The 28th Day 2 Strange Inn

  The wind and moon see me turn back and say, what are you looking at?

  I'm looking at you, aren't you a great beauty?

  Fengyue said, don't scare me, in the desolate mountains and wild ridges, I am a black belt in Kung Fu, don't hurt yourself.

  I say, don't worry, I'm really not a good person.

  Fengyue said, then I'm relieved. You ride carefully, the two of us shouldn't fall off the mountain and die in a way that others can't understand, and then they'll think you're a good person again.

  I didn't expect Fengyue, such a beautiful girl, to have this kind of personality. With her company on the way, I felt that the two-hour drive was filled with countless power, but unfortunately, time was too short, and in the blink of an eye, I saw the village far away.

  Looking down from the mountain, that familiar feeling suddenly enveloped my whole body. No matter how long I lived in this place, no matter how long I left, it seemed to have remained unchanged, always waiting for me.

  No matter when I look down from this angle, the ancient village is always here.

  Just like a mother waiting for her child to come home.

  I stopped the car on the mountain road, gestured with my hand, and said to Fengyue, "Do you see that? There's an old locust tree over there. It's said to be over a thousand years old. My dad told me that during the Great Leap Forward, they wanted to cut it down for firewood, but no one could move it after several days and nights of trying. They finally gave up. Isn't that amazing?"

  Fengyue said, the pagoda tree is a ghost wood, you want to say god, it's better to say strange.

  I was stunned for a moment, Guimu? Didn't we bury our wish box under the pagoda tree back then? Is this the origin of everything?

  Fengyue patted me on the back and said, "Come on, let's go, I'm tired."

  You're saying you get tired from taking a car ride? Then how can I survive riding a bike?

  Fengyue said, I've been cheering you on all the way, it's been very hard for us, let's hurry up and go down, I'm eager to see what's going on.

  I rode my bike down and only felt the desolation of my hometown after entering the village, where abandoned houses were everywhere, with broken walls and crumbling ruins. As I walked into the village, I felt a kind of solemn silence, without any human shadows or even chickens, ducks, geese, dogs, not even a single bird in sight.

  This silence made me feel a little scared, and Fengyue also grabbed the back of my clothes and whispered, "It's so quiet."

  I hummed in agreement. Since I had entered, I naturally wanted to see if anyone was living there and also go to the old locust tree to take a look, who knows what clues might be found.

  Of course, the most important thing is to find great love.

  I need to find out what's cursing us before the wedding, I have to pull our great love out of this deadly curse.

  Rode a bike around the village for a while, really nothing, already turned to the middle of the village under the pagoda tree, I stopped the car and walked to the side of the pagoda tree, touched the trunk with my hand.

  Is it you in my heart? If it's you, forgive us.

  A gust of wind blew by, the pagoda tree rustled, I sighed and looked up at the withered branches of the pagoda tree. The whole tree was just like this village, devoid of any vitality.

  Is this really my hometown?

  A ghost village in someone else's mouth?

  Fengyue took over the car for me and saw that I was dazed under the tree. She called out softly, "Hey." I turned my head around, and Fengyue said, "I forgot to ask your name."

  I smiled and said, so many men have told you their names, can you remember them?

  Fengyue said, I must remember you, it's rare for a man to talk to a tree.

  I was stunned and asked, how did you know?

  Fengyue said, you just closed your eyes, as devout as a Buddhist, you must have told the tree something. I'm guessing, you said "I'm back", right?

  I nodded and said, you guessed it right.

  Fengyue said, we plan to spend the night here and see if anything strange happens at night, what about you?

  I said, after turning around for a while, there's nothing in the village, I plan to take another look, if there really is nothing, I'll wait for your friend to arrive, hand you over safely and then head back to town.

  Fengyue sighed and seemed a bit disappointed. She said, "Alright then, leave me your phone number and we'll get in touch again when you get back."

  I recited the phone number, and Fengyue dialed it on her mobile phone. After a while, my phone didn't ring, and Fengyue said there was no signal.

