"Little stone... run... run..."
In my mind, a shrill female voice echoed, the voice getting farther and farther away, and getting lower and lower...
Yang Zhen managed to open her eyes, but the voice suddenly stopped, as if it was just a nightmare. He squinted his eyes and looked at the dusty criss-crossing beams above his head in confusion. Above the girders is a roof made of black tiles common in southern rural areas. But some of the tiles have been tattered for a long time, and the sunlight shines on the ground through the holes, forming several white light pillars, and the dust ripples slightly in the light pillars. The whole room was silent.
I am a farmer near Qinling Mountains? Yang Zhen wanted to turn around and look around, but she had a splitting headache. She had no strength whatsoever and couldn't even move a finger.
Ghost on the bed?
Yang Zhen smiled self-deprecatingly and immersed all her consciousness in her right hand. Slowly, her fingers could be bent, and after a while, she could hold a few fingers. He took a deep breath and finally raised his right hand. Then, Yang Zhen was stunned...
This is a child's hand, thin and slender, and the sleeves seem to have been scratched by nails, revealing several holes. There were many scratches on the arms, the nails were worn in many places, and the whole hands were dirty. The skin on the fingertips is very delicate and smooth, obviously not the kind of child who often does farm work.
How is this going? Yang Zhen was shocked. He got some strength from nowhere. He sat up suddenly and looked at himself. Sure enough, not only the right hand, but also the left hand, the body, and the legs half covered by a piece of linen all showed that this was the body of a child!
I go! Yang Zhen yelled a curse word, felt dizzy, and fell straight down again...
…
When Yang Zhen woke up again, the sunlight from the roof was hitting her face directly. He was in a daze for a while, slowly getting used to the fact that he was a child. What we need to understand now is, what is going on? What is this place?
He struggled to sit up, holding the bed board with both hands, exhaled, and looked around.
This should be a Taoist temple, only a few feet long and wide. The house looked quite dilapidated, with most of the white wall peeling off, exposing the blue bricks underneath. Spider webs and thick dust can be seen everywhere on the corners and eaves, but the ground is still clean. Apparently someone is still cleaning it. In the middle of the main hall is a clay statue dressed as a Taoist. The handwriting looks like official script. Yang Zhen looked at it for a long time and seemed to recognize the word "白". There was a candlestick on the incense table that had not been used for a long time, but there was no incense burner.
The gate of the Taoist temple has long since disappeared, and there is a large bamboo cage blocking the door. Yang Zhen looked at the place where she was lying. It was a door panel with some colors falling off. A few steps away from her, there was a similar door panel. There were some dead branches and thatch under the two door panels, and the stubble was very uncomfortable.
There is also a porcelain bowl with a corner missing on the ground, which contains half a bowl of water.
Yang Zhen was so hungry and thirsty that she drank the water in one gulp, regardless of whether it was clean or not. His legs were a little weak, and it took him several attempts to stand up. He took a step forward and almost fell to the ground. He finally managed to steady himself and continued to wander toward the door.
By the time Yang Zhen moved the bamboo cage at the door and stood outside the Taoist temple, she was already sweating profusely and panting.
The Taoist temple is built on a hillside, with a green grassland outside. It seems that it is summer, the grass is luxuriant, and some white, yellow, and red flowers are scattered. A path skirted the meadow, passed through a forest, and wound down the mountain.
Looking up, there are mountains in the distance, endless mountains and ridges. The sky is very blue, with a few white clouds scattered here and there, and the sun shines unscrupulously on the entire world. There were faint cicadas chirping in the distance, and the sound of mountain wind blowing on the treetops. Other than that, the surroundings were silent.
In this situation, Yang Zhen lowered her head and looked at the clothes that were obviously worn by ancient people. Yang Zhen smiled bitterly and had a very bad feeling.
I don’t know how long it took, but there was a sudden noise from the bottom of the mountain. Yang Zhen felt happy and took a few steps forward. However, she felt dizzy again and quickly stepped back, holding on to the wall and squatting on the threshold. At this time, he realized that he was fainting from hunger.
Not long after, a little boy of thirteen or fourteen years old rushed out of the woods. He was dressed in coarse clothes and had his hair tied casually in a bun. His face was very square, and a square bruise on his left cheek made him look a bit fierce. The clothes on the child confirmed Yang Zhen's guess. Although they were tattered, it could be seen that they were of ancient style.
When the little boy bumped into Yang Zhen, he was surprised at first, and then said happily: "You're awake!"
Yang Zhen was surprised that there was no language barrier. Before she could react, the little boy rushed past him into the Taoist temple and at the same time pulled Yang Zhen with his hand:
"Hurry in, there are a few rascals behind you..."
Yang Zhen was stumbled back into the room and almost sat on the ground. As soon as he stood up, he saw that the boy had found a wooden stick from the house, about seven feet long. The place where he held it in his hands was polished, obviously it was used frequently. The boy remained silent and rushed out again. At this time, the noise outside became louder, and soon, seven or eight teenagers about the same age as the little boy appeared outside the Taoist temple.
Each of these teenagers had hair like a chicken coop, their clothes were dirty and torn, and some of them were ill-fitting. Several of them held sticks in their hands, much like the legendary disciples of the Beggar Clan. Seeing the little boy coming out with a wooden stick, these people stopped immediately, gasping for air, and started cursing:
"Green-faced ghost, listen to me, you are a ruined temple, we brothers are going to decide..."
"That Taoist priest has left, and there is no one to support you. Please let the Taoist temple out!"
"Why should you occupy such a big Taoist temple?"
"Just because I know how to be a grandson..." someone laughed.
Some people also saw Yang Zhen standing behind, holding on to the door frame, so they spoke even more boldly.
"Hey, his little brother is out!"
"It looks different from us. It's white and tender. Where did it come from?"
"What the hell, little brother, I think it's the prime minister! No wonder they want to occupy this ruined temple, they use this place as their bridal chamber..."
"You're really good-looking, tsk tsk, come here, brother, I love you..."
I'm fair, tender, and pretty? Yang Zhen really wanted to find a mirror to see what she looked like. He didn't care about these unpleasant words at this time.
Yang Zhen didn't care, which didn't mean that some people didn't care, but when she saw the little boy shouting loudly, waving a wooden stick in his hand, he rushed towards these people.
The little boy's moves were very precise. He had obviously practiced them, and he was very fast. He rushed to one of them, and it was the guy who shouted that he wanted to love Yang Zhen. As soon as the man raised the stick in his hand to stop him, he was stabbed in the navel by the wooden stick and fell to the ground with a scream.
The little boy raised his arm and pushed forward, then poked at the person next to him. At this moment, everyone was ready. When they saw the little boy rushing over, the man in front dropped the stick and ran away, quickly running seven or eight feet away. Several other people also dispersed, and two people walked around the little boy and ran toward Yang Zhen, one from the left and the other from the right.
The little boy quickly retreated and stood guard at the door of the Taoist temple. The two people who ran over also stopped their steps, and after a while, the other people who had dispersed also gathered around again, but this time they were farther away from the little boy than before.
There was another confrontation between the two sides. Only the boy who had been knocked down just now was still writhing and wailing on the ground, clutching his stomach.
