The Folk Song of the Qingquan Case in the Northern Song Dynasty

"25." Seeing that Xiangquan wanted to change the subject, Gan Qing felt unwilling, "Don't change the subject, answer him quickly."

Xiang Quan looked up at Shui Yun: "How many arrows did you shoot?"

"Two arrows. I lost an arrow the first time I tried to shoot an arrow. I didn't know how to make the arrow fly out, and there was no trace. Later, when it was dark and I was looking for the arrow, I saw Feng Jiuniang's body soaked in the river, and then I didn’t look any further. Mr. Xia, I’m sorry, I—”

"It's okay. It's just two arrows." Qian Qing waved his hand generously, and Shui Yun heaved a sigh of relief.

Xiang Quan frowned and looked at Shui Yun: "So you only shot the monster with one arrow?"

Shui Yun was stunned for a moment, then nodded doubtfully: "Yes, he fell to the ground after shooting an arrow. I wanted to shoot another arrow, but he fell in the grass and couldn't aim. It was dark at that time, so I couldn't see clearly. "

Shui Yun seemed as firm as ever, and Hei Hei heard this, and asked, "Master Yi thinks it's wrong? Just now, I also thought that Shui Yun was standing on the high ground in the middle of the village. The ravine is very wide, and the distance to the mass grave is extremely far away." .”

When Shuiyun heard this, he raised his eyebrows and said, "I didn't lie to you, I really hit the shot!"

Xiang Quan gave her a gentle look: "Apart from birds, have you ever shot a large beast before?"

Shuiyun shook his head.Xiang Quan's face suddenly became serious: "Qing Qing, can you shoot a large beast? At this distance, when the weather is dark."

Ganqing thought for a while: "I know what you mean. It depends on the strength and accuracy of the person's arm. In other words, it depends on whether the shot hits a vital part. If it penetrates the arm, the person will be fine. If you shoot the center, you will be killed. Change As me, I might be able to hit the nail on the head, but as Shuiyun—"

"What do you mean?" Shui Yun was taken aback.

Qianqing said patiently: "Xiangquan suspects that the monster is not dead."

Everyone took a breath.

Xiang Quan nodded: "When hunting, it is rare to be killed by one arrow. Besides, the sky is dark, so you may not hit the vital point. The distance is far away, your arm is not strong enough, and the bow is not easy to use. It should not kill him."

Shuiyun stared wide-eyed.

Gan Qing looked at her, thinking that there would be a trace of worry flashing across the little girl's face, but what he saw was not worry, but an expression of relief.

"Is he really alive?"

Shuiyun looked at Xiangquan, with a hint of expectation in his voice.Xiang Quan looked at her and patted her thin shoulder lightly, as if to comfort her: "It should be alive."

Shuiyun stared at him blankly.Xiangquan's face was very gentle, and he spoke sincerely without any pretense, as if he was just stating an ordinary fact.

Shuiyun looked at him, looked at him, and burst into tears.She threw herself on the mute's shoulder, sobbing nonstop.

"Sister, he's not dead! He's not dead..."

Shuiyun said in a daze, repeating over and over again.Mute didn't say a word, just took her back to the back room silently.

Ganqing looked at the backs of the two, then looked at Zhemu Gong, frowned and added: "Girls are really fickle. I hated monsters so much just now, and now..."

Xiang Quan shook his head and said, "It's the same for you. Bows and arrows are sharp weapons for killing people. When a person with conscience shoots an arrow when he can't figure out the target's movement, when the arrow leaves the string, the feeling of fear in his heart is indescribable."

Wu Bai sighed: "Since Shuiyun shot that arrow, his mood is not right."

Qian Qing was a little disdainful: "There is nothing to be afraid of, I hurt the Tsing Yi Robber back then, didn't I also—"

"Injury and killing are two completely different concepts." Xiang Quan's voice was very soft, looking at the floating curtain in the inner room, "Hate and killing are not the same feeling. There are countless murderers in the world, and countless people commit suicide in fear of crime." .Do you know why? They still have a conscience, and they can't bear the feeling of guilt."

