Deserted Village Apartments

Chapter 27 No.20 Four Days

At this moment, it was past two o'clock in the morning, and Xiaoqian and I finally finished reading this diary written more than 50 years ago.

Suddenly the candle flickered a few times, only to realize that the candle was almost burnt out, so I quickly replaced it with a new candle.Xiaoqian closed Ruoyun's diary, took a deep breath and said, "My God, is this the secret of the deserted village?"

I stared at it for several hours. I only felt some pain in my eyes and shoulders. I moved my body and said, "This diary is really incredible. It's a pity that many pages have been torn out. What we have seen is only a small piece of paper." Partially."

Xiaoqian caressed the cover of the diary and asked: "Ruoyun's fate is too tragic, but she is a new woman living in the [-]th century. In her heart, she yearns for love and freedom. Bird. So, she is going to leave Ouyang's house with her son to pursue a new life. Hey, I just don't know if she succeeded? "

But at this moment, I was no longer in the mood to think about Ruoyun's fate, and I was more concerned about myself——I slowly raised my left hand, looked at the jade ring on my ring finger, and felt that the scarlet smear became more and more serious. Dazzling, because I already know whose blood it is.

I looked at the jade ring and said: "The ancient jade country mentioned in the diary 5000 years ago is obviously the Liangzhu civilization mentioned today. Whether it is the time and age of the civilization, or the geographical scope of its location, the civilization's The biggest feature—jade artifacts, are all in line with the Liangzhu culture excavated today. The diary says that the ancient jade kingdom established a city, with magnificent palaces and altars, and these are also the same as those found at the Mojiaoshan site.”

"So, this diary has solved the mystery of the mysterious ancient Liangzhu country for you?"

"I can't say it's solved yet. I can only say that it has provided me with a key to open the gate of Liangzhu civilization. Yes, the secret of the Ouyang family in the barren village is actually the secret of the ancient Liangzhu civilization. They are the ancient Liangzhu civilization. The descendants of the Zhu family have been living in seclusion in the deserted village after the destruction of the ancient country. Because the deserted village is the place where their ancestors landed in East Asia, it is of great significance to them."

"But, the diary says that the ancestors of the Ouyang family were gods, do you believe it?"

"I don't know, many peoples have similar myths, saying that their ancestors came from the God Realm in the sky. But it is also mentioned in the diary that the ancestors of the Ouyang family came from an extremely remote and mysterious place. I just came to the deserted village. Then, where is this extremely remote and mysterious place?"

Suddenly, Xiaoqian seemed to think of something: "Extremely remote and mysterious place? Could it be aliens?"

"Aliens? No, this is not Ni Kuang's Wesleyan series. Aliens are only used when the novels cannot be justified."

"What does God mean? The ancestors of the Ouyang family may have come from the sea, or from the sky. The ancients did not know what aliens were. In the eyes of the backward and superstitious ancients, people who descended from the sky were naturally gods. "

I can only nod my head and say: "Theoretically, this possibility does exist. Like the Stonehenge ruins in England, the line patterns in the Andean desert in Peru, Easter Island in the South Pacific, etc., these mysterious phenomena and relics are all It's not like it was created by humans on Earth."

"That's right, didn't Ruoyun's husband say in the diary that the Ouyang family are not real humans, they are another species."

"No, I can't believe everything in the diary, but—" I looked at the jade ring again, "but I believe what is said about the jade ring."

Xiaoqian also stared at the jade ring, and said quietly: "It was once worn on the finger of the last queen of the ancient jade kingdom. When the queen died for love, the blood flowed onto the jade ring, and it will never be wiped off."

Trembling, I touched the scarlet stain on the jade ring. It was the blood of Queen Liangzhu. It has been more than 4000 years old, but it is still so bright and eye-catching.It condenses the queen's grievances and pains, and has some kind of mysterious power. At least it can let my eyes travel through time and see scenes from decades ago. When Ruoyun was pregnant more than 50 years ago, she also wore this jade ring. After she gave birth, the ring fell off naturally, so what should I do?By now, I'm almost hopeless.

