After midnight

The next morning, Su Ziling woke up, but An Yan did not wake up.

The sun was high in the sky, Yin went to find a way down the mountain, but An Yan hadn't woken up yet.

Su Ziling stared at An Yan blankly, frowning and looking upset. An Yan had been in a coma for a day and a night. Didn't Yin say that An Yan was fine?

Just as Su Ziling was getting more and more worried, An Yan slowly opened his eyes. He looked around and realized his situation. He wanted to sit up but accidentally pulled his wound. He hissed, retracted his hand and lay down again.

He studied his gauze-wrapped hand intently. Yes, Yin had stabbed him, and he almost forgot.

"An Yan, are you awake?" Hearing the noise, Su Ziling came over immediately and asked in surprise.

"Yeah." An Yan slept for too long and his voice was a little hoarse.

"How do you feel? Do you want some water? Or something to eat?"

"It's okay, no need, I'm not too hungry." An Yan felt it for a while, spoke word by word, and answered each question one by one.

After An Yan finished speaking, he sat up again with his hands, this time his face was calm. He walked outside, to the edge of the cliff, looked up at the sky, then looked down at the valley, as if thinking about something.

"An Yan, do you know what's going on?" Su Ziling followed and asked.

An Yan looked at him and shook his head gently. Su Ziling looked away, somewhat disappointed.

As soon as Yin came back, he saw An Yan and Su Zi Ling standing on the edge of the cliff from a distance. Since waking up, Yin didn't know how to face An Yan. After asking Su Zi Ling to make a decision, he knew that he would be involved in trouble, but he didn't expect An Yan's trouble to be so big.

"An Yan, are you awake?" Yin came over and greeted him.

"Ah."

"Well, I've found the way down the mountain. Shall we go now?"

"Let's go." An Yan made the decision lightly.

Yin led the way, and An Yan followed behind Su Ziling. They passed through the woods and came to a narrow path. The path twisted downward, and the weeds on both sides grew extremely lush, brushing against their calves from time to time. In the wild forests between the mountains, there were occasionally a few irregular stones guarding the roadside. As the path turned around, the farmland planted on the hillside was exposed.

The sun was shining brightly and the breeze was not noisy. The broad view made Su Ziling feel very happy. He figured it out. No matter what happened or where he was, wouldn't it be better to just follow An Yan?

"Who are you? Tell the truth, there have never been outsiders in this village!"

Su Ziling stretched his head to look, and saw a child of about twelve or thirteen jumping out from nowhere to block the way. His posture looked quite professional, but the small bamboo basket he was carrying set off his childish face, which made him lose some of his imposing manner.

"Kid, who are you?" Yin said bluntly while standing in the front.

"I'm not some little devil! My name is Ajiu, and I'm the most powerful person in this village except for the village chief!" The child said with his teeth bared.

"Really?" Yin said, his tone sounding like he was both teasing him and lecturing him.

At this time, An Yan pushed Su Ziling and Yin aside and walked over from behind. An Yan half-knelt down to the same height as the child, and looked at Ajiu gently, which made him feel a little overwhelmed. Finally, Ajiu hesitated and retracted his posture, but his nerves were still tense.

"You are carrying herbs on your back. Can you tell me who is sick?"

"I won't tell you!" the child said and quickly turned his face away.

"But maybe we can save him." An Yan said, not without inducement.

"Really? Can you save my brother? He had a high fever yesterday and it hasn't gone away yet!" Ajiu's tone suddenly became anxious, his eyes full of desire.

"Okay." An Yan nodded heavily and stood up.

"But you have to promise me one thing. After you cure your brother, you have to take me to see your village chief. Don't worry, your village chief is so powerful, if we are bad guys, he will beat us away."

"That's right. Well, then just follow me." Jiu was relieved and said with pride.

"Wait, who are you?" Ajiu turned around and led the way but suddenly looked back.

"I'm Anyan, the one behind me is Yin, and the last one is Su Ziling." Jiu nodded and walked forward, but after taking two steps he turned back. "If you can't cure my brother, I won't take you to see the village chief."

"Of course." An Yan nodded in agreement.

Only then did the little brat Ajiu walk forward with confidence.

