fairy family

Chapter 1: Clay Jar Grave in the Forest

There is ghostly rain in the empty mountain, which seems to be there and not there, and it is very cold.

Winter is coming in the Huangshan area, the mountains are frozen, the moon is sparse, and the grass and trees are withered.

Ding ding ding ding!

The rapid sound of copper bells rang out in the dead woods. A figure suddenly emerged from the valley, swaying back and forth, making quite a noise.

Yu Que was dressed in white, thin linen clothes, his cheeks were cold and thin, he walked in the mountains, stamping his feet and jumping, ringing the bell tremblingly.

He carried a bamboo bookcase on his back and wore mountain clogs on his feet, looking like a young man preparing for an imperial examination. He slept in the open air, as he was anxious to go to Huangshan County to study and take the imperial examination and did not want to miss the semester.

"The sky is in a state of panic, the earth is in a state of panic, I am a traveler in the mountains, please do not disturb me, I will walk all the way to dawn."

Under the moonlight, Yu Que walked quickly in the forest, muttering to himself.

There were sounds of wind, dead branches and leaves, and strange cries all around him, all of which were piercing and made the copper bell in his hand tremble even more, and he became suspicious.

Suddenly, a cat-like sound was heard on the roadside:
"Wrong, you read it wrong, young man, please stop now."

The sudden sound made Yu Que's heart tremble. His movements suddenly froze. He dared not move and quickly held his breath.

Quietly, he caught a glimpse of a cave that looked like a tomb on the side of the road.

The cave was only half a person's height and was built against the mountain wall. On the top was an oilcloth roof to protect against wind and rain. The door was sealed with red bricks, but it was not sealed completely, revealing a black hole the size of a human head, staring directly at Yu Que.

Looking at this strange tomb cave, Yu Que felt a tingling sensation on his back.

He tried hard and called out in a trembling voice: "Is there anyone?"

"Yes, there are people."

A weak voice came from the cave. The voice was old and thin, probably from an old woman.

Yu Que heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that the other party could speak in human voice.

He steadied his hand and touched his body, and found that he was already sweating all over and felt chilly. He touched the small awning on his bookcase and found that the weather in the mountains looked like it was going to rain any minute.

It was already night time, and he couldn't walk in the rain anymore. Otherwise, he would be eaten by bears or bitten by ghosts. With his small body, it would be difficult for him to make it to Huangshan County.

At this time, Yu Que stared closely at the strange cave and the large shed on top of the cave, muttering, "Could this be built by hunters in the mountains to shelter from rain and beasts?"

So he plucked up his courage, stepped forward, and asked tentatively:

"Old man, it's raining tonight, can you lend me some land to take shelter?"

The old man in the cave said in a hoarse voice: "Okay, okay, it's a good opportunity for you to talk to me for a few words."

Yu Que didn't reply, but just nodded. He tensed his body, hugged his bookcase, leaned his back against the rock wall, and nervously knocked the mud between his clogs.

After a long pause, he remembered that the old man wanted to chat with him, so he said to the cave:

"By the way, the old man said that I read it wrong, what's going on?"

The old woman in the cave didn't care about his impoliteness and kept on talking:

"Oh! You young man.

The original sentence of "the sky is in a panic, the earth is in a panic" is "I have a child crying at night. A gentleman passing by recites it three times and he will sleep till dawn." This is a spell to stop a child from crying at night. How could you change it randomly and use it to hurry on the road?
If you think nonsense like this, you will not be able to obtain the protection of the gods, but will only arouse the jealousy of demons and monsters. "

Yu Que froze, looking embarrassed, and whispered, "Not really..."

A mocking laugh came from the cave:
"My grandson loved to cry and make trouble back then. When I went to the county immortal to ask for talisman water, the immortal specifically told me not to change the spell at random, otherwise it would bring disaster instead of blessing. Why would I lie to you..."

Immortals are the name given to people who practice spiritual cultivation in this world.

Immortals can raise gods and ghosts and specialize in dealing with evil things, so the taboos they talk about are naturally true.

Yu Que stopped talking and didn't dare to scratch the mud on his hands, as if he was afraid that the noise would be too loud and disturb something unclean.

Gurgling.

But his stomach suddenly made a particularly loud rumbling sound, and a feeling of hunger instantly hit him. He swallowed, reached into his arms, and was about to take out food.

But the strange thing was that when he felt around, the sesame seed bun that was supposed to be on his chest was gone, and it was empty. It was very likely that it jumped out and fell on the road while he was in a hurry.

Yu Que had just calmed down, but he felt a little numb again: "Where's my sesame cake?"

