Of Mountains and Rivers

Heideng found out that there was a poisonous snake with a triangular head squatting at the door of his house, and Chu Huan's mood was a bit indescribable.He has never had any relationship with small animals, but any animal that has a chance to survive will basically avoid him spontaneously, and finally one who chases him is a cold poisonous snake.

I don't ask for anything else, but at least I also have a warm-blooded animal, okay?

His voice and footsteps paused at the same time, and Nanshan immediately followed his gaze. At that time, he didn't know if it was Chu Huan's illusion. The moment the snake met Nanshan's gaze, it seemed that the snake could not help but flinch.

The little venomous snake, which was frightened unexpectedly, flicked its tail, as if it wanted to escape with its tail between its legs, but found that it had no place to pinch its own congenital inadequacy.It had no choice but to coil itself tighter, spit out the letter one after another, and moved its head up and down, quite like nodding and bowing.

Chu Huan numbly held up his glasses, thinking: "The snake has become a spirit."

The next moment, his powerful rationality jumped out to retort: ​​"No, I'm more nervous."

Although this cognition made him a little difficult to accept, Chu Huan's rationality was still trying to convince himself.

"First of all, snakes are short-sighted, so it is impossible to recognize people." He thought with reason. Can you let go of your IQ?"

At this time, Nanshan raised his hand to stop Chu Huan behind him, then he leaned over and grabbed the talented poisonous snake with his bare hands.I saw the handsome patriarch's face darken, as if he was holding a hemp rope, and he shook it mercilessly, not caring about the dignity of that thing as a poisonous snake whose throat was sealed with blood.

The little blue snake tried to escape but failed, and was held limply by him, without any intention of attacking.

Nanshan warned softly: "Let me see you disturbing him again, and I will cut you into three pieces."

He spoke the dialect of the Liyi tribe, although his voice was soft, his tone was extremely severe.Hearing this, the poisonous snake quickly stretched its body into a straight long stick, pretending to be dead and pretending to be very dedicated, even considering the degree of rigor.

Chu Huan finally couldn't help but blurted out and asked, "Are you talking to it?"

Nan Shan casually threw the poisonous snake into the grass next to it, and the little poisonous snake immediately burrowed into the grass at the speed of lightning as if it had been pardoned. After a while, another head popped out of the grass. Only then did he walk away tremblingly.

Nanshan: "It understands and doesn't bite."

In other words, is that a pet snake kept by someone in the clan?So just now, all its actions were trained?

This is not impossible, it must go through the size of the world, and there are no surprises.

Chu Huan was surprised, but also a little relieved, because Nanshan's words proved from the side that he was just a little ignorant, not hallucinations.

Chu Huan repaired the patriarch's scepter for Nanshan, and sent him away—ordinarily, if Nanshan had the opportunity, he would definitely stay with him for a while. He was full of curiosity about everything on the other side of the river, even "the subway or Cars run fast" can be studied with interest all afternoon, it is a living book of "[-] Whys".

But on this day, Nanshan came and went almost in a hurry. Chu Huan sent him to the door, and saw many young and middle-aged men from the Liyi tribe from a distance, patrolling the tribe intensively, and there were also a few strong women, He was crouching down and fiddling with something on the roof. Through the abnormally bright moonlight, Chu Huan saw that they were installing large and small bows and crossbows on the roof.

Chu Huan's imagination is poor, and he is heavily guarded against the turbulent undercurrent of the Liyi tribe. His first reaction is whether there will be a disaster from wild animals.

But then, Chu Huan remembered the scene of Hua Guduo and his little follower slaughtering a wild boar, and rejected this view again.

Is that a territorial dispute with other tribes?

It stands to reason that it does not seem to be the case, at least Chu Huan has been looking far away these days, and has not found any traces of other ethnic groups living nearby.

It can't be foreigners who enter here illegally, right?

That's really the case, and it's not something that the common people of a tribe need to worry about.

Chu Huan lay on the bed with all kinds of unreliable guesses, took out his gun from a small box next to the bed and put it next to his pillow-it was not for defense, but Chu Huan was a little nervous, the gun was To him, it can hypnotize and soothe the nerves, just like a child's teddy bear pillow.

