Father and grandmother, along with my second uncle, rushed into my room almost as soon as I called out to them. Upon seeing my grandfather's body lying on the bed, my father was so terrified that he squatted on the ground. And my grandmother, picking up a stick, was about to go and beat my grandfather, crying, "You dead man, even after death, you can't rest in peace and get reincarnated. Why are you scaring your grandson!"
I quickly embraced her. After all, it was just a corpse. The deceased was to be respected. An equally eerie scene once again disrupted my life, and I went to check the front door with a flashlight because I was certain that I had locked it before going to sleep. However, when I went to check it, the lock was still fastened, but only on one side.
Did I lock it incorrectly, or did someone deliberately manipulate it to create this illusion? At that moment, I was extremely bewildered, and I believe everyone would have felt the same way. Even though I had specifically checked the lock before going to bed, at that moment, I couldn't be certain if I had made a mistake.
When I returned to my room, my grandmother had already covered my grandfather's body with something, and my father was anxiously smoking, while my second uncle remained silent.
"Don't you feel scared at all, Second Uncle?" I asked, looking at his expression.
"Not scared, just feel eerie," he replied.
That response was acceptable.
"Go call your third grandfather," my father said to me. —In this village, whether it's a joyous or an unfortunate occasion, everything had to go through the third grandfather, and he had a great understanding of the old rules and taboos.
At that moment, it seemed like my father was truly at a loss. But not just him, I felt the same way.
At the moment, I couldn't really fathom what was going on. I could only go to find the third grandfather, perhaps his old ways would be helpful? I didn't even want to figure out who had done this anymore, or dwell on whether it was a human or a ghostly mischief. As long as it didn't happen again, that would be alright!
The third grandfather was a kind elder. After listening to my entire story, he put his shoes on and followed me back home, grumbling the whole time, "This youngest son was alive, and he didn't have so much trouble. How can he not rest in peace after death!"
After we arrived home, my father asked the third grandfather, "Third Uncle, what should we do about this matter regarding my father?"
"Before the day breaks, bury him. It can happen once, but not a second time. Little Fan has grown up, we can't let our family become a laughing stock," the third grandfather spoke with the same composure as his age.
Just like last time, we were pressed for time, and with one less person to attend the funeral procession, Lin Sanshui, we went to the ancestral grave site and saw the newly filled grave once again being disturbed. The coffin lid had turned over.
Grandma had been crying all along, and my father was at a loss. After we buried my grandfather, the third grandfather said at the grave, "Youngest brother, if you continue to cause trouble, I will have to sort you out. Over there, if you lack something or need something, tell it to me, why bother troubling the children? Rest in peace!"
—After completing all this, we returned home, and by then, it was almost dawn.
"It seems that the youngest brother can't be at peace during the lunar seventh month. When he was alive, he didn't even know if he was a member of the Nationalist Party or the Communist Eighth Route Army, but now I see, he was definitely with the Nationalist Party. Those little ghosts will trouble him after his death. He's scared and wants to return home," the third grandfather said as he drank his tea.
"Then Third Uncle, what should we do about this matter?" my father asked.
"Wait for the lunar seventh month, and during that time, I will keep an eye on him," the third grandfather said. "If he dares to cause trouble again, I will discipline him!"
The elderly are all very courageous.
It's just like, apart from my second uncle, those in the room, including my grandmother and the third grandfather, are the only ones unafraid of my grandfather. They would even dare to hit him.
In their eyes, the living and the deceased are one and the same.
After the third grandfather left, I found a chance to be alone with my father and asked him, "Have you been watching Second Uncle?"
"Don't suspect your second uncle. In fact, I didn't sleep at all last night, and he was in his room the entire night," my father frowned.
"You didn't sleep, and with my grandfather like this, you didn't hear anything?!" I asked.
"No," my father shook his head.
"It seems that this time, it was really your father causing the trouble. If the third grandfather can't control him during the lunar seventh month, we can only look for a Daoist priest," my father said.
I felt parched and tongue-tied, not knowing what to say.
The following week left me feeling perpetually disoriented, and I cursed myself for not learning how to deal with such things from my teachers at school. It seemed that going to school was really useless.
Although I tried my best to caution myself that this was not a supernatural phenomenon, there were no ghosts in this world. If there were ghosts, I should have seen a phantom of my grandfather, not a dead body.
I wanted to find out who was behind all this, but I found that this whole situation was driving me insane. I couldn't stand anyone.
Already seen as a reclusive person in the eyes of others, in this moment, I became even more withdrawn. To the extent that even seeing my room made me feel terrified.
—On a Wednesday night, I took a bottle of liquor and went to drink with Second Egg. Unexpectedly, I encountered a person on the way.
Wu Miaoke. Lin Sanshui's wife, the mother of Lin Xiaoyao.
