Chapter Three
Home is the last haven of the human heart. No matter what happens outside, one can find spiritual solace and shelter when they return home.
But now,
she has entered the house!
Seeing that he really couldn't wake up Cui Guiying by shouting, Li Zhuiyuan ran to the inner room where his brothers and sisters were sleeping on the ground.
"Brother Panzi, wake up!"
"Brother Leizi, hurry up and wake up!"
"Sister Yingzi, wake up!"
Li Zhuiyuan ran between his brothers and sisters, pushing and shouting at everyone, but they, like Cui Guiying in the kitchen, couldn't be woken up no matter what.
"Drip... Drip... Drip..."
Li Zhuiyuan looked up and saw that the figure of Little Oriole did not appear there.
"Phew..."
He breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, but the next moment he found that a pool of water had appeared under his feet, gathering more and more, and began to flow along the uneven ground.
"Drip... Drip... Drip..."
The water droplets kept falling on him, soaking his clothes, bringing a sticky, cold, and slimy feeling.
A pair of hands appeared on both sides of his vision.
Finally,
the cold hands grabbed his neck.
Li Zhuiyuan's body trembled, and a strong feeling of suffocation came over him.
But soon, the suffocation gradually subsided because the hands did not stay on his neck for long and began to slowly slide down.
A shadow appeared above, and Li Zhuiyuan struggled to raise his head.
The person above also lowered his head at this time, and the wet long hair kept falling, sticking to the boy's face, like a huge black mouth, gradually covering the boy's head,
until...
it was swallowed up.
...
"Hanhou, slow down, slow down, my butt hurts, hiss... it hurts!"
Li Sanjiang held Li Weihan's waist with one hand and grabbed his own buttocks with the other, trying to stick up as much as possible.
"Uncle, don't move around, or you'll fall!"
"Phew, you're riding so fast, how can I not move!"
After picking up Li Sanjiang at the funeral, Li Weihan rode his bike home without stopping.
The田间小径 (田间小径) was narrow and full of pits, which was indeed hard on the passengers. Moreover, Li Sanjiang was old and couldn't bear such tossing.
Li Weihan was helpless. Seeing that he was close to home ahead and the path he took for a shortcut was getting harder to walk, he had to slow down a bit.
"Ah, oh..." Li Sanjiang finally breathed a sigh of relief. He touched the cigarette case in his pocket and said, "Hanhou, let's stop and have a smoke."
"We're almost home, Uncle. Let's smoke when we get home."
"Phew, why are you in such a hurry? Didn't you already call Liu Xiazi to take a look? I guess your little Yuanhou is already able to eat and run around at home now."
"Is Liu Xiazi really useful?"
Li Weihan wasn't very convinced of Liu Jinxia's abilities. He had seen the most difficult times of that mother and daughter. If they really had the ability to communicate with the yin and yang, how could they have fallen into such a miserable situation?
Compared to that, he trusted Li Sanjiang more, because he was a professional "fishing for the dead" , and his life had always been quite comfortable in his memory.
"Well, that Liu Xiazi was just a money-making scammer in his early years. Later, he figured out some tricks on his own. There's an old saying, 'The rope always breaks at the thinnest part.' Wherever he was, it would break first there, and after breaking many times, he gained experience."
"What does that mean, Uncle? I don't understand."
"If you don't understand, just forget it. The worst-case scenario for your little Yuanhou is that he was possessed. This kind of thing, she Liu Xiazi can really take care of, for the sake of your past affection."
"I'm just worried about the child. I'd rather the possession be on me."
"You Hanhou, you're really biased. You used to favor the little girl, and now you favor your grandson. But it's also right. Your little girl is also ambitious. This 28-gauge was given to you by your little girl back then, right?"
"But, Uncle, what are you going to do with that dead man?"
"Deal with it?" Li Sanjiang suddenly became emotional, and his tone became stern, "Do you think I'm living too comfortably and have to rush to deal with that kind of dead man who can walk in the water?"
Upon hearing this, Li Weihan's heart tightened, and he pedaled faster.
