After staying in the city for a long time, it is indeed a very happy thing to come to the countryside with fresh air and sparsely populated land. And my friend also temporarily acted as a tour guide. The village in their hometown is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and there is exactly one exit. It is said that the layout of each house in the village was designed by an expert a long time ago. Behind the mountains surrounding the village is a river, and the exit of the river It is also the exit of the village, so people here are used to connecting with the outside world by water.
Surrounded by mountains, the climate here has always been humid, and the annual harvest also makes the people here live a happy and prosperous life.
When the two of us came to the entrance of the village, we saw a four-meter-high stone tablet. The tablet should have been around for a long time, and it was very damaged. My friend said that this stone tablet existed when the village was established.
"It's you, Xiao Si!" A middle-aged man in his forties saw my friend Ji Yan and excitedly greeted him.
He looks a bit like Ji Yan, with a wide forehead, high nose, and thin lips, but his face is a little longer. Wearing a white short-sleeved shirt on the upper body and black trousers on the lower body, he stood in front.
"Second uncle!" It turned out to be his uncle.
"Xiaosi, if your grandma didn't ask you to come back for a blind date, it seems that you don't remember the second uncle. Ah, who is this?" The second uncle finally noticed me.
"He is my friend, and he also wants to come here to see. After staying in the city for a long time, I want to breathe some fresh air." He enthusiastically introduced me to the second uncle.
"Well, my name is Ji Xue. Since I'm Xiaosi's friend and our guest, please follow me into the village first." As he spoke, he led the way, and we followed behind. I looked while walking and found the road here. It is very difficult to go around the winding road.
"It's easy for outsiders to get lost here. All the buildings maintain the layout hundreds of years ago. There is no villager to guide the way. Once you enter the Tuobei, even the compass will fail." Although I can only see this The back of the second uncle, but his words surprised me, he seemed to know what I was thinking.
"But this does not mean that the villagers have completely isolated themselves from the outside world. Many young people have gone out to make a living, including my brother, and of course his son Xiao Si." Ji Xue was a little slow when it came to his friend's father, and there may still be a trace of it. feeling.
"This village is mostly populated by people with the surname Ji, but it's not called Jijia Village. The ancestors from generation to generation call this place—Fan Village."
"Trouble village? Very troubled?" I asked stupidly.
"It's not fidgety, it's Brahma in Buddhist Sanskrit, which means a clean place." Ji Yan explained cleanly.
Later, Ji Xue stopped talking, and I don't know if I said something wrong. Anyway, we walked for nearly an hour before arriving at Ji Yan's house.
His home was built on a high slope, and he had to pass a twelve-story staircase to go up. After going up the steps, in front of the main entrance is a circular field with a diameter of more than three meters. It is the Eight Diagrams pattern of Tai Chi. The main entrance is not wide, it is two feet high, just enough to allow three people to enter and exit. Everything is made of wood, which shows how old it is.
But the strange thing is that there are actually two thresholds in their family. Although they are not high, I almost fell over without paying attention.
After entering, there is a very large rectangular living room, just like an ordinary TV series. There is a tea table in front of it, and there are two grand master chairs on each side. There is a picture hanging on the top of the coffee table, which seems to be a picture of Guanyin giving a child, probably to bless the family members. thriving.
There are four chairs on each side. All the furniture is dark green and smooth as porcelain. The ground is paved with stones, and each stone is a square about 20 centimeters long. It is very clean and there is no dust to be seen.
"Sit down, I'll ask your grandma to come out, she heard that you will come today, she got up early, and is reciting Buddha's name in the back room." Ji Xue beckoned us to sit down, asked someone to serve tea, and walked inside. I sat on the chair and sipped tea, feeling as if the time and space had gone back decades.
Not long after, an old man staggered out with the support of Ji Xue. The old man was wearing a red coat made of silk, with many longevity characters embroidered on it. He holds a string of Buddhist beads in his left hand, and a walking stick with a dragon head in his right hand. Although he was very old, he had a handsome face and distinct features. He didn't have the bloated and decadent feeling of ordinary old people, but on the contrary he looked very healthy.
