Urban Oddities: Strange Tales of Mountain Villages

No.17 Candlelight

After the fire was extinguished, Luo Yi's face changed, and he grabbed Lin Yang: "Run!"

Something in the woods popped out, and several ups and downs jumped into sight.Only then did Lin Yang realize that those things were not "little monkeys", but children in the village!I saw those children hit the ground on all fours and flicked like a frog!The speed was so fast, Luo Yi saw that he couldn't dodge, so he immediately used his body to protect Lin Yang. Unexpectedly, Lin Yang kicked him, and both of them fell to the ground. I was empty, passed them, and rolled down the slope.Luo Yi helped Lin Yang up, and praised: "You really have two skills!" Lin Yang grinned while supporting his waist, and he didn't have the nerve to tell him that he just slipped due to panic.Another child rushed forward, and Luo Yi grabbed the beer bottle and knocked it over... There are still a few children coming here in the distance. They don't know the pain, and their jumping ability is amazing.Luo Yi glanced down the slope, and the child at the bottom of the slope also started to jump up.Small children undulate each other like fleas.Luo Yi threw the lighter to Lin Yang: "Quick! Light the candles!"

Lin Yang lit the candle several times and it failed to light. It was very windy and rainy, so it was not easy to light the candle.The small flame of the lighter is even more fragile than a candle, Lin Yang blocked it with a pot lid, and Luo Yi stood beside him.When Lin Yang was lighting the fire, he heard the sound of bang bang bang bang. Luo Yi made a good shot, but the children who surrounded him were too difficult to deal with. Luo Yi said anxiously: "Not yet?!" Lin Yang was also anxious: "Hurry up!" Already!"

Lin Yang concentrated on lighting the fire, but was suddenly pushed by Luo Yi, and immediately fell downhill. He rolled to the bottom of the slope, and after a while, Luo Yi also came down.When Lin Yang picked up the lighter, a child fell in front of him, and Lin Yang raised his head to meet the white eyes.Lin Yang recognized that this was the child he met some time ago. At that time, the child climbed up the tree and told them that the fruit over there was sweeter. Unexpectedly, within half a month, he had already turned into a monster.Lin Yang's nose was sore, and he flicked on the lighter when the child bit it.The flame faltered and would go out at any moment, but it was such an insignificant flame that made the child tremble and dodge suddenly. "They're afraid of fire." Luo Yi moved the candle closer, but it still couldn't light it.The lighter went out, and the child was about to pounce on him again, so Lin Yang had no choice but to turn on the lighter again.Luo Yi protected Lin Yang and backed away. Lin Yang kept trying to light the candles. It was difficult to light the candles that had been drenched in the rain unless there was a bigger fire to bake the wicks.On a rainy day, there was nothing to burn. The children had already fallen down the slope, so Luo Yi had to lead Lin Yang to the village. The village had a wall to block it.The two dodged, ran away when they saw villagers, and hid when they encountered children. They were like headless chickens all the way. Looking back, there were two children chasing them.There was a dilapidated village temple in front of it. Luo Yi saw the light, which seemed to be on fire, so he took Lin Yang to hide inside, and closed the door as soon as they entered.The two worked together to move the table against the door.The village temple is not big, the entrance is the main hall, and there is a small hall on the left and right sides.The small village temple enshrines Taoist gods such as the Taishang Laojun Jade Emperor, and there is a Guanyin Bodhisattva alone in the side hall on the right. There are some wishing strips with red background and black characters on the wall. Cai, and a note signed by Yang Chunhua, which said that she wished her daughter Liu Qi to be healthy and happy.

"Is Liu Qi also afraid of fire?" Lin Yang asked.

Luo Yi stood beside him, looking at Yang Chunhua's wishing note with him: "I'm afraid... those things are afraid of fire."

In other words, as long as you become a monster, you are afraid of fire.

All the offering candles in the village temple were extinguished, but the one of Guanyin Bodhisattva was still lit.The candles are not ordinary candles. They are called fighting candles. They are cylindrical. Each one is more than half a meter high and the diameter is thicker than an arm. One is placed on each side of the altar table. After being lit, it can last for 30 days.On the transparent shell of the fighting candle, there are big golden characters printed: All wishes come true.

Most of the fighting candle has been burned, and it is estimated that it will be extinguished in a day or two.Lin Yang touched it, and found that the shell of the candle was very hard, protecting the flame from wind and rain.The light they saw was the light of these two candles.This thing is good, comes with a protective case.Lin Yang and Luo Yi separately searched for similar fighting candles, but all they found were empty boxes.There were only two candles left on the altar. The two had no choice but to bow respectfully to Guanyin Bodhisattva, took down the candle, put the candle into the shell and baked it. After baking for a while, the candle finally lit up. stand up.Luo Yi asked Lin Yang to take the candle and clean up the food on the altar table by himself - the fruit was already broken, but there were still some peanuts, melon seeds and candies.