"Ah! Slow down, slow down! Hanhou, what are you crazy about again? That dead man is no match for you. You've already run away, so there's nothing to worry about. Could she chase you home?"
"We're here!"
The 28-gauge arrived at the dam, and Li Weihan immediately got off the bike to hold it.
After Li Sanjiang jumped off the back seat, he stretched his buttocks continuously.
Li Weihan: "Guiying, Guiying!"
"Coming, coming, keep your voice down, don't make a noise, the children are all asleep." Cui Guiying came out and greeted Li Sanjiang first, "Uncle, you're here."
"Ah, I'm here." Li Sanjiang didn't hesitate and shook his sleeves towards the inside, "Come on, let's go see the child first."
When they arrived at the door panel, Li Sanjiang squatted down to check Li Zhuiyuan's condition.
"Should I wake the child up?" Cui Guiying asked.
"No need. The child is fine, and the possession is gone. Has Liu Xiazi been here?"
"He's been here." Cui Guiying recounted the events of the afternoon.
After listening, Li Sanjiang nodded and said, "It's all because you were kind and generous before, allowing Hanhou to help them mother and daughter. This is the reward for your good deeds on your descendants."
"Look at what you're saying, Uncle, it's not a big deal."
"It's a big deal. In the past, if it were someone else, would she Liu Xiazi be willing to help?"
"It's just this debt of gratitude. She has to recognize it even if she's reluctant, and she's probably crying and complaining about her bad luck at home now."
"Uncle, take a seat." Li Weihan handed a small stool to Li Sanjiang's butt, then took out a cigarette and lit it for him, turning to his wife and saying, "Guiying, bring some food to pad your hunger."
Speaking, he glanced at the locked cabinet.
Cui Guiying took out the keys, unlocked it, and took out some eggs, cakes, and biscuits, laying them in front of the two, apologetically saying to Li Sanjiang, "Uncle, I'll go buy some meat tomorrow and invite you to have a good drink at home."
"Huh, what's the point of going through all this trouble? Put it all away. How can I take the children's food?"
Li Weihan broke open a biscuit box with his hand, picked up a biscuit and handed it to Li Sanjiang, then picked up an iron box and looked at it, saying, "Guiying, when the biscuits are finished, remember to put the box away. It's suitable for holding sewing needles and buttons."
"Got it."
Li Sanjiang quickly ate the biscuits, and when Li Weihan offered more, he pushed them away, patted his trouser legs, and said, "Alright, the child is fine. I'm going home."
"I'll ride my bike to take you back, Uncle."
"No, no, I won't take the bike."
"Then I won't ride the bike. I'll walk back with you. Guiying, bring the flashlight."
Just then, Li Zhuiyuan, who had been sleeping soundly, suddenly started convulsing, his breathing became heavier, and cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
Li Sanjiang immediately sat back and checked the child's condition.
Li Weihan anxiously said, "Uncle, what's wrong with the child?"
"It's nothing. He's probably having a nightmare. It's normal. At first, when he was possessed, he thought that dirty thing was beautiful and fascinating. It's only after realizing it that he knew to be afraid. Don't worry, the child will forget about it after playing for a few days."
Li Weihan and Cui Guiying nodded. They, of course, hoped the child was okay.
"Ah!"
Li Zhuiyuan shouted, sat up from the door panel, and breathed heavily.
"Little Yuanhou, Little Yuanhou." Cui Guiying stepped forward and held Li Zhuiyuan, gently patting his back, "It's okay, child. Don't be afraid. Grandma is here, Grandma is here."
Li Zhuiyuan first looked at Cui Guiying, then at Li Weihan, and finally at Li Sanjiang, whom he was meeting for the first time.
Li Sanjiang pointed to his wine-red nose and said with a smile, "Little Yuanhou, I'm your great-grandfather."
Li Zhuiyuan blinked, and then, as if remembering the experience in his dream just now, he immediately turned his head to the back door and pointed, saying, "Little Oriole, Little Oriole, she's come to our house!"
"Good child, you were just having a nightmare. It's already okay. She was chased away by your grandma and dare not come to find our child again."
Li Zhuiyuan looked at Cui Guiying in doubt, "Really, Grandma?"
