Chapter 2: Strange disease

The one who let out the scream was none other than the originally soundly sleeping third aunt.

Before the second aunt fell asleep, everything was normal. In the middle of the night, the third aunt, half-asleep, heard faint sounds of someone getting out of bed. She thought it was her younger sister, Xiu, getting up to use the bathroom. Normally, Xiu wouldn't wake up at night, so the third aunt didn't pay much attention. With the help of the moonlight coming through the window, she saw nine-year-old Xiu getting out of bed. Assuming her sister was just going to the bathroom, she turned over and continued to sleep.

After about the time it would take to smoke a cigarette, the third aunt was suddenly jolted awake. She hadn't felt her sister return to bed, so she turned to take a look.

This glance turned out to be alarming; the most terrifying scene of her life unfolded before her eyes. Xiu was kneeling by the window, shivering, staring at the moon. The sight completely shook the still-sleepy third aunt awake. She straightened her clothes and, mustering her courage, coughed deliberately. There was no response. The third aunt was timid by nature; even a mouse could scare her to death.

She called softly to her younger sister, "Xiu?" But the kneeling girl remained completely unresponsive.

The third aunt raised her voice, "Xiu? What's wrong?" Still, there was no reaction.

Anxiously, she jumped out of bed, forgetting to put on her shoes, and hurried toward her sister. Barefoot, she stepped closer to Xiu, placing her hand on her back, intending to turn her around. However, she discovered that her usually fragile sister couldn't be moved at all. Using the moonlight, the third aunt circled around to see the front, and what she saw would haunt her forever: her sister was chewing on a candle meant for illumination.

In those days, the rural areas often had no electricity, so families relied on candles as light sources, using them sparingly.

At that moment, Xiu was chewing the candle, her face pale, her eyes blank and unresponsive, staring motionlessly at the moon. The third aunt let out the loudest scream of her life: "Ah...!!!!"

This scream woke up their grandfather, grandmother, the monk, and the unmarried uncle, as well as a calamity that had been predicted for Xiu since birth.

When their grandfather rushed into the room, the third aunt was already too frightened to speak. As he flicked on the light, Xiu had already collapsed to the ground, and the marks from the candle were clearly visible around her.

As their grandfather picked up his unconscious daughter, he was shocked by her pallor and the candle in her mouth. Everyone's gaze turned toward the trembling third aunt.

Their grandmother grabbed the third aunt, asking urgently, "What happened? What's wrong with your sister?!"

The third aunt, completely terrified, could only shake and stutter, her body trembling, as she tried to express the horrifying scene she had witnessed.

As their grandfather laid Xiu on the bed, their grandmother held the shaking third aunt, while the twelve-year-old uncle, holding a small black dog, entered the room and the dog began to bark frantically. Their grandmother, irritated by the noise, told the uncle to take the dog outside. Yet the dog just continued to bark outside the door, refusing to come in.

Their grandmother, increasingly annoyed, shouted at the dog, "If you bark again, I'll kill you!" Strangely, after her shout, the dog wet itself in fear and ran back to its doghouse.

After a while, the third aunt, gradually calming down, recounted what she had seen, making their grandfather and grandmother's hair stand on end. After she finished, she couldn't help but cry again, but their grandmother quickly covered her mouth, saying, "No crying!"

The third aunt could only stifle her fear, gasping for breath. After a while, Xiu began to stir, then started vomiting violently, the contents being a colorful mix of partially digested food and wax, making it truly nauseating.

Their grandmother, who knew some folk remedies, decided to brew some bitter tea for Xiu. When I was a child, I also drank this tea at my grandmother's house; it was effective for treating kids with upset stomachs. It was made by drying the skin of chicken gizzards and mixing it with tea leaves, then roasting them on an iron pan, which was said to help with digestion and expel bad energy.

Following the traditional remedy for upset stomachs, their grandmother tried to give Xiu the tea, but Xiu clamped her teeth shut, refusing to swallow. Occasionally, when a bit did go down, she would spit it out.

