Chapter 186 Interception
Pipa hadn't thought about the cave behind the ancestral hall for a long time.
If it weren't for tonight's bizarre encounter, he probably would never have remembered it again, let alone had the thought of going into hiding.
After all, his mother's words—"There are ghosts there"—are still deeply etched in his heart.
The face in my memory, half-lit and half-shadowed by the shadows of the eaves, now seems to sink into darkness along with the twilight.
—The past cannot be recalled.
Now is not the time for sentimentality or lamenting the passing of spring.
What the loquat needs to do is find a suitable hiding place as soon as possible, and that cave is probably the best place that can be thought of at the moment.
Not only is it in a secluded location, but it also offers a relatively clear view of everything happening around the ancestral hall.
The ancestral hall is both the starting point and the end point of the worship ceremony.
Although Pipa never participated in the entire ceremony, she had heard about the general process from other villagers' casual conversations.
First invite the gods, then worship them, and finally send them off.
The final act of sending off the gods serves as the conclusion of the entire ceremony, and its completion signifies the end of the entire worship ritual.
Then, the villagers will gradually return home.
That is, the moment when loquat can completely get rid of its current situation.
Compared to blindly waiting, seeing the end of everything firsthand is clearly more reassuring for Pipa.
Just like in broad daylight, when Pipa was standing not far away and suddenly felt the eerie gaze of the statue, his first reaction was not to run away, but to look up and meet its gaze.
So, does God really exist?
Loquat doesn't know.
He didn't even understand what kind of being could be considered a god, possessing power superior to humans, capable of accepting human offerings and responding accordingly.
If two equally devout believers make two completely opposite wishes at the same time... how will their God judge them?
Perhaps only the so-called God himself knows.
But the loquat is nothing more than a lost soul, struggling to make ends meet. How can a human being, who cannot even secure his own future, possibly fathom the thoughts of so-called deities?
This statement is based on the premise that God truly has the will.
Dahuang did not respond to Pipa's request immediately.
Pipa then reached out and touched Dahuang's head. In the darkness, he touched Dahuang's wet nose, letting Dahuang smell the blood on his hand.
That was caused by grass blades when I was clearing away the bushes.
The wound wasn't deep, but it did bleed a little.
Sure enough, upon smelling the blood on Pipa's hand, the big yellow dog seemed to become excited all of a sudden. Its nose twitched as it excitedly sniffed between Pipa's fingers and palm, its wet tongue sticking out, and its snorting becoming more pronounced.
Before the other dog could show its teeth, Pipa gave a light tug on the leash she had found in the dark.
The rope was always hanging around the dog's neck. He had seen how the village chief's dog was trained to behave before, so he copied him and grabbed the dog's rope.
Pipa didn't use much force; he didn't want to provoke Dahuang, he just wanted to convey his meaning better.
“Ancestral hall, meat,” Pipa said, leaning closer to Dahuang.
He repeatedly emphasized the connection between visiting ancestral halls and eating meat.
"There will be meat to eat when we get to the ancestral hall," he said. "Shall we go?"
The dog's mouth started drooling again, making gurgling sounds from its throat like bubbles rising in a summer pond, and saliva dripped onto Pipa's shoes.
Pipa subconsciously held her breath and felt a wave of nausea, but she still maintained a gentle and encouraging tone.
After a while, Pipa felt the rope in his hand begin to pull in a certain direction. He glanced in that direction and saw scattered lights along the way.
There weren't many people, but they weren't nonexistent.
Compared to where he was hiding now, this place seemed much more open, with no cover to hide in.
Should we make a decisive move now, or wait for the right opportunity...?
Pipa looked up at the sky. The moon was still hiding behind the clouds, indistinct and faint, which allowed her to observe the movement of the clouds.
Soon the moon will rise, and with its light, the loquat will be able to better orient itself. It may also more easily reveal its location.
If only there were something to distract those people.
Just as he was feeling agitated, Pipa suddenly felt that uncomfortable touch again, pressed against his back, the heat seeping through his thin summer shirt and onto his back, which was soaked with cold sweat...
