The stews and pancakes at noon were all ready-made. In the afternoon, the old lady made a pot of stewed air-dried rabbit meat. Although there were not many condiments, just some sauce was added to stew it, but the taste was very fragrant. After all, it was a meat dish.
Seeing that there was no fear on Qingyan's face, she continued to eat and drink as usual, and she ate a lot.
The weather remained unchanged in the afternoon, it didn't rain or wind, but Qingyan always felt that something was wrong.
After the mark appeared on her forehead, it didn't matter whether she could go out or not, so she went out of the house and observed the yard for a while. There was no sun or clouds in the sky, but it was foggy but very bright, not gloomy at all.
I always feel like something is strange, but I can't tell where it is.
She asked Yin Keqin and his son, and they said that it was not like this usually. It was sunny, cloudy, windy, rainy, with the sun, stars and moon. It was no different from the outside. It was like this only during the three days of sacrifice.
After dinner, the sky suddenly became dark. Even though Qingyan didn't have a watch, she could feel that the day passed much faster than usual.
It started to rain when I was having breakfast, and it wasn't long before I made lunch. After lunch, I stewed rabbit in the afternoon, and then it was dinner, and the day passed.
But she always felt that it was not as long as it had been in the past, at least it should be less than ten hours, because she did not feel hungry when eating in the evening.
But just after dinner, it was already completely dark. According to the approximate time, even after dinner, it should be around five or six o'clock, and there would still be at least two hours before it would be completely dark.
It was as if the day had suddenly turned dark, without even a hint of darkness, as if a light switch had been turned on.
There are some abnormalities everywhere here, and it doesn't seem to make any difference if there are more. Anyway, there is still one day tomorrow, so she will just study it tomorrow.
After a brief wash, he lay down on the bed, turned over, and fell asleep in a short while.
Maybe it was because the dust had settled, but that was it anyway. I no longer had the tight feeling from yesterday, so I fell asleep quickly.
What Qingyan didn't know was that after she fell asleep, a bright light flashed across the sky, like lightning, and quickly disappeared without anyone noticing.
…
Early the next morning, Qingyan was still woken up by the sounds outside. This time it was not the greetings of getting up early to fetch water, but the sound of a group of people talking, as if coming from next door.
Qingyan stood up quickly, first tidied the bed, then tidied her clothes, and raised her arms to smell it. Fortunately, although she hadn't showered or changed clothes for two days, she didn't smell much.
There was no way, she had no clothes to change into. There was no woman of similar age to her in the family, and there were no extra clothes for her to wear, so she had to make do.
Qingyan walked out of the house. The door to the outer room was still closed. She had bolted it yesterday after Yin Keqin and his son returned to their house.
After drinking a bowl of boiled water from a clay pot, I pulled out the bolt and opened the door. The sounds outside became clearer.
It was indeed coming from the next door. Qingyan listened to the vague conversations and realized that it was the clan leader who brought people to see who was chosen to be the sacrifice.
Now I am asking where the youngest son of the family next door has gone. The old couple next door are saying that their youngest son is still sleeping in the house and has not gotten up.
An older man said that they should wake up the children quickly. They should make sure to see if the other party is selected and whether there is a mark on the forehead. If not, they will have to go to the next family with young children.
The couple tried to evade it in every possible way. One moment they said that the heavy rain yesterday had caused their son to suffer from cold. The other moment they said that he had a bad stomach last night and had vomiting and diarrhea. They had to go to bed very late. They asked them to go to another house first and wait until the child got up. Go to the patriarch's house by yourself.
Qingyan shook her head in a funny way. Isn't it true that there are three hundred taels of silver in this place? The more this happens, the more suspicious it becomes.
It seems that the youngest son of the family is very likely to be selected, and all these efforts are completely useless.
Sure enough, after a while, the crying of the woman and the frightened shouts of the boy whose voice was changing were heard.
The boy who was in the stage of changing his voice shouted loudly: "Don't go, I don't want to die." His voice was trembling and hoarse. He must have been extremely frightened.
