Chapter 114 Spider 1
On the broken granite, the three big words "Heishui Town" were scribbled crookedly in white ink.
The gloomy sky was dotting with continuous raindrops, and the tall trees on both sides of the gravel path looked like they were coated with sticky white paraffin from a distance. This was just the entrance to Heishui Town, and it would take more than 20 minutes to walk to the town.
Xu Zhao walked forward, her footsteps deep and shallow. A curtain of rain fell from her held-up umbrella, soaking her trouser legs from the puddle of water on the muddy road and filling her shoes with muddy water. Her face was pale as she looked up at the dark, shrouded sky, her bare arms covered in goose bumps.
Walking across granite that has been broken in two.
The black umbrella held high in her hand seemed to be pulled back by an irresistible force, and in an instant it slipped out of her hand and fell heavily into the muddy water on the ground. The splashing water soaked Xu Zhao's relatively clean upper body.
A low curse escaped her lips.
He frowned, thinking that the umbrella was blown away by the wind, and bent down to pick it up.
However, after seeing the changes in the umbrella, his frown not only did not relax but deepened. In his stunned and slightly widened eyes, he could clearly see the dense white silk covering the wide umbrella.
“…Is it spider silk?”
Due to the cover of rain, the spider silk hanging between the trees on both sides of the road was perfectly invisible. Xu Zhao squinted his eyes and observed carefully. The spider web built by the dense spider silk covered the entire center of the road. The spider silk with excellent toughness not only did not break because of the umbrella, but fell into the damp muddy water, pulling the branches connected on both sides to bend down.
Xu Zhao withdrew his fingers from the umbrella handle, carefully avoiding the spider web and taking two steps back. He brought the backpack he carried to his chest and hugged it. His heart, still beating wildly from nervousness, still hadn't returned to normal.
She blinked twice slowly.
Her face looked pale and bright in the continuous rain.
Under normal circumstances, no matter how tough the spider silk is, how could it possibly pull the tall branches on both sides to bend down? The dense spider silk wrapped around the umbrella is as sticky as melted syrup. The geographical location of Blackwater Town is in a hidden mountain forest.
The climate is hot and humid, so it is inevitable that there are many poisonous insects.
The spider's size and toxicity, as inferred from the spider silk, are worrying.
Xu Zhao felt a wave of fear.
If it weren't for the umbrella, her face would have been slammed into the spiderweb. It's hard to imagine her chances of escaping, entangled in a web so dense and resilient it defied imagination. The place was sparsely populated, and besides her, she saw no one else on the street. She might have suffocated to death here.
Xu Zhao collected her thoughts, covered her backpack with her arms, and continued to walk forward in the cool rain. Fortunately, the rain soon stopped, the dark clouds dissipated, and warm sunlight shone through the clouds. She stood on the deserted street.
Next to the street is a two-story building built by ourselves.
Every household had their doors and windows closed and the curtains drawn in broad daylight.
Like a series of huge, spacious and dark coffins.
…
Although Heishui Town is named "Town", it is actually more like a village secluded in the wilderness and mountains that has been preserved from ancient times. The management of the town is fully entrusted to the mayor, who is more like a prestigious elder in a large family in the old society.
The mayor's house was at the very outskirts of the town. The moment Xu Zhao arrived in the town, he was spotted by the mayor. He warmly invited Xu Zhao into his home, asked about his well-being like a kind elder, and even took out his wife's clean clothes for Xu Zhao to change into.
So enthusiastic.
When Xu Zhao smiled, she looked as sweet as a soft lamb. Her face was pale, and she looked a bit weak and pitiful. The mayor and his wife said that when they saw her standing on the street, she looked like she was about to be blown down by the wind.
This reminds them of their daughter who married far away.
The couple shed tears of heartache and longing.
Xu Zhao held up a glass bottle filled with hot water and comforted her, "Even though you're married far away, we can still get together during festivals. Uncle and aunt, please take care of your health and live a good life so that your children can rest assured while they're away."
