Deserted Village Apartments

Chapter 25 No.20 Two Days

In the early morning, the cool breeze came in from the window on the third floor, and the smell of the ivy finally faded a bit.I lay on the cold straw mat, opened my eyes slightly, a white shadow swayed above my head, and a black waterfall hung down from the top of the white, and I knew it was her.

My eyes gradually became clear. Xiaoqian was wearing a white nightgown, her black hair was hanging down her chest, and she was looking down at me.Her gaze was so strange, it rolled through my body like electricity, making me feel uncomfortable all over.I looked out the window, the sun hadn't hit the room yet, probably only after six o'clock in the morning.I got up in a daze and said, "Why did you come up? It's still early."

Xiaoqian's face was pale, and there were still some beads of sweat on her forehead. A few strands of hair stuck to her face, and she looked very pitiful again. She replied in a faint voice: "Just now, I had a nightmare. .”

"Nightmare again?" Her voice really startled me. I've never heard her have such a voice. Thinking about the scene in the middle of the night last night, I shook my head and asked, "Did you dream about the sound of the piano?" gone?"

"No, I dreamed about that couple."

"The couple? You mean Ruoyun and her husband?"

"Yes. I finally know now—"

But she stopped suddenly and turned her head to the side. I asked anxiously, "What do you know?"

Xiaoqian still turned her back to me, her voice trembling: "That man is the son of the pawn wife."

"The son of a pawn wife?"

In an instant, the backyard of Jinshidi appeared in front of my eyes, the lonely old well beside the plum blossom, and the body and soul of the pawn wife were buried in the dark depths.

I walked to the window and took a few deep breaths, nodded and said, "That's right, if the story of the pawn wife is true, then the son she gave birth to for the Ouyang family should have grown up by 1948, and when she married a wife and had children The age is now. The calculations from the time are completely consistent, and Master Ouyang only has such a son, so he is naturally born to his pawn wife."

Xiaoqian walked up to me, leaning against the wall covered with vines, but didn't say a word.I stared into her eyes and asked, "How did you know? Someone talked to you in the dream?"

"No, don't ask any more." She lowered her head, unwilling to answer my question any more.

"Well, I won't ask."

I sighed and walked out of the room.Xiaoqian followed me closely and asked, "Where are you going?"

"Go brush your teeth and wash your face. You woke me up early in the morning, how can you let me go back to sleep?"

After going downstairs to wash, Xiaoqian dragged me into the room on the second floor.It turned out that she brought back a lot of pastries last night, and now she is sharing them with me for breakfast.

After eating this hearty breakfast, she also seemed to be in a much better mood, finally showing some smiles.She sat me down and said, "You know, when you walked out of the room just now, I was very scared."

"afraid of what?"

Xiaoqian hesitated for a moment, and finally said quietly: "I'm afraid you will leave suddenly and leave me here alone."

"What are you thinking?"

"No, please promise me, don't leave me alone in this house, because now I have nowhere to go, okay?"

"Nowhere to go? Sounds like a wanted criminal." I stared blankly at her eyes, those eyes that only appeared in Liaozhai stories, seemed to contain some moist liquid, which made my heart tug again Get up, "What's wrong with you today? I've never seen you like this before?"

But she still persisted and asked: "Promise me, promise me quickly."

"Okay, I promise you, I won't leave you here alone? Unless—"

Seeing me pause, she became a little nervous again: "Unless what?"

"Unless—the house doesn't exist anymore."

But Xiaoqian shook her head and said coldly, "No, unless I die."

"Don't say that—"

However, I couldn't go on, I could only look at her quietly.And she also remained silent, seeming to speak to me with her eyes.

After a stalemate for tens of seconds, I finally spoke: "Xiaoqian, let's talk about something else."

"Okay, what are we talking about?"

"Why do you have to live here? Is it because of me?" Finally, I boldly said what I had been holding back for a long time,

Xiaoqian's ears turned red, she turned her head and said softly, "What are you talking about? I don't understand."

"Why do you always follow me? Wherever I go, you will also go. Whatever I do, you will help me. You are like my shadow—"

Having said that, I stopped in embarrassment.

"You hate me?"