"Little Four!" The old man looked at Ji Yan as soon as he came, and walked over step by step. The friend hurriedly stood up and went up to meet it.
The grandparents and grandchildren naturally have a lot to talk about when they meet, and I am an outsider, so it is inconvenient to be present. Just about to get up, Ji Xue walked over immediately, "I'll take you out for a walk."
"Okay." Sure enough, he was a smart man.
And this time when I went out, I didn't get tripped.
Going out from Ji's old house, I followed Ji Xue to many places, including the large amount of farmland behind the village. To be honest, I saw it with my own eyes. The village also saw other things with a long history, such as ancient temples, ancient tombs, etc., and the villagers consciously cherish them. And they are friendly. But I found that among all the houses, only Ji's house is sitting on a high place, which is really eye-catching.
There are also electrical appliances in the village, but not many. According to Ji Xue, people don’t like to be too constrained by these things. I sigh that it’s great to have such a blessed land like Taoyuan in the current society.
I suddenly thought of the taboo in their village, that is, the back mountain.
"I heard that people in the back mountain seldom go in?" I asked suddenly. Ji Xue was stunned, and immediately asked me who told me. I said Ji Yan. Ji Xue smiled: "That's an old story, but because there are wild animals in the back mountain, we usually don't let the children go up alone, in fact, it's just an ordinary mountain."
Since he said so, it is inconvenient for me to ask more questions. Ji Xue looked at the sun and told me that it was getting late and I should go back for dinner. When it comes to eating, my stomach growled immediately. After all, the food on the train is really hard to swallow.
Back at Ji's house, the grandfather and grandson were still chatting. But it seems that grandma is trying to persuade her friend to agree to meet the girl she is optimistic about.
"Xiaosi, you know that grandma lives every day, and my biggest wish is to let you marry a wife and have children while I can still see my old bones, so I can rest in peace." Said, The old man had tears in his eyes. Ji Yan at the side also couldn't laugh or cry, so she had no choice but to comfort the old man.
"Grandma, I'm not a reproductive machine. Besides, I haven't even seen the girl's face. How can I talk about marriage? Don't make things difficult for me."
"Then you mean you agreed to see her? That's great, I'll ask your second uncle to bring her after lunch, and you can meet at home. But you have to see her whenever you succeed." Grandma Immediately his face changed, and he laughed again. Ji Yan had no choice but to nod her head and agree. He looked at me, and I sniggered, glad that I didn't have such a burden.
The lunch was gorgeous, indeed, it was all original ecological food, the best local chicken and fresh vegetables, and the fish that had just been hoisted from my own pond. However, since I was a guest, I restrained a bit and only ate four bowls.
But Ji Yan wasn't in the mood to eat, he went to pick up chopsticks and put them in the bowl after watching me gobble them up. But I am very surprised that there are only four of us eating in such a huge house.
After dinner, Second Uncle Ji Xue went out. It was funny when I saw Ji Yan circling around the room restlessly. I thought to myself that you have experienced so many bizarre things and never thought that you would be at a loss in front of a blind date. It seems that he told me that he has never been in a relationship is true. When I went to the city, his grandma and I chatted with each other.
At this time a girl came in, I looked back and was startled. This girl is none other than my newspaper colleague, Yue Luolei.
But she doesn't know me very well, how could she know an unknown person like me with hundreds of people in this newspaper. But she was a well-known figure in the newspaper. The youngest editor-in-chief and the most beautiful female editor in history established in the agency, and it is said that her family is prominent, but she did not expect the so-called blind date to be her?
She was wearing very ordinary clothes today, an ordinary yellow cotton sleeveless top and jeans. The hair is also casually tied behind the head. I looked at Ji Yan, he was a little surprised, I didn't expect to be a city girl.
Luo Lei over there was also surprised to see him, but she still sat on the chair and looked at Grandma Ji Yan. Everyone was silent for a while. In the end, Grandma Ji Yan said: "Let's avoid it first, so you young people won't be ashamed." As she said that, her second uncle Ji Xue mixed her in. Naturally, I couldn't be idle, so I had to excuse myself to go out and have a look. Before I left, I glanced at Luo Lei, but I didn't expect that she was also looking at me. I was flustered and almost fell when I passed the door.