After a few casual words, Xu Zhao stared nonchalantly at the crumbling wall of the hall and replied to the mayor's wife, "...I saw the news back home that many tourists who came to the mountains and forests died from being bitten by poisonous insects because they were unfamiliar with the environment. My brother came to the area two months ago, and I haven't heard from him in a long time. I'm worried about him...Has my uncle and aunt seen him?"
She gestured with her hands: "About this tall, this strong, and with dimples when she smiles..."
The couple looked at each other.
"I'm old now, so I don't remember a lot of things clearly. A month ago, there were indeed many young men and women playing nearby. The mountains are densely forested, so poisonous insect bites aren't fatal. Your brother might have gotten lost in the mountains, or gone to some remote place. The signal is poor, so it's normal that we can't contact him."
"If you're really worried, stay here for a few days. I'll ask the people in town about this. After the rain stops, I'll send someone to look in the mountains. Maybe we can find your brother there... You're such a good kid. You came all the way here just to look for him out of concern for him. It must have been tough on the journey, right?"
Xu Zhao answered a few words.
She declined the mayor's offer to stay for dinner and, according to the mayor's suggestion, prepared to stay at the hotel at the end of the street. When she was about to leave, a puzzled look appeared on her face. She stood in the bleak cold wind, like a flower blooming in winter at the wrong season, thin and weak, and withered in the cold wind.
"...Mayor, could you tell me what's causing the public concern here? The streets are deserted, and every house is closed. Are there any major festivals happening lately?"
There are always some unknown customs in remote places.
The mayor replied, "Look at my brain! I forgot to tell you something so important. These past few months have been particularly important for us here. Every household must close their doors to show respect for the gods of heaven and earth, and avoid making loud noises. By staying quiet during these months, we can ensure peace in the town for the coming year..."
Xu Zhao nodded and thanked him, then walked towards the hotel with his backpack.
The mayor and his wife watched her leave and supported each other back to the house.
The street was silent, with only the whistling sound of the wind and the sound of Xu Zhao's footsteps on the ground.
…
The hotel owner was reluctant, but the mayor called her and asked her to treat Xu Zhao well. Zhao Chunhong frowned, holding the seven or eight-year-old child in her arms. The boy tried to escape from her arms, but she scolded him harshly: "...You are disobedient. Do you want to be caught and eaten by a monster?"
The boy immediately became obedient.
There was always a faint polite smile on Xu Zhao's lips.
Zhao Chunhong led her upstairs. "...Since the mayor asked me to take care of you, I won't charge you more. The other rooms are more expensive, and I haven't had time to clean them up lately. The house is a mess. There's only one relatively clean room, and it's a little small. You're skinny and petite, so this is perfect for you. The price is negotiable."
The second floor corridor was dim.
Xu Zhao: "Are the other rooms occupied?"
Zhao Chunhong: “No.”
Zhao Chunhong pushed open the door of the room at the end of the corridor. The space was cramped and the window was small. There was only a flimsy-looking wooden bed and a wooden table next to it. The moment she opened the door, a strong smell of Chinese herbal medicine hit her face.
Zhao Chunhong covered her mouth and nose tightly: "...You just live here!"
Xu Zhao looked around. Having a bed and a wall was not particularly bad. She had been in even more difficult environments than here. At that time, when the cold wind blew, she could only hug her body tightly to absorb the already limited heat in her body. Besides, the house price was really low.
She put her backpack on the table. "Excuse me, where are the bathroom and toilet?"
Zhao Chunhong had a plump body, and as she held a child who was half her height, she gasped for breath with every step she took. The child in her arms was obviously frightened by the words that he was taken away by a monster, and he shrank into his mother's arms with his eyes wide open in fear.
Zhao Chunhong looked at Xu Zhao.
Xu Zhao curled the corners of his lips.
Zhao Chunhong retracted her gaze: "...It's not here."
In fact, her family lived in the two-story building next door. In order to make more money when the hotel was built, all the rooms on the first and second floors were converted into guest rooms. The small room where Xu Zhao lived was planned to be built into a toilet and bathroom.
