Archaeological Notes

Chapter 9
The bright moonlight sprinkled the earth, and with the reflection of the snow, even if the flashlight was not turned on, the surrounding things could still be seen.Watching Dao Scar walk towards the ruined ancestral hall, I originally focused all my attention on him, but found that the foundation of the ancestral hall seemed to have sunk for no reason.Just as I was wondering if I was looking away, I wanted to squat down from the horizon to look in a different direction, when I suddenly found a person squatting beside me.

The sudden scene terrified me, and I couldn't help butt down on the snow, almost screaming out loud.The man squatted silently on the side of the haystack, curled up into a ball, put his hands on his knees, and buried his head deeply between his legs.The messy and fluffy hair makes people feel sloppy. Could it be a beggar from the neighboring village?

But the figure of this person is a person with a big skeleton, and I felt a little familiar, so I lowered my body and turned sideways to see the person's face clearly, but this action immediately made me sweat coldly, because I saw clearly The profile of the man's face.This guy is none other than the squinting three in the village!

There was a dispute between me and him because of a feud, and he even threatened to kill me when we were in the hotel. A chill suddenly rose in my chest, and when I was about to run away, I found that something was wrong with him, and he was panicked Looked at a loss, trembling there.

It's midnight and three o'clock. If you say that at this time, this squinting three and his gang of brothers are drinking and playing poker, I can understand, and I can also understand sleeping with a big girl in his arms. Hiding in the haystack like a dog, I guess no one will believe me when I say I go out and kill him.

If nothing, I heard a bloody smell wafting from his body, which is disgusting. Could it be that he was injured?
He was wearing a ragged cotton jacket that he picked up from nowhere, and he looked sluggish. What was strange was that he had a red scarf around his neck, which seemed to belong to a woman.It is not an exaggeration to say that this man's body is as strong as an ox's. During the day, he still looks like a tiger with a clapper, and the king of heaven and I can't do anything to his demeanor. Have you fallen into this field?Could it be that he was calculated by someone?

And just at this moment, he seemed to have noticed my existence, slowly raised his head, and looked at me dully, and suddenly I felt a little dazed.

Only a few hours have passed, and Slanting Eyes San is a completely different person from before!His expression was extremely haggard, his complexion was blue, his face was black, his lips were reddish purple, and his eyes were deeply sunken, as if there was a cloud of mist covering his face.His facial features were seriously distorted, and his expression was very painful, as if he was trying to restrain himself. I noticed that the nails of his right hand were deeply dug into his left arm.He gritted his teeth so loudly, the veins on his forehead were exposed, and he seemed to be saying something to me with his mouth wide open.

I looked at his mouth opening and closing, and was so surprised that I couldn't speak. It took me a long time to come back to my senses. The shape of his mouth actually seemed to say: "Quick! Let's go!"

It was only at this time that I stupidly understood that he had such a meaning, and then I realized, could it be that the surroundings are full of dangers?I wanted to run away with oil on the soles of my feet, but hesitated again. Although Slanting Eyes San had a feud with me, but if he was in trouble, it would be too fucking injustice for me to see him die again, wouldn't he?There are gods three feet above the head, and God is watching with his eyes open, so he is a little uncertain and indecisive.

But look at the pitiful appearance of that squinting Sandu, if he really needs my help, he will definitely speak up, and if he really says to let me go, it can only show one problem, that is, this place really can no longer shocked.

Determined to pay attention, I stared at Squint Three, and then slowly backed away, trying to stay away from the haystack.When he retreated to an abandoned adobe house, walked around behind an adobe wall, and looked there again, Slanting Eyes Three had disappeared.

In the ruins of the ancestral hall in the distance, I can see clearly that it has indeed collapsed. Maybe it was caused by the fire that roasted the frozen soil of the foundation?But I still feel that this kind of rhetoric is a little far-fetched, so maybe there is only this possibility, that is, is there a space under the ancestral hall?
Just as he was guessing, there was a slight sound of rubble turning from the ruins of the ancestral hall in the distance. After a quick look, he found that the scar had come out from inside.He was disheveled and tired, and he didn't know what he was doing inside, but he was carrying a big earthen jar on his back.

That clay vat looks so much like a giant bird's egg, it's hard to guess what it is, but the most intuitive feeling to me is that it's probably a clay vat.It was probably fired with yellow mud, and the surface was not glazed, a bit like the jar my grandma used to pickle mustard for me when I was a child.

Immediately, I felt that the pores all over my body shrank, and I couldn't help being shocked. Scar came here all night without sleep just to cosplay Gaara. Could it be that he was full?The snow was getting bigger and bigger at this moment, and the scars in the wind and snow were very difficult to walk. I suddenly realized that life is like a ruthless carving knife, which can change anyone's appearance. How strange the buddies became in an instant.