Li Weihan breathed a sigh of relief, "It seems the child was really scared by a dream. Hehe."
Seeing that things were developing as Li Sanjiang said, Li Weihan and his wife's hearts were completely settled.
Only Li Sanjiang, following the direction of Li Zhuiyuan's finger to the back door, his face gradually became serious.
"Hanhou, give me the flashlight."
Li Weihan didn't give it, but said, "Uncle, I said I would take you home."
"Give it to me!"
Li Sanjiang snatched the flashlight over.
"Uncle, I'll take you home. You've had wine, and it's not safe to walk at night..."
"Get out of the way!"
Li Sanjiang pushed Li Weihan away and walked straight to the back door.
"Uncle?" Li Weihan looked at his grandson and immediately followed.
Li Sanjiang stepped over the threshold and came to the river directly opposite the back door, shining the flashlight on the boat and the nearby river surface, but after searching several times, he still found nothing.
Li Weihan whispered, "Uncle, there's nothing here."
"Shh, Hanhou, can you hear any sound?" Li Sanjiang pressed his hand to his nose, "In the middle of a hot summer night, by the river, where can it be so quiet?"
Li Weihan listened carefully and shook his head, "Uncle, what sound? I didn't hear anything."
"Ha." Li Sanjiang rubbed his nose with his hand, "In the middle of a hot summer night, by the river, where can it be so quiet?"
At this moment, Li Weihan realized that it was indeed too quiet around his house. Usually, the cicadas and frogs would have a big meeting every night, but tonight there was not a sound, a dead silence.
At this time, looking at the calm lake and the water grass in front of him, Li Weihan felt可怕 (scary) in his heart. That dead man might be hiding somewhere.
Li Sanjiang turned and walked back into the house, saying to Cui Guiying, "Guiying, bring me a bowl of yellow rice wine."
"Ah, shall I cook some peanuts and eggs for Uncle?"
"Go get the wine, don't talk back!" Li Weihan urged, knowing of course that Li Sanjiang wasn't going to drink here.
Cui Guiying brought over a bowl of yellow rice wine, which Li Sanjiang took and squatted down in front of Li Zhuiyuan, saying with a smile, "Little Yuanhou, it will hurt a bit later. Don't shout, endure it, understand?"
Li Zhuiyuan looked at Li Weihan and Cui Guiying, then nodded at Li Sanjiang.
"Okay, good child."
Li Sanjiang poured the yellow rice wine on Li Zhuiyuan's neck, and the child instinctively shrank his body, but Li Sanjiang immediately grabbed his arm with his left hand and rubbed his neck and shoulders with his right hand.
The old man's hands were full of calluses and very rough, like sandpaper scraping his skin. Li Zhuiyuan was in pain, but he obediently just pursed his lips.
After rubbing the child's neck and shoulders red, Li Sanjiang put his face close and sniffed hard with his nose.
After sniffing, Li Sanjiang's eyes widened, pushed the child away gently, and sat on the ground himself.
"Uncle, Uncle?" Li Weihan immediately came over to help.
Cui Guiying checked Li Zhuiyuan's neck and was very (pitiable), but she knew that things seemed to have changed again, so she didn't dare to say anything, just silently touched the child's head.
"Smoke, Hanhou, give me a cigarette."
"Okay."
Li Weihan immediately helped light it up.
Li Sanjiang took a deep breath, then exhaled through his nose.
Li Weihan noticed that Li Sanjiang's hand holding the cigarette was shaking.
"Guiying, take the child inside." Li Sanjiang pointed to the inner room, "Close the door."
"What's going on again?" Cui Guiying couldn't help it.
"Do what Uncle says." Li Weihan hurriedly waved his hand to urge.
Cui Guiying took a deep breath, then picked up Li Zhuiyuan and walked into the inner room, closing the door.
In the kitchen, only the two men were left.
"Uncle?"
"Hanhou, things are getting complicated.
In the afternoon, Liu Xiazi must have cleared the possession from Little Yuanhou. Since she did it, she couldn't have left it unfinished.
