Guardians of the Mountain
Guardians of the Mountain
"Li Zulai, who lived on the east side of the village, died in the place connecting Dongshan and Nanshan," Wang Fengming said. "I don't know what the specific reason was. Maybe he was scared to death. He did have heart disease."
"Scared?" Wang Yao was confused.
"The weather has been warm, so some people in the village have been going up the mountain," Wang Fengming said. "Several people have seen snakes on Nanshan. One of them is black and several feet long! Have you seen it on the mountains since you have lived there for a long time?"
Xiaohei!
"I know the snake," Wang Yao said. "In fact, I saved the snake." Wang Yao did not want to hide anything from this elder.
"That could be a little troublesome," Wang Fengming said.
"What's wrong, Uncle?" Wang Yao asked.
"There are people in the village who say that you are raising snakes in Nanshan, and Li Zulai was scared to death by snakes," Wang Fengming said.
This was a bit troublesome. According to his statement, the death of Li Zulai was possibly seen as being related to Wang Yao. If someone was bitten by a dog, the first inclination would be to find the owner and not bite the dog back.
"There might be more than one snake on Nanshan," Wang Fengming said.
"More than one?" Wang Yao asked. "I have only seen one, and it is a black snake."
Wang Yao had discovered that the black snake was spiritual and understood him. It had become a guardian of Nanshan. Regardless of whether it was day or night, it patrolled the mountain with the dog. Unfortunately, people were often afraid of snakes, especially big ones.
"Thank you for coming here to let me know," Wang Yao said.
"Hey, as we are family, there's no need to say any phatic words," Wang Fengming said. Wang Yao had always been good to him. "If there is nothing else, I will go."
"Uncle, has your old house sold?" Wang Yao asked.
"It was sold to buy a new house for my son's marriage. It is good for me and your aunt to stay in the village," Wang Fengming said.
"It is good." Wang Yao walked him to the door. He returned to the clinic.
In a mountain village, death was a big event. In this small village, Wang was a main surname. There were also the surnames of Chen and Li. People with the same surname were somehow related.
Before long, the death of the old man spread.
During lunch, Zhang Xiuying mentioned the matter to Wang Yao.
"Since he was old and his heart was not good, why did he go on to the mountain to rake and collect grass?" she asked. "He could have gone anywhere else, so why did he have to go to Nanshan?"
She had heard the gossip, so she wanted to show her son favor. "Xiao Yao, are there really snakes on the mountain?"
"Yes, and there is one very familiar to me." Wang Yao smiled. His answer piqued her interest.
"It is familiar to you? How familiar?" she asked.
"I saved the black snake, which is very spiritual," Wang Yao said.
"So, it is there," his mother said.
Wang Fenghua did not speak. He just bowed his head and ate. After finishing the meal, he finally asked, "Does the snake bite people?"
"As long as you don't hurt it, it won't bite you," Wang Yao said, "It's the same as San Xian."
"What if it scares people again?" Zhang Xiuying was worried.
"That is what I want," Wang Yao whispered.
"What?" His parents were shocked.
"Dad, Mom, I don't want outsiders to be close to Nanshan. You also know that there are quite a few secrets on Nanshan that can't be known by outsiders," Wang Yao said.
There were many shocking things on Nanshan Hill, such as the spirit gathering battle array, licorice roots in the herbal field, and the strange feeling of comfort.
"Of course, I don't want people to die. This was unexpected," Wang Yao calmly said. His parents looked at him with shock and worry. "The dog, goshawk, and black snake are great guardians of the mountain."
The room was silent for a while. Zhang Xiuying looked at her son. Wang Fenghua lowered his head to smoke.
"There will be other people going up the mountain," Zhang Xiuying whispered.
"San Xian and Xiaohei patrol the mountain," Wang Yao said. "I have arranged something on the mountain."
He had to let the people in the village fear the mountain. The feeling of fear could quickly spread. People would not go up the mountain if they were fearful.
The death of the old man was an accident, but it also produced unexpected results.
"Hey!" Zhang Xiuying sighed.
"Dad, Mom, you don't have to worry so much," Wang Yao said.
"As long as you know what you are doing," Wang Fenghua said.
After lunch, Wang Yao returned to the clinic.
After Wang Yao left, Zhang Xiuying approached her husband and worriedly said, "It seems our son has changed!"
"He has changed," Wang Fenghua said.
"This mountain is for planting crops, grazing, and picking up grass." These things Zhang Xiuying said were indispensable for the villagers.
"The houses in the village are all sold," Wang Fenghua said. "Eventually, there will be many people moving out. Besides, half of Dongshan and Xishan are already contracted!"
"There is still a large piece of land at the foot of the mountain," Zhang Xiuying said.
There was a spacious and long space between Dongshan and Xishan, which was the main cultivated land in the village. The cultivated land on the mountain was mainly concentrated in Dongshan and west of Xishan. Because Nanshan Hill was a bit farther from the village, it would take at least one hour for a round-trip. Given that it was not convenient to fetch water and no agricultural equipment could be used on it, there was no arable land there except for grazing.
...
It was after 1 p.m. Chen Ying and Chen Zhou were still on Xishan.
"Don't go any further!" Looking at the rocks in front of her, Chen Ying had a bad feeling. The stone blocked the mountain road to the south. "This is artificially arranged."
"Dr. Wang?" Chen Zhou asked.
"It must be him. He doesn't want anyone to move on," Chen Ying said.
The place where they were was the connection between Xishan and Nanshan. These mountains were connected with no obvious boundary. In front of them was the incomplete rock stone array by Wang Yao, which had almost trapped two people who had mistakenly entered it.
"Should we go back?" Chen Zhou asked.
"Yes," Chen Ying said.
Somewhere on Xishan, a sheep went up the mountain and walked around. It sniffed the ground while walking. Suddenly, it was blocked by a pit that had strange black and gray soil. In the pit, there was a dry and unknown plant.
The stupid sheep was standing on the edge of the pit. The soil on the edge of the pit was not strong enough, so it collapsed under the sheep. Dust flew everywhere as the sheep fell into the pit.
The sheep didn't fall. It just shook its head a few times and seemed to be thinking about what had just happened. It suddenly wanted to get out. It tried jumping a few times but failed. It was strange that a sheep good at mountain activities would not be able to climb up. It was weird no matter how one viewed it.
The sheep also felt strange, so it kept shaking its head. Finally, it climbed up.
...
"Lao Wang, all you know how to do is drink! The sheep is gone!" a middle-aged woman shouted inside a house.
The sheepfold was still there, but the sheep was gone. The door was slightly open.
"Damn it!" The man rushed out of the inner room, reeking of booze. A sheep was worth more than $100.
At this time, it was already dark.
"That damn sheep!" The man snorted as he looked for it in the nearby mountains.
Baa!
He heard the sound of a sheep and following the sound. He found the sheep biting a tree. He grabbed the ear of the sheep and slapped it twice.
Baa! The sheep looked at him innocently.
"Come back home," he said.
After dinner, Wang Yao went up the mountain.
After entering the herbal field, Wang Yao called the dog. "San Xian, where is Xiaohei?"
The black snake soon appeared in front of him.
"Xiaohei, are there any other snakes on this mountain?" Wang Yao asked.
Although the black snake had spirituality, it was not a human being. Naturally, it did not understand Wang Yao.
"Forget it. Go," Wang Yao said.
He patted the snake's head. The black snake left.
"San Xian, in addition to Xiaohei, are there any other snake on this mountain?" Wang Yao asked
Woof!