Qingyan didn't hear the family's voice yesterday, so she probably didn't dare to say anything about it because she was selected, just in case she could escape.
The old lady said before that not only could the selected sacrifices not leave the village, but even if they tried to hide and hide, they would still disappear in the village on the third day of the sacrifice. It was said that they were taken directly to the altar. .
So it's all in vain.
Sure enough, I heard the elderly voice from before say: "You don't have to do this. The mark has appeared and it is a done deal. There is no use in fussing anymore.
It's your honor to be chosen. This is an opportunity to get close to your ancestors. In the future, just serve your ancestors well and it will definitely benefit you. Just wait with peace of mind.
These are the clothes you will wear tomorrow. Pack them up tonight. If you are still so unkempt tomorrow and make your ancestors unhappy, don’t blame us for not warning you in advance. "
It seems that the clan leader only took people to determine who the chosen sacrifice was, and did not take people away or anything like that.
I heard them scolding the old couple next door and then leaving. The sound should be coming this way.
Qingyan listened to the chaotic footsteps, at least ten or more people, and soon the footsteps arrived at the entrance of the courtyard.
Many black heads appeared outside the courtyard wall, and soon there was a knock on the door.
Only then did Qingyan realize that the inside of the courtyard wall was higher than the outside. She could see outside, but people outside had to step on things to see inside.
The old lady and Yin Keqin also came out of the house. Qingyan had already walked to the courtyard door and opened the courtyard door without waiting for the other party to speak.
She had already been chosen, and she didn't want to cause trouble for the mother and son. There was no way to escape anyway, so why let the two of them get a free lecture? It was completely unnecessary.
She opened the door directly, and a group of old men at the door were startled when they saw her.
The clan leader and the clan elders next to him looked at each other, and finally an old man in his fifties or sixties on the right said: "Young lady is not from our Qinian Village, right? I think you already know what is going on. Maybe you can tell me." Name? We can also report it to our ancestors."
Qingyan shook her head and said, "My parents have taught me that my maiden's name should not be revealed at will."
Although she used the name of Hong Kong City to Yin Keqin and her son, after all, it was the name she used, and it was registered. She told strangers casually, fearing that they would use it for bad things, such as cursing or something.
When a dozen old men heard what she said, they didn't say anything. They just handed him a basket and said, "In that case, I won't force you. It is a girl's luck to be chosen by the ancestors. As long as the girl serves the ancestors well." , the benefits you can get in the future will not be less, these are the clothes you will wear tomorrow, you can put them on after you pack them tonight."
After saying that, without waiting for Qingyan to reply, she glanced at Yin Keqin and her son in the courtyard, and the group of people left cheering.
When I walked a little further away, probably because I couldn't hear it anymore, the conversations of several people came over.
"Whenever outsiders come to the village, we don't even know."
"It can't be that boy Keqin brought him back. That boy is not as handsome as Kejian, but he has good eyesight."
"It's possible. After all, he is in his twenties and has already reached the age of marrying a wife. He is just a little unlucky..."
"It's still not quick enough. If you marry someone home early, you won't be like a loser. Our ancestors only choose young girls, not little wives."
"You don't know how to choose a day. If you bring someone back at this time, wouldn't you just rush to deliver it to your ancestors..."
"Shut up! What nonsense are you talking about? Have you forgotten what day it is today? Go home quickly to get the tributes and tools. There are still many things to do."
The last somewhat majestic voice sounded, which should be that of the clan leader. As soon as he spoke, the others silenced themselves and stopped discussing.
When Qingyan heard nothing more, she closed the door and looked at Yin Keqin and her son. She saw the two of them looking at her silently, hesitating to speak, and said with a smile: "Auntie, Brother Yin, don't worry, I have already accepted my fate. Maybe, as they said, something good will happen to you."
He looked at the basket in his hand. Inside was a set of red clothes and some jewelry. They were not valuable jewelry, just some wooden hairpins and silk flowers. They were exquisite in shape.
It seems that as a sacrifice, I have to dress up, and I am still wearing red clothes. Why does it feel like I am going to be a ghost bride?