"No, I definitely don't mean that. Although, at first I felt that you were pestering me, but since I met you for the first time, that feeling has completely changed. In the past few days, in my subconscious, I always hope that you will suddenly appear in front of me, just like now, very close to me..."

Finally, Xiaoqian smiled slightly, something flickered in her eyes, which made my heart beat faster again, and she said faintly: "But I am Nie Xiaoqian, aren't you afraid?"

"No, I think Nie Xiaoqian is very cute, very cute." I don't know where the courage came from, I suddenly said loudly, "I would rather be Ning Caichen, I think he is the happiest man in the world."

The corner of her mouth twitched slightly: "Then Nie Xiaoqian is the happiest woman in the world."

At this moment, I don't know what to say, I just stared at her in a daze, looking at those seductive eyes in Liaozhai.I gently stretched out my hand and touched her hair. Under the morning light, the soft hair reflected like a mountain spring. My hand swam through the flowing water, so cool and clear.I couldn't help but took a deep breath and said, "Thank you, Xiaoqian. I finally feel the happiness of the heroes in the stories of Liaozhai."

But she remained silent, her eyelids lowered, and a dark fragrance permeated my heart.But unexpectedly, she stood up suddenly, lowered her head and said, "I almost forgot, I have to go to the ice cream shop early today."

In an instant, I woke up again and walked out of the room in silence.When I came to the hall downstairs, I raised my left hand, looked at the jade ring on my ring finger, and couldn't tell what it was like in my heart.

After a while, Xiaoqian changed her clothes and went downstairs. Before going out, she specially told me not to go out in the afternoon.

After Xiaoqian left, I paced alone in the hall, and unknowingly walked into the next room—the sun had already shone on the old piano, I gently opened the piano cover, and reached out to touch the black and white piano. The keys, these are the keys that Ruoyun played more than 50 years ago. Her fingers tapped on them lightly.

But now I can't see her.I shook my head and left the room quickly.

The whole day, I followed Xiaoqian's care and sat in the room reading a book, and I also settled my lunch in the room on the spot.I am like the farmer who waited for a rabbit, hiding in this old house, waiting for some secret or miracle to appear.

What I didn't expect was that Xiaoqian came back early today.When the setting sun was shining outside the window, she walked into the room carrying a large bag of things, all of which were fast food she bought from the supermarket, as well as a few catties of rice.

Xiaoqian washed the rice with her own hands, cooked a pot of rice in a rice cooker, and then heated up the fast food in a microwave oven.I haven't had a serious dinner since entering the house.

Eating the rice that Xiaoqian cooked for me, my mood is naturally different, even the taste of the rice grains is so special.Although it is not a dish cooked in a frying pan, in a ghost place like a barren village apartment, it is enough to eat so many dishes.After a while, I ate two bowls of rice, and almost all the dishes were sucked into my belly.

However, Xiaoqian barely moved her chopsticks.Although most of the girls nowadays pay attention to dieting to maintain their figure, Xiaoqian's figure is already very good, so there is no need to make herself suffer like this.I tried to express my doubts, but she smiled slightly and said: "Have you never watched Liaozhai? Nie Xiaoqian is not a human being."

"Non-human fireworks? That's either a god or a monster."

She replied flatly: "Then you can treat me as a female monster."

"That's right, Nie Xiaoqian is not a human being at all." I replied a little teasingly.However, the aura she exudes all over her body does have a smell of otherworldly fireworks, and anyone who looks at it will be dreamy.

Suddenly, there was a dull loud noise from the sky, which scared Xiaoqian into a ball, and my heart almost jumped out of my throat.Immediately ran to the window to have a look, there seemed to be countless dark clouds rolling in the dark sky, thunder was rolling tens of thousands of feet above the sky, and a heavy rain fell in a blink of an eye.The humid cold wind filled the room, only the sound of rain could be heard, and the vines in front of the window were soon wet by the raindrops.

I looked back at Xiaoqian, she seemed to be very afraid of thunder and lightning, and almost closed her eyes.I quickly closed the window, sat next to her and asked, "You're shaking all over, what's wrong?"

"I have been afraid of thunder and lightning since I was a child."

