sunk in yesterday

If you want to go down the mountain, you have to take a car. Where to borrow a car has become the most critical issue at present.

After thinking about it, Xia Zhuo and Guan Yuzhou didn't go back to the teaching building to disturb Wei Jiaxiang, but chose to go to the guard's room to chat with Uncle Li to find out.

It was meal time, and Uncle Li was wrapped in a gray-green military overcoat, sitting by the stove with kang cakes.When they saw them coming, they didn't lift their eyelids, and stretched out a cracked hand through the crack of the door, vaguely wanting to see the school certificate.

Xia Zhuo pointed to herself: "Does the teacher have to prove it when he goes out?"

Uncle Li spoke a dialect that he couldn't understand clearly, and pointed to the notice posted on the wall. His mouth showed two rows of messy teeth, but he didn't say anything for a long time.

That attitude seemed to be non-negotiable, Xia Zhuo looked back at Huang Yu, and the big boy nodded at him seriously: "Teacher, I thought you had Mr. Wei's permission to leave school."

"He still manages to come in and out?"

"It used to be in charge of the dean, but now they have basically resigned, and all the chores have been left to Mr. Wei."

Xia Zhuo stroked his chin and looked around. I don't know if it was to protect against wild beasts in the mountains or something else. No matter how high the wall is, it can cover the sky, and the sharp barbed wire is also piled on top of the wall. It is really not a big deal to get out. easy thing.

Huang Yu continued: "Teacher Wei is gentle and not very talkative. We tried many reasons to get him to let us leave the school, but he said that students who ask for leave must report to their parents... Anyway, the school gate is not allowed."

Uncle Li suddenly let out an inexplicable snort, and when Xia Zhuo looked over, he was dragging one leg, lowering his head and using tongs to clamp the formed shortbread from the oven to the plate.

It is very difficult for a person with limited mobility to live. No matter what others say, Hu Zimo is a good boy in essence.And in the face of such a good boy's help, would the old man who lived in a long and lonely life be ungrateful?

"Uncle Li." Xia Zhuo had a guess, he lowered his voice, and met the cloudy eyes that were slowly looking over: "We want to go to Hu Zimo's house."

Uncle Li pulled one corner of his mouth, and after repeated attempts, he finally made a sound.He spoke very slowly, as if he was not used to communicating with people, and he could only hear the content by listening carefully: "People are gone, what's the point of going home now? Go back, going will only increase troubles for his family. "

Regardless of his cynicism, Guan Yuzhou stood in front of Xia Zhuo and confessed his intentions: "So we need to borrow a car from you to go down the mountain."

"I said it's meaningless, go back, go back." After speaking, he pointed to the notice board that needed proof.

Guan Yuzhou asked: "Then do you think Hu Zimo's appearance these days is also meaningless?"

The resurrection of the dead is taboo in the eyes of the older generation.But Uncle Li paused when he heard the words, raised his loose eyelids a little, looked them up and down, and finally picked up the wooden stick on the ground without saying a word, and walked out the door with a stick.

Half a stack of cardboard was placed on the dilapidated tricycle, and a lot of plastic waste was also thrown aside.Xia Zhuo went up to help him tidy up, but he waved him away.He picked up those things little by little, bent down and put them on the ground lightly, and finally handed the keys out of his pocket.

"Thank you." Xia Zhuo took it with a smile. He hadn't ridden this kind of open-top tricycle before. He stuffed the key into Guan Yuzhou's hand and got on the seat eagerly.Before he could sit still, Uncle Li grabbed the edge of the car, opened his mouth for a while but couldn't make any sound, and slowly let go of his hand.

Xia Zhuo encouraged him: "What do you want to say?"

"Xiao Mo...Xiao Mo..." Uncle Li stumbled, his eyes suddenly turned red: "Xiao Mo is a good boy, he is obviously a good boy."

Xia Zhuo was a little surprised that the person who was so gloomy and uncomfortable yesterday showed this expression at this time.

But no matter how much they waited, the other party was unwilling to say a word, and turned their backs and waved them away.

The body creaked unbearably, as if it would fall apart on the spot if you applied a little more force, Guan Yuzhou stepped on the pedals without changing his expression, he seemed to be able to control any kind of transportation with ease, dragging two people in Riding out of the school gate amidst the grinding noise.

