It was completely dark when Lu Qingjiu got off the train. He wanted to take a taxi with his heavy luggage, but the taxi drivers refused as soon as they heard where he wanted to go.
"Shuifu is too remote, we won't go there." The taxi driver looked Lu Qingjiu up and down, with a hint of vigilance in his eyes.
Lu Qingjiu was puzzled by the stares he received. He asked, "Master, you won't go even if I pay you more?"
The driver hesitated for a moment: "Are you coming back from out of town?"
Lu Qingjiu nodded: "Yes, I came back from City A." He pointed to the suitcase next to him.
The driver saw Lu Qingjiu’s suitcase and gritted his teeth and said, “How much do you want to add?”
Lu Qingjiu calculated the distance and said, “Is two hundred okay?”
The driver finally relented: "Okay, get in."
Lu Qingjiu felt relieved, quickly put the luggage into the trunk, and sat in the passenger seat.
It was already early morning, and the streets were empty except for a few taxis driving by in a hurry. The weather was still a little chilly in the early spring, and Lu Qingjiu, who was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, rubbed his arms, which were a little cold.
This place is far away from City A and belongs to the remote suburbs of the province. The economic development is far worse than that of City A. Most of the buildings around here are relatively low, exuding a sense of oldness.
The driver drove forward, asking random questions. Lu Qingjiu answered them one by one, and then he understood the reason why the driver was unwilling to go to the Water Palace.
Shuifu is a relatively remote village, quite a distance from their county seat. Two taxi drivers were killed there some time ago, and the murderer has yet to be found. Later, rumors spread that the two drivers weren't murdered at all, but had run into something dirty. As a result, taxi drivers in the area no longer like to go there, especially in the dark of night...
If it weren't for the two hundred yuan that Lu Qingjiu added, he would have to stay in the county town for one night.
"What are you doing back from City A?" The driver looked ahead and chatted with Lu Qingjiu, "Is your hometown here?"
Lu Qingjiu said, "Yeah, things weren't going well outside, so I just quit my job. I thought there were still a few plots of land at home."
The driver said, "There's no fun in this remote place, young man. I don't think you can stay here."
Lu Qingjiu just smiled when he heard this, and didn't respond. He had thought deeply about coming back this time, and it wasn't a momentary impulse.
The car drove forward, passing through narrow country roads, and the surrounding environment became more and more remote. In the end, there was no light around, only endless night.
Lu Qingjiu had been on the train for a whole day and felt a little sleepy after chatting with the driver for a while. Just when he was about to fall asleep with his eyes drooping, the driver suddenly slammed on the brakes.
Lu Qingjiu suddenly woke up and asked in confusion: "What's wrong?"
"You...can you see that thing in front..." At this time, the driver's face looked extremely ugly, his eyes were wide open, and his whole body was still shaking slightly, as if he might faint at any time.
"What?" Lu Qingjiu was stunned and looked forward. When he saw clearly what was in front of the vehicle, he showed the same expression as the driver.
I saw a white object floating on the narrow mountain road. It was a bit far away, so I couldn't see it clearly, but I could vaguely make out it was probably a person...
"What the hell is this?" The driver's tone sounded like he was about to cry. If the place wasn't too narrow to reverse, he would probably turn around and run away immediately.
Lu Qingjiu: “…”
“Ahhhhh, that thing is coming!” The driver grabbed Lu Qingjiu’s arm in fright.
Lu Qingjiu: "Calm down, there are no ghosts in the world!" Just as he finished speaking, the driver beside him screamed again, saying, "That thing is approaching us!!"
Lu Qingjiu looked forward and found that the white figure was actually approaching them. The driver beside him screamed like a pig being slaughtered. This really gave him an atmosphere like something out of a horror movie.
"That looks like a person!" However, as the white shadow got closer, Lu Qingjiu could see clearly that the person in white was indeed a person. Although his appearance was not very clear, he should not be a supernatural creature.
"It's a person." Lu Qingjiu felt that his arm was about to be broken by the driver's grip, and he hissed, "Master, please stop grabbing me, it really is a person."
"People?" The driver seemed calmer.
The figure slowly walked in front of them. With the help of the car lights, Lu Qingjiu finally saw the white figure clearly. It was a man dressed in white. He was very handsome, with no expression on his face. He stopped next to the passenger seat of the taxi.
"Sir?" Lu Qingjiu felt relieved after confirming that this was a human and not some strange, dirty creature. He rolled down the car window, revealing half of his face, and said, "It's so late in the evening and in such a remote place. What can I do for you?"
