I collect cultural relics in the human world

Chapter 188 Hide and Seek ()

Little by little, the night submerged the Stone City where they were. Just as Xiao Shitou said, by the time a few people rushed to the city wall, the lights on the stage in the town on the other side of the river had already crossed the surging Yellow River, illuminating the dark and dim stone. The city walls are like daylight.

There were many people around, all sitting facing the Yellow River, whispering to each other. They were all villagers who came to listen to the show. But those people didn't have clear faces, and their facial features were all blurred together. I think Xiao Shitou had never paid attention to these people before, and he didn't have any extra thoughts to care about them at the moment, so in his dream, these people turned into The thin black shadows, like squashed paper figures, looked very scary under the flickering red and green lights.

Qin Jian held the small stone in one hand and held He Si in the other. Without squinting, he calmly found an empty seat and sat down. Upon seeing this, Fan Yu immediately squeezed in beside a few people. He couldn't help but glance at the dark and turbulent Yellow River under the city wall, and then looked back at the unknown black figure behind him. He took a deep breath, thought for a while and still didn't sit down. He just stood behind a few people and leaned on the city wall to launch an attack at any time.

"Listen!" Xiao Shitou was not affected by those dark shadows. He shook his dangling legs happily and pointed at the glowing stage opposite, with a longing smile on his face.

He Si listened carefully, and finally heard a hint of banging sound among the surging water and noisy human voices. It was melodious and simple, as if it came out of the soil.

Against the background of the sound of bangzi, the ethereal lead was carried by the whining night wind, intermittent, weeping and complaining, as if hanging on a swaying silk thread, showing a hint of ghost in the hazy night.

He Si held Qin Jian's hand involuntarily and tightened it. Fortunately, the sound of the drama on the other side became louder and better at this moment. The night wind could no longer hold it, and the sound fell into the water. After a few thumps, it followed the river and rushed over. The noise in the crowd also faded away, and the black figures on the city wall seemed to be holding their breath, listening to the gradually clearer drama.

Sure enough, the peak had been reached, and the high-pitched and sonorous sound broke through the shackles of the water, crossed the waves, and hit the eardrums of several people. The noise also stopped completely. High and low black figures were lying or sitting, staying motionless on the city wall, as if being pulled by a mysterious and ancient power, completely becoming the background of this drama. He Si turned to look at Xiao Shitou, who was sitting on Qin Jian's lap and was concentrating. From his pupils, he saw everything on the stage opposite - lanterns hanging high, red silk fluttering, decorated with complicated headdresses and gorgeous costumes. At this moment, the other players were twirling their clothes and looking back, catching He Si in their fleeting eyes.

The sound of the clapper started again, and the drama gradually faded away in the lingering sound. The play in front of her was about to end, but He Si didn't know how the play she was in was going to end. She could only keep looking at the little stone until the dance stopped and the song subsided. The surroundings fell into boundless darkness and silence again, and the light in the little stone's eyes gradually dimmed.

"Little stone!" He Si couldn't help but whisper. She was a little scared. The child in front of her was so pale that it seemed as if she would disappear into the night at any time.

"Grandpa brought me here to listen to the opera before," Xiao Shitou was awakened by the voice and regained some energy. He jumped off Qin Jian with his hands on his body. The sadness in his eyes was fleeting and round. A smile immediately appeared on Du's face: "Sister Xiao He, let's play hide and seek again."

"Little Shitou," Qin Jian's voice became particularly low, "you said you wanted to play with your friends for a while, so we would wait for you to play for a while. You said you wanted to watch the sunset for a while, so we would watch the sunset with you for a while. You said that there is a performance in the temple opposite today, so we will take you to the city wall to listen to the performance. One or two is no more than three. We have obeyed you three times. Now, it is time to go back. "

Xiao Shitou didn't speak, he just stood with his head lowered, making his expression invisible. The black shadows that had stopped moving around stood up one after another, surrounding Qin Jian and the three of them. They were all different in height, short, fat and thin, but they all made the same movement, looking down at the ground like small stones.

Xiao Jiu just wanted to fly into the air, but his claws were caught by the silk thread at He Si's fingertips. It rubbed its head on He Si's shoulder like a baby, and pecked the loose silk thread twice, temporarily stopping its attack. "When I first arrived at the courtyard, you said that grandpa was cooking. When I arrived at the restaurant, you said that grandpa was watching a play at the city wall. But now that the play is over, Xiao Shitou, where is your grandpa?" Qin Jian's voice became even louder. Sternly, "Why does your friend look like that, Xiao Shitou, what happened to your grandpa?"

The small stone moved a step forward, and countless black shadows also moved a step forward at the same time. The gap between the black shadows became narrower because of this advance, like a closing circle. In front of several people, countless slender necks hung with low heads, standing silently on the spot, their necks were continuously stretched, and their heads were teetering on the verge of falling. The scene was strange and terrifying.

"Oh, brother, my head is about to fall off." Fan Yu said, stepping forward to hold the head of a dark shadow beside him that had hung down to his waist. He patted Qin Jian's shoulder with his other hand, his voice neither high nor low. It happened that the whole audience could hear, "Uncle Qin, be polite, don't forget that there are still nine ancient beasts, I really want to turn my face, although Xiao Shitou is not so ungrateful, but I said in case... I will refund 10,000 Bu said...you have been so painful for so many years, and we must be the ones who suffer."

The boy in front of him even had his shoulders slumped, and the surrounding black shadows had no support. He hung down softly, like a popsicle in summer, melting from the top, and soon crawling to the ground and disappearing into the loess. , leaving no trace at all.

"What happened?" He Si couldn't help but ask.

"I can't find grandpa." Xiao Shitou's voice was filled with tears. "In the past, when I was hungry, bored, and wanted to watch a show, grandpa would appear. But now I have tried everything. I have tried all the methods." After passing by, I couldn’t find grandpa anywhere.”

"But..." He Si didn't know what to say. If it were realistic, his grandfather, the Immortal Riding the Phoenix, would have disappeared long ago and would never be found again. But at this moment, he is in a dream, a dream under the influence of the Sitting Guanyin. What is happening here is the life that Xiao Shitou longs for most. According to He Si's experience, he can meet his grandfather as long as he wants, but why does he Still can't see grandpa?

"Let's play again, for the last time." Xiao Shitou finally raised his head that had been lowered, raised an index finger, and his dark eyes were filled with starlight.

"Okay," no one had the heart to break a child's waking dream, Qin Jian still agreed, "Then let's play hide and seek with you again."

"We come to hide, you come to find," Xiao Shitou's voice was filled with hopeful excitement.

"If we win, you will wake up from your dream."

"I know," Xiao Shitou nodded solemnly, "but you have to find grandpa as well, and you will be considered a winner."