Deserted Village Apartments

Chapter 35
Early in the morning, six o'clock.

day.

gloomy day.

The dark clouds are impenetrable, covering the autumn sky, and the wind howls over the wildly growing wormwood, with no end in sight.

road.

rough road.

Strictly speaking, there is no road, just a path in the wilderness, barely room for four wheels.

car.

Silver car.

The new German original Mercedes-Benz SLK has been driven into a barren wild road within less than a week after getting it. How can it not make people feel distressed?

brake!

There was a violent vibration on the soles of the feet, and several tall buildings stood in front of him, piercing into the fundus abruptly.

He widened his eyes and poked his head out of the car window to confirm that it was not a hallucination.What is this place?There is no human habitation within a few miles, let alone any buildings, all overgrown with garbage and weeds, but these buildings suddenly popped up.

Forbidden to enter the cemetery?

Reason is warning, but hormones drive me to step on the accelerator, and drive carefully over gravel and weeds into Qionglou Yuyu.

No, it's the Qionglou prison domain.

There are two buildings on the left, two buildings on the right, and one building directly in front.

A total of five buildings, the same floor, the same size, the same old and dilapidated, probably only have different orientations.

Strangely, it was Shikumen in old Shanghai.

It's just that each building is magnified N times, and it's actually ten stories high!It should only exist in dreams, how can I see it with my own eyes?There are many Shikumen houses in Shanghai, but the highest is only three floors, and the length and width are only a few meters. There has never been such a large scale.

Unheard of.

Was it forged later?Or a film and television base?But the mottled door openings, dusty windows, and peeling walls have all explained the history of this building.

The arrangement of the five buildings is also strange. There are two buildings on the left and right, like two huge walls, and the building at the bottom crosses to form a semi-enclosed space, like an upside-down "U".

If it weren't for her, such a dangerous and strange place would definitely turn around and leave, but I curiously drove in slowly, crossing the valley of confrontation, until the deepest part of "U".

Only a few meters away from the last building, a man suddenly rushed out of the doorway—ragged clothes, disheveled hair, fierce eyes, roaring wildly, as if I was driving a monster.

Emergency braking, but this lunatic waved his arm and threw a brick with all his might, hitting my car door!

boom……

The violent impact of bricks and metals is called smashing, which makes my heart ache!I just delivered a car worth 70 yuan last week, and treated it as my darling. Even a branch made me yell, let alone a heavy brick?
My Mercedes SLK!

Angrily opened the car door, wanting to beat him up.Unexpectedly, another group of people appeared from behind, men and women, old and young, all dressed normally, hugged the lunatic with all their might, and dragged him into the door with great difficulty.

A man in black, a middle-aged man, tall and thin, pale, expressionless, approached me coldly and said, "Sorry! His brain is not normal."

"Unfortunate!"

Anyway, the insurance company will compensate, why bother with the lunatic?Just about to park the car, the man in black warned: "Outlander, get out of here quickly!"

"Outlander?"

It is only tens of kilometers away from the urban area, so why do you say this?

In the deepest part of the courtyard, I frowned and looked up at the sky in the early morning. My eyes were covered with black clouds like tiles. Five strange buildings, like a distant foreign world, besieged me alone.

Looking back at the car window, my gloomy face was reflected in the gloomy sky, and I asked casually, "Excuse me, what is this place?"

The man in black sighed helplessly, and faintly spit out four words:

"Desolate apartment."

This is an apartment in a deserted village. The man in black turned and left indifferently. The dark red bricks on the building's walls are like cold tombstones.

Holding the car door with my hand, hesitating, I suddenly felt a pair of eyes—who is staring at me?
On the third floor of the building on the left, a young woman stood by the window, looking down at me obsessively.

环！
She almost screamed out excitedly, rubbed her eyes thinking she was dreaming, took a closer look, and shook her head in disappointment—she was not Huan, she just looked exactly like her.

And Huan's face has long been deeply imprinted in his heart, even if he is mixed among thousands of people, he will never admit his mistake.

However, what is hidden in the eyes of the woman in the window on the third floor?To the bones of fear, because of my face?

Touching my face subconsciously, is it really so scary?
She was indeed as beautiful as Huan, and met my gaze head-on, closing the window in a panic.

Under the dark clouds in the early morning, I looked up at the five buildings blankly, all the windows were closed, and there was no trace of human life.

So, I decided to stay.

But you can't park your car here and let a madman smash it with a brick.Quickly turn around your beloved Mercedes-Benz SLK and drive out of the U-shaped world of the deserted village apartment.

Going back to the path where the weeds swayed, we stopped in a wasteland surrounded by tall reeds. It was a good concealment body, even if we stood on the top of a ten-story building, it might not be easy to find.

When I got out of the car, I spread my palms, the green jade ring hurt my eyes, stained with my body temperature and sweat.

jade ring.

It has been held in the palm of the hand, thicker than ordinary rings, showing a translucent turquoise color.Placed under the dim morning light, there are some strange snake-shaped patterns that faintly reflect light like cat's eyes.There was a scarlet smear on the side of the ring, as if the blood from thousands of years ago was imprisoned in the jade.

ring.

I put it on my lips and kiss it softly for a moment, as if kissing her lips.

An hour ago, driving through the suburbs in the early morning.This road with few vehicles is full of farmland and wasteland on both sides, and there are many wild cats crossing it.All the street lights are broken, so I can only turn on the high beams, carefully watch the front, and force myself not to doze off.Suddenly, a woman's shadow flashed in the light, and I slammed on the brakes to stop—with the screeching sound of the brakes, I was sure I didn't hit the woman, but she fell to the ground by herself.I hurriedly got out of the car to help her up, and found that it was a young woman, pale and dying, but there was no external injury on her body, obviously it was not hit by me.

Before she could speak, she discovered that she was wearing a turquoise jade ring on her left ring finger!

I know this ring.

This face was so unfamiliar, I frantically asked: "Jade Ring! Where did the jade ring come from?"

The woman spat out a mouthful of blood, and replied angrily: "Desolate village apartment."

"Desolate apartment? Is there really such a place in the world? Where is it?"

"This road... this road... has been... going forward... there is a dead tree... a dead tree... a path... turn in... and go forward..."

Hearing these words made me flustered, but the woman's jade ring fell off automatically, and my hand happened to catch it.

The cold jade ring glowed dimly in front of the headlights, the scarlet in the turquoise was ready to move.

The woman's face was startled, and a scream came out of her throat: "Don't...don't...don't...wear it..."

Before he finished speaking, he could no longer make a sound, and touched her nose in fear.

She is dead.

In the early hours of the morning, this woman of unknown origin died in front of my car.

No, she wasn't killed by me, so don't be so scared, she took out her mobile phone tremblingly, and called the police.

Standing up and leaning against the car, in such a desolate wilderness, I haven't seen a car passing by for a long time. I don't know when the police car will arrive?Clutching the jade ring tightly in the palm of his hand, biting his lips uneasily, looking ahead into the darkness, the woman's dying words sounded - that dead tree is waiting for me, guiding me to find the deserted village apartment?
Before the police arrived, I left the poor dead woman behind and drove the Mercedes SLK in that fatal direction.

curiosity kills the cat.

