Chapter 4 Wake
Just when I was running towards the Taoist temple in a hurry and out of breath, my cell phone rang at an inappropriate time.
When I saw it was my dad calling, I was afraid something had happened to him and my mom.
As soon as the call was connected, the person on the other end said: "Your third uncle is dead, come here quickly."
My third uncle was only in his forties, why did he die suddenly? And he was so immortal that he died today. Is it such a coincidence?
"Did the sound of firecrackers just now belong to Uncle San?"
"Well, come back soon." My dad said.
"Dad, my master wants me to rush back to Baiyun Temple before dark." I explained.
"Master?" My dad was surprised.
Before I could explain, my dad also understood the meaning of my words. He said angrily on the other end of the phone: "Who allowed you to become a monk in Baiyun Temple? Your mother and I disagree!"
"Do you want to watch your son die?" I didn't want to say these words at first, for fear of scaring my parents, but it was getting dark and if I didn't look back, I had no idea what would happen.
"It's not like your uncle is here..."
Before he could finish speaking, I interrupted him: "Did you and your mother ask your uncle to tamper with my and Liu Qian'er's birthdays?"
My dad didn't reply to me, but he looked around and said, "Come back quickly."
After hanging up the phone, I saw that I wouldn't be able to get back to Baiyun Temple before dark, so I had to bite the bullet and go home.
When I got home, I learned that my third uncle had gone to town to buy meat in the morning, but when he came back, he passed by the Crock River, fell off the bridge and drowned.
After listening to my father's description, I always felt that something was wrong. The Crock Bridge was narrow and short, and the water under the bridge was not very fast. Even if a strong man fell, he would not be likely to drown.
Besides, Uncle San is very good at water and can hold his breath underwater for five minutes.
Before I could figure it out, my dad said: "Your third uncle has no queen. You will keep vigil for him tonight and go up to the mountain tomorrow morning."
I hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded. My poor third uncle had no wife. According to the customs in my hometown, I should really give him the final say.
Fortunately, although my third uncle was lonely and widowed, he was always warm-hearted. After my death, several people from the village stayed with me to keep me company. We all took turns burning paper and taking turns to squint at sleep. After all, we were very busy with funeral arrangements, so it was unrealistic not to sleep.
In the evening, when it was almost my turn to go to bed, I burned a few stacks of paper for my third uncle. After burning them, I leaned on the chair and fell asleep.
After sleeping for a while, I suddenly felt a heat in my arms and woke up. When I opened my eyes, I found that I was not in the mourning hall at all.
I remember that I was burning paper in the mourning hall, how did I end up in this wilderness now?
Take a closer look, holy shit, isn’t this place Liu Qian’er’s grave?
Before I could figure out what was going on, I heard a voice coming from the side, "Gu Zhou, stop talking."
"Who?" I exclaimed in fright. If someone spoke in the middle of the night, it was probably not serious.
"It's me. Your master told me to fight you here at twelve o'clock."
When I heard the voice, it sounded familiar to me. After a while, I suddenly remembered, isn't this Li Guohua's voice?
"Li Guohua?" I asked.
I couldn't see his appearance in the darkness, but from the sound of his voice he must be right next to me.
"Well, it's me, I brought you here." Li Guohua said.
I said, how do you know my master?
Li Guohua said that in the afternoon he hurried to Gu Laosan's house to help, but met an old Taoist priest halfway there.
He said that this old Taoist priest claimed to be my master, and told him to bring me to Liu Qian'er's grave at twelve o'clock.
I asked with some confusion: "Didn't he tell you anything else?"
Li Guohua said: "No, he just asked me to stay here with you until dawn, and no matter what you hear, don't look at Liu Qian'er's grave."
What is Master going to do? My mind is filled with questions.
He asked me to bury the Bagua Mirror on Liu Qianer's grave, but the Bagua Mirror is broken, can it still be used?
Moreover, Li Guohua is a well-known fool in the village. He usually just smiles when he sees people. People of the older generation say that such people are village guards.
But his behavior tonight didn't look like a fool at all.
While he was thinking about it, Li Guohua added, "Gu Zhou, I'm right next to you. The place we're staying at now is a big rock, so as long as you don't stand up, you'll be fine."
I said, what on earth is Master going to do?
Li Guohua said: "I don't know either. Anyway, your master said you have to stay here tonight. Don't worry, I will always stay with you."
"Okay!" I said helplessly. I really didn't know what medicine Master was selling in his gourd.
I looked at my phone and saw that it was only midnight, so I could only stay up slowly.
Li Guohua and I leaned against the stone in silence. After a while, I faintly heard a sound.
It sounded like someone was digging up the earth. I was shocked. Could it be that someone came to steal Liu Qian'er's body?
Then wouldn’t the Bagua Mirror I buried become even more useless?
But when I thought about Li Guohua's words, I didn't dare to stand up and look. I could only lean behind the stone and dare not breathe.
The sound of digging soil became more and more frequent. I asked Li Guohua in a low voice and he said he heard it too.
After a while, the sound of digging soil disappeared, but it turned into the sound of scraping, a bit like the sound of opening a coffin.
Now I am even more convinced that someone is touching Liu Qian'er's body, but who could it be?
Liu Qian'er was wearing red clothes before her death and was full of resentment. Most people would not dare to approach her grave.
Could it be his uncle?
I was making wild guesses in my mind. Anyway, this thing is really outrageous.
It wasn't until five o'clock in the morning, when the sky turned white, that the sounds slowly disappeared. At this time, Li Guohua said: "Gu Zhou, go to sleep! I will take you back."
I was about to say why should I sleep? But my eyelids sank and I lost consciousness.
A burst of gunfire like thunder woke me up. When I opened my eyes, I found that I was still lying on the chair.
"Are you dreaming again?" I muttered to myself, but I had obviously just experienced these things.
I got up and went outside to find Li Guohua. The silly big man smiled at me and I said, "Brother Hua, where were you last night?"
Li Guohua said inarticulately: "I...I just...have been outside all the time."
Several uncles who were with him also said that Li Guohua had been sitting on the bench and taking a nap.
Chapter completed!