Chapter 2

Chapter 2

She was so beautiful.

The water rippled gently, twisting the light and shadows just right, and combined with Little Nightingale's graceful movements, it was as if a filter had been applied to the scene.

Li Zhiyuan had been taken to watch cultural performances by his parents before, where he had seen many professional singers and dancers. But the impact of Little Nightingale's performance yesterday had left him just as awe-struck as his brothers and cousins.

Raised by his parents to be well-mannered and rule-abiding, Li Zhiyuan had never seen anything like the wild charm that Little Nightingale exuded under that humble tent.

It was provocative, daring, and unsophisticated, yet the scent she carried was so intoxicating.

She was coming closer, like a figure stepping out of a painting, and then stepping back into it.

At that moment, Li Zhiyuan had forgotten his predicament, seemingly oblivious to the water he was drowning in and the panic of not being able to breathe.

Until she reached out her hand.

Yesterday, during the performance, Little Nightingale had swayed and sung her way to him, even reaching out to touch his face. Li Zhiyuan, who stood out among the children for his porcelain-like fair skin, had been touched by her.

He had hoped to be touched by her again.

But this time, she extended both hands.

Both hands grabbed Li Zhiyuan's shoulders.

"Cold... so cold... so painful..."

The atmosphere was suddenly shattered, and the strange, inexplicable fascination vanished.

Fear finally showed in Li Zhiyuan's eyes, like a person regaining sensation after the anesthesia wore off.

He tried to break free, to escape, but those hands held him tight, and no matter how he struggled, he couldn't get away.

Then, a force came from behind.

Li Zhiyuan felt himself being pulled, as if he were the rope in a tug-of-war.

Finally, with a sudden release, Li Zhiyuan was pulled up.

In his vision, he floated higher and higher, while Little Nightingale grew smaller and more distant below.

Her arms stretched out toward him, and a chasm that shouldn't exist began to form between them.

"Heave!"

Fortunately, Li Weihan had the Bamboo Fish Basket on his back, which he grabbed to pull him up.

The weight was immense, as if he were wrestling with a rutting ox instead of a child.

There was a force below, preventing his grandson from coming up.

Thunder Kid came to help, wrapping his arms around Li Weihan's waist and pushing backward.

Finally,

" Splash!"

When his grandson was pulled out of the water, the force suddenly vanished, and Li Weihan, Thunder Kid, and the newly rescued Li Zhiyuan all fell onto the boat.

"Quick, go!"

Li Weihan, unable to get up, shouted at Paddle Kid.

Paddle Kid didn't hesitate this time, using all his strength to push the boat away.

"Grandpa, she's coming, she's coming!"

Thunder Kid pointed ahead in fear.

Li Weihan looked and saw a mass of black hair on the water's surface moving toward them.

She was chasing them!

"Thunder, go help Paddle, quick!"

"Okay, Grandpa."

Thunder Kid got up and ran over, and the two of them shouted in unison, increasing the boat's speed.

Li Weihan grabbed a fishing rod, his expression serious. When he saw the mass of hair getting closer, he shouted and thrust the rod toward it.

The rod entered the water and seemed to hit something, but there was no resistance. Instead, a tremendous force pulled it down.

"Ah!"

Li Weihan cried out, but he let go of the rod in time to avoid being dragged into the water.

The hair was even closer.

Standing at the edge of the boat, Li Weihan could see the black silhouette of a woman in a cheongsam beneath the water.

The river was flowing east, but she was moving against the current.

She was walking, really walking!

"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!"

The boat began to rock, more and more violently.

Li Weihan couldn't imagine what would happen if the boat capsized, and he and his grandsons fell into the water. This wasn't just about swimming skills; it was something sinister!

He glanced at the fishing net at his feet and, without hesitation, grabbed it and threw it over the hair, which was now less than two meters from the boat.

The net landed on the water and quickly sank halfway.

At first, the net was dragged along, but gradually, its speed slowed, and it finally stopped.

It worked, it had caught her!