"This jade ring, a sacred object of the Ouyang family in the deserted village, must be sacred and inviolable, just like the mummy of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh. Have you heard of the 'curse of the pharaoh'? In the early twentieth century, archaeologists excavated When they entered the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in ancient Egypt, they saw a text warning them that everyone who entered the tomb would be cursed and died. But archaeologists still dug out the mummy of the pharaoh , No one thought that in the next few years, all the people who participated in the excavation, or those who studied the pharaoh Tutankhamun's mummy, all died mysteriously."

Xiaoqian opened her eyes wide and said, "You mean, those four college students entered the deserted village and stole the jade ring from the ground. Their behavior violated an ancient taboo, so they were punished with the same punishment as the 'Pharaoh's Curse'." destiny?"

"Yes, didn't two of them die from nightmares? Let's use an analogy—nightmare is equivalent to a computer virus program. Once you enter the underground palace and steal the sacred objects, you will be infected with this virus program. After a few days Once the virus program is activated, it becomes a nightmare to kill."

"Is it really the same as your novel?"

I shook my head helplessly, my face under the candlelight must be terrible: "If the contents in the diary are true, then Mr. Ouyang and his daughter Xiaozhi must also be descendants of the ancient Liangzhu royal family. But now They are all dead, the Ouyang family will have no more descendants, this ancient family that has lasted for 5000 years has come to an end, I wonder if it is a disaster or a blessing for us?"

However, my words seemed to have touched something about Xiaoqian, her expression suddenly became extremely abnormal, something seemed to pass through her eyes, which made me faintly afraid under the dim candlelight.But she avoided my gaze, and finally closed her eyes altogether. I felt her body getting weaker and weaker, and she gradually half-lyed on the folding bed.

It was three o'clock in the morning, and I had never had the habit of staying up late, so I finally couldn't hold on anymore.I wanted to leave and go upstairs, but Xiaoqian held my hand tightly. I was afraid that standing up would wake her up, so I gently blew out the candle.I turned on a flashlight, closed my eyes, and wanted to sit next to Xiaoqian and take a nap...

But I didn't expect that I fell asleep after sitting like this, and I didn't wake up until the morning sun hit my eyelids.When I opened my hazy eyes, I saw that Xiaoqian was still fast asleep. It turned out that I just slept with my clothes on all night.I felt flustered for a while. If she saw it, I wouldn't be able to explain clearly. I stood up gently, but when I got to the door, I heard Xiaoqian's voice: "Where are you going?"

I turned around in embarrassment: "I just came in."

"No, you were lying next to me just now." She stared into my eyes, making me unable to explain at all, she stood up and grabbed my hand and asked, "You didn't leave me last night, I am very grateful to you."

"Sorry, I was really tired last night."

"Me too." Xiaoqian grabbed me and sat down again and asked, "Tell me, are you scared?"

I lowered my eyes, looked at the jade ring on my hand and said: "Yes, those four college students had accidents because of this jade ring, and now it is on my hand. And I don't know Huangcun Will my bad luck befall me?"

"No, your fear is because of your loneliness, and I am the same as you. Only when we are together can we overcome fear. Therefore, you cannot leave me."

Yes, only lonely people feel fear, I suddenly felt some kind of hope, grabbed her hand and said: "Xiaoqian, I will never leave you."

Her tears flowed slowly again.

Half an hour later, Xiaoqian and I went out to have breakfast together, and then she went to work in the ice cream shop, and I had to find someone——Ye Xiao.

Now, only he can help me.

I went directly to the Public Security Bureau and found my cousin, Officer Ye Xiao.He was surprised by my sudden visit and pulled me to a remote corner.I bluntly stated the purpose of my visit: "Ye Xiao, I want to check the files of the old Shanghai Police Station to see if there is any case file about Anxi Road in 1948."

Ye Xiao thought for a while and said, "Okay, I can help you, I hope you can get out soon."

We had lunch together, and then he took me to the archives, where the criminal files of old Shanghai are kept.Ye Xiao brought me into the file reading room, and it took us more than two hours just to search the catalog.After untold hardships, all the files related to Anxi Road were finally found.We retrieved the files from 1948. There were not many cases on Anxi Road that year, and finally we found the files on No. 13 Anxi Road.

