I ignored the homeless old man and stared intently at the egg-shaped lamp on the ground. Hu Tudao had said that if something dirty got close and you couldn't see it, it would definitely show some special behavior.
The tiny flame of the egg lamp swayed back and forth in the wind, looking as if it might go out at any moment. I had heard from the old people in the village that if an egg lamp went out when there was still oil left, it meant that the deceased was very dissatisfied.
"Hold on." I stared intently at the flame of the egg lamp, afraid it would go out at any moment.
Fortunately, the flames only flickered for a while, and after the cold wind passed, they burned quietly again.
I breathed a slight sigh of relief, but then I remembered the cold wind that had just blown through me, and my heart started to race again. Was Ma Jiajie here?
I mustered my courage and looked around, but found nothing. Then I turned my gaze back to the egg lamp. Hu Tudao had said that if something unclean came to eat the offerings, the flame of the egg lamp would turn a ghostly green.
The egg-shaped lamp's flame is yellow, indicating that the evil spirits haven't arrived yet.
Just then, I felt a rustling sound of footsteps behind me, but upon closer listening, it seemed like my imagination.
Just as I was on edge, a sudden burst of singing startled me. I hurriedly pulled out my phone and saw that it was Hu Tudao calling. I felt like I had found a savior and quickly answered, saying, "Hello!"
"Zuo Changming, why did it take you so long?" Hu Tudao's impatient voice came through the phone.
"I've already set out the offerings, but... but she doesn't seem to have come to eat yet," I stammered as I replied.
"How do you know she didn't come to eat?" Hu Tu asked in a very strange tone.
"Didn't you say that if she came, the flame of the egg lamp would turn a ghostly blue?" I retorted irritably.
"Wait a minute." I heard footsteps coming from Hu Tudao's direction. After about a minute, I heard him lower his voice and say, "I'm just saying 'usually.' Every dirty thing is different. Nothing is absolute. How can you be so stupid? Hurry up and get ready to come back. You only gave me a few hundred yuan. Do you expect me to work all night?"
"Okay." I agreed. To be honest, I didn't want to stay up so late because I had to deliver packages tomorrow, and I didn't know if Zhong Lingui would be back at work. If she wasn't back yet, I'd probably have to run her route again. I'd already bothered Tong Liu once today, and I felt bad about calling her again. But just then, I suddenly saw the flame of the egg lamp flicker and then gradually turn into a ghostly blue. I stopped what I was about to do to tidy up the offerings and whispered into the phone, "I guess I'll have to wait a bit longer. The flame of the egg lamp has turned ghostly blue. She's probably already here."
"What? You're not kidding, are you?" Hu Tudao exclaimed in surprise over the phone.
"It's true. That's all for now. I'll pick her up after she's eaten for a while. I'll hang up now." I lowered my voice and hung up the phone.
I put my phone back in my pocket and stared intently at the offerings on the ground. I wasn't sure if it was Ma Jiajie. I looked around again, but still couldn't see anything.
To be honest, I'd rather see Ma Jiajie squatting there eating than have her come and I not see her. The unknown is often what makes people more frightened.
Hu Tudao said that once the egg lamp turns a dark blue color, you can go over in a few minutes, stick the incense stick into the glutinous rice, put the glutinous rice on the back seat, and then go straight back to Ma Dajun's house.
I shakily raised my hand and glanced at my watch. It was already 11:30 p.m., and I planned to pack up and go home at 11:35 p.m.
Five minutes later, I don't know if Ma Jiajie has eaten enough. If she hasn't eaten enough, and I take away the food, will she be very angry?
Thinking about this, I started to worry again. Should I wait until she's finished eating before cleaning up?
But I can't even see if she's there or not, and the food offerings on the ground are completely still. How the hell am I supposed to know when she's full?
Forget it, it'll only take five minutes to clean up. Let's just listen to Hu Tudao; after all, he's the expert in this area, he can't go wrong.
I tore off both legs of the chicken on the ground and gave them away. I don't know if Ma Jiajie will mind. The more I think about it, the more uneasy I feel.
I kept raising my hand to check my watch. These mere five minutes, the length of a song, felt like centuries to me.
But no matter how difficult it was, time would not stand still, and finally it was past 11:35.
It's time to pack up and head back to Ma Dajun's house.
I took a few deep breaths to bolster my courage, swallowed hard, and muttered to myself, "Don't be offended if I'm being rude," before lifting my foot to walk towards the offerings on the ground.
But because I was so nervous and scared, my legs went numb, and I stumbled and almost fell to the ground.
I gritted my teeth, calmed myself, and slowly walked toward the food on the ground. It was only a meter or two, but it felt like it took me forever.
Finally arriving at the offering table, I squatted down, pulled out the three incense sticks, and stuck them into the glutinous rice.
I thought to myself, since I've already done it, there's nothing I can do about it even if they're angry.
I tied the sticky rice to the back seat of my electric scooter and started cleaning up the food on the ground.
As I picked up the chicken without the drumstick, I suddenly thought of An Lili's grandmother. I remembered her saying that if someone called my name at the crossroads, I should never answer, and that there was something about a woman in red and embroidered shoes. I shook my head and stopped thinking about it. I put the things in the back of the bike, got on, and prepared to go back to Ma Dajun's house.
Just then, a gust of wind blew by, and the streetlight at the intersection, which was already faulty, suddenly went out. I was startled and quickly turned on the headlights of my electric scooter.
I don't care about anything else anymore; all I want to do now is get back to Ma Dajun's house as soon as possible.
Just as I was about to start the car, I heard a woman's voice. The voice was very gentle, it touched my heart, and it was very ethereal. It seemed to be behind me, or it seemed to be on my left and right.
I started trembling violently, gripping the handlebars of the electric scooter tightly. I wanted to turn around and look, but I didn't dare. Actually, I wasn't sure if I was just too nervous and misheard.
"Are you Zuo Changming?" Just then, I heard a woman's voice again.
It seems to be very close to me, maybe right behind me.
I clenched my teeth, not daring to make a sound. At this moment, I was absolutely certain that I had indeed heard a woman's voice.
I didn't dare to look back, but my eyes would uncontrollably dart left and right, trying to see what was behind me.
At the edge of my left field of vision, I think I saw a blurry red figure, but I'm not sure if it is, because I don't dare to move my head at all.
"Are you Zuo Changming?" Just when I was extremely nervous, I heard a woman's soft voice behind me.
I was on the verge of a breakdown, and just as I was about to ignore everything and turn back to agree to her, I heard another woman's faint voice behind me, "Don't answer her, go home."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com