Just as the thing was about to fly in front of me, I heard a "slap" sound next to my ear, and then a black shadow flew out from in front of me, dispersing the fog in the courtyard in all directions. As I looked closely, a dark object rolled on the ground twice and then flew away with a "whoosh".

  Grandpa Miao had a stick in his hand, and several feathers slowly fell down. He called over Shi Baozi to take a look by the firelight. Good grief, there were three bloody marks on the back of Baozis hand, and the deep parts almost reached the bone.

  Old Miao applied herbal medicine on Shi Ba Zhuangs wound, saying: "It was just a big owl. If it had scratched his eyes, that would have been disastrous."

  Shi Baizis skill in enduring pain was quite good, and he let Miao Dage handle it. He didnt even frown, but instead said fiercely: "Damn it, I must kill it!" His eyes turned and fixed on the hunting rifle on Miao Dages back, and he asked with a smile: "Master, is this gun useful?"

  Old Miao pulled the bandage tight, tied a knot, and Shi Bas mouth twitched in pain. As soon as he mentioned guns, his words flowed: "Its not easy to use, we rely on it during the winter hunt. Our mountain village doesnt have enough grain, so we must go hunting before the big snow blocks the mountain. Although our village cant compare to the large farms outside where they eat white buns every day, there is also an abundance of wild game here. In the mountains, deer, roe deer, wild chickens, and wild boars run everywhere, and every household needs a good gun. This is our lifeline."

  Shi Baozis face showed a flattering expression: "Then can I borrow it?"

  Old Miao looked at him suspiciously and said: "Can you shoot a gun?"

  "How could I not, my grandfather taught me how to shoot when I was five years old." This is actually true, Shi Gan was born into a military family and had an innate passion for firearms. His doting grandfather would always indulge him. When other kids were playing with wooden guns in the courtyard, he would sneak into his grandfathers room during his afternoon nap and take out his pistol to play with. He fired a shot that grazed the skin of the grandson of the military district chief of staff, scaring him so much that even now when he sees Shi Gan, his legs still tremble. Shi Gan was like a little overlord, but he only bullied those who were around his level, and his principle for fighting was to only hit those who were tougher than him, never those who were weaker.

  Old Miao looked at the chubby boys smiling face and said firmly, "No way, guns cant be used casually by you."

  Shi Baizi apparently didnt give up and changed his mind, saying: "Miao Dage, I think the sight of your gun is a bit crooked." He stroked his chin and walked around to Miao Dages back, saying: "Hmm, thats right, its off by two or three degrees. For short distances, its okay, but if it exceeds 50 meters, the trajectory will be quite severe."

  Old Miao is a man who loves guns like his life, he has been a soldier for half of his lifetime, this gun is his soul. Usually, he carefully maintains and cleans it, now he immediately took it down to check, holding it in his hand and aiming at something, muttering: "Its not crooked."

  Shi Baizi leaned over to the other side, pointing at the gun stock: "You see, its right here. Oh dear, I think your gun is no good, there are cracks on the stock, Im afraid its going to burst."

  Old Miao hastily asked: "A crack? Where is it? Where is it?"

  "Here and there..." Shi Baozi pointed randomly for a while before grabbing the gun and saying, "Take it, Ill show you."

  Old Miao had already fallen into Shi Baozis trap at this time. He never thought that the chubby guy, who was still a child in his eyes, would turn around so quickly. After he handed over the gun to Shi Baozi, he was about to listen to what he said, but didnt expect that little guy to hold the gun and suddenly jump into the courtyard.

  He held his breath, closed his eyes, and relied solely on his keen sense of hearing. Shi Baozi heard a faint rustling sound coming from the western corner. Without aiming, he raised his gun, pulled the trigger, and fired. The loud "boom" was much louder than any rifle shot we had ever heard before. We kids were frightened and at a loss for what to do, but Shi Baozi continued to curse under his breath as he expertly ejected the shell and prepared for another shot.

  Old Miao saw that things were not going well, so he quickly stepped forward and snatched the gun away. If something happened, he would be responsible for receiving it. That fatty was good, holding my hand and jumping into the courtyard, in a short while, he came out with a black thing in his hand, an owl as big as a face basin.

  "A gentleman does not take revenge, but if you mess with me, Ill let you off with just one shot!"

