Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven
The almanac of the 34th year of the Republic of China was brought to Zedi by the old man Shi Da. Shi Da even brought a rare item. A letter was sent from the central area of the west of the lake, written to him by Xia Futang, the uncle of Qingshiwu. Daddy is a fairy, in addition to greetings, the letter also mentioned that the devil's defeat has been revealed, he doesn't worry about others, he is only afraid that the Eighth Route Army will take the opportunity to occupy the territory.
Father Shi burned the letter on the grave of the old god.
Who knows?It's all so legendary!Shi Da's teeth are all old, and when he spoke, his cheeks were sunken into deep holes: He said that Chairman Jiang had trained a battalion of flying soldiers, with iron wings on his shoulders, and the wings could move three hundred miles. Shine the light on the demon mirror, the common people will be fine, but the evil spirits will turn into dust!There are also paper-cuts, which are folded three times and cut three times, and the paper becomes a character, on which it is written how many years in the Showa era Japan will perish.I am old, I have no other hope, and I just want to see that it is really peaceful.
Don't worry, Dad.Some people say: this year is the year of the rooster, and when the rooster crows, it is not far from dawn. Maybe it should be this year.The crooked mangy man killed the demon Shan Yao last time, why didn't that Nanmu Dazuo come to Qingxiang? !In my opinion, the devils are not as good as each year, and their stamina is not going to continue!
Although looking at the sky, people have to suffer the famine of the barren spring.In the north, there are spring famines every year, and they are only divided into big and small famines; because the previous year’s harvest was sufficient, there was some surplus grain in the grain urn, and coarse grains such as sweet potatoes and carrots in the cellar were mixed with each other. Some wild vegetables, if you are hungry, you can get through the wheat season in a blink of an eye, that is a small hunger; if the harvest was poor last year, and the grain reserves were exhausted in the winter, you can only rely on elm leaves, wild vegetables, and stone powder to satisfy your hunger. The barren spring is over, and the hard man is so weak that his legs are shaking.
The spring famine in Zedi this year has fallen aggressively years ago.
Needless to say, the severity of the spring famine was all caused by Su Da bastard. It wasn't him digging the pond to release water.Several wealthy households in the swamp, the only grain they had in stock was used up when the number reached sixty-nine. After the catastrophe, there were still four to five hundred people left. They couldn't even get tree buds and weeds, so they had to rely on slaughtering livestock and food. The young and strong men on the gun team were pulled out to hunt and live.
The spring famine is not considered a famine, so don't panic!The crooked man always has a smiling face that doesn't take anything seriously: A few years ago, I was trapped in Yuntai Mountain as a little devil. At the beginning, there was still food to eat, but at the end, the mountain was full of devils and cannons. Eating stone powder and gnawing grass roots, they lived for twenty-two days.The swamp is a good hunting ground, red grass nests, and wild forests, there are many small game, there are ducks flying on the lake, and there are endless fish and shrimps in the lake, what are you worrying about?You can't die of hunger!Hunting is my old profession, I will teach you how to hunt!
Crooked Hu Mani'er's hunting method is far more novel than that of the hunters in Zhang Fuduitou. He led people to the wild forest to peel off the bark of the soft scorpion, soaked it in the mud, and smashed the giant rabbit scorpion.A lot of thin wooden strips were sawed to form a fox hunting cage, which was not narrow like ordinary hanging cages, but square, with a round hole in the bottom of the cage, and barbs made of lead wire.
In the early days when we hunted foxes, we all used hanging cages.Guilong said: You can only hunt the greedy yellow-skinned child (note: commonly known as the weasel), that thing is full of coquettishness, as long as it gets fur!The red fox is so cunning that it doesn't even touch the side of the hanging cage.
Using a hanging cage to lure a red fox is like fishing with a straight hook!Crooked Hu said: The red fox is more spirited than the cunning rabbit. It goes to the cave in winter, and the cave is seven or eight feet deep. It won’t come out until it’s hungry. Every fox den has several exits. You don’t know where it will come from come out!When the red fox came out of the den, it was faster than the wild badgers, and could only see a trail of red smoke. It would never turn back until it got into the thorn bushes. Superscript, wait for the fire to smoke at night, smoke it out of the hole.This kind of square cage is its gram head.As long as the hole is not empty, I will let it enter the cage willingly!
So, what's the use of these thick beef loin rolls? !Fang Liang from Leizhuang said: Could it be that the rabbit opened his eyes wide and bumped himself into the knuckle?
Not only can rabbits be caught and avoided, but even small animals can be caught as well. Waihu Mani'er said: "The terrain like a swamp full of ditches is most suitable for Zhang Kuo to hunt!"Kwu should be stretched in the dangerous narrow part of the ditch, and an alarm bell should be tied to the side of the knuckle.Knuckles were dropped everywhere, and then the hunters fired empty guns and big gongs on the flat ground, making a lot of noise. In this way, no matter the grass nests or tree holes, those timid prey could not hide, and they would definitely rush to the water. At the end of the run, at this moment, gunners appeared on both sides of the pools, firing their guns tail, the prey ran to Zhang Kwu, and there was no way to get up, and there was no way to retreat.As soon as the prey enters the knuckle, the knuckle bell rings, and as soon as the hand pulling the knuckle loosens the rope, the net will cover the prey.One winter, after a heavy snowfall, I stretched the knuckles in my hometown Jiagu, and the first knuckle alone caught dozens of fat rabbits!This method is much better than hunting!
A large group of people braved the sharp cold wind to go hunting in the wild. Almost everyone quickly learned the hunting method taught by Waihu Manile, and lived on pickled prey and a little leftover grain.
