quadrilateral. The shadows of the nose and mouth on their faces did not change as they walked under the blood moon, but seemed to be painted on, and remained there motionless.
Regardless of gender, they all have a bright red mouth. When they smile, they all show a few teeth that are almost as white as paper.
It was as if they wanted to deliberately emphasize their joy, so two blushes appeared on the faces of everyone, both men and women, making them look too energetic and even weird.
It was like a craftsman who was in a rush to complete a task, who just tidied up his work, painted the face on it, and handed it over as a rough job.
Even after Yan Shixun's careful observation, he found that the length of each villager's steps was the same, and the rhythm of their leg lifting was also the same.
It was not the chaotic footsteps of a normal group of people walking by. When these villagers walked along the village road, it was like the regular drumbeats, "dong", "dong", "dong"...
Yan Shixun narrowed his eyes. After discovering the abnormality of the villagers, he did not rashly walk out of his hiding place. Instead, he patiently waited for several nearby villagers to walk a distance away before slowly appearing.
"Brother Yan? What happened?"
Yang Tu, who was hiding behind Yan Shixun like a quail, was frightened after seeing Yan Shixun's behavior. Although he didn't know what Yan Shixun had discovered, he could only lower his voice and whispered, "Don't worry, Brother Yan, I know these people. They are all alive, unlike the previous ones."
"That auntie, she gave me candy when I was a kid." Yang Tu pointed at one of the middle-aged women who had gone so far away that only a blurry silhouette remained. As if afraid that Yan Shixun would not believe him, he even reported the other person's identity and age.
I just don’t know whether Yang Tu wants to persuade Yan Shixun or comfort himself.
Yan Shixun chuckled with an ambiguous tone: "Really?"
"Maybe... I can only be sure after I see it with my own eyes."
Yan Shixun grabbed Yang Tu by the collar and carried him towards the nearest house.
And the next moment after Yan Shixun left his hiding place, the wall where he had been hiding and standing, which was originally made of red bricks and stones and where Yang Tu had just leaned against, suddenly shook, as if the illusion of the sea surface was broken, and the red bricks and stones disappeared.
In the flowing and overlapping blood-red light and shadow, everything seems to be hidden under the water, space and time are squeezed and broken, pictures are overlapped and entangled, reality and illusion, past and present... all are entangled.
A blood-red figure gradually emerged from where the wall was.
The woman was wearing a blood-red wedding dress, and under her delicate skirt were red embroidered shoes, with her heels not touching the ground.
Her head was covered with a red veil, so her face could not be seen clearly. Only a part of her white neck and beautifully curved chin were exposed. Her full lips were painted with a thick, deep red color.
Like the color stained with blood.
The woman's head covered with a red veil turned slightly as Yan Shixun walked, as if she was always staring at his back with silent eyes, staring at his every move.
Yan Shixun didn't notice anything unusual and continued walking towards the courtyard next door.
He just discovered that there was a pattern in the timing of the villagers leaving their homes, as if they had discussed it beforehand. They started from the row of village houses farthest from the ancestral hall in the core of the village, and then gradually moved inward. After the villagers who were farthest away had left, the villagers who were closer would go out and follow them.
And so on.
Although it was unclear what the reason for this counterintuitive behavior was, it made it convenient for Yan Shixun to do another thing.
——Since the people in the house have left, the empty house is perfect for entering and exploring.
The villagers did not close the door when they left home, and the courtyard door was ajar. Through the crack in the door, one could vaguely see the tree planted in the center of the courtyard.
Yan Shixun raised his hand and slowly pushed open the door, making a slow and long "creaky" sound.
The scene in the yard appeared before his eyes.
Generally, people living in the village would raise chickens, ducks, geese and dogs in their yards, or leave a piece of land to grow vegetables and flowers. The yard is always full of a strong atmosphere of life. And if the hostess of the house is diligent, then the house will be kept in good order.
But the one that Yan Shixun pushed away was not like that.
Perhaps this family once raised livestock, as there are still chicken and duck pens in the yard, and even a dog kennel near the door with a rusty iron chain thrown aside, obviously having been abandoned for a long time.
There was no sound in the yard, and no livestock was present. There were only household items thrown carelessly on the ground in the yard, messy as if the owner had long been exhausted and had no energy to take care of the house.
As for the tree that Yan Shixun had just seen through the crack in the door, it had already died long ago. Only ugly tumors remained on the trunk, and the twisted branches were tangled and pointed silently at the blood moon.
"Brother Yan? We are trespassing." Yang Tu was stunned.
"Residential house?" Yan Shixun repeated softly, and chuckled sarcastically: "The premise of a residential house is that there must be people."
As he spoke, Yan Shixun took a long step, stepped directly into the yard, and ran straight into the room.