——Sure enough, there was a major case that year. Out of the police's professional habits, Ye Xiao immediately raised his spirits.These files are densely packed and written in the official document format of that era, so it is difficult for me to understand them at a glance.Checking files has always been Ye Xiao's forte. He flipped through the files skillfully, looking at the pages of scene records, police records, and case reports.I simply stopped looking at the file, just stared at Ye Xiao's face, and noticed that his expression was gradually becoming serious.

Ten minutes later, Ye Xiao suddenly closed the file, and said coldly: "Maybe it was my mistake, I should have checked the case files long ago."

I asked anxiously: "What happened?"

"On April 37th in the 1948th year of the Republic of China, that is, April 4th, 11, someone reported to the police that a murder occurred at No. 13 Anxi Road. The daughter-in-law of the Ouyang family, An Ruoyun, was killed."

"Ruoyun is dead?" I almost jumped out of the chair in shock.

Ye Xiao said lightly: "Don't get excited, the police rushed to the crime scene that night, and found An Ruoyun's body in the room on the second floor of No. 13 Anxi Road. She was stabbed in the chest and punctured her heart on the spot. Death. Standing beside the deceased was her husband Ouyang Qingyuan, who was also covered in blood, holding an infant baby in his arms. The murder weapon was a sharp dagger, which was found on the floor of the scene. At that time, the deceased’s The father-in-law and mother-in-law have all returned to the countryside, and it was the servants who heard the noise from upstairs and ran up to see the young mistress lying in a pool of blood."

"Ouyang Qingyuan must have killed Ruoyun."

"That night, the police took Ouyang Qingyuan back to the police station for interrogation. According to his confession and the results of the on-site investigation, we can basically confirm the situation at the time of the incident—at nine o'clock in the evening on April 4, An Ruoyun was going to meet Ouyang Qingyuan. Divorced, she was going to leave Ouyang's house with her infant son. But Ouyang Qingyuan stopped her and wanted to lock her in a room on the second floor. But An Ruoyun had already made up her mind, she took out a dagger, Ouyang Qingyuan asked Ouyang Qingyuan to let their mother and son leave. Ouyang Qingyuan refused to submit, he rushed up and snatched An Ruoyun's dagger, and during the scuffle between the two, An Ruoyun was stabbed in the heart by the dagger and died on the spot."

After listening to Ye Xiao's narration, I sat dumbfounded.On that blackout night, I have already seen this scene with Xiaoqian, and I will never forget the blood.

Ye Xiao continued: "Not long after, Ouyang Qingyuan was sentenced to ten years in prison for manslaughter, but he died of a sudden illness a few months after he was imprisoned."

"Death from a sudden illness? It can be regarded as a kind of retribution."

"The files are recorded here. Later, because the Kuomintang is about to fall, many files are lost."

I lowered my head and thought for a while and said: "Ruoyun is really pitiful. She wanted to fight for freedom, but died at the hands of her husband. But what is even more pitiful is her son, who lost his mother since he was a child. I think that child later They must have been picked up by grandparents, such a terrible thing happened in the deserted village apartment, so it is impossible for the Ouyang family to live anymore. They must have left Shanghai and returned to their hometown in the deserted village with their children. "

Thinking of this, I suddenly trembled in my heart - if calculated according to this, isn't Ruoyun and Ouyang Qingyuan's son Jiaming the same Mr. Ouyang I saw in the deserted village?That's right, Jia Ming was born in December 1947, and he is exactly Mr. Ouyang's age now.After Ouyang Qingyuan died, Jiaming was the only heir of the family, so it was impossible to have a second Mr. Ouyang.

When I left the archives, it was already dark, and Ye Xiao took me to another dinner.He also told me that Chunyu is still locked up in the mental hospital, and the doctor said that her schizophrenia is very serious, and she may be locked up there for the rest of her life.As for the missing college student Su Tianping, there is still no news, his life and death are unknown, and he seems to have disappeared in the air of the barren village.

Ye Xiao persuaded me not to go to the deserted village apartment again, in fact, I couldn't bear it anymore, but I had already promised Xiaoqian——I would never leave her.

At eight o'clock in the evening, I hurried back to Anxi Road.Downstairs in the deserted village apartment, I saw a dim light in the room on the second floor.Xiaoqian must have come back, I quickly ran up to the second floor, and sure enough I saw her in the room.