Uncle Li watched them go away from behind the school gate, and the black railings were closed little by little under mechanical control, enclosing the school again with no exit.When the leaves covered that face, Xia Zhuo saw a skinny hand shaking in the air, saying goodbye to them, and it seemed that the wind conveyed the expectation.In the guard room with Uncle Li on his back, the warm heat coated the glass with a layer of mist, and the thin figure was wearing a girl's school uniform, standing behind the glass and also watching them leave.

"Ha." Xia Zhuoban sat on the cold iron sheet, holding Guan Yuzhou's neck in the front row with one hand, "He really can't get out."

Huang Yu glanced back, but didn't see anything strange, he wondered, "Who? That uncle who's watching the door?"

Xia Zhuo looked at the bewildered male student with pity: "It's better that you don't know, after all, ignorant people can always live more carelessly."

"..." Huang Yu felt that this should not be good advice.

"Looking at it like this, Uncle Li doesn't seem to know much about Hu Zimo's death, he only knows that he was hanged." Xia Zhuo hissed: "But for a moment when he entered the school yesterday, I think he knew something... And dead people can only walk in a fixed area, which sounds a bit like in comics..."

"Earth binding spirit!" Perhaps because he completely relaxed his tense emotions after coming out of the campus, Huang Yu couldn't help but speak louder: "Teacher, you also read comics, I know, I know, that is, those who died A person who is bound in the same place and cannot leave or reincarnate!"

"I also said that if I want the earth binding spirits to leave, I have to help them fulfill their wishes." Xia Zhuo looked up at the gray sky behind the interspersed leaves, and poked Guan Yuzhou's shoulder after a while: "So, we are here All the protagonists of the events encountered now are quite similar to this setting."

Guan Yuzhou diverted some attention to the people around him. The muscles in his arms holding the handlebars swelled slightly, and a small car that was pieced together like broken copper and iron gave him the courage to drive a conceptual vehicle in an art exhibition.But when he thought about the past, his expression became gentle, and he smiled lightly with the wind blowing: "You also liked to watch these things before, and you borrowed other people's images to bring them back, and said that watching alone is boring, so you dragged me When I'm with you, sometimes I'm too scared to sleep."

"You're talking nonsense!" Xia Zhuo protested resolutely when she heard it, "You must have been scared after seeing it yourself, and you bullied me for not remembering, so you put all the hats on my head. I have been in close contact with ghosts so many times. I don’t feel anything, how can I be afraid of fake things that can’t be picked out in the video!”

While talking, he wanted to bite someone, but seeing the potholes on the ground, he still gave up the idea of ​​harassing Guan Yuzhou, muttered a few words to express his dissatisfaction, turned his head and continued with resentment Chatted with Huang Yu about something else: "Hmph, I'll clean you up when I get off the car. Hey, classmate Huang, I heard that you have a high opinion of Teacher Wei. Does he take good care of every student?"

"Yes." Huang Yu nodded without thinking about it: "Although all the teachers are from the city, they are somewhat tempered. But Teacher Wei is different, always smiling Anyway, no one has seen him lose his temper for nearly three years. Our class teacher said before that it was because the first class were all good boys and he didn’t need to worry too much, so he was in a happy mood all day long, unlike the two of them who were always being bullied by us. I'm so angry...hehe."

"Does Hu Zimo have a good relationship with him?"

"This...should be pretty good."

"should?"

"Mainly, we haven't seen them get very close, but Mr. Wei may be more considerate of him, right? I only know that Hu Zimo sometimes runs to the office. He never attends physical education class, and basically moves a stool to listen to it." Class [-], or go to the office to ask the teacher to give him a lecture. Our grades are at the bottom of the class, and he is not very popular in school. He doesn’t get along well with the other two teachers in our class, so he is generally willing to give him Teacher Wei is the one who gives the lectures, and it is normal for him to prefer to go to Teacher Wei over time."

Guan Yuzhou suddenly took what he said earlier, and said calmly: "He was looking at Wei Jiaxiang at the time."

"This is interesting. I was thinking about this possibility before, but I was not sure until now." Xia Zhuo laughed, and he whispered against the harsh guardrail: "Some things usually pretend to be decent Once the skin is peeled off, I still don’t know if it’s a human or a ghost hiding underneath.”

Huang Yu couldn't understand: "Who is the teacher talking about? Earth binding spirit?"

