Chapter 008 Open the Door for Me

"Jiaolong, you're awake." I turned my face and was stunned again. Xu Meijin was actually sitting on the edge of the kang, looking at me. "You've been asleep for three or four days..." "Daya, your mom..." Looking at her, I instinctively wanted to ask about Fengxia. I needed to confirm my dream and find out if it was real. Hearing my words, Xu Meijin lowered her head immediately and began to cry softly. "My mom is gone... Jiaolong... Wuwu... My dad said if it weren't for you... I wouldn't have survived either..." I looked at her, not knowing what to say for a moment. I opened my mouth and could only comfort her, "Don't be too sad." Xu Meijin sniffed and shook her head. "I also thought I was going to die, Jiaolong. I was so scared. That day in the river, my mom suddenly covered my mouth and pushed me into the water. I thought I was going to die... I was really terrified..." I stared at her with wide eyes. "You mean your mom wanted to die with you?" This was exactly the same as what the child in my dream had told me. Xu Meijin nodded. "She told me not to be afraid and said she wanted me to go with her down there... I... I didn't want to go, but she was too strong. I couldn't fight against my mom..." Just then, Grandma came in. When she saw I was awake, her expression visibly relaxed. Then she sat down beside Xu Meijin and reached out to hug her. "Okay, it's all right. Grandma Ma has already told you everything. It's all in the past. Don't be afraid anymore." I thought it was really because I had slept for so long as Xu Meijin said. I felt my head was in a daze and had difficulty accepting what was happening now. I wondered why Xu Meijin, who should have been angry with me, suddenly seemed okay with me. Just as I was thinking about it, Xu Meijin looked up at me. "Jiaolong, Grandma Ma told me about you. I know you're different from us. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about your secret. It'll be our secret forever, and I'll never tell it to anyone." I looked at Xu Meijin and Grandma in a bit of a daze. I wanted to ask Grandma why I was different from Xu Meijin, but I felt too embarrassed to ask with Xu Meijin there. Grandma seemed to sense my hesitation. She found an excuse to tell Xu Meijin that I had just woken up and needed to rest, and asked her to go home first. After Xu Meijin left, I looked at Grandma and couldn't wait to say, "Grandma, am I a freak? Is that why my mom doesn't like me? I'm different from Daya, and I have a penis. Why am I like this?" Grandma sat down beside me and looked at me. "Jiaolong, do you know why you can see some things that Daya or other kids your age can't?" I was completely unaware that Grandma had changed the topic. I shook my head. "I don't know." Grandma nodded. "Because you're different from them. You're special, so you can see things. Do you understand? You're not a freak. You're more powerful and stronger than ordinary kids." I think Grandma knew very well about a child's psychology. Every child wants to be special. So as soon as Grandma finished speaking, I suddenly felt a sense of honor. It was like in a movie when an old man looks at you and says, "I can see that you have a unique bone structure and will surely achieve great things in the future." All of a sudden, I didn't think it was a big deal that I had an extra thing. I even felt quite happy about it. Maybe I was really young at that time, so Grandma used another way to help me get over my psychological burden. I don't know what Grandma told Xu Meijin, but anyway, Xu Meijin not only made up with me but also kept my secret strictly. Of course, maybe another reason she kept it a secret was that Grandma was really good to her. She almost regarded my home as her own. Fengxia drowned. In our area, it was considered an unnatural death. Those who die an unnatural death outside can't enter the house and can't have a proper funeral. So they just simply burned some paper by the river to send her off. By the time I woke up, all that was over. But I still heard Grandma talking to Grandpa at night. She said Fengxia had too much resentment and wouldn't leave the water. She would definitely take two people with her. Within two months, two adult men drowned in that river one after another. When they were fished out, they were all naked and their eyes were as wide as copper bells. For a while, everyone was in a panic. They all said it was Fengxia causing trouble. As long as a single man went to the river, he could see her swimming naked. Once those men entered the water, she would take their lives. Grandma looked at the people who came and said, "As long as you don't go to the river, you'll be fine. Watch over the men in your family. Those with evil intentions who are taken by Fengxia as substitutes can't blame others." So for a long time, no one dared to go to the river. Even women didn't dare to go there to wash clothes.

Xu Meijin visited my home daily, confiding her fears. Her father had succumbed to alcoholism, wreaking havoc in their home, while her younger brother had been taken by their aunt, deemed the family's protector. In the chaos, Xu Meijin felt invisible, left to fend for herself.

During that time, we grew inseparable, akin to sisters, sharing every moment together. I took her to the mountains, searching for the lost child, but our quest proved fruitless, which struck me as odd.

Nighttime brought terror to Xu Meijin; she feared the return of Fengxia. Grandmother reassured her, insisting that souls who suffered untimely deaths were outsiders, unable to breach the threshold protected by door gods. 'Just lock the door tight, and you'll be safe,' she advised.

Yet, while Xu Meijin remained untouched by the specter, I encountered her. Each night, prior to sleep, I ventured to the outdoor toilet by the gate, amplified by the haunting events surrounding Fengxia. One evening, after watching an extra episode of cartoons, I found myself desperate to relieve myself. I called out for Grandmother, urging her to accompany me.

She was busy arranging bedding inside, responding, 'You go ahead; I'll be right there!'

Reluctantly, I ventured out alone, trying to shake off my fears. I reminded myself that Fengxia had no ties to me and dashed outside.

As I tugged the toilet's light cord, an eerie sight met my eyes: a figure perched on the wall, dripping water. It was Fengxia, her complexion ghostly pale, staring at me with lifeless, grayish eyes. The yellow light illuminated her, revealing a haunting emptiness.

A chill coursed through me, sending shivers down my spine, and I felt warmth pooling at my thigh, a sudden release of fluid escaping uncontrollably.

"Jiaolong... let me in..."

Fengxia seemed aware I could see her, her voice a hoarse whisper as she extended a hand toward me.