Exorcism

Xiaoqiu's home is in the back street of Yelin Town. More than half of it is occupied by a stable and there are three small rooms where Lao Qiu, Xiao Qiu and Erqiu live.

Lao Qiu was in his forties, short and stocky, and his back was already a bit hunched. He was immersed in cutting grass by himself. When he heard his eldest son coming back, he didn't even raise his head.

Erqiu was six years old, standing in the middle of the yard, holding a piece of hard bun in his right hand, sniffing two lines of snot, and said with a smile: "Brother."

Xiaoqiu ignored his younger brother and sent a dozen horses into the stable. After coming out, he helped his father cut grass.

Xiao Qiu handed the grass, and Lao Qiu controlled the guillotine. The two cooperated tacitly, and soon the bundle of grass was turned into minced powder, mixed with beans, and became the horse's night feed.

Originally, the father and son did not need to speak, silence was the norm in this family, but Lao Qiu suddenly stopped and said to Xiao Qiu, who was holding the second bundle of straw, "I tell you, we are getting married at Mr. Shen's house tomorrow, please be more honest with me." "

"Why am I dishonest?" Xiaoqiu asked guiltily.

Xiaoqiu is hard-working and smart, but she has one shortcoming in the eyes of her father - she is too stubborn and needs to be repaired from time to time. "Master Shen married the daughter of Mr. Qin's family. They are from the same family. If you dare to mess with others again, Say Fangfang is your wife, I won’t break your legs.”

Erqiu sucked in half of the snot from his nose and said with a smile: "Hit brother, beat brother."

Xiaoqiu threw the grass in her arms to the ground, "Did Er Shuan tell you nonsense? I..."

Lao Qiu pointed to the guillotine, and Xiao Qiu picked up the grass again. The father and son cooperated and soon finished another bundle. Cutting grass is a job with quick hands and eyes, and no one said anything during the process.

Lao Qiu's mind turned slowly, and he finally remembered what to say, "Er Shuan is a nice kid. He is always polite to me every time he sees me. I really don't understand why you always get into trouble with him."

"He was the one who provoked me." Xiaoqiu said angrily.

"Silly boy, let me tell you, I fought hard when I was young, and I might be my best friend when we grow up. I think Er Shuan actually wants to make friends with you."

Xiaoqiu thought this was the strangest statement in the world. She couldn't think of a suitable word to refute, so she simply got up and walked towards the door.

"It's getting dark, where are you going?" Lao Qiu shouted, feeling really powerless to discipline his eldest son.

Xiaoqiu stood in front of his brother. Erqiu bit the hard bun with his gaping teeth and looked up at his brother, still smiling.

"Did you hear that? Dad said that if you beat him hard when you are young, you will become a good friend when you grow up." Xiao Qiu slapped his brother on the forehead and ran away.

The hard bun flew away, Erqiu fell to the ground and howled loudly. Laoqiu stood up and chased after him while shouting and cursing. However, a few years ago, he could no longer catch up with Xiaoqiu's legs. When he ran to the gate, Xiaoqiu has disappeared.

"Oh, you careless brat." Lao Qiu shook his head, went back and picked up his youngest son, retrieved the hard bun, blew the dust off it, and stuffed it to Er Qiu.

When Xiaoqiu ran back to the bridge, it was just getting dark. He was so angry that he couldn't let it out just by slapping his brother. He also wanted to find someone to fight, but there was no one on the bridge. Er Shuan and his gang He was probably having dinner at home, pretending to be an obedient good boy in front of his parents, and the weirdo was nowhere to be seen.

Xiaoqiu sat on the shore, watching the last ray of sunset disappear, his stomach growling. He didn't want to go home at all. Instead of being scolded by his father, he would rather be hungry outside.

The sun has completely set, and the night is as gentle as a dreamland. Xiaoqiu does not feel that the night is scary, but feels contentedly and at ease.

Even the resentment in his heart gradually disappeared. He picked up a flat, round stone that fit in his hand, positioned himself, and shot a float towards the river.

It was a perfect throw and would have been cheered loudly if any other children had been present.

At first, Xiaoqiu counted the number of drifts, but soon he lost count. The pebbles jumped across the river and fell into the grass on the other side.