"Return to the ground and bind the spirit, why don't you go to school and read comics?" Xia Zhuo pushed his head, and then spread his hands: "Whoever is a hypocrite is talking about who."

After entering the dreamland, when I woke up, I was already halfway up the mountain, and I don’t know if the time from the top to the bottom of the mountain will be shorter.According to Huang Yu, Hu Zimo's home is in the nearest town at the foot of the mountain. It covers a small area, but the house is compact and usually very lively.

After driving on the flat road, Xia Zhuo happily took Guan Yuzhou's place, and headed towards the gray buildings not far away.

It was still early at this time, and a dozen or so families hadn't smoked their kitchens, but not even a cat or dog could be seen on the street, which was completely contrary to what was described.

Huang Yu really didn't dare to compliment Xia Zhuo's driving skills, so he was afraid that he would vomit first when he sat down, so he jumped out of the car first, looked around in some puzzlement, and said while looking around: "Strange, when I came last time People are everywhere here, and there is a tofu stall under that apricot tree—look, teacher, the cart is still there."

The tin cart was not locked, and it was just thrown beside the tree trunk, with a thick layer of dust on it. The stall owner must have not come back for a long time.

Xia Zhuo wanted to take a closer look, but suddenly there was a sound of gongs from the side alley.They looked together and saw a staggering lineup of five or six people, each with their heads bowed and wearing white cloths, as if they were holding some kind of street parade ceremony, and even the suonas were tied with white satin.

These people walked frivolously, stiffly without souls, across the empty street, towards the other side of the hill.The leader was carrying a three-layer food box in his hand, and he didn't raise his head when the three people passed by, as if he didn't care about the visit of outsiders.

Coupled with the gray sky, the atmosphere in the whole area is depressing and depressing.It wasn't until the team disappeared from sight that Huang Yu poked his head out from behind: "Is this someone's family having a funeral?"

A student in the school had an accident. It is normal to have a funeral at this time. Guan Yuzhou held Xia Zhuo's wrist: "Follow up and have a look."

"Hey, hey?" Huang Yu stomped his feet on the spot, "No, my mother said it's bad luck to get involved in other people's funerals. If you take a closer look at night, the dead may come to the bedside. Aren't we going to Hu Zimo's house... ... Hey, teacher... teacher, wait for me!"

Guan Yuzhou followed upright, leading the two of them without looking for any cover, and followed so quickly at a position less than three meters behind the team. If he was also wearing white clothes, he could completely mix with them from a distance.

After a while, the speed of the team slowed down. Looking forward from between the two walls, there were steps leading to the high slope on the opposite side.After they entered the mountain forest, they stopped and walked. It seemed that the dream was giving the participants time to think about whether to keep up. Xia Zhuo and Guan Yuzhou looked at each other, and raised their legs to catch up without much hesitation.

The sound of the suona shook the dead leaves, and the branches that hadn't sprouted new buds looked extremely barren. Compared with the school garden, the scenery here was as bleak as it was.

Xia Zhuo was panting, the hillside didn't look very high from below, who knew that it would be quite tiring to climb up by yourself.Guan Yuzhou asked him if he wanted to memorize it, and this proposal received strong protests as soon as it was halfway through. Xia Zhuo supported his waist and repeatedly expressed that he could do it, but he almost tripped over a tree branch when he turned a corner.

"What do I rely on..."

Guan Yuzhou supported him, a little helpless: "Look at the way, don't worry too much."

"Not too anxious, just..." Xia Zhuo looked down at his feet strangely, and got stuck halfway through his words.What tripped him was not a branch, but a wooden handle hidden in the bushes.

He didn't make a sound, but it seemed that the surroundings were frighteningly quiet.The music that accompanied them all the way stopped, and even Huang Yu, who was following behind and persuading them to return, was nowhere to be seen.Xia Zhuo silently glanced at the empty steps above, and then at the empty road when he came. There were originally more than a dozen people on the hillside, but now it seems that only he and Guan Yuzhou are left.

Guan Yuzhou didn't speak. He bent down and grabbed the handle and lifted it vigorously. Before he could reveal his whole picture, Xia Zhuo had already let out a low voice: "Isn't this the box that was carried by the person who walked in front just now? I said why the first The eyes are a little familiar." He asked Guan Yuzhou's opinion: "Mr. Guan, can this be opened?"

Guan Yuzhou tapped on both sides of the box, "I'll open it."

