Chapter 092
The old woman's face was full of surprise, and the wrinkles on her face were tightened. After a long pause, she asked Ding Ding hesitantly, "So... are you here to find your mother?"
I saw that there was a chance. Maybe using this excuse, we could get closer to these two old people, and live here and slowly find out about Madam Nine and the Yin Banner.
But Tintin couldn't figure it out, his expression suddenly became serious, and he said righteously, "No, we are here to travel and collect folk songs, and we are lost!"
My face immediately fell, and the little ghost also covered his head and turned away, looking speechless as well.
The old woman sighed and said, "If you can't leave today, I'll take you to your mother's house. But the people in your family don't like her very much, so it might be difficult for them. Whether you can stay here or not is not up to me."
I was happy and hurriedly said a word of thanks to them before Ding Ding . The two old people still had a sad expression on their faces. They sighed and shook their heads. Without saying anything, they turned around and led us towards the village.
On the way, I thought about it for a while and started chatting with them, wanting to know something about Mrs. Jiu.
The two old men didn't seem willing to say more. I could see from their expressions that they seemed to have something to hide. But despite this, I still managed to find out a lot of things.
These two people were originally about the same age as Mrs. Jiu, but they lived in this poor mountain valley, worked hard all year round, and rarely traveled far. They had no yearning for the world outside the mountain. They were probably used to this kind of peaceful life. They looked much older than Mrs. Jiu.
They were children who grew up together. Every household in the village knew each other and they had been used to being wild since childhood. They all played together as a group of children, except for Mrs. Jiu. Because she had been able to see ghosts since she was a child, everyone in the village called her a freak, and even her own brothers and sisters excluded her.
I guess they never thought that Mrs. Jiu would be able to make a good living with this after she got out, but thinking about how she was treated here during her childhood, she must have lived a very unhappy life. No wonder she never thought about coming back after she got out.
In short, for a long time, Mrs. Jiu was an object of exclusion in this village. Her peers were afraid of her and did not dare to play with her. The older ones hated her and despised her. She had been lonely since she was a child.
I am very curious about how this old man and woman became friends with Mrs. Jiu in that environment. Now it seems that when talking about Mrs. Jiu’s childhood experiences, the two of them still feel a little guilty.
Ding Ding was listening to us talking without saying a word. I don't know if her childhood was as unhappy as Mrs. Jiu's, but I think that since Mrs. Jiu loved her so much, she probably felt the same way and was afraid that Ding Ding would be bullied by others. Therefore, Ding Ding was more spoiled than others.
When the old man and the old woman talked about their childhood, they sometimes laughed and sometimes sighed. I was still young and didn't understand what kind of emotions they would have when they recalled the past.
But they talked excitedly, and I finally understood how the two of them turned from enemies to friends with Mrs. Jiu. Actually, it was simple. There was a fire in the village, and Mrs. Jiu risked her life to rush in and rescue the two. At that time, the fire was too big, and many adults did not dare to go in, but no one dared to rush in as a child as Mrs. Jiu.
I was a little surprised and said that I didn't expect Aunt Yu to be so brave.
The old man sighed and looked into the distance, as if he saw the scene of that year again. He said that we were young at that time and were also scared. When we saw her rushing in, our first feeling was that she was here to save us, but later we found out that she was here to commit suicide!
The kid and I were both stunned for a moment. Ding Ding also suddenly raised his head and looked at the old man in disbelief.
The old woman next to him patted her shoulder gently, sighed, and said that Xiaoyu rushed in, sat in the fire and didn't move. The adults outside kept shouting at us, asking us to run out quickly, but we were so scared that we couldn't move except crying. Later, we didn't know what Xiaoyu was thinking. He looked at us for a while, stood up, and pulled us out. We were afraid and didn't dare to move. As a result, Xiaoyu's back was burned by the fire, leaving a big scar.
I looked at Ding Ding, and he looked at me and nodded, probably confirming the scar.
I also don't understand what Mrs. Jiu was thinking, but in the end, I guess it can only be attributed to the saying that people's words are scary. In such a closed village, seeing those people's contemptuous eyes and listening to their gossip every day, I guess no one would have the courage to live. What's more, she was still a child back then.
But after that experience, Mrs. Jiu's life changed slightly. Perhaps because she saved the lives of these two people, they began to slowly accept Mrs. Jiu's existence. Although this may not seem like a big deal, for Mrs. Jiu, having someone who accepts her is probably more important and precious than anything else.