Gan Qing clicked his tongue: "There are so many good people in the world."

Xiangquan smiled and said: "There are not many good people, but not all of them have no conscience. 'Killing' is never a natural act, but a sinful word. Shuiyun is just a child. After she entered the house, she kept repeating 'Beast', 'beast'. If she really hated that monster blindly, she would have told the whole story about the monster as early as when Mute was killed."

Hei Hei frowned: "So Mr. Yi just comforted Shui Yun?"

Xiangquan sighed: "The monster should not be dead. But the monster has lost too much blood, and I'm afraid it won't last for a few days in winter. He was hungry for several days, frightened and injured, the canal was blocked, and there were many merchants. possible."

Gan Qing thought for a while, and said: "The monster's attack power is not strong, it should—"

Xiangquan shook his head.

"A vicious dog is like a wolf, and a hungry wolf is like a ghost. What's more, he has a human appearance, which makes it easier for pedestrians to relax their vigilance."

Hei Hei was a little anxious: "Then what should we do? It's not worth killing him, and it's not worth not killing him, and we can't catch him back."

"Right now we can only wait for Master Shen to come." Xiang Quan said calmly.

Qian Qing asked which pot was not opened and which pot was lifted: "He can see that something happened in Wu Village by looking at the stars? What if Mr. Shen can't come?"

Hei Hei frowned: "And...we don't have much food, charcoal and firewood are not enough."

Wu Bai was very surprised when he heard this.

"How come? What's left should be enough."

Heihei said aggrievedly: "A few days ago, Mr. Xia was ill, so he added more charcoal fire. The beacon smoke by the river was also lit with firewood. Moreover, the firewood and charcoal fire piled up in the firewood house were...wetted."

Xiang Quan was startled: "How could this happen?"

"I found out a few days ago. I was afraid that you would be anxious, so I didn't say anything."

Wu Bai sneered: "The chaifang has always been managed by Feng Jiuniang."

Hei Hei sighed: "The door of the firewood room was not closed, and snow seeped in. Feng Jiuniang was in charge of it, but she left the door open when she ran away. I didn't realize the firewood was wet until that night."

Xiangquan frowned: "Feng Jiuniang went to the woodshed before leaving?"

Wu Bai was silent for a while: "She hides all her valuables there. I once brought small animals back and wanted to keep them secretly in the woodshed. I found that she had wrapped up all the valuable jewelry and hid them under the firewood pile. "

Xiang Quan turned his head and asked Hei Hei calmly, "How long can we last with the addition of firewood, charcoal and food?"

"Three days." Hei Hei whispered.

Qian Qing wailed.

At night, Wu Village was in darkness.Qianqing lay on the bed tossing and turning.I don't know how many days, a series of strange things happened in Wu Village, and I didn't sleep well for a day.

His intestines were turning green with regret, wishing he hadn't chosen to stay here at the beginning, and now he might have fallen asleep on the soft couch in Bianjing.

There was less charcoal fire in the house, so Qianqing had to wrap up tightly in the quilt.Three women and three men shared the same room to keep warm, but Xiang Quan said that he had discussed matters with Wu Bai and hadn't come back at this time.

Yi Xiangquan is also true, discussing with children, not with himself——

Clean up a Gulu and get up.Wu Bai was in his teens, young and stupid, but in fact he was very sensible.Xiang Quan didn't know what to discuss with Wu Bai.

Ganqing felt that it was too much for them to hide this from him.

It's all useless to tell Xiang Quan that you have been friends for ten years.

He put on his clothes and came out, and when he saw the lights in Wu Bai's room were on, he quietly went over to eavesdrop.Through the crack of the window, the two of them could be seen sitting across the table, Wu Bai's eyes were full of sadness.And Xiangquan sipped his tea, still looking calm and breezy.

"There are only three days left, we must find a way out of the village."

The author has something to say: