Liu Ruyan tied the white horse to a cypress tree at the entrance of the village and led everyone to walk straight in along the village road, bypassing several houses and stopping in front of a low and simple bungalow.
Liu Ruyan turned around and said to everyone, "This is Mr. Yang's house!" As he spoke, his face became cheerful.
After many days, I didn't expect to come back here again.
The scene of that night came to mind again, which moved him but also made him sigh with emotion.
The door was closed and everything was quiet. It seemed that no one was in the room.
At this time, the children who had just met at the entrance of the village followed them. It was obvious that they were not afraid of life.
Several children gathered around and looked at everyone in surprise.
Suddenly, a dirty little boy with dust on his face asked: "Who are you?"
When everyone heard this, they all turned and looked at him. Liu Ruyan looked at him and smiled, walked to him, knelt down, looked at him, and said softly: "Kid, what's your name?"
The little boy blinked and said, "My name is Tudou!"
Menghua and Leng Yue also looked at him curiously, feeling that although these children were dirty, they were not afraid of life, and looked childish and very cute.
Menghua also knelt down and asked with a smile: "Tudou, this name is so cute! My kid, how old are you?"
Tudou stretched out his dusty hands and scratched his head and said, "I am seven years old this year! Sister, where did you come from?"
Menghua looked at him with shining eyes, pursed her lips, and said with a smile: "Sister, are you coming from a far away place?"
Tudou blinked, frowned, and asked again: "Oh, what are you doing here?"
At this time, Liu Ruyan reached out and gently wiped the dust from his face, smiled and said, "Brother, can I ask you a question?"
Tudou pursed his lips and asked curiously: "Brother, what do you want to ask?"
Liu Ruyan said, "Do you know where the people in this room have gone?" He pointed to Mr. Yang's house behind him and asked doubtfully.
At this time, a little girl next to him suddenly said: "Brother, there is a death in their family!"
The little girl's words were like a thunderbolt from the blue, shocking everyone present.
Liu Ruyan was even more stunned and asked nervously: "What did you say? Someone died in their family? Who died?" His pupils shrank violently, his brows furrowed, and he felt a buzzing in his head, like a blow to the head.
The little girl stared at him steadily and said, "Grandpa is dead!"
The grandpa she was talking about must be Master Yang.
Liu Ruyan stroked her thin shoulder and asked in surprise: "Is what you said true?" He couldn't believe his ears. Ten days ago, when he passed by here, Grandpa Yang was chatting and laughing. Why did he suddenly... What about dead? How did he die?
His eyes suddenly dimmed, and his face was filled with surprise and fear.
If this little girl is telling the truth, how did he die? It had only been ten days since I was separated from their grandfather and grandson.
What happened in these ten days? Although Mr. Yang was old and seemed to be in poor health, he was still in good spirits. Why did he die suddenly?
Seeing the pain on Liu Ruyan's face, Xu Feng immediately comforted him: "My dear nephew, don't panic first. What this kid said may not be true. Maybe they don't know the truth and are mistaken. ? I see that the door is locked, they must not be at home, maybe they have gone somewhere else."
Shangguan Hongqin also consoled him and said, "Why don't we ask other people! Maybe they know what's going on!"
Liu Ruyan stood up with a solemn expression, couldn't help but sigh deeply, turned to stare at the locked door, and nodded slowly.
Suddenly, he looked up and saw a piece of colorful characters posted on the lintel directly above the door. There were strange patterns drawn on the characters, and in the pattern were written: "Master Yang will last forever" and several beautiful red letters. A small square mirror hangs above the character.
Liu Ruyan suddenly understood everything like a thunderbolt. It turned out that what the little boy said was not a joke, Master Yang was really dead.
Such characters were drawn by Taoists who redeemed the dead, and were used as soul talismans specifically to redeem the dead. Only families with a death in their family would post such characters.