The man glanced at Lu Qingjiu, then glanced at the taxi driver who was shivering next to Lu Qingjiu, smiled slightly, and said, "It's okay, I couldn't sleep at night, so I came out to find something to eat."
Lu Qingjiu wondered what kind of food he could find in this desolate wilderness at this late hour. However, there were always weirdos everywhere, and he couldn't interfere with their hobbies, so he smiled politely and said, "Really? Then be careful."
When the man heard this, he suddenly reached out and knocked on the taxi door, then turned and left, his figure gradually disappearing into the dark night.
Only after he disappeared did the driver on Lu Qingjiu's left start the car again and continue driving towards the destination. However, he was probably frightened and barely spoke for the rest of the journey.
Lu Qingjiu didn't take this episode to heart. After getting off the car, he thanked the driver and took out two hundred yuan from his wallet and handed it to the driver.
The driver took the money and drove away without saying a word. He looked like he was being chased by a ghost. It seemed that he would not receive any orders from Shuifu Village for a long time.
Seeing him fleeing in panic, Lu Qingjiu couldn't help laughing.
It was the darkest hour of the day, the surrounding buildings shrouded in darkness, and only the quiet chirping of insects could be heard. Lu Qingjiu, dragging his luggage, walked towards his old house, relying on his memory. He hadn't been back in three years, the last time being for his grandmother's funeral. Since then, the old house has been abandoned, and it's unknown what it looks like now.
The surrounding buildings had changed slightly, but the general direction was still correct. After walking for more than twenty minutes, Lu Qingjiu finally found his target.
The old house was indeed as desolate as he had expected. There was a rusty lock on the red door. Lu Qingjiu took out the key, inserted it and twisted it several times before unlocking it. When he pushed the door open, large amounts of dust fell, causing him to cough uncontrollably.
"I haven't been back for a long time." Lu Qingjiu muttered softly, then opened the door of the small building and saw the furnishings in the room.
Because he had asked his neighbor to help pay the electricity bill in advance, there was still electricity available. Lu Qingjiu turned on the light and took a clear look at the furnishings in the house.
Nothing much had changed, it was almost exactly the same as he remembered, except that all the furniture was covered in a thick layer of dust. Lu Qingjiu simply cleaned the bed and decided to spend the night there. He lay on the hard wooden bed, looking at the ceiling covered with cobwebs above his head, thinking that he would spend more time cleaning the house tomorrow...
With the stale smell filling his nostrils, Lu Qingjiu fell asleep.
The next day, Lu Qingjiu slept until around nine o'clock before waking up naturally. The bright sunlight shone through the window onto him. He drowsily opened his eyes and saw countless tiny dust particles filling the light. He sat up, rubbed his eyes, and shook off the hazy sleepiness.
Lu Qingjiu ate something casually and began to tidy up the house.
The house needs a thorough cleaning as it hasn't been lived in for a few years. In the early years, Shuifu Village didn't even have running water and villagers had to fetch it from the mountains. Fortunately, the government invested in bringing water here two years ago, which saved a lot of trouble.
Lu Qingjiu found a broom covered with cobwebs in the corner of the room. He was about to roll up his sleeves to clean it up when he felt a sharp pain on his arm. Confused, he rolled up his left sleeve. After seeing the painful part of his left hand, he couldn't help but take a breath.
He saw five purple-red circular marks on his left arm, which were particularly eye-catching against his wheat-colored skin. He touched it lightly with his hand and felt a burning pain.
"Where did I get hit?" Lu Qingjiu muttered, "Or was it crawled on by a bug?" He was a little confused. After thinking carefully, an incredible idea popped up in his mind.
It seems that the only person who touched his arm last night was... the taxi driver. Could it be that the driver was too scared and scratched his arm, leaving such a mark?
Lu Qingjiu laughed dryly, feeling that his idea was a bit far-fetched.
However, these marks didn't seem to have any other effects except pain. Lu Qingjiu looked at them for a while, then put down his sleeves and continued cleaning the room. He still had a lot of things to do today.
"Knock, knock, knock." At around ten o'clock, Lu Qingjiu, who was sweeping the floor with his head down, heard a knock on the door. He walked to the door, opened it and saw a familiar face behind it.
"Xiao Jiu'er, you're back. Did you arrive last night?" The young man who greeted Lu Qingjiu was slightly shorter than Lu Qingjiu. He smiled, revealing a playful canine tooth. "Why didn't you call me?"
When Lu Qingjiu saw the young man, he also laughed: "Xiao Xun, long time no see."
