The poorer the area, the more conservative the people's ideological concepts become. In those small wilderness villages in poor mountainous areas, there are always a few old people who are reluctant to leave, clinging to the land left by their ancestors. Not to mention the Gannan area, where everyone has been guarding the Yellow River for generations, and if it weren't for the catastrophe of extermination, it would never have been possible to move all of them out of the blue.

Boom...... Boom...... Boom...... The bell in the ancient village rang again, this time even louder.

"Xiao Man, look at the watch."

"Eleven o'clock!"

"That's right, it's the same time as the last time we found a living person in the ancient village on the other side. What does the bell represent? Does it simply represent the separation of yin and yang? Or is it some kind of signal? ”

It is said that this old man has been a devout believer all his life, and his family invited eight monks to recite the Sutra of the Death for the old-timers. On the day of the funeral, the monk was arranged to ring the bell a few times, as if a person died at some hour, so he rang the bell a few times.

"I remember that time I also asked an old monk, and the old monk said that this bell is not for the living, but for the dead!"

"Dead people? Death knell? Ma Chengfeng stopped, didn't hurry to move forward, but silently lit a cigarette, took a hard puff, and then calculated in his heart. Xiao Man? Do you still remember what Lao Yang told us about his grandfather's generation? ”

The scale of this Zhujia Village is so large, presumably the population of the village has reached thousands of people at that time, and if there is really any special event in such a large village, all the villagers in the entire village will migrate to the other side at the same time, which is definitely a big event at that time. But the old branch secretary on the other side and the old sheep didn't mention it to them.

"You mean, the people of the entire Zhujia Village were ...... at that time?" Xiao Man's eyes widened, and he couldn't believe Ma Chengfeng's bold guess.

"At least after the rich man Zhu was criticized and killed, the history of the entire Zhujia Village was fragmented, and no one knew where the other villagers went? Such a large village, as long as there has been no plague, is definitely the best choice for the soldiers during the war, although Gannan is a red zone, but there is no sign of soldiers taking over the ancient village in the later period. ”

He said, "That's not right, it's not that there aren't any records, right?" At least Lao Yang and the old secretary still vaguely remember some of the events in the ancient village at that time. ”

"They...... Some of them are deliberately hiding something and telling us lies! ”

Ma Chengfeng didn't feel anything when he was on the other side of the strait a few days ago, but he just felt that Lao Yang and the secretary were very warm and hospitable, but now that I think about it, it's too unusual. If this pair of ancient villages on the bank was really an ominous place, they would definitely do everything possible to stop the three of them from crossing the river. But in fact, the two of them did everything possible to fulfill the two of them, helping them cross the river and come to this cursed land.

Boom...... Boom...... Boom...... Boom...... The strange sound of the bell still reverberates in the ancient village.

"It's useless to say these things now, if you come, you will be safe, and act when you have the opportunity!" Ma Chengfeng extinguished his cigarette and continued to run in the direction of the Zhu family's ancestral shrine with his two friends.

But before he could take a few steps, he suddenly stopped again. His ears twitched twice.

"Cheng Feng, someone is here! Many, many people! Na Xiu turned to look at the surrounding streets and alleys, but it was too dark in the ancient village, and the moonlight didn't seem to continue to be attached to this cursed ancient village, and had already hid behind the dark clouds.

The footsteps quickly became clear, judging from the footsteps, there were still a lot of people coming, how could there be hundreds of people. The pace of hundreds of people is surprisingly consistent, like a well-trained soldier, and every time he takes the next step, the yellow sand rises under his feet, and the formation is really catching up with the slaughter of the city!

"Not good! Come on! Ma Chengfeng dragged the two of them and quickly hid in an old house closest to them. The old house was a shop, and it used to sell preserves, and there was a shelf in the house, and the shelves were divided into several small compartments, and in each small compartment there were remnants of air-dried candied fruits.

The footsteps were getting closer, and the yellow sand on the roof of the old house, which had been shaken at the end, fell through the rubble.

"Cheng Feng, we were on the opposite side that night, why didn't we hear the bell at such a close distance?" Xiao Man asked him.

"I have also considered this question, first, it may be a matter of time, today is the fifteenth, and the fifteenth is the day of ancestor worship; Second, we are separated by a Yellow River, and the turbulent flow of the Yellow River is so powerful that it completely isolates the sound of the other side. Ma Chengfeng explained.

As he spoke, the deafening sound of neat footsteps had already come out of the alley on the side. The three of them quickly shut down and looked out through the crack in the door.

The movements of the three of them were very funny, like stacking arhats, one pressing the other and lying on the crack of the door to look out.

They were so nervous that their hearts were beating twice as fast as usual, and the sight outside the door was incredible. The group of people was dressed in linen and filial piety, and they were passing by the door of the candied fruit shop with steady and neat steps. Not only do they walk at the same pace, but they also move their hands very consistently when they walk, a posture that even a well-trained soldier may not be able to do.

Ma Chengfeng thought to himself, these people are wearing filial piety clothes, are they for funeral? But there are no living people in the entire ancient village, how could such a huge group of people suddenly be gathered? Where are they hiding during the day?

Xiao Man covered his mouth with his hands, for fear of disturbing the strange funeral procession outside the door.

The three of them watched for a long time, although these people looked like they were funeral, but they didn't find them carrying coffins. There are probably more than 200 of these people, looking at the silhouette of old people and children, men and women, because they are wearing filial piety clothes, and filial piety clothes have not changed in at least the past hundred years, so it is impossible to judge whether they are living people now, or ghosts and ghosts in the Republic of China.

No, if it's a ghost, the quality of the soul is very light, and even if there are many people, it won't be so loud when walking in the aisle.

The more than 200 funeral processions did not continue to move forward, but slowly approached the side of the old street in an orderly manner, and then stood still. It was as if they were waiting for an hour to come.

"Huh? What do you think they're trying to do? Na Xi asked Ma Chengfeng in a low voice.

"I don't know, wait and see."

The footsteps outside the house did not stop, and the old house shook slightly. This is definitely not something that can be achieved by about two hundred people.

Sure enough, not long after, across the old street, in a small alley, a group of people came out of the candied fruit shop, this team was a little more, about 400 people.

(End of chapter)