There seemed to be some movement in the grass. Xiaoqiu stood up suddenly and suddenly felt the need to check. The idea was so urgent that he jumped directly into the waist-high water and walked to the other side.

He had just taken three steps when something strange happened. In the ordinary patch of grass, a bird suddenly flew up. It might not be a bird. Xiaoqiu only saw a piece of green light and couldn't even see its shape clearly. Just disappeared.

Xiaoqiu felt an indescribable panic. He had always been known for his boldness among teenagers of his age, but this panic rose from the bottom of his heart, giving him no time to prepare.

Xiaoqiu rolled and crawled on the ground and turned around to go ashore.

"Stay away from monsters." Xiaoqiu thought of the weirdo's reminder. He shook his head and sneered at his own panic. There were indeed many strange and weird things in the world, but Yelin Town was safe. According to old legend, the biggest monster ever encountered here was The danger was that a pack of hungry wolves came from afar one winter. Even this was a legend decades ago.

"Madman." Xiaoqiu said to himself, turned around and looked to the other side. The grass half a man tall was swaying gently in the night wind, nothing unusual. He rubbed his eyes and couldn't even confirm that there was really green light flying just now.

The night was getting darker and darker, and the residents of Yelin Town went to bed early. A few dogs barked occasionally. Everything was peaceful. Even the wild cats didn't come out to cause trouble. The only person in the town who had ulterior motives was probably Xiaoqiu.

None of the friends who had arranged to meet on the bridge showed up.

In addition to being disappointed, Xiaoqiu was also a little bit sad and angry. At his age, he had extremely high standards for loyalty to his friends, and he felt that he had been betrayed.

He walked towards the town, deciding to go alone.

"Brother Xiaoqiu?" A tentative question came from under the eaves.

Xiaoqiu hadn't walked far into the town when she stopped and her heart suddenly cleared. "Why are you here? Didn't you agree to meet on the bridge? Where are the others?"

Daliang walked out and booed Xiaoqiu. There was no light on the street. He was afraid of the dark night and mustered up great courage before walking out of the house. "Don't go to Fangfang's house. Ershuan and his gang are waiting there."

"How come?" Xiaoqiu asked in surprise.

"I don't know. Maybe the news was leaked, or maybe Er Shuan guessed it. Anyway, I heard that he led people to guard near Mr. Qin's house. If he sees you, he will kill you."

The wind picked up, Xiaoqiu raised his hand to hold the straw hat on his head, "Then let's fight, I'm not afraid of him."

Daliang blocked the way, "No, there are adults helping Ershuan, we can't defeat her, and besides... we can't save Fangfang."

The last sentence made Xiaoqiu discouraged. He took off his straw hat and said, "What should we do?"

"No way." Daliang spread his hands helplessly, "Anyway, you didn't really promise anything. Everything you said in the past was a joke, and no one would take it seriously. You don't owe her anything, so just let it go. In a few days Let’s find an opportunity to give Er Shuan a good beating, because he always talks nonsense..."

"Well, I understand." Xiaoqiu said unwillingly. The matter was not that simple, but he didn't know how to explain it to his good friend.

Daliang breathed a sigh of relief, "I have to go home quickly. Do you remember that weirdo by the bridge during the day? My father said he was not a lunatic, but a Taoist priest who specialized in taking in children. He would take away anyone he liked without telling his family, at least. It takes ten or eight years for them to be released, and some of them never come back. I don’t want to go home with them.”

"Fangfang would rather go with the Taoist priest." Xiaoqiu said.

Daliang was stunned for a while, "This is also a way, but I don't know if the Taoist priest can like her. I have to go..." Daliang ran home along the street, turning his head to look around from time to time, as if the weird Taoist priest was hiding behind In the shadows.

Xiaoqiu didn't go home immediately, but ran to the school. Daliang was right. A group of people were patrolling nearby. Ershuan's gang of teenagers were also there, as well as seven or eight adults. Listening to their conversation, it was not Xiaoqiu they were guarding against. , but according to custom, it is to expel bad luck.

Xiaoqiu returned home, found the leftovers in the pot and ate them, then went to bed and lay down, thinking that she would not be able to sleep, but she fell asleep after a while.

The next day, when Xiaoqiu went to the forest to herd horses, he was always depressed. The other shepherd boys felt sorry for him and found many fresh wild fruits for him, but no one mentioned Fangfang.