In the middle of the night, the place where the Liyi tribe lived was completely silent, except for one or two cries of night owls in the forest not far away. Suddenly, with a "squeak", the firewood gate of Chu Huan's small courtyard was pushed gently. It opened, and the sound immediately woke up the light-sleeping homeowner.

Who?

The Liyi tribe is not happy to steal chickens and dogs, and all the tribesmen work together and share the fruits of labor. The natural conditions here are excellent and the resources are abundant. People will not be hungry if they do something anyway. The patriarch's personal prestige is enough to convince the crowd. In a way, communism was almost achieved ahead of schedule.

Who would break into someone's house in the middle of the night?

Chu Huan turned over silently, facing the door, his eyes opened a crack, but his breathing was still slow and long, it sounded as if he was still awake, and his fingers resting on his side pinched the pistol.

With the unusually bright moonlight, Chu Huan saw his latch move.

The latch on his door was one of those old-fashioned wooden bars caught in a groove, and now the bar was moving slowly out of nowhere, as if some invisible person were opening the door from inside.

With a sound of "Kada", the latch fell, the door was pushed open, and a night wind mixed with a faint smell rushed in from outside the door. Chu Huan saw a "person" standing behind the backlight at the door of his house.

A five or six-year-old child is so tall, with a small head... no, no, that's not human.

I saw that thing suddenly opened its arms, with translucent webs attached to its body under the arms. It raised its head, revealing its hair all over its face under the moonlight, as if it was about to howl, but Chu Huan didn't hear the sound.

But the bell hanging on a big tree in front of him rang, as if it was struck by something.

After he moved in, someone hung up the bell one day while he was away. Chu Huan thought it was some child who was naughty. Usually there was a little breeze, and the little bell jingled, which sounded nice, so he didn't care.

At this time, the bell vibrated at a high frequency, sending out a rapid trembling sound that was almost harsh, like a series of warnings.

The thing at the door suddenly spread its webbed back and flew towards Chu Huan. At this moment, a black shadow suddenly flashed past, stopped in front of the black shadow, stretched out its hand to grab it, and pressed it to the ground.

Chu Huan's ears moved slightly involuntarily, and he heard a "click".

Something's neck was broken.

Everything happened in a blink of an eye. Chu Huan was half-sitting on the bed, his hand under the quilt was on the trigger, his fingers tightened first, then loosened again, other than that, his whole body showed some kind of strange feeling. As calm as a mountain.

The black shadow who just broke a neck looked up, it was Nanshan.

Chu Huan let go of the fingers that were fastened to the gun as if nothing had happened. He smelled a bloody smell mixed with rancidity.

The air was cold and damp.

This can't be an illusion, and the illusion has to be gradual, it can't be so real.

Chu Huan slowly stretched out his hand to get the portable flashlight placed by the bed, but Nanshan grabbed his wrist on the way.

Nanshan's palm felt warm, and he said, "Don't look, he's already dead."

Chu Huan: "What is that?"

Nan Shan was silent for a while, and replied: "The beast that broke in, wait a moment, I will clean it up for you."

After speaking, he dragged the things on the ground and strode out.

Chu Huan put on his clothes and half sat on the bed. Even though he didn't have the ability to read with the lights turned off in the middle of the night, his night vision was definitely not bad. Even if he didn't turn on the flashlight, he could still see the creatures lying on the ground with just a little moonlight.

It was something he had never seen before, humanoid in build, with a hairy face--the needle-like mane of a wild boar, with gleaming scales, a protruding breastbone, and Transparent webbed like hang glider, likely to fly.

When Nanshan dragged it away, its nails hung on the ground, making a metal-like collision sound, which shows its hardness.

Chu Huan has no lack of field experience, nor has he never been to a zoo, but this kind of animal is completely beyond his cognition.

Unknown animals, unknown plants, and children with strange strength.

Chu Huan's gaze turned to his door—and, how did the latch fall down at that time?

At this time, he heard Nanshan whispering something to someone outside, and then, there was the sound of water in the yard, as if someone was washing something, after washing for a long time, Nanshan gently pushed the door in again.

