Missing on the 24th (2)

  When I saw the ancient village, it was already past three in the afternoon. I didn't have the courage to enter the village, as if something was always hiding there waiting for me. The high fever of these days has made me have many hallucinations, and also made me unable to distinguish what is real and what is false, what happened and what is just my fantasy.

  I went straight to the hotel, and the hotel was still quiet. The dwarf at the front desk looked up at me with a glance that seemed a bit venomous. He didn't say a word. Ma Tiancheng dragged out a large bucket from inside and saw me, saying "Are you okay?"

  I hummed in agreement, and Ma Tiancheng said, "Your room is still there, nothing has been touched. Go take a look and see if anything is missing."

  I said it's okay, no need to look, there's nothing.

  Ma Tiancheng dragged the bucket to the door and saw the bicycle at the door, saying, "Is this another one you rode here? The previous one is in the kitchen, I've put it away for you."

  I said thank you and was about to help him carry the bucket, but Ma Tiancheng waved his hand and said, "It's too dirty, it's all leftover food from the kitchen, don't touch it, I can handle it myself."

  I watched him drag the big bucket out and throw it aside, then I said, have those students all left?

  Ma Tian nodded his head and said mysteriously, "No one's here, they've all gone out to find someone."

  Looking for someone? I asked, taken aback.

  Ma Tiancheng said they had a male student who went missing and nobody knew where he was, and they were currently searching for him.

  I suddenly remembered that Da Peng was missing, who is Si Yao's boyfriend. Si Yao said at the time that he might have gone out to play, but didn't he come back all night yesterday?

  I'm getting a bit worried, although it's just a fleeting encounter, but I have a good feeling about Fengyue and Sihua, thinking that they are at the most innocent and beautiful stage of being girls, if something were to happen at this time...

  I said, will that boy of theirs have gone out?

  Ma Tian shook his head, handed me a cigarette, I waved my hand, he lit it himself and took a puff, saying, "No way, there are very few tools in and out, our car counts as one, your bicycle counts as one, otherwise you can only walk out. It's been raining these days, people won't take the mountain road at night, if it were daytime... they would have told us by now."

  I say, if young people have conflicts, it's hard to say.

  Ma Tiancheng said, it's also a small couple quarrel, if they can't say it clearly, they just leave. Who is his opponent?

  I don't want to be a gossip, I said with a smile, it was just a casual remark, and I'm not very familiar with these people either. Has the police been informed?

  Ma Tiancheng said, "It seems like there isn't any signal in this mountain. Our hotel just started business and the phone hasn't been connected yet." They said to look again, if they still can't find it today, then report to the police tomorrow.

  I murmured in agreement, it's also strange to say, maybe the medicine has worn off, or maybe this place really clashes with me. As soon as I climbed the mountain, I felt dizzy and heavy-headed, and my body started to feel hot again.

  But it's unlikely that this high fever can be completely cured with just two injections. I said, I still feel a bit uncomfortable, so I'll go back and lie down for a while.

  Ma Tiancheng nodded and said, "You rest for now. I'll make braised pork tonight, remember to come down and eat it later. But you have to wait until this group of students returns, and then I'll call you."

  I said thank you and went upstairs, took a glance around, the room was still as it used to be. I poured myself a glass of water, found the medicine prescribed by the hospital, and swallowed it down.

  As I tilted my head to swallow the medicine, I suddenly noticed something on the window. It was a very faint red mark. The mark was so light that if the sunlight hadn't been shining directly on it and I hadn't happened to tilt my head, I really wouldn't have noticed it.

  I followed the marks and found that the window had been opened, this kind of window is also the oldest type, the window doesn't have any lock at all, there's just an iron groove on the window frame, next to it an iron wire tied an iron nail, when you need to close the window, you insert the iron nail into the iron groove and fix the window with the toughness of the iron wire.

  I followed the faint red mark and looked over, just in time to see the iron nail groove here, the iron wire connected to the iron nail had been broken, and the iron nail was nowhere to be found, leaving only one iron wire there.

  I touched the iron wire in the past, and the broken end was very neat, it was cut off by a sharp tool.

  I compared the iron wire, and this place is just in the gap between the window frames. If I had to guess, there was no need for someone inside the house to cut this iron wire. Someone outside used a sharp blade to cut open this iron wire and entered my room.

  I hastily pulled out the suitcase and opened it to find that the laptop was still inside.

