Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Early the next morning, Yang Su arrived at the Village Office. It was an old two-story building with peeling walls, and the couplets at the entrance had faded to the point where the characters were barely legible.
Inside the duty room sat a middle-aged man who was dozing off. Hearing footsteps, he rubbed his eyes and sat up straight. "Who are you looking for?"
"I'd like to check some materials from the Village Chronicle," Yang Su said, presenting his identification. "I'm from the Folklore Research Institute."
"Folklore research?" The middle-aged man scrutinized him warily. "What do you want to check that for?"
"Well, we're conducting a folklore survey in the Chuanxi region. I heard your village has an Ancient Bell Tower, and I want to learn about its history."
The man fell silent for a moment. "Wait here."
He went into an inner room and rummaged around for a while before bringing out several worn copies of the Village Chronicle. Yang Su opened one and found that most of it contained mundane records: bridge repairs, house constructions, harvests, and so on. However, he quickly noticed something unusual: there was almost a complete blank from 1940 to 1960, with only a few sparse entries mentioning "rainfall" and "harvest."
"Why are there so few records for these twenty years?" he asked.
"Things weren't peaceful back then," the middle-aged man replied impatiently. "A lot of materials were lost."
Just as Yang Su was about to ask more questions, a commotion arose outside. A commanding voice approached: "Who is here to check materials?"
A man in his fifties entered, tall and robust with thick eyebrows and large eyes. His square face exuded authority as he glared at Yang Su. "Which unit are you from?"
"Folklore Research Institute, Yang Su."
"Researching folklore?" The man scoffed. "I'm the village head, Li Gensheng. What is there to study in this poor mountain valley?"
"Teacher Li, I'm mainly interested in the bell tower."
"The bell tower?" Li Gensheng's expression shifted slightly. "That dilapidated building is on the verge of collapse. Just a few days ago, we put up caution tape around it to keep people away. If you want to study it, you'll have to wait until it's repaired."
"And when will that be?"
"Hard to say." Li Gensheng waved his hand dismissively. "You should come back another day."
Reluctantly, Yang Su took his leave. As he stepped out of the Village Office and glanced back, he noticed Li Gensheng standing by the window, staring at him with an unsettling gaze.
In the afternoon, Yang Su observed the bell tower from a distance. It was a seven-story pagoda-style structure with azure brick gray tiles and upturned eaves. The marks of time covered the entire building but did not make it look dilapidated; instead, it added an air of mystery.
The caution tape around the bell tower indeed looked new. Yang Su walked around it and spotted an old man squatting in a corner, sorting through a pile of miscellaneous items.
The old man was thin as a rake, dressed in a patched-up cotton coat. Without looking up at the sound of footsteps, he said, "You can't get close; didn't you see the caution tape?"
"Are you in charge of watching over the tower?"
"Yes." The old man continued sorting through his belongings—old incense burners and candles among them.
"Can you tell me about the clock tower?"
The old man finally looked up at him. "You’re an outsider. There are some rules in this place... It's better not to ask too much about certain things. The more you inquire, the more trouble you might attract."
"What about the sound of the bell..."
"There is no bell sound!" The old man suddenly became agitated. "Get out!"
Yang Su left in frustration. The sun was gradually setting, and the shadow of the clock tower stretched long, as if it were trying to envelop the entire village.
That night, Yang Su lay on the bed in the inn, listening to the wind outside. He reviewed what he had learned over the past two days: the villagers' deep reluctance to speak about the clock tower, the twenty-year gap in the Village Chronicle, Teacher Li's attitude, and that Keeper of the Bell Tower...
The old-fashioned wall clock showed ten fifty. He decided to wait until midnight to see if he could truly hear the bell sound.
The wind quieted down, and the village fell into an eerie silence. Yang Su felt the air grow thick, as if some invisible force was pressing on his nerves. His temples throbbed, and a buzzing filled his ears.
Midnight approached.
Suddenly, a deep bell sound echoed from afar.
"Dong..."
The sound was long and carried an indescribable ancient aura that sent chills down one’s spine. Yang Su sat up abruptly; he would not mistake this bell sound—it was exactly like what he had heard on his way here.
As the resonance of the bell faded, he seemed to hear a rustling of footsteps downstairs, along with whispers:
"Someone else has heard it again..."
Comment 0 Comment Count