Li Weihan rushed to the stern, grabbed the bamboo pole, and shouted, "You two, check on Little Yuan!"

"Okay, Grandpa."

Paddle Kid and Thunder Kid, both just big kids, were already exhausted from their efforts. They immediately ran to Li Zhiyuan's side.

"Yuanzi, Yuanzi? Yuanzi, wake up, wake up!"

"Grandpa, we can't wake him up."

Li Weihan, still steering the boat, shouted back, "Is he breathing?"

"Grandpa, he's breathing!"

"Pat his back."

The two boys followed his instructions, one holding Li Zhiyuan up and the other patting his back.

But after a long time, Li Zhiyuan still didn't wake up.

"Grandpa, it's not working!"

Li Weihan didn't respond, just gritted his teeth and continued steering, not even pausing to wipe the sweat from his eyes.

Finally, they reached home. Li Weihan threw the pole aside, not bothering to tie the boat, and jumped off, carrying Li Zhiyuan. He was exhausted and stumbled, using his knees to protect his grandson from the stone steps.

"Ouch..."

His knees were scraped, but he quickly got up and carried the child inside.

"Guiying, Guiying!"

"Back so early?" Cui Guiying was cleaning the stove when she heard the commotion. Seeing her husband carrying a child, she grew anxious. "What happened? What's wrong with the child?"

Li Weihan carried the child to a mat in the inner room. With many children, they all slept on the floor during the summer.

Cui Guiying lifted Li Zhiyuan's head and gently patted his face, but he wouldn't wake up. She cried out, "Oh, my child, my child, what's wrong with you?"

"Stop wailing!" Li Weihan kicked her leg. "Quick, change his clothes."

Cui Guiying wiped her eyes and got up to fetch dry clothes.

"Paddle, go get Dr. Zheng Big Syringe!"

"Okay, Grandpa."

Dr. Zheng Big Syringe, whose real name was Zheng Huamin, was the village doctor. The children had given him the nickname because he liked to scare them with a large syringe, and it had stuck.

"Thunder, go get Blind Liu."

"Okay, Grandpa."

Blind Liu's real name was Liu Jinxia. She had lost her parents early and was arranged to marry into the village by her uncle. Her in-laws died shortly after her first year of marriage, and many of the village women envied her secretly.

The second year, her husband, drunk, fell into a cesspool and drowned, leaving behind a newborn daughter.

The villagers whispered that Liu Jinxia had a hard fate.

Life as a widow with a child was difficult, so Liu Jinxia started to earn a living by reading fortunes. The more rumors spread about her, the more people believed in her abilities.

In those days, farming barely provided enough to eat, and to live better, one needed to find other ways. Liu Jinxia's fortune-telling business allowed her to arrange a Bride's House Husband for her daughter, Chrysanthemum Fragrance.

But the husband died of a sudden heart attack the second year, leaving Chrysanthemum Fragrance with another newborn.

This only solidified the villagers' belief in Liu Jinxia's fate, and her business flourished.

She rented out her fields and bought a tricycle for her daughter to use to ferry her to clients.

A few years ago, Liu Jinxia developed cataracts, which only added to her mystique.

Cui Guiying had just changed Li Zhiyuan's wet clothes when she saw her husband rinse his knee with well water and unlock a cabinet to take out three packs of cigarettes.

He threw one to Cui Guiying and instructed, "When Dr. Zheng Big Syringe arrives, give him a cigarette, and another one when he leaves. Put the fee on the account."

He then threw another pack. "Give the whole pack to Blind Liu, no haggling."

Cui Guiying reminded him, "I heard she charges a lot now."

Li Weihan shook his head. "She may be blind, but her heart shouldn't be."

Liu Jinxia's husband had grown up with Li Weihan. In the early years after his death, Li Weihan had often helped the widow and her child, even doing farm work. He had faced gossip for it, but he wouldn't let Blind Liu take money from him.

He put the last pack in his pocket.

Cui Guiying was surprised. "Are you going out?"

Li Weihan nodded. "I'm going to find Uncle Sanjiang."