People are always like that, the originally sharp heart is blunted by the left and right trials; the days are counted forward, and there are gloomy flashes.It seems to feel something, but it seems to feel nothing at all; those whistles, exclamations, and killing cries, those plagues, water slides, and corpses, hacked like knives in the day, cut off the peace of the past, and became A dark and floating background to live in the world.It brings out the meaning of hardship.Hope is not without, but like a moldy wheat seed, a gossamer pulled by the wind, it neither grows nor keeps falling, it seems to be holding people forward, forward, forward Go, go into a comfort that is so faint that even a shadow can't be seen; linger there, let the gloomy flashes light up one by one, without any definite meaning, but the heart is soaked in it and beats, And breathe.
The remaining snow on the field has melted, the wind is still cold, and there is a slight warmth in the cold that careless people will not feel, and spring has quietly come to the wilderness.It is also hard to notice on the surface. Before the grass sprouts, the tender grass buds are soft and weak, and the heavy snow-filled soil imprisons its growth, causing those small bud tips to be deformed and twisted. Come, but the unconscious life of the grass sprout itself has a driving force, which makes it wear a mud hat and breathe the smell of the wind from a little crack.The trees were still black before they sprouted, and they trembled on the ground, listening to the sound of life flowing in their trunks.The water from the melted snow seeped down into the ground, loosening the first layer of soil, and it seeped down to the next layer, and at the same time penetrated the roots of the trees.Countless lives are wriggling under the ground, mole crickets, earthworms, furry hedgehogs, corpse-eating insects, countless voices are conveying the arrival of spring.When the stratum is full of water and is warm enough to incubate more life, the excess snow water will gurgle and flow to the recess, gathering into a clear and transparent swamp, which solidifies gently, like a mirror It reflects the color of the sky, making the sky and the earth harmonize with each other.The black trunks of the upright trees also reflected their shadows in the marsh, and the snow water slowly slid down from the treetops, leaving sections of wet marks on the gray and rough skin.On the backside of the sun, the scale-like moss that had been left in the gaps of the twigs first revived, getting rid of the gloom and dryness of the winter, and swelled like fermentation, expanding the green dip, looking back in surprise like the eyes of a newly awakened baby.On the higher branches, there are countless small tumor-like grains, and the transparent skin can't cover the color of the grain tip, which makes people feel a gentle and charming spring breath that seems to come from far away.
Footsteps came and went from near the Wild Wood.
Crooked Hu Lai'er led seven or eight young men to the Hong Bay where the fourth surname was Hong.At the dawn of the day, the red and fragrant morning light shot up from the horizon, and there was no cloud in the east. The morning light was like water and dyed the entire sky wall red. It was an extremely clean and pure red light, making the ground all over keep its shadow.
Spring grass grows overnight!Waihu Mani'er sighed amidst the chirping of birds from far and near: After this round of hunting, we will be able to catch leaves and wild vegetables!He was leaning on a tree trunk, looking at the morning light under the bird's wings. A string of dew drops fell from the branches and shattered on his scarred head. Ku Juan'er, sweat was already dripping slightly on his forehead.
The spring famine every year is not as severe as this year, and everyone feels bitter, hungry and sour.The skinny little ram was sitting on the roll and said: With you in the swamp, everything is out of our eyes, and we don’t care if you cut it down or kill it. Are you afraid of starvation and stretching your waist? !
I can't really do anything.Waihu Manile suddenly said as if touched by something: If a person understands the two words of life and death, no kind of disaster will be able to torture him at all!I was thinking of him bending down and picking up a handful of soft and moist soil: One day, I will die, and I don’t need a coffin. If I can be buried in such a handful of moist soil, what else can torture me? !With legs stretched and eyes closed, if the sky falls again at that time, someone else will have to do it!
Who can be like you, this person can collapse the sky at the corner of the east of the lake?Shi Qi said.
Anyone can do it.Crooked Hu Lai'er smiled: As long as he can see life and death apart.A person like me is not born to be a famous hero, but in the eyes of the government, he is a big bastard. I beat devils all the way, and I fight devils all the way. I will fight until I die. Who wants me to tell the secret? , I don't have it!Come on, Guilong!You and Er Hei'er waded through the water and spread the knuckles on your head, Shi Qi and Xiao Yangjiao carried the knuckles and went forward, to the wolf altar and stretched the knuckles!The rest followed me into the forest, spread out and rested, and when the various groups of people had set up the knuckles, we would ring the guns.
Guilong and Shi Qi carried the knuckles away.
Crooked Hu Mani put on the firecracker leaning on the side, faced the brighter and brighter morning light, straightened his solid chest, and stretched out his arms. His faint shadow was huge and long, stretching like a tree. On the swamp, all his tendons cracked rhythmically and sounded full of strength; the breath of the first spring permeated around him and entered his breath, and his wild strength was vigorous. Yes, like the spring around him, he took the business of the earth into his heart, and at this moment the spring wilderness in the marsh was like a small stream, and he only had to stretch his feet to cross it.
Several other groups of hunters walked on the ridge of Si Xinghong, carrying guns and rolls, and greeted each other.
When the sun came out, the knuckles were set up everywhere, and the sound of guns rang all the way from Hongtou in the distance; in addition to ringing the guns, the hunters also uttered loud shouts, causing the long poles to move the bushes, and the frightened prey flocked. run around.As those prey scuttled across the wet ground, they left clearly discernible paw prints along the way.
Oiler Biantou followed Crooked Hu Mani'er along the woods, chasing the prey down Sixinghong's ridge. After the gun was fired, he had already seen four rabbits.This kind of hunting method is really interesting, he said: like me, I only deserve to blast the blunderbuss into the sky to scare those little things and let them drill into the knuckles; Not even a single rabbit fur can be knocked out!