But just now, I smelled the corpse smell from the child's neck again. I've been fishing for the dead for a lifetime, and I can tell you, the smell of a corpse soaked in water is different from the smell of other dead people. My nose won't be wrong."
Li Sanjiang said, turning to Li Weihan, very seriously, "That dead man has really followed home."
Upon hearing this, Li Weihan immediately got up, took the axe for chopping wood from the top of the cabinet, and since there were many children in the house, such items could only be placed high.
"Damn it, I'll fight that thing!"
Li Sanjiang narrowed his eyes, took another puff of his cigarette, and said slowly, "What if she doesn't come out?"
"What?" Li Weihan was a bit confused, "Not coming out, isn't that good?"
"She's just waiting by your house, staring at you. You can't find her. She'll stare at your house, day after day, day after day... First Little Yuanhou, then Little Panhou, Little Leihou, Little Huhou... to Guiying, and then to you.
Other people have gods and Buddhas to protect them, but your family is like having an evil filth.
It won't take long for people to get sick, have bad luck, and... the family will be ruined."
Li Weihan asked in a daze, "What should I do? Should I... not live here and go live with my son?"
"Can't she follow once, can't she follow a second time?"
"Uncle, is there anything else we can do?"
"There is a way." The cigarette butt in Li Sanjiang's lips flickered.
"Uncle, you have to help me."
Li Sanjiang pursed his lips and smoked, not speaking.
Li Weihan squatted down beside Li Sanjiang, and if someone else had said these words to him, he would have suspected that the person was deliberately scaring him for some other purpose, but Li Sanjiang absolutely would not.
"This dead man who can walk in the water has a great grievance and is not easy to provoke, and this one that can follow home, I've never seen it in my life, it's really evil to the extreme."
"But Uncle, the victim has a head and the debtor has a master. What does this have to do with my Little Yuanhou?"
"Ha." Li Sanjiang sneered, his fingers rubbing, and he crushed the cigarette butt in his hand, "I guess she wants to have a head and a master, but can't find the culprit, so she can only cling to the first person she encounters."
Li Weihan seemed to think of something, his eyes showing hesitation and thought.
Li Sanjiang continued, "This dead man is the woman who danced and sang at the funeral of the big mustache yesterday, right? You told me on the way when you picked me up, called Little Oriole?"
"Leihou said he saw it, but I didn't go to the big mustache's house yesterday, so I'm not sure."
"It's Little Oriole. Leihou might have seen it wrong, but Little Yuanhou wouldn't. He just shouted Little Oriole when he woke up from his dream."
"Right, that's true."
"You didn't say that the villagers saw Little Oriole and the little son of the big mustache go into the woods last night, and the funeral team went to the big mustache's house to make a fuss during the day, and the big mustache settled it with money."
"This is being guilty in one's heart..."
The word "ghost" was abruptly swallowed back by Li Sanjiang. At this juncture, it was still necessary to pay attention to taboos.
"...This is being guilty in one's heart. Heh, his family's behavior is not much different from that of the bandits in Northeast China before liberation. I don't know how many evils they have committed."
Speaking of which, Li Sanjiang paused, reached out and took a biscuit from the iron box in front of him, took a bite, and said with a smile, "This biscuit has a strong milk flavor. It must not be cheap. It was sent by your daughter, right?"
Li Weihan took out a cigarette, lit it for himself, then quickly took several puffs, and finally wiped his forehead and eyes with his hand. When he looked at Li Sanjiang again, his eyes were bloodshot:
"Uncle, do you not trust my Hanhou's character?"
Li Sanjiang took another biscuit and continued eating without answering.
Li Weihan continued:
"Uncle, in those years, in order to arrange marriages for my four sons, it was really difficult.
You not only let me farm your land, but every time I helped you, you also gave me some labor fees; Guiying came to help you with paper扎 (paper扎), her craftsmanship was so rough that I was too embarrassed to watch, but you still paid her wages.
Later, after the hardest days passed, I stopped farming your land because I knew you could get more grain rent by renting it to others. Guiying, I also didn't have the heart to let her go anymore, for fear that she would be as busy as she used to be in the brigade mixing public points.
