twin moon

Chapter 9 Act [-] First Acquaintance Part [-]

The mountain under their feet is the remnant of Leiyin Mountain, the highest mountain in the west of Wanzhou, and the villagers named it "Banqiu".The reason for this notoriety is that there is a vast swamp around the foot of the mountain.Every year, except for a short period of time from the beginning of winter to the beginning of spring, the swamp is covered with highly poisonous miasma for more than half a year, and people and animals cannot come out alive after entering it.

Not only that, the villagers all firmly believe that there is a god living on the top of the hill.Jiang Yan once heard from the witch that it was this god who drove away the bandits who followed the villagers and accepted the first batch of refugees who fled here with her, so that the village was able to take root in this mountain. , Completely cut off contact with the outside world, and lived a life indifferent to the world.

However, according to the legend of the villagers, this god does not like too many mortals living around the hills, and it will only appear after the sun goes down.Therefore, if outsiders want to enter the village, they need a person from the village to climb to the top of the mountain at midnight, offer tribute to him and worship devoutly, and then they can agree after being recommended.Otherwise, it will bring bloody disasters to the village.

Hearing this, Ning Yue looked up and down at the companion in front of her, shaking her head suspiciously: "I don't think this mountain god who doesn't know whether it's a man or a ghost doesn't seem like a good thing. Maybe that old witch deliberately scares you?" ? And since you are going up the mountain to worship the gods, why didn't you see what tribute you brought with you?"

Hearing what the girl said, Jiang Yan's expression became serious:

"Why don't I think that the gods are a bit weird-the tribute is usually pooled by the villagers. If they don't give it, I naturally don't have it. What's more, when Uncle You took me into the village not long ago, he also I haven't heard of anyone going to the gods to make an introduction for me..."

"In that case, why did that old woman agree to let you stay in the village?"

"When we came to the village, it was the end of winter and the beginning of spring. Unfortunately, Brother Cui had a serious illness. The village was so desperate that it was almost to the point of eating grass roots and tree bark. Uncle You didn't even think about it at the time. So he distributed all the prey he had caught along the way to other people, and asked to keep it. Seeing that they couldn't do it, the villagers had no choice but to agree."

The girl opened her mouth wide in surprise: "So, from the very beginning, Uncle You felt that the so-called god in the villagers' mouths was simply nonsense?"

Jiang Yan nodded hesitantly, then shook his head:
"It's better to believe it than to believe it. Since I settled down, Uncle You has taught me archery and knives every day, and he has always warned me not to go to the hills easily. Therefore, three days ago, he went up the mountain alone to hunt. After I didn't come back, I was very worried..."

It may be that the longing for Uncle You is too strong, or it may be that the grievances that have been suppressed in the bottom of my heart these days finally have someone to confide in. The seemingly independent and strong boy suddenly choked up.

Ning Yue didn't know how to comfort the other party, so she could only quietly listen to him continue talking.

"Uncle You once told me that the only thing one can trust in life is one's own heart and hands. In order to track down his whereabouts, I have almost walked all over the nearby forests, but still found nothing. The day before yesterday, I ventured deep into the swamp under the Banqiu, and unexpectedly found a broken bow."

"Could it be that the bow in your hand is—"

The girl looked at the horn bow in Jiang Yan's hand as if suddenly enlightened, and then looked at his eyes.

The black-eyed boy nodded and said:
"That's right. So I repaired the broken bow and vowed to find Uncle You. The strange thing is, she once asked where the broken bow was found, and said that Uncle You Maybe it was because of protecting me that I offended the gods on the top of the hill, and suddenly disappeared, so I don't want to waste my efforts."

"Shameless! After all, she is also the benefactor who saved the lives of the whole village. You must never listen to her nonsense!"

"Of course I won't believe it, but as long as everyone in the village believes in the witch's words, no one will agree to help me go up the mountain to find someone. That's why I'm thinking that I can go up the hill by myself tonight Go up to the top to see—if there is a god there, I will ask him to help me find Uncle You. And if there is no god on the top of the mountain, then the villagers will have no reason to continue to embarrass us.”

Jiang Yan seemed to have already made up his mind, and raised his finger in the direction of the village:

"That's how things are. Yue'er, you just promised me that you will go back to the village obediently after listening to me. Can you go back now?"

"No, I'm even more worried by what you said. Today I will go up the mountain with you. One more person will go with you. In case of any accident on the mountain, I can help you a little bit more. Besides, which ear do you have?" I heard that he promised you to go back after listening? I nodded just to tell you to hurry up, and you just recruited them all."

