It was raining heavily outside, the sky and the earth were almost connected, and there were lightning and thunder accompaniments from time to time.
Not long after Qishan put on his clothes and fell asleep, he was awakened by a loud knock on the door.
He opened his eyes and stood up, straightened his clothes, and was about to put on his clogs and open the door when Shen Tang opened the door before him.
The visitor was wearing a bamboo hat and a raincoat, with a somewhat anxious look on his face - it was the village leader of Qianjia Village.
Shen Tang turned sideways and invited people into the house: "It's raining heavily outside. Let me talk to you first."
Muramasa waved his hand and declined: "No, no."
Qishan stepped forward: "I just saw that my father-in-law looked anxious, but something happened?"
"Have you, gentlemen, seen Ayan?" The wind and rain were blowing outside the house. Muramasa had just stood for a while, his face covered with rainwater. There was worry that could not be concealed on his face. He said worriedly, "That child... I just didn't pay attention." , he disappeared!"
Shen Tang asked doubtfully: "Who is Ayan?"
"That's the child who was playing tricks with Xiao Langjun earlier."
As soon as he said this, Shen Tang knew who it was.
It turned out to be the silly looking kid, his name was "Ayan".
Shen Tang looked at the situation outside the house and replied, "Our brothers have been in the house the whole time and have not seen Ayan. When did he disappear?"
Muramasa: "Just now, a quarter of an hour at most."
When Shen Tang heard this, his expression darkened visibly.
A quarter of an hour is fifteen minutes.
At this time, the rain was so heavy that even the coir raincoats and bamboo hats could not stop it, the wind was howling, the rain was pouring, and the howling of wild beasts could be vaguely heard from the forest next to the village, which was very audible. If a child goes missing in this kind of weather, is it likely that he was snatched away by a jackal, tiger or leopard that wandered into the village?
This is what Muramasa is most worried about.
He said: "It's okay if you are naughty and run out to play, but you are afraid that you will be picked up by a big insect coming down the mountain..."
In the past few years, there have been few harvests due to drought, heavy taxes, and wars. The villagers are not living a good life, and the wild animals in the mountains are also not living a good life. They often go down the mountain to look for food. It's okay to just take away the livestock raised by the villagers, but I'm afraid that the children will be taken away.
Similar tragedies have occurred three times in the past two years.
Qi Shan took off the bamboo hat hanging on the wall, put it on his head, tied the rope, and said: "Don't worry, old man, I will also help you search, and you will always find the child. Thinking at the best, maybe the child was killed by Zhuangzi It’s unclear whether the servants will take him back..."
Muramasa sighed.
He also hoped that everything was just a false alarm, as Qi Shan said, and that the child was not missing or snatched away by a big insect but was picked up, but he knew that this possibility was slim. Ayan is not taken seriously, and the quality of life in Zhuangzi is just starving to death.
Half a month ago, I was taken back after staying in the village for four or five days - this was the result of a deliberate reminder from the villagers of Qianjia Village who met one of the old women by chance. The weather is so bad tonight, let alone expect them to pick people up in the rain.
Shen Tang said: "I will also help find him."
Qi Shan glanced at it and said, "You just forget it and don't check what the weather is like outside? Otherwise, people won't find you and lose you."
Muramasa was grateful for Qishan's help, but did not approve of Shen Tang's going out - this young man was still childish. He was eleven or twelve years old, and was still thin. He looked only five or six years older than Ayan.
"These worries are unnecessary. No matter how bad it is, it is better than letting the villagers go looking for someone in the dark." Shen Tang borrowed a raincoat and bamboo hat from Muramasa. Muramasa was worried and handed her a hatchet for chopping wood. If she was unlucky, Even a big insect can hold on for a while.
"Ayan!"
Heavy rain made the land muddy.
Although Shen Tang has good eyesight, he still steps into puddles from time to time. Mud and water splash when he walks, making the hem of his clothes dirty. For a quarter of an hour, she searched the fields near Qianjia Village but could not find Ayan. The other villagers also had no harvest.