  Old Miao scowled at the smiling fatty and said, "Youre a naughty kid, you cant do whatever you want! Ill report this to the team when we get back, this kind of mistake must be criticized!"

  After being stirred up by the fatty, I instead felt a sense of security. This guy is absolutely a fearless master. Cha Wenbin just glanced at the owl and said in a low voice: "Cut off its head and sprinkle the blood on the door later."

  Fatsos voice suddenly rose by eight degrees: "My god, I didnt expect this little brother to be so ruthless, wasnt he a pig butcher before?"

  Cha Wenbin turned his head and took a look at the sign above the gate of the courtyard, saying: "Its not very clean here, but I can sleep soundly at night."

  "Hey, little brother, why are you being so mysterious? This place is bound to be dirty, who knows how many years its been uninhabited. You might as well just say its haunted and be done with it. Whats a ghost? Do you know what an execution ground is? I went there when I was 7 or 8 years old. That guy, one shot and his brains splattered everywhere. They left me behind when they went, but brought me back on the way home. If were talking about being haunted, thats the most intense experience. Every day, people were executed there, and I slept through it all until dawn. Whos afraid of who? Youre just a coward."

  Miao Dàye originally disliked these things, and one after another, he provoked trouble. He took down the towel from his neck and fiercely slapped it on Baozis forehead, scolding: "Youre the one who talks too much!"

  Cha Wenbins mouth twitched, and he was also somewhat dissatisfied with that fat guy. Spending the night in a temple was a big taboo, his master had told him that if they were to spend the night outside, it would be better to choose a grave mound than an abandoned temple. He had the heart to tease that fat guy once, and also to curb his temper, so he said: "Stone Brother, we are all timid, tonight you should go out and keep watch for us?"

  "Keep watch?" Shi Baozi was in a dilemma, he wanted to say that the year he slept in the execution ground was just an unavoidable move after getting lost as a child, but this place didnt have three or five people together, if they let him spend the night alone, he would really be a bit scared, especially those Buddha statues in the courtyard, the ones with half their heads exposed looked like they werent kind.

  Seeing his embarrassed expression, I followed with a sentence: "Yes, yes, Stone Brother, this place is said to have tigers, leopards and wolves. Miao Dage didnt sleep all night yesterday, how could he bear it? You can shoot guns and are so fierce..."

  All of a sudden, Shi Gang was piled up to such a height that he couldnt easily get down. He had no choice but to force himself to pretend that everything was fine and said: "Okay, as long as Miao Lao gives me the gun."

  I dont know if Old Man Miao was really tired or quite confident in his marksmanship, but he handed the shotgun to Shi Baozi and said, "There are five bullets inside, one is missing, when you get back Ill settle accounts with you."

  That fatty held the gun, neither advancing nor retreating, his smiling face had already turned into a pigs liver color. Who let him like to show off as a hero? When he went in, I saw him lowering his head and carrying an owl behind him, dont mention how miserable it was.

  Inside, there was indeed a grand hall, with the door half-closed. The layer of dust and cobwebs on it made us certain that no one had been here for a long time. I held the torch and circled around the door to burn off those cobwebs, preparing to push the door when Cha Wenbin shouted: "Hold on, Xiao Yi, dont move yet."

  "Ah?" I stopped and looked back at him, only to see him take a step forward, wipe the dust off the door with his hand, then retreat and ask: "Grandpa Miao, was it through this door that you entered back then?"

  Old Miao thought for a moment, and when asked by Cha Wenbin, he really remembered the situation back then. That day, he was chased by several puppet soldiers and ran along the mountain ridge. At that time, he didnt take this road today, but came down from the mountain. When rolling down, he saw a house here and ran inside. While running, he saw a wall hole and drilled in. The group of puppet soldiers also followed him to this place, but for some reason, they turned around outside and left, while he slept overnight and crawled out of that hole again.

  "I didnt actually enter from this main gate, it seemed like I crawled in through a hole on the east side. At that time, I was also puzzled why those fake soldiers chased me for tens of miles and still didnt come in."

  Cha Wenbin was still young at that time, but when he spoke, he was very reasonable: "Among the people chasing you, there are those who understand the situation. This door cannot be entered, it is this door that saved your life."