Then you have to learn a little bit, Crooked Hu said: Poems and books in prosperous times, and guns and knives in troubled times are the same weight.If you learn how to fire a gun, you don’t necessarily have to use it in hunting. If I hadn’t practiced marksmanship well earlier, I would lose ten more lives!
When he was crossing a shallow swamp, he stopped suddenly and squatted down to stare at something.On the gray-black wet sand at the edge of the shallow swamp, a paw print was deeply drawn.oh!is it!He said to himself: It's that ghost thing in the red grass!Oiler Biantou followed, stretched out his head for a look, and sat on the ground as soon as his legs gave way.
Oh My God!He yelled, "This is a wolf. Why did it leave the red grass and run into the swamp!"
Did wolves come into the swamp earlier?Crooked Hu said.
There have been.Flathead bared its front teeth: they only hurt the animals in the corral, no one.The wolf altar is over there, and the wolf god governs them, and they are not allowed to hurt people randomly!
That's not certain.Crooked Hu Lai'er said: I believe that all wolves have the same nature in the world, and they are no better than Shan Yao and Su Da bastard!It didn't hurt anyone, it just missed the chance!You see, it has rushed into Sixinghong, I'm afraid I can't stop it, so let's go over quickly!
They climbed up Hongji and ran westward, and the bells on the first road were already ringing together.
Liuzhier Guilong and Erheier stretched the rope at Caihong Bay. The two squatted beside the bushes to tighten the rope. Not long after the guns were fired, they saw the prey running towards them. Guilong could tell at a glance that it was a wolf.The stretched knuckle net was at least four feet high from the ground, but it couldn't stop the wolf. When the small prey rang the knuckle bell, the wolf jumped six or seven feet high with its front paws. Zong Zong can't even see the shadow.
Crooked Hu Lai'er and Oiler Biantou rushed over.
You see that thing? !Crooked Hu said.
Many small prey struggled in the falling nets.
A big wolf!Gui Longrui: With just a slight jerk, it leaps up and over!
I have to tail it!Waihu Lai'er said: This kind of harmful thing can't be left near the farmers, otherwise it will cause trouble sooner or later!
It wasn't until all the knuckles were harvested everywhere and people returned with baskets full of prey that Crooked Hu Mangy hurried back. He searched for the wolf's paw print all the way, but the paw print disappeared at the wolf altar.Those from Leizhuang should go back to the village with their guns!He said: If that thing doesn't return to the Red Grass Nest, it will appear near Leizhuang!
But the wolf did not appear near Leizhuang as Waihu Mani'er thought. Some people who believed in wilderness legends persuaded Waihu Mani'er not to worry about it. Since the wolf altar was set up in the wilderness, the wolf god would restrain its descendants. .
The days flowed by, and spring thickened the colors of the wilderness.
Looking at the clusters of leaves that are blooming, the wild flowers that are just blooming, the thorny wheat seedlings, and the grass sprouts that have been unearthed, there is something protruding from the ground, giving people a kind of life-beating; counting the days, yesterday's famine will Become today's consolation, because they survived yesterday after all.No one brought any news from the outside world, and people even forgot about the wolf that appeared in Sixinghong.
It wasn't until Lei Laoshi's long-term worker Wang Si broke his leg in the fight with the wolf that people started to panic again.
Changgong Wang Si is a messy old man, he is only allowed to grow old, and no one else is allowed to say that he is old.People are not short, he said that he is taller than a donkey, if he is not a little basket-legged, he would be even taller.He never leaves his oiled jacket all year round, and no one is allowed to pinch his nose when he smells like donkeys.On the straw rope at the waist, hung a black cloth treasure bag, which contained small jade monkeys, big copper coins, a lot of keys, dragons carved in peach pits, yellow cloth charms, fire knives and flints, and a razor.No matter where he squatted, Wang Si would take out the little jade monkey and rub it like a domino. He said that the jade would be soaked in sweat, and after soaking for a long time, it would become transparent and alive. The little jade monkey is a piece of living jade, and he often points it to the sun and says: Here!Look, Yuxin looks like a puddle of water, don't you see a black spot moving around? !If he took out the razor, he would touch his chin and shave dryly, until the skin of his mouth was dripping with blood, like a mangy dog that came out of a pile of graves and just ate the corpse of a baby.Suppose you shave off a beard that has turned white, and someone else says: "Wang Si, is it a white beard?"Then, Wang Sihui said: Where is the white beard coming? !I scooped the noodles just now, and it was powdery!
In addition to not recognizing the old, boldness is also a characteristic of Wang Si. He is not afraid of seeing ghosts in the dark and encountering wolves in the wild.Once, Wang Si got drunk in Shijia Tubao, Shi Qi lied to him and said: Uncle Wang Si, you can't go back tonight!There are wolves in the mass graves in the west, you have a belly full of wine, don't let it drink it cheaply!
Wang Si was already very courageous, but with the power of wine, he became even more courageous, and said with the tip of his tongue: "Your fourth master, I grew up in a wolf's den. Male wolves dare not touch me. The grass wolf sees me." So I squatted down on the ground, fearing that I would get drunk, I pulled off my pants and hit its nest!Do not believe? !Let's bet what, I dare to sleep on the grave of Xilunkeng overnight!
