Urban Oddities: Strange Tales of Mountain Villages

Chapter 18 Pathfinding

Lin Yang slept until dawn, and woke up to find himself pillowed on a cushion, covered with Luo Yi's coat.Sitting by the fire, Huang Dafa asked him with a playful smile what good things did he do with Luo Yi last night?Lin Yang said that what good things can the vigil do when he falls asleep?

"It's so loud, I can hear it upstairs!" Huang Dafa pinched his nose and said, "Oh, oh, take it easy!"

Lin Yang understood, smiled and gave him a thump: "Smelly hair, full of pornography, wait until I tell Shizuka how she will deal with you!"

Huang Dafa winked: "Isn't it?"

Just as Luo Yi walked out of the kitchen, Lin Yang pushed the boat along the water and said, "If you don't believe me, ask him!"

Luo Yi handed the hot tomato noodles to Huang Dafa, then turned to Lin Yang and said, "Put on your coat and sit over there."

"Again?!"

"Of course, once is enough."

Huang Dafa laughed loudly, and went upstairs with his face up.Luo Yi handed Lin Yang some biscuits and candies, and asked him if he had enough.Lin Yang hadn't eaten much since yesterday, and his stomach was growling with hunger.The biscuits were quite small, and Lin Yang was still not full after eating three pieces. He didn't know what Luo Yi and Huang Dafa had for breakfast. Luo Yi made a bowl of noodles for Yang Chunhua.Lin Yang put the candy in his pocket, planning to save it to eat when he was hungry.Applying the medicine was another round of torture, Lin Yang held back and kept silent, until the end he couldn't help but yelled again.After finally taking the medicine, Lin Yang tried to walk, and it really got better. It was no longer a painful pain, but it was warm and comfortable.Huang Dafa went down the stairs and said, "Lin Yang, your legs are not good, so stay here and look after the house."

Huang Dafa has a wide body and a fat body, and his tonnage may be difficult to climb.Lin Yang waved his hand: "Let me go, I walked by once to know the direction, and I have to look around to see if I can meet Teacher Chen and Assistant Su."

The rain stopped in the morning, but the sky was gloomy, and it was estimated that there would be another round of violent storms.Lin Yang was wearing Luo Yi's coat, with a pot lid on his back, and when the wind blew, he sneezed twice, and his nose came down again.He was dizzy, he didn't know whether it was because he was hungry or he had a cold and a fever, and he always felt that he couldn't exert his strength.Lin Yang took out the candy and put it in his mouth. The mints were cool and refreshing.Luo Yi said to see if there is any ginger in a while, and if there is any, dig a piece and boil ginger water for him to drink.After the rain, the ground was wet and slippery. There were only a few villagers on the outskirts of the village, and they ran away from the flames.Lin Yang didn't know how many meters the candle protected. He saw the villagers hiding in the dark and staring at him secretly.After walking for a while, Lin Yang found three people following them, one big and two young, they were a woman and a pair of twins.Lin Yang was most afraid of seeing children, so he immediately pointed candles at them.Luo Yi led Lin Yang around the corner, the two hid back and forth, entered the bushes and then came out again, after a few back and forth, the woman went to nowhere, only the twins followed from a distance.In addition to the twins, several tall and big male villagers came.This is troublesome, if it is dry weather, Lin Yang can still light the surrounding weeds, but now he doesn’t know what else to light besides candles, the bushes on the side of the road are wet, Lin Yang tried a few times and couldn’t light it, and almost got burned Extinguish the flame.Lin Yang was sweating profusely, and looked back after walking a few steps, fearing that the other party would pounce on him.Luo Yi suddenly took a few steps forward, and picked up a folding umbrella from the grass. The umbrella was black on the outside and white on the inside, and it was broken and unusable.Lin Yang recognized it as Mr. Chen's umbrella. Mr. Chen had blown it with him on the road. This umbrella is light and strong, and it can't be broken by the rain or blown by the wind. It is a brand umbrella specially used for camping.Unexpectedly, this brand-name umbrella fell into the grass like this. "Mr. Chen—!" Lin Yang shouted to the surroundings, "Mr. Chen! Are you there—?"

No one should.So much time has passed, of course it is impossible for Mr. Chen to stay where he is.Lin Yang also found some palm-sized broken fabrics in the grass, which looked like pieces of Teacher Chen's clothes.Lin Yang continued to walk forward, he was really afraid of picking up Teacher Chen's shoes or something... Teacher Chen passed by here before, maybe he was in danger, his umbrella fell off, and his clothes were torn.The heavy rain washed away all the traces, and Lin Yang didn't even see the blood.But not seeing it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.Lin Yang also thought of a more terrifying guess - will Teacher Chen be eaten?

Further forward is a steep slope, wet and slippery on the ramp, with muddy water dripping from the mountain.Luo Yi only glanced at it, shook his head and said nothing.The two had no choice but to keep going. It would be even better if they could find a way to climb over the mountain.The hillside is very steep, with a lot of water and fallen leaves. Luo Yi climbed up the vines slowly, and occasionally stretched out his hand to grab Lin Yang.The two of them were already sweating profusely when they climbed halfway up the mountain. Lin Yang thought that the road would be difficult and the villagers would not follow up, but when he looked back, the twins had already chased halfway, and the wet and slippery steep slope was not for them at all. What the hell, if it wasn't for the candles, the twins would have caught up behind them long ago.