Yang Tu was a little puzzled when he walked into the yard: "Isn't this the home of my second grandfather's cousin's uncle? I remember he raised a lot of ducks and a little white dog. How come they are gone? Don't they keep them anymore?"
Yan Shixun, who had just walked to the door of the room, vaguely saw what was inside through the window covered with a layer of gauze.
After hearing Yang Tu's mumbling, Yan Shixun paused as he stretched out his hand towards the door, then slowly pushed it towards the door.
The door hinges made a dry friction sound.
The sound was rough and unpleasant, drilling straight into the head, making people dizzy like an electric drill, and so sharp that people couldn't help but cover their ears.
Then, Yan Shixun, who was standing at the door of the room, stood still and did not move.
The hand that had pushed open the door slowly dropped and hung at his side.
Yan Shixun's sharp eyes widened slightly, and the vigilance on his face relaxed for a moment.
It seemed that what he saw exceeded his original expectations, and it made him unable to react for a moment, and he was a little dazed.
"What's wrong, Brother Yan? Why don't we just go out? I always feel like it's not a good idea to come in when someone's not at home."
Although naughty and active, Yang Tu, who had never done anything "bad", was very nervous. When he came from behind, he was still trying to persuade Yan Shixun.
"No."
Yan Shixun looked at everything in front of him and said softly, "I think the master is here."
"Ah? But didn't they all go out just now..."
Yang Tu walked forward with a confused look on his face, but when he looked over Yan Shixun's arm and saw the appearance of the room, his doubts came to an abrupt end.
His eyes widened instantly, his face full of surprise and horror.
——The room was actually decorated like a mourning hall.
As Yan Shixun pushed open the door, the wind from outside blew in, blowing up the white cloth hanging on both sides of the door. All the white cloth hanging in the room fluttered gently in the wind.
It was like a box that had been sealed in dust for a long time was opened. The smell of mold and rot that had fermented inside rushed to the face the moment the lid was opened, making people choke.
And in the middle of the room, there was a black coffin.
There were fruits and candles placed in front of the coffin, but the fruits had already rotted in the plate, and the white candles had broken in half from the candlesticks and fell down.
The yellow paper money that was originally placed aside was lifted up by the sudden wind, flew into the air, and then fell down with a rustling sound.
Yan Shixun squinted his eyes and saw the black and white portrait placed in the front through the gaps between the yellow paper money and the white cloth.
The photo shows a middle-aged man who seems to be not used to having his photo taken. His smile seems a little stiff, but it makes him look more like an honest person in his daily life.
Yan Shixun quickly used his excellent observation skills to find information about the man from the elegiac couplet next to it.
Not even fifty years old.
For an age like this with such advanced medical technology, dying at this age is too young.
only……
Yan Shixun soon discovered something was wrong.
The elegiac couplet next to it seemed that there was more than just one person's information. There were even other tablets and portraits placed on the cabinet next to it.
It shows that a grandmother in her eighties died, a middle-aged man in his sixties died, and even... there was a tablet that was hastily carved halfway, with no name or information written on it yet.
Who would place an unfinished tablet in their home, as if preparing for the future? Wouldn’t you think it’s unlucky?
What are the reasons for so many portraits and tablets? Why are there so many tablets in one mourning hall?
But Jiazifen Village is a very traditional place, and Yan Shixun knows very well that the more traditional a place is, the more it cares about these rituals.
Logically speaking, judging from the layout of the rooms in this family, the family is prosperous, and the middle-aged and young people who are the pillars of the family should be responsible for the affairs of the elders, but they would not be so unethical as to put several tablets and portraits together. If they did this, even the elders in the village would point at them and scold them for being uneducated.
unless……
No one had the energy to care about these things anymore. There was not even time to put away the portraits and tablets, or even take down the elegiac couplets before new ones were hastily hung up.
Yan Shixun originally wanted to walk in and take a closer look at the death dates of these people on the tablets to verify his guess.
But before he could move, Yang Tu next to him turned around and ran away in fear and haste, his panicked figure in a mess.
Yan Shixun was quick to reach out with his long arms, and directly grabbed Yang Tu's head with his palm, and pulled Yang Tu back to his side with such force that he could not escape.
"Why are you running?" Yan Shixun frowned and shouted sternly to Yang Tu, "Do you want to die?"
The situation in Jiazifen Village became more and more confusing. Yan Shixun could intuitively feel the danger lurking beneath the current calm. He even had a premonition that even if he took a wrong step or made a wrong choice, it would lead to a terrible crisis or even annihilation of the entire army.
And Yang Tu actually dared to rush forward at this time?
It would be fine if it was next to the Moon Creek. Although the yin energy there is extremely heavy and there are many dead bodies and skeletons, it is still on the edge of the village. If there is any danger, there will be more room to react.
But it's different here.
This is already the middle of the village, surrounded by densely packed village houses.
