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墨書 Inktalez
Gravekeeper
Yes, it was really dancing! Early in the morning, that woman was almost dressed in just a few rags, adorned with some silver jewelry, dancing barefoot in the middle of the road. As she danced, the silver pieces jingled and clinked continuously.
The Miao People have a great fondness for silver jewelry, so if you want to marry a Miao girl, you only need to get some particularly large silver ornaments. With the price of silver dropping, honestly, marrying a Miao girl is not that expensive.
I walked over, intending to ask the woman about her situation. As I got closer, I realized that she was actually pregnant!
That pregnant woman was dancing with her big belly, her movements were exceptionally enchanting and ghostly, like a vibrant snake swaying to the music of a flute.
I felt uneasy; indeed, this place was strange. Where there is abnormality, there must be something unusual. Who would dance in the middle of the road like this, especially a pregnant woman!
I took a few steps back, originally planning to ask for directions, but seeing this situation, I decided against it.
Liu Yiyi approached and asked, "What's going on?"
"I don't know either. Let's go ask someone else," I replied.
We both stepped back when suddenly a woman carrying a basket of vegetables walked over. She wore dyed cloth clothing and had silver jewelry on her head and silver rings on her feet. However, the rings on her feet were connected together; they looked more like shackles!
I was thoroughly puzzled. After thinking for a moment, I decided it would be better to inquire further. I walked up to her and said, "Hello, sister."
Upon seeing me, the woman immediately lowered her head and hurriedly walked around me with her basket. The silver chains on her feet jingled incessantly.
I quickly called out, "Sister, don’t be afraid! We’re not bad people; I just want to ask you something. Please don’t go!"
The woman stopped and looked at me. She spoke a string of words I couldn’t understand—either local dialect or Miao language—regardless, I couldn’t comprehend it at all!
I frowned; this was even harder to understand than Japanese. With my experience from watching dozens of Japanese films before, I could grasp some Japanese phrases, but now I understood nothing.
The woman seemed to realize that I didn’t understand her; she probably didn’t comprehend me either. She pointed ahead with her finger and muttered a few sounds.
Following her finger, I looked straight ahead on the street where there was a house. It was quite large and built from mud bricks; it seemed to be the only mud-brick house in the village.
The woman pointed to the house and then continued to lower her head, walking past us and leaving.
I turned to look at Liu Yiyi, who was also looking at me. I said, "Liu Yiyi, let's go inquire about things over there. It would be best if we could gather some information. If not, we can leave the village immediately. How does that sound?"
Liu Yiyi nodded and then took my arm.
I took a deep breath, and together with Liu Yiyi, we walked toward the house like a couple. The house was quite large, and the front door was half-open. Just as we were about to step inside, a man in tattered clothes suddenly rushed toward us from the corner of the wall. His hair was as messy as straw, and his clothes were in tatters. He charged at us like a madman, mumbling incoherently.
Liu Yiyi was so frightened that she immediately stepped back and hid behind me.
I shielded Liu Yiyi as we retreated.
The madman rushed toward us, his eyes fixed on Liu Yiyi, his throat rasping, "Woman, woman... woman..."
"Get away!" I kicked the madman in the leg.
He stumbled back but quickly got up and continued to mumble as he threatened to lunge at us again.
I kept protecting Liu Yiyi as we continued to back away.
At that moment, the door behind us swung open, and a middle-aged man dressed in Miao attire with a hat stepped out. He paused when he saw Liu Yiyi and me, then shouted at the madman.
Seeing him, the madman turned and ran away in an instant, disappearing from sight.
The middle-aged man nodded at me and said, "I hope we didn't scare you."
To my relief, he spoke Mandarin—though not perfectly, it was understandable. I replied, "It's fine; I just kicked him a bit. I apologize for hitting one of your villagers."
The man laughed heartily. "No worries; that kind of madman deserves a beating. We Miao people are very hospitable. I hope we didn't frighten you too much. Please come in, friends from afar."
Liu Yiyi thanked him, saying, "Thank you, brother."
We stepped inside. The courtyard was quite large but very damp, with a faint smell of something unpleasant lingering in the air. Although it was subtle, I could smell it clearly enough to feel uncomfortable.