When I saw her for a moment, I even felt like running away. The erotic scene from when I was eleven – something I had wished to forget – suddenly rushed back into my mind, the moment I embraced Lin Xiaoyao that day.
Wu Miaoke followed Lin Sanshui when she was just fifteen years old.
Now, she is only thirty-six years old.
She doesn't look old, and at this moment, she looked like a thirty-year-old woman at the prime of her life.
Seeing her made my heart race and my face turn red.
I don't know whether I am considered a milf lover or not.
Wu Miaoke walked and cried at the same time. She looked particularly touching and looked close up to me. I blushed and asked nervously, "Have you finished eating, auntie?"
She hurriedly wiped the tears from her face and forced a unnatural smile, "Oh, Xiao Fan, I have had my meal. Are you going to see Er Dan?"
I nodded and said, "Yes, I'm going to have a drink with him."
"Alright, you go ahead. If you have time, go play with Little Monster. She has been talking about you in front of me. I just finished eating, so I'm going for a walk." She almost rushed away after speaking.
She is also a pitiful woman. I can even imagine, in the countryside, only having one daughter and being unable to get pregnant again, the pressure she faces because of her daughter's appearance must be immense.
Suddenly, I remembered what Er Dan had said. He had slept with the village chief of Lin Sanshui to become the village head. I felt a sudden pang in my heart.
- When I arrived at Er Gou's house, he had his plump wife cook two dishes. We chatted like this. I didn't have anything to hide from my only friend. After I finished speaking, Er Gou's expression turned ugly.
"Do you want to consult a feng shui master?" he asked me.
"Wait until the third grandfather goes to the ancestral grave on the third and seventh, and if it doesn't work, then we can consider it. Nowadays, the masters are all out to swindle money," I replied.
"If someone encounters this kind of thing, Xiao Fan, it means your luck is low. I heard that people with low luck can see unclean things. I think you should get married soon, have a grand wedding, then this matter will pass. Lin Xiaoyao seems good, with that face, even in the dark, her figure is enough. Turn off the lights and imagine her as Xi Shi. If it were me, I'll die on the bed while touching that soft body!" Er Dan lewdly laughed.
"Get out of here. Be careful or I'll tell your wife. Just now when I came, I ran into Wu Miaoke. I guess she had a fight with Lin Sanshui," I said.
I don't know whether it's because I've been lonely for so long, that I'm a bit aroused just at the mention of the name Wu Miaoke. I can automatically recall the scene from when I was eleven years old.
"What fight? Lin Sanshui has made some money recently and found a young lover outside. It's leading to a divorce!" Er Dan said.
"What? Lin Sanshui found a young lover?" I almost sprayed the wine in my mouth.
"This has almost become public knowledge. How do you not know? How long has it been since you've been out? Lin Sanshui is seeing a young woman in town, and she's already pregnant! But this can be understood too. He's over 40 and still has no son. It's hard for him. It's a pity for Wu Miaoke, with that figure," Er Dan said.
"Is her figure really good…" I don't know when, but Er Dan's massive wife was standing behind him, and she said coquettishly.
This caught Er Dan off guard.
"Wife, I've just had a few drinks. Don't pay attention to my nonsense. You don't need to have the same knowledge as me," Er Dan said.
Seeing that things were not right, I made a hasty retreat.
After leaving, I thought about Er Dan's words just now. It's hard to imagine that such a beautiful person with such fair skin is sleeping with Lin Sanshui. It's better if they get divorced. — Not that I have any intentions towards her, but it's the kind of feeling that every man would have.
Good cabbage is not always eaten by pigs.
- This incident could be considered a fortunate accident, because it at least diverted my attention from my grandfather's affairs for a few days.
I don't even know what my mentality is. A 23-year-old boy has developed a great interest in a woman in her thirties, even causing me, who is not very involved in socializing, to eavesdrop on the gossips of the old women these days.
There are many versions of the rumors outside.
But regardless of the version, they all revolve around one reason – Wu Miaoke is a hen that can't lay eggs.
Some say it's because she exchanged with the village chief after being with the town chief, but Lin Sanshui despised her for this, and had avoided her for a long time.
Some say Lin Sanshui just wanted a child and got involved with a girl from the town, and she's already four or five months pregnant. They even did B-ultrasounds, and checked her ovulation chart, which were positive. The girl forced Lin Sanshui to divorce.
There's also the most mystical saying that the place where Wu Miaoke is barren. Lin Sanshui didn't know before, now he has encountered a feng shui master, saying that because of this, she undermines her husband, Lin Sanshui is unharmed, but his several children took the hardship, otherwise their family wouldn't have gone extinct.
The last version caused me to try hard to recall those provocative memories, but to my dismay, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't remember if what I saw back then was the same as the rumors. I just regret being too young at that time!