Three forks in the road.
Xiaodie was wearing a green dress, standing anxiously under a big tree, looking forward to the foot of the mountain.
Not long after.
Her eyes lit up, and a joyful smile finally appeared on her face.
"Son..."
She ran up with tears in her eyes.
Luo Qingzhou gently hugged her still trembling body and comforted her softly: "It's okay, don't be afraid."
It was the first time the little girl saw such a bloody scene, and it was the first time she saw him killing people, so she was naturally scared.
Xiaodie cried and said: "Master, there is a lot of blood on your body, let's go home quickly..."
Luo Qingzhou held her little hand and looked at the way he came.
After a pause, he bent down and whispered into the little girl's ear: "Xiaodie, we are not going home today. Master will take you to a fun place."
"ah?"
When the little girl heard this, her face was full of astonishment: "Where... where?"
Luo Qingzhou looked at another path with complicated eyes: "The place where I was born."
Xiaodie opened her eyes wide.
"Let's go."
Luo Qingzhou did not dare to stay here for too long, so he pulled her towards another unfamiliar path covered by weeds.
I can't go home directly yet.
If there is an ambush on the road, in his current state, he and this little girl may be in danger.
I can only go to that small mountain village to stay for one night.
Wait until dawn tomorrow, and then take a carriage back to the city unexpectedly.
"oh."
Xiaodie didn't say anything more. She was led by him obediently and walked onto another path, her eyes full of dependence.
No matter where the young master goes, she will follow him.
Even if the young master sells her, she is willing to do so.
If the young master really sells her, at worst, she will escape secretly and find him again after he gets the money and leaves.
Anyway, she will always be Young Master's person in her whole life and in the next life.
Never be separated from the master!
The master and servant walked on the deserted road without saying anything.
Luo Qingzhou pricked up his ears and remained alert, glancing back from time to time to confirm if anyone was following him.
The small mountain village in my memory is only four or five kilometers away from here.
However, this path has been neglected for many years, and the grass has spread, and the road is no longer visible in many places.
At noon.
The two finally saw the small mountain village in front of them.
Today's small mountain villages are desolate and dilapidated.
After several attacks by monsters, most of the young people in the village died. Except for some lonely old people who had lost their relatives and stubbornly stayed there, there were no young people left in the village, and even the children were missing.
The bustle of the village once seemed like yesterday.
But even in the past, what remained in Luo Qingzhou's memory were almost all shadows.
His mother was pregnant out of wedlock. After giving birth to him, even the father didn't know who he was. There was a lot of discussion in the village, nailing the mother and son to the pillar of shame.
Harsh, sarcastic and abusive remarks were heard almost every day.
Even the children don't play with him.
In order to raise him and let him study, his mother suffered a lot of looks and humiliation in the village, but she still persevered.
After his grandparents passed away and his uncle and uncle left the village never to return, his mother was left alone and without protection. She was afraid that he would be hurt and wanted him to live a better life, so she shamelessly took him into the city. , entered Chengguo Mansion.
Since then, mother and son have never returned to this sad village.
With these things in mind, Luo Qingzhou took Xiaodie to wash briefly in the river in front of the village before entering the village.
The village that was once filled with the sounds of children playing, dogs barking, and adults yelling has now become silent.
Weeds grew in front of and behind the house.
The iron locks on the gates were rusty, and the walls of some houses had collapsed.
Luo Qingzhou walked with Xiaodie, looking all the way. Through the courtyard door, he only saw two old people, sitting alone in the small courtyard, closing their eyes and basking in the sun, as if they were waiting for that day. One day comes.
Luo Qingzhou didn't stop and came to the small courtyard where he once lived with his mother.
The gate has rotted and fallen down, and half of the courtyard wall has collapsed. I don't know if it was damaged by wind and rain over time, or if it was pushed down by the villagers after the mother and son left.
The small courtyard was filled with lush grass, broken bricks, and some tattered fabrics buried in the soil.
There is nothing left in the house.
Even the tables, stools, and beds were all moved away.
Fortunately, the four walls are still there, and the roof is still there, which can provide shelter from wind and rain.
"Sir, is this where you and your wife used to live?"
Xiaodie looked at the scene here with a sad expression on her face.
"Take care of the room. Let's just spend the night here."
Luo Qingzhou didn't say much, walked out of the house and said, "I'm going to see what's available to eat. You must be hungry too, right? Don't run around, just stay in the house."
"oh oh."
Xiaodie agreed and went to find the broom.
There was a broom in the courtyard, but it was in a state of disrepair.
But it doesn’t matter, you can wrap it in a clean cloth and continue to use it to sweep the floor.
There should still be water in the well.
Luo Qingzhou left the small courtyard and walked towards the end of the village, looking at the houses one by one.
Nearing the end of the village, he saw an old woman.
The old woman wearing a shabby cotton-padded jacket sat on a chair in front of the door, looking at the mountains in the distance with muddy and confused eyes, not knowing what she was thinking.
The old woman has white hair, her face is wrinkled and weathered, her back is rickety, and she is in her twilight years.
But Luo Qingzhou recognized her the first time he saw her.
The person in front of him was the most vicious and evil person in this village back then.
He still clearly remembered that one summer, his mother picked up a wild watermelon from the mountains.
When the mother and son were about to share happily, the person his mother called Aunt Ninth suddenly broke into the house with others, falsely accused his mother of stealing her watermelon, and then yelled all kinds of vicious and dirty words in her mouth. He even grabbed his mother's hair with his hands and scratched his mother's face with his nails...
