Chapter 36 Returning Home (Part 3)
The minibus drove smoothly onto a rural road. At first, the scenery outside the car window was still a village, with old houses and wide farmland in the style of the last century. Gradually, the number of unknown trees on both sides began to increase, the number of human civilization buildings began to decrease, and the road began to become narrower. The potholes and dust on the cement road seemed to have not been cleaned for many years. The road surface was bumpy. Every time the car passed a pothole, the people in the car would jump up due to the bumps.
Lu Yang seemed to welcome this trampoline-like experience, but it was a bit difficult for Lu Ren's old waist, and the three members of the Zong family also looked embarrassed. The five of them sat on the left side of the minibus, while the villagers who came to greet them sat on the right side of the minibus, with an aisle in the middle, as clear as the boundary between Chu and Han.
Although the minibus was shaking violently, these people didn't even frown. They didn't talk to each other and had no expression, just like two rows of puppets sitting in the bus. But after all, it was a minibus to pick people up on the way back, so if they said they were tired and didn't want to talk too much, it didn't seem wrong.
To get to Fengxu Village, you need to climb over a hill. The village is located in a valley between several mountains.
The road leading into the mountain was bumpy but wide, but when the minibus reached the downhill section, the road had become only a car width wide, and occasionally branches growing diagonally would hit the car windows. Zong Nian, who was sitting by the window, was startled by the percussion of the branches. He couldn't help but cover his chest and turn his head to look at Zong Chen who was sitting behind him: "Cousin, what is Qi Yu doing in a place like this?"
Zong Chen shook his head, indicating that he didn't know. "I only know that three days before he set out to come here, he said that he got a good thing and was going to find a way to use it." Zong Chen frowned as if thinking, "He also told me to wait for his good news. By then, the ranking of the four Xuanmen families might be reshuffled."
After hearing what Zong Chen said, Lu Ren in the front row couldn't help but think: "What good things did Qi Yu get that made him run to this remote place instead of enjoying his good fortune?" Lu Ren looked at the scenery outside the window nonchalantly and silently asked a question in his heart.
I don't know how long the minibus drove, but suddenly there was an open space on the left side of the vehicle. It was a mountain pond, and a reclining Buddha sculpture was carved on the rock wall above the pond. Mountain spring water slowly flowed down the rock wall, poured on the reclining Buddha, and then flowed from the reclining Buddha into the pond.
The gurgling sound of the mountain stream was quite Zen-like. But Lu Ren couldn't help wondering: Was there such a reclining Buddha before?
He wanted to ask the villagers sitting on the left, but when he turned his head, he found that the group of people who had been motionless like wood were suddenly looking towards him in unison. Their movements were so uniform, as if an invisible hand had bent each of their necks into a uniform angle.
This even includes drivers who are driving.
Their sudden stares frightened Zong Nian, who was sitting by the window, with Guan Eryue on his outside. He couldn't help but shrink back, and Guan Eryue also changed his sitting position, leaning to the left, facing these strange villagers, as if ready to take action at any time. In fact, his thighs had already begun to exert force, and he was about to stand up and fight.
Zong Chen stopped him: "Don't be impulsive."
If you look closely, as the car keeps moving, the angles at which the villagers turn their heads are not constant. They turn their heads slowly, as if they are looking at something outside the window.
They are looking at the reclining Buddha.
The car smoothly turned another corner and the reclining Buddha was no longer visible. The villagers in the car also withdrew their gazes. Among them, the enthusiastic auntie who had been there before might have felt embarrassed about her scary behavior. She took the initiative to apologize to Lu Ren with a smile and explained, "Don't be offended, Ren. This Bodhisattva is the village's patron saint and saves people from suffering, so everyone should say hello to the Bodhisattva every time they pass by."
Lu Ren could only laugh dryly to show his understanding, and then asked doubtfully: "But there didn't seem to be such a statue when I was a child."
"Well, it's not surprising that you haven't seen it. This statue was built later." The old lady explained, "Two years ago, your uncle came back and asked someone to carve it."
Lu Ren was stunned for a moment: "My uncle?"
The aunt smiled until her eyes narrowed into slits: "Yes, it cost a lot of money."
But in Lu Ren's impression, his uncle was just an ordinary working class, it was impossible for him to have such financial resources. Even if he had such financial resources, his aunt didn't seem to agree with his uncle spending so much money.
Lu Ren suspected that his uncle's illness might have been caused by his aunt beating him.
Seeing Lu Ren frowning, the aunt thought he was worried about the money, so she tried to persuade him, "Your uncle did a great thing. Since he brought back this Buddha statue, the health of the villagers has improved a lot!"
Lu Yang, who had been looking out the window, tugged at Lu Ren's clothes and said excitedly, "Ren, we're here!"
Lu Ren looked out the window and after turning the last corner, a small mountain village appeared in front of everyone.
We have arrived at Fengxu Village.
Everyone got off the bus one after another. The villagers on the bus did not pay any attention to Lu Ren and his companions after getting off. They were busy moving the purchased things to the luggage compartment of the minibus. Lu Ren did not see clearly what they bought, but he knew that it was quite large. The villagers even called a few young and middle-aged laborers to help.
Lu Ren, Zong Nian and Zong Chen also planned to go forward to help, but were rejected by the old lady: "You should go and see your uncle quickly, he will be waiting anxiously soon. We are enough for you." After saying that, she walked away with the crowd of villagers.
Zong Chen took out his cell phone and called Qi Yu, but after holding the phone for a long time, there was always a waiting tone. Seeing Zong Chen on the phone without taking the next step for a long time, Zong Nian couldn't help asking, "What's going on?"
Zong Chen shook his head: "No one answered the phone."
The expressions on Zong Chen and Guan Eryue's faces were slightly solemn.
