The place where he was temporarily arranged to spend the night was in another house at the east end of the village which was far away from his home.
What made him wonder was why no one came to lead him there, but he was allowed to go alone at night.
After all, he was not familiar with other villagers in the village and basically had no communication with them on weekdays.
Although it was a very happy event for the village that he and Xiaolan were about to get married, the strange thing was that since the news spread, Lin Yang rarely saw anyone coming to the house, as if they were avoiding something.
In the gloomy night, there was a faint mist floating on the road. Lin Yang stumbled slowly on the dirt road, feeling a little restless.
After walking through the mountain path and coming to a small wooden bridge, I felt a little nervous when I heard the sound of flowing water.
I carefully walked across the small wooden bridge. At the end of the bridge was a cliff with a medium-sized cave on it.
The cave was covered with rotten tiles and covered with whitened red cloth to barely protect it from the wind and rain, while a statue of a god was enshrined in the cave.
I don’t know how long it’s been since anyone came to worship this statue. Even the small jar for holding incense candles has been broken into several pieces. The incense ash has been wetted and flowed along the stone wall with gray-brown traces.
Lin Yang was also startled when he saw the statue. Although the sky was very dark, he seemed to be able to see the smiling face of the statue through the darkness, which was very eye-catching.
He felt as if there was a dark wind blowing behind him, and goosebumps appeared on his body. He quickly bowed to the statue and continued on his way.
There was another dog barking in the distance, but it quickly became quiet after three or two barks.
The sound of running water under the small wooden bridge became more and more distant, and the surroundings became silent again.
Lin Yang still had to walk for about one stick of incense to reach his destination, but by the time he reached a place where people were concentrated, it had already taken him almost as long as one stick of incense.
In the gloomy night, every door was closed and there was no light at all.
After walking to the east end of the village and finally reaching the house where they were spending the night, Lin Yang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Nothing happened along the way, but his mood became more and more nervous and cramped, as if something bad was going to happen soon.
But now that we have finally arrived, it seems that fear may have been at play before.
He slowly approached a yard and looked inside. He could vaguely see the light of fire coming from the house. Someone should be waiting for his arrival.
Lin Yang calmed down and then gently knocked on the wooden door of the courtyard.
Winter winter winter!
Soon, there was a response from inside the house, and along with the sound of footsteps, the sound of a door opening creaked in the yard.
The wooden door of the yard was opened, and what appeared in front of Lin Yang were two old men with old faces, who staggered out.
When the two old men saw Lin Yang, their bodies trembled briefly.
Under the weak candlelight, Lin Yang saw behind the old man. A tear seemed to flash in the old woman's eyes, but it was fleeting.
The old woman slowly raised her hand, as if she wanted to do something strange, but after the old man glared at her, she quickly took her hand back.
"Come in quickly!"
Holding the candle bowl in his hand, the old man said quickly, and then led Lin Yang into the house.
This family is not much better. It can be said that it is bare-walled. The furnishings in the house are also extremely simple.
Sitting down at the shabby wooden table, Lin Yang was about to ask the two old people their names, when the old man brought a bowl of hot porridge.
"Eat something."
The old woman looked at him with hope in her eyes.
Lin Yang looked at the steaming porridge in the bowl. It happened that he felt a little cold all the way just now. He couldn't bear to refuse the old woman's kindness, so he nodded.
Seeing Lin Yang nodding, the old woman's old face suddenly showed a look of joy, but strangely, she glanced at the old man timidly.
The old man glared at her again, and the old woman's body trembled slightly involuntarily, and she quickly left the room.
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Lin Yang only felt that it was very strange, but he couldn't tell what was strange.
Although the behavior of these two old people seemed a bit abnormal, for some reason, Lin Yang seemed to feel a kind of kindness from them. This was a strange feeling that Xiaolan and her parents had never felt before.
"Eat something."
A smile appeared on the old man's face and he pointed at the bowl of porridge.
"Have a rest after eating. People from the village will pick you up early tomorrow morning."