This time I didn't dare to walk without Ji Xue's guidance, so I just walked along the old house of Ji's family. Unexpectedly, I saw a stone Buddha behind the house.
It's just a stone Buddha, but its carving technology makes me wonder. Although I know that this area belongs to the Northern Wei area in history, the sculptures of Buddha statues in the Northern Wei Dynasty are very famous. It is famous for its bright colors and rich facial expressions. The engraving characteristics are quite different. It feels like this carving style is very old.
There are still characters under the stone statue, but I can't read them, and I don't know what characters they are. This stone Buddha is as tall as two people. It seems that it will take some time to finish carving it.
I went back to Ji's house bored, and Ji Yan saw me as my savior.
"Ouyang, you came just in time. Miss Yue said that she and you are in the same newspaper office." She pointed to Yue Luolei.
"Hello, I remember you are under Mr. Li. He often told me about you. The past few days were hard, so he took a month's vacation." Her voice was like honey thrown into boiling water, sweet I can't melt it.
I was flattered and smiled embarrassedly.
"So you are friends. In fact, I was also forced to come by my family. But just treat it as a friend." Luo Lei said generously. So the three unexpectedly became friends.
Ji Yan's grandma thought that Ji Yan and Yue Luolei were developing well and was very happy, but she didn't like me hanging around.
The three of them will be very happy in the next few days, if nothing happens to Luo Lei.
The three of us were walking in the village that day, but we forgot that none of us knew the way. It turned out that Luo Lei was also here for the first time.
"I'm a little tired." Luo Lei sat on the ground and rubbed her legs. Ji Yan and I were also a little tired. I don't know where the three of us are. Anyway, there are very few people. Seeing the sun gradually set to the west.
"Look what it is, it seems to be a wedding procession." Luo Lei pointed to the distance. Ji Yan and I looked but saw nothing.
"No way, there are. How could there be a team getting married at this time? There are very few people getting married this month." Ji Yan looked around and said.
But Luo Lei insisted that she had seen it. Although the distance was far away, the bright red team was absolutely right.
Ji Yan and I looked at each other, and I laughed and said, "You don't want to get married, do you?" Luo Lei blushed when she heard that, she didn't expect that she would blush when she usually feels superior.
"Hi!" Ji Xue's voice came from behind. Finally able to go back.
"How did you come here?" Ji Xue said sternly as soon as he came over, and then turned his head to look, as if he was looking for something.
"Uncle Ji, Uncle Ji, I just said that I saw the wedding procession, but the two of them just didn't believe me." Luo Lei shouted at Ji Yan.
Ji Xue smiled, you read it wrong, and then took us back to Ji's house. Luo Lei's family asked Luo Lei to stay here for a few more days, anyway, it doesn't matter to the folks in the village. I thought it would be great to enjoy the night view and stars with her.
After dinner, Luo Lei said that her eyes were a little uncomfortable, and then she went to her room to rest. I was worried, so I went to her room to have a look.
"Luo Lei, are you there?" I knocked lightly on the door, but no one answered. I wonder if I fell asleep? Just when I was about to go back to find Ji Yan, I suddenly heard a voice inside.
Every room in the Ji residence has windows, not the kind of glass and aluminum alloy sliding windows, but single-supported windows. I heard the windows seem to be smashed. Twist the handle, the door is unlocked.
It was very dark inside when I opened the door, but through the moonlight I saw that Luo Lei was not in the room. The windows were also closed. I opened the window, but saw Luo Lei walking outside alone.
Climbing out of a window? I was about to call her loudly, but suddenly my mouth was covered!
Looking back, it was actually Ji Yan.
He made a quiet movement and whispered: "Don't shout, waking her up now will scare her. It seems that something is wrong with her. Let's follow her and see where she goes." He pulled me out to follow Luo Lei.
We always keep a distance of more than 20 meters from her. Her steps are small and messy, like someone drinking wine.
There is no sound at night. People here seem to go to bed very early. No wonder, they are very tired after a day's work. Everyone went to bed early after eating. The two of us followed Luo Lei like this, we don't know how far we walked.