Shi Qi deliberately teased him, so he made a serious bet with him. In the middle of the night, he led a gray dog to scare him. It dares to drag.Shi Qi led the Greyhound, stepped on wasteland and came to the messy pit. Wang Si really brought a broken mat and was lying in front of a large grave, snoring with his head resting on the stele.Shi Zi shoved the dog over, the dog's heart was greedy, and it turned out that the fake show was real!Whenever a dog drags a human corpse, the dog has to circle around the person, first in a big circle, then in a small circle, and then cross its legs, and soak at the person, sniff and sniff after drowning, and pick the mouth after sniffing. place to lick.The Greyhound went around in circles, Wang Si didn't even snore, his straight legs were straight and stiff, like a dead man.The greyhound's circle became smaller and smaller, and when it got around Wang Si, it was about to cross its legs and drown, but Wang Si stretched out his hand to catch the dog's leg, and screamed like a ghost.Greyhound was so frightened that he gritted his teeth and cried, he broke free from Wang Si's hand and rolled on the ground.Wang Si's grab wasn't very good, and Greyhound's leg was paralyzed since then, and he didn't dare to drag the corpse in the messy pit anymore.Later, when Wang Si sobered up, he completely forgot about the bet, and asked Shi Qi, "What happened?"That night, he fell down on the grave and slept all night? !I dreamed that a gray wolf came to eat me!Scared me howling!
That incident spread from Shi Qi's mouth, and was talked about for a long time, but he didn't expect that Wang Si really met a wolf this time.Lei Laoshi from Leizhuang personally rode a donkey to the earth castle to send a message, saying that Wang Si was plucking the leaves of the elm tree at the back of the house. As soon as he had finished plucking half of the basket, he saw the big thing sitting under the tree guarding him. Wang Si didn't care. , I thought it was a dog. At that time, the sun was not setting on the west roof, and no one would think it was a wolf.Wang Si rubbed his hands for a while, thinking that enough, let's go back to the pot for steaming. Just as he was about to get off the tree, the thing couldn't wait, and stood up like worshiping the moon to smell his meat.Wang Si took a look, my mother, where is the dog? !With a fluffy tail, like a broom, it is obviously a very hungry wolf!Wang Si withdrew his legs, and squatted on the tree branch, not daring to come down. The wolf's legs were also weak from hunger, and squatted under the tree, drooling at Wang Si.Wang Si wanted to call the men from the gun team sent back by the crooked Hu Mani to chase it away, but he couldn't make a sound as if his neck was pinched, and he went down looking at the sun.
If he hadn't relied on that live jade monkey, he wouldn't have hurt his leg!Lei said honestly: He is not far from the back of the village, and he answered his shout. When it gets dark, if he doesn't come back, someone will look for him with a fire stick. He doesn't need to fight the wolf by himself. Believe that Jade Monkey can defend himself, he fought the wolf with just a basket and a razor.He jumped off the tree and the wolf pounced on him.He got a basket stuck on the wolf's head, and wiped a knife across the wolf's belly, causing its skin to bleed.That wolf was really ruthless, and he didn't let go after being stabbed, as if he couldn't get a piece of Wang Si's meat.Yu Si fell to the ground, turned the razor with his mouth facing out to protect his neck, panted and scolded, "Bastard, forgive me for not daring to bite Fourth Master's throat!"
The wolf had a hard time, and knew that Wang Si was stalking him crookedly, so his actions suddenly became erratic, going east and west, with ghostly green eyes, circling around Wang Si. Wang Sikong had a razor, and Gu Looking forward, not looking back, I always felt a chill in the back of my head; I simply put the basket on my head, turned around and ran up the village, and when he ran, the wolf seized the opportunity.The wolf is a shrewd old guy, he knows that it is no good to jump on the basket on his head, and if he does not make it well, he will be stabbed. Although the razor is not big, it does not feel good to cut the skin. It ran over and bit Wang Si calf.Waiting for Wang Si to stop and squat down, a piece of live meat would have already fallen into the wolf's mouth!
Thanks to that bite, Wang Si bit it out and called a wolf!Word, the village master heard it, Lei Yipao, Fangliang, Xiaoyangjiao and others swung their guns and rushed to the back of the village. The wolf ran away, and Wang Si, whose head was in a basket, was still dragging his legs and crawling!Afterwards, when I took a light with a fire stick, Wang Si's right calf was completely gone, red with white, and his bones were exposed.
After Lei finished speaking honestly, Waihu Mani'er shook his head and said: I knew that leaving it in the swamp would be bad, but you all believe that the wolf god will restrain it.This kind of guy who walks alone and wanders around, probably hurts people, is witty, cunning, and is the hardest to beat!Zedi is still relatively calm at present, if you don't beat it at this time, it will take advantage of the chaos to harm people, and no one will have the time to beat it!
Crooked fool!Lei said honestly: Let me say something unpleasant, you beat the devil all the way, gods and Buddhas bless you, you chase the wolf and scare the wolf, please don't kill it!When the wolf god saw the crime, he was not joking!
I said, honest dad!Crooked Hu said: I don't believe in the wolf god or the wolf god. It didn't hurt anyone, and I didn't hurt it. Since it has caused trouble, I will find it and skin it!I am a person who always speaks of fairness in doing things, so what should I do? There is no price to pay back!
At night when people lit bonfires to smoke red foxes, Waihu Mani'er told Liuzhier Guilong about beating wolves.
No one has ever killed a wolf in the swamp.Guilong looked at the flickering bonfire in the bamboo cage: Otherwise, the ancestors would not have built a wolf altar.Since I was a child, my father taught me how to guard against wolves. There are only ways to guard against wolves, not to kill wolves.
A red fox, smothered by the fire that blocked the opening of the cave, jumped out and into a square cage that was placed over the unsmoked hole.Some people are calling happily.Crooked Hu Mani'er propped his hands on his waist, sat reclined on the grass, and stared at Guilong bewilderedly.
I also heard from my father since I was a child that it is not allowed to aim firecrackers at people, let alone fire them at people.Crooked Hu Lai'er's voice was a little mournful: I said, Guilong, I can't even count the number of people I kill, and I thought about it. After seeing my father in the underworld, I had to say: The one who died under my gun is not a human being. It's a bland animal!The previous generation doesn't know the suffering of the next generation, people, just touch their hearts before doing things, and don't need to listen to others.