In order to prevent him from finding out, I had to rush back to the hotel before him, otherwise I would be exposed, so I turned around and went into the wind and snow, my heart was so complicated, I finally rushed back before Scar arrived at the hotel.

Locking the door, listening carefully, and confirming that Scar returned to the room, the tense nerves of the whole person relaxed. He lay down on the bed, thinking about some irrelevant things, and couldn't fall asleep even more.The first is the squinting three, the dejected look, always dangling in front of my eyes, lingering.This man, presumably, is also used to running amok in the countryside, and he may have committed a boat in the gutter and was retaliated by others, but from his desolate and fearful eyes, it is really hard to imagine that such a frightening thing happened to him.

When it comes to the person who wants to hurt him the most and who has the most reason to punish him, a flash of lightning flashed in my mind, and I suddenly remembered one person - "Master Shuanzi!"

In fact, my speculation is not unreasonable. In the daytime, Squint San Ming challenged him and opposed him everywhere.Master Shuanzi also has a group of people under his command, it is not impossible to guarantee that it is the black hands behind him, and it is not impossible to take advantage of his unpreparedness to plot against Slanting Eyes.According to Dao Scar, there seemed to be several factions in this village, fighting openly and secretly, and intrigues.

Although I don't quite understand what happened to Squint Three, but I don't bother to think about it deeply. Scar's weird behavior tonight makes me worry about it anyway.Since he didn't even mention the monk and Tian Rui, then I can't be stupid enough to ask him directly, what kind of thing is that vat you dug out in the ancestral hall?If this relationship is broken, I can't bear to walk around. As far as the current situation is concerned, it is the best policy to pretend to be confused and wait and see.

Just like that, I stayed up in a daze until dawn, and was woken up by the monk just as I fell asleep, so I had to get up and drink some porridge, and left the hotel to continue buying scraps in the village.I had dark circles under my eyes, and was listless. The monk said that I had an endocrine disorder, and that I would say things that would make people uncomfortable.I also tried my best to pretend nothing happened, and cooperated with him to talk about the south, the east, and the sea, but Scar's attention was not on me at all, and he didn't see any clues after going back and forth.

After a few days of lifeless life like this, nothing strange happened in the village again, and all the weird situations never happened again, and it stopped abruptly after the night when the ancestral hall caught fire.The monk was even a little uncomfortable, saying that this bird village is too quiet, everyone is so boring and likes to hide everything.I feel that this seems to be the calm before the storm, and it is only a matter of time before the stormy waves break out.

In fact, in these few days of calm, the undercurrent has already been surging, and an explosive news spread in the village, Slanting Eyes Three has disappeared!

When I heard the news, the cigarette between my fingers fell directly to the ground. I couldn't hide my extreme astonishment. Fortunately, Scar didn't find it.Because according to the villagers' description, Slanting Eyes San disappeared when the ancestral hall caught fire, and that was when people saw him for the last time. Some even said that Slanting Eyes San had been burned to death in the ancestral hall.People from Master Shuanzi's school said that it was a retribution for disrespect and rebellion. He deserved to be missing, and it would be best to die.But I deeply know that I was the last person to see Slanting Eyes Three. I can't say for certain whether he is alive or dead, but it seems that he has evaporated in the past few days, and his whereabouts have become a mystery.

The twelfth lunar month is constantly snowing, and it is rare that this day is sunny and sunny, and people are refreshed and get up early.When they went to the village, they continued to do their old job. Plastic pipes, waste books, black and white TV sets, copper wires, etc., as long as the villagers brought them, they would accept them all.Anyway, the money came from Scar, so I guess it is unlikely that he would transport all these waste products to Beijing, and at most he would pick up a few good ones and go back to waste.

Most of the village has already been visited, and only a few houses at the west entrance are left. When I passed by a house, I found that the door was closed and locked, and I suddenly remembered that this brick house was squinting.Presumably this person also has some tricks. The buildings in the village can be regarded as magnificent.

Carrying a basket full of shopping on his back, he was really flustered and wanted to go back quickly. When he urged Scar to leave quickly, he found that he was staring at the house in front of him in a daze, without any intention of leaving.The monk shook his back basket and said with a smile: "I heard that the big fool has a lot of good fortune. There is a woman in the family who is very good-looking. It is rumored that she bought it. But that kid is not satisfied, and he dared to spoil Yixiang after being ambitious." Sister, it can be seen that this family flower is not as fragrant as wild flowers!"

When I heard what he said, I wanted to retort: ​​"I said you are a Buddhist, like a monk, and you speak fluently. If it weren't for the scars on your top, people would think you escaped from an insane asylum. .”

The monk was the one who couldn't stand the blow, and immediately retorted: "You know what, Zhu Bajie wears glasses and pretends to be educated. I don't just look like a monk, I really am!"

"It is also a flower..."

"Hey!" The monk was chattering, and was about to fight back, but Scar interrupted: "Okay, you two together are over 50 years old, don't be so indifferent to things."

Dao Scar usually brags with us a lot, unless there is a reason for it, he will definitely not do this. Seeing him so serious, the monk and I couldn't help but straighten our faces.Seeing that he was still looking at the squinting three-eyed house, the closed door seemed strange, and then Scar frowned: "Don't you think it's strange?"

"Strange?" I looked at the two-story brick house, and didn't think there was anything wrong. "The squint-eyed three disappeared, and the door was naturally closed, which is very logical."

"But what about his woman?" Dao Scar said to the point.

"Maybe..." The monk tilted his head and thought for a while, "The man in the family is gone, so naturally he ran away with the wild man. This woman without a man is so lonely!"

I couldn't agree with his words, "There are barren mountains and wild mountains around here. It takes a few days and nights to go out of the mountains. A woman will definitely end up freezing to death. No matter how stupid she is, she will never do this. There must be something else. what reason."

Scar didn't agree with us. On his weather-beaten face, I saw a trace of composure and calmness. "Have you noticed? The door of this room has not been opened for several days. I suspect there is a ghost here." After a pause, he continued: "Monk, go and call Master Shuanzi, there is something wrong with this room. "

Dao Scar’s move is quite appropriate, it’s not good to just enter someone’s house and invite criticism from them, after all, we are not from this village.The monk walked vigorously, and within a cup of tea, Master Shuanzi was invited. Along with him, there were also a few old men, all very old, with crutches and a trembling look.

The monk took the lead, holding his own identity and not avoiding suspicion, with a slight push, the big red wooden door opened, which was actually concealed.

Dao Scar made a gesture of invitation, Master Shuan glanced at him, but didn't move, but asked: "These three children have been missing for three days, and they usually do things like googling without stopping, what's wrong? Please let me What is this old man doing?"

This Master Shuan still seems to have some estrangement towards Slanting Eyes San, implying that he doesn't want to care about this matter, but Dao Scar put a humble face on his face and said: "Master Shuan, you are the head of the clan in this village, no matter what People in the village are also missing, so you can't sit idly by?"

Or how to say that Dao Scar has gone through the world, these words immediately made Master Shuan feel a little embarrassed, and coughed a few times: "Although San'er is not a good stubble, his wife Shufen is usually considered a good person." I know the general situation, and I never pretend to talk to people. It’s okay, let you go into the house and have a look, so you can take care of things.”

The impoverished people in the village live in muddy water mixed with soil and thatch, and the roof is covered with thatch. The jargon is called thatch, or thatched house.There are only a few "luxury" brick and tile houses like Xieyan San in the village. They look like typical Northeast dwellings, painted with lime on the outside, and their layouts are mostly in line with this type of residential form.

Entering the house, I saw color TV, refrigerator and furniture. It is not difficult to see that Xieyan San has been doing well in the village. He probably borrowed it from his ancestors in Guiyanling.The room between the east and west houses is a place for cooking, and it is used to store some daily sundries. Water tanks and sauerkraut tanks are placed in the middle room, so the middle room is the least particular room, usually dark , which is equivalent to what we call the kitchen today.Several people went into the house and searched all over, but they didn't even see a ghost, so they entered the west wing on the right.

This room is a bedroom. Northeast people have the habit of burning kang due to the severe cold in the north. There is an earthen kang on the south side of the room by the window, and a quilt is placed messily on it. It is obvious that someone is too lazy to fold it when they get up.The monk looked here and there, and when he reached into the quilt to check the temperature, his expression changed obviously, and then he lifted the quilt with a "huo".

The people present immediately exclaimed, and saw bloodstains on the quilt embroidered with mandarin ducks on a red background!
"Whose... whose blood is this?" A bald old man beside him exclaimed in surprise.

I looked at the quilt and felt very uncomfortable, because maybe someone died on this bed. Although it was far away, I still smelled the disgusting smell of blood.Due to a long period of time, the quilt has dried up and sticky into a hard shell, and its area is as large as a medium-sized washbasin. It is not difficult to imagine that if there was no blood flow at that time, it would not be so exaggerated.

Dao Scar is obviously the calmest one in our group, when I looked at his face as a matter of course, I found that he was sniffing something, his brows were furrowed and his face was heavy: "Did you smell it? The smell of meat?"

"Burnt meat?" I shrugged my nose. I didn't notice it before, but after he said it, I felt that there was a smell in the air.It's a bit like it's released when lard is boiled, and it smells quite enjoyable. I know that every household in the village has killed pigs for the New Year, and my first reaction is: "Could it be that you are smoking bacon?"

Scar shook his head: "Of course you can't smell it." After that, he took a pair of tongs from the edge of the kang, squatted down and rummaged through the hole, and when he pulled it out, he suddenly stirred out a bunch of hair.

(End of this chapter)