6. mourning
Mourning is a legend left by our ancestors here. It says that when a person dies, especially a violent death (abnormal death), the soul of the person who cares about each other with the deceased will leave the body and lie in the coffin of the deceased on the day of mourning. Once the person's soul is buried, he will die in a few days to a year. So when we have a funeral here, there will always be a living god (also called Mr. Yin and Yang, similar to a Taoist monk) following the coffin, holding fami (rice made by the living god with magic) and peach tree branches, and constantly pouring and sprinkling water on the coffin. Beating to prevent souls from attacking the mourners. Unless the soul can endure the severe pain of beating the thorns, it will generally not be successful in beating the mourners easily!
One day last year, my second uncle drove a tractor with a load of mountain goods ready to be sold in the county town. My second aunt was sitting in the carriage. The tractor came to a dangerous road section called "Yanwogou". My second uncle habitually slowed down and drove up. To be vigilant, this is an Anti-Japanese War highway carved out of a cliff by the Nationalist Government during the Anti-Japanese War. The highway passes through the rock and only allows one car to pass. Below is a cliff of ten thousand feet. This is a place where car accidents occur frequently. There are also The wreckage of many vehicles.
The second aunt also squatted down nervously. Suddenly she heard her second uncle shouting "Wait for me, wait for me." Without allowing the second aunt to react, the tractor had already headed straight towards the cliff, and the second aunt was ejected and hung on the edge of the cliff. On a tree, when the second aunt came to her senses, she had been rescued. The villagers who came after hearing the news were struggling to lift the body of the second uncle from the bottom of the cliff. The originally sick grandmother fainted when she heard the bad news. Dead has passed…
The second uncle died, and the relatives invited the best living god in the town to perform rituals. The living god’s surname was Yu, and everyone called him Yu Shenxian. After Yu Shenxian performed the rituals, he chose a cemetery and calculated that the burial time would be the early morning of the next day. Because the second uncle's death was a violent one, he had to go to the place where he died at night to summon his soul. According to Yu Shenxian, his soul is still there. His soul must be summoned back and buried with his body so that he can rest in peace and the ghost will not go back. endanger others…
Only juniors can go to summon spirits. Among the juniors of my second uncle, I am the eldest, followed by my cousin who has just turned twelve. We became the inevitable candidates. Although I disdain Yu Shenxian, this is the custom. Yan Wogou was always windy and shuddering during the day, so I was asked to go there at night. Yu Shenxian’s head might have been caught by the door. Yu Shenxian gave me some scented wax paper money, a straw man, two magic talismans, and pretended to be cool. What I was explaining made me very angry, and I kept saying yes, not even bothering to look at this so-called living god…
After everything was explained, I rode on the motorcycle that my second uncle bought for home. For safety and to embolden us, two villagers also rode on motorcycles and followed us from a distance. According to regulations, they must keep a distance from us. It was quite a long distance, and my cousin and I relaxed a little knowing that someone was behind us.
Yu Shenxian put a talisman on each of us, saying that with this talisman, ghosts can't see us!
The night was very dark, and there was still light rain. I thought I would go to Yanwogou soon, burn the paper money talisman, shout three times according to Yu Shenxian's instructions, "Second uncle is back!" and then put another talisman on the straw man. When I came back, I just finished the procedures and settled my work, but I didn't expect that I would form a life-and-death bond with Yu Shenxian.
Preface: Nightmares and Reality
The sky is very dark. I couldn't tell whether it was dawn or dusk, there was silence all around, so quiet that I could hear her heartbeat!
She is my girlfriend Rong'er. She knelt outside the door and cried bitterly. She also banged her head against my door from time to time. I wanted to sit up and help her, but I couldn't help myself…
"Liar, liar, big liar, Brother Nong, you are a big liar"
"Brother Nong – we have agreed that we will be inseparable until life and death, have you forgotten? Now that the yin and yang are separated, are you ignoring me?"
"Brother Nong, please open the door and let me in…"
"Rongmei, don't leave me -" I held it in for a long time, a wave of resentment finally broke through my throat, howled wildly, stood up, opened the door and wanted to hug my Ronger, but several pairs of big hands had already grabbed her. Dragging them further away, a familiar yet unfamiliar voice urged: "Fu Rong, don't be stupid, it's time to go back, let's go!"