I was really embarrassed to take any more advantages from you, but your kindness, I, Li Weihan, have always remembered in my heart.
I said before that when you can't move around freely one day, I, Li Weihan, will take care of you and see you through your old age.
Uncle, you have to trust my Hanhou's character."
Li Sanjiang nodded.
"Ha." Li Weihan laughed twice, reached out to take a biscuit, he hadn't eaten anything since the afternoon, and was really hungry.
"Snap!"
The back of his hand was slapped, and the just picked up biscuit fell back.
Li Sanjiang stood up and said, "Eat what? Leave some for the offerings."
Li Weihan was stunned for a moment, then realized, he had helped Li Sanjiang as an assistant for a while in the past.
When the inner room door was opened, Cui Guiying was seen standing there holding the child, leaning forward.
After the door was opened, Cui Guiying hurriedly smoothed the hair by her ear and asked, "Have you finished talking?"
Li Weihan: "Guiying, come out and help set up the offering table. Little Yuanhou can sleep first."
At this time, Li Sanjiang's voice came from behind: "Let Little Yuanhou stay here first."
Li Weihan turned his head to look at Li Sanjiang, frowned, but after hesitating, seemed to make up his mind, signaling his wife to bring the child out.
Li Zhuiyuan hadn't slept since the afternoon, so he wasn't sleepy. He just sat on a small stool and watched the adults busy themselves.
"Your mind is addled!" Li Sanjiang pointed at the offering table moved to the back door by Li Weihan and scolded, "Do you want everyone outside to see? Move it back in and place it here!"
This is a plain rural area with no mountains, valleys, or tall buildings to block the view. The vision is extremely good. If you light candles and burn paper money outside, anyone who comes out to urinate from a distance at night can see it, and then the matter will quickly spread.
After all, which normal family would make offerings in the middle of the night?
Li Weihan immediately moved the table he had just moved outside back in and placed it against the wall near the back door in the room.
Cui Guiying began to set up the offerings, four plates, respectively placed biscuits, cake, peanuts, and another was empty.
"He uncle, there's no meat at home." Cui Guiying looked at Li Sanjiang, "No cured meat or salted meat left."
With ten or so children living in the house, how could there be any leftover dishes overnight, and even the pickles in the jar were running out quickly. Without meat, the offering couldn't be complete.
Li Sanjiang pointed to the locked cabinet where snacks were stored: "Is there any meat floss?"
"Yes." Cui Guiying immediately nodded, "Is it okay?"
"Anyway, it's meat. It'll do."
"Okay."
Finally, a plate of meat floss was placed, making up the offering.
A rough iron bucket was brought in by Li Weihan from the yard outside the house. This time, without being reminded, he put the iron bucket in the corner of the kitchen wall.
Meditation coins were still a rare item at the time and had to be bought from the town's meditation shop. Villagers were not very willing to use them for small sacrifices, but yellow paper and ingots were almost always in stock in every household.
The ingots were usually folded by women in their spare time, and as for yellow paper, it could be used as toilet paper in the basket next to the toilet.
Li Sanjiang first lit the two candles on the offering table, then used the candle flame to light a few pieces of yellow paper, quickly waved them in front of the offering table, muttered some words, and then ran back to the corner to put the half-burned yellow paper into the iron bucket as a fire starter. Cui Guiying immediately put other yellow papers and ingots in to burn.
After Li Weihan confirmed that the paper was fully burned with a thin wooden stick, he moved the iron bucket outside and poured out the paper ash.
When he came back, he saw Li Sanjiang take out a bell from his pocket and was digging into it with his gray-black fingernails, finally taking out the cotton ball that was blocking it.
"Ding ding ding..."
A light shake, the sound was clear and crisp.
Li Sanjiang untied the bell rope, walked to Li Zhuiyuan, and said, "Come on, Little Yuanhou, raise your right hand."
Li Zhuiyuan obediently did so, watching Li Sanjiang tie the bell to his wrist.
Then, Li Sanjiang picked up the incense burner on the offering table, thought for a moment, broke off a large section of the three incense sticks, leaving only a small end, and reinserted them into the incense burner.