Lin Yang nodded. He saw that the old man didn't seem to want to say anything more. After saying this to him, he quickly left the room.
Drinking the hot porridge in the bowl, it was soft, glutinous and sweet, but it could only barely fill his stomach. At this moment, Lin Yang even began to miss the dark meat he had always eaten at home.
He drank up the porridge in a few mouthfuls and put down the bowl. Lin Yang looked at the shabby wooden bed leaning against the wall in the room. Finally, he extinguished the candle and lay down on the bed, but he did not feel any sleepiness.
The village was extremely quiet, and Lin Yang couldn't sleep at all. It was still an hour or two before daytime, and it was late at night.
After a while, Lin Yang, who was still sleepy, suddenly heard a rustling sound, as if something was approaching.
The sound came from outside the room, and Lin Yang couldn't help but become nervous.
After waiting for a while, slight footsteps came, and finally stopped outside the window, as if they were eavesdropping on what was going on inside the house.
Lin Yang didn't make any sound, and it sounded like he was completely asleep.
Soon, the footsteps gradually faded away until they disappeared. At this moment, Lin Yang heard faint voices coming from the room next door.
"Old man, do you really want him to go back?"
It was the old woman's voice, with a hint of crying in her tone.
"What can we do if we don't go back? Being able to see us for the last time is already a gift from the Demon Mother. We can't violate the rules of the village."
The old man's voice came next, with a sigh. Although it was very weak, Lin Yang heard it very clearly in this silent environment.
The strange conversation between the two instantly made Lin Yang feel creepy.
What the old woman said next made his scalp tingle even more.
"But...he is our only son. I...I really can't bear it."
The old woman suddenly started to cry and her voice became louder.
It seemed that he was afraid of being heard by Lin Yang.
"shut up!"
The old man quickly stopped the old woman, and the surroundings suddenly became silent again.
It wasn't until a long time passed that a gentle sigh came.
"This is the ancestral teaching..."
At this moment, Lin Yang was lying on the bed, his heart beating rapidly. He was a little doubtful whether he heard it wrong just now.
In his memory, he had no contact with these two old men. Even this meeting was very strange. But listening to the conversation between them, Lin Yang felt an inexplicable feeling.
The fear even made him tremble uncontrollably.
This is how the same thing?!
He thought of Xiaolan, the parents at home, and the conversation between the old man and the old woman just now.
From the moment he regained consciousness, he spent every painful night under the meticulous care of Xiaolan and his parents. However, Lin Yang didn't want to go to the conversation between the two old people who had only met once.
I believe it, but I can't help but think about it.
Obviously before coming here, everything was very normal. It was his big day soon. He was about to marry Xiaolan and live in love and harmony from then on.
Why did the words of the two old men subvert all his previous perceptions?
He remembered the strange behavior of the old woman when she saw him when she first came here...
Ta-ta...
At this moment, faint footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door, and Lin Yang became nervous again.
The footsteps were the same as before. They walked to the window and stayed for a while before leaving, as if to confirm whether he was really asleep.
No matter what, Lin Yang can't sleep now no matter what.
He wanted to get up and go find the old couple to find out, because he felt that their conversation did not seem to be fake.
But he also thought about how Xiaolan and his parents cared for him in daily life, just like a real family member, and the warmth shown everywhere was his most real experience.
Lin Yang trusted Xiaolan and her parents more than the two old people who had only met once.
"Perhaps...the son they are talking about is not me..."
Lin Yang thought for a long time and finally came up with this persuasive reason, because it all sounded very unbelievable.
But no matter what, as long as you wait until dawn, you can go back home, but be careful...
During the rest of the time, Lin Yang did not fall asleep. He waited until dawn with random thoughts in his mind.
The sound of roosters crowing caused a burst of noisy barking in the village. When Lin Yang got up and pushed open the door, he realized that many people in the village were rushing towards here.
At this time, the old woman faltered and brought a wooden basin.
"Wash your face, it's time to get married."
Lin Yang didn't dare to look at her, and the old woman left quickly after putting down the tub.