  I only have this one valuable thing with me, the rest of the bank cards and whatnot are all in my bag, if someone really comes in, what can they do?

  I couldn't understand it and in the end I couldn't explain it. It's not that this thing was originally bad, but rather I messed up earlier.

  I rewound the iron wire together, tried it out and found that it was still usable. Then I checked the room again, except for the clothes I wore that day which were gone, nothing else was lost.

  As for that set of clothes, I don't know what's going on either. I was burning with fever and my mind was all muddled, who knows, maybe they were running around naked outside.

  Just thinking about having a fever makes me feel dizzy again, and after lying in bed for half a day, I fell asleep in a daze.

  I never thought I'd be thinking so much now, possibly related to quitting internet addiction in disguise, or maybe it's related to having a high fever for several days, anyway my mind seems to have been in a state of half-dreaming and half-waking all the time.

  But this time no monsters or ghosts came to play with me, and the red-dressed female ghost seemed too lazy to bother me either. In short, I had a good sleep.

  At least I didn't have nightmares.

  Woke up because of the knocking sound, opened the door, Ma Tiancheng was standing outside and said, "Dinner is ready."

  I let out a sound, looked at my phone, and it was already past 8 o'clock. I said, "They just got back?"

  Ma Tiancheng said, "It's been a while, I'm cooking for a bit, no choice, this inn only has you few customers, if you don't eat, it'll be wasted even if I cook it. Come quickly, braised pork."

  I nodded, watching Ma Tiancheng's burly figure leave. I really have a good impression of this burly man, who is very enthusiastic and has a kind heart hidden beneath his fierce appearance. It's also my good fortune to meet someone like him here. If anything happens, he'll probably be able to help out in some way.

  After going downstairs, I found that there weren't many people eating, but Fengyue was sitting there, among the men, smiling faintly, her eyes cold, seemingly tired of this group of men trying to please her, like a queen.

  I walked down the stairs, Fengyue saw me and waved her hand, beckoning me over.

  I didn't want to disturb others, so I walked a bit further away and sat down. I found that Siyao hadn't arrived, so I asked, "Have you guys found her?"

  The wind and moon shook their heads and said no.

  I said, where have you all gone?

  Fengyue said that they had searched everywhere nearby, especially on the mountain. They were quite worried that he would go out at night after drinking some wine and fall somewhere, breaking his leg and being unable to get up. So everyone went to search on the mountain, but the mountains around here are all pretty gentle, and they didn't find him.

  I said, have you looked for it in the village?

  Fengyue said, what danger could be there? But I'll look for it anyway. Is that right, Xiao Bin?

  A thin boy beside him said, "We've looked, we've looked. We went to several places and shouted one by one, but there was no response."

  I said, finding someone isn't done like this, have you entered every house?

  Xiao Bin said, "These few people, where do they have the time? Besides, there's no one left in the village, what kind of danger could there be? I think the danger is still on the mountain. Tomorrow, we plan to go out and report it with two people, can we borrow the bicycle you rode over here?"

  I nodded and said, okay, you ride away, I'll ride back one more time, no, two times, you both ride away.

  Xiao Bin said thank you, and the meal was already served. Each person had a bowl of rice, a bowl of braised pork, and a bowl of pickled radish. I saw Feng Yue furrow her brow, get up, and move the braised pork to my side, saying "You eat it, I don't eat fatty meat."

  For a moment I felt like everyone was staring at me and I couldn't shrug it off, so I said thanks.

  Fengyue sat back down and ate with her head bowed.

  I felt all the fiery eyes focused on me, and I didn't dare to raise my head. After eating a few mouthfuls, I lowered my head and said, "Isn't Siyao going to eat?"

  No one answered, I raised my head and looked at Feng Yue, who hummed and said, "I don't know, if you want to know, go ask yourself, what's the point of asking me?"

  Xiao Bin said, Si Yao is in a bad mood, after all, Da Peng is gone, and Shen Po is accompanying her, it's nothing.

  I took a few more bites, feeling that it was almost enough. I'm still running a fever and shouldn't be eating such greasy food. I wanted to stop fighting, but thinking of Feng Yue's kind intentions in passing me her bowl of braised pork, not eating would be impolite too. So I picked out a few pieces of lean meat from it and stuffed them into my mouth.

  Then Fengyue smiled at me, and Fengyue also nodded to me. I stood up and said, "Which room is Siyao in? I'll go take a look."