Pipa was ticklish to begin with, and at this moment, she impatiently tugged at the dog leash in her hand, trying to make the other dog behave.
Unexpectedly, Da Huang's reaction this time was a bit strange.
In theory, any living thing will make some movement when it is being pulled, either going with the force or pulling in the opposite direction.
But this time it felt like it was being pulled on something inanimate, and the rope seemed to be taut much lower than before...
Pipa felt strange and subconsciously reached out to touch it. As he touched the rough rope, his body sank lower and lower, and his heart sank with each touch.
His heart sank to the bottom when his hand touched a wet, hairy neck.
It was a section of a dog's neck. If you looked closely, you could feel a half-circle of indentation from years of wearing a leash, but that wasn't the point... The point was that no matter how you examined it, you couldn't feel the slightest throbbing beneath the warm skin.
If... if Pipa isn't mistaken, this dog is clearly... clearly dead!
But when and why did he suddenly die?
While Pipa was utterly bewildered, another terrifying shadow quietly crept into his heart.
He felt that Dahuang had been dead for a while.
If that's the case, then just now...
What could be secretly touching me in the darkness?
Just as he was thinking this, that warm thing came close to him from behind again.
Pipa could clearly sense that it was a living thing, because it could breathe, had warmth, and even... the thing seemed to sense Pipa's tension and unease, and let out a low, mocking laugh.
The laughter was soft and strange, sounding rather sinister.
The hairs on the loquat's body stood on end.
I thought I'd already sweated enough tonight, but this sudden sweat is unbearable—it's on my forehead, neck, back…
Any area prone to sweating will immediately become even wetter, making you look like you've just been pulled out of the water.
But the loquat was no longer concerned about feeling unwell.
A night breeze swept by, and he felt a chill run through his body, his jaw trembling slightly.
Suddenly, a white expanse appeared before my eyes—it was moonlight.
The clouds were blown away by the wind, and the high-hanging full moon finally peeked out again.
The excessively clear light illuminated the small patch in front of the loquat tree, less than half a step away, where the village chief's big yellow dog lay.
Its limbs were limp, its mouth was open, and its dark tongue hung limply on the ground. The dog's head was tilted back, revealing a large hole in its throat, from which blood flowed and stained everything.
Under the white moonlight, the blood looked black, and even the surface of Pipa's shoes was stained with that ominous black.
Pipa suddenly remembered that not long ago she had been complaining about Dahuang's constant drooling.
Thinking back to that time, perhaps Da Huang had already... but at that time he was completely unaware, and a shiver ran through his heart.
Unfortunately, the current situation of loquat is probably not much better than that of rhubarb before.
Big Yellow died with its eyes wide open, its face still bearing traces of red and white paint that had been used to draw a smiling face. Its dog eyes, which looked just like human eyes, were rolled up in terror, revealing large blank spaces.
Two bloodshot eyes were clearly directed toward the loquat's location, but they weren't looking at the loquat; instead, they were staring at something behind the loquat.
—So what exactly is that thing?
Pipa's heart was pounding, and she instinctively wanted to turn her head to look.
But when I think of those people in ghost stories who travel at night, they all disobeyed the warning not to look back, were captured by ghosts, and ended up dying and being left to rot in the wilderness.
I've also heard people say that a person has three yang fires in their body: one on their head and one on each shoulder. At night, when the yin energy is heavy, if one turns their head, they are extinguishing their own fires, which is a self-destructive end.
The jumbled thoughts in Pipa's mind were nothing more than fleeting ideas.
I wanted to run, but my limbs were stiff and I couldn't move, as if they were made of lead.
He still holds that piece of dog leash in his hand, not letting go, but gripping it even tighter because of his nervousness. The rough leash rubs against his chapped palms, causing a burning pain.
This is exactly what loquats need right now.
Pain was more effective at calming him than numbness.
He wondered, why hasn't that thing made a move yet?
Even in such darkness, the other party was able to silently bite Big Yellow's neck, yet hesitated to attack me. Could it be related to the difference between me and Big Yellow...?
The loquat suddenly had a flash of inspiration—that's a profound insight!
