Seeing me standing there in a daze.
The old lady pointed to her mouth, then held up two fingers and gestured to her lips.
She meant that her tongue had been cut off with scissors, and she couldn't speak.
I thought for a moment, took out the photos, pointed to Bai Su and Niu Hongsheng, and asked her if these two young people had ever been to the village.
The old lady's expression changed instantly when she saw the photo.
He waved his hands wildly in the air, then pointed ahead and made a "woo woo woo" sound.
Seeing that I didn't understand, she pushed me directly, as if she wanted to get rid of me.
Although the old lady couldn't speak, judging from her agitated state, Bai Su and Niu Hongsheng must have been there, and something must have happened.
Now that I know Bai Su and the others have been here, there's even less reason for me to leave.
Seeing that I was unwilling to leave, the old lady bent down, picked up a stone, and pretended to throw it at me.
Just as I was wondering what to do, a clear female voice suddenly rang out behind me: "Handsome guy, handsome guy!"
I turned around and saw a petite girl wearing a sun hat, a windbreaker, and a backpack running towards me.
Two men and two women were standing not far behind her.
The group of people were dressed similarly to the young girl, all in outdoor hiking gear, looking like a group of hiking enthusiasts.
"Handsome guy, my name is Su Meng. We're hiking, and it's getting dark soon. Could we please find a place to stay in your village? Please, please!"
Su Meng clasped her hands together, blinked her big, watery eyes, and looked at me pleadingly.
I looked at the old lady beside me and said that I was not from this village and that I was just asking for lodging.
Su Meng turned to the old lady and said, "Grandma, can we stay in the village for the night? Don't worry, we'll leave as soon as it's light and we definitely won't cause you any trouble."
As she spoke, she took out two hundred yuan from her pocket and handed it to the old lady.
The old lady didn't even glance at the money. She simply waved her hand forcefully, extending her right palm outward and swinging it forcefully from her right side to the left front.
Su Meng asked with a puzzled look, "Grandma, do you mean five hundred yuan?"
The old lady gestured a few more times, but seeing that Su Meng really couldn't understand, she had no choice but to point to her mouth again.
When Su Meng saw the severed tongue, she screamed in fright, her face turning deathly pale, and she staggered back several steps.
At this moment, a man who looked like the leader of the group walked over and gestured to the old lady in sign language.
He shrugged helplessly: "The old lady told us to leave quickly, saying that their village doesn't receive any outsiders at night."
Upon hearing this, the members of the hiking team immediately looked dejected.
"Alright, alright!"
The team leader clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention.
"Don't look so down, everyone. I checked with binoculars before, and the terrain of that mountain in front of us is relatively flat. Let's just pitch our tents there for the night."
"When the time comes, we can cook some barbecue, drink some beer, and play the guitar ourselves. That would be a unique experience."
Those present were all young people in their twenties, a time when they crave novelty and excitement.
Upon hearing what the captain said, the group's mood instantly shifted from low to excited, and they began to chatter enthusiastically.
After settling the team members in, the captain turned to look at me.
"Hey brother, my name is Liu Junming, and I'm the leader of this hiking team. Are you here to stay too? If you don't mind, come with us. It'll be more fun with more people, and we can all look out for each other."
After thinking for a moment, I thanked him and expressed my willingness to join.
Since we can't get into the village, having someone outside is better than being alone. We'll figure out a way to get into the village when it gets light.
Just as we were about to leave, the old lady suddenly shouted "Ah ah ah" at us a few times.
"What's wrong with you, old lady? Do you think this mountain is your territory? Otherwise, I wouldn't have come to this lousy place if I hadn't just happened to be passing by."
A tall girl with blond hair in the group frowned and grumbled unhappily.
"Don't get agitated, let me ask what's going on."
Liu Junming offered a few words of comfort to everyone and then began gesturing to the old lady again.
It's unclear what the two were talking about, but Liu Junming looked excited.
"Good news, everyone! Grandma said it's too dangerous up in the mountains, so she wants us to stay at her house for the night, but we have to leave as soon as it gets light."
Upon hearing that there was a place to stay, even the blonde woman forgot her previous displeasure.
...
The old lady's home was not in the village, but on a small hillside a few hundred meters away.
From a distance, the house stood there all alone, looking particularly forlorn.
When we got there, we realized how dilapidated the house was.
The walls of the house were badly peeling, exposing the mottled yellow mud underneath.
The roof tiles were also incomplete, and the holes were covered with a few pieces of tarpaulin.
The courtyard inside the gate was cluttered with cardboard boxes. Due to prolonged exposure to moisture, the cardboard had become soft and rotten, and there was a faint layer of mold on it.
Some unidentified insects crawled around the box, flies swarmed around, and the pungent, sour smell could be smelled from a distance.
As soon as she entered, the blonde woman covered her mouth and nose and kept complaining about Liu Junming.
"Liu Junming, what kind of captain are you? You didn't even do your research beforehand, what kind of hellhole did you bring us to! This is practically a garbage dump, it's filthy and stinks, how can anyone live here?"
"If I had known, I would have just set up a tent on the mountain."
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