"What! What did you run into?"

Li Weihan glanced at the children and glared at his wife. "I'll tell you when I get back."

With that, Li Weihan pushed his bicycle out the door.

Cui Guiying sat back down by Li Zhiyuan, gently caressing him and calling his name.

A little granddaughter asked curiously, "What happened to Big Brother Yuanzi?"

Huzi immediately replied, "I know, Big Brother Yuanzi met a Water Monkey and was dragged down to be a scapegoat!"

The other children looked frightened and stepped back.

"Smack!"

Huzi's face bore the mark of a slap.

Cui Guiying scolded, "Shut up, you fool! Go see if the people we called have arrived, quick!"

"Okay, I'll go!"

Huzi didn't protest; the slap stung, but he didn't take it to heart. He ran out with a few others to check.

Cui Guiying instructed her eldest granddaughter, Yingzi, to fetch a bowl of water and a needle. She took the needle and drew several lines on Li Zhuiyuan’s forehead and the top of his head, then placed the needle flat in the bowl.

There was a local custom that when someone had a headache or felt unwell, they would use the needle to "call" the illness away.

Before long, a voice came from outside: "Dr. Zheng Big Syringe is here! Dr. Zheng Big Syringe is here!"

Dr. Zheng Big Syringe, carrying a wooden medical box, entered the room.

"Doctor Zheng, please take a look at the child, please take a look at the child."

Cui Guiying took out a cigarette, opened the pack, and handed one to Dr. Zheng Big Syringe.

Dr. Zheng Big Syringe accepted the cigarette, placed it behind his ear, and squatted down to examine Li Zhuiyuan. "What happened to the child?"

"He fell into the water and hasn't woken up since."

"Fell into the water?" Dr. Zheng Big Syringe first checked Li Zhuiyuan’s mouth and nose, then examined his eyes. He then took out a stethoscope from his box and listened carefully.

After putting away the stethoscope, Cui Guiying asked, "Doctor Zheng, how is he?"

Dr. Zheng Big Syringe frowned, helped Li Zhuiyuan sit up, and Cui Guiying quickly lent a hand. He patted the child’s back and observed for a moment before laying him back down. He took the cigarette from behind his ear and placed it in his mouth.

Cui Guiying hurried to the stove to fetch a match, but Dr. Zheng Big Syringe had already lit it and took several puffs.

"How is he, Doctor?"

Dr. Zheng Big Syringe looked at Cui Guiying. "How long has the child been in the water?"

Cui Guiying glanced at Paddle Kid.

Paddle Kid said, "Just a short while. Farzi fell in and was quickly pulled out by his grandfather."

Dr. Zheng Big Syringe frowned and took a deep puff of the cigarette, then exhaled a smoke ring. "Auntie, the child isn’t drowning, and there’s no sign of water in his lungs. There’s nothing wrong with him."

"Then why isn’t he waking up?" Cui Guiying asked.

"Take the child to the town health center for a check-up. There might be another issue." Dr. Zheng Big Syringe packed up his things and stood up, admitting he couldn’t do more.

Cui Guiying pulled out another cigarette and offered it to him.

"No, no, thank you." He said, but took the cigarette and placed it behind his ear.

Finishing the cigarette, Dr. Zheng Big Syringe flicked the butt to the ground and stepped on it. "Have you consulted Blind Liu?"

"Ah, yes." Cui Guiying looked a bit embarrassed.

Dr. Zheng Big Syringe nodded. Paddle Kid had mentioned something on the way. "If he’s still not awake by evening, take him to the town tomorrow morning."

"Sure, sure, thank you, thank you."

At that moment, Thunder Kid ran in, wiping the sweat from his face, and said to Cui Guiying, "Blind Liu is here."

Cui Guiying scolded, "You disrespectful brat, you should call her Grandma Liu."

Dr. Zheng Big Syringe knew he had to step aside and walked out the door, just in time to see a tricycle approaching, with an old woman sitting on it.

"Hmm..."

