A scream choked in their throats. By the time everyone reacted again, everything before them had vanished, leaving behind only a thick, sticky pool of black and red blood.
Drip, drip—
Somewhere, the sound of liquid dripping echoed once more.
——————
The next day.
A village that had been peaceful for nearly twenty years was once again thrown into turmoil. For a time, everyone was abuzz with discussion, thinking back to the events of twenty years ago, filled with unease.
Lu Chu and Song Gui, along with three others, were summoned to the village chief to explain the situation.
In the guest room of the village chief’s house, Lu Chu’s thoughts wandered, his mind filled with writhing snakes, severed and whole, all without exception bleeding, terrifying and grim. The bloodstains crept, slowly spreading to his feet.
It is said that a single snake’s blood amounts to about a cup and a half. So, how many snakes would it take to cover the ground ankle-deep in blood?
The village chief sighed, his face troubled. “I was against you going during the day, let alone running over there at night… Didn’t Auntie Lu stop you?!”
Just as the village chief mentioned Grandma Lu, a commotion was heard outside, and then Grandma Lu pushed the door open and came in.
“My dear grandson, my dear grandson!” Tears streamed down the old woman’s face as soon as she saw Lu Chu. She pulled him close, inspecting him over and over, muttering, “Amitabha, Amitabha, ancestors of the Lu family, please protect my dear grandson from harm… Our Lu family has done no wrong for generations, and he is our only descendant, please protect him… I should have stopped you all, how could I agree so easily, I must be getting senile…”
Grandma Lu was extremely agitated. Lu Chu quickly helped her to a chair, patting her back and comforting her, “Grandma, I’m fine.”
The village chief’s frown deepened as he watched Grandma Lu.
In the meantime, of the four who had been silent, Li Jiapeng was the first to break down. He bit his right hand continuously, trembling all over, whimpering softly. He Mingde’s eyes were red, Song Gui stood aside with a gloomy face, and Qi Li hung his head, his expression unreadable.
The village chief took a deep breath, calming himself, and said, “It has been twenty years since something like this happened here. You young people are bold, but the trouble you cause is big too!”
Song Gui’s eyes were red, as if holding back tears, and Lu Chu had to admire his acting skills.
Song Gui choked up, asking, “What happened twenty years ago? Was there a similar incident?”
The village chief looked at him and began to recount the events from twenty years ago, the details more vivid than what Grandma Lu had told them.
After hearing the story, the four fell silent. After a while, Li Jiapeng stood up and said, “No matter what, Chengzi is gone, and we can’t even find his body. We were his brothers, and we must seek justice for him.”
“Justice? How can you find justice against spirits and ghosts?” The village chief interrupted. “Besides, you disturbed whatever was down there. Who knows if it will come again? What if the next target is one of our villagers?”
Li Jiapeng disagreed, raising his voice at the thought of his brother’s senseless death. “Chengzi’s death was a disaster! Why should we bear the blame for what happened in your village over twenty years ago?!”
“Humph, young people know nothing. When spirits and ghosts harm people, they don’t care if you’re good or bad.”
He Mingde said, “Jiapeng, stop arguing. This place is too remote with weak phone signals. Let’s return to the city and report to the police. We need to keep this from Uncle Yang and Aunt Yang for now.”
Li Jiapeng sneered, “Why hide it? They don’t care about Chengzi. He was adopted, and after they had their own child, they didn’t raise him well, using him as a cash cow and labor.”
He Mingde, still rational, said, “That’s even more reason to hide it. Chengzi still had some money. The Yangs always wanted it. If this gets out, who knows what they’ll do? We don’t want Chengzi to be disturbed even after his death.”
Hearing their conversation, the village chief interjected, “No, none of you can leave the village now! Reporting to the police is out of the question!”
They all spoke at once, “Why?!”
“You caused this mess, and we don’t know what might happen next. If this is just the beginning… If you leave, what about the villagers? And this time, it was an evil spirit from below. What good will reporting to the police do? Can they catch ghosts or exorcise them? I don’t know how you handle things in the city, but in this case, we cannot involve the police. Until we are sure there won’t be another incident, you must stay in the village, and Lu Chu too. Don’t wander off.”
Li Jiapeng wanted to argue, but Song Gui stopped him. Song Gui said, “Is the village chief planning to imprison us?”
The village chief shook his head. “There’s no imprisonment. It’s just for peace of mind. We will find an empty courtyard for you to stay in, away from others, and Lu Chu too. Don’t spread bad luck to your grandma.”
Lu Chu hadn’t expressed his opinion yet when Grandma Lu, agitated, said, “This is my dear grandson! How can he stay outside because of this?! No, no, he comes home with me. The other young ones too. I’m old, already half in the grave, not afraid of these demons and ghosts!”
Lu Chu was troubled. “Grandma…”
Truthfully, if this bad luck was real, he didn’t want to bring it to the old lady.
Grandma Lu insisted, “No need to say more. Come home with me. I’ll cook something nice to calm you. We’re not afraid, not afraid.”
Lu Chu was about to say more when Qi Li, from behind, nodded slightly at him, signaling agreement with going home with Grandma Lu.
Lu Chu chose to trust the man.
Since Grandma Lu was not afraid and willing to take in the group, the village chief didn’t object, as long as they didn’t leave the village.
On the way back to Grandma Lu’s house, a few scattered villagers whispered and pointed at them.
Once home, Li Jiapeng collapsed onto a chair, covering his face. “I feel like I’m dreaming. Chengzi is fine.”
He Mingde took a deep breath, “So do I.”
Song Gui and Qi Li remained silent.
Grandma Lu took Lu Chu into the inner room, rummaged through old things, and found a bunch of worn amulets for him to wear. She muttered, “My dear grandson has always been blessed, nothing will happen. Here, these are ancestral amulets, wear them, we’ll be fine…”
The long, agonizing day dragged on with everyone’s nerves on edge.
In the afternoon, Grandma Lu, restless, took Lu Chu and the others to Wang Po’s house again.
It was still the same enclosed space, dim and flickering orange candlelight casting shadows on the hanging yellow silk strips. The skeletal woman sat at a table, holding three incense sticks. She showed no surprise at seeing them.
Wang Po continued her actions, stood up, and placed the incense in a small censer behind her before turning to face them.
Wang Po said to Lu Chu, “Help grandma fetch that stack of talisman papers over there.”
Lu Chu did as told, handing the papers to Wang Po.
Wang Po then passed the papers and a brush dipped in cinnabar to Song Gui. “Write the names of the five of you who came from the city.”
Unaccustomed to using a brush, Song Gui slowly wrote down the names—
[Song Gui
Qi Li
Li Jiapeng
He Mingde
Yang Cheng]
Wang Po took the papers, examined them, and then placed them in a bowl of chicken blood. The papers dissolved instantly. Moments later, the blood began to burn with a cold, ghostly blue-white flame.
Wang Po gestured, closed her eyes, and chanted.
After a long time, she abruptly opened her eyes, which glowed brightly, and a trickle of blood appeared at the corner of her mouth.
“Song Gui, Qi Li, Li Jiapeng, He Mingde, Yang Cheng.”
“Four people have come outside the village.”
Author’s Note:
Wang Po’s methods are completely fictional. Don’t take them seriously.