Zong Nian didn't want to think of the worst, he forced himself to force a smile to comfort them: "Haha, Brother Qi has always been unreliable, is he still sleeping?" He laughed dryly twice, and when he saw that it didn't help the atmosphere at all, he quickly fell silent.
At the same time, Lu Ren and Lu Yang were also exchanging information. Lu Ren asked Lu Yang: "Yang Yang, is there anything bad in this place?"
Lu Yang's nose twitched and he said, "No. Not only is there nothing bad, but also..."
Lu Ren was puzzled: "And what? "
"Besides, this place has so much spiritual energy. It feels like I'm back in Wushan. It's so comfortable." After saying that, Lu Yang yawned, "Aren, I'm sleepy."
Lu Ren thought that he was tired from the long journey, so he comforted Lu Yang and said, "Just bear with it for a while. We will leave for your uncle's house soon. You can have a good sleep then."
At this time, Lu Yang was already a little shaky. He almost murmured, "Okay, Yang Yang will hold it in a little longer." But as soon as he finished saying this, he fell into Lu Ren's arms and fell asleep.
Lu Ren held the sleeping Qilin cub in his arms, looked at the villagers carrying large and small bags and walking towards the outside of the village, and the gloomy sky in the distance, and fell into silent thought: Although the appearance of Fengxu Village has not changed much from his memory, the people here seem to have big problems.
Lu Ren, a national first-class back-out master, said that he was not so stubborn , and he immediately began to calculate the possibility of running away. Fortunately, he came to Fengxu Village on an early train, and after a three-hour minibus ride, it was only 3 pm now. He could say hello to his uncle and leave the village before the sun went down.
So Lu Ren said to Zong Chen, "I don't plan to stay in the village today. I'm going to go to my uncle's house to say hello. You can also go there to ask about your friend's whereabouts. Then we should leave quickly before it gets dark."
Zong Chen said without any hesitation: "Okay."
They are people who are willing to trust their instincts.
Lu Ren walked forward along the path in his memory. He remembered that the old house was at the highest point of the village. There was a sandalwood door, old and simple, and always exuded a pleasant fragrance. To get there, you need to walk through the pond where the villagers washed clothes. The pond was not big and very shallow, with the water no deeper than a person's ankle. It was paved with two huge bluestone slabs, leaving a half-person-wide opening for women to wash clothes and children to play. The water in the pond flowed from the mountains, warm in winter and cool in summer, and there were several red carps living in it. There was a jujube tree at the head of the pond, which was lush and swaying in the summer.
Lu Ren and his companions only had a backpack with them, so they walked quickly and soon arrived at the pond in Lu Ren's memory. The pond had completely changed. The jujube tree had died, leaving only bare branches. A piece of stone slab had broken and sunk to the bottom of the pond. The red carp was nowhere to be found. The air was filled with a sense of desolation and depression.
Going further up, he saw the Lu family’s newly painted iron gate, which was blood red and very dazzling.
Uncle Lu Ren's residence is actually the Lu family's ancestral home, a two-story building. There is a large courtyard at the entrance, and the main hall is further inside. There are four rooms on each floor. A design that can be seen from top to bottom at a glance.
Lu Ren stood in front of the vermilion iron door and knocked hard: "Cousin, uncle, aunt, are you home?"
Cousin Lu Lan opened the door very quickly, and Lu Ren came in just a few minutes. She opened the door and saw that it was Lu Ren. She was surprised but still managed a stiff smile and said, "Aren, you're back? Come in and sit down."
Lu Ren was a little confused after hearing her tone: Lu Lan didn't seem to know that Lu Ren was coming back, but wasn't she the one who sent the text message to Lu Ren?
Wait, is that really her?
Lu Lan led a few people into the yard. Lu Ren followed her closely and asked, "Cousin, where is uncle? I want to go see him first."
Lu Lan declined: "Why rush? Dad has taken the medicine and is already asleep. His illness makes it difficult for him to sleep. Don't wake him up after he finally falls asleep. It will be the same tomorrow."
Lu Ren didn't say anything else. At least he knew that his uncle was really sick.
At this time, Zong Chen at the side took over and asked, "Hello, cousin. I am Lu Ren's friend, my name is Zong Chen, and I am here to see a friend of mine named Qi Yu. Have you heard of him?"
Lu Lan shook her head: "Qi Yu? I've never heard of this name. There haven't been any strangers in our village for a long time. Maybe you remembered it wrongly."
Lu Ren and Zong Chen looked at each other, and seemed not surprised by the answer.
Lu Ren did not continue to follow his cousin inside, but stopped and said, "I remembered that we have booked a hotel in town. It's a waste if we don't stay and don't refund the money. How about this, if uncle is not feeling well, I will come to see him tomorrow. It just so happens that I haven't had time to buy comfort items yet, so I will buy them and send them over tomorrow."
Actually, Lu Ren had no intention of bringing anything this time. He brought a red envelope with cash to give to his uncle. But at this moment, it became a good excuse. Of the thirty-six strategies, running away is the best strategy. He should stay away from the troubled place first, and then find someone from the outside household investigation bureau to solve the problem here. Let professionals do it. Lu Ren doesn't have the hobby of trial and error with his flesh and blood.
Lu Ren didn't care about his cousin's expression at the moment. As soon as he finished speaking, he took Zong Chen and the others back along the same route.
The cousin did not stop them, but Zong Nian, who was walking at the back, seemed to hear her mutter, "You can't leave."
When Zong Nian followed Lu Ren across the pond, he turned around and saw her leaning against the red gate, looking at them from afar. He couldn't see the expression on her face, but she just stood there for a long time like a ghost.
Zong Nian felt a little uneasy, and this uneasiness reached its peak when he saw that the four wheels of the minibus they had been riding in had been punctured.