Dr. Zheng Big Syringe suddenly thought of the various new drugs that had been hyped in the newspapers recently. He realized he was part of a new trend. "Oh, right..."

Traditional Chinese medicine combined with Western medicine.

Thunder Kid had already run back to inform them, and Chrysanthemum Fragrance was pedaling the tricycle, slightly annoyed. "Mom, you shouldn’t have delayed. We should have come earlier."

Earlier, a neighbor from Shigang Town had come to discuss the arrangements for his mother’s memorial. Cui Guiying could have asked him to wait while she came here first, but she insisted on finishing the other matter and then took her time coming over.

Sitting on the small bench at the back, Liu Jinxia exhaled a smoke ring and said irritably, "Why rush? We won’t get any money from them anyway."

"Mom, you’d actually take money from them?"

"Spit! If they give it, I’ll take it."

"I remember when I was a child, Uncle Han helped us a lot."

"Then why didn’t he give one of his four sons to me?" Liu Jinxia flicked the ash. "None of them were willing to come live with us, and I didn’t even ask for a dowry. They wouldn’t even give me a daughter-in-law for free. Ha!"

"How can you blame Uncle Han for that?"

"Liu Xiang, it’s one thing for others to talk behind our backs, but why do you have to belittle yourself like this?"

Chrysanthemum Fragrance pursed her lips.

"Liu Xiang, Little Cuicui is still young, and I don’t have many years left. In the future, Little Cuicui will rely on you. What does it matter if you don’t have a man? I, Liu Jinxia, will prove that we can live well without a man, better than anyone else!"

"Mom, we’re here."

The tricycle rode up to the dam and stopped in front of the Li family’s house.

Cui Guiying came forward to help Liu Jinxia get off the tricycle. Liu Jinxia patted Cui Guiying’s hand and said, "Oh, how can I let you help me? Your husband was my benefactor."

"Grandma, please come and see the child. He’s still not awake."

Liu Jinxia: "Thunder Kid said he touched something in the water?"

Cui Guiying: "His grandfather has already gone to get Uncle Sanjiang."

Hearing this, Liu Jinxia’s heart tightened. She grabbed Cui Guiying’s hand and urged, "Quick, take me to see the child."

Earlier, when Thunder Kid came to call for help, she thought he was exaggerating. Now that Li Weihan had gone to get Uncle Sanjiang, she knew the situation was serious.

Liu Jinxia still remembered the good times with Li Weihan.

Inside the house, a group of children were chattering. Liu Jinxia, with her poor vision, felt like she was entering a duck pond. She waved her hand and scolded:

"You naughty brats, clear out! Don’t make a racket and disturb the Kitchen God!"

Cui Guiying quickly called the older children to take the younger ones out and closed the door.

"Where is he?" Liu Jinxia asked.

"He’s in the inner room." Cui Guiying prepared to lead her in.

"Bring him to the kitchen. There’s a stove here."

"Okay, I’ll go get him."

With Chrysanthemum Fragrance’s help, Li Zhuiyuan was placed on the kitchen table.

Liu Jinxia’s old hands first touched Li Zhuiyuan’s legs, then moved up to his face, and finally paused at his shoulders, gently pressing.

Her hands, stained from smoking and often soaked in white vinegar for maintenance, had a pungent smell that could wake up someone in a faint.

Liu Jinxia paused for a moment and asked, "Guiying, have you called yet?"

"Called, called." Cui Guiying quickly brought the bowl of water with the needle. She gasped, "Ah!"

The needle in the bowl was not only rusty but covered in red rust, spreading a red stain at the bottom.

Seeing this, Chrysanthemum Fragrance leaned in and whispered to her mother.

Liu Jinxia took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Sister, the child has been cursed."

"Ah?" Cui Guiying was startled again and quickly pleaded, "Please save him, save him. My daughter only has this one child, and I can’t let anything happen to him."

Cui Guiying took out a pack of cigarettes from her pocket and handed it to Liu Jinxia.

Liu Jinxia pushed it away and sighed.

