The man closed his eyes and sat leaning against the cave, with the skylight falling on his face.
Even when he was asleep, his expression was stern and meticulous.
Jiang Yao quietly slipped out of his arms.
After a while, Ji Huaiye also opened his eyes.
The two of them took a shower.
Jiang Yao took out some food from her small warehouse.
After the two had breakfast, they continued on their way.
After driving for another day, we finally arrived at a village.
The two stayed overnight in a villager's home.
The villagers were an old couple with a six or seven year old child.
The child did not recognize his birth, and soon became familiar with Jiang Yao.
The kid was like a king of children, patting his chest and bragging to Jiang Yao, saying that he was familiar with this area.
"Where is that?" Jiang Yao pointed in one direction.
The child's expression suddenly changed: "You can't just go there."
"Didn't you say you can go anywhere?" Jiang Yao said in a joking tone.
The child's grandfather heard it and took over the conversation.
"That's Black Rock Village. You can't go there. People in that village will eat people."
"Cannibalism? Old man, what is going on? Please tell me." Jiang Yao looked curious.
Seeing that she was really interested, the old man felt that it was okay to talk about this matter, and out of good intentions, he told her about it:
"The villagers of Black Rock Village are very fierce. There was a hunter in our village who disappeared. People in our village found the territory of Black Rock Village based on the footprints. We feel that the hunter must have entered Black Rock Village. We want to go in and search for him.
, but as a result, the young and old in Black Rock Village were all armed with knives and axes and wanted to fight us desperately, refusing to allow us to step in."
"What about Orion?"
"Of course we couldn't find it, so we said Black Rock Village cannibalizes people."
Jiang Yao felt that not only were the people's customs fierce, but they were also like banditry.
In Jiang Yao's mind, the danger level of this trip has risen to another level.
"Don't get close to it. If you have to pass by, go around it."
"Old man, has Blackstone Village always been like this before? Or has it only been like this in recent years?" Jiang Yao continued to inquire.
"It wasn't like this before," the old man said. "In the past, we also interacted with the people in Black Rock Village and exchanged goods. The people in Black Rock Village were quite simple and kind. It must have been ten years ago that they became like this.
"
Ten years ago…
Mrs. Plum Blossom is a time traveler, and she traveled through time almost ten years ago.
Therefore, the changes in Blackstone Village are most likely related to Mrs. Plum Blossom.
"Blackstone Village has become like this, old man, do you know the reason?" Jiang Yao continued to ask.
"There are two surnames in Heishi Village, one is Shi and the other is Cheng. Cheng moved here more than ten years ago. It probably started when the Cheng family moved here."
Jiang Yao thought thoughtfully and felt that this Cheng family was most likely to belong to Mrs. Meihua.
The fact that her father was able to leave Blackstone Village, enter Lushui County, and be seen by Uncle Niu showed that her father was relatively free and safe.
The most important thing now is to find him and confirm his identity.
Jiang Yao and Ji Huaiye spent the night at a villager's house, left some money, and set out for Blackstone Village early the next morning.
Jiang Yao told Ji Huaiye everything she found out.
Ji Huaiye nodded: "It's similar to what I heard before."
"Aye, you said we're going like this, do you want to make up an identity?" Jiang Yao said.
Blackstone Village is most likely controlled by Mrs. Plum Blossom. Their appearance will definitely attract attention.
Make up an identity and a reason to enter Blackstone Village, and the possibility of arousing suspicion will be smaller.
Ji Huaiye nodded: "Husband and wife, looking for the lost child, accidentally entered Black Stone Village."
Jiang Yao nodded: "Yes, it can be used in special circumstances."
Jiang Yao and Ji Huaiye walked towards Black Rock Village. The further back they went, the harder it became to walk.
We walked to the sunset and finally saw the villages in the mountains.
Jiang Yao and Ji Huaiye originally planned to sneak into Blackstone Village secretly.
"Who are you?" Suddenly a cry was heard.
As soon as Jiang Yao turned around, she saw two men dressed as villagers walking over quickly and looking at them warily.
Jiang Yao then said the words she had prepared a long time ago.
He said that he and Ji Huaiye were husband and wife, and their child was lost, so he came to find her.
"There are no strange children in our village." One of the men said, "You guys, hurry up. If you take a step forward, you might encounter something."
The man's expression was fierce and his tone was threatening.
Most people would have been frightened.
Jiang Yao also looked scared: "We...we just want to find the child, and we will never do anything bad."
"Hey, a guest is here." At this time, another voice sounded.
He is an old man with a white beard.
As soon as he appeared, the two fierce men became respectful.
"Second Uncle Cheng."
"You two, I asked you to be kind to others, but you are so cruel, as if others owe you." Uncle Cheng scolded the two men.
The two men nodded repeatedly: "Second uncle, you are right."
"We know we were wrong."
Seeing that they had a good attitude in admitting their mistakes, Uncle Cheng let them go and looked at Jiang Yao and Ji Huaiye.
"Guests, I'm sorry. Our Black Rock Village is very friendly, and some of the rumors are all misunderstandings. What do you two want to do when you come to Black Rock Village?" Second Uncle Cheng had a smile on his face and a very kind expression.
Jiang Yao took out the prepared speech and said it again.
"It turns out that the child has been lost. As a parent, you must be anxious if your child is lost. I can understand. However, it is getting dark. You can rest for the night in our Black Rock Village. Tomorrow I will ask all the strong men in the village to help you.
Let’s look for it,” said Uncle Cheng.
Jiang Yao had an anxious look on her face and looked around for a while without saying anything, showing the hopelessness of a mother.
Ji Huaiye looked much calmer and thanked Uncle Cheng.
"Then I'll trouble Second Uncle Cheng."
Jiang Yao and Ji Huaiye followed Uncle Cheng to a family at the entrance of the village.
"Ergen!" Uncle Cheng shouted.
After a while, a villager with a simple and honest face came out.
"Second uncle, please call me."
"These two guests will stay at your house tonight, please take care of them." Uncle Cheng said.
The two men nodded repeatedly and welcomed Jiang Yao and Ji Huaiye in. They were very warm and hospitable.
A clean room was specially prepared for them, and the bedding and sheets were changed cleanly.
Ergen's daughter-in-law repeatedly told her to come to her if there was any problem, and then she went out.
Ji Huaiye closed the door and glanced at Jiang Yao.
"The people in Blackstone Village are warm and hospitable, which is completely different from what is said outside." Jiang Yao said.
However, those words seemed to be said deliberately to make others listen.
She suddenly approached Ji Huaiye and said seriously in a very low voice: "Aye, there are too many problems in this village."