A few minutes later, the headlights really illuminated a big tree!In the twilight of dawn, a tall and strange dead tree, like a stiff corpse, stretched out its limbs, begging the heaven for justice.

There is no road beside the dead tree, at most it is a path in the wild grass. After hesitating for a long time, I finally feel sorry for my car and bite the bullet and drive in.

Looking at the mirror with distress all the way, the front is full of desolate wilderness, and I can't see any buildings. It's hard to believe that it is on the edge of the city.

Finally, I found the legendary deserted village apartment.

Back in front of the five buildings alone, no one was seen again.The sky was still livid and gloomy, and it was so depressing that it made people crazy, like the madman who threw a brick at my car.

I'm not crazy yet.

I sneaked into the apartment in the deserted village, and there was a strange silence in my ears. I walked to the end along the left, thinking of the window on the third floor, the woman who looked like a ring, took a deep breath, and broke into the dark doorway here.

In the dark cave, the cold and damp air blows towards the face.Everyone was naturally afraid of the dark, his heartbeat suddenly accelerated, and he ran forward nervously for a few steps before turning on a few dim voice-activated lights, revealing a deep corridor.

A deserted apartment?Why is it made like an ancient tomb?Is it the treasure leading to the underground palace?
Looking at both sides of the corridor, there are doors every few meters. Walking forward carefully, one of the doors is pushed casually, but it is locked tightly and cannot move.

All the way to the end, narrow wooden stairs, stepping on the crumbling floor, it is hard to imagine that there are still people living?With the creaking and shaking sound, I came to the corridor on the second floor.The lights here are brighter than those on the ground floor. Finally, there is more anger. Where did those people go in the early morning?I tentatively yelled, "Is anyone there?"

Suddenly, hurried footsteps sounded from the other end of the corridor.

He rushed over quickly, and the footsteps ahead were more violent, and a figure was seen passing by, rushing up another staircase.After chasing after him to the third floor, the cold wind blew in my ears, as if many fragments passed through my mind.

Under the white corridor lamp, the shadow has turned into a door.I broke through the door as if flying, but kicked up a cloud of dust, couldn't help covering my mouth and nose, and finally saw clearly—the windows were covered with thick dirt, and the dim light like dusk shone into the room. It seems that no one has lived in it for decades, but the house is still full of furniture.There was an old picture frame hanging on the wall, and the pictures were missing.There is also a large carved mahogany bed with rotten brown ropes exposed, like a dissected corpse.Boldly opened the closet, unexpectedly, it was made of mahogany wood, with many rotten clothes hanging, all of which were women's cheongsams, emitting a strong musty smell.

nobody.

Or not human?
The dust gradually returned to the ground, and I scanned the room suspiciously. When I came to the dressing table, there was a mirror full of dust, which reflected my blurred shadow.

Curiously, he took out the napkin and wiped the dusty mirror surface, as if the reflection of metal reflected the face of a young man.

For the first time, I found myself so strange.

Just when I was about to ask "who is this"?A second face appeared in the mirror, a woman's face.

环！
She was right behind me, and the mirror revealed her position, making me turn back excitedly.

The woman ran away in a panic, and within a few steps, I grabbed my shoulders, pulled her back roughly, and hugged me tightly: "Huan! You are here! Why? Why did you leave me?"

"Let go of me! You've got the wrong person!"

Her voice shocked me, but I didn't dare to let go, I just looked at her face.

That's right, she's not my ring.

She is the young woman who peeps at me from the window on the third floor in the morning.

I shook my head in despair, let go of my hand and took a few steps back, and replied weakly: "I'm sorry! I recognized the wrong person."

"It's okay." She hugged her arms in fear, showing a shy and embarrassed look, "Who is the ring you mentioned just now?"

"my girlfriend."

"Is she also in the deserted village apartment?"

"I think so."

After all, I touched my heart, and there was a jade ring in my breast pocket. The reason why I had the courage to break into this place was entirely because of this ring——I never gave up looking for her, looking for the woman wearing this jade ring, she My name is ring, my ring.

Ouyang Huan, born in an ancient jade family, has an excellent family background and a beautiful face.Five years ago, I was just a poor student. I didn't know what kind of virtue I had accumulated in my previous life, but I was favored by fate to have such a beautiful and intelligent girlfriend.With her full help, I opened an antique shop and ran a jade business, especially Liangzhu ancient jade thousands of years ago—all thanks to her family background, I made several multi-million dollar transactions Big business, buying a house and a car in just a few years.

A year ago, we went to an island in Zhejiang for vacation. We walked on the beach in the middle of the night and found something shining in the dark water.When I went to the sea to pick up the luminous object, it turned out to be a mysterious jade ring—Huan, who was born in a jade family, said that this is an ancient artifact of the Liangzhu civilization, at least 5000 years ago!

This discovery made us extremely excited. There is actually a priceless treasure in the sea. Is it a token of love specially sent by God?
She tried to put the ring on her hand, but she disappeared the next morning.

It's not that the ring is missing, but that the ring is carrying people. The woman I love is missing.

Huan didn't leave any clues. I don't know if he was kidnapped or escaped, or what happened?But I firmly believe that she is hiding somewhere, waiting for me to discover and save.

However, I have been looking for a whole year, until this early morning deserted village apartment.

She will never forget the jade ring, and will never forget the dark red imprint, which was fished out of the sea a year ago, and the finger that wore the ring disappeared with her.

Finding the jade ring means finding the ring.

She's in the deserted village apartment!
In just a few seconds of memory, he suddenly raised his head, and the strange woman in front of him, although she looked like Huan, was another person.

"who are you?"

"Lan Yu'er."

"Yu'er?" The jade ring hidden on my chest seemed to move suddenly, and I smiled awkwardly, "Good name."

"Are you looking for your girlfriend? What does she look like?"

"It looks very similar to you, with big eyes, long hair, and even the same body shape."

Show her the photo of the ring that you keep in your wallet.

"It seems... I have seen it here."

Strange, why does she look at me with such fear?As if talking to the devil?I have always felt that I have good features, and no one has ever looked at me like that.

"What? Is she really in the deserted village apartment?"

"Maybe, but not sure."

"Where did you see her? Are you still here?"

"Just outside in the corridor, a few days ago."

I rushed out quickly, and there was nothing under the white light, only my own shadow was shaking.

"Did you only see her once?"

Yu'er followed behind and replied timidly: "Yes, I saw her from a distance, but she disappeared without saying a word."

"How many people are here?"

"I don't know."

"Excuse me, can you guide me? I have to find my girlfriend!"

She took a few steps back in a panic, but said something contrary to her expression: "Okay."

A day trip to a deserted village apartment.

I didn't expect it to be so big, but there is no elevator on the [-]th floor. I don't know if the people who lived on the [-]th floor used to deliberately lose weight?
I didn't see anyone along the way, and Yu'er said that she usually only saw it at night.There are five buildings here, maybe my Huan is not in this building, that's why Yu'er only saw her once--this is going to kill me, each building is ten floors high, each floor has more than a dozen rooms, a total of five or six Hundreds of rooms, how many days will it take to find one room?
Before I knew it, it was already noon, and the clouds outside the window were still overcast, so I felt unbearably hungry. I remembered that I hadn't eaten breakfast: "Where can I eat?"