His eyes widened, his pupils contracted, and he stared at the mysterious characters, with an extremely painful look in his eyes.
Suddenly, his eyes dimmed and he murmured: "Grandpa Yang, he is dead! He is really dead! He was such a good person, why did he die suddenly?"
He knelt down again, looked at the childish little girl, and asked: "Little sister, uncle wants to ask you, do you know how grandpa died?"
The little girl looked at him steadily, shook her head, frowned and said quietly: "I don't know, I only saw a few uncles carrying the old grandfather and putting him in the coffin a few days ago, and then they carried the coffin again. Going up the mountain!" She pointed to a green hilltop that was not too high behind the village.
Everyone looked in the direction of the little girl's finger. The place is located on the mountain behind the village, with a large lush cypress forest.
Liu Ruyan closed his eyes slightly and sighed deeply. After a while, he slowly opened his eyes again and said solemnly: "Let's go to the mountain to have a look! Grandpa is a very kind man, and I want to pay homage to him!"
He turned back to look at the children and said softly: "Do you know where grandpa is buried? Can you take uncle to see it?"
The little boy nodded and said: "I know, we all followed that day, in the woods. Come on, we will take you there!"
Liu Ruyan said to Xu Feng again: "Uncle Xu, wait for me here, I will come as soon as I go!"
Xu Feng frowned and said thoughtfully: "Why don't we go together?"
Menghua also said: "Brother Liu, since that old man is your benefactor, we naturally have to pay homage to him!"
Liu Ruyan looked back at the locked door and nodded slowly.
A few children walked in front to lead the way, and everyone followed slowly and heavily.
Went around a low farmhouse, passed through a green crop field, and then climbed up a hillside. The hillside was covered with green grass and wild flowers. A gentle breeze blew from afar, and the wind was full of light fragrance!
Everyone was silent, feeling heavy and depressed.
Liu Ruyan always frowned, her face covered with deep sadness.
A few children walked very fast in front. After a while, they entered the forest, walked along the avenue for a while, and turned around a mountain col. At this time, the front suddenly opened up, showing a slope covered with weeds.
We were already halfway up the mountain. Suddenly, a man suddenly appeared in the thick grass not far ahead.
Everyone was suddenly startled, and when they took a closer look, they saw that it was a woman sitting in the grass. She turned her back to everyone, wearing floral clothes and a piece of white gauze on her head. She sobbed from time to time, as if she was talking to herself!
Several children suddenly stopped, pointed to where the woman was, and said, "That's it!"
Liu Ruyan was startled, then walked forward quickly.
After walking through the grass and coming closer, I saw a new tomb built with red soil, suddenly appearing in front of me.
At this time, the woman who was sitting in front of the grave and sobbing softly heard the movement behind her. She jumped suddenly and looked back subconsciously.
At this look, she couldn't help but be stunned! His eyes suddenly opened wide, looking extremely surprised.
This woman is none other than Miss Chunlan from Mr. Yang’s family!
Liu Ruyan couldn't help but open her eyes wide and shouted out loud: "Sister Chunlan!"
The woman took a closer look and suddenly cried "Wow" and shouted in surprise, "Brother Liu! It's you, is it really you?"
She was shocked when she saw Liu Ruyan suddenly appearing in front of her. She never imagined that Brother Liu, whom she had only met once, would come back here again and find her grandfather's grave.
She couldn't believe her eyes, couldn't believe this was true!
Liu Ruyan had a grimace on her face, her lips trembled slightly, and she said in a trembling voice: "Sister Chunlan, I'm back! Grandpa, he..." Before he finished speaking, his eyes suddenly turned red, and his eyes suddenly filled with tears, and he The corners of his eyes rolled down.
Chunlan had a sad face and stared at him intently. She slowly stood up and suddenly threw herself into Liu Ruyan's arms, closed her eyes and started crying bitterly.