The longer time goes by, the less confident everyone becomes.
Qi Shan asked Muramasa where Zhuangzi was. He planned to go to Zhuangzi to ask about the situation - although the possibility of being picked up was unlikely, but what if?
Shen Tang volunteered: "I'll go too."
Muramasa sighed: "Then I'll trouble you two to make a trip."
The villagers of Qianjia Village searched closer to the mountains. The same was true for the child that had been taken away by the big insect before. After searching all night, they could not find it. Finally, they found intestines, minced meat and bones dragged out in the grass at the foot of the mountain.
"Yan Ling is so magical, why doesn't it have a rainproof function?"
Even though she was wearing a raincoat and hat, Shen Tang still got soaked in the rain. The feeling of the cold clothes sticking to her skin made her extremely uncomfortable. If the night wind blows into the gaps in the coir raincoat, it will cause goose bumps.
Qishan said: "Maybe."
Who has so many words and spirits?
Moreover--
"Even if there is one, not every word spirit can be learned. If we hope that there is such a word spirit in the world, it is better to wear more rain gear."
Shen Tang trotted to keep up with his footsteps, not caring that his heavy steps would splash a piece of sewage. It was already dirty anyway, no matter how careful he was, he said, "Are there any lighting objects that will not get wet by rain? Marching in heavy rain, It’s convenient to walk at night..."
Qishan: "..."
Zhuangzi is not very far from Qianjia Village.
The two walked along the muddy path, one foot deep and one foot shallow, for two quarters of an hour before they found it. It was a courtyard surrounded by low walls, with white tiles and white walls vaguely visible. The courtyard was pitch black without any light. From a distance, it looked like a huddled black shadow of a beast.
Shen Tang stepped forward, raised his hand and knocked on the door.
Dong dong dong——
At this time, a bolt of lightning jumped in the clouds, illuminating half of the sky, followed by deafening thunder.
Shen Tang was worried that he wouldn't be heard from inside, so he changed from knocking on the door with his fingers to making a fist and knocking on the door, bang bang bang!
Just when she thought there was no one in the house, she vaguely heard a man answering impatiently: "Who is knocking on the door?"
After a while, the door opened.
The person who opened the door was a middle-aged man wearing a brown robe and a turban. He seemed dissatisfied with someone disturbing someone's dream in the middle of the night. He glanced at Shen Tang and Qishan with an unkind expression. Seeing that one is tall and the other is short, both of them are relatively young, and their expressions seem to be slightly relaxed and a little more kind.
"Who are you two?"
Shen Tang replied: "We are travelers staying in Qianjia Village. I heard from the village leader that the child named Ayan came from your village. He played in the village during the day and did not go back. He disappeared not long ago. The village leader was worried that he was attacked by a big insect. Take it away and look for it everywhere."
After hearing Shen Tang's words, the middle-aged man's expression softened a lot: "Oh, Ayan has been brought back, please worry you two."
Got it back? ? ?
Shen Tang frowned slightly.
Cover it with a bamboo hat and restore its normal color.
At this time, Qi Shan crossed his hands and saluted the man, with a gentle expression on his face: "My husband is fine, so I can rest assured. It's just that it's dark, the road is narrow, and it's windy and rainy. Can I borrow the money from your house for a while?" , allow my two brothers to take shelter here from the rain?"
The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment when he heard this.
But he still turned sideways to let Shen Tang and Shen Tang in, and said: "You two are also running in the rain for the sake of your children. You are just taking shelter from the rain, so of course you can. It's just that it's too late now. Everyone in the house has gone to bed, so we can't entertain you. I hope you’ll forgive me.”
Qishan smiled and said: "This is natural, just have an eaves to shelter from the rain."
The two followed the middle-aged man into the small courtyard.
There were several trees planted in the courtyard, and hemp ropes for drying clothes were tied between the tree trunks. There were clothes hanging on the hemp ropes - seven or eight pieces of clothes for adults, and one piece of clothes for children that had been washed, turned white and patched. Shen Tang glanced at it out of the corner of his eye and then looked away without leaving a trace.