From the beginning is the wilderness, there are no stones and no shelter. Ji Yan looked at it, and suddenly said, isn't this the place we just came to during the day, and she also said that she saw the wedding procession.
"Should I call her? We've already walked so far, should we let her go?" I was a little worried, seeing that it was almost early morning, and I couldn't let her go until tomorrow morning.
Luo Lei stopped, which surprised us. But we didn't dare to get too close, we still kept a distance and watched carefully.
She raised her hands, not knowing what she was muttering. Turning towards us slowly, Ji Yan and I didn't know where to hide, so we just lay down on the ground.
Turning around, I clearly saw that Luo Lei's left eye was shining red, and looking at the shining red eyes in such an empty place gave me a bit of a chill.
"What's going on? Isn't this like sleepwalking?" I turned around and asked Ji Yan, who bit his lower lip and shook his head.
"Although I don't know, I feel like she's bewitched." Ji Yan stood up, "Since it's not sleepwalking, let's take her back." Said and walked over.
Of course I followed, when we got a few meters away from Luo Lei, Luo Lei suddenly fainted. We ran a few steps, and she sat up abruptly as if nothing happened to scare us.
"I, why am I here?" She looked around in surprise, and then at us. Ji Yan and I looked at each other and decided to make up a lie to deceive her.
"You fell asleep, so Ouyang and I want to make a joke with you. Didn't you say that you saw a wedding procession here during the day, so we will quietly carry you here, and then take a look. If not, everyone*** Stars." I admire his ability to bullshit.
"Really?" Luo Lei asked me again, I just nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. That night we had no choice but to hug each other in the stars, don't ask me why I didn't go back, because both Ji Yan and I were blind.
She returned to normal the next day, and Ji Yan and I were very puzzled by what happened last night. Is it really sleepwalking? But what is that eerie red light?
During the day, everyone played around again, and Luo Lei said that she finally wanted to take the opportunity to relax, because the newspaper business was too stressful. I sometimes peek into her eyes for nothing, but see nothing.
It seems that the night here is unusually fast. Like yesterday, Luo Lei complained that her eyes were sore, she didn't eat much and went back to her room. Ji Yan and I also put down our jobs. One is guarding the door and the other is guarding the window. She cannot be allowed to go out today.
Time passed quickly, and it was past ten o'clock in a blink of an eye. It was strange that nothing special seemed to happen today. I don't know what happened to Ji Yan, anyway, I fell asleep slowly by leaning against the door.
In a trance, I seemed to hear the sound of music, which seemed to be the most popular wedding music in the countryside. I woke up with a jerk. At this time, the wooden door behind me made a real creaking sound.
Her back was as cold as ice, and when she looked back, Luo Lei was actually wearing a blood-red wedding dress! The upper body is a silk jacket of the early years of the Republic of China, the lower body is wearing a red skirt with cuffed corners, and the feet are wearing red embroidered shoes. The lips are also rubbed bright red, and the surroundings are very black. It looks like the mouth is dripping with blood. . She looked at me blankly, no, it should be said that she couldn't see me at all, and walked out slowly.
Where did the wedding dress come from? I rubbed my eyes and thought I was wrong, but there was clearly a red wedding dress in front of me, and she had already walked out of the back room.
I yelled in my heart that it was not good, so I ran to the window and walked around for a long time, but Luo Lei walked very slowly, so I thought it was still too late.
I ran to the window out of breath and saw that there was no one there. I thought to myself, Ji Yan, you must have also escaped from the evil. There is no way to run back again and find that Luo Lei has almost walked out of the house.
"Don't worry, she won't be able to get out of those double thresholds." Suddenly Ji Xue's voice sounded behind him, and Ji Yan stood beside him with a calm expression.
I looked at Luo Lei again, and sure enough, she suddenly fainted the moment she stepped over the threshold.
It appears that the double sills do more than just trip people up. The moment Luo Lei fell, the wedding dress on her body also disappeared. No, it should be said that it all flew into her left eye like smoke.
"One-eyed bride." Ji Yan and Ji Xue said in unison.
I picked up Luo Lei and put it on the chair. With her face pale, she looked terrifying. But what makes me feel the most uncomfortable is that she is obviously fainting now, but her left eye is wide open, and the pupil is blood red.
