strange village

There is an evil dragon that asks the village to sacrifice a virgin every year, and every year there will be a young hero in this village to fight the evil dragon, but no one survives.When another hero set off, someone followed him quietly.The dragon's lair is covered with gold and silver treasures, and the hero stabs the dragon to death with his sword, then sits on the corpse, watching the glittering jewels, slowly grow scales, tails and tentacles, and finally become a dragon.

— "Finding Orwell in Burma"

The next day, Shuang Ye, who made an appointment in advance, took them to Chu Xuan's residence.

A few people walked on the stone road unhurriedly, Dongyue didn't know if she was affected by yesterday, she said to Mo Tan like a prophet: "Do you know what we are going to do?"

Mo Tan stopped in his tracks, "What do you want to say?"

The atmosphere was indescribably tense. Dongyue opened her mouth, but before she could make a sound, Mo Tan was discouraged. She sighed and said, "I thought about it a lot last night. All along, I think I know them well. , I have known each other for more than ten years since I was young, but now I find that I don't understand, I don't even know anything about Chu Xuan."

"Wait, it's not." Dongyue couldn't bear to see her so depressed.

"She is always so cheerful, like a flower that can't be defeated by any storm, so I didn't even pay much attention to her. Did it change a long time ago?"

"I want to say that no matter what we talked about in the end, we will not jump to conclusions, and you don't need to blame yourself."

Mo Tan pursed his dry lips and stopped talking.Zhu Yao's eyes did not fall on the two people who were talking, but silently stared at the red-haired woman next to her.

Walking in the labyrinth-like courtyard of the Chu family, Shuangye, who was walking in front, opened a door. This door looked the same as the other houses, but the moment you entered, you would find that it was completely different.

What came head-on was a damp breath, even in this oasis, it seemed out of place.Compared with the cleanliness and decentness of other places in this mansion, it is almost indifferent, but this courtyard is full of traces of human life, with old slate floors, some potholed courtyard walls, and a stone well under a dead tree that has all withered. , I don't know if it is alive, there is even a bucket beside it.Around the courtyard wall not far away, there are many plants planted, such as Photinia fruticosa and colorful dahlias, with water on the petals and leaves, and the ground is also a little wet, bringing a little aroma of moist soil, as if it had just fallen not long ago. Like the rain, of course, this is impossible, this is deliberately done.

Hearing the voice, Chu Xuan pushed the door and came out, dressed in simple gray clothes and pants, her blond hair was slightly messed up, tied up fluffy and hanging on the side, without any other modification, she looked exactly like Chu Qing up.There was no trace of blood on Chu Xuan's face, but her eyes were relaxed and she invited them into the room.

The furniture and furnishings in the room can be seen to be quite old, a little old, but it is still hard to hide the light. After years of polishing, it even has a warm and comfortable feeling, and it can be seen that each piece is a boutique.Good things become antiques as they age, and cheap things can only become garbage when they age. These things have been placed in this room for at least 20 years. I have to say that these things are well maintained, probably with a lot of thought.

But to be honest, this doesn't look like a young girl's boudoir. Both the color and the style are too heavy, and there is no trace of Chu Xuan's life style.

"Is this your house?"

"Well, let's go into the inner room." Following Chu Xuan into the inner room, it suddenly dawned on her that this was probably the room she usually used. The red fruit, with a shiny luster, looks fresh and plump, but it feels unhealthy, as if soaked in deadly toxins, the inside has been completely rotten, but it still exudes an attractive aroma.In the back of the room is an elevated bed with hanging curtains. From the gaps in the gauze curtains hanging around, you can see the dark red bedspread with a thick texture of velvet.There is a strange fragrance in the air, it is not the fresh and comfortable body fragrance of Zhu Yao, nor is it the smell of expensive spices on Xiao Yiran, nor is it even the sweet smell that usually emanates from girls, but a strong The sweet aroma of honey mixed with meat smell, and a little indistinguishable wet floral aroma, lingering, making it difficult to ignore its existence.

Dongyue tried to hide her discomfort, but her nose was still slightly wrinkled.Not knowing if he was noticed, Chu Xuan glanced at him, chuckled lightly, and said, "What do you want to ask?"

Dongyue seemed to be fascinated by the fragrance, pursed her lips, and forgot how to speak for a moment.

Mo Tan approached Chu Xuan, with a concerned expression on his face, and said: "After the accident, you lived in seclusion by yourself. What are you doing? I am very worried about you."

Chu Xuan had the same sweet smile on her face as on the dinner table that day, but she turned her sideways calmly, opening the distance between her and Mo Tan: "You see, I'm fine by myself, You don't have to go to class, and you just have time to read idle books, what are you worried about?"

"But you alone?"

"It's not that there are no guards. Besides, Jiang Qiaofeng has a maid to take care of her. Isn't she still dead?"

"A Xuan!"

Only then did Dongyue come back to her senses, and couldn't help but ask, "Do you have any conflicts with the eldest wife? It sounds like you don't like her."

Not only do they not like it, they have never even paid homage to the dead.

Although the corners of her mouth still had a charming curve, but there was only indifference in her pair of bright eyes, and her voice was soft but firm: "No."

"Then there is another question, did you go out on the day the eldest wife died?" Mo Tan asked cautiously.