Uncle Crooked Hu, Guilong said: You really want to kill that wolf, I have nothing to say.I don't know how you can find it?Doing this is not like fighting devils, no one is willing to help you.
Another red fox entered the cage, and someone happily sang
This is not about a wolf, Guilong.The crooked man straightened up; the tongue of fire was twisted into two strands by the wind, and a shadow in the middle fell on his face and twisted: I want you to know that Zedi has resisted Su Da bastard. If the devil's arrogance disappears, the old Central Committee If the water is far away but not close to the fire, the eight roads must be rolled over, and by then, the swamp will be over!I'm a foreskin, Guilong, it's a lie if I can't be beaten to death, I have a tone, if people understand what to do, do it!
Do you think Zedi will end?
Don't talk about that.The crooked man avoided Guilong's eyes: Tomorrow you have to help me find a sheep, wolves like to eat live things, especially sheep.I use sheep to lure it out, not to set a trap. I want to fight it alone without asking anyone for help.
Let alone go to fight wolf?Guilong said: I will go with you, and I will bring a gun, in case a large pack of wolves is coming, I will help you.
Crooked Hu Lai'er pondered for a while: Well, he said: I will tell you how to make the sheep howl so that the hungry wolf hiding in the woods can hear it.
The bonfire dimmed, and the shallow moonlight covered the ground with frost.Crooked Hu Mani'er followed the fox hunter and walked to another marked fox cave.Suddenly, he heard the sound of a wolf howling against the moon, and two echoed from a distance. In the quiet night with no wind, the sound was loud and echoed in the forest for a long time. He stopped in his tracks, and tilted his head to identify where the squealing sound came from.
Like at Leizhuang, isn't it?Guilong listened for a while and said.
It wants to attract the wolves!Waihu Lai'er said: "This old guy has tasted the sweetness after biting Wang Si. He wants to get all the wolf sons and grandchildren out of the red grass. If he doesn't get rid of it early, he will be in big trouble."
Tomorrow morning I will look for a sheep.Guilong said.
I wanted to use the scorpion to deal with it.Crooked Hu said to himself, "It looks like there may be more than one tomorrow night. I have to take a gun."
Crooked Hu Mani'er wanted to hunt down the wolf that broke into the swamp, and everyone in Tubao and Leizhuang became uneasy.For many years, no one has entered their lives from the outside like crooked mangy. He has a frightening power, making people doubt, fear, cling to concern.Except for stubborn people like Lei Laoshi, the rest of the people's respect for Crooked Hu Manile is almost equal to many legendary commandments. Although no one jumped out to help him hunt the wolf, everyone expected him to really hunt the wolf.Crooked mangy brought bullets, dry food and water, Liuzhier Guilong put a pistol on his waist, led the sheep, carried a shovel, an ax, and a bundle of hemp rope, and went out early in the morning. The women stood on the fair to watch them, and incense sticks were stuck on many piles of soil.
Do you believe that the wolf god will not blame him?Shi Qi's mother pulled Yinhua and said.
Yinhua shook her head: Don't talk about the wolf god, Aunt Shi, an upright and fierce person like Uncle Waihu Mangy, I'm afraid the sky will give him three points.
Crooked Hu Lai'er can't hear all the words behind him.He and Guilong went to the forest behind Leizhuang to check the terrain.In mid-February, the wind blows softly around the tender forest leaves.Crooked Hu Mani'er and Liuzhi'er Guilong unloaded their shoulders, tied the sheep, and they split up to look for the trace left by the wolf.
There is an old branched elm tree over there, with a pile of dry and curled elm leaves under the tree, and the short grass on all sides has been trampled by people, and there is a pair of straw sandals with broken ears on the grass.
The tree that Wang Sishu climbed here.Guilong said: He stroked the elm leaves from the tree, and he took off the straw sandals when he climbed the tree.
go forward!Crooked Hu said.
They stepped across the hazel mang until they came to a 30-acre clearing in the middle of the forest. There was an old black-skinned camphor tree in front of it, and a row of shorter neems beside the camphor tree. The pond is not very wide, but it is enough to stop the wolves.
Look at this side, Guilong said: There are paw prints of that thing on the side of the swamp.
Crooked Hu Mani'er circled around the old black-skinned camphor tree, counted steps towards the east, and stopped when he counted twenty steps.We're digging here.He said: Take the shovel and dig down according to the boundary I drew. It is enough to dig shoulder-deep. Face the back and dig a big hole horizontally. The hole should be low and people can sleep in the hole. I will take the ax there While chopping wood, it will be beaten into wooden fences.Don't pile it up nearby when it's unearthed, shovel it into the mud pond.
Before noon that day, Rin was safe.When the two were getting dry rations, Waihu Lai'er talked to Guilong about the things that should be paid attention to when hunting wolves.
This is not a trap hunting method, Crooked Hu said: I just herd sheep in the dead trap.You should stay down there and fiddle with the sheep's ears, use the sheep's cry to lure the thing over, an old fellow who has tasted human blood, when he sees me, he will ignore the sheep.
Why are you restless?Guilong said.
Like I said, that's not fair.Waihu Lai'er said: "Remember, when the sun goes down, you can see that the sky is full of purple clouds. You stretch out your hand at the entrance of the cave to scratch the sheep, and let go of it after a while."Then, every time you hear a wolf howling, as soon as the howling sound ends, you go to scratch the sheep. As for how to fight it, that is my business.
No way!Guilong stared and said: "If there are really groups of people coming, you can't fight them, and I can't help you in Ruili!"What's the use of carrying my barrel gun? !
The crooked man yawned and leaned his back on the trunk of the old camphor tree: Don't worry, when I was thirteen years old, I took a gun to hunt wolves.
