The old woman looked at the corner of the yard, where the branches were full of crabapple buds that were about to bloom, and said happily, "Time really flies. In the blink of an eye, it's crabapple season again. This year, spring seems to have come earlier than in previous years."
Suddenly, her eyes filled with tears, as if she had remembered something.
Just then, a burly middle-aged man dressed in a gray short-sleeved shirt stumbled in as if he had seen a ghost. He rushed to the old woman's side, panting and clutching his chest, saying, "Madam...you...you must come and see, something terrible has happened in the village."
Huan'er was startled by the sound and quickly turned around. Her eyes widened in surprise at the person who had come, and then she turned back to look at her master with a look of astonishment. She then realized that her master's eyes were red and swollen, and it seemed that there were still some tears in his eyes.
So she cleared her throat, first dealing with the burly man who had interrupted her, and said sternly to him, "Wang Er, what's your hurry so early in the morning? Look at you, all sweaty and panting, did you see a ghost?"
At this moment, Wang Er stood not far behind the old woman, his hands on his hips, panting heavily. He looked exactly like an old dog with its long tongue lolling out, barely clinging to life.
After Huan'er finished speaking, she looked at him carefully again. Wang Er looked as if he had really been frightened, his face was deathly pale.
Upon hearing Huan'er's innocent and unintentional remark, Wang Er was once again astonished. He said, "Miss Huan'er, it really is true that 'one is influenced by one's company.' You've been with the old lady, this 'living bodhisattva,' for so long that you've become almost like an immortal yourself. How did you know that I, Wang Er, had seen a ghost?"
Huan'er was deeply surprised by Wang Er's words and was stunned.
She stretched out a thin finger, pointed at Wang Er, then at herself, and finally placed it on the astonished Wang Er, stammering in surprise, "You...I...you really saw a ghost?"
Wang Er frowned, pulled up his trouser legs, and squatted down on the spot. He sighed and said, "Sigh, on this New Year's Day, I, Wang Er, actually ran into a water ghost first thing in the morning. Why am I so unlucky? I'm afraid I won't be able to turn my luck around this year. This is really bad luck. If I had known, I would have slept in a little longer and not gotten up so early to fetch that damned water!"
Upon hearing this, Huan'er was immediately angered. She glanced at the sun and said disdainfully, "If you're lazy, just admit it! Why make so many excuses? Everyone here knows you, Wang Er, are the laziest man in the entire Peach Blossom Village. Everyone else fills their water tanks and cooks hot meals before dawn. But you? Why don't you raise your noble eyes and look around? It's almost mid-morning, and everyone is probably already preparing their lunch." "You've already eaten, and you still have the nerve to come here saying 'early morning'? Wang Er, haven't you even had breakfast yet? Your stomach is still empty, isn't it? Humph… I'm not trying to be mean, but you're almost thirty! All the men your age in the village have sons who are already of marriageable age. Have you never thought about why not a single girl in the village would be interested in you? You're so shameless! And you call yourself a 'water ghost'? I think you're just a lazybones who can never get enough sleep!"
"Hey, you little brat, how can you talk like that? Calling me 'Wang Er, Wang Er' all the time, I'm practically your uncle! How can you be so sharp-tongued and talk back to your uncle like that? Don't you have any respect for elders? I was just praising you for not wasting your years following this 'living Buddha,' how come you're so disrespectful now? Madam, you really need to discipline this girl. What will become of her if she continues like this?" Wang Er was already annoyed, and now Huan'er's merciless scolding only made him even more furious. He jumped up and stomped his feet, saying...
At this moment, the old woman seemed to have composed herself, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and scolded Huan'er, "Huan'er, have you forgotten everything I just told you? No matter what, you should respectfully call Wang Er 'Uncle Wang.' He has helped us a lot in the fields. How could you be so disrespectful to him? It seems that all these years, I have taught you in vain."
As soon as the old woman finished speaking, she stopped looking at her. Huan'er, seeing that her mistress was angry with her again, became extremely nervous. "Madam, Huan'er..."
Seeing that her master was truly angry with her, Huan'er pouted helplessly and bowed to Wang Er, saying, "Uncle Wang, I'm sorry, Huan'er knows she was wrong."
To everyone's surprise, Wang Er immediately became arrogant and disregarded Huan'er's apology, scoffing and snorting coldly before turning his head away.
At this moment, the old woman turned around, walked up to Wang Er, and asked in confusion, "You just mentioned a water ghost? What exactly happened?"