Zhao Chunhong thought it was too expensive, so she converted all the rooms into guest rooms. If the hotel guests needed to shower or use the toilet, they had to either pay extra to wash at her home next door, or go to the public toilet at the town entrance, which was a dry toilet made of earthen bricks.
"There's a public restroom up front."
Zhao Chunhong left after saying this.
Xu Zhao stood there for a while, picked up his backpack and followed Zhao Chunhong.
"Why are you following me?"
Xu Zhao stopped and said, "I got soaked by the rain when I got here, so I wanted to use your bathroom to change clothes. The public restroom is too far from here, so if you want a fee, just ask... Auntie, it's hard to refuse a business, and it's really inconvenient for a hotel to not have a bathroom."
"No need." Zhao Chunhong muttered.
Xu Zhao thought her eyes were strange.
It's like looking at a dying person.
She still maintained a polite smile on her face.
Zhao Chunhong opened the door and asked her to come in: "Forget it, forget it, just wash it if you want."
Xu Zhao thanked him.
The backpack only brought summer clothes. She didn't expect the climate in Heishui Town to be so cold, so she asked Zhao Chunhong to borrow some old autumn clothes. The clothing stores in the town were closed, and she couldn't buy any. Zhao Chunhong asked Xu Zhao for a hundred yuan and stuffed a pile of clothes into her backpack as if throwing away garbage.
In a flash, she seemed to see the bright red blood dripping on the clothes.
…
Xu Zhao cleaned herself up and put on the short-sleeved shirt she brought with her, and the old clothes Zhao Chunhong gave her on the outside, a white cotton long-sleeved shirt with faded red marks on the collar, like coughed-up blood, and the tail of the shirt wrapped around her hips.
The owner of the clothes should be a young, tall and thin boy.
When she left the bathroom, she exchanged glances with the middle-aged man who walked in towards her. The man's tall body was slightly bent, his face was handsome but obviously old. Zhao Chunhong's scolding made his back bend even more, and he squatted in the corner and knocked on the long wooden board without saying a word.
Didn't see anyone else.
This is a family of three.
Mom, dad and young children.
According to common sense, Zhao Chunhong and the middle-aged man are about fifty years old. It is impossible for them to have only a seven or eight-year-old child at such an age. There should be a boy around twenty years old in the family, who is the owner of the clothes Xu Zhao is wearing.
He is weak and sickly and is not taken seriously.
He eventually died miserably.
This is Xu Zhao's inference.
She didn't care if the clothes she was wearing were worn by someone who had passed away. With her hair dripping wet, she returned to the hotel.
As night approached, the streets fell silent, and the eerie feeling grew stronger. She lay on her back in bed, inhaling the faint scent of soapberry.
Zhao Chunhong didn't seem like a neat and tidy person. The hotel was filthy and messy, with black and dirty stairs and walls, and a thick layer of dust on the floor. Xu Zhao had no expectations for the room she was staying in, and she wasn't one to be fussy about her surroundings.
Having a house to shelter from the wind and food to fill your stomach is enough.
But this exceptionally small room was surprisingly clean. Closing the door, she shut out the strange, odor-laden hallway. She was immediately enveloped by the faint, bitter aroma of herbs.
This smell is very similar to the smell of the clothes Zhao Chunhong threw to her.
Xu Zhao didn't think much of it. Her stomach growled, and she unzipped her backpack, took out a compressed biscuit, took a few bites, and put it back. A photo that had been pressed against the bottom fell out, and she picked it up, holding it in front of her with both hands and squinting her eyes.
The man in the photo was sunny and handsome, with two dimples when he smiled. His right hand rested loosely on the shoulder of the person next to him, and his body was much higher than his, standing tall like a thriving poplar.
This is exactly the "brother" Xu Zhao mentioned.
This man's name was Zhao Wenqing, and he had been missing for nearly a month. In fact, Xu Zhao had no relationship with him and had never even met him.
But she did come here to find him.
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