At this point, the situation fell into a deadlock. I wasn't Di Renjie, I was just a third-rate university graduate who couldn't even find a job in the countryside. This made it very difficult for me. The relative of Bai Zhenzhu who had blocked me just now pulled me aside and said, "Brother, I'm Zhenzhu's cousin. I'll speak frankly. My sister is all bark and no bite. She wouldn't hurt a fly. There must be some misunderstanding in this matter. We are all fellow villagers, isn't it unnecessary to crowd around like this? You're an educated person. Let's find some reasonable people to sit down and talk. Especially Erdan, we need to wake him up first. Once we do that, everything will be clear, right?"
He spoke sensibly and flattered me at the same time, making me feel comfortable. I nodded and said, "Brother, you're right. Let's do that."
After some persuading, my father even came and assured everyone with his old face that I would definitely give them an explanation. The Lin family then dispersed, and Bai Zhenzhu's relatives returned to the village. My father even tried to stop them, asking them to stay and have a cup of tea before leaving. But they had no mood for that after the commotion.
In the end, only Grandpa Qi, Lin Duzi, my father, me, and the aunt who had witnessed Bai Zhenzhu hitting someone remained. On the other side, Bai Zhenzhu's cousin, sister-in-law, parents, and others entered Lin Erdan's house to discuss the matter. Seeing this scene, I finally understood the saying that family harmony brings prosperity. When couples are not in harmony, the ones who suffer most are the parents of both sides. However, this is a side issue and need not be discussed here.
We went into the house, and at this point, Bai Zhenzhu had become strong and exhibited the demeanor of the lady of the house, making tea for everyone and trying to comfort Lin Erdan's parents, who looked angry and sat in the yard. I had to persuade them as well.
But the two families sat there and couldn't come up with any explanation. On one side, no one was wronging Bai Zhenzhu, while on the other side, she claimed she hadn't hit anyone. Ultimately, Lin Erdan's father was so angry that he was about to jump up, pointing at his face, saying, "Didn't hit me? I'm at an old age, do you think I would wrong you? It's not you who left these scratches, I scratched my own face for fun?"
"Dad! It's really not me," said Bai Zhenzhu, crying and then kneeling down.
At this point, my father, who had been silent the whole time, frowned and said, "Relatives, there's something I'm not sure whether to say. Does Zhenzhu have any mental issues? I mean, like intermittent mental conditions?"
I thought my father's words might make Bai Zhenzhu's relatives angry, but as expected, Bai Zhenzhu's parents immediately became furious and exclaimed that my father was slandering their daughter, and what kind of life was this?
Thankfully, Bai Zhenzhu and her cousin understood and managed to calm down the angry elders.
Bai Zhenzhu's cousin said, "Uncle, I've considered this possibility, but we've seen Zhenzhu grow up. How could there be an issue?"
Suddenly, my father looked like a military commander; especially with the hand-rolled tobacco bag he held, he gained a lot of credibility. He asked Bai Zhenzhu, "Zhenzhu, last night you said you didn't hit your in-laws or Erdan. Do you know what you did last night? Did you have a fight with Erdan?"
"Uncle, it was hot, I had dinner, fed the pigs, and then went to my room to fan myself. As I was fanning myself, I fell asleep and didn't even dream. I woke up in the morning and was surrounded by you all. I was still half asleep at that time," Bai Zhenzhu said.
"Alright, I think it's Zhenzhu. She must have been sleepwalking last night and gotten into fights with you three. She wouldn't remember anything, being a sleepwalker. Don't blame your daughter-in-law, both of you haven't been treated unfairly, right? Hurry up and check on Erdan. If he needs to go to the hospital, take him, and deal with this matter." My father concluded.
"But if she was sleepwalking, how could she have such great strength?" I asked.
My father glared at me and silenced me.
It seemed that things had been resolved here. Unexpectedly, my father, who usually didn't stand out, was wise at this moment. I had to commend him.
