Chapter 21 Deliveryman (21)
As night fell, the wind suddenly picked up.
The temperature has dropped suddenly, from over 30 degrees Celsius during the day to now it's difficult to even maintain 10 degrees Celsius.
Even more surprisingly, the temperature continues to drop.
Bai Ye was shivering from the cold and couldn't help but move closer to the fire, becoming even more proactive in burning paper money.
She cried as she asked, "Auntie, why did it suddenly get cold?"
The middle-aged woman next to her sighed, twisted her head off, and tucked it into her bosom. "Who says otherwise? I'll cover it up for a while, and take it out when I cry."
After saying that, he patted Bai Ye on the shoulder, "Young man, remember to call me later, I'll take a nap."
Crying all day long is really awful.
Several middle-aged women nearby followed suit, all turning their heads down and starting to curl up.
Those necks were exposed to the air, and a strong smell of blood immediately filled the area around the coffin.
Bai Ye was adored by the aunties and was surrounded by them; she felt this most intensely at that moment.
He felt nauseous and was about to vomit up what he had eaten for dinner.
But he couldn't leave. The group of aunties had instructed him to watch over the host family and wake them up immediately if anyone came.
Bai Ye turned his head, wanting to talk to the people behind him, trying to divert their attention.
I didn't want to turn around and look, but the entire area behind the coffin was completely empty.
Apart from the five or six middle-aged women surrounding him, everyone else had disappeared.
Including four colleagues.
Bai Ye was puzzled, then surprised, and finally began to panic.
It wasn't that I was afraid of the headless people around me, but rather that I was worried about the unknown night.
That night in the mental hospital left him with considerable aftereffects. Although it was only a 0.5 damage value, the trembling and rejection he experienced when the unknown liquid was injected were extremely intense.
It was almost an instinct, an instinct to resist strange harm.
Bai Ye trembled as she quickened her movements, burning paper money, and sobbed softly, "Grandpa, Grandpa, please bless me! I'm counting on you tonight..."
The sky darkened.
One by one, the electric lights that were draped under the tarpaulin went out.
"Slap—slap—slap—"
Each time it is turned off, it is accompanied by a crisp switch sound.
Even though there was no one around, there were scattered footsteps on the ground, and you could even hear the sound of high heels.
Bai Ye couldn't help but recall a movie he had watched as a child, in which a girl was walking on an overpass late at night, walking faster and faster, when suddenly she looked down with a look of terror on her face.
Her pink high heels, which she had been wearing, began to gnaw at her, devouring her feet. Without her feet, she collapsed to the ground, watching as a long trail of blood trailed behind her, the high heels now displaying an eerie color…
Sometimes, facing these terrifying images in real life isn't so scary. Even if they are scary, you get used to them after a while.
The human heart is always very strong.
For example, right now, Bai Ye is surrounded by a group of headless aunties. Apart from the unbearable smell of blood, he feels alright.
The clear sound of high heels clicking away never came, leaving only a vague sense of anticipation and making the situation even more unbearable.
Bai Ye rubbed his arms, trying to suppress the goosebumps that kept rising on his skin. He was afraid that the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he would feel, so he simply started chanting scriptures.
I've only vaguely heard a few lines of the Taiping Sutra, the Ping'an Sutra, and the Qingxin Sutra while hanging out with these aunties, and now they're stringing them all together and reciting them incessantly.
As she continued chanting, the sound of high heels disappeared.
Bai Ye breathed a sigh of relief.
But the next second, an even more terrifying voice descended from the sky, "Kid, you're slacking off again!"
Bai Ye looked up and met the eyes of the middle-aged man, Fan Xiaoxi.
"I?"
"What do you mean, 'me'? Everyone else is crying, but you're the one who's cheating and lying."
Bai Ye turned around and saw that all the headless aunties were dressed neatly, each of them wiping away tears with their heads up, crying so hard they were about to faint.
Those cries, carried away by the wind, still carried a sense of sorrow far away.
As I continued watching, my colleagues were all there, silently weeping. Although they couldn't compete with the older women, they were at least making a semblance of their selves.
Only myself...
Bai Ye opened his mouth, wanting to explain, but couldn't.
"I was wrong, I'll cry now."
She turned around, hugged the coffin tightly, and cried out, "Grandpa! You died too soon! Look at my dad, he can't stand to see me doing well. My heart is breaking from missing you so much. I haven't shed a tear for a moment, and my dad is already scolding me. Grandpa, please do me justice! Grandpa, please come back..."
Each accusation was filled with genuine emotion.
The middle-aged man's face flushed red, and he muttered, "What are you doing? If you're going to cry, then cry. Stop talking nonsense."
"Didn't you ask me to be the old man's grandson? Then you're my dad! You asked me to cry sincerely, and when I actually cried, you scolded me."
