Chapter 23
"Do you remember what you did before you fainted?" I asked.
"I remember I seemed to jump down, but after that I knew nothing," said Maomao.
Without dwelling on this matter any further, we helped Maomao up and saw that he was not seriously injured, so we wanted to go back.
Zhang Song said at this time: "I'm going to get the net bag back. You two wait for me."
I held him back and said, "Don't take it today. No one will take it away from you anyway, so just leave it there."
Zhang Song understood what I meant and was worried that something might happen to him again. Having learned from Maomao's experience, he didn't insist, and so the two of us rode Maomao back to the village.
We couldn't go any further past the dam, so we took the path back up the mountain. There was a large patch of walnut trees planted there, the tall trees crisscrossed and blocked out the sun, making it quite eerie.
As we entered the walnut forest, the temperature dropped sharply and we suddenly felt cold.
Since this path was created by villagers who came to pick walnuts over the years, it is overgrown with weeds, very narrow and difficult to walk on.
I am very afraid of snakes. Seeing a snake crawling on the ground without legs gives me goose bumps. Even if I see a small snake on the road, I will stay away from it.
Now when I walk on this path, I am afraid that a snake will suddenly emerge from the dense weeds.
I looked at Zhang Song and said, "How about you take the lead?"
Zhang Songzou heard what I said and knew that I was afraid.
He walked in front, looking nonchalant. Maomao walked in the middle, and I was behind because I was worried Maomao wouldn't be fully recovered and might faint again while walking. This place wasn't as flat as the dam, and if he fell, he'd probably roll down the hill. At least I could keep an eye on him from behind.
"Ouch!" Maomao slipped and fell on the path.
I was startled by him.
"What's wrong?" Zhang Song also turned around and asked him.
"I sprained my ankle." Maomao said in pain.
Zhang Song helped Maomao up and saw that his ankle was swollen and he couldn't walk.
"Come up quickly." Zhang Song gestured for Maomao to lie on his back.
Maomao was reluctant at first, but after walking a few steps he couldn't bear the pain, so he was finally carried on Zhang Song's back.
I walked behind and looked at Zhang Song carrying Maomao on his back. It was so funny that I couldn't describe it and burst out laughing.
The gloom just now has gone and I feel much better.
Zhang Song and Maomao also found it funny and started teasing each other.
"I'll carry you this time, and you'll carry me next time," said Zhang Song.
"Okay, next time you sprain your ankle I'll carry you."
"With your small body, I have to crush you."
We three walked to Xigou, arguing and chatting all the way.
When they arrived at Maomao's house, Aunt Chen saw that he was injured again. She blamed him for not paying attention when walking and asked him if he was okay.
"That's good now. Now that you've sprained your ankle, just stay home and do your homework. It saves you from running around."
When it comes to studying, Maomao is better than both of us. He is one of the best in the class, Zhang Song is average, and I am the last one.
Every time I have to wait for Maomao to finish his homework and then copy his. He has also tried to explain it to me, but I am what the teacher calls a blockhead and I really don’t understand anything.
Because Maomao was a good student and very popular in class, students would often ask him questions. He and I were also close friends, and he often helped me with homework. As a result, the students were no longer afraid of me. At first, it was a bit awkward for them to listen to him explain things, but later we could talk to each other, and eventually we could even say hello when we met. Now we've truly become just ordinary classmates, and they no longer exclude me.
We stayed at Maomao's house for half a day. As it was getting dark, Zhang Song wanted to go home. After all, his home was quite far away. I followed Zhang Song.
When we parted, I reminded him, "Don't forget to check the water tank when you get home."
Zhang Song nodded and said, "Yes, I'll remember that."
Then he walked along the road.
There are two legends about looking in the water tank when going home at night. One is that looking in the water tank can drown the unclean things brought home, and the other is that there are two fires on people's shoulders, which will go out if you look back frequently at night. Looking in the water tank when you get home can reignite the two fires.
But in the "Yin Fu Lu" that I have studied for so long, there is another saying that the clear water in the water tank symbolizes "nectar", which can eliminate all the evil that people bring home at night.
Watching Zhang Song's back as he walked away, I felt a little irritated. I hoped that nothing would happen to him along the way.
What I didn’t expect was that Zhang Song was fine, but I was.
As I mentioned before, our village was very quiet this year, so much so that I almost forgot the series of events that happened during that period last year.
That night, I lay alone in bed. Now that I'm grown up, I sleep in my own room.
As I tossed and turned and couldn't sleep, I always felt that there was a pair of evil eyes outside, watching me through the window.
I glanced at the window and it had vanished again.
Finally, I used my heart to sense something, and indeed, I could sense an evil presence lingering in the yard. It seemed eager to enter the house, but back then, we all had door gods on our front doors. Although these gods weren't hand-painted, nor were they blessed by powerful beings with telekinesis, their own divinity still had some effect.
It walked back and forth for a long time, and when it found it couldn't get into the house, it lay on the window and stared at me with its terrified eyes.
As the saying goes, people are three parts afraid of ghosts, and ghosts are seven parts afraid of people. What's more, I have some ability now, and I have long been accustomed to ghosts and monsters, so I am not afraid of them at all.
If it were a wandering ghost, I wouldn't want to provoke it, because most ghosts are unconscious and can't hurt people. But this one outside the window is obviously not one of them, and I feel a familiar aura from it, exactly the same as I felt from Maomao today.
It slowly pried open the window paper with its bloody nails and stared at me.
I immediately placed my fingers on the feather stone and silently chanted in my heart: "Heavenly thunder and earthly fire, destroy the evil. Liujia holds the sword and slays the five demons!"
Then he pointed his finger and a fierce energy hit it.
When it was hit by my move, blood instantly flowed from its eyes. It let out a shrill roar outside the window, and a gust of cold wind blew past, and it disappeared into the yard.
Only then did I fall asleep peacefully.
But the next day, something happened again.
In Liujiaao, a village to the east of us, a woman jumped off the Chunhe Bridge.
Her death was horrific. The spine in her neck was broken, and her head was held together only by skin and flesh. Broken bones were exposed at her elbows, and she lay facedown in the water, drifting sideways with the current. The only thing that prevented her from being washed away was the seaweed wrapped around her neck, which had been wrapped around and around.
When people fished her out of the water, her eyes were bloodshot and wide open, her mouth was wide open, her head was drooping, and her jet-black hair was swaying neatly and smoothly up and down with her head.
And this day also happens to be the anniversary of Wang Hao’s mother’s death.
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