This story collection consists of several stories. Please click to read the previous article: Every midnight there lives a paper man with strange stories.
1.
It's midnight again.
At midnight.
The three hands of the clock on the wall are stacked on top of each other, as if they are planning something mysterious or performing a religious ceremony.
The students in the dormitory were all looking forward to it, like a group of ducks being picked up by their necks.
"Do you believe there is retribution in this world?" The Hunan students surrounded by these "ducks" smiled and asked.
"Retribution?" Everyone had different reactions, some nodded and some shook their heads.
The student from Hunan said slowly in a deep voice: "The weird story I am going to tell tonight is related to retribution. In folklore, there are three types of retribution – time limit, retribution in this world, and retribution in the next life. If a person If the evil deeds done by a person immediately meet the conditions for shortening life span or causing disaster, it is called time-limited retribution. If a person does not do enough evil or big enough to meet the conditions for being punished, there is no time-limited retribution; But as time goes by, the accumulation of evil deeds reaches the conditions for being punished, and the retribution for evil comes. This is called retribution in this world. The evil deeds or good deeds a person does are not enough or big enough to meet the time limit. The conditions cannot meet the conditions for retribution in this life, so we can only wait for retribution in the next life, which is called retribution in the next life.”
After saying this, the classmate from Hunan began his strange story…
I came back from my grandpa's house and was bored for a long time. I don’t know why, but roses rarely enter my dreams. But I never stopped watering it. Although the days have become quieter, I still have a strange feeling in my heart. Especially the Kuiji ghost that escaped, I don’t know when it will come to take revenge on me and grandpa.
During this time, I passed the high school entrance examination and successfully entered high school. Although I have never thought about continuing to study after completing nine years of compulsory education, now that I have received the admission notice from high school, I can’t help but look forward to it. Our junior high school does not have a library, so what I look forward to most is the high school library.
The high school is far away from home, and the school implements closed management, with a holiday only once a month. Therefore, I spend less time with my grandfather. I always carry "Hundred Arts Drive" with me, but I don't let other students see it. I only read it secretly before going to bed, and I have to cover it with another book when I read it. In this way, if my classmates ask, I will just say that I am reading another book. Because grandpa has told me that this book cannot be read casually by others. If others imitate it carelessly, it will cause serious consequences.
Of course, I can only secretly watch a little bit of "Hundred Arts Drive" every day, and spend more of my free time in the library. But the first time I entered the library, I was completely frightened.
At that time, I loved reading world famous books. The world famous books in the library are relatively old books, and the pages fall off easily.
One afternoon, I spent more than half an hour in the library and borrowed two books. When I came out of the library, I accidentally dropped the book in my hand and the pages fell out and were blown away by the wind. I quickly chased after the light yellow pages that were blown everywhere.
After taking only two steps, a painful scream came from behind, followed by the frightened screams of several girls. I picked up the pages that had stopped turning and turned around. The wind poured an unpleasant fishy smell into my nostrils. Then the dazzling scarlet color made me feel like the earth was rotating at high speed, and I almost fell down…
In fact, when I was in the library lobby, I felt inexplicably uneasy, as if something was following me. My psychological cues have always been very accurate. The hall of the library was deathly silent, and the administrator at the door fell asleep on the table. The tables, chairs, chandeliers, calligraphy and paintings are all where they should be, and there is nothing out of the ordinary. They also know that thing exists, but they can't tell it.
Is something following me?
Thinking of this, my footsteps panicked and I walked towards the door faster. The body suddenly shook violently and lost its balance. My feet actually tripped on the red carpet spread out on the ground! I fell and cut my hand. At this moment, I felt that thing taking the opportunity to catch up with me.
I held my head hard, and the rotation of the earth slowed down. It took a long time before it gradually stabilized.
I originally thought that everything would be fine, but I didn't expect that when I walked out of the door, that thing was still chasing after me.
When I turned my head and looked behind me, I saw a huge stone ball pressing on a strange male classmate. Several girls next to me opened their eyes dilated with fear. The boy who was pinned down opened his mouth to call for help, but no sound came out. The hands and feet were twitching with force. The blood slowly swallowed up the Crayon Shin-chan pattern on the white coat like bright red tongues.