Yu'er frowned: "Come with me."

Running from the tenth floor back to the ground floor, I was already out of breath, but she didn't change her face, probably used to running the stairs often.

I thought I was going out of the building, but Yu'er led me to the end of the corridor, an inconspicuous staircase leading to the ground—so there is a basement, or a tomb?
Walk down carefully, and come to a spacious and dark hall - it is actually a large supermarket!
The unlit lights illuminate the shelves, and there are everything you can look at, even fresh fruits and vegetables, and there are a few shop assistants dotted with them.

It's really surprising that there is a supermarket in such a ghost place, let alone a basement.I picked some cooked food at random, and it was still fresh after a closer look.Quan regarded breakfast and lunch together, and asked Yu'er if he wanted to eat together?She shook her head and said she couldn't eat it.

I quickly ate to fill my stomach, and found that the clerks were listless, with gloomy faces, and they remained silent at the checkout, with vaguely hostile eyes, just like the lunatic who attacked me in the morning. Maybe they only deal with regular customers and don’t welcome me as an unexpected guest?What's even more strange is that after walking around the big supermarket for more than ten minutes, I couldn't see any other customers. Except for the clerk, only Yu'er and I were left.Such a bleak operation, and I don't know how to maintain it?
Suddenly, I boldly took out the photo of Huan, put it in front of a middle-aged female shop assistant and asked, "Excuse me, have you seen her?"

The clerk was silent like a dumb, shook his head and did not speak again.

God knows if I've seen it or not?

I asked Yu'er suspiciously: "Are these shop assistants deaf?"

Yu'er was also a little puzzled: "No, they usually talk to me."

"Excuse me, are you dissatisfied with our service?"

A dull male voice sounded from behind me, almost frightening Yu'er and me.

Turning around, I saw a man in black. It was the tall and thin middle-aged man in the early morning. It was he who told me that this was an apartment in a deserted village.

"Excuse me, are you—"

"The manager of this supermarket."

"Sir, it's nice to see you again!"

I finally met someone I had seen before, and I showed him a picture of Huan.

The store manager replied indifferently: "Sorry, I've never seen it before."

"really?"

As I said that, I looked at Yu'er again, and she also showed a surprised expression, not like she was lying.

Suddenly, the store manager said again: "I really feel sorry for you."

"What?" This sentence was like a password, which made me raise my guard, "Sorry?"

"It's a pity! You are a great young man."

How dare you say such things to me!A good young man who doesn't work hard to make money, but comes to this kind of ghost place, is he wasting his youth?

I wanted to argue with the store manager, but Yu'er dragged me away and apologized to him: "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought him here."

leave the supermarket.

In the afternoon, continue to explore the deserted village apartment, hoping to find my ring.

"Yu'er, the people here are too weird, aren't they normal?"

I mean, a mental hospital?

"Actually, they are all recluses."

"A hermit?"

These three words are unfamiliar to me, but they have a tacit understanding.

"It is the missing people in society. They leave the outside world, abandon their families and friends, and live in seclusion in deserted village apartments, completely isolated from the world... No one knows their whereabouts, or they are still looking for them, or they simply cancel their household registration. When you leave this world forever."

"Is this a recluse?" I lowered my head thoughtfully, "Isn't it a misanthrope?"

"Not necessarily! There are many reasons for retiring from the world. Some suffer from long-term depression, some have suffered some kind of injury, and some even want to avoid being chased and killed. If it is truly world-weary, why bother to come to a deserted village apartment? Wouldn't it be better to find a place to die alone? clean?"

She made sense, everyone escapes for a reason—the ring must be here too, a reclusive missing person, for some special reason, perhaps because of this jade ring, escaped from the real world and came to a deserted village Apartment seclusion.

The supermarket clerks just now, why are they so indifferent?Probably because of her recluse, she came to this closed space to serve only the same recluses, forming a self-sufficient small community.And the intrusion of me, an uninvited guest, aroused their anger and rejection.They don't want to be disturbed by me, and they are even worried that the arrival of outsiders will destroy this paradise far away from reality.

Looking up at Yu'er's eyes, it really looks like my ring: "What about you? Why are you here? A recluse too?"

"No, I love life, and I will not escape from reality!" She looked a little aggrieved, "I came to the deserted village apartment to find my father."

"He disappeared too?"

"Yes, my father is an archaeologist who studies the ancient Liangzhu civilization. He disappeared suddenly two years ago."

"Wait a minute! Your father studied the Liangzhu civilization?"

"Haven't you heard of it? The Liangzhu civilization 5000 years ago was first discovered in Liangzhu, Zhejiang Province. It was an important prehistoric civilization in the Yangtze River Delta region and one of the sources of early civilizations in East Asia. The Liangzhu civilization was earlier than the Xia and Shang Dynasties in the Central Plains. , also earlier than Sanxingdui, is the oldest and most mysterious civilization in China, comparable to ancient Egypt and ancient Mesopotamia. The biggest feature of Liangzhu civilization is a large number of exquisite jade articles, which have profoundly influenced Chinese jade culture."

Of course I know all this!

Liangzhu—these two words remind me of Huan. Her family has inherited many Liangzhu jade wares, and she is very proficient in this area. Without these treasures, I would not be able to run the antique business.

Huan often talked about the ancient civilization of Liangzhu, describing in detail the magnificent ancient palaces, mysterious royal tombs and oriental pyramids, as if traveling back from 5000 years ago.When she talked about the demise of this glorious civilization, she would sigh with regret—our ancestors were addicted to jade, which eventually led to the regression and decline of civilization.

Strangely, the beautiful Lan Yu'er in front of her also talked about Liangzhu with fondness, and her extremely yearning expression was exactly like that of Huan back then.

"Are you really sure you don't know my girlfriend?"

"of course."

I can only hide my doubts: "I'm sorry, please continue."

"Two months ago, I accidentally found a mobile hard drive at home, which contained my father's research results. A few months before his disappearance, he presided over the excavation of an ancient site in the suburbs, where a large number of jade articles from the Liangzhu civilization were buried. It is believed to be the tomb of Queen Liangzhu."

"The Queen's Tomb?"

"Yes, my father dug up the bones of Queen Liangzhu! The ruins are just behind the deserted village apartment, and the straight-line distance is less than 100 meters. According to the data, my father was very interested in the deserted village apartment and found that these five buildings were built in the 40s. The Ouyang family in Zhejiang."

"Sounds like a best-selling novel?"

"It's not a novel, it's true! My father confirmed through research that the Ouyang family in the deserted village apartment is the descendants of Queen Liangzhu. They discovered the cemetery 5000 years ago and built five buildings here to guard the tomb of their ancestors! "

"You suspect——your father hid in the deserted village apartment?"