Cui Guiying: "Have a smoke first, and we’ll give you the money later..."

Liu Jinxia interrupted Cui Guiying: "I can’t take your money. It’s too hot to handle."

"Sister, please, this child..."

Liu Jinxia turned to her daughter and smiled bitterly. "Did you hear that? This is the son of your Uncle Han’s favorite little girl."

"Li Lan’s son." Chrysanthemum Fragrance paused and added, "Li Lan and I were very close."

Li Lan, Li Zhuiyuan’s mother, was a close friend of Chrysanthemum Fragrance. Back then, the villagers believed Liu Jinxia’s family was unlucky, and parents would warn their children not to play with Chrysanthemum Fragrance. Her childhood was lonely, unable to play freely like other children, as she would be met with disapproving looks from adults.

Li Lan didn’t care about this and often invited her to play. Their friendship continued until Li Lan left the village to attend university.

Liu Jinxia closed her eyes and remained silent.

Chrysanthemum Fragrance looked at Li Zhuiyuan and said to Cui Guiying, "This child is so handsome, he looks just like Li Lan."

Cui Guiying nodded, her attention still on Liu Jinxia, unsure if she was refusing or just being difficult.

Chrysanthemum Fragrance continued, "Little Cuicui mentioned a few days ago that a big brother named Little Yuan gave her chocolate and played with her by the stream."

Chrysanthemum Fragrance’s daughter, Li Cuicui, was isolated even more than she was as a child. Most days, Cuicui could only stand by and watch other children play together.

Cuicui didn’t dare to get close, knowing that the other children would be told not to play with her and would scatter.

A few days ago, Cuicui came home happy, saying a handsome big brother had played with her all afternoon, giving her chocolate and not minding when the other children said they couldn’t play with her.

Liu Jinxia opened her eyes, looking at her daughter with a mix of helplessness and tenderness, then turned to Cui Guiying.

"Sister, let me be honest with you."

"Go on."

"Most of the time, out of twenty cases, fifteen are nothing. I just go through the motions, and they feel better.

Four cases might look serious but turn out to be nothing.

At most, one case has a bit of something, but it’s not hard to handle.

I won’t take your money for two reasons: one, your husband helped us a lot in the past, and I can’t take your money; two, the money I usually get for the routine cases isn’t worth it in this situation."

"Please, sister, you have to save him."

“I’ll help him.” Liu Jinxia smiled and said, “Get me some Sacred Incense Ash from the stove.”

“Sure.”

The local stoves often had several recesses, one of which was usually behind the stove, where a small shrine to the Kitchen God was placed, along with a small incense burner.

Cui Guiying took the incense burner and brought it to Liu Jinxia.

Liu Jinxia grabbed a handful of Sacred Incense Ash, held it in her hand, and began to chant.

No one could understand what she was chanting, but it went on for quite a while.

Liu Jinxia: “Cover him well.”

Before Cui Guiying could fully understand, Chrysanthemum Fragrance had already covered Li Zhuiyuan’s mouth and nose with her hand.

Liu Jinxia then applied the Sacred Incense Ash to the child’s neck and shoulders, rubbing it in as if it were talcum powder.

But gradually, a frightening scene unfolded, and Cui Guiying clamped her hand over her mouth in shock.

On her grandson’s shoulder, two purple marks appeared, looking like two handprints!

Liu Jinxia: “How vicious... Daughter, let’s start.”

“Okay.”

Chrysanthemum Fragrance responded, went outside to the tricycle, and returned with some items. She placed an empty bowl and a brush in Liu Jinxia’s hands, poured ink into the bowl, and then pulled out a ball of Spirit-Binding Red String from her pocket. It looked like something used for knitting, but when she unraveled it, a pungent, fishy smell filled the air, and her hands were left with a red residue.

Next, Chrysanthemum Fragrance tied one end of the Spirit-Binding Red String to her wrist and the other to Li Zhuiyuan’s wrist, standing a distance away.

Liu Jinxia dipped the brush in the ink and began drawing circles on Li Zhuiyuan’s forehead, chanting as she did so.