Lin Yang casually washed his face with cold water. The coolness made Lin Yang sober up. At this time, many people had gathered outside the yard, but no one entered the yard.
"Officer Groom, it's time to come out!"
A shout came from outside the yard.
Lin Yang didn't see the old man, so he simply stopped thinking about it, went back to the house, picked up the red cloth on the table, and walked out of the yard.
These gathered villagers were very unfamiliar to Lin Yang. Some of them might have only met once, and some had not even met at all. Lin Yang didn't even know the names of everyone present.
Looking at these unfamiliar faces, Lin Yang even felt a little overwhelmed.
When he came outside the yard, someone soon came forward, took away the red cloth in his hand, and tied it into a simple red flower with three strokes.
With the help of two people, Lin Yang put on the red flower and nervously waited for the next step of guidance.
The crowd outside consciously moved away, leaving a path in the middle, as if they had rehearsed it countless times and were extremely skilled.
"Let's go and pick up the bride!"
With another shout, Lin Yang was pushed forward by the people behind him.
When he walked out of the crowd, the people behind him naturally continued to follow him.
At this moment, the songs of several children sounded extremely happy.
"The bride is received, dressed in red, and filled with joy.
In Dongtouli and Xitouli, every household sings little songs.
Welcoming relatives, picking up relatives, and going to the kang room at the second watch.
Go to the mountain god, worship the dragon king, and wish the newlyweds long love!"
The song sounded short, but extremely festive, which was beyond Lin Yang's expectation. He only heard the laughter of these children, but he didn't see any happy expressions on other people's faces.
The villagers following him seemed to turn a deaf ear to the songs sung by these children, and many even just lowered their heads and said nothing.
Lin Yang couldn't help but feel in his heart that he heard the conversation between two old men in the middle of the night, and felt that everything was full of weirdness.
As he walked, he turned back, wanting to see if the two old men had come out to follow the team, but there was no one in the yard at this time, and the wooden door of the yard was closed, so there was no trace of the two old men at all.
Everyone was following him, and he couldn't stop, so he had to turn around and continue moving forward.
But at this moment, somewhere where Lin Yang couldn't see, in a corner, several villagers surrounded the two old men and stared at them fiercely.
The old woman had a look of pain on her face, but she didn't dare to say anything with the help of the old man. She could only watch Lin Yang lead many villagers away quietly.
Soon, Lin Yang was walking and reached the small wooden bridge that he passed on the way up last night.
He subconsciously looked at the dilapidated and idle statue on the rock wall, but for some reason, when Lin Yang looked over, he realized that a piece of black cloth had covered the entire cave so tightly that he could not see it at all.
The statue inside.
Although Lin Yang felt something strange, he didn't think much about it. Maybe it was just the custom in the village.
When I stepped on the small wooden bridge, it was just a short bridge built with a few thick wooden boards, but it was not enough to bear the weight of too many people.
So everyone waited until Lin Yang passed by first, and then lined up in a long queue to pass.
After passing the wooden bridge and walking for a while, Lin Yang soon saw the familiar courtyard walls and tile-roofed houses, and a look of joy suddenly appeared on his face.
But just when he was about to speed up and rush home, he paused again.
For some reason, looking at the home where he had stayed for a long time, where there was Xiaolan, who was about to become his wife, and his parents, he suddenly felt a strong sense of fear in his heart.
A cool breeze came, and Lin Yang suddenly felt that his back was soaked with cold sweat at this moment, and his body became a little stiff.
"What's wrong with me?"
It was as if he suddenly felt some kind of strong crisis, and his body suddenly lost control. It wasn't until the people behind him saw that he hadn't moved for a long time that they hurriedly stepped forward to help him.
"The groom will go to pick up the bride as soon as possible. Don't miss the opportunity."
The moment the villager's hand touched his arm, Lin Yang's body returned to normal.
He shivered involuntarily and looked at the familiar home again.
At this moment, an old couple wearing gorgeous red clothes and kind-hearted faces were standing outside the door on both sides, waiting for his arrival with smiles on their faces.