Finally, they had no choice but for their grandfather to pry open Xiu's mouth while the uncle held her kicking legs, and their grandmother forcibly got some down her.

After drinking the bitter tea, Xiu quieted down for a while. However, the third aunt was too scared to sleep, so their grandparents stayed with Xiu in her room, while the third aunt and the uncle went back to their room.

At this point, Xiu was somewhat alert. Not long after, she started to have diarrhea, repeating this cycle until dawn. Their grandparents stayed awake all night, and by the next morning, they hurriedly took Xiu to the town clinic.

When the clinic staff saw her, they suspected food poisoning and treated her for acute gastroenteritis. Just as a nurse inserted a needle into Xiu's arm, she yanked it out, refusing to cooperate. The doctors had no choice but to switch to intramuscular injections, needing their grandfather to hold her still during the process. After a lengthy struggle, Xiu could only vomit bitter water, and the clinic recommended taking her to a better hospital in the county.

That afternoon, their grandfather and grandmother, along with the uncle and Xiu, caught a ride to the county. On the bus, due to motion sickness, their grandmother placed Xiu by the window. In those days, public transportation was very crowded, with many people trying to board, including their grandfather and uncle.

When their grandmother opened the window for some fresh air, suddenly, Xiu bolted out of the window, only to be caught by their grandfather, who was quick on his feet. Xiu cried out, "Mom, don't take me to the hospital! I won't get better; I'm going to die! Take me home!" No matter how their grandfather tried to console her, she continued to cry, adamantly refusing to get back in the vehicle. At just nine years old, Xiu's words were chilling. Her uncle recounted this later, saying he was there, but Xiu claimed she remembered nothing, just a vague recollection of being very sick as a child.

As their grandfather caught Xiu and pushed her back into the bus, their grandmother held her tightly, ignoring her cries. The bus slowly drove off, carrying their anxious hearts toward the county.

Upon arrival at the county hospital, armed with a referral from the town clinic, Xiu was immediately checked in. The doctors initially treated her for food poisoning. During her stay, Xiu repeatedly escaped the hospital when adults weren't looking, prompting their grandmother to tie her up out of desperation, not daring to sleep. They took turns watching over her, even making her use the bathroom in her room for fear of letting her outside.

In 1986, when living conditions were generally poor, the hospital served food from a canteen. Initially, whenever their grandmother brought Xiu meals, they either got knocked over or went untouched, leaving only nutrient solutions to sustain her.

On the third day of her hospital stay, that afternoon, their grandmother got food from the canteen, but upon tasting it, they found it undercooked. Oddly, when the half-cooked rice was placed before Xiu, she drooled and asked for food for the first time.

Surprised, their grandmother untied her. Xiu quickly devoured a bowl of the undercooked rice and demanded more, finishing every last bit that their grandfather, grandmother, second aunt, and uncle had. Afterward, her stomach was bloated, but she still insisted on more, frightening everyone. Their grandmother rushed to find a doctor. Upon seeing Xiu's state, the doctor advised against any more food, removing the IV and prescribing digestive tablets.

That evening, the rice was cooked properly, but Xiu refused to eat again. Initially thinking she had overeaten, this refusal persisted for the next couple of days.

By the fourth night, Xiu still wouldn't eat. Watching her grow increasingly thin, their grandmother felt heartbroken, trying every trick to coax her into eating. Finally, out of desperation, she bought more undercooked rice, and as expected, Xiu finished it all again, eating until her stomach was round. The doctor couldn't explain this behavior, insisting that she shouldn't be fed undercooked rice, which could worsen her condition.

For the following two days, they dared not give her any undercooked rice. The doctor remained puzzled. On the seventh day, Xiu suddenly fainted again, starting to convulse and foam at the mouth. Her heart rate and blood pressure dropped dangerously. The doctor told them to prepare for the worst, saying that the child might not survive and they had no idea what was wrong.

During those times, their grandmother remained strong, not crying, but simply said, "If she has to die, she won't die in the hospital! We'll bring her home, no matter what!" Saying this, she called for a car to take them back home that night. On the way back, she remembered a mad Taoist priest from