"Watch out for fire!" Luo Yi protected Lin Yang, "Don't look, keep going!"

Lin Yang panicked and couldn't help speeding up his steps, but his feet slipped, Luo Yi grabbed him, and the two fell down at the same time. Fortunately, Luo Yi grabbed the branch and slowly pulled Lin Yang up.The candlelight shrank for a while, and then gradually brightened again, which shocked Lin Yang into a sweat. "It's okay." Luo Yi comforted, "Don't be afraid."

Lin Yang didn't dare to walk too fast this time, he took every step carefully, Luo Yi gave him a hand again, and climbed up to another height like a step, the hillside looked steeper, as if he would fall if he didn't pay attention.The next section of the road has no branches, only weeds and stones full of slopes.Luo Yi walked in front and said, "Pay attention to your feet, and you can step on wherever I step on."

Luo Yi stepped on the stone and took two steps forward. Lin Yang also stepped on the stone. When he looked up and saw Luo Yi's hand stretched out, Lin Yang didn't think much about it at the time, and passed it up naturally.Luo Yi led him to stop and go, and reminded Lin Yang to pay attention to his feet from time to time. It is not a joke to slip here. If you fall down, you will lose half your life.Lin Yang didn't dare to be careless, he only focused on his feet, and even forgot to look at the candle. When he came back to his senses, he was startled, and quickly looked at the candle—fortunately, the flame was still on.Luo Yi said: "Concentrate, I will watch the fire for you."

Lin Yang was nervous, and joked casually: "I thought you were looking at me."

Lin Yang stared intently at every step, and Luo Yi seemed to smile when he heard Luo Yi: "Well, look at you, and look at the fire by the way."

"Are you okay?" Lin Yang was talking about Huo Miao.

Luo Yi said, "It's pretty handsome."

Lin Yang wanted to laugh, but was afraid of being distracted, so he said, "Hey, don't tease me!"

Luo Yi smiled and said, "Well, I'm not teasing you."

After finally passing this section of the road, Lin Yang was sweating profusely. Looking back, he felt that it was incredible, and he really didn't know how he got here.The two climbed for another half an hour and finally reached the top of the mountain.The top of the mountain is relatively gentle, there are not many trees, and there are a few small flowers blooming in the grass.Luo Yi picked some mushrooms and dug out a piece of wild ginger the size of a palm.Luo Yi found a few short and small wild vegetables growing in the weeds, which were not as good as the ones on the market, but Luo Yi said that the vegetables tasted sweet. "Someone must have been here before." Luo Yi looked around and found a staircase paved with bricks on the side of the ramp... In fact, the staircase is not called a staircase, it is just placed on the slope with bricks, and the bricks are deeply embedded in the ground At first glance, it looks like a staircase.This kind of simple staircase is narrow and steep, it is not easy to go up, and it is not easy to go down, but it is better than the previous section.After the candle was burned out, Luo Yi took out a spare and lit it. He still wanted to see the way out of the mountain. Lin Yang pointed to the sky, signaling that it was going to rain soon, so don't go any further.Luo Yi thought over and over again and had to give up.A bag full of mushrooms, a piece of ginger and a few green vegetables were packed, and the two of them walked down the brick stairs.Luo Yi walked in front, and looked back from time to time. Lin Yang was so nervous that he looked at him, and couldn't help but look back, for fear that something was following behind him.Luo Yi told Lin Yang to concentrate on walking and be careful not to slip.

There was a half-meter-high slope drop, Luo Yi went down first, Lin Yang supported it with his hands, and slowly rubbed down, Luo Yi supported Lin Yang's waist, and helped him stabilize his body down the slope.The bricks stretched all the way down the hillside, and many places were covered by weeds. Obviously, there were not many people who came here often.When they got down to the middle of the mountain, the rain began to pour down, and the two of them were soaked quickly. Lin Yang sneezed, and the snot came down again. "Go back and cook a pot of hot ginger water for you, and wash your body well." Luo Yi stretched out his hand, "Slow down, don't worry."

Lin Yang held a candle in one hand and a pot cover in the other, and was blinded by the rain.Luo Yi held Lin Yang's elbow and carefully protected it all the way. When he moved to the foot of the mountain, most of the candles had been burned. Lin Yang looked back, the rain and fog were hazy, and the villagers and twins had disappeared.Coming down from the mountain, I heard a dog barking not far away. The big yellow dog came out of a broken house and wagged its tail happily when it saw them.Lin Yang found that the big yellow dog was limping on one leg, which may have been injured when the villagers chased and killed it. "Wow, woof!" The big yellow dog was so happy, he limped towards them.Luo Yi stopped Lin Yang and knocked on the lid of the pot. With a bang, the big yellow dog was startled and stopped.

Luo Yi reminded: "Don't go there."

Lin Yang asked in surprise, "It was also bitten?"