Liu Ruyan put his arms around her, caressed her shoulders, and said tremblingly: "Sister Chunlan, why did grandpa leave? How did grandpa die?"
Chunlan leaned in his arms and was in grief. She cried so hard that her body trembled slightly. After crying for a long time, she raised her head, bit her lip, and said painfully: "Grandpa, he...he, he never slept again that night. Wake up!..." As he said this, he cried harder and his face was covered with tears.
Liu Ruyan couldn't help but burst into tears while holding her. He suppressed the grief in his heart and said quietly: "How could this happen? How can a good person leave just like that? We have only been apart for ten days. The thought of never seeing grandpa again!”
Everyone stood aside, feeling sad as they watched, and their eyes turned red without knowing it.
Menghua stepped forward, looked at the two of them with a sad face, and comforted softly: "Don't be too sad, grandpa is gone. He definitely doesn't want to see you so sad!"
Xu Feng just kept sighing from the side, but he didn't know how to comfort them!
Shangguan Hongqin stared at the two people, then looked at the new grave behind them, and said quietly: "The old man left in his sleep, he must have passed away peacefully! The dead have passed away, and the living should be strong. Don't be too sad if you can't resurrect the dead!" After that, she stepped forward and reached out to touch their shoulders to express comfort!
Liu Ruyan calmed down a little, stretched out her hand to wipe away the tears on Chunlan's face, and said comfortingly: "Okay, sister Chunlan, don't cry!" He stared at the tombstone in front of the grave, which was engraved with "Master Yang" Tomb of the Green Pine". The lower right corner of the inscription is engraved with "granddaughter Yang Chunlan". A bottle of soju and a plate of sweets are placed on the altar in front of the grave. The incense candle has been burned out. There are several brand-new soul-calling flags planted on the grave, gently fluttering in the breeze!
Liu Ruyan took out three incense sticks from the sachet next to the altar, lit them and inserted them in front of the grave. She knelt down with a plop, kowtowed to the tombstone three times, raised her head and stared at the tombstone, and murmured: "Grandpa , Ruyan came back late, but I didn’t get to see you for the last time! Grandpa, I promised you that I would come back to visit you, why did you just leave after saying so? Grandpa, Ruyan came to see you, you walked all the way Okay, rest in peace!" After saying that, he slowly stood up and bowed again!
At this time, everyone lit incense in front of the grave and bowed to worship.
Liu Ruyan gently wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes and said to Chunlan: "Sister, don't be sad. Grandpa is gone, but you still have me. I will always be your Brother Liu! If you have any difficulties in the future, you must come Find me!"
Chunlan nodded and said sadly: "Brother Liu, thank you!" She looked sad, took a few steps forward, and said faintly, "Brother Liu, actually after you left that day, grandpa was still feeling lost for a long time. , Grandpa said, you are a good person, he still misses you all the time, and hopes to have the opportunity to see you again! Unexpectedly..." She said, her voice was choked again, and she could no longer speak.
Liu Ruyan frowned and said, "That day, I saw that grandpa was still quite strong. Why did he leave so suddenly? Did he have any illness?"
Chunlan thought slowly and said: "Normally, grandpa likes to drink a few sips of turbid wine and smoke a few puffs of dry cigarettes. I don't see him suffering from any serious illnesses. However, I occasionally hear him coughing for a long time. Grandpa is already eighty-two years old. Although he is still alive, he can still work in the fields. I often ask him not to work in the mountains anymore, but he always refuses to listen. He says that his body and bones are still strong and he can still grow more food. I think that after a hundred years, I will have him. What a way to live! One night, after we had dinner, I walked with him outside the hospital for a while, then helped him to sleep. When it was dawn, I went to the door of the room to ask him to get up and eat, but nothing happened. I pushed the door open and saw him lying on the bed. His body was cold and he had no breath! He just fell asleep like this forever!" She said quietly, her expression was painful, her tone gradually softened, and it was no longer the same as before. Excited!