Yu'er's expression is extremely serious: "Yes, he believes that there is a priceless treasure buried here, which can solve the final mystery of the Liangzhu civilization, and he does not want to be disturbed by the secular world, so he abandons his family and everything, and lives in seclusion like a recluse— But he is not escaping, but exploring the treasure!"

"Have you spotted him yet?"

"No, I haven't found my father yet. But I believe that he is hiding somewhere in these five buildings, or digging secretly underground."

Just when the two of them were chatting excitedly, someone suddenly patted me on the back. I would have been frightened to death in the middle of the night. I turned my head in horror and saw an angry face.

madman!

It's the maniac in the morning, the bastard who threw a brick at my Mercedes.

I subconsciously grabbed Yu'er's hand, and quickly took a few steps back to prevent this crazy guy from hurting her.

The lunatic yelled at me, "Don't come! Don't come! This is not where you came from!"

I took Yu'er and ran up the stairs before he jumped on us.

At dusk, I didn't look forward to the sunset, only the darker sky, it seemed that night would come at any time, covering the entire apartment in the deserted village.

Lan Yuer and I were wandering around the building, I was looking for my ring, she was looking for her father.However, since I met that lunatic, I haven't seen anyone else. Could it be that everyone is hiding?Don't want to be seen by me, an outsider?
Checking each room in turn, it doesn't look like there are people living in it. I suspect that this building is not inhabited at all.

"No, I will live here!"

Yu'er dismissed my idea, and I deliberately provoked her: "Then where do you live?"

This sentence made her hesitate, and she glanced sideways at me for a long time, flashing a trace of deep fear.

However, she nodded and said, "Come with me."

At the end of the corridor on the third floor, in the most inconspicuous corner, he took out the key and opened a door, and finally returned to the human world.

This is a spacious one-bedroom, one-living room with a small bathroom. There are all kinds of modern furniture. There is a laptop on the desk. The room is spotlessly clean. After all, it is a girl's room.When she was with Huan before, she also kept the house clean, but now I make a mess.Yu'er's taste is very similar to my Huan, even the color she likes is the same, the curtains are yellow, the bed sheets are jade-colored, and the computer is purple.

Everything felt familiar to me, and I couldn't help touching the refrigerator and said, "It's almost possible to stay at home. If it's this kind of seclusion, maybe I will consider it in the future."

"The landlord's old lady rented it to me, but I arranged everything in the house myself. The old lady only comes once a month, but I only moved in for two weeks. It will be ten days before I see her next time."

She spoke awkwardly and stood at the door trembling slightly, as if she wanted to ask me to go, or was afraid that I would hurt her?

This question has been entangled in my heart since the first time I saw her, so let me say it out: "You look at me like this, why are you so scared? What kind of dirt is growing on my face?"

"No, I'm not afraid."

The last few words were visibly trembling, and I smiled wryly, "Yu'er, you won't even lie!"

Finally, she couldn't bear it anymore: "I'm sorry, I admit, I'm scared to see you."

"Give me a reason!"

"This morning, I opened the window and saw a silver car downstairs. You are standing by the door. Is it a Mercedes-Benz?"

"Yes."

Open the window, look down on the third floor under the turbid light, which is the deepest part of U, where I am in the early morning.

"I saw - saw - the sunny sky reflected on your window glass! There are also buildings under the sun, including your face, also under the sun."

"No! How is this possible? Isn't it cloudy in the morning? The sun hasn't been out all day, and the sky is covered with dense dark clouds. How can the sun be reflected in the glass?"

"That's why I feel scared! Because what I see in my eyes is also a dark sky. The whole world is gray. Only your car window glass reflects a sunny sky!"

"Illusion." I shook my head stubbornly, "This is your hallucination! It is easy to have this hallucination after living alone for a long time."

"I know what hallucinations are, but I trust my eyes."

"That's why you are so afraid of me? Will I really eat you?"

"I don't know, but now I believe you. Except for the early morning when I was scared, the rest of the time you are fine. I can see that you love your girlfriend very much. If only someone who is so infatuated can love me gone."

The words were a little weird, I touched my chest subconsciously, and the jade ring was icy against my heart.

it's dark.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have stayed in your room."

I bowed my head and exited Yu'er's room door.

"Are you going?"

"No, I have to stay and look for my ring, she must be in the deserted apartment. But I dare not spend the night here, these buildings are too strange, and the weird people here. I want to go back to the car and sleep the night, Come back tomorrow morning."

"Okay, if you need any help, you can come to me."

"Goodbye."

Saying goodbye to Lan Yuer, I hurried down the stairs and rushed out of the dark doorway.

The night sky was still covered by thick dark clouds, and the moon and stars could not be seen.Only the silhouettes of five buildings lay in the air like nightmare silhouettes.All the buildings were dark, without any lighted windows, including Yu'er's room on the third floor.

Didn't she say that people here are active at night?Why don't you turn on the light again?
This doubt hastened my pace, and I rushed out of the deserted apartment and returned to the wilderness of night.

The autumn wind howled all around, and the weeds rubbed against the trousers, like a desolate cemetery, and I was the only living person left.

Using the phone screen as a flashlight, I groped all the way to the place where the car was hidden, only to find that the weed pile was empty, and my car was gone!
I can't be wrong, although I can't see clearly at night, but I have turned around and the car will not go beyond that far, so I must stop here in the morning.

But my Mercedes-Benz SLK is indeed missing. I took out the car key and pressed it a few times, but there was no response.

Someone stole my car?

Or disappeared into thin air?

I raised my head in despair, and a meteor pierced the dark clouds.

The beloved Mercedes SLK is gone.

The brain went blank for a moment.

Reflexively picked up the mobile phone and wanted to call 110 to call the police, but found that there was no signal.

Those bastards must have stolen my car!But why do you want to do this?Aren't they recluses?What's the use of having a car?Didn't they wish to drive me away?Wouldn't stealing a car backfire?

With nowhere to go, I walked through the desolate weeds of the night, returned to the deserted apartment in frustration, and groped through the dark doorway.

Underground supermarket.

There must be a phone here, right?Unexpectedly, it was a tomb-like darkness, tremblingly turned on the light switch, but there was no one, and the goods were still placed on the shelves, allowing anyone to take them away freely?I searched carefully near the cash register, but there was no phone.

Maybe, the deserted village apartment never got through the phone?

No, Lan Yuer has a laptop, so it should be able to use the Internet.

The pale light shone on his face, facing the empty supermarket, like a dead mortuary, he escaped in fear.Turn on all the lights in the corridor, don't let the darkness cover me, and run quickly up the stairs, hoping to meet a living person or two, even a hostile one, instead of a group of ghosts melting in the air.

Walking to the corridor on the fifth floor, I suddenly heard a loud noise. It seems that there are many people?I knew there was a restaurant here, so I ran away immediately, only to find that there was no one there, and the terrible silence returned to my ears.Dozens of tableware are neatly placed in front of each chair, as if a banquet is about to be held, but what about the diners?

No, that voice just now is definitely real!

Suddenly, the room inside was bustling with people again. There must be many people eating and drinking. Could it be that tonight is some kind of special festival, where recluses are gathering for dinner?
He quickly opened the door to the inner room, and it was still an empty room—this time there was no tableware on the table, only dust and cobwebs were left.