"What one-eyed bride?" I asked puzzled.
"You are an outsider, so of course you don't know this legend. There was a very beautiful girl in the village during the Republic of China. As a result, wars were rampant at that time, and even a remote mountain village like ours was not spared. She was taken by an officer who came here for political affairs. She said she was an officer, but she was no different from a bandit. Of course she didn't want to marry, but the officer threatened the lives of the whole village. As a result, everyone in the village came to persuade her to marry the officer, and some even insulted her for not knowing what to do. , to drag everyone to die together. In the end, she shed tears and agreed to marry the officer. And she made the officer swear that as long as she married him, she would not harm the village. The officer naturally agreed.
That night, the officer was waiting for the sedan chair at the entrance of the village. Is there a long queue to see off the relatives? When he reached the entrance of the village, the officer went to open the curtain door of the wedding sedan chair, but sat down on the ground in fright. There were many people from the village present at that time. A few ventured past to have a look. The girl actually killed herself with scissors, and that's all. But she actually dug out her left eye with her hand before she died, and I held it in my hand. Local people know that this is a very poisonous curse. Because they think that a person's face is like a Tai Chi diagram. The two eyes are two black and white dots on the picture. The left eye observes Yin and the right eye observes Yang. strike a balance. But before she died, she gouged out her left eye, which means that everyone she sees with her left eye must die. "Ji Xue looked at Luo Lei with a red light in his left eye and said slowly.
"Later, there was a massacre in the village, and people died one after another. First, the officer was found dead in the room by his subordinates. His left eye was gone. Later, the villagers who threatened her had no left eye. And some people said that on the night of the accident They all saw a girl in a red wedding dress. There was also a girl who claimed to have seen a girl with only one eye in her face. Things got worse and worse, and it turned out that our old man of the Ji family, that is, my grandfather, came forward to sacrifice himself The price of the right eye sealed her in his own eyes. So the surviving people in the village respected our Ji family very much and built this house for us.
But grandpa couldn't restrain her resentment. It didn't take long before she became ill. Before she died, she said that the one-eyed bride would come out again in seventy years, but she would not kill indiscriminately. Instead, she would find a girl who looked similar to her age to sit in her sedan chair and walk for her. End her evil way. "
I was shocked after hearing this. Luo Lei hasn't woken up yet. Is she really going to be a stand-in for the one-eyed bride?
"Is there no other way?" Did I just watch her die inexplicably like this?
"Don't know, she died with a lot of distrustful resentment. It's hard to deal with. The double threshold only temporarily slows her steps. You see her open left eye. That eye will slowly start from the pupil Turn red, once the whole eye turns red, there is no cure." Ji Yan walked over and pointed to the red eyes, and sure enough the red part was slightly bigger than before.
"Hurry up and save her." I grabbed Ji Yan's shoulder and shouted loudly. Ji Yan looked at me in surprise and patted my shoulder. "Don't worry, my uncle and I will take her to the ancient temple temporarily, hoping to temporarily control her, and we can find a way when we have time."
That's all there is to it. The ancient temple is in the center of the village. I don't know how many years old it is. Anyway, it is still well preserved under the protection of the villagers. We put the buds under the Buddha statue and surrounded the whole body with golden beads. The three of us sat around her.
Ji Xue told us that grandpa said that to subdue her completely, she must appease her resentment. As for how to calm down, he passed away before he could explain in detail. Just said that wherever you come from, you should go back from there.
We haven't thought about this sentence carefully, but Luo Lei's eyes are getting redder and redder. The whites of the eyes are almost invisible. Ancient temples and prayer beads have no effect at all.
Where do you come from and where do you go back? What does it mean? I looked at her pale face and the blood-red left eye that could not be closed.
"Do you have to change my eyes for you?" I couldn't help blurting out. Ji Yan next to her was startled.
"By the way, is it possible to calm her grievances by finding the eyeball she dug out back then?" Ji Yan's words made sense, but she didn't say anything. The village is not big, but it takes dozens of people to find an eyeball here. It was easier said than done years ago.