When I first entered this high school, I carefully inspected the area around the library. The big stone ball was originally placed on a large black ashlar stone. This is one of the school's landmark buildings. The radius of the big stone ball is more than one meter, and the square stone underneath is about the same size. They have been there since the school was founded fifty years ago. I heard from an older teacher at the school that one of the first batch of freshmen admitted after the school was founded had a male student who was crushed to death by a big stone ball. Later, after investigation, it was found that the time of crushing was midnight, but why the stone ball rolled down still cannot be explained.
Now, it has traveled through fifty years, passed through countless mornings with birds chirping, passed through countless evenings when the sunset dyed the sky red, passed through countless quiet and peaceful late nights with thousands of lights, and rolled down without any hindrance. Another young life was taken away.
I felt that the stone ball was rolling towards me. If it were one second later, I would be the one who fell. I thought to myself, could it be that I bumped into something unclean somewhere?
I hurriedly scanned the surroundings with my eyes, seeming to be looking for an object that I had just lost, but I couldn't find it. I know that thing is not completely gone. It was like a sniper whose attack missed, hiding far away in a corner that was hard to find, staring at its target, waiting for the next opportunity to inflict fatal damage on me. Could it be that Rui Ji Ghost is chasing him here?
The big stone ball was so heavy that many people could only watch but could not think of a way to save them. The experienced old man said that you can't roll the stone ball, you can only move it away. Otherwise, the injured person's bones and internal organs may be crushed, making the situation even worse. But can a few strong men move the stone ball easily? Besides, there are no applicable tools here.
By the time the ambulance arrived, the injured man was no longer breathing. Upon hearing the news, a nearby construction team came and used special tools to remove the stone balls.
But it was too late, the deceased was already lying there like a frog whose belly was stepped on by someone's leather shoe.
I clearly remember that the wind that day was wrapped in biting cold air. Several medical staff put the deceased on a stretcher and covered him with a pale and weak sheet. A butter-like liquid probably leaked from the belly, soaking the single cloth. There is a medium-sized red patch in the yellow center, which is blood. So it looks like an autumn chrysanthemum from a distance, a sickly autumn chrysanthemum, a dehydrated autumn chrysanthemum, languid and decadent. The wind picked up again, and the single cloth was like a piece of wavy water, rising and falling, as if the person under the cloth was twisting his body because he was not comfortable sleeping on the stretcher, looking for a more comfortable position, or the wind was too cold. Because the person under the cloth has no body temperature, he wants to wrap himself tightly in the cloth to prevent the remaining heat from escaping.
One of the deceased's hands slipped from the stretcher and swayed from side to side as the medical staff ran around. This made me think that the man was not dead, perhaps his face was making a mischievous face under the sheet, laughing at everyone's busyness.
When I returned to the dormitory, I was still frightened. As soon as I closed my eyes, I could see the momentum of a big stone ball rushing toward me. I felt that the stone ball was waiting for me on the square stone, waiting for fifty years of ups and downs.
2.
My mother told me: The five elements are short of water this year. I am an ox and a buffalo. Buffalo cannot live without water, so be careful this year.
My mother even calculated my horoscopes specially. The fortune teller was shocked when he heard my mother's birth date. He said that "cows spend the winter suffering". Cows can only eat dry grass during the winter. There must be some disaster this year. My mother quickly went to the Tutu Temple to get a piece of red cloth, saying it was an amulet, and forced me to wear it with me every day. I never touched it after throwing it in my bag.
That night, I had a dream.
The wind in the dream was tight and cold. I was standing in front of the iconic building of the library. The scene during the day was repeated. The big stone ball rolled down and crushed the boy. I hurriedly ran over, trying to lift the stone ball and rescue the injured. But no matter what, the stone ball remained motionless as if it had taken root. I was so tired that I sat on the ground and panted. There were many pedestrians passing by, including a few little girls who were frightened that day, but everyone walked by expressionlessly, as if they didn't see the blood that was as sticky as honey, gurgling out.
"Hehehe…" The person under the stone ball actually laughed, and his voice was older, far different from the age of the deceased. I was startled to notice that his mouth didn't move.
"Don't you want to repay the debt you owe me?" The deceased's face lifted from the ground, as pale as the single cloth that day. The eyes were bulging, as if they were about to burst out and injure me in front of me.
I didn't bother to get up, and pushed hard with my heels to move backward.
"Are you still trying to escape and refuse to repay my debt?" The deceased stretched out his red hand to me.
