Episode 2 Warning (2)

It happened one morning when I was in the second grade, on my way to school. There is a pond between my home and the school. Every winter, the biting cold in the north makes the pond freeze thickly. Several of us went to school together. When we passed by the pond, we couldn't restrain our playful nature and wanted to go skating. Although my father repeatedly reminded us before we went out that many people had drowned in the pond and we must not go down to play. However, once the playfulness of children is aroused, they will forget these warnings.

"Bamboo, come here quickly, there is a hole here, let's catch fish and play." Xiaopang waved his hand and called me in the middle of the pond.

I have been thin since I was a child, so they all called me that. There were two other classmates who were having a lot of fun on the ice. They didn't go over, but I ran to Xiaopang happily. Xiaopang was lifting up the sleeves of his cotton jacket and putting his entire right arm into the ice hole. I squatted beside him and asked him eagerly if he had touched the fish. He said he had touched it and was about to catch it.

I cheered and jumped for joy when I heard it. I was not greedy for food at that moment, but I just thought it was quite interesting. I also helped him pull his arm out. Unexpectedly, the fish was so big that it suddenly pulled us upside down and fell to the ground. We both slipped on the ice.

Xiaopang cried loudly, saying that the big fish had bitten his finger and would not let go, and he could not get rid of it. I was immediately panicked and hurriedly called the other two classmates who were skating. We worked together to help. However, we little guys tried our best, but we didn't have much strength. In the end, Xiaopang was pulled into the ice cave. After a splash of water, his head could not be seen.

After the splash of water, a pale face appeared dimly, which was creepy. The face suddenly stretched out a long tongue, like the soul-catching messenger from the underworld to catch my soul, and instantly wrapped around my neck and pulled down hard.  I burst into tears of fear and tried my best to pull back. Two classmates also hurriedly pulled me. When I struggled to get rid of it, the buttons of my cotton jacket broke, revealing the eight-diagram peach wood card.

The pale ghost face instantly loosened its tongue, smiled at me, and suddenly disappeared.

We hurried back to the town and asked people to rescue Xiaopang, but found that he had already died. The three of us children were huddled together in panic, scared out of our wits. This time, my father did not punish me. After taking me home, he explained to me that Xiaopang was taken away by Chen Wu, who drowned in the pond two years ago. This man owed a huge debt due to his failed business, which led to the destruction of his family. After his death, he was resentful. If my father had not often sent him medicine, he would probably cause more trouble. He saw my eight-diagram peach wood card and let me go, otherwise I would have ended up like Xiaopang.

Since then, I gave up the idea of ​​taking off the mahogany plaque. I carried it with me during my three-year military career and never encountered any supernatural events.

After recovering, I found a job in the provincial capital and made a girlfriend. I planned to stay here and never return. In fact, the experience of seeing the ghost face in my childhood has always been my nightmare. I don't want to inherit the family business and be with ghosts all day long. However, things don't go as I wish. Not long after, I heard the bad news that my father was seriously ill in my hometown. I hurried back to my hometown with my girlfriend.

Before my father died, he said that he had already found out in the underworld that his life span was over at the age of 50. People's life and death are all predetermined, so I shouldn't be too sad. He asked me to take over the Yin-Yang Affairs Office because it was the will passed down by the ancestors. If there are men in the family, they must inherit it. If there are more boys, the eldest son will inherit it, unless there are no descendants in the family, then the incense will be cut off.

Sometimes I really resent myself, and l only blame myself for not being a girl, otherwise I wouldn't encounter such a thing. How could I refuse when I saw my father's expectant eyes before he died? He finally said that I had been away from home for three years as a soldier and had not been able to accompany him, so I had not learned many skills. There was an ancient book handed down from my ancestors in the store, which recorded all the magic spells, and he had only learned a few of them in his life. He hoped that I could study hard and achieve greater success than him and my grandfather in the future.

My father passed away after he finished speaking. Looking at his relieved smile, i knew in my heart that he was happy because l agreed to take over the

store, and I also made up my mind that for my father, I would never change my industry in this life.

My girlfriend was very practical and only asked me one question: "Will you return to the provincial capital?"

I answered no. She said goodbye to me immediately and took a car back to the provincial capital alone. Since then, we have been separated for three years and have no contact at all. This incident has made me sad for a long time.