"Brother-in-law, slow down. You've had too much to drink. Why don't you stay here and sleep instead of going back?"
In a courtyard filled with the aroma of meat and wine, an elderly man with a flushed face helped another elderly man, who was tall and robust with a ruddy complexion and no wrinkles, and offered words of advice.
"There's no need for all that trouble. I'll just walk back; it's only a few miles."
Feng Lingjun, whose hair was growing thicker and thicker, looked at his brother-in-law who was supporting him. Although he was also full of the smell of alcohol, his eyes were much clearer than the other man's.
"It's already dark; it's not safe to walk at night."
“What’s unsafe about it? I’ve walked this road to your house countless times.”
Feng Lingjun didn't care at all and insisted on going home.
“It’s so late. If I don’t go back, your sister will be worried.”
"Brother-in-law, listen to me. A couple of days ago, a pair of adulterers in our village were caught having an affair. Instead of reporting it to the authorities, they were drowned in a pig cage. Their bodies were pulled out, wrapped in a straw mat, and thrown into some corner of that cemetery."
Anyway, that road has been a bit unsettled these past few days. The village has already raised money to invite a Taoist priest to perform a ritual. Our village has been keeping this a secret and hasn't told anyone else about it.
Seeing that his brother-in-law insisted on going home, the elderly Ye family member, who looked much older than Feng Lingjun, leaned closer to him, lowered his voice, and spoke mysteriously.
"Is that so?"
Feng Lingjun was somewhat surprised.
"After that mountain became unsettled, did something happen to someone here?"
"No, but some people have been frightened."
"What's there to be afraid of? Look at my body, how dare these demons and monsters provoke me?"
Upon hearing that it was just a trivial matter, Feng Lingjun lost all his awe. His body was getting stronger every day, and it could even be said that many young people could not compare to him.
"Brother-in-law, your health is truly remarkable."
The elderly Ye family man, whose body was already slightly hunched, looked at his brother-in-law, who was several heads taller than him, and couldn't help but show envy in his eyes.
Even though the other person was older than him, just by looking at them, someone who didn't know the situation would think he was older.
"Being waited on like a master definitely makes you age slower."
Although the old man of the Ye family envied Feng Lingjun's health, he also believed that the other party was now living a wealthy life and had no worries, which was why he appeared so robust.
"Don't bother seeing me off, I'm going back now."
"I'm too old and lazy to move around. I'll have Phaeton drive you."
"There's no need."
The two elderly people declined, but in the end the Ye family still sent a young and strong old man to take the wind home.
"That couple from your village who were having an affair, they ended up being dumped here?"
Under the slightly eerie night sky, the tall old man, who was a full head taller than the Ye family nephews and nieces beside him, looked at a low mountain that appeared particularly sinister in the darkness.
"Uncle, can we not talk about these things?"
Compared to the old man's robust physique, the short and stocky young man from the Ye family suddenly looked like a frightened quail, and couldn't help but shrink his neck.
"You're such a coward! We're two young and vigorous men, why are we afraid of these ghosts and demons!"
The old man, full of energy and spirit, had clear eyes. Even in the dim night, he walked with his head held high and chest out, and even knowing that he was about to pass a cemetery, he did not slow down at all.
"Who wouldn't do something like this..."
Seeing his incredibly fierce uncle-in-law, the younger members of the Ye family were too embarrassed to continue speaking; the old man was clearly not afraid of anything.
"Humans fear ghosts to some extent, and ghosts fear humans to some extent! They can't cause any trouble while alive, so why should we be afraid of their misdeeds when they're dead?"
The old man's voice was resounding and powerful, but the young people of the Ye family dared not respond, because they had already entered the cemetery area and could see the messy tombstones with just a slight turn of their heads.
The old man, realizing he was being frivolous, didn't say anything more. The young man beside him was clearly a coward, and there was no need to provoke him further.
"I told you it would be fine, what are you afraid of?"
The steady old man, leading the timid young man beside him, turned around and smiled as they were about to leave the cemetery area.
"It would be best if nothing happened. Uncle, let's hurry up and go. If we get home late, my aunt will worry again."
"I think you shouldn't go back tonight. Sit down at my place; I have plenty of guest rooms."
"Okay."
The young man from the Ye family readily agreed, but before he could even express his joy, his face stiffened, and he grabbed the arm of the old man beside him.
"Uncle, look... didn't we just walk down that road?"
"...I have walked through it."
Feng Lingjun frowned as he looked at the narrow path leading into the darkness before him. On one side of the path was a gentle slope covered with scattered tombstones, which, in this context, seemed particularly eerie.
"Hehehe... Uncle, have we run into a ghost wall?"
The young man from the Ye family was chattering, with fine beads of sweat dripping from his forehead and his face looking somewhat pale.
"Probably, don't be afraid!"