After Luo Yi cleaned up, he turned around and saw Lin Yang holding a lot of red paper in his hand. It turned out that Lin Yang had removed all the wishing notes on the wall.Lin Yang said it can be burned, don't waste it.Luo Yi found a plastic bag to put the note in, and a box to put two candles in it. "Let's go." Luo Yi opened the table blocking the door.Lin Yang used the lid of the pot to cover the candles, and followed Luo Yi out of the gate.This time Lin Yang carefully guarded the candle, and when he passed near A Hui's house, he heard a woman laughing loudly. Luo Yi said that it was A Hui's wife, but unfortunately she was already crazy.Lin Yang asked if the daughter-in-law was bitten too.Luo Yi couldn't explain clearly, she seldom went out and stayed in the house all the time.

"Ah Hui's son is also here." Luo Yi whispered, "His son is very dangerous, he almost bites anyone, and has already killed several villagers... It is best not to approach their house."

Lin Yang thought of one thing: "Could it be that Ah Hui was bitten by his son?"

"Have you met Ah Hui?"

Lin Yang trembled: "After taking a look, he should be... dead?"

Luo Yi was silent for a moment, and asked back: "Do you think those people who have turned into monsters can still be considered alive?"

Lin Yang didn't say a word, thinking of Ah Hui's tragedy, he felt a chill down his spine.Not a living person but able to move, eating meat and drinking blood, really like a zombie in a game.

As night fell and the rain continued to fall, Lin Yang used candles to drive away the sneak attacking cats, and followed Luo Yi to He Xiangu's house. As soon as he entered the yard, Lin Yang was startled. Two villagers stood in the yard Inside, facing the building.As soon as Lin Yang entered the courtyard gate, they seemed to feel the candle in Lin Yang's hand, and immediately climbed over the wall and escaped - those monsters would climb the wall, and the courtyard gate was useless.

Thick smoke came out from the gaps in the windows. Lin Yang thought it was a fire, and ran up to see that it was indeed a fire—a pile of firewood was burning in the middle of the hall on the first floor, and Huang Dafa was sitting beside him adding firewood to the fire.The firewood has been wet by the rain, and it has to be baked dry before it can be burned.

Huang Dafa didn't expect Lin Yang to come back. The moment he saw him, he dropped all the firewood in his hand.Huang Dafa rushed forward, raised his hand and punched Lin Yang, then hugged him tightly, and excitedly shouted upstairs: "Jingxiang! Minxian! Come down quickly!!!"

"What's the matter?!" Wang Jingxiang and Jin Minxian ran downstairs, seeing Lin Yang, jumped up excitedly, Wang Jingxiang rushed forward and hugged Lin Yang, crying and laughing, Jin Minxian was still calm and hugged Lin Yang. He hugged Lin Yang and said, "Why are you back?"

Seeing that his partners were all safe, Lin Yang finally felt relieved: "You guys, I can't get through the phone, so I thought something happened!"

Huang Dafa waved his hand: "Hey! Stop talking, something really happened! I don't know what happened to this village, the villagers have all turned into monsters!"

Everyone gathered around the fire, chatting with Lin Yang, and sharing the food Luo Yi brought back.Luo Yi went into the kitchen to get a bowl of tomato noodles, and Wang Jingxiang and Jin Minxian went upstairs with the noodles.There is no piped gas in the village, and the gas in cans is still used. Lin Yang went into the kitchen and shook it. The gas was running low, and he probably could use it a few more times.Although there was a power outage in the village, luckily there was still water. Lin Yang washed his body with cold water and felt his fever worsen after washing.Lin Yang took two cold medicines and went upstairs to the bedroom. He Xiangu lives alone and has only one bedroom. Now Yang Chunhua is lying in the only bedroom.Yang Chunhua couldn't bear the shock, fell ill, had a persistent high fever, and refused to eat.She was worried about her daughter, even though she knew that Liu Qi had become a monster, Yang Chunhua often murmured that she wanted to go back to the farmhouse to cook for Liu Qi.Yang Chunhua's spirit was unstable, and she often talked to herself, not knowing whether she had a fever or something. Wang Jingxiang and Jin Minxian took care of her, and usually wiped her body and fed her.Yang Chunhua took only a few mouthfuls of the hot noodles and gave up. She said she wanted to save it for her daughter, and she wanted to find fried poached eggs to put in the noodles. She babbled that Qiqi loved it the most.Wang Jingxiang and Jin Minxian were next to each other to persuade each other.Luo Yi brought sleeping pills back from the farmhouse, made a glass of water and brought it up. After drinking the water, Yang Chunhua finally calmed down, and fell asleep drowsily after a while.Luo Yi put two half-person-high fighting candles on the window sill of the bedroom, and a few big golden characters shone in his heart.Feeling sad for a while, Lin Yang followed Luo Yi to the third floor.Lin Yang asked Luo Yi, how did Yang Chunhua find out that something was wrong with Liu Qi, Luo Yi asked Lin Yang if he had seen Liu Qi's appearance, Lin Yang recalled, except for the eyeballs, he hadn't looked at it seriously.Luo Yi said that Liu Qi looks like a ghost now, her eyes have completely turned white, and Yang Chunhua saw her eating chicken... Literally, eating chicken, biting the chicken sent by the neighbor Dead and eaten raw.At that time, Yang Chunhua fainted and was brought here by everyone.Fortunately, no villagers attacked them, but Liu Qi was too scary. She not only ate live chickens, but also bit the children of Ahui's family. They didn't know what happened to Ah Hui's family in the next few days.They didn't dare to go back to the farmhouse to pack their things. Unexpectedly, in just a few days, there were no normal villagers in the village.