They soon arrived at Jiu's house. Jiu's house was located in a remote area and was small. As soon as he opened the door, he could see his sick brother in bed. The house was also simple, with a bed, a table and chairs, and a wardrobe. Su Ziling consciously walked to the table and sat down, then unloaded his backpack to the side, which was now much lighter.

Yin sat opposite Su Ziling, picked up the teapot and poured a cup of water to drink.

"Is there any water?" An Yan asked Ajiu while standing beside the bed.

"Yes." Ah Jiu ran over, snatched the water that Yin was about to drink, and returned to the bed without looking back. Su Ziling laughed, and was glared at by Yin.

"What did you feed my brother?" Jiu asked nervously. He had never seen the round white particles before.

"This is a fever-reducing medicine. Now he needs to sleep for a while and wait for the medicine to take effect." An Yan explained slowly.

Ah Jiu didn't listen. He hurriedly checked his brother's condition. When he found that there was nothing abnormal, he stopped and said stubbornly, "I'll just have to believe you."

After An Yan had given him the medicine, he sat down. Su Ziling noticed that his face was still a little pale and he looked very tired. That was right. Since An Yan woke up, they not only hadn't eaten anything but also walked so far.

He was about to say something worriedly when he heard Yin suddenly say, "I'm going to cook, kid, where's your kitchen?"

Ajiu reluctantly nodded towards the outside. After Yin left, Ajiu ran over and sat beside Su Ziling, facing An Yan.

An Yan was resting with his eyes closed. Jiu didn't want to disturb him so he asked Su Ziling quietly, "That person can also cook?"

"Can't you tell? In fact, the person sitting opposite you is a better cook." Su Ziling also whispered to him.

"Hmph, just think about it."

This little brat is so cute. Su Ziling laughed out loud with schadenfreude again. It seems that Yin really offended him just now.

Soon, the food was served. Yin used all the pots, pans, and bowls he could use before serving a few dishes. Jiu carefully took out a little of each dish for his brother.

Not long after they finished eating, the little boy lying on the bed woke up. Jiu happily went over to touch his head and said, "Xiao Qi, you really don't have a fever anymore. How are you? Are you hungry? I'll bring you some food."

"Brother," Xiao Qi tugged at Jiu's arm and asked timidly, "Who are they?"

"They are the village chief's guests and they are the ones who saved you."

"Thank you." Xiao Qi nodded at them obediently.

After Xiao Qi finished his meal and everything was stable, Jiu began to look at An Yan frequently. After a while, Jiu finally said something to his brother and came over.

"Thank you for saving my brother. Brother Anyan, let me take you to see the village chief." Ajiu said to Anyan obediently.

Su Ziling saw everything and couldn't help but sigh that Jiu was such a clever little boy.

An Yan was not in a hurry. He took out the box of medicine from his backpack and said, "Xiao Qi's fever hasn't completely subsided. Take this three times a day, four to six hours apart each time. It will be fine in two days."

"Okay." Jiu quickly took it.

"Also, tell me where the village chief's house is and I can go there by myself. Your brother just woke up, you should spend more time with him." An Yan said to Ajiu very gently.

"Okay, Brother An Yan." Ajiu gave An Yan a big smile, "The village chief's house is on the east side, in the highest yard. But it may take a detour if you go there by yourself."

"It's okay." An Yan replied softly.

"Okay then, you have to be careful." After saying that, Jiu ran back to Xiao Qi.

An Yan looked away, glanced at Su Ziling, then at Yin, and finally left without saying anything. Yin stared at his departing back, his emotions unclear. After An Yan left, Su Ziling quickly walked to the door and watched An Yan leave.

Then, there was the sound of a stool being pulled away, and Yin stood up.

Yin walked to a curtain and said to Jiu, "Little boy, I want to take a nap here!"

"No." Ajiu immediately ran over to refute him.

Su Ziling looked at An Yan who was nowhere to be seen and walked over to stop the fight. Behind the curtains, there was a clean double bed and a dressing table in the inner room. It should be the room of Ajiu's parents.

The two of them were in a stalemate, and Su Ziling quickly waved his hands at Jiu, "No, Yin was just joking."

At this time, Ah Jiu noticed that Su Ziling suddenly pointed at him and said, "He can do it, but you can't."

"Did you hear me? Go in and sleep." Just when Su Ziling was embarrassed and didn't know how to react, Yin pushed him in so fast that Su Ziling didn't even react, and naturally didn't see Yin's triumphant smile.