"Brother Nong, Brother Nong…"
"Rongmei, Rongmei…"
Just like the plot in the movie, I wanted to catch her but couldn't. She was pulled tightly by several pairs of big hands and dragged far away. Ronger was struggling desperately and calling me hysterically. I wanted to rush In the past, I tripped over something. It turned out to be a threshold, and I hadn't even stepped over the threshold yet!
A gust of cool wind blew and I shivered, ah! Where am I? There is a piece of flat land in the middle of the dense woods. There is a new tomb in the flat. In front of the tomb, there are burning incense, candles, paper money, and various kinds of fruits and cakes as offerings. Among them is a bowl of boiled water, which is Ronger's specialty and my favorite. Fish, the fish soup is still hot and steaming…
I picked up the boiled fish and took a sip. It was spicy, fragrant, and still had that familiar taste. A mouthful of soup was like a warm current that warmed my heart!
Her nickname is Furong, and the villagers like to call her Sister Furong. Only I call her Ronger. We were childhood sweethearts and grew up together under the mutual care of our parents. Although we were not married, we were regarded as children by the village since we were young. We were made for each other. At that ignorant age, we silently regarded each other as lovers and even part of our lives. We got engaged the year before last and vowed to depend on each other for life and death…
But why are yin and yang separated? Everything was fine yesterday! Why did she die today? Why is she buried here? What's going on with this sacrifice? My mind went blank and I couldn't remember anything!
"Rongmei, what's going on with you? What's wrong with you? I said, life and death, don't worry, I won't forget, I will definitely fulfill our promise, Rongmei, you must wait for me …”
1. Midnight Bell
"Ding ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, tingling, Big chunk, it turned out to be a dream? But what about Ronger? We slept together yesterday. Where did she go? Why is there no one around in the middle of the night…
The phone is still ringing. It must be Ronger. What happened to her? I quickly grabbed the phone,
"Rong'er, where are you?"
"Brother, come back quickly! I'm your sister, and you can't get through on your phone." It turned out to be the call from her sister. She was crying on the phone, as if her mother was crying in pain, and an ominous premonition came to her heart!
"Where's your sister-in-law? Where's Ronger?" I'm really worried. I pray to God that nothing will happen to my Ronger!
"Brother, my sister-in-law is at her home. Come back quickly. Something happened."
My head banged, and my heart seemed to be broken. Ronger, what's wrong with you? Why did you come home suddenly? Without telling me, my sister urged me to go back in the middle of the night, something big must have happened!
"Sister, what did you say? Say it again." My sister was crying and saying something. My head was buzzing and I didn't understand!
"She is dead. She was hanged at Three Trees. She was only found out today…"
On the phone, my sister's words were very clear. I collapsed on the ground, struggling, and groping with my hands desperately on the ground. I didn't believe that Ronger was dead. She should be next to me. We were still together yesterday! Why did she return to her hometown thousands of miles away and hang herself overnight?
I picked up the microphone that fell on the ground: "Sister, what's going on? What's going on? Why does your sister-in-law do this?"
"Brother, it's grandma. Grandma hanged herself. You said that grandma would notify you immediately if something happens, but it's too late…" After a long pause, the sister said again, "Sister-in-law is at her house. She's fine. She's fine. , Forget her, brother!" At this moment, a mysterious voice appeared faintly on the other end of the phone. He was reminding my sister something, but I didn't pay attention.
"Oh my god, what is going on? I'll be right back. If you need anything, call me on my phone." I couldn't wait to hang up the phone, took a taxi and rushed to the station. I didn't have time to ask for leave from the company and didn't have the time to pack my luggage. I was very anxious and wanted to get home immediately.
It's a bit selfish to say that I am most worried and anxious about my Ronger. In fact, I am not surprised at all by my grandmother's death. Today is the fourth day of April. I marked the fourth day of April on my desk calendar half a year ago. , marked "Grandma passed away", but I was so busy with work that I forgot to look at the calendar…
I got on the long-distance bus home and suddenly remembered the mysterious voice I heard on the phone with my sister. I remember that he seemed to be reminding my sister to only tell me about my grandma and not let me know about other things. Let me know? This mysterious voice is so familiar. By the way, I seemed to have made a bet with this voice last year. I bet on two lives, one was my grandma’s life and the other was mine. It seems that I have already lost half of it, but this time Who is that voice? Why can't I remember anything…
What happened today was so messy that I had a splitting headache. What happened to Ronger? Give her a call quickly. Oops, I slapped myself hard twice. I left in such a hurry that I forgot to bring my mobile phone. Everyone’s phone numbers are stored in their mobile phones. I’m so sorry for Ronger, I can’t even remember her mobile phone number!