The two found a flat area with a relatively wide view, and squatted down to study the three-story food boxes.Its shape is very ordinary, and there are no exquisite patterns carved, and even the paint on the bottom is a little peeled off. There are four cold dishes and more than a dozen pairs of chopsticks on the top and bottom.

"Hiss..." Xia Zhuo pursed his lips: "Isn't it a bit too shabby for a dozen people to share four dishes?"

Guan Yuzhou confirmed that there was no interlayer in the box. He frowned and thought about it briefly. He couldn't think of its use for a while, so he reset it and carried it in his hand again: "It's still some time before dark, let's go further."

"Okay." Xia Zhuo nodded, and said casually, "I don't know how Xiao Huang is doing."

Guan Yuzhou glanced at him, and said lightly, "Don't think about unnecessary things."

What are things that don't need to be thought about?Xia Zhuo was amused by his words: "Do you eat the jealousy of children?"

Guan Yuzhou denied: "It's not jealousy."

Xia Zhuo was still laughing, took his arm and said in agreement: "Yes, yes. How can a broad-minded person like Mr. Guan be jealous casually? I must be self-indulgent."

Guan Yuzhou relaxed all over, and sighed resignedly after walking a few steps: "You will never be self-confident."

These words were so powerful that the corners of Xia Zhuo's mouth almost reached his ears, and he felt that climbing a few hills would not be a problem.After a short rest, he regained his energy. He half-hopped and walked up the stone steps to the top of the hillside, and pushed aside the scattered branches. As they expected, there were two rows of new graves on the empty land in front of them.

Xia Zhuo made a rough count, and there were more than a dozen of them. With the extra food box in his hand, it seemed like they came here specially to visit the grave.

I have seen more intrusive scenes in barren villages, and this well-formed graveyard looks much more intimate.He walked around the steles for half a circle, quickly locked on to the target, and beckoned Guan Yuzhou to come over: "Teacher Guan, come here, this is Hu Zimo's grave!"

The excited tone seemed to greet people to see the scenery on the New World.

Guan Yuzhou stepped forward, bent down and pressed the soil at his feet, "The soil nearby has only been refurbished recently, and this area may be just an empty tomb."

"Empty tomb?"

"Well, there is no corpse, it's just a thought. In some places, the things used by the dead are buried, or a doll engraved with the birth date is made to replace the human body. You have seen this before."

Xia Zhuo was eager to try it immediately: "Then is there something buried in these soils?"

Guan Yuzhou tapped him on the head: "Don't dig without definite clues."

The two placed the dishes in front of the graves, starting with the chopsticks from the first grave.

Xia Zhuo watched silently behind him, sniffed his nose lightly, and whispered, "It has a fragrance."

The incense he is talking about is not the aroma of vegetables, but the incense of burning.The faint smell diffused from nowhere, although the direction could not be determined, but after smelling it, people felt calm in their hearts.Xia Zhuo stretched his neck and took a few more breaths, and then his head became dizzy. For a moment, he felt a cloud of smoke covering his vision. weird.

The sound of cascading footsteps sounded from the stairs where they came. He turned his head to look behind him. They were a middle-aged couple. They were dressed plainly. Afterwards, she was supported by the man beside her while walking.

At the moment when those two pairs of eyes met, it seemed that a great sorrow came from heaven and earth, making people breathless.Xia Zhuo was blown by the wind down the slope, and found that there was a cold sweat on the back of his neck in a short time. He couldn't grasp the source of the cold sweat, but he seemed to see another pair of faces through the couple in an instant.

"square……"

"Xiaoying?" Guan Yuzhou gave him a hand: "What's wrong?"

"Ah." Xia Zhuo pressed his heart, and the image that flashed just now disappeared in his mind.He grabbed Guan Yuzhou's outstretched hand and shook his head indiscriminately, "I seem to have seen them somewhere... No, it's not them, it seems that I thought of others after seeing them."

At this moment, the middle-aged couple had already walked to the grave.They looked at the food box on the ground, then at the two young men, and asked, "... who are you?"

Guan Yuzhou stroked Xia Zhuo's back and answered their questions at the same time: "We are new teachers from the school on the mountain."

The man was a little dull: "Oh... oh. Hello, teacher."

"Who are you two?"

The man forced a smile: "I am Hu Zimo's father, and she is his mother. Come see Xiao Mo today and talk to him."