Completely stupid.I can't hear anything in my ears, and I seem to have become deaf. Just a few seconds ago, there was such a noise in this door.

Like a bunch of playful children, once an adult breaks into the room, they immediately hide and seek.

Weird recluse.

The back vest was covered in cold sweat, and within a tenth of a second, I turned around and rushed out the door.

I ran across the corridor in a panic and ran several flights of stairs, as if a group of people were chasing after me, vowing to destroy me.

Suddenly, I bumped into a figure in front of my eyes, and before I could dodge tremblingly, I pressed against his face tightly.

Not him, but her.

she?
I smelled her scent, her unique charming fragrance emanating from her hair and body, which strongly stimulated my nose.

This is the smell of the ring.

"ring!"

I can never let you go again!Hug her desperately, regardless of whether there is a ghost behind her or not, I am not here for anything else, but for the hug at this moment.

She was also trembling violently, which stimulated my adrenaline even more.She had been gone for a whole year, and day and night I fantasized about this moment, fantasizing about kissing her lips again.

I kissed her.

She also slapped me across the face.

Her cheeks were burning hot, and she regained consciousness for a while. She let go of her hand and took two steps back to see her face clearly.

Sapphire.

She is not my ring, so I regretted it, and bowed my head in embarrassment: "I'm sorry! I——I didn't mean it."

And she hid in a dark corner, hugged her shoulders and said sadly: "Just now, I heard footsteps on the stairs, and I just wanted to see what's going on. You think of me as your girlfriend again?"

"Yes, you and her have the same smell. This smell is very unique and charming. Only I can distinguish it. I thought there would be no mistake."

Yu'er frowned and retreated to the depths of the dark corridor, her faint voice sounded: "I hope you find her sooner."

Late at night.

I was still staying in the deserted village apartment and couldn't find a phone to contact the outside world, so I simply walked out of this building and went to another building next to it.

Turning on the light in the corridor, I took out the jade ring on my chest—I used to think that if I found it, I would find the ring, is that true?

I remember that three years ago, Huan told me about her family, the legendary Ouyang family, and this deserted village apartment, wasn’t it the Ouyang family’s property back then?It is reasonable for Huan to hide here, maybe she is not a hermit, but because of a family secret, or because of this jade ring?

Then look down at this turquoise ancient jade, a cultural relic unearthed from the Liangzhu period?How much energy does it have to make the ring leave me and live in seclusion in this desolate and terrifying place?
Suddenly, an evil thought came to my mind—no, it was the idea of ​​the jade ring itself. The ancient jade artifact has its own life. It directs my hands and is going to be worn on the ring finger of my left hand.

The ring I love so much, she disappeared wearing this jade ring, and as long as I wear this ring, she will definitely appear before my eyes.

I didn't expect the jade ring to be so tight, and the cold pressure on my fingers made me feel that the joints were almost broken. No wonder this was originally worn by women!
Finally, the jade ring came to the third section of the ring finger of the left hand.

The scarlet imprint was particularly eye-catching in the ring.

That's why I regretted it, why did I wear this thing?This was taken off the finger of a dead woman.

I wanted to pull out the jade ring, but no matter what, I couldn't pull it out. My fingers seemed to be firmly caught in iron tongs. The more I tried to pull them out, the ring would automatically tighten. Probably before the ring came out, my fingers would be crippled!

After tormenting for 10 minutes, I finally gave up completely and went to the deserted village apartment at night wearing a jade ring.

On the second floor, a few figures flashed in the corridor, and their pale faces were illuminated by the light—all of them were men, women, old and young, wearing homely clothes, just like a normal residential area.Everyone showed alert eyes and stepped aside one after another, not daring to approach within two meters, as if I was a carrier of influenza A from outside.I boldly paid attention to their expressions, which were both calm and fearful, and even concealed a trace of despair.Some doors were opened to reveal light, and the room was decorated very warmly, which was extremely inconsistent with the gloomy environment of the building, but they closed the door immediately to prevent peeping.

There are more people coming to the third floor. Yu'er is right, there are all night activities here, probably her building is rarely inhabited, and the recluses live here concentratedly.A middle-aged woman walked towards me. She was not afraid of me, but just looked at me curiously.

I took out the picture of Huan and summoned up the courage to speak: "Excuse me, have you seen this girl?"

The other party didn't run away in fright, but looked at the photo politely and said, "I'm sorry, I can't remember clearly, there are many people here—is she missing too?"

"Yes, a year ago, I believe she was hiding in the deserted village apartment."

The middle-aged woman sighed: "Me too."

"You too are missing—no, a hermit?"

"No, like you, I also came here to find the missing person."

It makes sense to think about it, since many people have fled here, there must be relatives who will come to look for it, just like me tonight.

"Oh, I'm looking for a girlfriend."

"I was looking for my husband, there was a fire two years ago, they said my husband was burned to death, but I don't believe he died, he must have been badly burned, don't want me to see him again, just Retreat to a deserted village apartment."

This woman is so pitiful, she shed tears as she spoke, I think her husband may really be dead, but she is still unwilling to believe this fact, delusional that he is still alive in this world, and moved here to look for him.Their relationship must be very good. She loves her husband deeply and is willing to guard him forever.

I went up another flight of stairs and saw a door open, I walked in carefully, and there was a man sitting on the window sill, as if he was about to fall at any moment, I yelled: "Danger!"

The man turned his head slowly: "Are you afraid that I will fall?"

"Sorry, I--"

"Don't worry, I am a person who will die sooner or later, and I will not choose to jump to my death."

"Everybody is going to die sooner or later."

"Then I was much earlier—I was terminally ill, and the doctor said that I could only live for half a year at most. I didn't want to hurt my wife, so I quietly disappeared and came to the deserted village apartment alone, quietly waiting for death."

It turns out that waiting for death is also one of the reasons for reclusiveness.

I didn't know how to comfort him, so I could only go up another floor, until the tenth floor of this building.

Suddenly, a dull voice sounded from behind: "You! Why haven't you left yet?"

Turning around in fear, it was the manager of the supermarket—this tall and thin man in black, but he looked different from the morning, his eyes seemed to be smaller, could it be another person?

"you are?"

"That's right, I'm the manager of the supermarket, do you think my face has changed?"

"Yes."

"I warned you not to come in, why did you stay?" The store manager looked up to the sky and sighed, and took out a photo for me, "Let me show you this."

In the photo is a man in his 30s with a handsome appearance. I asked doubtfully, "Who is he?"

"Right in front of your eyes."

"you?"

No, it's not like at all, one is a good-looking man, and the other is a tall, thin and wretched man in black, they are completely different people.

"You don't believe it? But this is really me, the me I was ten years ago. I have been here for ten years, but I find that every day my face is changing until it becomes so unrecognizable that I don't even recognize myself at all, becoming Another face..."

"A deserted village apartment will make people change their appearance?"

"Yes, not only the appearance, but also the memory of the past can be erased. I don't remember who I was back then."

"Can people's memories be forgotten here?"