After Su Ziling came in, Ah Jiu followed in. "My brother has already gone to bed, let's go to bed too."

He took off his shoes, turned over and rolled into the bed. Su Ziling looked at the side of the bed, hesitated for a moment, and lay down on it.

Su Ziling found a comfortable position and fell into a deep sleep. He was dizzy and when he woke up, there was no one in the bed. He opened his sleepy eyes and saw the sun shining obliquely on the white wall opposite. The room was silent as if he was the only one in the world.

He suddenly sat up, his eyes widened, then quickly got out of bed, opened the door curtain and walked out. At this time, Jiu and Xiao Qi were sitting on the bed outside playing.

Su Ziling looked at him and asked, "Where's Yin? Is An Yan coming back too?"

"I don't know. I didn't see him when I woke up. Brother An Yan should not be back yet. By the way, Xiao Qi said he wanted to go out for a walk. Do you want to come?"

"Come."

The houses outside were arranged in an orderly manner, and the fields in the distance were crisscrossed. Su Ziling held Xiao Qi's hand and followed A Jiu through the alleys of the pastoral countryside.

Finally, Jiu led them to a small river. When they got to the river, Jiu and Xiao Qi picked up stones and skipped them on the water. Su Ziling watched the stones fly into the water, pulled up his trousers and squatted over. "Why didn't I see anyone along the way?"

"There are not many people in our village. Besides, it's not the busy farming season now, so everyone is idle at home." Jiu didn't look at him, but lowered his head and concentrated on playing.

"Oh, how big is your place?" Su Ziling looked up at the two mountains standing opposite each other and asked casually.

"What do you mean?" Jiu looked up and seemed confused.

"Besides your village, are there any other villages or towns here?"

Ah Jiu shook his head, "No, this place is just this big."

"How is that possible? Have you never been out?" Su Ziling still spoke casually.

He had no intention of doing so, but Jiu suddenly seemed to be offended, and stood up and replied forcefully, "I may not have been out, but this place is this big."

"What do you mean?" Before Su Ziling could react, he heard Ajiu's exclamation.

"That's not right. Aren't you guys from outside? Is this place really bigger than this? Is there something outside our village? Strange, isn't that a rumor?"

"Rumors? What rumors?" Su Ziling grasped the key point and suddenly became interested.

"Some people say that our village was migrated from outside, as if to protect some secret."

Secret? Something suddenly flashed through Su Ziling's mind.

Could it be that this was what An Yan had to do? Otherwise, he wouldn't have come to find the village chief of Jiu and the others. Did Yin know about it? Or was this secret the reason why An Yan and Yin had been acting so strangely these past few days?

"Does the outside world really exist? And is it very big?" Jiu's eyes flashed with a strange and longing light. Even Xiaoqi had been listening to them silently and seriously without knowing when.

"Yes, the outside is very big, and there is an even bigger world outside of that." Su Ziling was defeated and had to deal with these two little ghosts first.

"Really? Tell me about it, Brother Zi Ling."

"It would be meaningless if I told you. You and Xiao Qi can go out and see for yourself one day, and you will know for sure."

"But, no one from here has ever gone out." Jiu lowered his head and pouted, looking very disappointed.

"You just told me that this place is this big, is it true?" Su Ziling put his hand on his chin and turned his head to look at Jiu, half believing and half doubting. Jiu nodded.

“Where did the river go?”

"There's a lake just ahead of here, and the river flows into it."

Su Ziling walked downstream along the river, and he felt that he had to find out what was going on. Not far away, he saw a calm lake. Su Ziling squatted down with mixed feelings, leaving Ah Jiu and Xiao Qi standing by, looking at each other in bewilderment.

The setting sun fell on the lake, sparkling and dazzling, and Su Ziling was dazzled. He deliberately covered his eyes and squinted through his fingers, but he could not see anything.

Yes, it’s the lake!

Su Ziling asked Ajiu excitedly: "Ajiu, do you know what's down there?"

"I don't know." Ah Jiu shook his head in surprise. "But the village chief said that no one is allowed to go into the water here. He warned us not to go into the water rashly just because the lake is calm."

Su Ziling's eyes jumped, and his intuition told him that he had found the exit outside.