"In the story of Liaozhai, only the beautiful fox girl is afraid of thunder and lightning." For some reason, I suddenly thought of Liaozhai, but I immediately comforted, "Don't be afraid, with me by your side, you will not be hurt."

Just as I stared into her eyes and watched her mood gradually calm down, the electric light suddenly went out, and the whole room was plunged into darkness.

In the dark room, I couldn't see Xiaoqian's face, I could only feel her trembling body. She was muttering something, but I couldn't understand a single word.The room at this moment is like a tomb, only the thunderstorm outside the window is still raging.

I ran out of the room in a hurry, but the lights in the corridor couldn't be turned on, and the entire apartment in the deserted village was in darkness.I immediately went back to Xiaoqian, she grabbed my hand and asked, "What happened?"

"All the lights won't turn on, probably the power is out."

"Why is there a power outage?"

"The deserted village apartment will be demolished in a few days. The demolition team must have cut off the electricity for us." I shook my head helplessly and said, "They probably don't know we live here. But even if they know, it's useless. We're not residents anyway."

After speaking, I opened the cabinet in the dark, fumbled for a long time in the bag I brought, and finally found a few white candles.After finally lighting the candle, the dim candlelight flickered, slightly illuminating the faces of Xiaoqian and me.

Under the constantly flickering white candlelight, Xiaoqian's face became even paler. She looked out of the window in shock, and the raindrops were hitting the windowpane densely, making a sound like the sea tide.I stared at the room under the candlelight, and then listened to the sound of the wind and rain outside, and I suddenly had a feeling of returning to a deserted village.Yes, in the small building in the Jinshidi old mansion, I also spent a few nights of fear under the kerosene lamp.

Suddenly, Xiaoqian hummed: "Looking at this candlelight, I feel as if I have returned to ancient times."

"That's right, presumably the ancients also used to light candles with their left hand and spend the night with their beauties with their right hand." I couldn't help but sigh, seeing that she didn't respond much, so I thought about it again, "Strange Tales from a Liaozhai Studio" There are often nocturnal scholars who take shelter from the rain in ancient temples in deserted villages, and when they meet a beautiful lady, they light candles to add fragrance to her red sleeves, recite poems and compose music, but never think that the beautiful woman is actually a ghost or a fox girl."

"But whether it's a human or a ghost, it's their fate to meet each other, isn't it?"

"Yes, fate." I nodded, what she said just now did make sense.Looking at the candlelight in front of me and listening to the sound of rain outside the window, I couldn't help chanting a poem, "Why cut the candles in the west window together, but talk about the night rain in Bashan."

"You also like Li Shangyin's poems?"

"I like it very much, especially those "Untitled" songs."

She nodded slightly: "I am the same as you."

So, we all fell silent, and no one wanted to break the atmosphere.In this way, we sat together quietly, watching the candlelight illuminate each other's faces, listening to the rain beating on the cold window lattice...

Ten minutes passed, and the faint candlelight in front of me suddenly jumped a few times, which instantly reminded me of something, and my heart beat faster again.

So, I boldly said: "Xiaoqian, do you believe it? As long as we turn off all the lights, in a dark night, those scenes from more than 50 years ago will appear before my eyes."

"How is this possible? Like in the hall last time? Why can't I see it?"

I slowly stretched out my left hand and said, "Maybe, it's because of this—"

"Jade Ring?"

"Yes, I didn't feel it until midnight last night. When I saw Ruoyun more than 50 years ago, this jade ring would become tighter and tighter, and it would hurt my fingers. But as soon as the sight disappeared, my fingers It doesn't hurt anymore."

Xiaoqian grabbed my finger, looked at the jade ring carefully and said: "I understand why your eyes can see those illusions, but I can't see anything, because only your finger is wearing the jade ring. .”

"Perhaps, this is the magic power of the jade ring. Anyone who wears it will see things that others cannot see."

Suddenly, Xiaoqian called out softly: "The jade ring made your eyes travel through time?"

"So, I didn't see a ghost, I just saw the past - more than 50 years in front of my eyes, and I saw the people who lived in this house back then."

"Like an old movie was played for you?"