The store manager sighed sadly: "Only after changing your appearance and forgetting your memory can you give up completely, never return to the painful past, and become an eternal recluse."

Changing appearance—forgetting memory—I subconsciously touched my face and scratched the back of my head. It seemed that everything was changing.

In the blink of an eye, the jade ring suddenly tightened, causing her heart to burst in pain.

I thought of another possibility!
I was stunned for 1 minute.

He turned around quickly and left, ran down the ten flights of stairs in one breath, and returned to the starless night sky.The five buildings in the deserted village apartment are like five fingers pressing on my heart, and the surrounding windows are lit up, like the lights of thousands of homes in the underworld.

Back to the original building, panting, he rushed up to the third floor and knocked on Lan Yuer's door.

After a while, her voice came from the door: "Who?"

"I!"

She must have heard my voice: "What's the matter?"

"I found something very important, I must tell you!"

After a pause of half a minute, the door slowly opened, revealing Yu'er's nervous face.

I broke in unceremoniously, hugged her tightly, and kissed her lips-I didn't recognize the wrong person again.

"let me go!"

Yu'er struggled to push it away, but my tears had already wet her collar, and I said tremblingly, "Huan! You are my Huan!"

"No, you are mistaken."

"I discovered the secret of the apartment in the deserted village. People here will lose their memory and change their appearance! You are my ring, because you have not been here for a long time, so your appearance has not changed completely, so you are so like a ring, because that is what you used to be. look like!"

"how can that be?"

I will never let her escape again: "How do you explain the smell on your body, it is exactly the same as the ring in the past, and this scent of hers is special, she is only one in a million people, there can be no such a coincidence , unless you are her!"

"My name is Lan Yu'er! I've never seen you before!"

"No, you have forgotten your original memory, or you want to bid farewell to the past, so you give yourself a strong psychological hint and imagine Lan Yu'er's story, including the so-called archaeologist's father."

"Forgotten?" Fear flickered across her eyes, "Recently, my memory has been getting worse and worse, and I often forget things from the past."

"By the way!" Finally caught the sore spot, her eyes and nose, especially that kind of gaze, are all the same as Huan, "Huan, don't you remember? You are a descendant of the Ouyang family, you said that you belonged to the deserted village apartment History is exactly the history of your own family—it’s just that your memory has been confused, and the ancient memory of the family has been transplanted into your fantasy—the research result of the archaeologist father.”

"About my past, and the disappearance of my father, are all my fantasies?"

"Yes, the real reason you are here is to escape from your past life. You have fantasized about a new life and a new reason for yourself." I took out the photo of Huan again and pointed out that there were many faces on their faces. Common point, "Look, isn't it very similar? If you wait until many years later, your face will change even more, and I will never find you again."

She retreated to the window, rubbing her temples in horror, doubtful: "In the past few nights, I have been dreaming continuously, dreaming that I belong to a jade family, and my father is not an archaeologist, but a jade business. I have a boyfriend, he Loves me so much, but is out there looking for me everywhere."

"He is me!"

My God, it's really Zhuang Zhou's dream butterfly. Everything she experienced in her dream is her real life, not a fantasy memory.

"What's on your finger?"

It was only then that she discovered the jade ring I was wearing, touched the dark green mark on the green jade body, and faintly reflected light.

"The ring you wore before you disappeared may be an ancient artifact of your Ouyang family. It glows in the sea in the dark, tempting you to wear this jade ring and leave this world of mortals and return to your ancestor's apartment in the deserted village."

"No, this jade ring in your hand reminds me of an ancient story, which is recorded in "Taiping Guangji" - Wei Gao, the envoy of the Xichuan Festival in the Tang Dynasty, fell in love with the girl Yu Xiao when he was young, because he returned home to be an official , left a jade ring before leaving, and agreed to come back to marry her in a few years. But Yu Xiao waited for seven years, and couldn't see his sweetheart back, so he died in despair, wearing the jade ring and buried in the loess. Decades later, when Wei Gaojia was an official Jinjue guarding Xishu, he met a 16-year-old singing girl named Yu Xiao, who was exactly the same as the person he loved deeply. On the finger of this singing girl, there was a The fleshy ring is also the same shape as the jade ring back then, Wei Gao lamented - the difference between life and death is that one goes back and one goes back!"

This story made me silent for a long time, maybe everything has a past life and this life, just like the jade ring on my hand, Yu Xiao can come back to life, and my ring can also become the jade in my imagination.

At this moment, she also seemed very excited, completely believed in my reasoning, and believed that she was my ring.

Let's go back to Wei Gao's Tang Dynasty, back to the legendary age of night, the lost and recovered flame ignites the two of them.

Tonight, the deserted village apartment closed its eyes...

In the early morning, I woke up from her side, but felt a deep sense of loss, but she was immersed in a happy dreamland.

I quietly got up and turned on her computer. I thought I was going online to communicate with the outside world, but I found a file package called "Father's Research Materials".

Isn't the so-called archaeologist's father someone she imagined?I opened the file package in doubt, and saw many research materials and papers, one of which said——

"The excavation results are extremely astonishing. I have studied the Liangzhu civilization all my life, but I have never imagined such a major discovery. In the ruins near the apartment in the deserted village, we found the remains of the Liangzhu Queen, and a large number of engraved with mysterious pictures. Jade, these pictures can form a complex story. After hard research, I finally deciphered the story-5000 years ago, a group of gods landed on the coast of Jiangnan, established a powerful kingdom, and created a splendid jade civilization. The kingdom is ruled by the queen, which is not hereditary, but chooses a pure and beautiful girl from the royal family. She must maintain her chastity for life, otherwise she will blaspheme the ancestors of the gods. Once she was attacked by cannibals, and a young slave rescued the queen. Watching her walk in the wilderness for three days and three nights, she has fallen in love with this slave ever since. She disregarded the sacred regulations of the kingdom, and secretly combined with the lowly slave. When the queen's guard sand faded away, the royal family abolished her throne , and asked her to go to the altar to fulfill the oath. If she lost her virginity, she would commit suicide and apologize. She cut her own throat with a stone knife and wore a jade ring when she died. After this story was deciphered, I felt deep fear, because I have not found this jade ring, it may have been passed down to the world."

After reading this article, I raised my left hand, and the jade ring gradually tightened under the light. Could that scarlet stain be the blood of the queen when she committed suicide?Precipitated in the jade body for 5000 years, condensing some kind of unique spiritual power?

There are still many photos in the computer, a photo of her and a man in his 50s - he is an archaeologist, because he is wearing an archaeological uniform, and the background behind him is the excavation site.The group photo of them is very close, and their appearance is very similar. It is obvious that the master and the daughter are both, but I have seen Huan's father, and he is not the man in the photo at all.The photo was taken two years before Huan disappeared, and the woman in the photo is the face sleeping next to me!
No!This is impossible!Why was she not a ring three years ago?Didn't she change her face?Wasn't her father an antique dealer?Who is the person in the photo?Is there something wrong with my memory?Did I forget what the ring looks like?

When I was trembling all over, a hand patted my back, making me cry out in fright.

"Don't be afraid! It's me!"

