Don't go out when it's dark.
This saying had been passed down in Disabled Elderly Village for many years, but there was no way to verify when it had been passed down. However, this saying was the truth and there was no need to doubt it.
Madam Si of Disabled Elderly Village saw the setting sun hiding behind the mountains bit by bit and became nervous again. As the sun set and the last ray of sunlight disappeared, the world suddenly became incomparably silent. She could only see darkness slowly flooding over from the west, swallowing the mountains, rivers, roads, and trees along the way before coming to Disabled Elderly Village and drowning it out.
There were four ancient stone statues erected at the four corners of Disabled Elderly Village. The stone statues were mottled and had a long history. Even Madam Si didn't know who had carved these stone statues and when they had been erected here.
As the darkness descended, the four stone statues gave off a faint glow in the darkness. The stone statues were still lit up, allowing Madam Si and the elders in the village to let out a sigh of relief.
The darkness outside the village became denser and denser, but with the light from the stone statues, Disabled Elderly Village was still considered safe.
Suddenly, Madam Si's ears twitched and she was stunned. She cried out, "Listen, there's a child crying outside!"
Elder Ma beside her shook his head, "Impossible, you heard wrongly … Eh, there's really a baby crying!"
The sound of a baby crying came from the darkness outside the village. Other than the deaf elders in the village, all the other elders in the village heard it. They looked at each other in dismay. Disabled Elderly Village was remote and desolate, so how could a baby appear nearby?
"I'll go take a look!"
Madam Si became excited and tiptoed to the side of a stone statue in the village. Elder Ma immediately went over, "Old Woman Si, are you crazy? It's dark, we'll die if we leave the village! "
"If I carry this stone statue out of the village, the things in the darkness are afraid of stone statues. I won't die in a while!"
Madam Si bent down and wanted to carry the stone statue, but she had a hunched back and couldn't carry it. Elder Ma shook his head, "Let me do it. I'll carry the stone statue with you! "
Another elder limped over from the side and said, "Old Ma, you only have one arm, so you won't be able to carry the stone statue for long. I have both arms, so I'll carry it."
Elder Ma glared at him, "Damned Cripple, can you walk with a broken leg? Although I only have one arm, this arm is very strong! "
He picked up the stone statue with his single arm and steadied his steps. The stone statue was unimaginably heavy. "Old Lady Si, let's go!"
"Don't call me a dead old woman! Cripple, Mute, all of you have to be careful. The village is missing a stone statue. Don't let the things in the dark sneak in! "
…
When Elder Ma and Madam Si walked out of Disabled Elderly Village, there were strange things swimming around the two of them in the darkness. However, when the light from the stone statue shone on them, they squeaked and retreated back into the darkness.
The two of them followed the sound of the crying. After a hundred steps, they arrived at a large river. The baby's cries came from the river. The stone statue emitted a faint light that could not illuminate too far. The two of them carefully tracked the direction of the sound and walked upstream along the river. After walking for dozens of steps, the sound of crying was nearby. Elder Ma's only arm was already unable to support himself. Madam Si's eyes lit up when she saw a glimmer of light. It was a basket that had stopped by the riverbank. The light came from the basket, and the cries also came from the basket.
"There's really a child!"
Madam Si went forward and lifted the basket. However, she was slightly stunned and couldn't lift it up. Below the basket was an arm that had been soaked in the river water until it was white. It was this arm that had lifted the basket and the child in the basket all the way to the riverbank.
"Don't worry, the child is safe," Madam Si whispered to the woman under the water.
The female corpse seemed to have heard her words and let go of her hand. She was washed away by the river water and disappeared into the darkness.
Madam Si lifted the basket. In the basket was a baby in swaddling clothes. On top of the swaddling clothes was a jade pendant that was emitting a fluorescent light. The light from this jade pendant was very similar to the light from the stone statue, but it was much weaker. It was this jade pendant that was protecting the child in the basket from the things in the darkness.
However, the light from the jade pendant was very weak. It could only protect the child and not the woman.
"It's a boy."
When they returned to Disabled Elderly Village, all the villagers gathered around them. They were all old, weak, sick, and disabled. Madam Si lifted the swaddling clothes and took a look. She grinned, revealing her broken teeth, "Our Disabled Elderly Village finally has a healthy person!"
Cripple, who only had one leg, was astonished, "Old Woman Si, you plan to raise him? It's hard for us to even raise ourselves! I think it's better to give him away … "
Madam Si was furious, "Why should I give away a child that I picked up with my own abilities?"
All the villagers were submissive and didn't dare to refute her. Village Chief came over on a stretcher. He was in a more miserable state than the rest. The rest of them had hands and feet, just less than a normal person's. On the other hand, he had no hands or feet. However, everyone was very respectful to him. Even the fiendish Madam Si didn't dare to be impudent.
"Since we're going to raise him, shouldn't we give him a name?"
Village Chief asked, "Old woman, do you see anything else in the basket?"
Madam Si flipped through the basket and shook her head, "There's only this jade pendant. There's nothing else. There's a word on the jade pendant, 'Qin'. This jade pendant doesn't have any impurities and there's a strange power inside. It's not an ordinary item. It should be from a rich family, right? "
"Is his name Qin or is his surname Qin?"
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