"Little Yuanhou, hold this." Li Sanjiang said, handing the incense burner to Li Zhuiyuan.
Li Zhuiyuan stood up and held the incense burner.
At this time, Cui Guiying finally understood something and instinctively wanted to move forward, but was grabbed by Li Weihan, who forcefully pulled her back.
"How could you let Little Yuanhou..." Cui Guiying struggled to free her wrist.
Li Weihan stared at her fiercely.
Li Sanjiang reached out and covered Li Zhuiyuan's ears, then looked up at the couple and casually asked, "I'll ask you one last time, do it or not?"
"Do it!" Li Weihan answered immediately.
"What if something happens to Little Yuanhou..." Cui Guiying shook her arm, trying to break free from her husband's restraint.
Li Weihan said in a deep voice, "If there's nothing like that, nothing will happen. If there is something like that, and you don't do it, Little Yuanhou will still have an accident. That thing is staring at our Little Yuanhou!"
Upon hearing this, Cui Guiying stopped struggling and her arm drooped down.
Li Sanjiang smiled and said, "Hanhou, are you really sure? If the matter leaks out, it won't be easy to get along in this village in the future."
Even if there was no such thing as a dead man at all, and everything was just a big joke, but you made such a commotion at home and performed such a ritual on someone. If it was found out by others, this great hatred would be settled!
"Huh." Li Weihan also snorted, "Uncle, I'm not afraid of that big mustache family. I also have four sons."
In the countryside, the more adult sons a family has, the more backbone they have.
Although his four sons of Li Weihan are not model filial sons, and there are many disputes among their daughters-in-law, but if something happens to the old Li family from the outside and needs to support the family, these four sons will definitely stand up and face it together.
"Okay, do it!" Li Sanjiang let go of Li Zhuiyuan's ears, squatted down beside the child, and instructed, "Little Yuanhou, the old man will walk in front, and you will follow behind. Walk slowly and don't spill the incense burner, understand?"
"Understood."
"Good child, be good."
Li Sanjiang led Li Zhuiyuan out of the back door, turned around, and looked at Li Weihan and Cui Guiying who followed, saying, "You wait at home and don't follow. Too many people will easily be seen by others and may also frighten her."
"Okay, Uncle."
"Close all the doors and windows at home."
"Okay, Uncle."
Li Weihan pulled his wife back into the house and closed all the doors and windows.
Outside under the night, only Li Sanjiang and Li Zhuiyuan were left.
"Wait for me a moment, Little Yuanhou."
Li Sanjiang greeted, then walked down to the river alone along the blue brick steps, and was seen squatting down, constantly raking the water surface with his hand and muttering something.
It was a bit far away, and the voice was deliberately kept very low, so Li Zhuiyuan couldn't hear what was being said clearly.
After talking for a while, Li Sanjiang's body began to lean back, almost running several times, as if the thing in the water would come out and pounce on him at any time.
Finally, Li Sanjiang finished talking, quickly ran up, and was still panting.
"Okay, Little Yuanhou, I'll walk in front, and you follow closely behind; remember, no matter what happens next, no matter what sounds you hear, you must hold the incense burner and never look back, understand?"
"Understood."
"Okay, good child."
Li Sanjiang walked to the front, pulled out a distance of about twenty meters, turned his head, and waved to Li Zhuiyuan, signaling that the child could follow.
However, Li Zhuiyuan stood still and did not move.
"Come on, follow me, Little Yuanhou."
"But..." Li Zhuiyuan wanted to turn his head, but he remembered Li Sanjiang's instructions, just pointed to the river surface with one hand holding the already extinguished incense burner, and the other hand, "Don't wait for her?"
"Wait for who?"
"Her, Little Oriole."
"Little Oriole, what's the matter?"
"She didn't follow."
Li Sanjiang was stunned for a moment, walked back, and looked at Li Zhuiyuan seriously, asking, "Little Yuanhou, do you know what we are going to do?"
Li Zhuiyuan shook his head, then nodded.
Li Sanjiang looked at Li Zhuiyuan in surprise and muttered, "You child, follow your mother, smart."