The savage flashes burst out from his pupils again, there was no tension, no fear, the combination of confidence and experience made him predict the coming night; it was not simply hunting a wolf, but It is to tear something conservative and stubborn from the hearts of the people in the swamp.There was not much time left, and he walked through the scorched lands of the Northlands where there were no people for miles, and on the vast expanses of the scorched earth he paid homage to the sound of the dead horn.It was a tragic result of conservative and passive resistance, causing many gun teams, sword clubs, and gun teams to be slaughtered one by one in their own farms.Eight Roads is a demonic wildfire, and the blood of the victims dyes its color even brighter, sweeping red splashingly.If we want to hold the corner of the east of the lake, conservative bravery is not enough. We must make Zedi, Wu Dazhuang, Hongnidunzi, and other scattered forces condense together and connect with the central force in the west of the lake.When the great tragedy is approaching, he wants to meet it with the creatures in the east of the lake and break through it; at least, he wants to get a fair price.He is a rough man, and he can only see so far. In the flash of intuition, he decided to challenge certain traditions in the marshland. He wanted to tear them apart, so that future struggles would generate greater power!These thoughts dissociated in the hazy noon and gradually converged.In the rippling wind, the few wisps of horizontal clouds in the west could not support the slanting sun, and it was gradually getting late.
When you go down, don't forget to fasten the lid.He said.
The sunset is changing overhead.Flocks of birds returning to the forest shake their shadows under the colorful clouds.The broken light of the setting sun walks on the leaf clusters.In the rippling wind, there is a thin, hazy sweet language; the sweet language of light, the honey of leaves, the honey of birds, flowing in the depths of the human soul.All thoughts are completely cut off, only a half-desolate sense of warmth, slowly dimming and disappearing into the vastness as the clouds condense into a color of randomness.
The bleating of sheep woke him up.
Immediately, a strong, simple and keen feeling rushed into his heart, and his wide open right eye seemed to be able to penetrate the rising earth atmosphere and see all the movements on the open ground in the forest.
The howl of wolves started, and it started deep in the red grass south of Xiajiahong. The sound was far and weak, and it broke into countless small wings, dancing in the darkness.He had enough time to recall his early years, his shadow fell on the bare rocky mountain, and every piece of tanned wolf skin showed traces of his life growth.He especially prefers the kind of fur that is thorny to the touch, hard and wild. In the midwinter night when the cold wind howls, he sleeps on the wolf fur mattress and dreams of the cold water under the ice and the snow-covered mountains.
In the beginning, he relied on guns and blunderbusses, went into the mountains to fight wolves, and lost miserably.Twice, at the most appropriate opportunity and at the closest place, he aimed at the ghost eye in the rocks and shot, but that thing seemed to be more elusive than ghosts. Spirit fire that doesn't touch the ground; it's supposed to hit it, but it still doesn't hurt.Pressing the tail, it seemed to rush out from between his fingers, and disappeared soundlessly into the darkness, never to return.The marksmanship that made him quite confident was useless, although he was able to fight in the lye field (Note: Northern deer hunters often sprinkle lye on the predetermined field. It is more rewarding than usual hunting.) While shooting a light-hearted frightened deer, he couldn't deal with a cunning wolf.
Disappointed, rather ashamed, but he was not discouraged, he was just a hunter who had just debuted, and he had time to learn more and more difficult things.Throughout the winter, he heard many legends about wolves from the old hunters, such as: the cunning old wolf can blow out lamps from his nostrils.If wild wolves follow the cart on the snowy road, the mules and horses will go mad and run down the ditch.Wild wolves spin around, five wolves block the way, don't retreat without blood, etc.He didn't completely believe those legends, nor did he underestimate the nonsense of the legends.He experienced them all, and his living thoughts flowed into the hearts of the wolves.
Gradually, he realized the habits of wolves. From the world of a newborn wolf to the world of old wolves, the process of hunting for survival and forming cruel habits was all in his heart and eyes. .The wolves in his mind are no longer scary, mysterious, and difficult to fight. His methods of dealing with them are the most primitive and savage. He applies all the skills he learned from them to them. Witty, with his superhuman physical strength, he won.
The first time he killed a wolf, he used a stick.
He even remembered that spring night, the sound of the river rolling over boulders, and the moonlight that night was very soft, like the smiling face of his wife, shining with spring flowers.Not long after his wife gave birth to his first child, he and her carried the child over the rocky barren hills to the Yue family, saw a wild show on the mountain over there, and rushed home in the dark. Hunter, a mountain is not difficult to climb. He is familiar with the mountain road and knows where there are bends, where there are creeks, and where there are stones for passers-by to rest their legs on. Far.
On the road, he let her go ahead, the moon never leaked, and the stars were sparse and far away, and she felt a little worried when she got on the dark road: Maowa's father, the sky is so dark, there will be no wolves on the road Come on.He smiled in a voice that reassured her: It would be better if the wolves came, our plush children should have more wolf fur blankets to survive the winter.
All the way over the barren hills and broken rocks, my wife was so tired that she squatted down from time to time to pinch the toes of her shoes.Find a rock to rest on, it's on the river bank over there.He said: Look, the moon is coming out of the mountain.
The river broke out from the two walled cliffs behind it, and rolled southward on the east side.She took the baby from his hands and breastfeeding her. They sat on a stone, shoulder to shoulder, exchanging warmth in the cold wind. They both gave stars, rivers, and The rushing water; in the gentle darkness, the sticky wild spider silk sticks to her hand for a while, and floats on her face for a while. Gensi, she turned back and pinched the one on his shoulder, the two of them were pinching the two ends of a silk.He couldn't forget that countless cobwebs in his heart tied him and her together in the eternal night full of love in early spring.
