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墨書 Inktalez
I was exhausted beyond measure.
I stood on the dam with him, keeping a bit of distance between us. As I had suspected, the dam was blocked now. The water level had risen.
It was likely high enough to drown me and then some.
The sound of rushing water filled my ears as I shone my flashlight at my feet.
"Enough already, Soybean! It's time to go back."
Soybean suddenly turned to look at me, revealing a chilling smile that seemed extremely eerie.
"Brother, I'm going to tell you this secret right now."
I stared at Soybean, this little rascal, messing around at this late hour and insisting on coming here to share a secret with me.
"Go ahead!" I replied wearily.
But the next moment left me stunned. I watched as Soybean finished smiling and then straightened up before plunging directly into the river.
It was a perfect parabolic arc. I was shocked beyond belief, but I overlooked one detail: when Soybean hit the water, there was no splash at all.
However, my attention was not on that; with Soybean in the water, I placed my phone on the dam and jumped in after him.
We often played in this river when we were kids, so I knew it fairly well.
After jumping in, I searched for Soybean's shadow, but I couldn't see him anywhere in the water. Logically speaking, since the dam was blocked, if someone fell into the water without struggling, they would surely be pulled toward the dam.
However, this kid should be able to swim. I can only stay in the water for about a minute before I surface.
The river was pitch black; if it weren't for the light from my phone, I might have been scared. A cold breeze swept by, making me feel anxious.
I called out "Soybean" above the water, but there was no response.
So I dove back down. In our village, no one is a poor swimmer; everyone can usually swim, especially an eleven-year-old like Soybean.
I searched around the dam but couldn't find Soybean. So I swam upstream.
Still, there was no sign of Soybean. After falling into the water, he had vanished like a ghost, leaving no trace behind. I had no idea where he was now.
But at this late hour, the water in the river was bone-chilling! Even as an adult, I was struggling to cope, let alone that little brat.
After surfacing, I called out Soybean's name again. When there was still no response, I dove back under to search.
I was almost exhausted from swimming and thought to myself that something felt off tonight. That little rascal Soybean brought me to the riverbank to tell me a secret.
And the secret was that he sank into the water.
About ten minutes later, I was on the verge of giving up. It was completely dark here, and blindly searching alone wasn't going to work.
I definitely needed to call some people from the village over; otherwise, if I wasted more time, I'd be the one in trouble.
At that moment, I decided to head back to shore.
But just as I was about to do so, I suddenly heard a voice beside my ear—"Brother."
I looked up and saw a boy standing on the dam.
As the light illuminated him, I quickly recognized his features—Soybean. A jolt of realization hit me; when did this kid come ashore?
The tension in my chest finally eased.
“Soybean, when did you get to the shore? You scared me to death,” I called out to him from the water.
“Brother, have you discovered the secret?” Soybean suddenly asked me in a chilling tone.
At that moment, I felt as if I hadn’t fully grasped what Soybean was saying. In this eerie environment, his words felt even colder. But then again, it could just be a child’s prank.
“Do you know?” Soybean pressed.
I replied from the water that I didn’t know.
Suddenly, Soybean flashed a terrifying smile and leaped toward me from his position on the dam.
I couldn’t dodge in time. Just as I thought he was about to land on me, I focused my gaze and realized there was no movement on the water's surface, and no one was on the dam anymore.
A chill began to creep over me.
“Soybean!” I called out.
But just as my words fell, a head emerged right in front of me. I gasped in shock as Soybean surfaced from the water.
His face was deathly pale!
"Brother."
I was startled, splashing water everywhere as I jumped back in surprise. After calming myself, I pulled one hand out of the water to wipe the droplets from my face.
But when I lowered my hand, that little rascal had disappeared again. I thought to myself, this little brat is quite good at swimming.
However, I decided not to play with you anymore. I'll just wait on the shore until you get tired and drag you home.
Just as I was about to reach the shore, an unexpected incident occurred—my foot suddenly cramped up. I struggled to push myself toward the bank.
One hand had already touched the edge, but at that moment, a force pulled me back into the water. I thought it was Soybean.
So I said, "Soybean, don't move! My leg is cramping; I need to rest on the shore."
But behind me, Soybean seemed not to hear my voice at all. It continued to pull me deeper into the water, and my hand slowly slipped away from the shore and into the depths.
At that moment, the cramp intensified. Before long, I choked on a mouthful of water. I forced myself to break the surface, but it was eerily calm.
"Soybean, stop playing!" I tried to kick Soybean away with my other foot.
But my kick hit nothing; it felt like there was no one there. Yet I continued to slide further into the water.
I was nearing the center of the pool now and had swallowed several mouthfuls of water. Panic began to set in as the number of times I'd been pulled under kept increasing.
I could feel my breathing becoming labored.
At this point, I couldn't care less about Soybean; I desperately swam toward the shore. Finally, after much effort, I got close again, but soon after, I was dragged away once more.
He seemed to be deliberately toying with me, pulling me close to the shore only to drag me back again.
It felt as if he was enjoying a game of death, while I was engulfed in boundless fear. Suddenly, I realized I might have encountered a water ghost.
When I swam to the shore once more, I turned my head and saw someone playing with my phone. To my astonishment, it was Soybean.
Soybean had somehow made it back to land, but thankfully, Soybean was unharmed.
I shouted, "Soybean, hurry back!"
No sooner had I spoken than I was dragged underwater again. When I approached the shore for the third time, I had no strength left; my hands hung limply like a drooping Willow Branch.
I wanted to give up struggling because it seemed futile.
But just then, I suddenly felt someone grab my hand that was resting on the shore. The hand that held mine was soft.
"Hold on tight; I'll pull you up."
In my daze, I heard those words, which gave me hope. I grasped that hand with all my might, and slowly, my body began to move toward the shore.
The force of the water grew weaker until finally, I was dragged onto the land.
She seemed to be holding an oil lamp in her hand. In my haze, I caught a glimpse of her features—delicate features, long black hair, a flawless face—everything about her radiated beauty.
I stared at her in a daze and finally managed to say thank you before losing consciousness.
I don't know how long it was before I found myself standing in front of my grandmother's grave, accompanied by a woman dressed in red who led me there.
"Grandma, we are here." I heard someone say.
In front of Grandma's grave, there were still the remnants of candles burned during the day and fruits left from previous offerings.
In the haze, I saw Grandma walking out from the grave, still wearing that old outfit. She had a kind smile on her face as she looked at me and the woman beside me.
"Ning'er, Ke'er, you have come."
I called out to Grandma.
Grandma scolded me gently, "Ning'er, if it weren't for Ke'er saving you today, you would have been in trouble. Remember to listen to Ke'er from now on."
"Grandma," I called out again. "Who is she?" I asked.
"She is your wife. Don't you recognize her?" Grandma replied. After saying that, she turned to the woman and said, "Ke'er, you must take good care of Ning'er from now on."
I followed Grandma's gaze and looked at the woman. I had to admit, she was very beautiful—perhaps the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life.
After hearing Grandma's words, the woman named Ke'er responded, "Grandma, don't worry. Ke'er will take care of Husband."
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