Chapter 58: A night of terror and the mystery of the village (1)

While we were silent, Chengzhen had already come in with a plate of food, steaming hot. It was vegetables from the farm, and it smelled so fresh.

“What are you talking about? Wash your hands and get ready to eat. You bunch of lazybones.” Chengzhen gave us a sideways glance, then put down the dishes and left. We were really hungry, so we all went to the table. The old lady insisted on not eating with us. She didn’t eat late at night, saying it was bad for her health.

I pretended to be unaffected by her words, but I was surprised. I was even more convinced that this old lady was not as simple as she seemed. After all, to some extent, we were strangers, so how could I ask her about her personal affairs?

The dishes were two plates of pickled fish, fried garlic shoots with farm-style bacon, fresh stir-fried vegetables, cucumber salad, and a large bowl of fresh fish soup with pickled bamboo shoots.

After watching us eat for a while, the old man said he was tired and wanted to go to his room to rest. But before going to his room, he seemed to be worried and turned to us and said, “At night, sleep well. No matter what happens, don’t go anywhere. It’s not good to bump into things.”

I was eating very well, but when I heard the old man say this, I couldn’t help but freeze for a moment. Was it a bump or was there something else going on? I was just about to ask when the old man went into his room and closed the door.

“Chengyi, what do you think?” Xiao Chengqian picked up his bowl and slurped up a mouthful of soup. Where was the elegance of a young master? Chengyuan laughed at him, but he was not happy. He taught Chengyuan, “The highest level of elegance is to do whatever you want in whatever place. For example, the elegance in this environment is that men have to eat big mouthfuls, which is a kind of manly elegance.”

“Full of nonsense, no wonder you’re from an illegitimate organization.” Cheng Yuan snorted and ignored Xiao Chengqian.

Xiao Daxiaozai also didn’t bother to pay attention to her. He wiped his mouth and looked at me and said, “Chengyi, I’m asking you, what are you daydreaming about?”

“Don’t you know? This old man is not that simple, and you still have to ask Chengyi?” Chengxin brother put on his glasses and said in a low voice while looking at Xiao Chengqian with contempt.

“Nonsense, who else would we ask if not him? We still need to build a few boats in this village and live here. Now others are trying to drive us away, hmm…” Xiao Chengqian became agitated and involuntarily spoke louder, and then was covered by his brother Chengqing, who had been very quiet next to him.

This young master Xiao, unfortunately, with his feminine and handsome looks, the more contact the more he felt like a bandit.

But Xiao Chengqian was right to raise the issue. I was a little tired, and I didn’t know why I didn’t want to think about these issues that night. Lushan said while picking up a dish: “Let’s talk about it tomorrow. This old lady has this attitude, but it’s not necessarily the attitude of the other villagers.”

Tao Bai smiled shyly and carefully picked up a piece of fish and said to Lu Shan, “Brother Shan, eat quickly. You must have a way.”

“Fuck, don’t be so mushy! Tao Bai, you’re not a girl, are you?” Xiao Chengqian broke free from his brother Chengqing and started to shout again.

But Lu Shan put down his chopsticks, gently touched Tao Bai’s hair, and said to us seriously, “Don’t say that about him. This child is actually a poor child. I have always taken care of him like a brother.”

Tao Bai lowered his head even more, and even picked up the food with some trepidation. I glanced at Tao Bai and then picked up a large chopstick of bacon and said, “Eat!” But I couldn’t help wondering if Tao Bai had any secrets. I couldn’t help but think of his somewhat amazing strength.

The meal was over, and the few of us who hadn’t cooked were responsible for cleaning up the dishes. It was already very late at night.

No one had much energy to say anything, so we simply divided up the room and went to sleep. I slept on the floor, and Huigen slept next to me. This kid was still the same as always, falling asleep as soon as he touched the pillow. I smoked a cigarette and hesitated for a long time before I finally went to sleep.

Yes, I was a little resistant. I was afraid of having that weird dream again, but in the end I couldn’t resist the accumulated fatigue of these few days. After a few minutes of thinking, I was also unconsciously falling asleep.

The night in the mountain village is quiet, and the space is also filled with the unique moisture of the lake, gently enveloping people. Soon, the room is filled with the sound of breathing and snoring.

In a daze, I seemed to know very clearly that I was not dreaming, that I was not seeing the large black and white courtyard again, and that I was hearing the voice calling me, “Chen Nuo, Chen Nuo.”

I was caught in a strange kind of contentment, but I didn’t know why. In this small village full of fog, the nights were always so cold that I would wake up with goose bumps.

It was early summer, so we didn’t have any special quilts prepared. We just slept with a blanket between us.

It was so cold, so cold, and I didn’t think about why it was so cold in my daze. I subconsciously pulled on the blanket, but I found that Huigen had wrapped the blanket so tightly that I couldn’t move it! But it woke me up…

A dog barking was heard in the distance, but it soon stopped. After a while, a whining sound similar to crying was heard, and then it was quiet again.

When I was a child, my master always liked to tell me some folk sayings. For example, a particularly fierce dog barking in the middle of the night sometimes doesn’t mean anything, but there are a few things to pay attention to. If these things happen, then as a Taoist priest, you should investigate.

One of them I remember is that the dog started barking really loudly, but after a few barks it made a sound like it was being beaten, and then it was quiet.

Is that so? I was too cold to sleep, so I sat up suddenly and became alert. I started thinking about this problem, but I didn’t feel too scared. It’s just that this place is close to the Lake of a Thousand Ghosts, and it’s close to that place. It would be strange if there weren’t any ghosts wandering around. I don’t particularly care about ordinary vengeful ghosts and fierce ghosts. After all, I’m still a Taoist priest. It’s just that it’s strange that the people here have also strangely adapted to the environment here.

The people here? Thinking of the old lady, my thoughts became complicated. If the people here are all like this old lady, what does that say? This village…

The sound of ‘creaking, creaking…’ and ‘bang, bang’ interrupted my train of thought. I looked up and saw that it was the night wind blowing against the window that made the sound. Perhaps it was because it was late at night and the fog outside was thicker. From the open window, I could see the thick fog rushing into the house and then drifting away, like an illusion.

“No wonder it’s so cold,” I muttered to myself, then stood up and was about to open the window. It was only when I stood up that I felt a little strange. This strangeness was a peculiar feeling of being unclear. I couldn’t describe it. It was like everything was suddenly like a dream. I wasn’t that awake. I was confused.

Is something wrong? I realized that my reactions seemed to have slowed down. I didn’t want to think about too many problems. I just thought about it for a moment and laughed at myself for being so nosy. It was just about closing a window.

I pulled the two windows, which were blowing and rattling, and prepared to close them. The windows slowly approached me, and everything was normal. But at that moment, my heart felt like a bomb had been planted in it, and then suddenly exploded. A huge sense of crisis suddenly gripped my heart.

What was going on? I was nervous, and I pulled the window hard, trying to close it quickly, but I sadly discovered that the window wouldn’t budge.

I looked down and saw a hand reaching out from the side, holding the window tightly. It was a woman’s hand, and it looked very beautiful. The nails were carefully trimmed, and every detail was beautiful.

However, at this moment, it was holding the window tightly, and I didn’t know if it was because it was pulling too hard that it looked so pale.

My cold sweat dripped down my forehead, and I subconsciously glanced inside the house. Everyone was sleeping soundly. Could it be me? I turned my head again and suddenly saw a face appear outside the window, just a few inches away from me, and then it just stared at me.

In the misty fog, it smiled at me and said, “Chen Nuo, come, follow me!”