Hearing my footsteps, Xiaoqian turned around in a daze. There was a dim candle burning beside her, and the candlelight reflected her pale face red.Her eyes were so strange that I was stunned for a moment: "What's wrong with you?"

But she didn't answer, but raised something in her hand——

In an instant, a strange light and shadow flashed in front of my eyes, and I immediately felt my heart beating wildly.Yes, I finally saw clearly, she was holding a flute in her hand.

The dim and flickering candlelight illuminates this Chinese-style bamboo flute, which is about forty centimeters long. A layer of flute membrane as thin as a cicada's wing.

I know where it comes from.

Xiaoqian bit her lip and said, "Just now, when I was sorting out the things in the closet, I found the box you hid in the innermost layer of the closet. I curiously opened the box and took a look, only to find this flute inside."

Then, she stroked the flute lightly and touched it on her cheek, as if it was an old friend she had known for a long time.I tremblingly asked: "Do you know this flute?"

But Xiaoqian didn't answer, she handed the flute into my hands.

The flute was so cold, a chill immediately penetrated into my skin, as if I felt the cold winter night in the deserted village again.I stared at the candlelight, and in the dancing flames, I seemed to see the kerosene lamp of Jinshidi, and the thin and pale face of Mr. Ouyang.So, in just a few seconds, I recalled it all.Yes, this is a memory that has been missed, and it is the last memorial left to me by the deserted village.

Well, now is the time to speak out.I took a deep breath and said, "Xiaoqian, this flute comes from a deserted village, and Mr. Ouyang handed it to me."

"Why, why did he give you this flute?"

"It was several months ago, when I decided to leave the barren village and bid farewell to Mr. Ouyang in Jinshidi. At that time, he suddenly became very sad. He said that he missed his daughter Xiaozhi very much, and always hoped that Xiaozhi could Back to him, for which he is willing to sacrifice everything. Suddenly, Mr. Ouyang took out a flute from the drawer and handed it to me. He asked me to take this flute and go back to Shanghai to look for him Xiaozhi’s daughter, Xiaozhi. As long as Xiaozhi sees this flute, she will think of her father and return to her hometown in the deserted village.”

After saying these words, I let out a long breath, as if spit out the last hidden stone in my heart.However, under the shadow of the candlelight, Xiaoqian's eyes looked even more strange: "Have you found Xiaozhi?"

"I seem to have told you that I found the university where Xiaozhi was studying, and they told me that Xiaozhi died in a subway accident more than a year ago. I felt very sad, so I put this flute away. It's been sitting in the bottom of my suitcase and somehow brought it here."

At this moment, there was a cold light in Xiaoqian's eyes, which made me shudder. She asked coldly, "Can you play the flute?"

"I'll do that a little bit."

"Then please play a tune for me."

I froze for a moment, I hadn't played the flute for a long time, I slowly raised the flute to my lips, but the membrane was still intact.

After a pause, I took a deep breath, let it brew in my chest for a few seconds, and then poured it from my lips into the flute hole.In an instant, the melody of "In That Faraway Place" floated from the flute pipe. The melodious and slow notes floated in this small room, and soon filled the entire deserted village apartment.

The sound of the flute in the dark night also stimulated Xiaoqian, her wide-open eyes were no longer weird, but full of sadness, as if the sound of the flute was telling her a sad story.I think the sound of the flute must have floated into the night sky, passed through the empty ruins all around, and spread far, far away. I wonder if it can be heard in a barren village hundreds of kilometers away?
When the song ended, I was exhausted, and my whole body and mind were surrounded by the sound of the flute, and it took me a long time to recover.And Xiaoqian has also closed her eyes, as if the sound of the flute touched the most secret string in her heart.

I put down the flute, gently grabbed her shoulder and said, "What's wrong with you? Open your eyes."

Xiaoqian's lips trembled, and her soul seemed to have flown out of her body with the sound of the flute.Finally, she slowly opened her eyes and stared directly at me faintly, which made my heart beat faster again.

"I know Twigs."

The sound seemed to come from the depths of her throat again.

In an instant, as if I was hit by this sentence, I immediately shook my head and said: "Impossible, it is impossible for you to know Xiaozhi, didn't she die long ago?"

"No, Xiaozhi is not dead." Xiaoqian's eyes became very strange, and her tone was calm and scary, "She has always been alive, living in the subway."