The man in front of him was named Yin Xun, and he was Lu Qingjiu's childhood playmate. However, the two had not seen each other for a long time since Lu Qingjiu left Shuifu Village.
"I arrived too late last night, so I didn't tell you." Lu Qingjiu raised the broom in his hand.
"Oh." Yin Xun nodded. "Are you cleaning? Let me help you!"
Lu Qingjiu asked, "Have you finished your farm work?"
Yin Xun said, "It's almost done. I just planted the seedlings yesterday and won't fertilize until next month."
Lu Qingjiu smiled and said, "Okay, thank you for your help."
Yin Xun rolled up his sleeves, picked up an old rag and began to help Lu Qingjiu clean the furniture, chatting with Lu Qingjiu while doing it.
Although the two were childhood playmates, they hadn't seen each other for a long time, but they had endless topics to talk about. Yin Xun was still a little curious why Lu Qingjiu resigned from the big city and returned here.
Lu Qingjiu said sincerely: "My boss told me that if I don't work hard, I might as well go home and sell sweet potatoes. I thought about it and felt that selling sweet potatoes at home would be a good idea, so I came back."
Yin Xun: "...Is this true?"
Lu Qingjiu stared at his big double-lidded eyes: "Really."
Yin Xun: “…” He pretended to believe it.
The two of them cleaned the house for the whole morning and it was basically clean. Seeing that it was almost time, Yin Xun invited Lu Qingjiu to go to a small restaurant in the village for lunch, and Lu Qingjiu happily agreed.
Shuifu Village is a very small village. The sounds of quarrels can be heard from the front to the back of the village. There is not much business in the village. There are only two small restaurants, one selling homemade dishes and the other selling rice noodles with various flavors.
"You just came back. What do you want to eat? I'll treat you!" Yin Xun said casually.
"Let's have rice noodles." Lu Qingjiu had eaten rice noodles from that restaurant when he was a child. They tasted very good, and now he felt a little nostalgic when he thought about it.
"Okay, let's go." Yin Xun took Lu Qingjiu and went to the rice noodle shop.
The rice noodle shop owner greeted Yin Xun when he saw him, then noticed Lu Qingjiu standing next to him. After looking him up and down, he asked uncertainly, "Is this the little grandson of the Lu family? He's grown so big!"
Lu Qingjiu smiled and nodded.
"Uncle She, I want two bowls of beef noodles with extra chili." Yin Xun said, "And give me a handful of leeks. Do you want some sake?"
"Okay." Lu Qingjiu also ate leeks.
The boss sighed and went into the house to cook rice noodles.
Lu Qingjiu observed the small shop. It was small, with tables placed on the ground outside. Although the furnishings were old, they were kept very clean, not making it look messy. When Lu Qingjiu withdrew his gaze, he saw something flash by under the table. It was so fast that Lu Qingjiu could only barely make out that it had a red skin and looked like an insect.
"What are you looking at?" Yin Xun asked.
"It looks like there's a bug." Lu Qingjiu replied.
"Bugs?" Yin Xun said, "Yes, it's spring now, and there are more and more bugs. I'll go home and get you some herbs. You can take them home and light them... You slept there last night, and you didn't get bitten?"
Lu Qingjiu shook his head: "No."
Yin Xun blinked when he heard that and rolled up his trouser legs. He saw three or five red bumps on his legs that were very eye-catching. Yin Xun said, "Well, I was just walking outside for a while last night and got bitten all over my legs."
Lu Qingjiu thought for a moment: "Maybe I'm lucky?"
Yin Xun grinned, and the playful canine teeth on his lips were particularly cute: "Maybe."
As the two were chatting, the boss brought over the cooked rice noodles, which exuded a rich aroma.
Lu Qingjiu picked up his chopsticks and took his first bite, exclaiming, "It tastes just like my childhood." The rice noodles, devoid of glue, were soft and chewy, absorbing the flavor of the bone broth for a rich, fresh taste. The seasoning was simple, topped with a handful of crispy, roasted chilies and lush green chives. The chives, cooked in the broth, were incredibly fragrant, perfectly offsetting the greasiness of the broth.
The two were already a little hungry, so they stopped talking as soon as the food came up. Only the sound of eating rice noodles could be heard. After Lu Qingjiu finished the whole bowl of rice noodles and drank a few mouthfuls of soup, he sighed with satisfaction.
"I'm so full." Yin Xun burped and touched his stomach with satisfaction.
"Delicious." Lu Qingjiu was also quite satisfied. He wiped his mouth and said casually: "By the way, when I came here yesterday, I took a taxi. The taxi driver said that two taxi drivers died here?"