"No! No!" I shouted.
My classmates in the dormitory pushed me awake and said, "Liang, are you dreaming?"
I opened my eyes and my face was covered with sweat.
If that bicycle incident hadn't happened, I wouldn't have worn that red amulet every day. After the stone ball crushed the second student to death, the school finally decided to remove the stone ball and square stones. Firstly, to avoid the incident leaving a shadow on the students' hearts. Secondly, there were more pedestrians on that road to prevent similar tragedies from happening again. .
I still remember that the bicycle was borrowed from my classmate Yin Dong. There was no class all afternoon, so I decided to go outside the school to buy a down jacket for the winter. Yin Dong shouted that he was bored in the dormitory alone and wanted to go shopping with him. Therefore, I set off with Yin Dong.
Although there are no more stone balls on the only way, I still feel anxious. At this time, a bicycle came from the opposite direction, and on the bicycle was the retired old principal. As far as I can recall, the old principal’s expression had always been strange. When the car collided, the old principal’s face was distorted.
When the two bicycles were far apart, I already felt that the faucet of the bicycle was rusty and would not obey the control. It seemed that there was a thrust coming from behind and the bicycle accelerated. The old principal was also trying hard to turn the car's axle, but in the end it didn't come around. So the two cars hit each other.
The old principal's face did not face me directly. His eyes bypassed Yin Dong and looked further away, as if there was someone behind the car. Then the bike and the man fell. The old principal and I got up in a hurry. I quickly apologized to the old principal, turned around, and saw Yin Dong still lying there.
I couldn't help but gasp when I saw Yin Dong. The way he fell was the same as when the boy was crushed to death by a stone ball that day, with his head thrown to the ground and twitching limbs…
The old principal saw Yin Dong throwing himself on the ground behind me, and was so frightened that he waved his hands and backed away. The eyes were bulging, as if they were about to burst out. His face was as pale as the single cloth that day. What really prompted me to wear a red cloth every day was not Yin Dong's injury or the weird bicycle, but the eyes of the old principal at that time. It gives me chills every time I think about it.
The old principal stared at the prostrate Yin Dong, and I stared at the old principal. They both paused for a few seconds, and then they all woke up from a dream, and with all their hands and feet, they lifted Yin Dong up and ran to the school hospital.
After taking some first aid measures, Yin Dong's breathing became easier. After the doctor checked Yin Dong's chest, he then wanted to check his back. Yin Dong struggled and refused.
I comforted him, "It's okay. The doctor is just doing a simple check. It's not a big deal."
Yin Dong shook his head and said weakly: "As soon as I turned over, I felt a heavy weight on my back, and I couldn't breathe!" When the old principal heard this, his face became even paler, as if he was in a polluted river. The belly of a dead fish turned inside out.
"Come, this classmate, I want to talk to you alone." The old principal said, holding my hand. I felt his hands were cold and shaking with excitement.
The old principal pulled me out of the infirmary and told me a story related to him.
Fifty years ago, among the first batch of freshmen admitted to this school, there were two very close friends. They all got here with very good results. The teaching model of high school is different from that of junior high school. Therefore, some of the students who were originally shining began to dim; some of them shined brighter than before, making others feel jealous. When jealousy is not dealt with well, it can easily turn into irrational hatred. Not long after school started, friend A had everything he wanted to do, and his star shone brightly. But friend B, who was surrounded by flowers and applause, was unknown. Every time they go out together, one or the other always says hello to friend A, or friend A says hello to that other. Friend B's mouth seemed to have a lock on it. Therefore, B feels that he is A's foil. B secretly works hard in his studies and vows to surpass A in scores. Moreover, friend A has a meeting to attend today and a report to give tomorrow, friend B has a great advantage in time. Friend A sensed that there was a problem between them and wanted to talk to B. But every time he saw B studying hard, he couldn't bear to disturb him.
At the school's exam summary meeting, friend B won the third-class scholarship, and friend A won the first-class scholarship. B felt unbalanced: He studied less than me, so why did he get a higher score than me? A smiled and congratulated him, which he interpreted as ridicule and provocation. Especially when he heard someone say, "He was able to get a third-class scholarship not because of the guidance of his friend who got a first-class scholarship," he gritted his teeth with hatred.