2. The stormy return journey
I have a bad habit of sleeping on long-distance rides as soon as I get in the car. When I woke up, the bus arrived at the station, and it was dark again. I was probably busy with my grandma's affairs, so no one picked me up at the station, and I didn't bring my mobile phone with me. I had to walk about two kilometers in the dark on a mountain road to get home. There were woods and mountain roads everywhere. It was so eerie that no one dared to walk alone at night, but Ronger, who was eager to see me, had nothing to be afraid of when she cared about her!
It started to rain, and I couldn't see my fingers. Strangely enough, if someone dies here, it will probably rain. The old man said that rain after death is good for future generations!
The mountain road was originally difficult to walk, and the rain made it even muddy. It was dark and there was no lighting, so I half-walked and half-climbed to the mountainside. There was a small flat land with a big and lush tree in the ground. Everyone would be tired from walking during the day. Rest here and enjoy the shade under the trees. Arriving here means that you are halfway home!
Everyone calls this place Xiaopingtou!
I haven’t been home for just a year. Someone actually built a house in Xiaopingtou. They cut down the tree and the lights were on. It looked like someone was living in the house. Maybe one of the neighbors moved here to make it easier to grow crops. Yin Yang How is the cat with eyes ? I just happened to go borrow a flashlight. I have to go back to find Rong'er quickly!
"Bang bang bang" I knocked on the door, and it was Uncle Li who opened the door. He was the kindest old man in the village. He worked hard to support his two older sons and sent them to college. However, his son was unfilial and often made him angry. Everyone in the village said he was not worthy!
"Uncle Li, why did you move here?"
"Haha, it's Nongnong? Why are you back again? Look at you, you're all wet. Come in and change your clothes and have a rest. Alas, my son is getting married and there's no place to live at home. I'll move out and make room for them. What a place!”
"Uncle Li, when your son gets married, you should live at home and enjoy the happiness of your family. Besides, you live here alone, with no place to stay, no shop, how lonely you are. By the way, I haven't been back for more than a year. , what do you think I’m back again? I used to think I came home too few times, maybe it’s bothering me now?” (Haunted House: Please keep the reprint!)
Uncle Li wanted to say something else, but I quickly stopped her, "Uncle Li, please lend me a flashlight. I'm in a hurry to go home."
"Haha, Nongnong, don't worry, your grandma won't be buried until tomorrow. Come in and have a rest first!"
"No, Uncle Li, I'm not afraid of your jokes. I'm in a hurry to find Ronger. I wonder what happened to her?"
"You bastard! Why are you still looking for her? You only know that you want to be together forever, but have you ever considered your parents' feelings? Fleur is a good girl. If you love her, just give up on her, otherwise you will no longer be me Look at the grown-up Nong Nong!”
Ah, what's going on? Did I do something wrong? No, someone must be slandering me behind my back. Ronger is very beautiful and virtuous, and there are many people chasing her. Someone must be deliberately sowing discord and saying bad things about me in the village. People with ulterior motives really deserve to go to hell!
"Uncle Li, there may be some misunderstanding. I can't explain it to you. Please lend me a flashlight. I'll go back first!"
"Okay, but listen to me, you must go home first and don't go see your sister Furong. Tomorrow night we will go to your grandma's house to greet her old man. Also, if you see my evil son, tell him , all the money he gave me was half, how should I use it? Alas, I used to pay for him to go to school, and I couldn’t wait to move out for a penny. Now it’s troublesome for them to give me some money, and they only give half a penny.”
I borrowed a flashlight from Uncle Li, and he put a raincoat on me. I walked much faster. Alas, Uncle Li is old, angry with his son, and confused in his thinking. He started talking nonsense. Grandma will be buried tomorrow night. , the custom here is that we wanted to bury her, but Uncle Li actually said it was Jie Feng!
3. Change of face of family members
I finally arrived home. The door was locked. I put my raincoat and flashlight on the stone steps at the door and prepared to go find Rong'er. However, Uncle Li had told me that I didn't know what happened, so I endured it and went to my grandma first. Home, ask mom what's going on, grandma passed away, and the whole family is there to help.