Then, Li Sanjiang seemed to think of something, staring into Li Zhuiyuan's eyes, and asked, "Can you feel her?"
"Yep."
"Where is she... now?"
Li Zhuiyuan opened his mouth, didn't speak, as if thinking, and then said:
"She's here."
"Where?"
Li Sanjiang was startled.
"Was in the water just now..."
"Phew..." Li Sanjiang breathed a sigh of relief.
"Now behind me."
Li Sanjiang: "..."
Li Sanjiang subconsciously wanted to shift his gaze and look at the back of Li Zhuiyuan, but he restrained this impulse.
However, even without looking, a strong corpse smell was inhaled into his nose, a smell he was all too familiar with.
She really came.
Li Sanjiang nervously swallowed a mouthful of saliva. He wanted to stop, but thinking of the consequences of stopping... Damn it, others have created the karma, why should Hanhou's family bear it!
"Little Yuanhou, remember what the old man just said."
"Yep."
Li Sanjiang closed his eyes, raised his hands high, and slowly stood up. The corpse smell was even stronger.
He turned around, opened his eyes, and walked forward for a while, a distance that was the observation distance he faced when dealing with those dead men while boating.
After taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes and looked back, looking at the back.
Little Yuanhou was standing there holding the incense burner, and behind him was a darkness that the moonlight could not penetrate.
"Little Yuanhou, follow closely." Li Sanjiang said.
"Yep."
"Yep."
Li Sanjiang began to walk forward, and the sound of the bell behind him also started and stopped. He didn't walk on the village path, but deliberately along the river or through small woods. Even though there were few pedestrians at night, he had to be as careful as possible and must not let others know.
Halfway through, Li Sanjiang stopped, and the sound of the bell behind him also stopped.
Li Sanjiang turned his head and saw Li Zhuiyuan still standing there from a distance, and behind the child, he vaguely saw a figure, standing very close.
"Little Yuanhou, continue to follow up, we're almost there." Li Sanjiang said.
"Yep."
"Yep."
Li Sanjiang continued to lead the way, walking and stopping, and the bell behind him also rang and stopped.
Finally, after rounding a fish pond, Li Sanjiang arrived in front of the dam of the big mustache's house. This fish pond was actually his.
This time, Li Sanjiang didn't stop, but continued to walk along the edge of the fish pond. However, during the walk, he slowly turned his head and looked back:
Under the dim moonlight, Li Zhuiyuan was holding the incense burner, sometimes looking at the front-leading great-grandfather and sometimes looking down at his feet. The road was not easy to walk, and it was easy for the child to slip and fall, so he walked very carefully and seriously, but still couldn't avoid swaying.
Behind him, a woman in a cheongsam with wet, long hair was following. The woman was like a blind person, unable to see the road ahead. And when a blind person is usually led by someone, they will often hold onto the other person, so the woman's hands were on the boy's shoulders, and her figure also swayed deeply and shallowly with the child's steps.
Li Sanjiang swallowed his saliva and almost fell when he stepped back and missed his footing, but after a few wobbles, he still stabilized his balance.
Li Zhuiyuan saw this and was about to stop.
Li Sanjiang hurriedly shouted, "Little Yuanhou, don't stop, keep walking, steady, we're almost there."
"Yep."
"Yep."
Finally, after rounding the fish pond, Li Sanjiang arrived in front of the dam of the big mustache's house.
It was already the middle of the night, and not only was the big mustache's house dark, but the nearby houses that could be seen were also dark, with no lights on and no people in sight.
Li Sanjiang turned sideways, squatted down, spread his left hand towards the big mustache's house, and his right hand towards the direction where Li Zhuiyuan was standing, and said:
"Today I offer to you, next year I will send you sacrifices, the favor is done here, are you satisfied?
Whether in yin or yang, we must speak of reason!
If you have a grievance, go and report it, if you have a grudge, go and take revenge, everyone in the world suffers, don't you go against the way."
After Li Sanjiang finished speaking, he secretly glanced at the direction of Li Zhuiyuan and found that there were still two figures, one big and one small, standing quietly.
"Little Yuanhou, kneel down."