However, I didn't pay too much attention to it. Perhaps in a village like this nestled in the mountains, the humidity combined with the abundance of various plants and animals contributed to the smell.
The middle-aged man led us into the house, and the scent inside was even stronger.
The man said, "Please have a seat. I am the chief of this village, or you could call me the village head; either way, it means the same. The people in this village have never left the mountains, so if I say something inappropriate, please forgive me."
I replied, "You're too kind, Chief. Um, we would like to ask if any strangers have passed through the village? A man and a woman together, along with two other men. We were camping nearby and ended up losing four people, so I came to inquire."
The chief smiled and poured us each a cup of water. "Well, I haven't heard anything about that, but I can ask around the village for you. It’s possible that some overly hospitable family took them in. Of course, there are also a few traps set up around the village; I can check on those as well. How does that sound?"
Liu Yiyi and I nodded in gratitude.
"I'll go ask now; you two drink your water," the chief said with a smile before turning and leaving the room.
Liu Yiyi sighed in relief. "That's great! Finally, we met a good chief; otherwise, we wouldn't have gotten anywhere."
I frowned, feeling that something was off. The faint odor in the room made me even more suspicious.
"Hiss..."
A strange sound came from somewhere.
I jumped slightly.
Liu Yiyi picked up her cup and looked at it. "What kind of tea is this? It smells quite fragrant." Just as she was about to take a sip, I quickly snatched the cup away and shook my head at her.
Liu Yiyi frowned slightly and whispered, "What's wrong?"
I set down the cup and stood up to look around. There was no one nearby, so I walked toward the back of the house. The hissing sound had come from there. I quietly approached.
The area behind the house was very messy, and this room was even more humid and foul-smelling. In one corner of the wall, there was a fairly large hole that seemed quite deep.
I saw the entrance and smelled the scent in the room, and I was already certain that something was wrong here.
"Let's go," I said immediately, stepping back towards Liu Yiyi.
Liu Yiyi responded with a soft "Hmm," without asking further questions.
Just as we retreated to the back of the house, a sudden rustling sound came from within the hole.
I quickly pulled Liu Yiyi out of the room. At that moment, a pair of enormous, glistening green eyes darted out from the depths of the hole.
I yanked Liu Yiyi to the side as we both ducked behind one side of the house. Summoning my courage, I peeked inside. There, two green eyes, resembling giant lanterns, crawled out from the hole. Soon, it fully emerged, revealing a snake's head as large as a soccer ball!
This snake must be at least seven or eight meters long.
I felt a chill run down my spine. I pressed a button on my wristwatch to activate the camera; if we were to die, at least it could help the police catch the culprit.
I tightly gripped Liu Yiyi's hand and slowly began to back away.
"Whoosh!"
The giant snake lunged out. It must have caught our scent and shot out like a shadow, its massive head aimed directly at us.
Liu Yiyi covered her mouth tightly while I quickly drew my gun. I had no idea what this snake wanted, but I knew that for it to grow this large, it must possess some intelligence. I hoped it would understand fear and let us leave.
With my gun pointed at the giant snake's head, I slowly backed away while holding onto Liu Yiyi.
The giant snake stared at me, its flat triangular head flicking its tongue in and out.
I positioned myself in front of Liu Yiyi and quickened my retreat. Before the snake decided whether to attack or retreat, we had to get out of this house.
We backed up to the threshold of the door, and with a loud bang, I slammed it shut and locked it behind me.
"Let's hurry!" Without thinking twice, I held my gun in one hand and pulled Liu Yiyi along as we ran outside.
As I reached the entrance of the house, the gate to the courtyard suddenly rang out, and soon after, the clan leader approached with two men.
Upon seeing him, I immediately sensed that this clan leader was not someone to be trifled with. I quickly hid behind the door with Liu Yiyi.
The clan leader arrived at the entrance and turned to whisper something to the two men behind him. I couldn't understand what he said, and then he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
At that moment, I was quite certain that this clan leader was up to no good. After all, who would keep such a large snake in their house if they were a decent person?
But then again, could that snake really be a pet?
I started to feel uncertain again.
I tucked my gun into the back of my pants and stepped out. "Clan Leader, have you heard any news?"
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