At this moment, there was another muffled thunder outside the window, and the candlelight made the room even weirder. I looked into her eyes and said, "Yes, at that time, I felt that the picture in front of me was like a silent movie in the 20s. What I saw It is not a real room, but a screen, and the light coming from nowhere is the light and shadow cast by the cinema projector."

"Maybe there is another possibility - when you are wearing a jade ring and facing a dark room, time is distorted in this specific space and reflected in your current eyes."

"Distortion of time and space?" I touched the jade ring in my hand and said, "It's also possible. Perhaps, this is the mysterious element contained in the jade ring."

"So, if I touch this jade ring, will I also see the scene of the past?"

Her question made me tremble slightly, and I couldn't help reaching out my hand in front of her, and said hesitantly: "I don't know, maybe I can try it."

Xiaoqian immediately grabbed my left hand and squeezed my fingers tightly in her palm.This feeling is really strange, the jade ring is holding my finger tightly, and Xiaoqian's hand is holding the jade ring tightly, and my ring finger is caught in the innermost part.

"The jade ring is really cool." Xiaoqian said softly, and continued to squeeze my fingers tightly, "Now, I can feel its resistance, it is tightly attached to my palm, as if it is alive Yes, do your fingers hurt?"

"No, it doesn't hurt yet."

"Then let's put out the candles, and try to see the scene from more than 50 years ago in this dark room?"

I was stunned for a moment, but I didn't expect her to become courageous again: "Do you really want to try?"

"That's right, I also want to see with my own eyes, the scenes of life dramas more than 50 years ago."

"Well, I can only try it now, it may not be really effective, and even if I see it, you may not be able to see it."

She grasped the jade ring tightly again and said, "Hurry up, I trust my own judgment."

After hesitating for a moment, I blew on the white candle, which flickered violently and went out.

At this moment, the entire apartment in the deserted village was sleeping in the dark, only the sound of thunderstorm pouring outside the window.In a dark room, we were close together, and my fingers were painfully pinched by her, so I could only resist making a sound.I could feel her body trembling slightly. Although we couldn't see anything in front of us, we still stared at the darkness ahead, like hunters waiting for wild beasts in the depths of the jungle.

No, I felt that the jade ring began to tighten, and a faint pain immediately spread from my fingertips all over my body.

Suddenly, a dim light passed through the dark corridor.

Xiaoqian held me tighter, and I could even feel her heartbeat.We stared at the soft light outside the door, flickering like an exposed film.

A few seconds later, a slender figure appeared at the door of the room.The light just illuminated that person's face, and I almost cried out——Ruoyun.

Yes, that's her.The soft light seemed to be the spotlight on the stage, followed her into the room, but only illuminated a small area around her, while Xiaoqian and I were still in the dark.I turned my head to look at Xiaoqian, she nodded to me, yes, Xiaoqian also saw Ruoyun.

The light in front of her eyes flickered slightly, as if the camera had been changed in a movie, Ruoyun's expression had changed, her eyes were full of fear, and it seemed that tears were still rolling.

Xiaoqian held my hand even tighter, and my fingers were almost broken by her.

In the blink of an eye, the faint light jumped again, and the scene was "edited" to another shot——

At some point, Ruoyun had a gleaming dagger in his hand, but his expression became extremely calm. The dagger in his hand was aimed at me——

At this critical moment, the "lens" suddenly blurred, as if it had been covered with a filter.Suddenly, a cloud of blood red appeared in the "camera" and slowly diffused...

Xiaoqian screamed, and I quickly covered her mouth with my right hand.At this time, there was a loud noise in the sky, and a white lightning flashed, illuminating the house as if it were daytime.

In an instant, the "camera" and "picture" in front of me disappeared, as if swallowed by dazzling lightning.

When the lightning passed, the room returned to darkness, and the rain was still pouring outside the window.I feel that the jade ring is no longer tight, and the pain on my fingers is gradually subsiding.

Xiaoqian spoke tremblingly: "Why can't I see everything?"

Sitting in the dark, I finally took a breath: "They didn't exist in the first place, they were just images from back then."

"The light from the lightning outside the window dispelled the darkness in the room, like opening a dark house in a movie theater?"

"Your analogy is really good." But I grabbed her hand and said, "Xiaoqian, let go of my hand now."