"No, her left eye should be in Grandpa's right eye." Ji Yan said firmly.
"Then why didn't the old lady give her back her left eye?" I asked.
"Maybe she was too angry at that time." Ji Yan replied.
"Well, Xiaosi's argument is very reasonable. But if this is the case, we will dig up Grandpa's grave, let alone grandma's disapproval, and you will inevitably be charged with unfilial piety." Ji Xue warned Ji Yan.
"It's nothing, I'll go to Grandma to convince her that you are going to open the grave now. It's a matter of human life, and grandpa will understand us." Then, he walked out of the ancient temple and said to me, "Don't worry, Luo Lei will be fine , I will never see my good friend die in front of me again, never." I knew what he meant. I believe Ji Yan will succeed.
Ji Xue and I asked people to watch Luo Lei. Then he brought some people to Ji's ancestral grave to open the coffin.
Mrs. Ji's tomb is imposing, and very clean and tidy. We prayed silently to the old man for forgiveness after worshiping.
The tomb is made of marble. It's not easy to open, and you have to be careful not to damage it. At this time, Ji Yan came.
"I persuaded grandma. I said that the future granddaughter-in-law is in danger, and I will not live if something happens to her." Ji Yan really has the ability to be a host.
Finally, we dug the wooden coffin, and after praying on our knees again, we opened the coffin. Old Master Ji's body was completely decomposed. But his right eye was still shining red like a ruby. We picked it up carefully and wrapped it in a red cloth.
Just as everyone was about to restore the old man's tomb, those people who were in charge of watching Luo Lei ran over. My heart sank and I knew something was wrong. Sure enough, they said that Luo Lei stood up suddenly just now, and rushed to the door with so much strength that she couldn't stop her. They had no choice but to come and tell us.
We don't have much time, so we rushed to find Luo Lei with our eyeballs, but where would she go?
"It should be the place where Luo Lei said she saw the wedding procession last time." Ji Yan guessed. No way, we have to go there. Fortunately, his guess was accurate.
Luo Lei put on that red wedding dress again. If I saw her wearing it at night last time it was horrifying to me, then seeing her wearing it in broad daylight made me feel a very seductive and miserable beauty.
She just stood there without speaking. Just look at the sky. I put my eyeballs on my hands and slowly approached her. Ji Yan also wanted to go there, but was stopped by Ji Xue.
"You should go back where you came from. I don't want to see this girl become your substitute. If you insist on her wearing a wedding dress, I also hope that she will wear it when she walks with the person she likes in the future." I am careful said.
"Who are you? Do you love this girl?" She replied with a sneer, her voice had changed, very ethereal.
"It can't be called love, we don't know each other well, but I can't watch her die, and I don't want to watch you go wrong."
"Wrong? Can you feel the feeling of people betraying you and driving you to death? You can't understand that if you were me, you would hate this world a thousand times more than I do." She looked at me faintly, His left eye was still red.
"So I'll give you back what belongs to you, if you think it's not enough." I paused, took a deep breath, and said firmly, "I can give you my left eye."
She looked at me in surprise, then said mockingly: "Okay, give it to me." She stretched out her right hand as she spoke.
I was also stunned, saying it was easier said than done. My hand is always on the side of my left eye.
"Dig? I don't have much patience. When the time comes, the sedan chair to pick up this girl will come. Look over there, it seems to have already arrived." She laughed at me all the time. I seem to have also heard the music of welcoming the bride, and sure enough, a team all dressed in bright red clothes is walking towards here carrying sedan chairs.
Like a red tongue, extending across the open ground.
Time is running out, if one less eye can save her, it's worth it. I made up my mind and dug into my left eye.
The moment my finger touched the eyeball, a gust of wind blew up and nearly knocked us all down. Ji Yan and Ji Xue also rushed over to help me. Nothing left after the gale. Luo Lei fell to the ground, with the bloody wedding dress off her body.
The voice sounded in the sky, and said bitterly: "I will keep an eye on you in the future to see if you are lying." Then, it was over.
The one-eyed bride who haunted the village for decades has finally left. I can't guarantee whether she really left, or whether her left eye with red light is looking at me from a corner, or looking at you .