This time, Nanshan didn't say a word, but just walked in quietly and came to Chu Huan's bedside.

He had washed his hands and face, his body was covered with cold water vapor, and the tips of his hair were a little wet. After standing in front of Chu Huan's bed for a while, he finally choked out two words: "Go to sleep."

After finishing speaking, Nan Shan sat on the ground with his back against Chu Huan's bed, and sat upright facing the door.

It's not that Nanshan is not good at words, it's just that asking him to organize a wonderful Chinese is always a bit beyond his ability.

He wanted to say to Chu Huan, "Don't be afraid, I'm here to watch", but he swallowed the words again. Because Nanshan made mistakes several times in the afternoon, he couldn't help deliberating carefully before the words came out this time. After a while, the hard work pays off and the inappropriateness of this sentence is noticed.

That's right, although Chu Huan is "fragile", he is not a child, and it seems disrespectful to say "don't be afraid".

Since he couldn't say it, he had no choice but to show it with actions.

This clumsy thoughtfulness fell into Chu Huan's eyes, which made him feel soft at the apex of his heart.

Chu Huan moved in, patted the hard bed board: "Come up."

Nanshan did not refuse, turned over and lay down on the bed. There were a few sweet-scented osmanthus trees near the patriarch's house, where Nanshan often held meetings with the clan to discuss some matters. Naturally, the very light and shallow fragrance of flowers stuck to Chu Huan's nostrils. It made him feel a little distracted at the time.

For the sake of his precarious integrity, Chu Huan raised a topic.

"Hey," he poked Nanshan on the shoulder, "That big guy just now, can you eat meat?"

Nanshan: "..."

He thought about it for a long time before answering: "No, the skin is too thick."

Facing Chu Huan's fearless foodie spirit, Nanshan remembered Chu Huan's silent look when he applied the medicine. He felt that he was just worrying too much, so he gave Chu Huan his sincere appreciation without hesitation. : "You are such a ferocious mammoth."

This time, he learned to express in Chinese.

Chu Huan even suffered from indigestion: "Hey—let's say 'brave', okay? I thank you, there is no need for mammoths, and I'm not that fierce, in fact, 'handsome guy' is enough. "

In the language of the Liyi people, there is actually no distinction between "fierce" and "brave". Both are commendatory words. It can be seen that although this nation is friendly and enthusiastic, it has its own wild aesthetics.

So Nanshan asked very puzzled: "What's the difference between ferocity and bravery?"

Chu Huan thought for a while: "...'brave' sounds more handsome."

This sentence contains complex synaesthesia, which is beyond Nanshan's understanding, but this time, he didn't make too much trouble, just turned over, faced Chu Huan, and said to him: "Winter is coming soon! , this year we crossed the river for the last time to sell things over there, and every time I took people there, there is something wrong with the Hui people, I can’t leave, can you do it for me?”

This request was made abruptly, maybe it was to distract him, or maybe it was to protect him, Chu Huan thought for a while-as the patriarch, Nanshan should have his own considerations, he is an outsider, he should try not to cause trouble to others. So I readily agreed: "Okay, I'll stop by to see if there's anyone selling small musical instruments, and I'll bring you one back."

He agreed without hesitation, and Nan Shan immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and was in the mood to chat with him: "Give me away again? Why don't you want anything I gave you?"

"The things you gave are too expensive, and all I play with you are small gadgets." Chu Huan still has lingering fears when he thought of the big gemstone, "If your stone is emerald, it can be worth my lifetime salary Well, if this is outside, if I accept it casually, it will be corruption and bribery, and I must be punished."

Nanshan didn't know what "corruption and bribery" was, nor what "being punished" was. He explained in a straight-forward manner: "Then we are different from you. We give the same things here."

The Liyi people seem to live in a paradise without any concept of wealth. Just as Chu Huan wanted to organize his words to explain to him, he heard Nanshan add: "For example, if you are my friend, if you come from afar, I will treat you to a drink." A jar of wine, if you need it, my life is yours, and there is no difference between the 'expensive' and 'inexpensive' things you mentioned."