The young men who went to the city before finally returned to Beishan Village this afternoon, carrying large and small bags of supplies and returning home fully loaded.
Their parents, wives and children had been standing at the entrance of the village every day, looking forward to it. Now that they finally saw that familiar figure, they all cried with joy.
"Dad!" Xiaofei rushed forward, jumping up and down around a man, crying and laughing, as excited as a monkey.
"I knew that if you are so powerful, Dad, you would definitely come back safely."
"You little bastard, you're so glib, you're just thinking about the candied haws, right?" The man laughed and scolded, "It's in the top bag."
The child wiped away his tears and cheered.
The candied haws were wrapped in oil paper. After several days of hiking over mountains and ridges with the man, the outer layer of caramel had softened and several hawthorn fruits had been squashed.
But in Xiao Fei's eyes, this is the most delicious and rare snack in the world.
Holding the candied haws in his mouth, he forcibly grabbed a package from the man's back and carried it on his small back to reduce the man's burden.
The father and son carried large and small bags, walking side by side, towards home under the sunset.
Xiao Fei kept chewing and explained vaguely:
"Dad, I didn't lie to you. The old lady sweeping the floor in the memorial hall said that Shenzhu had arranged everything and just let me wait with peace of mind. She said that you would definitely come back."
"The old woman in the sacrificial hall?" The man was stunned. After confirming that he heard correctly, he looked at his son with strange eyes.
"Let's go home. Don't keep your mother waiting."
…
"Our village is isolated from the rest of the world. Our ancestors have lived together in the mountains for generations. It stands to reason that everyone is like this, but -"
The man sat at home, leaning on the kang, taking a nice puff of dry tobacco. When he became more interested, he chatted with his son about the little secrets in the village.
"But there are a few people who are very mysterious. They don't look like they grew up in the village. But no one knows whether they are from outside."
"Anyway, they have been staying in the village. It seems they have never gone out."
"Everyone has an impression of these people when talking about them, but when asked carefully, they don't know much about them, and they rarely even meet them."
"The old woman who cleans the sacrificial hall is the most typical example - every time I go to the sacrificial hall, I rarely see her, but the sacrificial hall is always clean."
"Besides, it seems that no one can talk to her. So far, you should be the only one..."
The man had a mysterious look on his face, and his voice became erratic, deliberately making the atmosphere extremely weird.
After hearing this, Xiaofei felt goosebumps all over his body and said in horror:
"Dad, isn't she a ghost?"
The man succeeded in frightening his son, and laughed proudly upon seeing this.
"What are you afraid of? This is Master Shenzhu's territory. How dare ghosts come in?"
"That's right." Xiao Fei nodded, his curiosity overriding his fear, and asked again, "Dad, who else is like this?"
"Hmm..." The man pondered for a moment, "The tall gentleman in your school can't explain his origin. However, he is quite kind and willing to chat with us."
"When I was fine in the past, I even went to ask him for advice."
"You are talking about Mr. Yue. He is definitely not a ghost." Xiao Fei was very sure now. Mr. Yue even touched his head a while ago.
Having said this, there was a sudden knock on the door outside the house.
"Di Xiaofei, are you there?" A man's dry voice sounded.
"Ah, it's Mr. Yue!" Xiao Fei hurried over and opened the door, "Sir, come in and have tea."
"No, I just came to inform you that you have to go to school tomorrow."
A tall, thin man wearing a green gown stood in front of the door.
His cheekbones were bulging, making his face look thinner, and his pale cheeks were a little stiff. He looked down at Xiao Fei and squeezed out a smile.
"These days, you children have family members who are stuck outside, so you are not interested in studying. This is human nature."
Xiaofei looked back and glanced at his father in the room, feeling a little guilty.
Mr. Yue also nodded to the man and touched Xiao Fei's head.
"Now that my family has returned safely, you have to go to school on time from tomorrow on, do you understand?"
"I know, I will go on time."
Looking at Mr. Yue's back, Xiao Fei remembered what his father had just said and felt a little frightened.
Mr. Yue has always been very kind, but today he seems a bit... sinister.
With this thought, Xiao Fei suddenly felt a chill running down his spine and his hair stood on end. The feeling of extreme danger was quickly approaching!
The next moment, his ear was pulled up, and he grimaced in pain.
"You little bastard, you dared to skip class these past few days while I was away! I'm looking for a beating!"
"Dad, I have to pick you up. I don't have time to go to class..."
The father and son stood at the door without saying a few words. They were suddenly startled when they heard a huge roar from the distance.
The screams of eagles and the cries of apes are entangled in one place, high-pitched and passionate, and the sound stops the clouds.
There was the muffled sound of the earth trembling and the roar of rows of trees collapsing, as if the earth was cracking and landslides were happening. Countless birds fled in shock, and gradually smoke and dust more than ten feet high rose into the air.
"I heard about it in the city. There are many monster clans fighting in the surrounding areas recently, and the impact is widespread."
The man became serious, grabbed his son's ears, and warned him harshly:
"You bastard boy, if you dare to run around again, be careful of being caught by the ape as high as the mountain!"
"When that kind of giant ape sees you, it's like you seeing a candied haws of apple. It takes it into its mouth and chews it up. Even the sacred bamboo can't save you!"
Xiaofei felt the scary movement in front of him and couldn't help but tremble a little, "Dad, it's so close to here. Is our village still safe?"
"You'll be fine if you stay in the village." The man waved his hand, not panicking at all.
"Although wild beasts occasionally enter our village, we have never been discovered by the demon clan."
"Master Shenzhu's magical powers are no joke."
The man's confident tone instantly infected Xiao Fei.
So, the little boy, who had just turned ten this year, sat on his father's shoulders with peace of mind, looking up at the billowing smoke and vague black shadows under the sunset.
There was tension, curiosity, and a hint of reverie in his eyes...
Mr. Yue left another home. As he walked, he counted in his mind how many children were left who liked to skip school.
Suddenly hearing a horrifying sound in the distance, he looked cold and stopped.
Although separated by several mountains, the seemingly fragile teacher could clearly see what was happening over there.
"How dare two little beasts dare to act so recklessly here?"
Mr. Yue began to feel angry, and black and red thunder arcs were faintly stirred around his body. His skinny cheeks were shrouded in the shadows of the trees around him, making them unclear.
In the depths of his pupils, a strange color appeared, as if some blurry images flashed past, including smoke, broken flags, seas of blood, and piles of broken corpses...
A gust of wind suddenly blew from the North Mountain.
"Have you forgotten how you died?"
Hearing the sudden sound in his ears, Mr. Yue trembled, and his eyesight instantly returned to clarity.
He quickly bent down and saluted respectfully in the direction of Beishan.
"Thank you, Master Shenzhu, for waking me up. I almost fell into that old habit again."
After saying that, he still bowed up. After confirming that there were no other instructions, he slowly straightened up and began to mutter:
"Meditate, meditate..."
Wearing a white washed green shirt, he held the books and papers used for class under his arms and walked slowly. He was still the ordinary teacher and continued to the next student's home.