Grandma's house was brightly lit, and there were cries. There was a tarpaulin set up in the courtyard to protect her from the rain. There were many villagers helping. Everyone was so busy that no one had time to greet me. Grandma's body was parked in the center of the main room, and it was ready next to it. How about a cat with yin and yang eyes in an empty coffin? There are incense and paper burning in front of the corpse. The mother and aunt are kneeling there and weeping. The uncle is greeting the guests with his belt wrapped around his waist. He will kneel down to greet new guests. This is The custom here is that when an old man dies, a filial son must kneel down to greet the guests who come for the funeral. Even if it is a child, a junior or a dog, he must kneel down!
"Mom – Mom -" I knelt down next to my mother. My mother's eyes were red and swollen and she was crying very sadly. Seeing my mother like this, I couldn't help but shed tears!
"Nong'er – my son – is it you?" Mom cried even more sadly!
"Mom, it's me, I'm a farmer, I'm back, Mom"
"My son, you miss me so much -" With a loud cry, my mother fainted. Only then did I realize that my mother had lost a lot of weight. How could she become so thin after not seeing her for a year? The eyes were very red and swollen, and it looked like they were caused by crying every day. Grandma's passing must have been a huge blow to my mother. My mother often said that grandma was very hard and she couldn't honor her for a whole day. She was afraid that grandma would die and there would be no time to fulfill her filial piety. Mom here often sheds tears!
My mother fainted in front of me. I quickly went to hug her. My aunt who was kneeling next to me saw it and helped my mother up first. My sister and relatives and friends also came. They picked my mother up and a group of people gathered around and poured heat on her. Water, pinch people. No one paid attention to me, and my aunt who usually loved me the most didn't bother to look at me. Others helped my mother away, and she cried like crazy in front of my grandma's body. The uncle who was greeting the guests at the door also rushed in to take a look at my mother. Regarding the situation, I quickly called "uncle", but he ignored me and just complained, "It's all the farmer's fault for making his mother so angry. Tell me, what did your mother owe you in her previous life? You want to do this?" Pay it back to you?"
Hearing this, I felt like a knife was twisting in my heart. What happened to me? What did I do wrong? You all ignore me. Is it true that someone slandered me and you don't believe me?
I was about to ask my uncle to explain, but my sister interrupted him first: "Uncle, please don't mention my brother again, okay? We all think that we don't have this brother, and we will never mention it in front of our mother again, so as not to make him sad. , but why did mom think of him again today? Mom, please wake up, mom."
Even my sister said this about me. Could it be that I really did something treacherous? Have I lost my memory? But if you do something wrong, you can hit me or scold me, and I will change it. It’s like I’ve made an agreement. They all ignore me like this. Is this a punishment for me?
My sister and some relatives helped my mother go back, but the villagers and even my childhood playmates ignored me. They were all busy with their own things, as if I was a superfluous person…
4. Yin and Yang eyes
What is grandma looking for anxiously in the main room? Seeing the scene in front of her, she seemed surprised. She wanted to help her little aunt who was in pain, she wanted to ask the busy villagers to sit down, and she also wanted to hug her youngest grandson, who was also her favorite. She turned around and saw the body lying in the middle of the hall and the empty coffin next to it. She was stunned. She stood blankly for a few minutes. Finally, she went back to the bedroom, took two pieces of patched clothes and threw them into the coffin. , walked out of the main room, looked back at the house where she had lived for most of her life, then she walked up to me, smiled at me, said: "It's time for us to go," then passed through the crowd and walked away along the path at the door. …
This is grandma’s soul. The soul has gone, but her body is still lying in the house. Have I seen a ghost? Oh my God, today I saw the teleporting ghost with my own eyes, and it was my grandmother who just passed away!
I seemed to have lost my fear. I had to go back quickly to check on my mother. We were not far away. Soon I returned to the door of my house, and my sister was about to close the door.
"Sister, I'm back, don't close the door"
My sister ignored me and just listened to her mumbling something. When I walked up to her, I saw her face was pale and her eyes were staring blankly at the stone steps at the door. She said: "Brother, what are you doing back here?" Huh? Mom, haven't you tortured me enough? Is there anything else you're worried about? Sister, am I sorry for you in any way? If you really come back, just go with grandma. Dad still needs you to go. Taking care of…"
"Sister, what are you talking about? What's wrong with you?" I was about to step into the door, and with a "bang", my sister closed the door and bolted it! I wanted to kick the door open and slap my sister in the face. I am your brother. You treated me like this and cursed me. You wish I were dead. It has been more than three years since my father passed away. Why don't you take care of him? But you are my sister. You know that I have never scolded you or hit you since you were a child. I have always protected you. But why are you doing this to me today? You give me chills! "
My mother and sister cried bitterly from inside the house, and relatives and friends were trying to persuade me. I banged on the door desperately and called for my mother, but I heard my mother shouting heartbreakingly: "My son is back, open the door quickly!" It was obvious that my mother was controlled by relatives and friends and refused to open the door!