Xiaoqiu didn’t mention it either.

After the grazing was over, Xiaoqiu broke off a flexible wicker stick and used it as a riding whip, and drove the horses to join her friends and return to the town together.

According to the custom in Yelin Town, the bride should enter the husband's house at dusk, and it was not long before the auspicious time.

After crossing the bridge, the shepherd boys went back to their homes. When Daliang said goodbye, he said, "Brother Xiaoqiu, let's find a chance to clean up Er Shuan tomorrow so that he won't dare to laugh at you again."

"Yeah." Xiaoqiu replied dully, chasing after the horses in front.

Arriving at the entrance of the town, Xiaoqiu heard the sound of musical instruments in the distance. It seemed that the Shen family's new daughter-in-law was about to enter.

The horses had automatically turned to the back street. Xiaoqiu rushed to the front, stopped them, and walked into the front street. He thought that he could take a look from a distance.

The Shen family was the biggest rich man in the town. Half of the people in the town were invited to sit down, while the other half stood on the street, watching with envy.

Grandpa Zhang, who was in his sixties, shook his head and sighed: "This ostentation is a waste. I just pity Fangfang. How old is she..." He turned around and saw Xiaoqiu and the group of horses. He raised his walking stick and pointed at Xiaoqiu and said: " Mud monkey, what are you doing here?”

"have a look."

"Look, Fangfang is also the daughter-in-law of the Shen family. Can she still go back with you?"

The neighbors all laughed and turned their attention from the distant Shen family gate to the shepherd boy herding horses.

Liu Er was a prostitute on the street. He was not invited by the Shen family and was very dissatisfied. He said: "Xiaoqiu, why didn't you let your father help you with the betrothal gift? Now, Fangfang will return to Shen Dasheng. You are a fool." Don’t you want to make a scene?”

Grandpa Zhang hit Liu Er with a cane, "You brat, Xiaoqiu is still a child, what nonsense are you talking about."

Xiaoqiu silently jumped on the bay red horse and made up her mind.

"Neighbors!" Xiaoqiu shouted at the top of his voice. His voice was still a little immature and could not reach far. It could not cover the sound of the Shen family's musical instruments. However, everyone nearby heard it and raised their heads at the same time, looking at it in surprise. He said, "Make way for me!"

There was a leading horse in the group of horses. Xiaoqiu raised his whip and whipped it hard towards the horse's buttocks.

The leading horse raised its front hooves and neighed in surprise and dissatisfaction. When the second whip came down, it was frightened, its hooves flew forward, and ran forward lifelessly. The other horses followed suit, ww. ａ.comｍOnly the bay red horse is still under Xiaoqiu's control.

Only then did the neighbors understand the meaning of Xiaoqiu's words. Grandpa Zhang lost his walking stick, Liu Er hugged his head and jumped up, Aunt Li picked up the child, and Uncle Zhao sat down on the ground... There was chaos on the front street of Yelin Town.

Xiaoqiu rode on a bay red horse, followed the frightened horses, and ran to the gate of Shen's house under the extremely surprised eyes of the residents of Yelin Town.

The crowd that had gathered at the door made way for a large open space. The obese Matchmaker Liu sat down on the ground, the flowers on her head trembling slightly. The musicians still maintained their posture of playing the instruments, but they could not make any sound.

Everyone looked at Xiaoqiu on the maroon horse, wondering whether this was a prank or a new trick of the Shen family.

Xiao Qiu even saw her father in the crowd of onlookers. Lao Qiu was stunned. He never thought that his eldest son would dare to do such a thing. All his previous reminders were in vain.

Xiaoqiu saw the sedan and the small figure in front of the sedan. He bent down on the horse, stretched out his right hand, and said in a hollow voice: "Come up and follow me."

(I applied for an ISBN yesterday, but unexpectedly I posted a chapter. I apologize to those readers who have asked me about the release time. I didn’t mean to hide it, it was an accident. The official release time will start from today, and it will be 8-9 a.m. every day from now on. pm and 18-19 pm each. Everyone is welcome to express your views and opinions on this book in the book review area.)

(The cover of this book is provided by the deputy publisher Muzi Jen. I would like to express my gratitude.)

(Congratulations to Hai Lanzhu, the first leader of this book, and thank you to every reader who has tipped.)