Professor, your turtle!

"Little Fu, eat and drink well." Dean Liu greeted verbally perfunctorily, without even glancing at them, a pair of chopsticks flew up and pulled all the freshly blanched meat to his side .

Ji Fan: "..."

The plates next to him were quickly piled up. Deqing took out the second bottle of beer boldly, smacked the cap on the corner of the table, and filled the dean's cup ton ton: "Teacher, you have worked hard, drink more !"

After pouring, she turned around to look for Xu Yuan's cup: "Brother, brother, let's have some—"

Xu Yuan protected the mouth of the cup with one hand, pushed her away with the other, and said calmly, "I don't know your plan yet? Drink more beer and eat less meat, don't you?"

Deqing giggled while holding the wine bottle.

Dean Liu, the teacher and the student got drunk together, and senior sister Deqing stretched out her sticky claws to hook Jifan's shoulder, but was slapped away by Fu Mingyuan.

Seeing Fu Mingyuan's displeasure, Ji Fan's heart moved slightly, and he gestured towards the door.Fu Mingyuan got up knowingly, and the two of them left the messy table and walked into the small courtyard of the farmhouse where the night breeze was breezy.

The round moon had risen very high, and they were the only table left in the restaurant. The idle hostess put on a pair of reading glasses, moved a rattan chair to sit by the door, and was knitting a thin sweater with double-breasted .

The stitches are fine and tight, and the hands are like flying.

Ji Fan was a little curious, and turned his head to look at her for a while. Seeing that she was knitting seriously, he was too embarrassed to start a conversation.

Instead, the woman raised her eyelids to glance at him, smiled kindly, and explained, "It's for my granddaughter. She is young and likes small flower patterns." She touched the little cardigan cherishingly, "The store She said she didn't want the ready-made goods bought from here, the little girl only valued my hand-woven ones."

"Granddaughter?" Ji Fan was surprised.The hostess is very well maintained, her facial skin is delicate and fair, and if you don't look at the neck lines, she is only in her early forties, which is really not the age of a grandma.

"Yeah," she hugged the sweater to her chest, leaned her head on the backrest, and smiled with narrowed eyes, "I never imagined that when I was young, I would live like this for most of my life."

Fu Mingyuan turned his head: "Listen to the accent... aren't you a local?"

The woman nodded: "It's hard for you to hear it. My surname is Sun. I was born in S City. I just graduated from high school and went to the countryside here."

"City S?" Ji Fan was slightly taken aback, "Haven't you ever thought about going back?"

She smiled and shook her head.

Fu Mingyuan looked at her for a while, then said slowly, "Is your husband a local?"

Aunt Sun paused: "Yes, and no." She waved her hand casually, "Forget it, he has been gone for many years. It's all old things, let's not talk about it, let's not talk about it." .”

Fu Mingyuan glanced down, and rarely slowed down his tone: "Your sweater is beautifully knitted, she must like it very much."

"Thank you," the woman pushed the presbyopic glasses, "Oh, it would be great when Huanghuang can come to play, I still have to let her try it out for herself - it's been too long since I haven't seen you, and I don't know if the size is right..."

"By the way, about the hotel on the mountain..." Fu Mingyuan changed the subject, and said calmly, "Is there any story in the village?"

"what?"

Not only was it a woman, but Ji Fan didn't react, and they both looked up at Fu Mingyuan.

Fu Mingyuan didn't look at them, his eyes stayed on the foggy hotel building.

"Stories... like legends or something," Fu Mingyuan said in a more casual tone, as if he was really just asking casually, "I heard that the government plans to develop tourism recently. If there are some folk stories, we can build some retro buildings, temples, etc. , engage in cultural tourism, investment will continue to come in.”

"Miao?" The woman's gentle southern accent suddenly raised, as if she had been frightened, she said loudly, "No!"

Fu Mingyuan still had that indifferent expression: "Why not?"

"In this mountain...in this mountain..." She hesitated for a while, looked around, lowered her voice, "No, there is a mountain god in this mountain, and I have never seen a Buddhist temple built before."

The woman's voice was low and trembling. Ji Fan shivered slightly as he listened. It seemed that Night Breeze had become colder because of this secret.

"Mountain God?" Fu Mingyuan asked with great interest, "Is there any local saying? What about worship activities?"

The woman shook her head.

"This mountain god is so overbearing that even Buddhist temples are not allowed to be built, so what's going on with Wolong Temple?"

The woman just shook her head: "That's another mountain, it doesn't fit."

"So, only this mountain is not allowed to move?"

She finally nodded.