"Brother, what on earth are you going to do? What are you going to do? Are you willing to kill our mother and daughter?" My sister was choking in the room!
"Sister, what are you talking about? I ran back in the rain and in the dark. No one paid attention to me. No one cared about me. Only Uncle Li lent me a raincoat and a flashlight. Even if someone was really talking about my fault, we We are a family. You should also ask me. If others don’t understand me, don’t you understand me?
"Brother, someone saw a will-o'-the-wisp burning at the door of my house in Xiaopingtou last night. Go to the door and see for yourself. Uncle Li has been dead for half a year and was buried in Xiaopingtou. The paper in front of his grave was only burned. Half, people often hear him say at night that he only has half of his money…"
I couldn't help but shudder. When I walked to the door, I saw that what I put on the stone steps was a paper raincoat and a paper lantern. There was no flashlight at all. The lantern was washed away by the rain and almost fell apart!
It seems that I am being haunted by ghosts, I have yin and yang eyes…
5. The relationship between man and ghost is not over yet
Being haunted by ghosts is not scary, but why do my sisters avoid them in fear? Why don't you let mom see me? There must be something fishy in this. Could this be the reason why Ronger left without saying goodbye? Yes, I have to find out about Ronger. Ronger has a good temper. Even if she is angry, she will ignore me for a long time at most. She will never do this!
Ronger's house is not far away. I walked to the door of her house in the rain. The door was closed. There was a pile of burned paper money at the door. The ashes were washed everywhere by the rain. There were some remaining wood sticks and sawdust inside the house, which looked very strange. It looks familiar. There is a large piece of wood that has been sawed off. The shape looks like it is used for making a coffin, ah, could it be? Oh my God, this can't be true!
I stumbled and crawled to the second floor, calling Ronger's name hysterically. Ronger lived on the second floor and grew up together. I was very familiar with this place. I didn't even think about it. I went straight into Ronger's room without turning on the light. In the bedroom, Ronger was lying quietly on the bed, her face pale, her hair messy, tears hanging from the corners of her eyes, and she had obviously lost a lot of weight!
"Rongmei, what's wrong with you?" I hugged Rong'er tightly, who thought about her day and night, and tears streamed down.
"Liar, liar, big liar, Brother Nong, liar." Ronger tore the clothes on my back fiercely, "Liar, why don't you come to see me all the time? I've been waiting so hard for you. We agreed that we would depend on each other for life and death. Those who will never be separated, have you forgotten? Brother Nong – the big liar"
We hugged each other tightly and couldn't say a word except crying bitterly. The lights upstairs suddenly turned on by themselves. Ronger's door creaked open, and then the lights in the bedroom also turned on automatically. Ronger was startled. , suddenly danced with his hands like crazy, and shouted while dancing: "You go out, you go, ignore me, let me and Brother Nong stay for a while, get out, get out quickly…"
There was no one else in the room, but I knew there was a mysterious force that wanted to take Rong'er away. I hugged her tightly: "Rong sister, don't be afraid. As long as I am here, I will not let anyone take you away again. We depend on each other for life and death and will never be separated. Don’t worry, I keep my word.”
The bedroom door closed automatically again, and after a sigh, a burst of footsteps gradually faded away. Ronger pushed me away and sat quietly on the bed: "Brother Nong, your sister invited Yu Shenxian to the house tonight. You should go back and take a look. You and he still have an unfinished relationship. Last night Yu Shenxian also came to my house and put talismans on each of us. I tore mine into pieces and threw them away."
Yu Shenxian? By the way, I remembered that mysterious voice when I was talking to my sister on the phone. It was Yu Shenxian’s voice. I made a bet with him. It was a legend about "possessing mourners". He said that grandma was in mourning. You must die on the fourth day of the lunar month. Now that grandma is dead, he said that I will die too. It seems that he really won, because I have made up my mind to go with Ronger…