Is anyone there?
The knocking was followed by a child's innocent voice, but such a sound in the quiet night did not bring peace of mind, but rather fear.
Whew~
With a soft whistling sound, the flickering lamplight in the darkness was extinguished, and the house before them was silent, as if no one was there.
"Well!"
The situation left Feng Bingwen speechless. He wasn't incapable of empathizing with the person inside, but for a child to suddenly come and knock on the door in the middle of the night was simply too terrifying.
But what he really needs now is a place to stay for the night, and locals who can guide him and show him the way.
"Could you open the door and let us in to rest for a while? We are abducted children who just escaped."
Feng Bingwen couldn't think of a reasonable explanation for the three children appearing in the wilderness in the middle of the night, so he could only tell the truth.
"Abducted child? Escaped?"
Finally, a sound came from inside the house. You could vaguely hear someone inside letting out a sigh of relief, as if they had been so frightened that they didn't even dare to breathe.
"Go open the door!"
Why don't you go and drive it?
A few discontented voices arose, and amidst the small argument, the tightly closed door opened, revealing a rugged face that appeared somewhat apprehensive and nervous.
"Uncle, could you let us stay for the night? We'll leave at dawn tomorrow!"
"You're not ghosts, are you?"
Seeing the three children, two of whom were dressed in rags and covered in wounds, the man who opened the door felt a little more at ease, but he was still worried and asked one more question.
"Of course not. If you don't believe me, touch my hand; it's still warm."
Feng Bingwen raised his hand to prove his identity as a human being. The bearded man didn't stand on ceremony and reached out to hold Feng Bingwen's hand. Only after feeling the warmth emanating from the boy's palm did the man breathe a sigh of relief.
"Come in!"
The man stepped aside to let the three children into the house. Once inside, Feng Bingwen noticed something strange about the furnishings, thanks to the relit lamplight.
There were no everyday utensils in the room, only a hearth and a hanging pot propped up by a few branches, and a few bundles of dry grass on the ground.
“We are hunters from a nearby village. We went into the mountains to hunt some game today, but it got too late and we couldn’t get back, so we’re just staying here for the night. Don’t be afraid, we’re not bad people.”
The bearded man, seeing that the three children seemed somewhat wary, explained with a rough smile, while another man in the room stood up to greet them, appearing quite gentle.
"Uncle, do you have any food here?"
Feng Bingwen rubbed his stomach, feeling a little embarrassed. But he was so hungry he couldn't stand it anymore. Luckily, he usually ate a lot, but even so, he was now feeling dizzy from hunger.
"Food? We've already eaten. There's nothing hot left, just some dry rations we brought when we went hunting in the mountains. If you don't mind, you can have some to tide you over."
As he spoke, the man took out three hard, dry flatbreads from a cloth bag beside him and handed them to Feng Bingwen.
"Thank you, uncle!"
Feng Bingwen politely thanked him, then shared the sesame seed cakes he was holding with the other two children.
The three of them had been traveling in the darkness for an unknown amount of time. They were exhausted and hungry, and no longer cared how hard the food was to chew. They chewed it up in big mouthfuls, not wanting to leave even a single crumb.
Feng Bingwen wanted to investigate, and everyone knows not to eat things given by strangers, but he really had no choice but to grit his teeth and eat it, figuring he could deal with whatever came up afterward.
"Where are you all from? How did you get abducted and brought here?"
Seeing the three men start eating heartily, the two men exchanged a glance, their eyes gleaming with an unreadable light, and then one of them asked a question.
"I'm from Qingshan County, uncle. Do you know how to get to Qingshan County?"
Feng Bingwen raised his head, swallowed a mouthful of dry sesame seed cake with difficulty, and asked with a hint of hope.
"Qingshan County? I've never heard of it. I only know that if you go west for thirty miles from our village, you'll reach Yuhua County."
The man shook his head, and his answer left Feng Bingwen quite disappointed.
But this is only natural. In the agricultural era, most people stayed in their small plots of land. If they wanted to travel far, they had to get a travel permit from the government, otherwise they would be arrested as refugees. They couldn't just run around whenever they wanted.
"Yuhua County? I've never heard of it."
Although several years have passed, Feng Bingwen still hasn't figured out the situation in the surrounding counties. There are no maps in his area, as they are strictly controlled.
"I'm from Yejiacun Village."
"I am under the camphor tree."
The other two children also revealed their origins, proving they were just two hunters. Even someone familiar with the area would shake their head upon hearing this. Villages named after surnames or unique landscapes are countless; how could they possibly find their original home based solely on these names?
"Then we can't help you. You'll have to go to the government office yourselves tomorrow."
"Anyway, thank you, uncle!"
Feng Bingwen expressed his sincere gratitude.
"It's nothing. You should finish eating and get some rest. We'll take you to the county tomorrow morning."
After finishing the sesame seed cake, Feng Bingwen walked to the corner of the temporary house. The candlelight was dim and not very bright. When he looked up, he froze.
A yellow cloth with dragon and snake patterns hung quietly on the wall. Because the light was too dim, I didn't see it when I was standing a little far away, but when I came to the corner, I saw it immediately.
"Uncle, what is this?"
Feng Bingwen tensed up as he looked at the two men who were gathering hay to prepare for bed.
"This is for warding off evil spirits. Heaven knows how many unclean things are in this desolate wilderness."
The bearded man casually explained, completely unaware of Feng Bingwen's face, which had become stern and cold, hidden in the darkness.
"Oh, I see!"
Feng Bingwen responded, seemingly relaxing.
"Oh, right, uncle, I forgot to ask, which village are you from? Maybe we're even from the same clan."
"Our clan? Hahaha, impossible. Our surname is very rare. There are no people with the same surname as Qijiagang in the surrounding area."
"So, uncles, your surname is Qi? That's quite rare."
Feng Bingwen smiled and agreed, but his heart was filled with bitterness. If he remembered correctly, among the people who had forcibly abducted him here, there was one who was called Qi Laosi.
He didn't think it was a coincidence. At times like these, one shouldn't fantasize; one should only prepare for the worst.
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