Chapter 465 Night
In the evening, Zhu Lan returned to Biquan Village with his luggage.
She met the little baby's father again. It turned out that he was the village chief of Biquan Village, named Lin Sanlang.
Upon learning that the county magistrate had placed Zhu Lan in Biquan Village, a hint of surprise flashed across Lin Sanlang's face, his thick brows furrowed, and his expression became a little strange.
In the end, he didn't say much, and brought Zhu Lan to a dilapidated wooden house, asking her to stay there for the time being.
Lin Sanlang was young and didn't talk much, but Zhu Lan could sense that he wanted to say something several times, but was hesitant.
Before leaving, Lin Sanlang finally turned around and said something strange.
“Remember to lock the door at night, and don’t pay too much attention to any noise you hear.
If you feel unwell, go and see Grandma Sun next door."
After Lin Sanlang finished speaking, he muttered something to himself and turned away.
Zhu Lan stood there, thinking about Lin Sanlang's words for a long time, but still couldn't fully understand them.
It seems that there is indeed some mystery in this village.
Zhu Lan collected his thoughts, turned around and pushed open the wooden door.
A cloud of dust blew in my face, mixed with a musty smell. It was obvious that no one had lived there for a long time.
She looked around the room in the dim light. There was only a kang and a table and chairs, which was quite simple.
Never mind. I won’t stay here for too long anyway. I might as well make the best of it.
When she passed by Biquan Village on the way here, she felt that there was something strange about the village. Now that she was going to live here for a while, she might as well take a look.
Zhu Lan placed his bag on the kang, looked at the dust and cobwebs in the room, sighed softly, and began to pack.
She went out with a bucket to fetch water. Along the way, she could feel the strange looks from the villagers around her, but this time no one stopped her, as if they already knew that Zhu Lan was a member of Biquan Village from now on.
Those people watched Zhu Lan draw water from the well, whispering to each other. But when Zhu Lan looked at them, they looked away.
Zhu Lan filled a bucket with water and walked back carrying the bucket with some difficulty.
The water in the bucket swayed with her steps, soon soaking her hem and shoes.
Suddenly, Zhu Lan felt the weight on his hands lighten, and a pair of hands took the bucket.
She raised her eyes and saw a young man's brilliant smile.
The young man looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old, as tall as Zhu Lan, and as thin as a bamboo pole, but his hands were very strong.
"Thank you." Zhu Lan smiled at him gratefully.
“We’re all neighbors, no need to thank me!”
"Neighbor?" Zhu Lan asked in surprise.
"Yes!" The boy nodded and blinked his eyes and said, "My grandmother and I live next door to you. People in the village call me Ah Chong, you can call me Brother Chong."
Zhu Lan couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. The boy looked much younger than himself, and he really couldn't bring himself to call him "Brother Chong".
As Ah Chong walked with the bucket in his hand, he curiously asked Zhu Lan what his name was and where he was from.
Zhu Lan answered truthfully.
"You are also from the capital?" A Chong asked in surprise.
Zhu Lan looked at him sideways and asked, "Besides me, is there anyone else from the capital in this village?"
Ah Chong shook his head. "No, our village never accepts outsiders. You are the first outsider living here."
Zhu Lan asked: "Then why did you say I was also from the capital?"
Ah Chong said as a matter of course: "Because every year there are many people exiled from the capital to Nanzhou. To enter Nanzhou, you must pass through our Biquan Village. But our village never allows outsiders to stay."
When he mentioned this, Zhu Lan immediately seized the opportunity to find out the reason.
"Why is your village so exclusive to outsiders?"
"It can't be said to be rejection--" Ah Chong was about to say something, but suddenly looked forward.
Zhu Lan followed his gaze and felt a slight pang in his heart.
In the small courtyard next to his own, the two wooden doors were opened a little.
An old and sinister eye appeared from the crack in the door, staring at him from bottom to top.
It was the one-eyed old lady I met when I came here.
"Grandma, I'll be home soon!" Ah Chong smiled at the eye.
It turned out that the one-eyed old lady was Grandma Sun mentioned by the village chief just now, and also A Chong's grandmother.
As they were talking, the two had already reached the door of Zhu Lan's house. A Chong put the bucket on the ground and turned to walk towards his home. Zhu Lan hurriedly called him.
"A Chong, you haven't told me my question just now!"
“Well…”
Ah Chong scratched his head, hesitated for a long time, and finally said:
"Well, you'd better not ask for now... You may not meet him, so don't think too much.
You should have a good sleep tonight. If you have any problem, come to my house and knock on the door. "
After saying this, A Chong quickly returned to his home and the wooden door was closed.
Somehow, Zhu Lan suddenly had an inexplicable feeling in his heart.
That eye seemed to be behind the wooden door, still staring at him.
Zhu Lan returned to the house and cleaned it up briefly. It was already completely dark outside.
Her hands, which had been holding a pen for years, had not done any rough work for a long time. When she was cleaning the room, some wooden splinters pierced her flesh, causing her a dull pain.
Zhu Lan was not a delicate person. She calmly spent some time picking out the splinter with a fine needle and cleaning the wound caused by the broken porcelain pieces.
Finally, she dragged her tired body to pour some water to drink, and her eyes fell on the two steamed buns on the table.
That was just brought by Ah Chong, still steaming hot, and she said it was made by Grandma Sun herself.
My stomach started to protest.
Zhu Lan swallowed his saliva, broke the two steamed buns apart, and examined them carefully in the candlelight, but could not see anything unusual.
She hesitated for a moment, and finally put it aside.
The strangeness of this village has not been figured out yet, and it is still unknown whether these people in the village are enemies or friends.
Since you have doubts, it is safest not to eat.
Zhu Lan didn't have the energy to cook, so he just took out some dry food that was left over from the journey and made do with it.
It started to rain outside without me noticing.
Lingnan is located at the southernmost tip of Daliang, and has a warm climate. Even in winter, the trees never wither, and the people living here have never seen snow.
After extinguishing the candle, Zhu Lan fell asleep with his clothes on. Although the earthen kang in this village was far inferior to the soft couch he was used to sleeping on, it was still much more comfortable than the damp and moldy straw mat in the prison.
Zhu Lan closed his eyes and soon fell asleep.
She didn't know how long she slept before she was awakened by a loud thunder.
It's still raining outside the window.
Zhu Lan opened his eyes and felt a little uncomfortable in his stomach, as if he had eaten something bad.
The thought of finding a toilet immediately flashed through her mind.
Zhu Lan covered his stomach, turned over and got out of bed, holding up an old paper umbrella by the door and walked out.
The toilet was not far away, and after a long while, Zhu Lan finally walked out weakly.
During the day, A Chong had shown her the way to the village, and Zhu Lan remembered it all.
She held an umbrella and returned based on her memory.
A flash of lightning flashed across the sky, and the village in front of me lit up for a moment.
Zhu Lan discovered that white mist had suddenly filled the road.
The mountain wall next to the village is thousands of feet high, like a huge wave wall rising into the sky, which will swallow up the entire village in the next moment.
Everything before my eyes returned to darkness again.
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