"Actually...before..." The woman opened her mouth and closed it again, as if it was a bit difficult to speak, her pale fingers twisted and twisted, tangling the woolen rope into a ball.

Fu Mingyuan leaned on a comfortable angle by the corridor: "Speak slowly."

He himself has a convincing aura, standing there makes people feel stable in their hearts.

Aunt Sun took a slow breath and spoke again: "A long time ago, there was indeed a small temple on the hill beyond the hot spring hotel, and there were many wild graves piled up next to it."

"Later...then there was a movement, all demons and monsters were brought down. A few young students from outside refused to listen to persuasion, and climbed up the mountain with a hoe when the summer sun was at its worst, insisting on demolishing that wild temple. "

She glanced at Fu Mingyuan, finally let go of her defenses, and began to talk endlessly: "The mountain temple has been in ruins for a long time, and there is not even a serious statue in the shrine, only one made of wood. Originally, seeing the villagers The students were really a little scared that way. At this time, they couldn't help laughing at each other—as expected, all kinds of strange powers are bluffing. Several people worked together to lift the altar, and dragged the statue to the bottom. They were chopped into firewood and bundled into several bundles."

Ji Fan swallowed, but felt his back was cold, he couldn't help leaning towards Fu Mingyuan, and was held by him with one hand and patted his shoulder.

"The statue is gone, so the temple can't stay either. They worked from noon to evening, and when they finally knocked down the last piece of wall, it was already dark." The woman said calmly, "No one realizes that the time It passed so quickly, and no one realized what was wrong. They packed up their belongings and walked back humming, but..."

The woman stopped, seemingly lost in thought.

After a long time, she said softly: "But, they can't find the way down the mountain."

Ji Fan shuddered.

"The metasequoia covered with moss is tall and dense, and the forest is dark, completely different from the daytime. I have walked dozens of times and hundreds of times in the past. I can find the mountain road with my eyes closed, but now it is gone. At first, the canopy of the tree There was still a little sunshine, and slowly, the dim light sank little by little, and the hearts of the young people also sank."

"First, a girl with twisted braids hung her head and cried, saying that her feet hurt and she couldn't walk anymore. She was only 15 years old, and she was wearing a calico dress woven by her family. She was timid and cute. But now everyone Everyone was cold and hungry, and no one had the energy to comfort others, so the leading male college student scolded her loudly and told her to follow slowly."

"So she fell to the end of the line, still crying, and stumbling while crying. Everyone was exhausted, but no one could stop. Stopping meant being thrown into this black forest. People around I stopped talking, and just hurried down the mountain in silence. The girl's crying became softer and softer, and at some point, it disappeared completely."

"'A Ping... Is A Ping finished crying?' A timid girl tugged at the hem of the boy's clothes. The boy shook his head and didn't speak. A Ping herself didn't answer. They didn't dare to think about whether she really stopped crying because she was too tired, or whether she had been left behind by her cruel companions."

"Everyone can only bite the bullet and go down. The mountain road is indeed winding down. They still have a glimmer of hope, thinking that as long as they go down, they can always return to the village. But after walking for a long time, they can't even see the shadow of the village. I didn’t even touch it, on the contrary, the moonlight is getting weaker and weaker.”

"'It's not the way to go on like this.' The leader stopped and raised his voice, 'Who brought a flashlight?' No one answered. The flashlights at that time were bulky and expensive, and only the village party secretary kept a portable one at home. Going out at noon, naturally no one would think of borrowing a flashlight. "What about matches, are there always matches?" The voice of the team leader was also a little trembling. They discussed it when they went out, and burned all the four old things that could not be smashed , he did remember that he packed a few packs of matches and asked someone to take them. 'Matches!' He became irritable, 'Who brought it? Damn it, don't hide it and take it out! Make fun of me?' "

"A timid voice said: 'Yes...it's Aping, the package is light, and it's for her to carry.' Everyone was silent for a while, and the team leader tentatively called: 'A...Aping?' Quietly, Only the howling wind passed through the crowd. At that moment, they were finally able to be sure that A Ping was lost—and they were the ones who lost A Ping."

"The team leader didn't try again, he said dumbly: 'Let's go.'" After a pause, he said again: "I'll count every once in a while, everyone hold hands with the companions around you, don't get separated again." So, In the darkness where they couldn't see their fingers, they groped and grabbed the hands of the people around them. Everyone's fingers were slippery and cold, maybe it was a companion, or something else, and no one dared to turn around to confirm. At this moment, the empty In the forest, the leader's solitary counting sound sounded. '1, 2, 3... 11.' The first pass was over, and there were not many people—except for the missing girl, Aping."

"Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and their pace quickened a little. After walking about a mile, the leader's voice sounded again: '1——' Everyone has gained experience, and they all followed suit,'... 9, 10, 11 .' Just as they breathed a sigh of relief, a trembling female voice rang out, '...12.' Everyone gasped and pulled back their hands. The woods on a summer night are not It was cold, but they fell into an ice cave, and the cloth clothes were soaked in cold sweat, as cold as a piece of cold iron."

"'Yes, who is it?' the team leader swallowed, 'it must be, someone made a mistake, right?' No one answered. He laughed dryly, and then said, 'Then...how about we report it again? ? 1——'This time, no one picked up his number, and there was only an extremely depressive silence around."

"Don't talk about counting, no one dared to say anything. Everyone shut up, kept a certain distance tacitly, and ran with their heads buried. The clothes rustled through the branches, and the girl just ran forward desperately, but didn't notice. All the sounds around her slowly faded away—the tired panting of her friends, the heavy footsteps, all disappeared at some point, and she was alone in the forest. By the time she realized it, it was too late. "

The woman shook her head and sighed: "It's too late, she's left alone, and she sprained her ankle. 'What should I do?" The girl thought desperately, "It hurts so much, so tired, it's better to just stop like this, anyway. If you run any further, you will die.'”

Ji Fan held his breath: "And then?"

"Of course it's just thinking about it. She's still so young, so it's not reconciled to let her die. She panicked and called out the names of her friends, A Ping, Da Zhuang, Xu Li...'Anyone is fine. Please help me!" The next second, the hand she was waving in despair was gently held by someone. The man's hand was warm and dry, and with a little force, it seemed to be signaling her to follow him."

The woman brushed the broken hair on her forehead, and her expression became gentle: "He supported her steadily, and he walked on the ground in the dark. The two turned around and soon came to a living room with lights on It wasn't until this moment that she realized that the other party was a completely unfamiliar young man. He claimed to be surnamed Xun. He hid in the deep mountains and old forests to avoid disaster. He hadn't seen outsiders for a long time. Seeing the light, the girl finally realized that she was safe. Her legs softened and she knelt down on the ground, crying bitterly. He seemed a little overwhelmed, squatted down, and gently patted her on the back. She grabbed a life-saving straw, He begged him to search and rescue his friend, but the man looked embarrassed. "They are not nearby," he said, "I have gone around and only found you. I am not familiar with the distance." , I guess, maybe they have found their way back to the village.'”

Having said this, the woman shut her mouth, and bowed her head again to knit that beautiful floral sweater.

"and after?"

"Ah, what happened later?"

Ji Fan was curious: "That girl, did she go back to the village later? What about the others?"

"Oh, actually, there's nothing else to say. The girl hurt her body and stayed at his house for a few months, and the relationship between the two became closer. Until one morning, the man suddenly left without saying goodbye. She waited for a few days without saying goodbye. Seeing him come back, she set out to look for someone in the woods, but she accidentally ran back to the village. However, the village is no longer what it used to be. Several years have passed, and her friends have long been declared missing. Even she herself is on the missing list. After a few years, the missing girl miraculously survived after walking out of the dense forest. Found the cabin, but can't find it anymore."

"How many years?" Fu Mingyuan frowned, "Didn't you only live for a few months?"

The woman smiled slightly: "Yeah, maybe it's just a dream."

The night breeze was cool, she hummed softly, and continued knitting the lace of the sweater.

Ji Fan and Fu Mingyuan looked at each other and frowned.At the same time, the commotion in the room also fell silent, probably because Dean Liu and his party were finally full and ready to take a rest.

The two greeted each other and walked back slowly.

The village is very quiet, the path out of the village is empty, and occasionally I hear two dogs barking.

Ji Fan felt a little flustered, and subconsciously turned his head to look for Fu Mingyuan, only to see that the other person raised his hand and peeled off a thin piece of printing paper from the telephone pole.

"The missing person notice...?" Ji Fan struggled to read the words on it under the dim street light.

"Xun Huang, 8 years old, was lost at the entrance of Tangjia Village about a year ago. He was wearing a floral sweater, white skirt, and red leather shoes when he left home. If anyone knows, please contact..." Fu Mingyuan finished reading the text without expression, and turned Folding his hand, he handed the attached photo under Ji Fan's nose, "Look for yourself."

Ji Fan opened his eyes slightly.

A delicate little girl was drawn on the paper, smiling sweetly at the camera, wearing a familiar thin sweater with floral pattern on the breast.

"This...what the hell is going on here?"

"I don't know," Fu Mingyuan crumpled the white paper, threw it into the ditch, and strode forward, "But I should know soon."