Finally, the watermelon was taken away.
His mother hugged him and cried silently in the corner.
At that time, he secretly swore that when he grew up and became capable, he would make this vicious woman suffer.
But at this moment, looking at the old man in front of him, looking at her white hair, wrinkled face, and quiet aging appearance, he could no longer hate her.
"You...are you Qingzhou? The Qingzhou of Yu'er's family?"
The old man looked at him with a surprised expression on his face.
Luo Qingzhou came back to his senses and walked forward with a smile on his face: "Grandma Jiu, it's me, Qingzhou."
The old man opened his eyes wide, stood up, and looked him up and down. Seeing that the robe he was wearing was in tatters, he couldn't help but ask: "Didn't you go to the city with your mother? Why are you back? Are you like this?" ...Kicked out by others?"
Luo Qingzhou did not explain, but nodded: "Well, he was kicked out."
He was used as a tool by the Chengguo government to regret his marriage, so he was kicked out.
The old man sighed and said: "It's pitiful. Your mother is also pitiful. She didn't enjoy a few days of happiness after entering the city. She died so young. I heard them say she was buried on the Zixia Mountain in front of our village. Right? Hey..."
Luo Qingzhou was silent for a moment and said: "Grandma Jiu, the people in your family..."
The old man was already calm: "They are all dead, except for me, an old woman, there is no one left."
Luo Qingzhou didn't dare to ask any more questions. He glanced at her yard, hesitated, and asked: "Grandma Jiu, do you have anything to eat at home?"
The old man glanced at him, turned around and staggered into the house, sighing: "There are two more pancakes. They are too hard. I can't chew them. If you are hungry, just take them and eat them."
"Hey, you're so pitiful. Look at you. Your mother is dead and you can't even eat a meal now. I told you before, what's the use of studying? You might as well learn to farm..."
The old man babbled, went into the kitchen, and took out two pieces of dry and hard pancakes.
After thinking about it, he went into the house again, took two eggs, and handed them both to his hand.
"Hey, the last hen was taken away by a weasel. Except for us old immortals, there is nothing alive in this village anymore. In the past few years, even those man-eating beasts have stopped coming. …”
The old man sighed.
Luo Qingzhou took the pancakes and eggs, took out a piece of silver from his pocket, and handed it to her: "Grandma Jiu, take the silver. If a vendor comes to the village, you can buy something to eat."
The old man looked at the silver in his hand, but did not take it. He shook his head and said: "You can take it yourself. It's useless for me to ask for this. There are no vendors here now. I'm in good health and can still grow a few grains to eat." .You are young and there is still a long way to go in the future, so keep it for yourself."
Luo Qingzhou glanced at her, said nothing, and prepared to leave.
When he walked to the door, the old man suddenly said: "Qingzhou, it turns out that Grandma Jiu did that to you mother and son. Now that I think about it, Grandma Jiu actually feels very regretful and guilty. Only when people get older do they realize that those rules and customs are not important. , living happily is the most important thing. It wasn't your mother's fault that she got pregnant out of wedlock, we shouldn't have treated her like that..."
Luo Qingzhou suddenly turned his head and asked: "Grandma Jiu, do you know how my mother got pregnant with me? Do you know that person?"
The old man shook his head: "I don't know. No one in the village knows who that person is, so they treat your mother like that. But last I heard, your mother was forced... Hey, at that time, even if it was forced , the woman's reputation has been completely ruined, no one can respect her, not to mention your mother is too stubborn and has never told who that person is..."
Luo Qingzhou said nothing more, nodded and walked out of the door.
The old man also followed out, talking to himself and talking, not knowing what he was talking about.
Just as he was about to sit down on the stool at the door, he suddenly found an extra piece of silver on the stool.
When she looked up, the boy had already walked away.
"Why……"
The old man sighed, picked up the silver, sat down, and recalled the things about the mother and son in his mind.
Luo Qingzhou returned to the dilapidated courtyard, and after sharing pancakes and eggs with Xiaodie, he sat down in the room and started practicing his internal skills.
Xiaodie didn't dare to disturb, so she went out of the house and looked everywhere in other rooms, courtyards, and at the door.
After a while.
She couldn't bear it anymore, so she went out of the gate and wandered around the village curiously.
The sun sets quickly.
Luo Qingzhou felt that the pain on his body had been relieved a lot.
When Xiaodie came back, she actually brought some needles and threads, and said happily: "Master, I met an old woman in the village and chatted with her all afternoon. I borrowed these needles and threads from her. Take off your clothes quickly, and my slave will help you mend them."
Luo Qingzhou's heart moved, he took off his clothes and said, "What did she talk to you about?"
Xiaodie took the clothes and said: "We didn't talk about anything. The old lady kept talking about the past. The slave didn't dare to ask about the young master and his wife. The old lady didn't mention it either. By the way, the old lady also said that we should not go out at night. Here It’s haunted.”
Speaking of this, the little girl had a scared expression on her face.
"Haunted?"
Luo Qingzhou's eyes flashed.
Xiaodie nodded and said, "Well, the old lady said that at night, there were cries everywhere in the village. She said she also saw many black shadows floating around, which was really scary."
Luo Qingzhou looked outside.
Is it scary?
Why does he still have some expectations?
Outside, night falls.
A crescent moon rises into the sky.
The whole village was shrouded in darkness and there was deathly silence.