月亮要出啦，她拍著孩子說，聲音透著溫柔。
Um.他緩應著：它要出了！
山根前的月夜有著荒涼奇幻的美，月從東方起，月出前，暈輪搖盪在水面上，一片散碎的橘黃顏色，暈輪彎彎的，弧裏帶著弧，越湧越闊，越翻越亮，它射透了山缺間卷積的雲朵，把一道道壘疊的雲影也映進河心。山在北邊兀立著，沒有什麼山茅草，山的影子永也擋不住水上月色的溫柔，他們沉醉到連蛛絲也懶得去捏了。
扁大的月亮終於凌波了，像隻黯黯的紅盤，可惜有些殘缺。他們還是靜坐著，河心的波浪，月亮和遠處亂抖的光帶，彷彿全搖盪在人的心上。
今夜的月亮多好！她喃喃的說：多好！
他抿住嘴沒再吭聲；一件事情使他發怔就在她那邊的一塊大石背後，亮起兩盞怪異的綠燈，那是狼的眼。開初他隱忍著，不願驚壞她，驚壞眼前的夜色，他想過，只要牠不打歪算盤，他就放過牠，他一點也沒有殺牠的意思。但她立刻從他的臉上覺察到異樣的事。What?她悄悄的伸過手，她手掌帶著顫索。頓然間，他惱怒起來，他覺得牠不該闖入他們平靜安寧的天地。nothing!他說：祇是一隻狼，聽我話，只當沒見著牠。
I'm afraid!她說：牠準是打食的，就會撲過來
別驚著毛娃兒，他說：我自會對付牠。
她屏住氣貼近他，她和孩子的柔弱激發他，使他本能的抽出攮子反握著。月亮穿過一塊厚雲，清光頓然黯下去，那隻狼拖長尾巴，偏著身子溜動了，鬼眼倏現倏沒，突然出現在他身邊三丈遠近，使前爪交換的刨著地，刨得石稜兒亂滾，他知道牠正在磨牠將要撕人的鉤爪。牠舌尖上流著發亮的黏涎。他一動沒動，用眼角的餘光罩住牠，等著牠起撲。
猛可地，牠凌空躍撲過來，但攮子比牠爪尖更快，準準的攮進牠頸下的嫩肉，他不自覺的鬆開攮柄，扼住那隻狼的頸項，牠掙扎著，但逃不出他十把鐵鉤似手指，他拖著牠朝大石上硬碰，牠的血從嘴邊飛落到他的臉上。
那不是一種道理，而是一種本能的直覺。從那時起，每當他自我世界被暴力侵凌，那種直覺就隨之昇起，那不是衛國保鄉之類的言詞，當直覺湧昇，他內心只有火燄，沒有言詞。離家之後，打鬼子、殺杉胛、除劉五、抗八路、降服盧大胖子，都是這種直覺的擴大和延伸。他不是在獵狼。
咩咩的羊叫聲又響了，那邊的穽蓋掀起，六指兒貴隆跳上來了。他在黯黑裏挨過身來，坐到歪胡癩兒身邊。
我悶不過。貴隆說：那玩意不會來了！
下穽去！歪胡癩兒望望四野，隔著地氣的林子黑沉沉的晃動著：只要牠在附近，不愁牠不來！你留在上頭，我沒法照看你。
我甯願上樹去，貴隆說：穽裏悶得人喘不過氣來，我把穽蓋反捆了，讓羊羔留在那裏罷，牠自會叫的。您聽，牠不正在叫嗎？ !
那你就快上樹。歪胡癩兒這話是用近乎耳語的聲音說的：牠來了！
貴隆像猴子一樣爬到那棵黑皮老樟樹上，歪胡癩兒業已把馬槍抄起來了。他一點兒也不緊張地氣也擋不住那狼兩盞綠燈似的眼，那強烈的綠燄正灼灼的燒亮他正前的濃黑，牠無聲無息，出現得像個鬼靈。這時刻恰對他有利，就在牠出現時，月亮起暈了。
夜露把黃昏時泛起的一股地氣淋落下去，月亮出現時，光仍是亮而帶紫的；彷彿有一股極輕極淡的紫煙散在光裏似的透明，但透明中有摸不著的紫色。牠不像他早年所遇過的任何一隻狼，牠穩穩的蹲坐在陷穽的正前方大約卅多步的樣子，長而黑的林影在地上劃出一條齒狀的黑線，牠正蹲在月光和林影分界線上。
他兩眼一瞬不瞬的望著，黑和白也劃在他心上。就在今夜，他要選取多年前他和妻共擁的月亮；那樣的月光和那樣溫柔的情愛使他勇悍的和一切出自黑暗的野獸抗鬥，鬼子、八路、或是一隻侵迫安甯的狼。
他看出來，牠是個異常碩大的老傢伙，瘦嶙嶙的脊背分開月色，一根根脊毛反射出濛灰色彩，一粒粒光亮在牠脊毛的毛尖上跳動著。
時間在人與狼中間流淌過去
狼沒有動過，陰沉冷鬱的等待著什麼；歪胡癩兒也沒有動過，彷彿是塊嵌在泥地裏的石頭。那狼似乎知道牠今夜遇上了死敵馬槍準星尖上跳起的光比牠還要冷鬱，他不比前些時遇到的那個頭頂籮筐的人，他是個鐵人。但時間對牠有利，牠等著。
慢慢的，歪胡癩兒覺得什麼地方有些異樣了，牠不是一隻孤單的狼，牠領著一個族系。許多鬼眼在遠處，在林下的黑裏亮了。羊羔又在咩咩的叫著。
一窩七八隻。貴隆在大樟樹的葉簇裏咕噥說：牠們圍上來了！
歪胡癩兒用他自己的心跳計算著時間。那些綠色的火燄逐漸攏聚，朝前游漾過來，月光勾出牠們的額頂；有一隻母狼翹著鼻，發出古怪的低嘷，嘷聲只在喉裏翻滾；另一隻斜過身，拖著掃帚尾巴，大模大樣的逡巡著；幾隻上前，幾隻退後，在那隻最早出現的巨狼後面彷彿計議什麼。
歪胡癩兒眼光沒離過那隻巨狼，他懂得群狼的習性，在這一群之中，他只有一個要翦除的對手，那就是他當面的那隻巨狼，在牠沒動之前，牠身後的一群沒有一隻會單獨起撲的，他沒把那些食肉者放在眼裏。
大樟樹的樹影從西邊的泥塘裏移到北面，又在月斜時迴轉到東面來，逐漸伸長。他感覺一夜已去了大半，月亮正在下沉。月亮正在下沉，在下沉，他仍然一動不動，但他能用樹影和月色的變化，想像出月落的景況。
依照日子推算，十二、三、四三晚，月落時正在五更初起，如能在那時擊殺牠，他的槍彈足可維持到天亮。現在，他清楚只要他略動一動，惹得那狡詐陰沉的巨狼閃撲，狼群就會蜂湧而上，即使他擊殺前者，他也會讓狼群撕碎。在這種景況裏，他和巨狼的搏鬥只有一擊的時間。
放槍罷，貴隆在他頭頂上說：為何不放槍殺牠！
No!He said.