"Xiaozhi lived in the subway? No, she died in the subway."

The candle flickered again, and Xiaoqian's face became even paler. Coupled with that strange look in her eyes, she became a different person.She looked straight into my eyes and said quietly: "Don't you understand? Xiaozhi will not die. She has been in the subway car all the time. She is wearing a long white dress and has black hair with a shawl. There is a faint fragrance in the silk. She sometimes holds the handrail and stands by the window. When the subway is speeding through the dark tunnel, the soft light in the carriage shines on her face. This fair face will It is reflected on the car window. At this moment, no one will notice the existence of that face except Xiaozhi herself. She looks at her face quietly, appearing and disappearing on the car window, her eyes and lips are like that Charming, like the heroine who came out of a Liaozhai story."

I listened to Xiaoqian's words with trembling, and the scenes she described seemed to appear in front of my eyes.I suddenly felt that all this was so familiar, and I seemed to have experienced such a strange experience.Yes, when I was standing in the subway car, Xiaozhi stood behind me, she quietly looked at the face reflected in the car window, sometimes it was my face, sometimes it was her face, like a scene dream……

"Stop talking—" I interrupted her in an instant.

"No, let me continue." Xiaoqian seemed to have lost her sanity and entered a state of hypnosis, as if memories were her only desire, "Xiaozhi has been standing, wandering, and waiting in the subway car— Who is she waiting for? Yes, sometimes she finds that person. This young man is standing in front of her, looking down at himself reflected in the car window. He looks a little tired. , maybe it annoyed him because he didn't finish the novel last night. Sometimes his eyes would collide with Twig, but he couldn't see Twig, and they were even facing each other in the crowded carriage, eyes only a few centimeters apart It's a pity that he still can't see Xiaozhi, but Xiaozhi has fallen in love with him from his eyes."

"Who is that person?" I had already vaguely guessed, but I couldn't let myself believe it.

But Xiaoqian could no longer hear my voice, and she continued to herself: "In the dark subway, Xiaozhi has been following that man, and wherever he sits, she will also follow him." Sometimes she will follow him out of the carriage and wander on the empty platform. He likes to go to a bookstore in the subway, and she also follows him into the bookstore. There are books written by this man in the bookstore, and he often comes to See how her books are selling. And she will walk among the bookshelves, quietly flipping through his books when no one is around. When the subway stops operating at night and the bookstore closes after get off work, she will stay alone on the bookshelf Before, I read the novel written by that man all night. Countless nights like this passed, and Xiaozhi was often moved by his words, and sometimes shed tears quietly, leaving a red tear on the title page of the book."

On this bleak summer night, in a small room shaded by candlelight, Xiaoqian euphemistically narrated a sad story, as if possessed by a certain ghost.

Tears quietly slipped down Xiaoqian's cheeks, reflecting crystals under the candlelight, she said with tears in her mouth: "Until one day, she was in that subway bookstore and saw his article published in the "Sprouting" magazine. The novel, it is a novel about a deserted village, the hero is deeply in love with Xiaozhi who has turned into a ghost. Although it is just a fictional novel, Xiaozhi feels deep sadness in her heart, she almost I can see him every day, but he can only look for the phantom of the other party in the novel. No, Xiaozhi must let him see himself, so that his fictional feelings in the novel become love in reality."

At this moment, I was deeply moved by Xiaoqian, and I couldn't help asking: "Has he seen Xiaozhi?"

Xiaoqian suddenly opened her eyes wide. She stared at me and said, "Of course, of course he saw Xiaozhi, and they fell in love with each other."

Silence, I fell into a long silence under the candlelight.

No, I can't believe what she said just now. Is it Xiaoqian's imagination, or is it the real ghost's self-report?I slowly stretched out my hand and wiped away the tears on her face. Her teardrops are so warm, if you put them in your mouth, they must be bitter.

Xiaoqian finally closed her eyes, fell down on the bed as if she was exhausted, but murmured: "I'm sorry...I'm sorry..."

I couldn't bear it anymore and fell on the side of the bed, the words Xiaoqian said just now echoed in my ears.Then I blew out the candles and went to bed on the third floor.

This night, I finally dreamed of Xiaozhi.

(End of this chapter)