Yan Shixun couldn't be sure of the safety of every room. After discovering that there was a mourning hall hidden in this courtyard, he couldn't help but wonder whether there were similar situations in other houses.
Even more, is it possible that in some corner of another house there is a "person" hiding who has died and reappeared?
Yang Tu's rash actions in such a place would only bring unnecessary trouble. If Yang Tu's voice or something he did wrong drew all those things here, Yan Shixun would be surrounded on all sides and would be unable to do anything he wanted.
But Yan Shixun's anger only lasted for a moment. He quickly calmed down and asked Yang Tu with a frown, "What scared you so much? What did you see in the house?"
Yang Tu's eyes were wide open, his pale face was full of fear, and his mouth was trembling violently. He could only look up at Yan Shixun but could not utter a word.
Yan Shixun paused, then he slowly sighed, loosened his grip on Yang Tu, and patted him on the shoulder: "Yang Tu, you don't have to say it, I won't force you. You can even leave here directly now, I won't stop you anymore."
"But I need you to know that we are one now. Any concealment and reckless behavior on your part may kill us. I still have the means to protect myself. What about you, Yang Tu?"
Yan Shixun asked coldly, "Can you guarantee that you will survive when you encounter danger or an accident?"
Yang Tu's face looked very bad, as if he would faint at any time.
After Yan Shixun finished speaking to him, he did not continue running. His lips trembled for a long time before he said in a trembling voice with tears in his eyes: "Then, those tablets..."
Yang Tu choked up, his eyes reddened: "There are only a few people left in his family! Aren't they all dead? How could this happen! "
Yan Shixun frowned and asked, "When was the last time you saw them alive?"
"Half a year ago."
Yang Tu said, "But at that time they acted very crazy. They would become hysterical and want to strangle each other to death over a small friction. Because his family and the family in Jiacun are direct relatives, they have more contacts. Half a year ago, someone from their family almost strangled a relative to death in public in Jiacun, and cursed us crazily. My grandfather was angry, so after more and more such incidents, he completely cut off contact with this side and blocked the road to prevent them from passing through our side."
"But I never thought..."
Yang Tu trembled as he glanced back at the portraits in the mourning hall, and said vaguely with a crying voice: "It's only been more than half a year, how come they are all dead? How could this happen?"
"It's Yang Duo, it's Yang Duo, Brother Yan!"
Yang Tu's eyes were filled with despair. He tightly grabbed Yan Shixun's arm, almost pinching into Yan Shixun's flesh. "It must be Yang Duo who is back. Otherwise, there is no way to explain the death of their entire family! This is not a normal death, Brother Yan!"
"It is the seventh month of the year now, there is no mistake, it is Yang Duo!"
Yan Shixun quietly let Yang Tu vent his fear and panic. After a while, Yang Tu was tired of shouting and crying, and finally began to calm down. Yan Shixun raised his hand and patted the top of the young man's head.
Still too young...
Don't blame him.
Yan Shixun sighed silently in his heart and comforted Yang Tu: "I know you are very scared, but like I said, we can't just sit there and wait for Yang Duo to kill us. Since you know what kind of end we will face... then you should work even harder to find a way to leave here."
"Yang Tu, your second uncle and grandfather are still waiting for you to come home for dinner." He lowered his voice and said, "So, shall we go together?"
Yang Tu, who was frightened out of his wits, slowly regained consciousness with Yan Shixun's patient and skillful comfort.
Yang Tu looked up at Yan Shixun, and it was like a shot of cardiotonic injected into his body. He felt energy and security like never before.
At this moment, Yan Shixun's image was infinitely tall in Yang Tu's eyes.
Every strong muscle on Yan Shixun's slender body, every smooth line, the fighting nerves honed after hundreds of battles, and even the old scars left on his palms.
In Yang Tu's view, these are all proof of Yan Shixun's strength.
——This man did not deceive himself.
He could really get himself out of this hellhole and find his way home.
Yang Tu hesitated for a moment, tears welling up in his eyes, then he nodded solemnly: "Okay."
Yan Shixun smiled softly and lowered his eyes. He gently patted Yang Tu's head with his dry and warm palm: "You are so brave. You will be the pride of your second uncle."
With Yan Shixun's comfort, Yang Tu seemed to have found his backbone. He followed Yan Shixun closely and was not as fearful as before.
The two walked into the mourning hall.
The Martin boots stepped over the incense, candles and yellow paper scattered on the ground, and walked straight towards the coffin in the middle of the room with determination.
Yan Shixun wanted to know whether the man in the coffin was the one in the portrait, and what happened to the other tablets.
Even...how long has the body been in the coffin?
Yan Shixun's palm fell on the coffin board, and then he suddenly exerted force.
"Squeak...Gah——"
A heavy, muffled sound slowly rang out in the silent mourning hall.
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