  I let out a sigh and said, surrounded by mountains on all sides, it's still a desolate village, I reckon there's no cell tower.

  Fengyue said, I'll say mine too, you save it.

  Although he was single, he wasn't a man who didn't understand romance. He quickly took out his phone and saved the number, then got back in the car, planning to continue the second half of his journey home.

  Fengyue got on the bus this time, patted my back and said, let's go, take me to see your home.

  I vaguely remember where my childhood home was, but since the beauty had such a request, I humbly obeyed and rode forward according to memory. As it turned out, after seven twists and eight turns, I really found the old house. The house is still the same as before, only unfortunately, it's also dilapidated inside.

  What made everyone in the whole village leave?

  If it's the young people working away from home that has led to the decline of the village, then at least some old people and children should be left in the village. But this village is completely deserted, not even any livestock are left.

  Is it the plague?

  I stood at my home gate for a while, but I didn't have the courage to go in. After wandering around the village with Fengyue for a big circle, the two of us returned to the pagoda tree and rested under the tree for half a day, chatting with each other for a while, and saw people coming down from the mountain far away.

  I said your friend has arrived.

  The wind and moon sighed and said, are you leaving now?

  I nodded and said, there's no one in the village anyway, I'll be back tomorrow.

  Fengyue said, "Alright, let's get in touch again."

  I said, don't worry, if you don't contact me, I'll contact you. Just don't reject me when the time comes.

  It's hard to say, but the key point is you have to line up.

  I say this with conviction, but I'm not sure if I can cut in line.

  The wind and moon smiled and said, no way.

  Two people chatted and laughed for a while, and the people outside had already come over panting, I reckon they sprinted forward after I took their goddess away, one by one sticking out their tongues in front of me, looking just like canine creatures.

  I stood up and said in a low voice, I'm leaving.

  He finished speaking and got on the car with a flourish, turning around and leaving.

  When I returned to the town, the sun had already set. The owner of the inn seemed very happy to see me back. I exchanged my bicycle and was given a wolf's tooth as a souvenir, which they said was worthless. I bought a ticket for the next morning.

  Since I didn't find true love, it's only natural that I would return. Those warnings couldn't be ignored, the closer I got to the village, the more my heart fluttered.

  Especially when I passed by the cave again, I vowed that something was watching me.

  At night, I had a meal at a small inn and fell asleep in bed after a day of cycling. When I was woken up by the phone, it was already raining outside.

  I picked up the phone, and a burst of static noise came from inside, then I heard a woman's voice intermittently, saying: Save me... Hurry to save me... Don't... Can't you see... That red skirt... Can't you see... Save me...

  The voice seemed not to be talking to me but like the natural muttering of a person who was terrified, the phone hung up, I flipped it back, and it was an unshowable number.

  But this voice sounds somewhat familiar, could it be... Fengyue's?

  She just asked for my phone number today, and they are living in the village today.

  Could it be that they already...

  I sprang up suddenly and went to knock open the owner's bedroom, shouting loudly, "Help me open the door, my bike is waiting for me, I have to go to the village."

  The owner was stunned for a long time and said in a low voice, "It's raining, it's still at night, you're riding a bike on the mountain, are you looking to die?"

  I said no way, my friend seems to be in danger.

  The boss was stunned for a long time and said, "Something really happened. You can't go there now, even if you rush over. Wait until dawn. I won't lend you the car. Listen to my advice: stay away from Gucun."

  After finishing speaking, I closed the door and walked to the entrance. This kind of family hotel is always locked at midnight with a chain lock. I shook it, but couldn't open it at all.

  Moreover, what the boss said makes sense. I'm not quite sure if this phone call was made by Fengyue to me, but one thing is certain: on a rainy day like today, riding my bike up the mountain would be almost suicidal.

  Anyway, let's wait till dawn.

  Heavy rain washed over the iron gate, and I heard the sound of dripping again.

  Tick-tock, tick-tock.