Mrs. Jiu had lived here for twenty years, but in the end she couldn't stand the sarcastic words in the village and left.
She did not say goodbye to her family, but just packed some simple luggage. Only these two people knew that she was leaving. That night, they saw Mrs. Jiu off. Although they persuaded her a lot, when Mrs. Jiu decided to leave, they realized how much pressure Mrs. Jiu had been under in the past twenty years.
Since then, the two have never heard from , and they don’t even know whether she is alive or dead.
I am somewhat skeptical about the story they told. After all, it has been so long since the incident. Even if the feelings were deep, they probably couldn't remember what Mrs. Nine looked like, let alone see the resemblance between Ding Ding and Mrs. Nine at a glance.
But the old man said that this was not surprising. Xiaoyu was the ninth child in the family and had four older sisters. The brothers and sisters looked very similar. Looking at them was actually like looking at Xiaoyu.
As he spoke, he looked at Ding Ding, his eyes became much warmer, and he said that there were several children in his family who looked somewhat like this child, but they were all in their forties now, and none of them was as young as this one.
I thought to myself that even if Mrs. Jiu had left at that time, it must have been very difficult for someone who had lived here for more than 20 years and had never seen anything to go out and fight for her life. I think she must have suffered a lot, and then she finally met Ding Ding's father, and then she had him.
As we were talking, we walked around the winding paths of the village and suddenly saw a very prominent building in the innermost part of the village. It was made of bricks and tiles, much taller than the houses next to it, and was cylindrical in shape. At first glance, it looked like a fortress, which was somewhat unusual.
I have seen pictures of this type of building online before. Some of them are similar in shape to the ancient Hakka buildings in Fujian, but I have never heard of them existing in the southwest.
But the little ghost suddenly pulled me and whispered in my ear, Tan Xi, the Yin Banner is in that building.
I lowered my head and thought for a while, thinking that this was too damn conspicuous.
Tintin obviously sensed it as well, and glanced towards the ancient building with a puzzled look on his face.
I pretended that I knew nothing and asked the old man, "Uncle, this house is a little special and very beautiful. What place is it?"
The old man looked in the direction of my finger, squinted his eyes slightly, and said, "That's the ancestral hall of a family in our village. But that family moved away a long time ago, and now only a relative's child is guarding it. We haven't seen them come back in all these years, so the people in our village discussed with him and turned it into a small temple, giving everyone a place to worship gods and fulfill their wishes."
I said "oh" a few times and asked the little ghost if we should go and take a look. Since we have villagers with us now, we are not afraid of the Yin Banner causing trouble.
The little ghost smiled wickedly and said, "Let's give it a try."
After that, he pretended to be pious and asked the old man, "Uncle, I have a problem. I have to worship in the temple. I don't know if outsiders like us can go in and kowtow. Otherwise, I will always feel uncomfortable and feel that I am not pious."
The old man looked embarrassed and said, "I didn't expect you, at such a young age, would believe in these things. But this place is not open to anyone. The kid guarding the house only lets us in twice a month, on the first and fifteenth day of the month. After all, they live there, so we can't disturb them."
I thought to myself, why does this Yin Fan have so many problems? They even turned a house into a temple, and they even set a time for people to enter. What the hell is going on?
But I couldn't show it, so I could only pretend that I didn't mean it and said to the old man that it was a good thing for them to vacate the house. I wonder what this family's name is?
The old man thought for a moment and said that the house was too old and he didn't know when it was built. My grandfather had it when he was a child. The family didn't usually come to play with the villagers. I roughly remember that their last name was Xie. The child guarding the house now is probably a few years younger than you, but he is quite kind. His name is Xia Ruxuan.
I heard that the name of Yin Banner is quite literary, and it matches the one I saw on the train. It can also play the flute to attract snakes, so it must be a literary style. But what is such a person doing here?
I was lost in thought when Ding Ding pulled me back. He came up to me and said, "Tan Xi, do you think this is what my mother wants you to find?"
I looked at him strangely and asked him how did you know that?
Ding Ding blinked his eyes, glanced at the ancient building, and said, "Now, as long as there is something related, I can't help but associate it. Look, the original owner of this building was named Xie, right? Who do you think can be associated with this surname now?"
I thought about it and suddenly a very bad idea popped up in my mind. I asked him in confusion, "Are you talking about the second-born girl...Xie Ning?"
Ding Ding nodded and said, "Also, the Yin Fan is named Xia Ruxuan, and your mother's surname is also Xia!"