"I'm going to go to class that day," she said after a pause, "You want to ask Zhang Ji about it?"

Several people were taken aback when they heard this.

"It was I who bought the Mitu monk." The woman's tone was flat and without a trace of turmoil.

"What? Why did you buy this thing? Why didn't you tell me earlier." Mo Tan became anxious when he heard that.

Chu Xuan sighed, and said, "I just know that you will do this."

Mo Tan was still about to have an attack, but Chu Xuan interrupted her in a leisurely manner, "It's not what you think, I just have some ringworm on my body, and I want to use it to make an ointment to cure it. Besides, this thing is insoluble in water , It’s very difficult to poison others, isn’t it easy to be discovered? I won’t do such a stupid thing, I just didn’t expect you to doubt it.”

"Is there no such thing at home? Can't Dr. Chong treat it for you?"

"Wow, I'm a big girl waiting to be married, you know what else this medicine can cure, right now, if it's rumored that I have some hidden disease, it's not good, I don't want to cause trouble for others, but Maybe it's better to spread the word, so I don't have to worry about getting married." She laughed at herself as she spoke.

Dongyue asked silently with her eyes, what hidden disease?It's not what he imagined, is it?

"Then your body...are you okay?" Mo Tan suddenly lost his confidence.

"It's nothing. It's not a big problem. I don't want to make a fuss. You can trust me? Don't tell my brother."

"Qing is very worried about you."

"That's why I said don't tell him, that kind of thing." He smiled at Mo Tan with a coquettish expression, which made people completely powerless to resist.

At this time, Dongyue's gaze was attracted by the painting on the inner wall. When he saw the painting clearly by the light, he felt a familiar excitement, as if some kind of switch had been touched, and his whole body shivered.

It was the paradise on earth of Hieronymus Bosch.It was a triptych, depicting heaven, earth, and hell respectively. The picture is so complex that it is hard to describe, and the details are unbelievably many, and each part can even be associated with an independent story.The screen is full of grotesque images of reality intertwined with fantasy, anthropomorphic landscapes, animals with strange proportions and human nudes, just like a strange dream.

Dongyue's eyes fell on the corner, and there were two naked people who were whispering.

Chu Xuan seemed to be aware of his unusualness, and slowly leaned over. She was very close, almost leaning on his shoulder, as if there was no one else around.

"Did you like it?" Her voice was very soft, as if she was whispering to a lover.

Dongyue twitched the corners of her mouth stiffly, the sudden intimacy made him a little uncomfortable.

"I can look at this painting all day." She raised her chin and smiled, her warm breath blowing on Dongyue's face. "It seems that we have many similarities."

This should have been a very glamorous and alluring scene, but Dongyue felt that this series of actions and the stuffy smell in the room made him breathless, dizzy, and his eyesight lost.He took off the scarf casually, took off his coat and put it aside, thereby creating distance.

"You can see that those two people seem to be telling something, it may be a lie."

Zhu Yao has hardly said a word since he came here, he was sitting side by side on the sofa with Mo Tan, his hands were resting on his thighs, touching lightly from time to time, slowly brushing between his fingers, crossing his hands, and then loosening them inadvertently. open.

Now, he suddenly said: "You live here alone, aren't you lonely?"

Only then did Chu Xuan slowly turn her eyes from Dongyue's face to his side, "Not at all, it's better to say it's what I want, even though I say that, the close people may be lost, but that's not something I need to worry about at all. thing."

"Ah Xuan, Ah Qing will feel very guilty if you say that."

"No, he won't, and you shouldn't think so. My life is not your responsibility. It's been so many years. If my brother still thinks like this, it will make me feel very burdened. If you worry about me, you I see, I'm fine."

She smiled at Mo Tan, remained silent for a moment, and said, "But I guess you don't simply care about me, right?" Then, her gaze returned to Dongyue, with a hot sticky look in her eyes feel.

Mo Tan rubbed his forehead, full of guilt, and said: "Did Shuang Ye say something to you? Don't think too much about it. We have no idea about that."

"There's no need to talk about this between you and me."

The generosity of this woman is ashamed.

"If this can make you come to see me, that's not bad." Sitting in the armchair, she put her chin up with her fingers, and stretched out her fingers to touch her lips from time to time. She didn't wear makeup, but her lip color was Still exceptionally attractive in color and soft as velvet.

Dongyue stepped back and sat on a single sofa, followed by Chu Xuan approaching step by step as if no one was around, and then, she stopped at a close distance, just walking in front of him. Picking up a bright red berry from the fruit plate on the coffee table, she slowly put it into her mouth. As she chewed slowly, light red juice leaked from the corners of her slightly raised lips, and then followed her neck. The body moved slightly, the fruit was completely eaten.

"Pretty fruits are always eaten first," she licked her lips, and said, "Actually, I don't mind what uncle does, but I really like you, if you want to stay here with me If so, then it doesn’t matter if I don’t leave this cage.”

Dongyue was very shocked when she heard this. They had only met twice, and they didn't even meet each other by chance. Why did they come to such a situation?

Just when he was so shocked that he couldn't speak, Chu Xuan said again: "However, your friend doesn't seem to agree."

Only then did Dongyue's eyes refocus, and she blurted out: "No!"