"Yeah." Xiaoqian immediately let go of my hand. Although I couldn't see her face clearly in the dark, I could feel her embarrassment.

I rubbed my fingers and said, "You almost broke my fingers."

"sorry."

Then, I took out the lighter and lit the blown out candle.

The dim candlelight illuminated the room again, and also illuminated my face and Xiaoqian's. I found that her forehead was full of sweat, and I took out a handkerchief to wipe her sweat.

Xiaoqian said with lingering fear: "I can't imagine that just now in this room, I witnessed with my own eyes the people and events of more than 50 years ago."

I took a few steps in the room, and the candlelight made my shadow cast on the wall, and the long black shadow looked scary too.It's a pity that this house will be demolished in a few days, otherwise, many years later, when people enter this house again to explore, maybe they will find me and Xiaoqian's voice and smile on the wall, right?
"It seems that the jade ring on your hand does have some kind of magical function." Xiaoqian also came to my side and whispered in my ear.

"Yes, this jade ring came from the underground of the deserted village. Therefore, everything we saw tonight should be related to the secrets of the deserted village."

Now, Xiaoqian's mood has stabilized a lot, she nodded: "So, what exactly is the scene we saw just now?"

"I think we found the bloodiest scene in a deserted village apartment more than 50 years ago."

"You mean the dagger, and the blood—" At this point, Xiaoqian stopped suddenly, as if the word "blood" frightened her very much.

I nodded slightly, recalled the things Ye Xiao told me, and couldn't help muttering to myself: "No wonder the deserted village apartment is a haunted house."

"Haunted house?"

"No—nothing."

I waved to her and forced a smile, but I didn't want her to be too nervous.I went to the window again, looking at the continuous thunderstorm outside, the tall buildings in the distance were still brightly lit with neon lights, and it was another sleepless night in Shanghai.

Xiaoqian said behind me, "Now that the electricity is gone, how are we going to get there tonight?"

"Don't be afraid. There are no ghosts in this house. Don't scare yourself. The Ruoyun and her husband we saw are just phantoms from more than 50 years ago. Shadows don't hurt people." He took out a flashlight, turned it on, put it on the bedside and said, "Just hold it to sleep, the light of the flashlight will accompany you to have a good dream."

She took the flashlight suspiciously, pointed to the candle and asked, "What about it?"

"Sleeping with a candle is dangerous and can easily cause a fire."

Saying that, I lowered my head and blew out the candle.

Only the flashlight in Xiaoqian's arms was left in the room. I looked at her under the dim light and said softly, "I'm sorry, Xiaoqian, I know you're scared tonight, but I have to go upstairs."

"No, don't go." She immediately grabbed my wrist, "Please don't leave me here alone."

"But... we..." At this moment, I really can't think of a reason to leave her.

Her tears flowed slowly, and she murmured, "Stay here, I'm afraid of being alone."

No, I couldn't bear to refuse her anymore, so I could only sit beside her.Her eyelids gradually drooped, and she slowly lay down on the bed. It seemed that she had been frightened by the phantom of fear just now, and her whole body looked exhausted.

I looked at Xiaoqian quietly, she was still holding the flashlight tightly in her hand, and the dim light shone on her face.Outside the window was the sound of heavy rain, most of the room was shrouded in darkness, and even I was sitting in a dark corner.

Ten minutes passed, and I think Xiaoqian should have fallen asleep.I threw a blanket over her and double-checked that the window was closed.Then, I took out the second flashlight from the cabinet and walked out of the room softly.

Finally came out, I let out a long breath, remembering the way Xiaoqian held me just now, I really couldn't control myself at that moment.Yes, I have already fallen in love with her deeply, and she should be clear in her heart.Thinking of this, I smiled slightly in the dark corridor.

Yes, no matter what fearful things happen, they can no longer stop me and Xiaoqian.I felt relieved all over my body, and the fear just now had disappeared.So I picked up the flashlight and trotted up the dark stairs.

Back in the room on the third floor, I lay down on the mat with the flashlight in my arms, and suddenly felt that I was still happy.

Outside the window, it was still raining heavily.

(End of this chapter)