Every world is full of ghosts and monsters begging for hugs

Because they were in an unfamiliar place and the conditions were not very good, Bai Yao did not sleep well. The wind was too loud at night and she fell asleep in Fan Sui's arms in the middle of the night.

Perhaps people from other places have the same problem of being attached to their own beds as she does, and the other people also looked unhappy.

Wang Qing looked haggard, with dark circles under his eyes, and looked sickly like an eggplant hit by frost. It seemed that he wanted to say something, but he held back because of the presence of local people.

When Bai Yao and Fan Chong went out for breakfast, they happened to meet Gu Tingshen and Tian Mimi from the next room. They came out of the same room, and Bai Yao didn't react much.

Tian Mimi, like a frightened bird, hurriedly explained, "I was too scared at night. Gu Tingshen just came to stay with me for one night. Don't get me wrong. Gu Tingshen and I have nothing to do with each other!"

Bai Yao was puzzled. What did it have to do with her whether they had anything to do with her?

Gu Tingshen just thought that the little girl was shy and was embarrassed because someone caught her coming out of a room with a man. He held Tian Mimi's hand and said, "Mimi, Bai Yao and the others probably don't like it." A gossip."

Tian Mimi was unhappy. Why did he say this to her? He should explain it to the heroine!

nerve.

Two words popped up in Bai Yao's mind, and she took Fan Chong to the front hall to have breakfast.

There were only some buns, steamed buns and porridge for breakfast. The conditions here were like this, and it was the best effort that Xiao Shitou’s grandmother could prepare a few things.

Bai Yao recalled the scene she saw when she opened the window last night. She asked curiously, "What is that wooden building across the street?"

Xiao Shitou's grandmother is old and not in good health. She experienced a fire when she was young and one of her eyes was burned. Now the burns look even more distorted on her old face. The children in the village are afraid of her, but she is actually a kind person.

When Bai Yao asked, the old man replied: "That's a theater there. It was abandoned many years ago."

Tian Mimi continued, "I heard that shadow puppetry was performed here in the past. Is that theater used to perform shadow puppetry?"

The old man nodded, "At that time, there were performances every now and then, and everyone in the village, young and old, would go and join in the fun. Everyone in the village would play two-handed shadow puppetry, but the most famous ones were the Zhou family."

Bai Yao said: "This place is called Zhaojiawan, and I thought most people here have the surname Zhao."

"That's true." The old man said, "The Zhou family came from outside the area. They have talent. In just a few years, they were able to perform shadow puppetry better than the Zhao family."

Fansui glanced at Bai Yao quietly and saw that Bai Yao was listening to the story carefully. He quietly touched the jar with sugar, then secretly opened the lid and poured it into his bowl. The box was pushed back onto the table.

Fan Sui was frightened and quickly took back his hand and looked at Bai Yao carefully.

Bai Yao didn't look over and was still talking to the old man, but her hands could stop his little thoughts accurately. She didn't know how many times she had practiced this habit.

Bai Yao put a steamed bun into Fan Sui's hand. She took a sip of the not-too-sweet white rice porridge and said, "We saw children on the road yesterday acting out a general killing an enemy. What can we say about this?" ?"

Fan Sui lowered his head and bit the steamed bun obediently, but his eyes would glance at Bai Tang from time to time, but he did not dare to move.

The old man smiled and said: "That is the play "Honghu Zhi" circulated here. It tells the story of a young man who wants to defend his family and country, build a career, go to the battlefield to kill the enemy, and later bravely breaks into the enemy camp in order to save the princess. Even though he was stabbed several times, he never knelt down. Later, he led the army to fight off the invaders and brought peace to the people who suffered from the war. "

The old man took a breath, drank some water, and then introduced, "This play is based on a story that has been circulating here, but the best interpreter of this story is the Zhou family from other places. When I was young, I also I have seen the Zhou family perform, and their shadow puppets move so lifelike that they look like real generals killing enemies on the battlefield. Men, women, and children are fascinated by it, and many children regard the generals in the story as gods.”

Gu Tingshen also became interested and asked: "The Zhou family is so powerful, what about now?"

The old man shook his head and said, "The theater was destroyed in a fire seventy years ago. Someone from the Zhou family also died in the theater. They were disheartened and moved out of the village soon after."

"What a pity." The old man sighed.

Bai Yao gave the porridge she couldn't finish to Fan Chong. He didn't mind it and just picked up the bowl and stuffed it into his mouth. She asked: "What's the pity?"

"At that time, a warlord came here to watch the Zhou family's performance. He was very satisfied and gave the Zhou family many good things. But after the Zhou family moved away, they disappeared. Another important person came to the village to look for the Zhou family, but couldn't find anyone. The performances of several people from the Zhao family didn't meet their expectations, so they were furious and killed many of them."

Tian Mimi was surprised, "How can they kill people for such a reason!"

The old man laughed and said, "In those days, human life was worthless. They killed whenever they wanted."

There was compassion in the old man's tone again, "It's just a pity that those children will never have the chance to grow up."

Gu Tingshen asked: "Child?"

The old man said: "Every family's child was kidnapped. If the performance was not good, then their child would be killed. The villagers' heart-wrenching cries could be heard for a long time."

Tian Mimi was filled with indignation, "They are so abominable!"

Wang Qing remained silent. When he heard this, he couldn't help but say: "After such a thing happened, don't the people in the village want to move away?"

He asked this question because the village is not big and the location is remote. Logically speaking, as such a village develops over time, there will be fewer and fewer people in it, especially young people, who will definitely move out. However, Judging from what they observed during the few days they came here, there are quite a lot of residents in the village.

It is true that the elderly have the idea of ​​returning to their roots and do not want to leave the place where they grew up, but it is indeed a bit strange that young people also have this idea.

The old lady said: "Perhaps each family has their own reasons for not wanting to leave."

She skipped the topic and said, "The theater building has been in disrepair for a long time. If you want to go out, it's best not to go near it. It would be bad if the building collapses and an accident happens."

"No, grandma, it's safe there." Little Stone had been eating with his head down, but now he couldn't help saying, "Little Caiyi and I often play there."