"It's hard to say!" Yang Huaming said.
Yang Huazhong stood up and waved his hand: "Okay, now that we have discussed and figured out the clues, what are we waiting for? Then go to the lotus pond in Lijia Village to look for it!"
"Dad Qing'er, dinner is ready. Can you guys have something to eat before going?"
The person who said this was Mrs. Sun. She and Bao Suyun had been arranged to cook dinner for everyone in the front yard kitchen.
"It's too late, come back and eat later." Yang Huazhong said.
But Yang Huaming stopped him: "Third brother, I can't bear it without eating. Who knows when we will be back after we go out? Besides, third sister-in-law has cooked the food, so we should eat before leaving, right?"
Yang Ruoqing also advised: "Yes, you will have strength only when you are full."
She was hungry herself.
Even the person involved, Yang Yongqing, rubbed his stomach and begged Yang Huazhong with no confidence: "I haven't had a grain of rice in my stomach all day, uncle..."
"Okay, okay, then eat faster!"
Sun and Bao Suyun also considered that the men would have to look for someone at night, so dinner was simple.
Chop the scrambled eggs with leeks, knead the dough, make the scrambled eggs with leeks and stuff them into small pieces of dough and flatten them.
It was flattened and fried in oil, and sweet potato porridge was cooked in a large pot inside.
Everyone drank sweet potato porridge and ate leek and egg pancakes. They were full, and the strength they had lost earlier came back immediately.
After finishing the night meal as quickly as possible, Yang Huazhong took the men with torches and went out to find Mo, leaving the women and children at home.
But Yang Ruoqing volunteered to go with her.
She has good night vision, so maybe she can be of some help.
The group left the village and went straight up the river to the lotus pond behind Lijia Village.
At this time of year, the flowering period is coming to an end, and the bare poles beside the big lotus leaves in the lotus pond are what are left after the lotus pods have been picked off.
There are lotus flowers too, but not many.
Everyone circled the lotus pond inch by inch, conducting a carpet-like search. Yang Yongqing even took off his clothes and shoes and jumped into the water. He held a long bamboo pole in his hand and beat it under the clusters of large lotus leaves while shouting.
Yang Ruoqing did not go into the water, but squatted in the grass on the bank with a piece of dogtail grass in her mouth, her eyes sweeping around inch by inch.
When the dispersed people returned to the shore to meet one after another, bringing disappointing news, Yang Huaming couldn't help but spit into the water and said irritably: "Even if this crazy woman is dead, she is still alive." It’s time to float, right? Why can’t you see people alive but not corpses? This is really frustrating!”
Yang Yongzhi slapped his calf and opened his palm under the moonlight. In addition to a pool of blood, there were two or three flower-legged mosquitoes inside.
"There are a lot of mosquitoes by the water. It's really not a place for humans. Fourth uncle, think about it quickly, where are there more flowers around here?"
"Yes, Fourth Brother, if you think about it carefully, you will have a lot of good things in your mind." Yang Huazhong was also a little overwhelmed by the mosquitoes, so he and Yang Yongzhi urged Yang Huaming.
"Don't push me, don't push me. Let me think about it carefully. I haven't been there for many years since I changed my ways. I wonder if the flowers are still there..."
Yang Huaming seemed to have a Gaode map installed in his mind. At this moment, he was searching for positioning inch by inch at full power.
In the water, Yang Yongqing was still beating the lotus leaves with a bamboo pole, and he opened the big lotus leaves to see if there were any people hiding underneath.
Yang Ruoqing suddenly moved to the other side of the lotus pond, squatting down and staring at something.
Everyone noticed something strange about her, and they all quickly looked in her direction, and then followed her line of sight to look somewhere in the lotus pond.
Didn't see anything!
"Qing'er, what are you looking at?" Yang Huazhong asked loudly.
Yang Ruoqing did not respond to his words, but suddenly called Yang Yongqing, who was standing in waist-deep water: "Little cousin, there is something in the water."
Hearing this, everyone on the shore or in the water tensed up.
'There is something in the water' is not something that can be said casually in a farmer's household.
Someone saw something in the wilderness at night, heard something calling in the woods behind the house at night, someone came back from drinking at night and bumped into the thing in the cemetery...
The literal meaning is very common, but the extended deeper meaning is terrifying if you think about it carefully.
The word "thing" in the above situations alludes to some kind of mysterious thing that cannot be explained, the kind of yin and yang that are opposite, the kind of mysterious object (species) that should not exist in the world but breaks the rules and easily causes panic.
"Qing'er, don't scare me. My fourth uncle is getting older and less courageous." Yang Huaming rubbed the goosebumps on his arms and joked to encourage himself.
Yang Huazhong even nervously called Yang Yongqing in the water to get ashore quickly.
Yang Yongzhi subconsciously bent down to pick up a large piece of earthenware on the ground and weighed it in his hands. He would throw it out later if something went wrong.
Yang Yongqing in the water was a little far away and couldn't hear clearly. He was looking at the people on the shore with a confused expression, wiped the water from his face and asked loudly: "Uncle Third, Qing'er, what are you talking about? "
Yang Ruoqing looked at Yang Huaming's reaction and burst into laughter.
The 'something' she said was not what they thought. There seemed to be a shoe mixed in a clump of water plants over there. It was a bit far away and it was not clear whether it belonged to Mo's family. Then they wanted Yang Yongqing to swim over and pick it up. stand up.
Yang Ruoqing was about to correct her, but suddenly, she froze, her body tensed and slightly leaning forward, her eyes unblinking as she stared at the moonlight-filled water.
I saw several ripples suddenly appear on the water surface ten meters away from Yang Yongqing's back. The ripples gradually dissipated, as if something was sinking.
Then the water surface seemed to shake, and an undercurrent surged under the water. What remained on the surface were two water ripples that quickly closed together.
"No, there's something underwater, your cousin, come up quickly!"
This time, Yang Ruoqing was anxious and used her inner strength to spread her voice.
After Yang Yongqing heard it clearly, he didn't dare to see what it was, so he turned around and swam toward the shore, making a splash in the water.
Yang Huazhong and others on the shore were also anxious and panicked. Everyone could see now that something seemed to be chasing Yang Yongqing in the water.
"Yongqing, please paddle faster, paddle faster!"
Yang Huazhong and others stood on the shore, stamping their feet and waving their arms, extremely anxious.
Yang Yongzhi even threw out the Toba that he had weighed before.
"puff!"
Tuba hit the water behind Yang Yongqing and splashed Lao Gao.
However, as if it really hit something, the speed of the thing that was following Yang Yongqing was obviously weakened.
Taking this opportunity, Yang Huazhong also got into the water and went to pick up Yang Yongqing, "Yongqing, come here quickly, pass your hand!"
"Third brother, be careful!"
Yang Huaming followed Yang Huazhong with his hands stretched out, ready to meet Yang Huazhong at any time.