Li Zhuiyuan didn't kneel, still holding the incense burner and standing.
"Little Yuanhou?" Li Sanjiang urged in a low voice.
"Great-grandfather... I can't kneel." Li Zhuiyuan wanted to kneel, but there was a force on his shoulders holding him up, making him unable to go down.
Li Sanjiang took a deep breath and immediately said:
"The child is still young, the child doesn't understand, the child doesn't owe you, the road is led to you, the door is pointed out to you, don't you really want to be unreasonable?"
After the words were spoken, but over there, there were still two figures, one big and one small.
Li Sanjiang's eyes flashed with anger. He withdrew his originally spread "bridging" hands and inserted his ten fingers into the ground, with a lot of black mud embedded in his nails.
"You are a water-walker, I am a water-floater, I gave you face and you don't want it, I spoke reason to you and you don't listen, then okay, I'm forced to掀了桌子 (flip the table) and go find the Dragon King together to judge!"
Li Sanjiang's whole气质 (aura) became solemn. He had been reluctant and afraid to face that person directly, but things had developed to this point, and he had no choice. He couldn't bring the dead man out and then take him home again.
However, at this time, there was a "creak" sound, and the big iron gate of the big mustache's house was opened.
Li Sanjiang looked over and saw two people standing behind the door, the big mustache and his little son, both only wearing big pants, bare-chested and barefoot.
For a moment, Li Sanjiang felt a bit timid in his heart. He was doing this secretly, and if he was discovered by others, it would be difficult to settle afterwards.
But soon, Li Sanjiang found something was wrong.
He saw that the big mustache and his son didn't look at himself standing at the door at all, but walked towards the fish pond in a daze.
When they passed in front of Li Sanjiang, Li Sanjiang found that they were both walking on their tiptoes with their heels off the ground.
The father and son walked side by side like this, swaying, but never fell. When they reached the edge of the fish pond, they didn't stop, but continued to walk down.
Stepping into the water, they continued to move forward. The water surface covered their knees, waists, shoulders, and finally... covered their heads.
"Plop!"
Li Zhuiyuan felt a loosening on his body and sat on the ground directly. Li Sanjiang saw this and immediately ran over to protect the child.
"Child, are you okay?" Li Sanjiang asked.
Li Zhuiyuan didn't answer, but pointed forward in a daze.
In front of them was the figure of Little Oriole. She stretched out her arms, opened her hands, as if feeling her way. Although she walked very slowly, she also came to the edge of the fish pond and then walked into the water.
As if sensing the water beneath her feet, she slowly lowered her arms and walked more steadily.
She began to twist her waist, as if she was performing the dance she had danced on this dam facing the fish pond yesterday.
Her dance was still unprofessional, and now her joints were stiff, making it even more unnatural, but she was very devoted.
Her figure in the night was sometimes submerged and sometimes suddenly appeared, flickering in and out of view.
Each time she appeared, the water surface covered more of her body.
Gradually, her legs under the cheongsam's slit were no longer visible, her swaying hips were no longer visible, and her not-so-high but artificially chest was no longer visible.
The water surface covered her neck, spreading her hair, and she raised her hands, facing the night sky, still performing.
Soon, her head was also submerged in the water, and only her arms remained on the water surface, then gradually only her wrists, and then only her hands...
When her hands also slowly disappeared into the water, only a mass of black water plants remained.
Until, with the last ripple,
everything,
disappeared.
Li Sanjiang carried Li Zhuiyuan on his back and ran away with a bow. After running for a long distance, he put the child down and took out his cigarette box while pounding his old waist.
Seeing the child standing there in a daze, he comforted, "Listen to your great-grandfather's words, just treat it as a dream, and when you wake up tomorrow, you will forget everything."
Li Zhuiyuan nodded obediently, but he felt that he might not be able to forget that scene just now. It would be etched in his memory forever.
Shaking the cigarette ash, seeing that the child was still in a low mood, Li Sanjiang (teased) him:
"Little Yuanhou, you can think of something happy."
"Happy thing?"
Li Sanjiang pointed to the direction of the big mustache's house with his cigarette-holding hand and replied:
"Eat a banquet!"