老樟樹的影子伸長，伸長，黑影的尖端接近了巨狼的鼻尖。原本泛著銀色的月華忽然經過一陣朦朧，頓又轉亮了，銀白褪去，轉成略帶蒼黃。他雖背朝落月，但他知道下沉的月亮正穿過了一道踡伏在天腳與西邊林梢上的帶形橫雲，不再要一袋煙的功夫，它就要落下去了。
it's time!他心裏想。
他用極緩的動作，使平端的槍口低垂下去，裝出恍惚的樣子，瞇起的眼縫裏仍吸進巨狼的影子。來罷！鬼傢伙！
巨狼仍然沒動，牠舌尖滴落的黏涎在風裏飄著。沒有一隻狼光顧那陷穽，十來隻鬼眼散成扇形，齊齊釘在他身上。
他忽然把身子仰靠在大樟樹上，他的眼瞇著，臉歪著，槍順在手邊；在這最後一刻，他渾身平靜，內心透明，他相信他會鬥贏那隻巨狼。
月光由淺而深，轉成略帶黯紅的黃色，他眼縫中的對手站立起來，即使有了這樣的機會，牠的行動仍那樣慎重，牠用極巧的步子，前腿碎而快，後腿緩而輕，向兩邊飄忽的挪移兩次，遠遠兜著他走動。很明顯的，牠和他選取了同一拚鬥的時刻，在牠沒成功前，牠習慣謹慎的隱藏住牠兇殘的暴怒牠等得太久了。
牠繞著陷穽打轉，牠走得那樣輕靈，一根草葉的搖曳都難逃牠的知覺，牠又走得那樣沉著，使那些貪饞的灰色同類屏息，牠確是不同於牠們急性和粗率。
若依往常慣例，牠在起撲前多少要有些跡象，但牠沒有，牠在兩丈開外的地方，沒用前爪刨地，沒有蹲身，就箭一樣的急竄過來。牠狡就狡在這點上對於一個裝佯的死敵，任何準備動作都會造成對方的機會，牠不放過這一點。
而歪胡癩兒以靜制動，此牠的撲勢更快，灰影一閃之間，他雙手橫掄馬槍，只用槍托部份劃了一個猛力的、極小的圓弧，他清楚狼是銅頭、鐵腦、蔴稭腿、豆腐腰，若想一擊成功，非用小圓弧打狼的要害不可。而這個圓弧，正和賭桌上旋轉不定的骰子，決定他抓哪副牌蹩十或是天子九。
圓弧那樣有力，帶風的槍托正打中狼的後腰，在他滾身躍起時，那玩意兒從他頭上直直的摔了過去，牠長長的哀嘷因牠嘴喙沒入泥塘而變成一串水泡。那一槍托似嫌用力過猛，餘弧直射至老樟樹幹上，使槍柄和狼身一齊飛脫，落在泥沼面上，驚遁了林尖上的落月。
所有的時間全聚在槍托劃出的圓弧裏，等到狼群發嘷著撲來時，六指兒貴隆的匣槍發火了，歪胡癩兒指叉挑住斷柄馬槍的槍帶，舒手抓住苦楝的橫枝，挫身彈起，攀上了大樟樹，他從容的用馬槍發射，狼群驚遁了。
日出後，那隻重傷的巨狼還掙扎著，從泥塘裏爬出來，但牠實在不能爬得更遠了，牠失落光燄的眼泛著死沉沉的綠，狠狠的凝固在草尖上，牠前爪曾將塘緣潮濕的泥土刨成凹坑，牠就伏在坑旁，任陽光和葉影在牠身上搖曳。不久之後，牠走動毛浪的抽搐停止了，牠的頭軟軟的垂在牠自己刨成的坑凹裏，牠白礫礫的尖牙揣地，牙縫裏掛著黏黏的血絲。
牠身上找不出傷。貴隆走過去翻弄說。
牠五臟六腑全換了地方了，歪胡癩兒平靜的說。
在面對著死亡的一夜，他沒有想過旁的，祇想讓那飄遠了的世界重新回來，讓生者共享，那也就是他活著的意義了。
就在他和六指兒貴隆倒拖著死狼回土堡時，何指揮的隨從陳積財渾身是血，也進了土堡的柵門。吳大莊在血戰中