The meditation hall on the third floor is where they sleep, and they can sleep on the mats. There are small butter candles burning by the windows. At first glance, they thought it was some kind of ceremony.Luo Yi told him that the small candle should not be interrupted to prevent the cat from coming in.Candles are lit on every window sill, and one candle can burn for four hours.The candles are easy to use, but they will also face the most serious problem-the candles are running out.

Luo Yi also discussed with Huang Dafa, planning to pick up some firewood to replace candles. As long as there is fire in the house, those things dare not come in.At that time, there were only two men, Huang Dafa and Luo Yi, and one of them had to stay at home. It was very difficult to collect firewood, until today I met Lin Yang.

Lin Yang didn't feel sleepy at all, and followed Luo Yi down to the first floor.The hall on the first floor was bright and full of smoke, and the ceiling was blackened.After Luo Yi washed his body, he put his clothes and trousers on the drying rack. He said that there is no need to worry about water here. There is a puddle in the backyard full of rainwater. As long as it keeps raining, they will always have water.They have no shortage of water, only food and candles.Wang Jingxiang and Jin Minxian hadn't had a decent meal for several days, and the two girls were also very strong and didn't complain.Huang Dafa still had half a pack of cigarettes left, so he gave each of them one.Lin Yang lit his cigarette and took a deep puff.Huang Dafa asked, "Lin Yang, which way did you come in?"

When it comes to the way into the village, Lin Yang is one head and two older: "There is no way at all...I don't know if it is a good way to go back."

Lin Yang fell from the slope, naturally he didn't know what the road ahead was.Huang Dafa discussed with Luo Yi and planned to explore the way at dawn tomorrow. As long as they can leave, they will take Yang Chunhua out of the village safely even if they take turns carrying Yang Chunhua.Lin Yang felt that things were not that simple. The high slope was steep and slippery, and it was very difficult to walk alone, let alone carrying someone on his back.After discussing with Luo Yi, Huang Dafa went upstairs to sleep.At night it was Luo Yi's vigil, and he sat by the fire to warm himself up.The strong wind rushed into the hall with moisture, and carried the smoke away, leaving a cool wind.Fortunately, the wind and rain were heavy, and the smoke in the house was dispersed.The windows were all covered with bricks, leaving openings for ventilation.Lin Yang took off his clothes and hung them on the drying rack. He felt cold after taking off his trousers, so he simply put on his trousers and stood beside the fire to roast.Luo Yi wanted to laugh a little: "Don't get too close, be careful of fire."

Lin Yang said, "I'll go with you tomorrow morning."

Luo Yi: "Let's talk tomorrow morning."

"We have to find another way." Lin Yang told the truth, "The steep slope I fell off, you guys...it's very difficult to pass, it's too dangerous."

"Yeah." Luo Yi added wood to the fire.

After Lin Yang finished baking his pants, he sat next to Luo Yi warmly.Suddenly there was a movement in the yard, Lin Yang stood up, Luo Yi stopped him: "Don't worry about it, as long as there is fire, they dare not come in."

Lin Yang sat back nervously: "There are three."

Luo Yi: "Not afraid."

Lin Yang sat next to Luo Yi and applied medicine to his ankle. Luo Yi watched him drop a few drops of the medicine into his palm, and then rubbed it on his ankle.Luo Yi warmed his hands, took the active oil, rubbed his hands together, and covered Lin Yang's ankles when they were warm.Lin Yang didn't feel anything when rubbing it by himself, but when Luo Yi moved his hand, it hurt so badly that he felt numb as if bitten by an ant.Lin Yang held back and said nothing, Luo Yi saw that his face was blushing, so he laughed at him and called out if he wanted to.When he said this, Lin Yang didn't dare to say a word, what is there to be afraid of, a majestic man?Luo Yi supported Lin Yang's heel with one hand, and held his ankle with the other. With a slight movement, Lin Yang said, "Oh!"

Luo Yi smiled and said, "It hurts a little, bear with it."

Lin Yang: "Hmph, what is this little pain? Young master, I was... oh!... oh, take it easy!!! Oh, it hurts, it hurts!!!"

A few minutes later, Lin Yang only had the strength to moan and chirp. Luo Yi let go of his hand and said, "Okay." After Luo Yi let go of his hand, his numb ankle finally regained consciousness, and it was so warm and comfortable.Luo Yi sat by the fire, adding wood to the fire from time to time, and he had to watch to keep the fire burning.Luo Yi looked at it, and there was not much firewood left, and he had to pick some up tomorrow.Luo Yi flicked the firewood, suddenly there was a heavy weight on his shoulder, Luo Yi asked: "What's wrong?"

What responded to him was a burst of snoring. Luo Yi turned his head and saw that Lin Yang had fallen asleep on his shoulder.