He was taller than Dahuang, so his throat was naturally much higher. If that thing was really aiming to bite his neck, then... then his current position must be extremely dangerous!
As if in response to his thoughts, something suddenly sprang up from his back and grabbed his head.
Suddenly, everything went black before Pipa's eyes; he could see nothing and hear nothing clearly.
I felt a suffocating dizziness, accompanied by a heavy, drum-like heartbeat.
Thump—thump thump, thump thump, thump thump thump!
Even though it was already a critical moment, and even though her throat could be bitten open at any moment and her life was in danger... Pipa felt her mind was clearer than ever before.
The woman's soft yet resolute voice echoed in his ears in the twilight. Since his mother had made such a decision for him, how could he, as the person involved and also as her son, let her down?
Even if you can't become the child the other person imagines you to be, you shouldn't cause them any extra worry!
As the thought flashed through his mind, he rolled on the spot, causing the thing to land hard on its back, and then used his weight advantage to firmly pin it down.
Taking advantage of the moment when the creature was in pain, he tightened the dog leash around its body and then thrust out the dagger hidden in his other hand.
*Pfft*
Accompanied by the feeling of the blade piercing the flesh.
The loquat seemed to hear the sound of cloth tearing.
He opened his eyes in surprise and saw a face he would never forget.
That was... that was the monkey's face I'd seen in my nightmare. It was even wearing the same gaudy little outfit from my dream, only now it was dirty and tattered.
At this moment, the wrinkled face was no longer smiling, but it looked more like a person than a forced smile.
Two dark eyes stared fixedly at him. Whether it was Pipa's imagination or not, he felt as if he saw a faint glimmer of water in those eyes... and a pleading expression.
Please, have mercy and give me a tip.
The humble shouts of the monkey trainer rang in my ears again, but for some reason, they suddenly turned into a dying plea.
Please have mercy...
Please, I beg you.
Please, don't kill me, please...
In that instant when the loquat was stunned, the monkey, who had been looking at her pitifully just a moment ago, suddenly stretched out a claw towards the loquat's face.
Fortunately, Pipa reacted in time and turned her head to avoid being scratched in the eye, but it still left a burning pain on her face.
—Damn monkey!
Pipa cursed inwardly, drew his dagger and was about to stab the beast again when he heard voices approaching from afar. Oh no, the commotion was too loud and had attracted people.
Without thinking twice, Pipa drew her dagger and made two cuts on the monkey's Achilles tendons to ensure it was incapacitated.
He grabbed the dog leash, casually tangled the strange monkey and the corpse of Big Yellow together, and then, with some difficulty, hurriedly hid elsewhere.
Pipa didn't actually cut the monkey's neck.
Firstly, he has never killed a living being.
Secondly, if the group sees that the monkey and the dog have also died, they will definitely try to find out who killed them. But if the monkey is still alive, the group's attention might be focused on the fact that the monkey killed the dog, while ignoring other possible perpetrators.
Why did the monkey, which should have left with the monkey trainer, suddenly reappear in Nancun after such a long time? And on such a special day?
Pipa didn't know, but he thought that once those people's attention was drawn to the corpses of the monkeys and dogs, it would be the best opportunity for him to sneak away.
And he really did succeed.
Pipa carefully and quickly traversed the fields and overgrown weeds, his back bent low, guided by the full moon overhead.
Only when she could no longer hear the noisy voices did Pipa have the courage to look back behind her. Under the bright, almost eerie moonlight, there was not a single person on the quiet pebble path.
No one chased after them.
Very good……
Pipa couldn't help but think to herself, then her vision blurred, her legs went weak, and she almost fell over.
After being extremely tense, a person is really unable to withstand a sudden relaxation. Especially after experiencing such a thrilling and bizarre night. At this moment, Pipa's whole body ached, and her head was also throbbing and nauseous from excessive thinking and lack of sleep.
But he gritted his teeth and persevered, refusing to let himself collapse so openly near the ancestral hall.
Then, with the last bit of strength, dragging his legs, which were aching and almost numb, he slowly but resolutely walked towards the slope he remembered...
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