Bai Ye didn't know how to cry. He relied entirely on his memory that when his grandfather passed away, his grandmother hugged the coffin, cursing his father while shedding tears.
That scene was truly breathtaking, and even after so many years, Bai Ye still remembers it clearly.
I even remember his dad smiling awkwardly but politely at the guests, saying things like, "My mom is too heartbroken."
"Grandpa, don't go! What will I do without you? My dad wants to hit me, and he curses at me. Without me, he'd be the king of the world..."
As she spoke, Bai Ye began to shed tears. This time, the tears were genuine, without the aid of ginger.
The middle-aged man wanted to curse again, but when he met Bai Ye's tear-filled eyes, the words stuck in his throat and he couldn't utter them.
I must say, they can be really nasty when they're cursing, but when they cry, they're quite convincing.
Look at him, acting like a real grandson.
"Fine, I'll pretend I didn't hear you."
After the middle-aged man left, the aunties around him gathered around, praising him one after another.
“Young man, this is how you should cry. You’ve finally shown some emotion.”
"Don't be afraid of Xiao Fan. He's all talk. He's not really going to beat you up. It's just that he's only thinking about his precious son. He wouldn't even let anyone come back for his own grandfather's funeral."
"Is Xiao Fan's son about to take the college entrance exam?"
"Who can argue with that? But we can't keep it a secret like this. Uncle Fan left in a hurry, and we won't even be able to see him one last time."
"Sigh, my eldest granddaughter is abroad, my eldest grandson is in the army, and my eldest daughter's family has never spoken to each other again..."
Bai Ye was so engrossed in listening to the gossip that he held onto the coffin for a long time without letting go.
These aunties are not only professional mourners, but they are also neighbors!
In just a short time, they heard the whole story about the old man lying inside.
The old gentleman's name was Fan Yong. He was a science and technology worker, specifically engaged in agricultural technology-based production. In his early years, he traveled all over the country, constantly striving to improve farmland productivity.
He was capable and lucky. Later, he started his own agricultural technology company and received government support, which is how he succeeded.
He had two wives and had two sons and one daughter.
The eldest son and eldest daughter were born to his first wife. His first wife passed away due to illness. Three years later, he remarried and had a younger son, who is now Fan Xiaoxi, who is in charge of the funeral arrangements.
The eldest son's family went abroad, while their daughter, the old man's eldest granddaughter, remained overseas.
Judging from the aunties' conversation, the father and son were arguing incessantly, seemingly about the company's relocation.
"Old Fan refused to move, but his son insisted on moving the company overseas. They argued fiercely, and in a fit of anger, Old Fan slapped him, saying, 'You unfilial son, you've moved the whole family overseas!'"
"My eldest daughter is out of her mind. She listened to her brother's nonsense, became estranged from her father, married someone from another place, and doesn't come back even once a year."
"There are still feelings involved. Xiao Fan didn't even inform his sister. Is he afraid of coming back to claim his inheritance?"
"The most pitiful one is the boy. Uncle Fan raised him single-handedly, and they have a very close relationship. Little Fan didn't even tell him, or he'll cause a huge uproar..."
Bai Ye looked back at the coffin, and the more he looked, the more pitiful the old man lying inside seemed.
Putting aside their wealth, the family relationships were a complete mess.
The only dutiful grandson was kept in the dark.
"Old sir, are you missing your grandson?" Bai Ye murmured.
Before he finished speaking, a gust of cold wind blew out from the cracks in the coffin.
Bai Ye's vision went black, and when he opened his eyes again, everyone around him had disappeared.
This time, there wasn't even a tarpaulin hanging on the side.
The buildings disappeared, followed by the residential area, and finally exposed a wasteland, all around silent.
Bai Ye looked down and saw that the plastic stool he had just been sitting on had now turned into a pile of dirt.
As soon as he moved his buttocks, all the dirt scattered.
"Croak—croak—"
"Coo-coo meow—coo-coo meow—"
"Squeak squeak squeak—squeak squeak—"
Animal sounds at night echoed through the mountains and wilderness.
Bai Ye stood up and looked around. What he saw terrified him.
This is a cemetery!
Moreover, it was a mound of earth where people were casually buried.
"Knock knock knock—"
A knocking sound came from inside the coffin.
An old man's muffled voice came from inside, "Young man, open the lid, I'm suffocating."
Bai Ye stepped forward and pushed the coffin lid, moving it inch by inch. The bright moonlight poured down like water, slowly illuminating the inside of the coffin.
The old man's Zhongshan suit was no longer new and intact; the fabric had begun to dissolve, the stitching had become loose, and most of the buttons had fallen off, with only a few hanging loosely.
A gentle breeze blew by, and the last few buttons fell off.
The old man, who originally had a full and kind face, was now emaciated, with his face sunken to an extremely deep degree.
Bai Ye saw the veins tightly pressed against the skin, and something was wriggling inside them.
"Young man, help me up," the old man said again.
