Chapter 37: Returning Home (Part 4)
On the way back to the village, Lu Ren and Zong Chen said nothing, just kept their heads down and walked quickly, as if something was chasing them from behind, which scared Zong Nian. And when he saw the car with a punctured tire, it seemed as if a string in his head was stretched so tight that it broke under the heavy load.
Lu Lan's words could not help but surface in Zong Nian's mind: "You can't leave."
The slow voice and Lu Lan leaning against the door appeared alternately in front of Zong Nian's eyes. He couldn't help but wonder: "What does she mean? Can't leave today, or can't leave forever?"
Thinking of this, Zong Nian's face turned pale. He looked at the other and asked anxiously, "The car broke down, what should we do?"
But for a moment, no one else spoke. Zong Nian panicked and said, "Why don't we walk back to town on our own."
As the only working person among the students, Lu Ren was relatively reliable. He shook his head and refuted Zong Nian's idea: "We are outsiders. It is difficult to cross the mountain alone even during the day, let alone at night. There are too many wild animals in the mountains at night, and the locals dare not approach easily."
Zong Nian almost cried: "What should I do?"
Lu Ren smiled as if he was relaxed and tried to comfort Zong Nian: "What do you mean? Don't scare yourself. The reason I'm so anxious is that I really booked a hotel in town. If you don't stay there, you will have to pay for it." He told a harmless little lie in order to make Zong Nian believe that the situation was not that bad.
If it , then the most taboo thing was to lose their composure. As the only adult among the group, Lu Ren knew that the most important thing at the moment was to stay rational and analyze the situation.
Perhaps it was because Lu Ren's smile was too natural, Zong Nian was also confused for a moment: Was he just scaring himself? But why did the usually calm Zong Chen become so impatient just now? So Zong Nian's eyes fell on Zong Chen: "But..."
Zong Chen interrupted Zong Nian and looked at Lu Ren: "What are you going to do?"
For Zong Chen, he felt uncomfortable the moment he entered the village. The village had beautiful scenery, fresh , and was far away from the hustle and bustle of the city, but there was also something very strange, that is, it was too quiet. Why didn't he hear a single bird call for such a long time?
This is not a good sign.
Lu Ren said, "Let's go. We have to find a place to stay overnight." He took out his cell phone and operated it, and said casually, "Let's go to my uncle's house."
Lu Ren's cell phone signal was full, but he had tried it, no matter what message he sent or received, it always showed "loading". He made a call, but it was always busy. He heard the process of Zong Chen calling Qi Yu just now, and it was not difficult to infer that everyone was in the same state at the moment.
Just like everything they had experienced so far, it seemed normal, and all the abnormal behaviors were only occasional and existed only in the details. They just arrived in a village, and the villagers here would perform a strange and unique etiquette when passing by the statue, and they were in the mountains, so it seemed normal that the mobile phone signal was not good.
All of this can be reasonably explained, but cannot be accepted.
Everyone followed closely and walked towards Uncle Lu Ren's house. Lu Lan still maintained the same posture as when they left, leaning against the door. Her expression was calm, as if she was not surprised by their return. She just asked in a formal manner, "Why are you back?"
"The minibus seems to be broken down and can't leave today." Lu Ren said, "Is there any other means of transportation in the village?"
Lu Lan led them inside again, saying as they walked, "Yes, of course we have a car. But mom drove into the city today to do some work, and she probably won't be back until tomorrow."
She led the group to the rooms on the east side of the first floor and said, "There are only two guest rooms left in the house. You two can stay in one."
Zong Nian was just about to say that he could live with Brother Lu. After all, Zong Chen and Guan Eryue were not too warm towards Lu Ren, and they might not be willing to live in the same room if they were forced to do so.
But at this moment, he felt someone pulling the corner of his clothes.
It was Guan Eryue who had been following him silently. When Guan Eryue saw Zong Nian turning his head to look at him, he said with red eyes: "Zong Nian, I'm scared."
Zong Nian then thought of poor Guan Eryue. In Zong Nian's eyes, Guan Eryue was just an ordinary person who was afraid of ghosts and gods. It was inevitable that he felt scared when he suddenly encountered so many strange things. Thinking of this, he tried to straighten his back, patted the back of Guan Eryue's hand, and whispered: "Don't worry, I will protect you."
The final result was that Lu Ren and Zong Chen shared a room, while Zong Nian lived with Guan Eryue.
To get to the guest rooms, one has to pass through the main hall. Lu Ren unconsciously began to look at the differences between this house and what he remembered.
The festive New Year paintings that were originally posted in the main hall have now faded and mottled, making the originally kind-looking Bodhisattva seem to show an extremely evil appearance. The furnishings here have not changed much, but it can be seen that they have become much older. A small Buddhist shrine has been added in the southwest corner, with a few small red lanterns hanging on it, casting a red light and shadow in the main hall, which is already not well lit. Perhaps to prevent the Bodhisattva enshrined in it from gathering dust, a dust-proof curtain was added to the shrine, and Lu Ren could not see clearly what Bodhisattva was enshrined. He only saw that the incense was still burning in front of the shrine. The incense was quite long, and it seemed that it had been lit not long ago.
Seeing this, Lu Ren asked Lu Lan: "Have you started to believe in Buddhism?"
Lu Lan, who was walking in front of him, seemed to make a gesture and then said, "Thanks to the blessing of the Bodhisattva, Dad can live to this day."
Soon, we arrived at the guest room.
The guest rooms are equipped with two-meter beds, which are more than enough to accommodate two adult men.
After Lu Ren entered the room, he gently put Lu Yang on the bed. Even though Lu Ren was physically strong, he was a little exhausted after carrying Qilin all the way down, and his arms couldn't help but ache.
Lu Yang never woke up. Lu Ren patted Lu Yang, and he murmured, turned over and continued to sleep.
Zong Chen on the side asked at this time: "What are you going to do?"
While helping Lu Yang take off his shoes, Lu Ren replied to Zong Chen: "What should we do?"
"You've also noticed that this place is not normal."
Lu Ren looked at Zong Chen and said, "Well, you two go to sleep. I won't sleep tonight, just in case."
Zong Chen refused: "You can't stand the night watch alone. It will be meaningless if you fall asleep. Let's take turns. I'll watch the first half of the night and you'll watch the second half. If anything happens, wake each other up at any time."
Lu Ren did not refuse.