She gently hooked my chest, like a long-lost wife, and I pointed to the computer photo and said, "What is this?"

In an instant, she was also completely stunned, as if she had just woken up from a dream.

"No, is this true? He is my father, an archaeologist, and I have always had this face, never a fantasy, I... I... Who am I?"

"Wait a minute!"

Standing up in pain, my memory also began to be confused, and the beautiful face in front of me became extremely strange again.

Ah!
A few fragments flashed across my mind, and I suddenly felt suffocated, gasping for breath in pain, as if I was about to drown.

This memory is too painful!
She also clutched her chest: "No! My heart hurts so much! Why are these not true?"

Breathing is about to stop, is the oxygen in the room exhausted?Struggling to open the window, greedily breathing the air outside.

When I raised my head again, a fluorescent lamp lit up in the window of the opposite building, illuminating the face in the window.

I know this face.

ring.

My ring is in the window on the third floor of the opposite building.

The brain has become blank, and the indelible memory once again surged into the painful heart. This face is absolutely unmistakable, it is the woman I love deeply—my ring.

So, who is this person in the house?
Trembling, I turned around and looked at Yu'er's panicked face.

Ouyang Huan is Ouyang Huan and Lan Yuer is Lan Yuer.

Out of the room again.

In the early morning, the night is as cold as water.

Quickly ran out of the building, stepped across the silent open space, and broke into the opposite building.

There are also some residents living here, but no one noticed me, allowing me to run to the third floor and push open the fatal door.

ring.

I see the ring.

That's right, it's her.

She was sitting in front of the writing desk, the window was open to let in the breeze, and she was writing something in a small notebook with her head down.

Could it be a memory problem?I pulled out a picture of the ring and was sure it was her.

I'm sorry, Yu'er - I made a mistake, you are not my ring, you are two different people, only similar in appearance.

And my ring is just opposite Yu'er's window, and the early morning light illuminates her beautiful eyes.

For a whole year, I searched for her for a whole year, sitting right in front of me, and didn't see me!

Didn't she feel that I opened the door?Didn't hear my footsteps?Don't smell me?

And I smelled her body fragrance, a unique and wonderful smell among thousands of people, only Yu'er has the same smell as hers.

Because I was close to her face, but she still didn't feel anything, could it be that she was sleepwalking?

Finally, I couldn't help shouting: "Huan! Here I come!"

Still no response, she couldn't be pretending to be deaf and dumb, right?
Suddenly, she stood up, almost face to face with me, but she did not see me.

But she wasn't blind because she was looking at a laptop!why can't you see me?It is impossible to deliberately pretend that I am not there, because no one will ignore the person in front of them, especially the man who once loved deeply.

Can't she see me?Also can't hear me?

I went to the writing desk and looked at what she had just written in the small notebook——

Dear:
Are you okay in heaven?
Hope you can read this letter.

Today, I received an email confirming that the rotting body by the sea is the man I love the most—you!

I'm very, very sad that you're really dead, farewell to this world forever - although I never believed it! 360 five days and nights, I never gave up on you, I hope you are still living in a corner, even in an apartment in a deserted village.

A year ago, at night on the island, we found a jade ring, and you put it on my finger.The next day, you mysteriously disappeared.The police believe that you fell into the sea and died, but I firmly believe that is impossible, unless your body is found.

I take it you want to escape the world, or have a fear of getting married?I heard that there is a place called the deserted village apartment, where many recluses live.So, I followed a group of people looking for missing relatives and friends, and came here to live in seclusion, hoping for a miracle to happen.

do you know?No matter how long I waited, I thought you were still alive.It wasn't until last night that my jade ring was suddenly lost that it gave me a terrible feeling.Sure enough, I received this email today, saying that a corpse was found at the beach a few days ago, and it was you after DNA testing!

You died a year ago and I can't believe it!
My heart is broken.

However, today I have a strange feeling, as if a ghost is following me.Although I can't hear his voice, I can't see his appearance, but I can feel his presence, maybe behind me?
Unfortunately, I was the only one in the room.

If this ghost is you, please rest in peace in heaven, I will love you forever and ever!
Now, I have decided to leave the deserted village apartment and not live in the pain I once was.Maybe I will have a new lover and a new life, but I will not forget you, my dearest person.

Kiss you!

Goodbye heaven.

your ring

Written in Deserted Village Apartment
I am dead!
I am already a ghost, and now I understand this truth.

The apartment in the deserted village really makes people forget their memories, and forget that I have already died, on the bottom of the sea a year ago.

Everything that follows is all my fantasy. The soul cannot enter hell or heaven, because I stubbornly don't believe in my own death, and I don't want to be separated from my beloved.

So, I am still wandering in the world, looking for the person I love the most—Huan.

I once naively thought that even death could not separate us.

That's why, after death, I stubbornly couldn't bear to leave, leaving strong delusions, thinking that the missing person is Huan, and the living person is me.

As for my life in the past year, including that Mercedes-Benz SLK, it doesn't exist at all...

However, the person I was looking for was also looking for me!
She doesn't believe I'm dead, and I don't believe I'm dead.

We are also looking for each other, but one is looking for the world and the other is looking for the underworld.

Finally, I found her.

And she found me too—found proof that I was dead.

Although Huanyin and I are separated, our love for each other has never changed.

"I remembered too."

A voice sounded behind him, and he turned to see Lan Yuer's pale face.

Apparently, she followed me out, all the way to Ring's room.

"You are not my ring."

"Yes, I forgot one important thing—forgot that I was dead."

"Me too."

Yu'er looked very calm: "Ten days ago, in the process of looking for my father, I was hit and killed by a rich man who was racing a car. However, my soul, thinking that I was still alive, came to the apartment in the deserted village to meet the ghosts who had the same fantasy. Live together. Yesterday morning, I saw the Mercedes-Benz car you imagined. On the glass of that car, a sunny sky was reflected, but the world I saw was gloomy and gloomy—now I just Understand that in the world after death, it will never be possible to see the sun, only through this special way."

"Sorry, I got the wrong person."

Yu'er walked out of the room lightly, and the conversation between us did not affect the ring in the room at all, and she couldn't hear the voices of the ghosts.

I totally understand!Before discovering the ring, all the people I saw in the deserted village apartment were ghosts like me, such as the manager of the man in black.As for the lunatic who smashed my car, because ghosts can see each other's fantasies, they can see the Mercedes in my fantasy, and I can also see the underground supermarket in their fantasy.

Huan tore off the page from the small book, lit a match and burned it to ashes, expecting me to read this letter that crosses yin and yang in another world.

Yes, I have seen it around her.

Huan started tidying up the room and packing her luggage. She had no reason to stay.

I stayed by Huan's side, the time we spent together was too short, it would be nice to just look at her a few more times.

In the early morning, Huan left the deserted village apartment.

He followed her closely, wishing he could help her with her luggage, but couldn't touch her body.

Walking out of the patios of the five buildings, where the U-shaped opening was, she felt a ghost following her, and she turned her head in doubt, flashing her once-familiar eyes.

I put my lips together, in air or in delusion, and kiss the woman I love so much.

my ring.