Fortunately, a kind and loving voice of laughter and scolding sounded from inside the cave:
"You are so stupid, young man. You didn't even bring some dry food or burnt noodles with you on your journey."

There was a creaking sound, and there was a gasp from inside the cave. A clay pot was lifted up and appeared diagonally in Yu Que's eyes. A dark figure was lying in the cave entrance, holding up the clay pot and saying:

"I still have some cold noodles and half a steamed bun. The weather is cold, but not too cold yet. You can have some."

Yu Que was reserved and hesitant. He wanted to refuse, but a sweet smell entered his nose, making his throat itchy and his heart itchy as if it was scratched by a cat, wanting to eat.

So he took advantage of the paper-like moonlight to glance inside the earthenware jar, then said with a swallowed voice:
"It smells so good! Your buns have a sweet filling, so sweet. Your family treats you so well."

Laughter again:

"Yeah, that's great... but unfortunately, if we lay a few more bricks, we won't be able to eat it anymore."

Yu Que then noticed the strange cave in front of him and asked worriedly and hesitantly:
"What's the meaning of this? Why did the old man seal the entrance of the cave with bricks to avoid wild animals?"

A weak voice came from the cave:

"Why should I hide from the bears and tigers in the mountains? I have to hide from people. I am old, over 60, and can no longer be used. My eldest son and his wife carried me here.

I built a small grave, and ate, drank, defecated, and urinated in the cave. I delivered food once a day, and then I laid a brick at the entrance of the cave. When the entrance was sealed, I stopped delivering food, and this became my grave. People in the village called it a 'clay pot grave.'"

Yu Que suddenly realized what was going on and was horrified. He said in shock:

"Old man! I have only seen this evil habit of living in a kiln in books.

The county teacher also said that the entire Huangshan area had long since banned this bad habit, so how could your family still do such a ridiculous thing? ! "

A helpless voice sounded:
"Officials have their own laws, and families have their own difficulties. If you don't have food to eat, why do you need a mother?"

Seeing the old woman taking the initiative to explain for her family, Yu Que was speechless for a moment.

But somehow, his tense body suddenly relaxed a lot, and his hands felt warm.

After all, a poor man is not a ghost, there is nothing to be afraid of.

The old woman in the cave saw that he was silent and smiled and said:
"But they are cruel, but my grandson is so cute. He kisses me. He is just a little guy, but he ran all day and night to bring me food, and he even removed several bricks before leaving."

The old woman grumbled proudly, but the sound of sobbing could not be suppressed again from the cave:
“These noodles and these steamed buns… were given by him.

Eat something, if you still have strength. Don't tear down this brick wall, it will only bring trouble to my grandson's family.

I just hope you can stop by the village and help me pass on a few words to my dear grandson... Grandma misses you, my dear grandson."

Crying and complaining.

Yu Que looked at the ceiling above his head, gritted his teeth, stood up, bowed towards the cave entrance, and shouted:

"Okay! I'm a man who feeds me and I'm a man who trusts me. Don't worry, old man. I won't steal your bricks. I'll go over right away and ask you about your big son!"

He felt hot all over, feeling heroic, and took a step forward.

The clay jar was rubbing against the entrance of the cave with a hissing sound. The person in the cave was struggling to push the jar further out, and the sobbing sound from his mouth became heavier, and it was hard to tell whether he was crying or happy.

Yu Que reached out to take the earthen jar, intending to swallow it in big gulps and then do the work!
As soon as he touched it, his hand trembled and there was a snapping sound!

Yu Que didn't hold the jar firmly, and it suddenly fell from the brick wall, hitting the rock heavily and breaking into pieces.

The rations in the earthenware jar naturally spilled out, and most of them hung on the brick wall.

When the moonlight shone on, the walls were pink and colorful, which looked beautiful at first glance, but it was obvious that they were not noodles. Instead, they looked more like cold chicken and duck intestines, sticky, slippery, raw and fishy.

The most beautiful one is the child's head on the bottom of the jar.

After it rolled over, its dark eye sockets stared at Yu Que, with half of its little face filled with an expression of confusion and disbelief.

Yu Que also looked at this scene in confusion.

At this moment, his head finally started buzzing, and the sweet smell in his mouth and nose had changed drastically, instantly becoming fishy, ​​smelly, and fecal, which was very disgusting.

At this moment in the cave, the sobbing sounds became more intense, as if someone was crying, swallowing saliva, or laughing.

Chacha!

An old female face with a longevity hat and white hair appeared behind the kiln and stared at Yu Que.

The hairy-faced old woman had a cat-like look in her eyes, sinister and hungry. She clenched her claws and gave Yu Que an excited shriek:
"Young man, why don't you eat yet? Only when you are full will you have the strength to start your journey..."

(End of this chapter)