  Fengyue was taken aback for a moment, then said, 221.

  I quickly went upstairs and knocked on the door of room 221. The door opened, and the landlady stood at the entrance, looking at me with a bad attitude, saying, "You're back."

  I said, can I go in?

  The nun moved aside, and I saw Siyao sitting there wiping away tears. I said, "Hasn't Da Peng been found yet?"

  Xiyao shook her head, and the fortune teller said, "Let him look at you for a while, I'm going to eat."

  He finished speaking and turned around to leave, even closing the door for me.

  Siya said that we had a fight that day, and then he drank some wine. I don't know when he left, but he must have been angry with me.

  I asked, have you guys called him?

  Xiyao said, he threw his phone in the room, I think he must be angry and went out to clear his mind, then smashed it somewhere.

  I said, hurry up and report to the police tomorrow, it's still not too late, should be able to find the person.

  Si Yao said, I'm afraid he'll fall off the mountain.

  I said, have you guys looked in the village?

  Siya said, "Why ask this, shouldn't you have already known?"

  I'm also unclear why I care so much about whether or not the village is found, but to me, Ghost Village is a forbidden place. Nothing good has ever happened to me here... perhaps it won't be that lucky for others either.

  In short, I feel that the root of this matter lies in the foot of the mountain rather than at the top.

  But I really can't talk nonsense.

  Xiyao saw me not making a sound, she said, "Do you know something?"

  I shook my head and said, I don't know.

  Siya asked, where did you go that night?

  I was stunned for a moment and said I didn't go anywhere, I had a high fever.

  Siya said, "You are lying, do you know where Dapeng is?"

  I was stunned again, then said, I really don't know, why did you say I'm lying?

  Siya pointed to the table next to her, and I saw the tracksuit I was wearing on it. Siya said, "This is the clothes that Ma Tiancheng helped you change out of. I wanted to wash them for you, but I couldn't find Dapeng anywhere. You go take a look yourself."

  I walked over and found that there were mud stains all over the clothes. When I picked up the pants, there wasn't a single clean spot on them, just muddy water marks everywhere.

  I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine, that day I really went to the ancient temple, and I really saw a man and woman having sex in the wild.

  I really... touched that flesh and blood Bodhisattva.

  I was really there.

  I picked up the clothes, and my whole body started shaking. I always thought it was an illusion of my high fever, deceiving myself that my face was clean and hadn't gone out, but... I really was in the ancient temple... What on earth is this flesh Bodhisattva that I touched?

  Afterwards I returned to the room, what was that red-clothed female ghost I saw?

  And before that, the figure in the snowflakes on TV, the red skirt floating outside the window.

  Is all of this true?

  Aren't they all just illusions?

  Xiyao said, Please, tell me, do you know where Dapeng is?

  I nodded and then shook my head, I said, I may have really seen the Roc, but I thought it was just a hallucination from my high fever, I... I must wait until dawn to tell you, to take you there.

  Si Yao said, "Why not now? Can Da Peng still be saved after dawn? Is it you who harmed Da Peng? I'll go call for help right away."

  After finishing speaking, she stood up and walked out. I wanted to hold her back, but felt that holding her back would make things even harder to explain, so I could only let her leave.

  In a flash she walked back and stood at the door saying to me, I think you are a good person.

  I say I am a good person.

  Siya said, "Alright, I believe you. Tomorrow morning, take me there."

  I nodded and said, "Okay."

  Xiyao said, "You take me alone and don't tell anyone else, can you?"

  This time I was stunned, I didn't know why Siyao made such a request, but thinking about it, it's also reasonable for a young couple to run out and have a wild battle.

  Could it be that the girl was her and she was afraid of others knowing about this matter?

  This can be explained clearly, I nodded and said a word of certainty, turned around and went out the door back to the room.

  Lying on the bed in the room for half a day, thinking of that touch I had that day, my whole body felt itchy, as if there were some maggots wanting to drill out from inside.

  The texture was absolutely not stone or wood, nor was it human skin. It felt like stroking leather, very dry and without moisture, yet somehow full and plump, like an old drum stuffed with blood and flesh.

  I felt scared, got up and found some cold medicine, although I knew it was still a short time since the last time I took it, but I still forced myself to swallow it.

  The cold medicine really has a stabilizing effect, and soon I fell asleep again under the dual effects of the drug's efficacy and low fever.