Suddenly, a ray of strong sunlight appeared above the dark sky, piercing through the thick clouds and mist, piercing into the eyes like a sharp sword.

In an instant, all the dark clouds disappeared, the world became sunny, the wilderness in front of me was full of vitality, and the apartment in the deserted village was covered with a layer of gold, like a legendary paradise.

As for me, a phantom of fantasy, I crumble to ashes in the sun, become a cloud of air, and rise high into the sky.

The jade ring, the jade ring of Queen Liangzhu, fell off her melting finger and fell into the deep wild grass.

Finally free!
There is no physical bondage, no worldly pain, only a soul that loves someone.

The bright and scorching sun sprinkled over the barren weeds, like undulating golden wheat fields.

Looking down at the apartment in the deserted village from a high altitude, it suddenly becomes so cute, just like a large pile of building blocks that I played with when I was a child.

Hundreds of feet below the earth, my ring is still beautiful and moving, heading towards the boundless wilderness.

Don't cry, my love.

don't cry my love

Tonight I bloom like a flower in the epiphyllum
Fading at the most beautiful moment
Your tears also wither irretrievably
don't cry my love

You know I won't wake up again
Wink in the most beautiful night sky

My eyes are the brightest starlight

Do you remember when I proudly said

I have been to this world
don't tell me what eternity is

I am destroyed in the most brilliant moment

don't tell me what maturity is

I ended the moment I started
(Zheng Zhihua "Don't Cry, My Favorite Person")
Cai Jun
Friday, August 2009, 7
Scarlet

poetry in the age of the subway
Shu Feilian

The last version of "Desolate Village Apartment" I watched was in the study, late at night, and finally I didn't dare to read it anymore.

The next day, take the train to Chengdu, then read on...

Most of the Sichuan-Hubei Railway is under the Qinling Mountains, which is almost the same as the subway. After reading this story written by Brother Cai Jun in his youth, Nie Xiaoqian's eyes that transcend time and space are also printed on the glass of the train...

Readers who have read this book will probably have the same experience as me.The love of so many readers is right, this is a very good novel, it starts from the genre of suspense, in fact, it has far surpassed this genre.

From the 5000-year-old Liangzhu civilization where gentlemen attacked jade, to the fragrance of clothes and temples in the Republic of China, to Shanghai, the city that never sleeps today, "I" and "Xiaoqian", college students, police cousins, and history professors, not so much Tracing a piece of magical jade is more like constructing an urban history of Shanghai.From the desolate and silent seaside cemetery, to the bustling and busy subway line, to the crumbling apartment in the deserted village, under this breathless story, is the author's care for our city and our civilization as "warm and moist as jade" .

"I couldn't restrain the excitement in my heart. I grabbed Xiaoqian's hand and rushed into the house. The moment I grabbed her hand, a ray of warmth flowed through my heart. Her skin was smooth and cold, and there was some rainwater , and that slippery and cool feeling makes me feel embarrassed.” Cai Jun’s words already have the texture, smell and color that those language masters should have. "The moment I wrote it.From this book, it can be vaguely seen how many movies he has watched, how many novels he has read, and how many years he has lived in Shanghai before he cultivated such magical words.He used such words to write "Xiaoqian" (Xiaozhi) in such a way that the fox girl and college girl in Liaozhai are the same as the South Vietnamese beauty in Chen Yingxiong's "The Taste of Green Papaya" - like a mystery. oriental woman, and cruelly sacrificed her to the subway, so that the cold rails and absurd stations can get classical oriental tenderness.

I also really like the structure of the novel.Based on "I"'s experience of a month, tell this story precisely, organize time and space in an orderly manner, just like organizing those roaring trains underground, different directions, different speeds, different people and things...

I read The Secret of Journey to the West written by a scholar named Miyoko Nakano.She analyzed the rigor of the Journey to the West structure, and said that the Tang monk and his disciples learned the scriptures for 14 years, and traveled 15 miles. The middle line of the Journey to the West incident, time, and journey happened to be at the Liusha River.I saw the No. [-]-day story of "Desolate Village Apartment", which also shifted from a mountain village to a city, almost in the middle of the story.Citing this example shows that the author already has a very clever and conscious structural ability, and such ability has always been scarce in the history of specious novels in our country.

The author's superb narrative skills are also reflected in the portrayal of characters such as "I" and "Xiaoqian".The space between the countryside and the city, spanning 5000 years, the distance between the real and the unreal——the author tells stories in such an almost three-dimensional structure. "I" is "Cai Jun" himself, the narrator, and the trinity of the protagonist of the work, and Xiaoqian is also undertaking such complicated tasks as "Character in Liaozhai", "College Girl", and "Heir of an Ancient Family" to control such complex characters , requires extraordinary narrative talent.

As I mentioned above, the concepts, emotions and techniques used by Brother Cai Jun to create his "suspense novels" are very rare in Chinese novels before the twentieth century.Readers linger in the labyrinth of stories he built with this, intoxicated by his stories, infected by his emotions, and confused by the smell of words, just like in the endless subway, going back and forth is like a dream, without obstacles, but not Think of the toil of those who designed and built the subway.

I have always disagreed with the statement that genre literature is popular literature, and I don't even agree with the term genre literature.I feel that since the twentieth century, in many fields, some extraordinary writers have been creating a new novel with the city as the core.They have extraordinary ambitions to describe and create a new Chinese urban culture, and Brother Cai Jun is undoubtedly one of the pioneers.In the past, some people said that few writers born in the 70s could enter the classics. This kind of statement is actually ridiculous.While they were dreaming of "pure literature" centered on criticism of local culture, a new kind of literature had emerged along with China's real modernization.

It will become the "Jade Ring" of Chinese cities, just like the subway that has accepted the sacrifice of "Nie Xiaoqian". This is indeed a very appropriate symbol.

Its advantage is that we can finally escape from the colonization of Western stories like Hollywood and Stephen King, and recreate our own national stories and poems.Of course, this kind of creation is oriented towards the West and our tradition, and it has been completed by some of our best writers. You can read this from the text "Desolate Village Apartment".

Thanks to Brother Cai Jun for not giving up, let me, a guy struggling in "Chinese Martial Arts" and "Desolate Village Apartment", write the postscript of the reprint.I believe that we have a common dream, "As long as you think of me in your heart, then you will see me", this you, of course, is "Nie Xiaoqian", but also our mother tongue - has a thrilling beauty, has gone through vicissitudes and faces the future Chinese.

Shu Feilian

Chengdu, January 2010, 1
Shu Feilian, formerly known as Zheng Baochun, is a senior executive of Wuhan Jingu Legend Newspaper Group.Previously served as the editor-in-chief of "Legends of Jingu·Story Edition" and "Legends of Jingu·Martial Arts Edition".During his tenure as the editor-in-chief of "Legends of Modern and Ancient Times: Martial Arts Edition", he devoted himself to launching popular martial arts writers such as Xiao Lin and Cang Yue, and led everyone to create a new martial arts pattern in mainland China. In 2008, he was selected as one of the "Top 10 New Chief Editors in China's Newspaper Industry" by "China Bookseller Daily".

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