Ultimately, he still had to give face to the old woman, whom everyone hailed as a 'living bodhisattva.' Otherwise, he wouldn't have rushed to her courtyard to tell her about the water ghost as soon as he discovered it.
So Wang Er answered the old woman with a serious expression, saying, "This morning, when I got up and went into the kitchen, I wanted to boil some water to cook some dumplings to fill my stomach. But when I opened the water jar, it was empty. So I picked up my carrying pole and went to the river to fetch water. Suddenly, I saw something floating in the weeds on the opposite bank, so I curiously rolled up my trousers and waded over. But when I got closer, oh my god, it scared me to death! I'm afraid I, Wang Er, will never dare to swim in the river again in my life."
"What do you think when you get closer?" the old woman asked anxiously, looking only into his eyes.
“Oh my god, ‘living Buddha’! That…that thing stuck in the weeds, floating there, is a woman! I, Wang Er, have never been so frightened in my entire life, nor have I ever seen such a terrifying scene. At that moment, all the souls in my body seemed to have been scared out of their bodies. My legs went weak, and I barely managed to scramble back from the other side of the river. You don’t believe me? Look, my legs are still shaking even now.” After Wang Er finished speaking, he immediately lowered his head, looking at his trembling legs.
After listening to Wang Er's words, and seeing that he was trembling almost uncontrollably, not seeming to be talking nonsense, the old woman pondered for a moment and then asked, "Did you check whether the woman was alive or dead?"
"Oh dear, what's there to investigate? Don't even mention me, Wang Er, in our Peach Blossom Village, nothing like this has ever happened in hundreds of years. Back then, I was completely terrified. How could I dare go back to check her breathing or listen to her pulse?" Wang Er was truly frightened this time.
After a moment's hesitation, the old woman hurriedly said, "Where is that water ghost...where is that woman? Quickly take me there."
Upon hearing this, Wang Er immediately refused, saying, "I won't go. I, Wang Er, will never go there again in my life. It scared me to death."
"You're not going? You really aren't going?" The old woman stared into his eyes, asking him seriously with a hint of amusement.
“I said I wouldn’t go, and I won’t go. A man’s word is his bond,” Wang Er said firmly, shaking his head.
At this moment, Huan'er, who had been silently enduring the situation, finally couldn't take it anymore and shouted at him, "What kind of 'man' are you?!"
Before she could finish speaking, the old woman glared at her fiercely, then turned to Wang Er and said, "Fine, even if you don't go today, I can find that woman myself. However, if that woman is truly dead, perhaps she left behind some valuable possessions. Huan'er, go fetch my veil, let's go..."
Unexpectedly, as soon as the old woman finished speaking, Wang Er's eyes darted around, and he quickly reached out to block her way, saying, "Alright, I'll take you. But we've agreed beforehand that if that woman dies, all her valuables will belong to me, Wang Er. Since I found her first, it's only right, isn't it?"
"Alright, it's a deal." The old woman, having succeeded in her scheme, smiled and agreed.
The vibrant scene of peach blossoms and willows should only appear after the Awakening of Insects.
But in this idyllic village, just as the old woman had said, "Spring seems to have come earlier this year."
After a night of torrential rain, the air was filled with the scent of earth and grass—the unique fragrance of spring in this village called Taohuadian.
Full of anticipation yet tinged with fear, Wang Er led the old woman and Huan'er through the muddy path until they finally arrived at the place where he had encountered the water ghost.
Wang Er stamped his foot, propped his hands on his forehead, focused his gaze on the opposite bank of the river for a moment, and pointed to a clump of dense water plants at the bend in the river channel, saying, "Look, she's stuck there. You wait here, I'll go drag her over. But you must keep your promise!"
Before they were about to cross the river, Wang Er reminded the old woman once again.
The old woman smiled and nodded at him.
With the old woman and Huan'er bolstering his courage, Wang Er suddenly seemed less afraid and quickly dragged the so-called water ghost across the riverbank.
The old woman quickly knelt down beside him and reached out to check his breathing.
After a long while, seeing that the old woman was still motionless, Wang Er suddenly revealed a look of joy on his face and said to himself, "It's the New Year, and it's so cold. I don't know where she came from or how long she's been drifting. Last night there was lightning and thunder in the sky, and it was a torrential downpour all night long. She must be dead, right?"
Even Huan'er, who was extremely nervous, spoke up and asked, "Madam, this young lady, she..."
Just then...
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