Chapter 25 The first seven souls

Author: Longqian Harbor

Not long after I left, I found a small village here. I saw that the people in the village were all in a hurry, as if something big had happened. Although I am not someone who likes to join in the fun, I can't miss it if I encounter it. After all,

It's a meal if you can afford it.

I happened to meet an old man, and upon asking, I found out that someone was getting married in the village. No wonder it was so lively.

Since the banquet was not to be held until noon, the old man warmly invited me to sit at his home. I did not refuse and followed the old man to his home.

The old man is the oldest one in the village. He has no children and lives alone. Since he is a bit old, he usually does not do much work. Many neighbors come to help him.

The old man lowered his head and fiddled with the bags under his eyes. After doing it, he took two puffs of it and said, "Where did you come from?"

I told him what happened yesterday one by one. The older the old man listened, the darker his face became.

"I still remember Beibei's smile. That little girl was so cute."

"Beibei?" The old man said with a livid face, "Does she have a very small mole at the corner of her eye and two small dimples when she smiles?"

I was stunned and thought for a moment that it was only three or four miles from Sister Qiao's house to the village. Maybe the old man had seen Beibei!

"Yes! Uncle, have you seen her?"

The old man sighed and said slowly: "Oh! You have hit a ghost, and the two of them are already dead."

When I heard this, the water I just drank in my mouth spurted out.

"What? Are they ghosts?"

No! If they are ghosts, why don't my eyes react at all? Maybe they are broken.

But then I thought about it, since my eyes have returned to normal, it is normal not to see that they are ghosts.

It's a pity that such a small child, so cute, why did he die?

"Uncle, how did they die?"

The old man was a little excited. He put the pipe to his mouth with trembling hands and took a few puffs of it.

Then he said: "They were originally from our village and lived in the east end of the village. The girl's name is Qiao'er. She is a daughter-in-law from out of town who escaped from a difficult situation.

She is pretty, has a sweet voice, and can sing. Even though Qiaoer is a woman, she is hardworking and capable of swearing, and is better than many men.

His husband is Zhang Qiang from our village. He is a coffin maker. His family is the only one in the eight villages within ten miles. Everyone calls him Coffin Zhang. The business is very good, and the family is happy and happy.

One day when Coffin Zhang was making coffins at home, a foreigner came to see him and specially asked him to make a coffin.

Coffin Zhang saw that the visitor was generous, so he said something to Qiao'er and followed him. Who knew that once he left, he would never come back.

Qiaoer waited at home for three or four days but did not see Zhang Qiang.

It wasn’t until the night of the seventh day that Qiaoer heard a knock on the door.”

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

"Qiao'er, open the door quickly."

Qiaoer, who was sleeping soundly, heard Zhang Qiang's voice and opened the door for him.

When I opened the door, I saw Zhang Qiang standing at the door, all wet, with a box in his hand.

When Qiaoer saw Zhang Qiang, she hugged him and cried, asking, "Where have you been these days? I thought you didn't want us anymore!"

Zhang Qiang kept smiling and said, "Where is our daughter? I miss her."

Qiaoer led Zhang Qiang into the house. Zhang Qiang sat quietly on the edge of the bed and looked at his daughter without saying a word.

Qiaoer asked this and that now, as if there were endless things to say.

"You are hungry, I will cook for you."

Zhang Qiang looked at Qiao'er and said to her: "It's time for me to leave. I just came back to see you. I'm relieved that you are doing well."

Qiaoer froze on the spot and said blankly: "Let's go, where are you going? Are you not planning to have us?"

Zhang Qiang didn't say anything, turned around and walked outside.

When Qiaoer saw this, he pounced forward, but unexpectedly he missed the target.

Only then did Qiaoer realize that the person in front of him was not a human, but a ghost. It was Zhang Qiang’s ghost who had returned home.

Qiao'er was so frightened that she froze. When she came to her senses, Zhang Qiang's ghost had long since disappeared, leaving only a row of wet footprints on the ground.

"Woo~ Qiangzi, how will we two live without you? Wuwu~"

Later, people found out that it was already late at night after Zhang Qiang finished making the coffin. The family wanted to keep him overnight and let him go in the morning, but Zhang Qiang refused and insisted on going home in a hurry.

When I was going home, I passed a river. Due to the darkness of the night and the recent rain, I slipped and fell into the river and drowned.

After Zhang Qiang died, Qiaoer suddenly seemed to be a different person. She was usually talkative and could not speak more than two sentences a day.

Light a bunch of candles all day and night, because old people often say: as long as the home is bright enough, the ghosts of the deceased can find their way back.

Qiaoer waited for Zhang Qiang's ghost to come home every night, but couldn't wait. Since then, Zhang Qiang's ghost never appeared again.

The couple waited outside the house every day during the day, and lit candles and waited inside the house at night.

Seven days ago, a strong wind blew, blowing the candles in Qiaoer's house. The house was full of wood, and the fire suddenly started.

All the young and old men in the village came to put out the fire, but the fire was so big that no one dared to get close.

Someone in the village vaguely heard Qiao'er talking: Qiangzi, if you don't come to us, then my daughter and I will go find you. We will still be a family when we get there.

In this way, Qiaoer and her daughter were burned to death, and Zhang Qiang's house was burned to ashes. Sometimes when villagers passed by his house at night, they could often hear Qiaoer's singing and the little girl's laughter.

After speaking, the old man couldn't help but sigh: "Alas! That poor little baby was only five years old this year, and he just... disappeared."

When the old man said this, I felt sorry for them, but I had spent all my money in vain.

Thinking of this, I really wanted to slap myself twice. I didn't expect that as a soul warrior, I would not know when I encountered a ghost. My life was really in vain.

The old man looked at the sun outside and saw that it was almost noon. He said, "Girl, let's go! I'll take you to see our wedding banquet here."

"Okay!" I replied happily. When it comes to eating, I can forget everything. I have only been able to eat two kinds of dishes in the mountains these years, and I have long been tired of them.

Now that I have the opportunity to taste delicious food, I will certainly not miss it.

When I came to the host's house where the wedding was held, they were very warm to me.

When I arrived, I found that although it was a happy event, the faces of the villagers were gloomy.

I began to murmur in my heart: "Since it is a happy event, why don't these people have smiles on their faces?"
Chapter completed!