At first, nothing unusual happened.

But as Liu Jinxia’s chanting and hand movements quickened, the Spirit-Binding Red String started to tremble.

Cui Guiying instinctively looked to see if Chrysanthemum Fragrance was causing the string to move, but as she raised her head, she saw Chrysanthemum Fragrance’s mouth open in pain. With a thud, she fell to her knees, her upper body leaning forward as if being forced to bow.

Liu Jinxia glanced at her daughter with concern but did not slow down her chanting or hand movements.

“Ah... Ah... Ah...”

Chrysanthemum Fragrance fell to the ground, rolling and thrashing, her mouth foaming, her eyes wide, and her face turning blue.

Cui Guiying stood by, worried about both her grandson and Chrysanthemum Fragrance.

But as the pain reached its peak, Chrysanthemum Fragrance gradually calmed down, lying on the ground with her limbs spread out, gasping for breath.

Liu Jinxia also stopped, her body swaying. Cui Guiying quickly supported her.

“Go get a basin of hot water to clean the child.”

“Okay.”

Cui Guiying immediately did as she was told, fetching a basin and lifting the small stove lid to scoop out hot water with a wooden spoon.

After wetting a cloth, she began to wipe away the Sacred Incense Ash from Li Zhuiyuan.

Not only the ash but also the purple handprints vanished, as if they were paint that had dissolved.

Cui Guiying checked the cloth, but no purple marks were left behind.

“Sister, is the child better now?”

Liu Jinxia took a cigarette, lit it, and inhaled deeply, coughing violently, her eyes and nose watering from the smoke.

However, before Liu Jinxia could respond, Cui Guiying noticed her unconscious grandson slowly opening his eyes.

“Little Yuan, Little Yuan, you’re awake!”

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Cui Guiying with a dazed expression, then glanced around before calling out in a hoarse voice, “Grandma.”

“Yes, you’re finally awake. Thank the Buddha, thank the Buddha.”

Chrysanthemum Fragrance, who had been sitting on the ground, got up and took a clean bowl, filling it with water and sipping it slowly.

Li Zhuiyuan reached out and grabbed Cui Guiying’s arm, leaning into her embrace.

Cui Guiying quickly held Li Zhuiyuan in her arms, comforting him, “My little one, my Little Yuan, my good boy...”

Liu Jinxia: “Take care of the child. Let him sleep some more; he’ll be better when he wakes up.”

Chrysanthemum Fragrance came over and helped her mother out of the room.

Cui Guiying said, “When Weihan comes back, I’ll...”

Liu Jinxia waved her hand. “Let’s wait until the child is fully recovered. We’ll go home now; no need to see us off.”

Cui Guiying couldn’t do much more and continued to hold her grandson.

In her grandmother’s arms, Li Zhuiyuan fell asleep again, this time peacefully, without the tense frown that had been so distressing before.

On the way back, Liu Jinxia half-rose, pulled open her daughter’s collar, and examined the bruise around her neck.

“Does it hurt?”

“Mom, sit down properly, don’t fall off.”

Liu Jinxia sat back and, after a moment, slapped her thigh and cursed, “Xiang, are we really so unlucky?”

...

Li Weihan was still not back, so Cui Guiying sent Tiger and Stone to Li Sanjiang’s house to look for him. When Tiger and Stone returned, they reported that Li Sanjiang’s servant said he had gone out to deliver funeral paper, and Li Weihan had gone to find him.

Cui Guiying understood that Li Sanjiang had gone to deliver the funeral paper, and the host would typically offer a meal. Since he was a heavy drinker, it was uncertain when he would return, so Li Weihan had gone to hurry him along.

For dinner, Cui Guiying had the older children help prepare the meal. After dinner, Li Weihan still hadn’t returned, so Cui Guiying arranged for the children to sleep in the inner room.

She herself set up a plank bed in the kitchen with Li Zhuiyuan, who slept soundly.