Of course, in ancient times, the three animals and six rituals used in sacrifices seemed to have to be tied with red flowers and covered with red cloth. This may have the same purpose.
The old lady saw her looking at the clothes and explained to her: "Every time a man or woman is selected for sacrifice, the clan leader will give them a set of red clothes, saying that the ancestors like the festive color.
Our house doesn't have a bathtub or anything like that. I'll boil a pot of hot water for you in the evening, and you can use the wooden basin to wash yourself briefly. "
Qingyan nodded, "Then I'll trouble you, ma'am."
The old lady shook her head and turned to the kitchen.
Yin Keqin sighed, picked up the bucket and pole next to the water tank, and went out.
Qingyan took the basket into the room, placed it on the table beside the bed, and came out again. I asked the old lady if she needed any help, and after being refused, I wandered around the yard.
I looked up at the sky. It was still cloudless today, and there was no sun. No matter day or night, the sky always felt foggy, and the sky was not blue, but gray-white.
If it weren't for the high enough sky and the mountains and trees nearby, she would have thought there was a high gray-white ceiling above her head.
Thinking of this, Qingyan's expression paused, and she stopped walking back to the house, and walked back to the center of the yard again.
Looking towards the mountain opposite, the first thing you see is the high stone wall. The stone wall goes straight up and down, just like a wall.
The trees above looked green and shaded, but I don't know if it was because there was no wind, but the trees stood there quietly and motionless, as if they were fake.
Normally, being so close to the mountain, you should be able to hear some birdsong during the day. Not only can you not hear birdsong here, but there is not even a cricket chirping at night.
Qingyan said something to the old lady, opened the door and walked out.
The old lady leaned out from the kitchen and agreed without taking a look at her, thinking that Qingyan wanted to make a last-ditch effort to see if she could leave the village.
She thought it would be good if she could go out. After all, she was a young girl in her prime, so it would be great if she could hide away.
He sighed and went back to the kitchen to make breakfast.
After Qingyan walked out, she first walked west for a while, because she saw that the stone wall there was slightly shorter and wanted to see if she could go up the mountain to have a look.
After walking not far, I heard the sounds of people in the courtyard on the right. There must be many people in these houses, washing and cooking. It was very lively.
I took a look at the smoke coming from the roof. It was rising upwards and floated very high without encountering any obstacles.
Qingyan frowned. Could it be that she thought wrong? Is the sky in this formation just a different color?
Unwilling to give up, she walked another hundred or so meters to the west and passed four houses. In this village, every house had an alley between the two houses, and there were no neighbors who were wall to wall.
And except for Yin Keqin's house whose yard is smaller, the yards of the four families here are much larger. It should be because there are more people in the family and more houses have been built.
When she reached the end, it turned out to be a stone wall, and the village seemed to be surrounded.
This is another place that is wrong. She still remembers that when she and Chou Chou came here before, the open space they saw clearly only had a stone wall on the south side. It was not very long from east to west, which was about a hundred meters. Going further If so, there will be an intersection up the mountain.
She had just walked more than a hundred meters from east to west. Not only did she not see the intersection going up the mountain, but there was also a section of stone wall running north to south. This was obviously wrong.
Of course, it is also possible that this is the original appearance of Qinian Village, and the scene she and Chou Chou saw was wrong.
However, now she is going to do an experiment. If there is no difference, then she is really wrong.
He bent down and picked up a fist-sized stone from the ground, rounded his arms and threw it towards the top of the mountain wall.
With the blessing of her strength, the stone flew high like a bullet, flying over the still treetops at an extremely fast speed, and then soon heard the sound of "Dang!" and the sound of smashing. The same sound on the stone wall.
Sure enough, what I guessed was right, this place is indeed fake!
And if it was really you, then the stone should still fly for a while after flying over the treetops. Even if it fell on a tree, the sound would not be like this. If I fell to the ground again, there must be fallen leaves or weeds on the ground, and the sound obviously hit the wall, which means that it matched the book on it. They are all fake, or it is just a real one after surgery.