Ning Yue refused to turn back after saying anything, and took the lead in raising the corner of her skirt and continued to climb to the top of the mountain.Seeing that Jiang Yan really couldn't resist the opponent, he had no choice but to follow behind with all his energy, but he held the Baipi in his hand even tighter——

After some conversation, he felt more and more that there must be something weird on the top of the hill.And the mysterious and hostile villagers also made him feel that it might not be safe for the girl to go back.

So, the two climbed up the ridge for about an hour, and finally reached the peak of the strange rocky hill.On the other side of the mountain, there is a cliff that cannot be climbed at all.After the rainstorm, the sky became clear and quiet, the moon was like a mirror, and the stars were shining.It seems that as long as you stretch out your hand, you can touch the dark blue curtain that seems to be close at hand.

"There's nothing here. Hmph, that old woman really lied to all of you!" Seeing this, Ning Yue couldn't help feeling aggrieved.

Jiang Yan made a gesture of silence, then squatted down, and picked up a handful of white fluff from a crack in the stone beside him:
"Don't speak loudly. There are traces of living things on the mountain!"

Seeing that his expression didn't look like he was joking, Ning Yue immediately stuck out her tongue, squatted aside and stretched her neck curiously, pinched her throat and asked:

"what is this?"

"It seems to be the fluff from some kind of animal. Now that the winter is over, many birds and beasts have begun to moult, maybe they left it. But it's too dark now, I just saw Gao There seems to be a cave on the edge of the cliff where it is located. It is better to be careful if you are afraid that it is the residence of some ferocious beast. Why don't you wait here, I will go to the cave to have a look first. If you encounter danger, you should run away quickly. "

"It's a good idea, if you want to go together, if you want to escape together."

Although Ning Yue kept beating drums in her heart, she still insisted on advancing and retreating with the boy.Knowing the girl's stubbornness, Jiang Yan looked up at the dawn that was about to break, knowing that he had no time to continue struggling, so he nodded in agreement.

The hole is not very wide, and even a half-grown child can only enter with a hunched body, obviously unable to hide man-eating beasts like bears.However, this place is not a wolf den.Because through the moonlight shining through the cave entrance, Jiang Yan could clearly see the dense layer of withered grass and branches on the ground of the cave. It looked a bit like a bird's nest, but it was several times larger than an ordinary bird's nest.

"Let's go, there's nothing in the cave."

Jiang Yan didn't know whether he should be lucky or disappointed, so he turned around and was about to leave.But at the moment when his figure was swaying, under the withered grass and branches behind him, there was a "chirp" sound.

The muscles all over his body immediately tensed up, and he was about to reach out to touch the knife, but suddenly he heard Ning Yue's laughter resounding outside the cave.When he looked down at his feet again, he saw a palm-sized pompom covered in snow coming out of the shadows and jumping straight into the girl's arms.

"Oh, this little guy is really cute. Look, look, why is it so sticky to me?" Ning Yue couldn't help but giggled, hugging the little pompom in her arms and pampering her, "I ask you, Is this your nest? Where is your mother?"

It was a very rare white fox.The pinch of white fluff that Jiangyan found outside the cave before should have fallen from it.The young man once heard Uncle You say that the white fox is quite human, but he has never seen it with his own eyes.Seeing it now, as expected.

Right now, this cub, which seems to be only a few months old, is looking at the red-haired girl with a pair of round black eyes blinking, and it keeps making "chirp" calls, as if it is very hungry.

"This is definitely not the den of this white fox. It seems to have been hiding under the pile of dead grass and branches in the nest, as if it was deliberately hiding. You see there are bloodstains on its hind paws—let me Go into the hole and take a closer look!"

A bad feeling suddenly surged in Jiang Yan's heart, and he took out the Huozhe from his bosom as he spoke, and went back into the hole again.

Sure enough, he quickly found a large number of bones in the nest.Among them was not only the skeleton of a female fox, but also several groups of mutilated human skeletons wrapped in rags!
This time, it was finally Ning Yue's turn to be afraid.She hugged the little white fox tightly in her arms, and slowly moved backwards out of the cave: "This, these people, and those animals, what exactly were they eaten by?"

But the companion didn't seem to hear her at all, and suddenly "thumped" and knelt down in front of a pile of human bones: "Uncle You, I'm sorry, I'm still a step late!"

"No way, how could this pile of dry bones be Uncle You? Little stutterer, you must have admitted it wrong!"

"It is absolutely impossible for me to admit my mistake. Uncle You's right hand is born with an extra little finger than ordinary people. There are few people in this place, and the skeleton in front of me cannot be someone else who has nothing to do with it!"

There was incomparable grief in Jiang Yan's tone.Hearing what her companion said, Ning Yue immediately turned pale, but she didn't dare to get close to the bones to see clearly.

But before the young man finished speaking, there was a piercing long cry of "Jie" from outside the cave.

(End of this chapter)