Bai Ye responded and carefully lifted the person out of the coffin. The person looked thin and frail, but weighed as much as a thousand pounds.
"Sir, do you have any instructions?" Bai Ye tried his best to maintain good relations with the customer and meet their needs.
To everyone's surprise, the old man pointed ahead and said, "I'm going to No. 3 Middle School."
"What?"
"I want to see my good boy."
"..."
"It's going to be burned down tomorrow. I want to see it one last time. Take me there, and I'll give you extra money."
"!"
That's a beautiful statement.
Although he didn't know why the surrounding environment had changed so drastically, serving customers and completing the best orders was Baiye's pursuit.
"Sir, how much are you planning to add?"
Bai Ye rubbed his hands together, feeling rather embarrassed. "I didn't know how far your grandson's school was. Look at how dark it is in the middle of the night, it's not easy to go there. Besides, with you along, sir, it's probably hard to get a taxi."
The old man pondered for a moment, then seemed to agree, "Add another thousand."
"Alright, sir, hop on, I'll carry you."
Bai Ye stepped forward, half-squatting and bending down, feeling a little pleased: rather than crying all night, it's better to do some physical work.
The old man slowly climbed up, lay on Bai Ye's back, and began to give directions.
"Go down the mountain first, and walk slowly along the path. The path is steep. If I fall and break, you definitely won't get the money."
"Keep going forward, don't take the main road, we'll go through the alley. I remember it clearly, the good boy's school is at the end of the alley."
"Young man, you're walking too slowly; it'll be dawn soon..."
Bai Ye carried the old man on his back, his steps heavy and each one difficult.
There was no other reason than that the "person" on his back was simply too heavy.
He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt like the weight was increasing.
It was as if a ball of cotton was being soaked by rain, gradually becoming heavy. Or as if this "person" was being dragged into water, gradually swelling and becoming bloated.
But no matter what, Bai Ye held on tightly with both hands and lifted the person up a little.
"Don't worry, sir, I'm quite capable of carrying people. It's still early before dawn, we'll definitely make it."
As dawn broke, the sky gradually turned a pale white. After walking all night, Bai Ye finally arrived at the Third Middle School.
The gatekeeper was fast asleep when he led the old man over the wall and climbed straight in.
The morning reading session hadn't started yet, and the classroom was empty.
The old man pointed in a direction that seemed familiar, "Go over there, to the boy's dorm room."
Bai Ye picked up the old man and carried him all the way to the boys' dormitory. Suddenly, the weight on his back felt lighter.
Before he could react, the old man had already run quickly toward the dormitory gate.
The large iron gate opened with a push, and the old man ran to a dormitory room on the first floor and peered out the window.
Bai Ye was afraid of waking up the dormitory supervisor, so she followed closely behind.
"Sir, let's watch quietly, so as not to wake the students."
The old man looked satisfied and pointed to the window, "Look, there's my good boy, the rascal is sleeping so soundly."
Bai Ye leaned closer to look and, sure enough, saw a young, sleeping face on the lower bunk by the window.
However, the next second, he was terrified, and his heart was pounding.
"This, this!"
Why does this face look like my high school self?
Bai Ye was so shocked he couldn't speak. He pressed himself against the window, staring intently at the face, trying to discern something amiss.
But the more I looked at it, the more familiar everything seemed.
The dormitory room was just like his high school days, the bed sheet was hand-sewn by his mother, the school uniform he was wearing bore the mark of the high school he had been admitted to, and even the sneakers at the foot of the bed had the same worn-out appearance...
"Day and night? Day and night?"
There are noisy sounds in my ears.
"Day and night? Day and night, wake up!"
The sound grew louder and louder.
Bai Ye suddenly opened his eyes and found himself lying next to the coffin, while someone else was standing nearby, having earned money to level up to level two.
"What's wrong?"
"The funeral procession is about to begin."
"oh."
Bai Ye stood up, suppressing his doubts, rubbed his eyes, and looked around.
"Where are the others?"
"They're gone."
"What?"
"There was a high-level, eerie intrusion at night, and the space was torn apart. They encountered the invasion midway and abandoned the mission."
"You've made money to level up to level two," the man said, looking at the person before him with certainty. "You're very courageous. Besides me, you're the only one who persevered. But what strange thing did you encounter last night? Were you hurt?"
Bai Ye recalled the events of last night, opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.
Highly eerie?
Is it that familiar face lying in the dormitory, or the old man who was carried all night?
Bai Ye was a little confused. "I don't know. Maybe I ran into her, but I didn't feel like I was hurt."
"Look at the screen." A notification pops up saying you've earned enough to level up to level two.
Bai Ye hummed in agreement, turned to the side and tapped the screen. The damage value column displayed a bright red number 3.
"?!"
Bai Ye was confused. How did the damage value appear?
I don't feel any pain anywhere.
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