Even in this situation, the old man remained calm and patted the young man's shoulder. The young man immediately felt a warm but not scorching sensation on his shoulder.
"We're still fine now, aren't we? This shows that those evil things can't harm us. We're not afraid. At worst, we can just wait until dawn. They can't do anything to us then."
Because of the inexplicable changes that have occurred to him over the past year, the old man has begun to study books about gods, demons, and strange tales. He is very calm at this moment, and even he is surprised by his own composure.
"Uncle, do you have a solution?"
People's emotions can influence each other. The presence of a calm and composed elder nearby helped the panicked young man gradually calm down, and his fear slowly dissipated.
"No, I'm not a Taoist priest."
The old man shook his head.
"But we can keep moving forward, and we can get out of there if we keep walking."
Will this work?
"You'll know once you try."
The old man, who had learned a lot from tales of the strange and supernatural, pulled the young man beside him forward, not even glancing at the tombstones next to them.
Although it was the first time he had encountered something like this, the old man remained incredibly calm. He even had a strange feeling that he couldn't possibly be harmed.
"Uncle, you've come back again."
After walking a distance, the young man became even more frightened, because he saw the cemetery again.
"Don't panic. Our method won't lead us out so easily. We might just be standing still."
The old man looked around and realized that a thin mist had enveloped the area, obscuring the view even with the moonlight.
"So what should we do?"
"wait."
"Wait for what?"
The young people of the Ye family were somewhat bewildered. They were in the middle of nowhere, and they had even run into a ghost wall. What were they supposed to wait for? Could someone possibly save them?
Meow~
Just then, a meow rang out. Unlike the lazy meows of ordinary house cats, this was almost a roar, mixed with a hint of angry howl.
At the very moment the cat's meow rang out, the young members of the Ye family, who were nearly scared out of their wits, saw a pair of golden pupils light up right in front of them, their dazzling light shining in all directions. Faintly, they could also hear two mournful howls.
"ah!"
The young man from the Ye family was so frightened that he sat down on the ground with a thud, his face drained of all color. However, he did not notice that the thin mist surrounding him had begun to dissipate, and the distant scenery had reappeared.
"stand up!"
The old man stared intently ahead. Once all the strange phenomena had disappeared, he pulled up his nephew beside him. Although he was quite disgusted by his timidity, he couldn't very well leave him there.
"Uncle, what is that?"
"have no idea."
The old man shook his head.
"But I don't think it's anything evil. Maybe it's here to save us. Look, we can even see the lights."
"real."
The young man looked back and indeed saw a dim candlelight; that was his home.
"Why don't you go back to my house?"
"No need. If you're scared, you can go back by yourself."
"Forget it, I'll go with you, Uncle. If I leave you behind, my father won't forgive me."
The old man smiled and didn't say much, but continued forward. Sure enough, he never saw the burial mound again. Before long, the old man led his sons and nephews back to the mansion.
Upon entering the mansion, the old man immediately saw his wife, whose complexion was no less than his own, walking towards him with a stern face, surrounded by a flock of geese. As expected, after smelling the alcohol on him, she began to scold him.
"You old codger, you went back for a drink without saying a word, and you're only coming back this late..."
The old man listened to his wife's rambling with his eyes lowered. After she finished, he stepped forward, took her hand, and after a few words, immediately asked about his grandson.
"Is Wen'er asleep?"
"They must be asleep by now."
"Have you seen his black cat?"
The old man asked in a seemingly casual tone.
When the Ye family nephew asked him just now, he actually lied. He had clearly seen what those golden eyes were—the eyes of a cat.
"Why are you asking about that cat? That cat looks weird."
Grandma frowned slightly. The female cat her grandson had picked up had run away after giving birth to a black kitten.
She held a grudge about this, feeling that her grandson had raised a cat with a negative view of others. Therefore, she didn't particularly like the black cat as well.
"On the way back, I ran into some things, I'll tell you about them later. Do you remember what color the cat's eyes were?"
The old man paused for a moment, then continued to ask questions.
"Yellow eyes, I suppose."
Hearing the old man's seemingly irrelevant question, the grandmother frowned, but after thinking for a moment, she answered.
"I remember that cat's eyes were very bright, like they could glow."
"That's probably it."
Upon hearing this, the old man nodded as if he understood something, and Feng Bingwen witnessed the whole scene.
“You little rascal, how many times a month does the old man go out? Even if you follow him the whole way, things can still go wrong. And to make matters worse, my grandfather saw it all.”
Knowing the whole story, Feng Bingwen glared at the little black cat huddled in the corner of the bed, looking aggrieved and resentful, and scolded it irritably.
What do you expect me to do about this?
"Hehe, young master, why don't you come clean with the old master? You've kept it a secret for long enough."
"Yes, sir, you can't hide it anymore!"
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