"I don't know... What if I get bitten?"

"But it looks normal."

Luo Yi shook his head and said: "We don't know how long the onset cycle is, at least those villagers looked normal before the mutation."

The big yellow dog was still looking at them, although Lin Yang was reluctant to give up, he had no choice but to drive away: "Go, go! Don't come here!"

The big yellow dog wagged its tail and stood far away with one limp leg.Lin Yang looked back three times at a step, and saw the big yellow dog limping into the broken house, which should be its home, so it turned out that it lived here, which is really a remote place.After walking for a while, they came to Dasha's house.Dasha's house is still protected by three layers of fences. The villagers hate Dasha very much and basically have no contact with him. The place where Dasha lives is almost isolated from the outside world.Lin Yang looked in through the gap in the fence, and saw that the broken wooden door of the house was open, and Dasha and his old mother were warming up around the fire.Mother and son depend on each other for life, but they are quite happy.Maybe only Dasha's mother and son and Yang Chunhua are normal people in the whole village... It's good that they can take Yang Chunhua out safely, but there is really no way to bring Dasha and the old mother with them.Lin Yang took a few glances and followed Luo Yi to leave. Passing by a vegetable field, untended Chinese cabbage grew wildly. Luo Yi broke off a few and said to get them some food to eat.Lin Yang was very hungry, and he only looked forward to going back to eat hot dishes early.The two walked around the road far away from the villagers, walked for more than an hour in a short section of the road, and unknowingly came to the farmhouse. Lin Yang said to take a look, Luo Yi reminded: "Don't go in." Yang didn't intend to go in either. He used a stone to carve the words "He Xiangu's house" on the side of the courtyard gate. Thinking about it later, Teacher Chen and Assistant Su didn't know He Xiangu, so naturally they didn't know where He Xiangu's house lived. Lin Yang added "There are stone carvings at the door."In the whole village, there are only stone carvings at the door of He Xiangu's house, which are very recognizable. Lin Yang believes that Teacher Chen will be able to find them.When I got back to He Xiangu's house, I heard Huang Dafa and Wang Jingxiang arguing from a distance.It's really strange that Huang Dafa has the audacity to argue with his girlfriend?Lin Yang stepped forward to take a look, and couldn't help laughing. Huang Dafa hung his head and looked like he was beating an eggplant, obediently listening to Wang Jingxiang teach him.Wang Jingxiang was so angry that when she saw Lin Yang and Luo Yi coming back, she dragged them to comment.

Huang Dafa said listlessly: "I just said to think about it, do you want to lose your temper?!"

Wang Jingxiang knew him too well, and stomped her feet: "Don't go! Don't even think about it!"

Lin Yang wondered, "What's the matter? Where is Dafa going?"

Wang Jingxiang: "This idiot, said he wants to go back to the farmhouse to get things!"

Huang Dafa: "Your ID cards and bank cards are all over there!"

Wang Jingxiang: "The ID card can be reported as lost, the bank card can also be reissued, and the keys can be reissued! Bags and clothes can also be repurchased when you go back! What are you going to do in that ghostly place? I think you just can't let go of your Baby video cameras and cameras!!!"

Huang Dafa felt distressed: "It's so expensive!"

Wang Jingxiang roared: "Your life is worthless?!"

Huang Dafa fell silent, and Wang Jingxiang told Lin Yang and Luo Yi to keep an eye on Dafa, lest he get nervous and run back to get things alone.

Luo Yi patted Huang Dafa and said, "Forget it."

They knew better than anyone else the dangers on the road. Liu Qi didn't attack Yang Chunhua, it didn't mean he wouldn't attack them... The most urgent thing is to get out of the village as soon as possible.Luo Yi boiled a large pot of ginger water, gave everyone a cup, and gave Lin Yang a bath with the rest.Lin Yang had no clothes and pants to change after taking a shower, so he had to wrap a towel around his waist.Luo Yi didn't sleep all night, and now he's tired too. After cooking a pot of food, he went up to the third floor to catch up on sleep after a few mouthfuls.Wang Jingxiang and Jin Minxian accompanied Yang Chunhua, and Lin Yang accompanied Huang Dafa downstairs.Huang Dafa volunteered to go out with him tomorrow to have a look. Lin Yang knew that this guy was making a wrong idea again, maybe he wanted to go back to the farmhouse.Of course Lin Yang disagreed, Huang Dafa looked at the fire and worried.Unknowingly, the light of the fire gradually became dazzling. Lin Yang looked up, and it turned out that it was dark, and the heavy rain kept pouring down. It was still difficult to get out of the village in this weather.Huang Dafa sat and dozed off, and Lin Yang's eyelids were clenched. When he was sleepy, he would pinch his thigh and occasionally get up and walk around.The candle on the window sill was almost burnt out, so Lin Yang lit a new one and replaced it.The candles were almost gone, and when the ammunition and food ran out, they had to leave if they didn't.

Lin Yang woke up Huang Dafa, and the two continued to stare at the fire in a daze.When Huang Dafa was awake, Lin Yang could take the opportunity to take a nap, and half asleep, he heard someone shouting outside the door: "Lin Yang?"