Since it was a case of sleepwalking, the villagers, who had probably been considerate, weren't as angry. Even the usually stubborn Lin Duzi apologized to Bai Zhenzhu, admitting that he had wronged her and offered to go catch a few rabbits in the mountains to make amends. Then he took his leave.
The rest of us went into the inner room to check on Lin Erdan. As we approached, I noticed that Lin Erdan didn't look well at all. He lay flat on his back, shivering all over, his face pale and lifeless. If he hadn't been shivering, you might not even have been able to tell he was alive.
I walked over and touched his forehead, only to find that his whole body was extremely cold. Bai Zhenzhu saw Lin Erdan like that, and ran over to slap her own ears, crying uncontrollably.
"This situation doesn't look good. We should probably take him to the hospital," I said.
"Alright, I'll go find a motorcycle right now, so we can go fast," Bai Zhenzhu’s cousin said.
I nodded, thinking that was a good idea, but at that moment, Lin Erdan's mother approached him and used her thumb to pinch his philtrum, which is a common method used for unconscious people.
At the same time, she called out, "Er Dan, my child. Come back, come back, mother is here."
This is another method in the countryside, specifically for treating wandering souls. When I had a high fever as a child, my grandmother did the same thing, saying that when a person is scared, their soul will leave their body. By going to the place where they were scared and calling their name, you can call back their lost soul. Whether it's effective or not, who knows?
I wasn't hopeful, and Bai Zhenzhu's cousin stood up to bid us farewell as he was preparing to leave. But at that moment, Lin Erdan's mother suddenly exclaimed with joy, "Er Dan! You're awake!"
I looked and saw that Er Dan had indeed opened his eyes. But the first thing he said to his mother was, "Guizhen, are you here?"
Guizhen is Lin Erdan's mother's name. Did Lin Erdan go mad, daring to address his mother by her name?
But the next moment, he actually looked at his father and said, "Oh, Lüzi his brother, you're here too."
This Lüzi his brother must be Lin Erdan’s father.
My face turned pale when I heard the second sentence he said, because the voice Er Dan spoke with was actually the voice of San Ye (Third Grandfather)!!!
So many people, it was still daytime, and while everyone else was dazed, I gathered up the courage to ask, "San Ye?!"
"Lin Erdan" turned to me, glanced, and then his eyes widened, shouting, "It's you!"
He seemed very, very afraid of me, and in the blink of an eye, he, who had just been so weak, suddenly leaped off the bed like a monkey, pushed aside his mother, and ran out.
"He has been possessed by San Ye! Catch up with him quickly!" I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead and called out to the people who were still dazed!
Among the crowd, Bai Zhenzhu reacted the fastest. She had almost followed closely behind Lin Erdan, and her strong and sturdy body rushed past as soon as Lin Erdan burst out.
The rest of the people who were still in shock in the house also rushed over. In an instant, only my father and I were left behind. My father looked at me with a wry smile and said, "Xiaofan, I actually realized what was going on a long time ago. Bai Zhenzhu couldn't possibly have such great strength. She's been possessed by a ghost!"
"Dad, don't worry so much. This matter has nothing to do with the eternal lamp in the ancestral hall. We can't be blamed for everything that goes wrong in the village," I knew the reason why my father had been worried all along.
The eternal lamp, which my grandfather was supposed to take care of, was my family's responsibility to the villagers. But now that the lamp had gone out, the peaceful village had been disturbed since my grandfather's time. It wasn't that we were afraid of being talked about by the villagers, but that I felt like I was a sinner from within, the mastermind behind the turmoil in the village.
"I hope we'll find Mr. Xu back soon and that there will be only one Lin Erdan," my father sighed and led me out of Lin Erdan's home.
Once outside, under the scorching sun of midsummer, I was a bit dazed. Whatever I had experienced before, whether it was from my second uncle or Xu Lin, I was very familiar with their tricks, either from other novels or movies, I could always pinpoint the spells they were using. But this time it was completely different from what I had seen in movies or novels.
In broad daylight, a person was actually possessed by a ghost.
Lin Erdan, possessed by a ghost, was able to run madly in the sunlight.
Who the hell told me that ghosts are afraid of sunlight?