Cui Guiying fanned him with a palm-leaf fan, tears streaming down her face, as she thought about how much he had suffered.

She also thought about her recently divorced daughter, wondering how she was doing.

Unlike most families who favored sons over daughters, Cui Guiying and her husband had always doted on their youngest daughter.

Their daughter had wanted to study and did well, so they supported her, regardless of what others said about the uselessness of educating girls and the benefits of marrying them off early.

This fondness for their daughter naturally extended to her grandson.

Li Zhuiyuan had a dream in which he was in a class for gifted youth. The old professor closed his book and said, “Class dismissed.”

He followed his desk partner out of the classroom, walking among the tall adults.

They entered the restroom and stood at the urinals.

His desk partner unbuttoned his pants and started to urinate, then urged him, “Zhuiyuan, go ahead, what are you waiting for?”

Li Zhuiyuan nodded and started to unzip his pants when he suddenly woke up.

He opened his eyes and, in the moonlight, saw his grandmother still holding the palm-leaf fan beside him.

Phew, he almost wet the bed.

Li Zhuiyuan’s memory of the day was a bit fuzzy, but he quietly got up to go to the bathroom.

The toilet was a separate small house some distance from the main house, with a pit dug into the ground and a large jar buried in it. A hollow wooden seat was placed over the jar. The first time Li Zhuiyuan saw it, he thought it looked like a dragon throne from a movie.

Thus, the locals referred to using the toilet as “going to the porcelain jar.”

Initially, Li Zhuiyuan had used the toilet there, but after learning from his brothers, he realized that anywhere outside the house and courtyard could be used as a marking spot.

Going out the front door would take him through the courtyard, which was too far, so Li Zhuiyuan chose the back door, leading to the river, which was closer.

Just as he was about to relieve himself, he heard a series of thuds: “Thud... thud... thud...”

He looked down and saw their boat bobbing on the shore.

Images flashed through Li Zhuiyuan’s mind. Hadn’t he and his grandfather and brothers gone fishing earlier in the day?

What had they caught? What had they eaten for dinner? He couldn’t quite remember.

“Thud... thud... thud...”

The boat continued to shake, but there were no waves on the river, and no wind.

Finally, Li Zhuiyuan remembered the day’s events, the black hair, the fall into the water, and the underwater... and the fear that came with it.

His body went limp, and he stumbled and fell to the ground, reaching up to touch his shoulder as if an icy hand still gripped it.

This fall changed his perspective, and he saw the bottom of the boat, which had been hidden from his view.

“Thud... thud... thud...”

There was someone underwater, her head occasionally surfacing, hitting the bottom of the boat, then submerging again, only to resurface and hit the boat again, endlessly.

Suddenly, the thuds stopped, and the boat ceased shaking.

The head resurfaced, no longer hitting the boat. It slowly turned, and as the wet, black hair slid to the sides, a pale, heavily made-up face emerged.

Her face was stark white, as if it could melt in the moonlight at any moment.

She seemed to have found who she was looking for, and her lips curved into a slow, eerie smile.

Her lips were still red, standing out in the silent night.

Li Zhuiyuan rubbed his eyes and, when he looked again, saw that the woman had risen to her shoulders, her arms hanging limp at her sides.

Panicking, Li Zhuiyuan scrambled to his feet and ran back to the house, stumbling over the threshold but catching himself on the doorframe.

Looking back, he saw that Little Nightingale, who had been half-submerged in the river, was now standing on the lowest stone step.

“Grandma, Grandma!”

Li Zhuiyuan ran to the plank bed and shook Cui Guiying, but she continued to sleep, still holding the palm-leaf fan.

“Grandma, wake up, Grandma, wake up!”

Li Zhuiyuan continued to call out, but Cui Guiying showed no signs of waking.

“Drip... drip... drip...”

The sound of dripping water came from behind him.

Li Zhuiyuan turned to see a pair of red high heels, followed by pale, swollen ankles. A black cheongsam clung to her body, and water droplets fell from the hem of her dress and her hair.

She stood straight on the threshold!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end