I put down my phone and quickly took out a mirror. I saw that I was pale and had dark circles under my eyes. I took the tissue off my nose and rinsed it with mineral water so that Tong Liu wouldn't come over and look at the scabs under my nose and ask me what happened. I didn't want to tell Tong Liu about what happened at the small house so that he would worry about me.
I changed my clothes, checked my watch, and it was already 9:30 PM. Hu Ergou was coming over at 10:30 PM, so I should go and deliver dinner to Xu Huihui now.
I packed those things into a large cardboard box, and just as I was about to reach for the door while holding the box, I heard a knock on the door. When I opened it, I found Tong Liu standing at the doorway with a headlamp on his head.
"What's this?" I asked.
"Where's Hu Ergou? Has he arrived yet?" Tong Liu didn't answer my question, but glanced into my room and asked.
"No," I replied.
"So what are you going to do?" Tong Liu took off his headlamp, shook it, and said, "I'm taking this with me, just to be safe, so it won't be too dark and I can't see anything, which would be scary."
"Go feed Xu Huihui first." I recounted what Hu Ergou had told me to Tong Liu.
"Alright, let's go up together." Tong Liu said, turned around, and walked ahead of me.
I followed behind Tong Liu and noticed that he seemed to be hiding something in his waistband, making his t-shirt bulge.
"Sixth Bucket, what are you hiding in your clothes?" I couldn't help but ask.
"It's nothing," Tong Liu replied, tugging at his clothes, and continued walking ahead.
When Tong Liu reached the stairwell, he bent down and picked up two bricks, saying, "Just like last time, take them up to secure the incense."
In the instant that Tong Liu bent down, I saw what he had hidden under his clothes—a hammer. It seemed he was well-prepared. But would a hammer be effective against all this filth?
"Hmm." I shook my head and followed Tong Liu upstairs.
We went up to the dance studio on the second floor, turned on the lights, took out all the offerings from the cardboard box, placed them on the floor, and lit the incense.
Tong Liu stood next to me, one hand on his headlamp and the other on his waist, his eyes scanning the surroundings with a sharp gaze.
I offered tea and wine, then slowly stood up and began to bow.
Tong Liu bowed to me as well. I saw that Tong Liu looked nervous, so I patted him on the shoulder and comforted him, "Tong Liu, relax. She hasn't even shown up yet, and you've already had a stroke."
After Tong Liu finished bowing, he hurriedly put his hands back on his waist, glanced at me, and asked, "Changming, aren't you afraid?"
"I'm scared." I nodded seriously.
"Then why don't you look nervous at all?" Tong Liu asked suspiciously.
"Is being nervous useful?" I asked back. Since I'm already here, I'm prepared to face Xu Huihui. At least until she shows up, I can stay calm.
Compared to what happened at the cabin, things are better now, at least I still have Bucket Six by my side.
"Little Xu Huihui, I've brought you some food!" I said softly to the empty dance studio, then squatted down to offer a second toast before standing up to bow.
Tong Liu also bowed to me, but I noticed that he looked even more nervous, with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.
"I told you not to come." I said to Tong Liu. Although I said that, I was still very touched. With Tong Liu by my side, I was not so scared. If I were here by myself, I would not be able to keep my composure.
Perhaps it's because I was just scared, but I feel that this place is nowhere near as good as the hut I just left.
“We are brothers,” Tong Liu said, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
"Xu Huihui, are you there?" I said to the air in front of me. I couldn't believe that I could be so calm as to call out a dirty thing to dinner tonight.
I squatted down to offer a toast for the third time, then picked up a few pieces of paper money, lit them on the candle, and set them on the floor in front of the candle to burn. I then opened the two stacks of paper money I had bought later and put them all in to burn.
The flames from the burning paper money illuminated the entire dance studio even brighter, and I rose to begin my bow.
After the ceremony, I looked around and, apart from the last wisp of smoke rising from the burning paper money, there was nothing unusual in the dance studio.
"She's not not coming, is she?" Tong Liu looked around and then at the offerings on the ground before asking.
"I don't know."
As soon as I finished speaking, the lights in the dance studio suddenly went out, plunging the surroundings into darkness. The only light in the entire dance studio was the flickering flame of the white candle.
"Changming." Tong Liu suddenly called out to me and moved a little closer.
"Don't look at the headlamp." I saw Tong Liu pull out the hammer with a look of terror on his face, and reach for the headlamp with one hand as well, so I hurriedly said.
I appeared calm on the surface, but inside I was starting to get nervous, and I got goosebumps all over my body.
Tong Liu didn't turn on his headlamp after hearing what I said. Instead, he stood next to me, his body trembling slightly, his eyes wide open, constantly looking around.
By the dim light of the flower, I could see the veins bulging on Tong Liu's arm where he was holding the hammer. I reached out and gently patted his hand, saying softly, "Put the hammer away and don't show any hostility. If she wants to harm us, are you sure you can hit her?"
Tong Liu glanced at me, hesitated for a moment, and then put the hammer back into the belt.
Just then, a gust of cold wind blew in, and I shuddered. My heart started pounding wildly, and Tong Liu, who was right next to me, wasn't much better off; his body was also trembling.
The small flame of the candle swayed back and forth in the wind, as if it might go out at any moment, while Tong Liu had somehow reached out and grabbed one of my hands.
I was really afraid the candle would go out, but thankfully the gust of wind came and went quickly, and the flame gradually calmed down after flickering for a while.
Neither Tong Liu nor I spoke or moved, our eyes both fixed on the offerings on the ground.
Just then, the candle flame slowly turned a ghostly blue, and the entire dance studio became even darker, with a ghostly blue hue.
Tong Liu's hand, which was gripping mine, was trembling, and I could feel that his palm was soaked with sweat.
I wasn't much better off; my scalp tingled, my whole body trembled, and my legs felt numb.
Although I didn't see Xu Huihui, I had a feeling that she had already arrived, perhaps right in front of us, eating the offerings on the ground.
"whee."
Just then, a clear laugh came from the dance studio.
Tong Liu gripped my hand and tightened his grip, trying to pull me away, but my legs were numb, and I didn't want to leave like this.
When Tong Liu realized he couldn't pull me away, he didn't leave on his own. Instead, he continued to stand beside me, his whole body trembling.
Neither of us spoke. It was very quiet all around. We could clearly hear our breathing, our heartbeats, and the faint sound of chewing something.
"Gulp."
Tong Liu swallowed hard, his throat bobbing.
Just when we were both incredibly nervous, I heard a footstep—no, two footsteps.
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