The hatred accumulated in the heart for a long time made Friend B's psychology distorted and changed. Finally, one night, friend A accepted the invitation and came to the inconspicuous big stone ball, waiting to get back together with friend B. The stone ball moved behind A and rolled down…
The old principal said: "For fifty years, I have often dreamed of stones rolling towards me. Wherever I ran, the stones would chase me. The way your classmate is lying on the ground today is the same as my friend dying." It was exactly the same as before. At that time, I mistakenly thought it was him who came to me and asked me for a life debt."
3.
"Then why did he come now? There was no such strange thing before?" My mind was full of questions.
"I'm afraid you won't believe me if I tell you. I have been the principal of this school for many years, but I never dared to take that road and always took a detour. Even though half a century has passed, I still can't let go of the stupid things I did when I was young. ! After I retired, the new principal asked me for advice and invited me to his house for a drink. The new principal was very enthusiastic, so I drank a few more drinks and became delirious. That night, the new principal personally helped me back home. Home. That was the time when I made an exception and passed the stone ball. It must have been that time that I was discovered by the stone ball! He knew that I had returned to this school." He said.
"Then I didn't avoid it intentionally. Anyway, it had already seen it, so just come if you have anything." I saw the old principal's fingers trembling slightly and his eyes closed tightly, as if he would see him as soon as he opened them. The friend stretched out his blood-stained hand to him.
"So it creates those horrific events to threaten you, right?" I asked.
"This is not threatening me, it is trying to make me have a mental breakdown!" The old principal held his white-haired head with both hands, as if he had a severe headache. "I have never owed anyone anything in my life, and he is the only one who has not repaid this debt!"
My whole body was cold, and I felt something cold moving around the old principal and myself.
I asked why that thing chose me instead of someone else. After talking with the old principal, I found out that the old principal and I had the same birthday, and he was also born in the year of the Ox, and it was also the year of the "hard cow winter". In one week, it will be my 20th birthday.
A "plop" sound interrupted the conversation between the old principal and me. I rushed into Yin Dong's ward. It turned out that Yin Dong wanted to get up and move around, but as soon as he stood up, he lost his balance as if there was a heavy object on his back, and he fell to the ground with a "plop". Yin Dong lay on his back on the ground, breathing heavily.
Day by day, Yin Dong lost weight day by day. The old principal came to see him every day. I was confused by the old principal's regretful expression. Somehow I felt that the thing kidnapped Yin Dong, tortured him slowly, and presented the entire torture process in front of the old principal. It will make the old principal completely collapse.
The old principal finally couldn't stand the psychological torture and surrendered. He chose to rush to the original location of the stone ball with a stack of ghost papers on a night when everyone was asleep.
"I'm here to pay off my debt, friend!" The old principal lit three sticks of incense and inserted them into the spot where his friend was stained with blood.
"Look at me, long-lost friend, I'm here to pay off my debt!" He lit the paper. The flames jumped lively, making his old face appear brighter and darker, as if someone was trying hard to see his face clearly, fearing that he would be mistaken.
Suddenly a small whirlwind came and rolled up the burning paper, as if to read carefully and read the long-awaited letter of surrender from the enemy. The whistling of the wind is just like the joyful laughter after reading. Then, the wind picked up even harder, carrying cotton-like snowflakes. Winter has really arrived.
The next morning a rigor mortis was found. Thick snow covered the old principal, as if he was not freezing to death, but a sleeper under the warm snow-white quilt. The old principal has not slept so sweetly and beautifully for a long time.
On my birthday, Yin Dong recovered and was discharged from the hospital. Behind the cold winter, there is a warm spring.
The Hunan classmate stopped, lowered his head and drank some water. We were so absorbed in listening that we didn’t even notice that he poured himself a glass of boiled water while telling the weird story.
"This is what we usually say, good deeds will be rewarded with good deeds, and evil deeds will be rewarded with evil deeds. Isn't it because the time has not come yet if you don't get retribution?" I swallowed dryly and asked.
The Hunan classmate smiled slightly and said: "When people do good things, they always want the gods and ghosts to know about it, and when they do bad things, they always think the gods and ghosts don't know about it. We make it too difficult for the gods and ghosts."
We laughed. There was a rare relaxed atmosphere in the dormitory. We knew this classmate's rules, so no one asked him to tell one more story.
Everyone dispersed. Some washed up and went to sleep, and some sat silently for a while before going to sleep.