"Oh, you mean this." Yin Xun said, "Yes, there are two, but they are not drivers but passengers."
Lu Qingjiu: “…”
Yin Xun didn't notice that Lu Qingjiu's expression was a little strange, and just said as if he was chatting about gossip: "But they are not necessarily dead. The bodies have not been found yet, only their luggage has been found."
"Aren't you from Shuifu Village?" Lu Qingjiu asked.
"No," Yin Xun said, "I'm from another village. I just have to pass by Shuifu Village... Why are you asking this?"
Lu Qingjiu said: "Oh, I just heard a little from others."
Yin Xun didn't take it seriously: "The security in our Shuifu Village is quite good. There aren't even any petty thefts. It's much better than other places."
The two returned to the house while talking. The cleaning was only half done and had to continue.
At the end of the day, the old house finally looked habitable, but the yard still needed some more time to take care of.
The old house is actually quite large, and with the backyard it is almost a small villa. However, because it has not been lived in for many years, there are relatively few rooms that can be lived in, and many of the roofs and walls need to be reinforced.
There was a well in the backyard of the old house. In the evening, Lu Qingjiu went to the well and found that there was still water in the well. It seemed that it could still be used, but the rope used to draw water was old and needed to be replaced.
"I still remember using this water to cool watermelons when I was a kid." Yin Xun sat by the well, tilting his head to look inside. "What are you planning to do this time? Farming?"
"Let's raise some animals and farm some crops." Lu Qingjiu said, "I still have some savings. I'll repair the livestock shed next door when the time comes..."
Almost every household in this village raises some animals. Chickens are common, and those with better conditions will also raise a few pigs or cows.
"Okay." Yin Xun said, "I'll talk to the carpenter tomorrow and have him come to your house to fix the shed. What do you want to buy? There's a market in town in a few days, and we can go take a look together."
"Okay, thank you." Lu Qingjiu said gratefully.
"You're welcome." Yin Xun waved his hand and said nonchalantly, "With our relationship, why are we still talking about this? It's getting late, so I'll go back first."
"Okay." Lu Qingjiu said, "Be careful."
Yin Xun turned and walked out of the yard. Lu Qingjiu returned to his old house only after seeing him walk away.
Although there was a TV in the old house, the signal was not turned on yet. Lu Qingjiu had no choice but to take out his mobile phone, climb onto the bed, open the app and read the news.
He looked at it for a moment, then suddenly remembered something. He tapped the search bar and typed in a few words: "Shuifu Village Taxi Passengers Missing." A moment later, the search results popped up. Lu Qingjiu skimmed through the news and found it was similar to what Yin Xun had described, albeit with more detail. The story was about a group of people who had suddenly disappeared, their families notifying the police, and their lost luggage was eventually found near Shuifu Village. After a police investigation, it was discovered that the people had all boarded a taxi...
Seeing this, Lu Qingjiu put down his phone and rolled up the sleeve of his left arm. Five purple dots were clearly visible on the skin covered by the sleeve.
Lu Qingjiu reached out and touched it, hissing softly. The red spot still hurt a lot. He had already realized that there seemed to be something wrong with the taxi driver last night, but fortunately he got out of the taxi safely without any accidents.
As Lu Qingjiu thought about it, he began to feel sleepy. After a busy day, he was a little tired. He closed his eyes and fell asleep in almost a moment.
He couldn't even imagine having this kind of sleep quality when he was at work. After all, their company required employees to keep their computers on 24 hours a day, especially planners like him. They would be called to the company at any time if there were any problems with the project. Although the salary was high enough, he was exhausted.
Lu Qingjiu thought he would sleep until dawn, but around midnight, he heard a very subtle sound.
The sound was like something scratching the tiles above his head, making Lu Qingjiu's head crackle.
Lu Qingjiu was awakened from his sleep by the noise. He opened his sleepy eyes and saw a faint light above his head. The light stunned Lu Qingjiu and his mind was confused for a while. After a while, he suddenly realized something and his eyes widened instantly - the tiles on the roof of the house were actually lifted up by something, and the bright moonlight fell from the top of his head onto the sheets, like a hot mark.
"Click, click." The sound above his head rang again. Lu Qingjiu's first reaction was that a wild cat or something had run to the roof. But just when this thought came to his mind, a round object appeared at the hole in the roof. Lu Qingjiu saw the shape of the round object clearly. It was a red eye with a dilated pupil. A white nictitating membrane slid across the eyeball, leaving a moist liquid on it. Lu Qingjiu recognized that it was the eye of a reptile.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
