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墨書 Inktalez
"Did the Theater Troupe come on their own? Did no one invite them?" Three questions surged in my mind. My mom said she didn't know where the Theater Troupe had come from.
Wang Wei's face suddenly turned even paler, and he murmured to himself, unsure of what to say.
My mom told me to stay put while she went out to take care of some things.
I asked about my dad, and she said he had left a long time ago.
After my mom walked a few steps, she suddenly turned around and reminded me not to go to the temple. Especially not to seek out the Temple Guardian; he wasn't a good person.
Once my mom left, Wang Wei hurried over to me and said, "Saning, if you hadn't woken me up last night, something might have happened!"
I was also thinking about the Theater Troupe, wondering how they could just show up without any reason. Surely there must be some motive behind their arrival!
I thought about going outside to see if anyone knew anything, putting on a pair of large sunglasses. Wang Wei followed closely behind me, his new car parked not far from my house, where many children were playing.
I approached them directly.
The kids called me "Saning Brother." One of them reached out and said, "Saning Brother, didn't you say you'd give me money for candy last night?"
I thought to myself that little rascal had tricked me last night. Now he dared to ask for money for candy again.
The child looked at me with wide eyes and said, "Saning Brother, you wouldn't be fooling me, would you?" I sighed. Kids these days are getting smarter and smarter.
I fished ten yuan out of my pocket and called out to the child, "Little Year, when have I ever lied to you?"
Little Year took my money and put it in his pocket before asking, "Saning Brother, why didn't you come to watch the show last night?"
Just as I was about to ask about that very thing, Little Year brought it up again. I seized the opportunity and asked, "Little Year, who brought this Theater Troupe here?"
"Little Year hasn't answered me yet," the other kids chimed in, "Saning Brother, this Theater Troupe came on their own, and it doesn't cost anything."
The kids spoke all at once, but their messages were quite similar.
However, Little Year was staring at me without saying a word. Once the other kids finished talking, Little Year finally spoke up, "Saning Brother, what they said isn't true. Actually, this Theater Troupe was invited by someone."
As soon as I heard Little Year say that, my interest was piqued. However, this little brat seemed a bit unreliable, and I felt somewhat distracted. But then he continued, "Saning Brother, it seems like it's the temple's birthday these days. This Theater Troupe was invited by the old man from the temple."
"What?" I asked.
My focus wasn't on the first part of his statement but rather on the latter part—this Theater Troupe was invited by an old man? I asked Little Year how he knew that.
Little Year chuckled a few times and said, "Saning Brother, come closer; I'll tell you."
I understood that he wanted me to lean in so he could whisper to me.
As I leaned in, Little Year spoke softly to me, though he seemed a bit nervous. I couldn't tell if what he said was true or false.
He leaned in closer and said, "Saning Brother, if you give me ten more bucks, I'll tell you."
Wow! This little rascal is really greedy! I stared at Little Year and thought how audacious he was! He even smiled at me mischievously.
With no other choice, I pulled out another ten bucks from my pocket and handed it to him.
Only then did Little Year say, "Saning Brother, one night I saw the old man from the temple talking to someone from the Theater Troupe."
"When was that?"
Little Year told me, "It was the day before the Theater Troupe arrived."
After saying that, Little Year ran off with the money he got from me to buy something with his friends. But after running a few steps, he suddenly turned around and said to me, "Saning Brother, when I run out of money, I'll come find you again; I know some more things."
Damn! I suddenly felt an urge to punch that little brat.
Although Little Year said those words, who knows if that little brat was telling the truth or lying? I stood there, wearing a pair of dark sunglasses.
I looked in one direction, and Wang Wei was also looking in the same direction.
I sighed and turned to go inside the house. Last night, I had no idea where Ke'er had gone. I knew Ke'er's soul was quite special, and the faceless spirit attached to her was also very strange.
Because of my eye situation, it wasn't convenient for me to wander outside, so I asked Wang Wei to go check if the Theater Troupe was still around.
Wang Wei agreed and went out alone.
Back at home, I pondered over what Little Year had told me. Could it be that the Theater Troupe was indeed invited by that old man? But when I saw that old man last night, he showed no reaction at all. Moreover, Wang Wei had mentioned the Theater Troupe several times then.
The Theater Troupe—what exactly was wrong with them? I couldn't tell if there was anything particularly odd about them; maybe it was my eyes playing tricks on me. The only thing that seemed off was the feet of the performers; everything else appeared normal.
Around noon, my parents still hadn't returned. I made lunch by myself, and just as I finished preparing the meal, Wang Wei came back.
Wang Wei ran back in a hurry. I asked him if he found anything out.
Wang Wei said, "Saning, the Theater Troupe hasn't left the village at all. They probably have another performance tonight."
I asked Wang Wei where they were.
Wang Wei told me, "They're set up right at the village entrance. They've pitched a tent there, and I heard tonight's performance will be in front of the temple."
After hearing Wang Wei's words, I fell into deep thought. Could it be that the Theater Troupe was indeed invited by that old man for a celebration of the temple's anniversary?
But thinking about that old man's eerie face made me feel it was impossible! He probably had no intention of organizing such an event!
Wang Wei began to eat, and I followed suit. By evening, my parents had not yet returned, but Ke'er appeared.
I asked Ke'er where she had been.
Ke'er told me she had gone to visit Grandma. I suggested to Ke'er that we should go see Grandma together next time. Ke'er nodded in agreement; nights in the countryside fell quickly.
At that moment, the village seemed to stir as everyone headed towards the temple.
Wang Wei was right; the Theater Troupe was indeed going to perform at the temple entrance tonight. Could it be that Little Year was telling the truth?
I planned to take a look at the temple, but Ke'er suddenly called out to me.
Ke'er glanced at Wang Wei.
Wang Wei asked what was the matter. After Ke'er shot him a glare, Wang Wei quickly closed the door and stepped outside.
Ke'er and I stayed inside the house. She asked me, "Do you remember Third Uncle?"
I replied that of course I remembered!
Ke'er's expression turned somewhat grim as she called me, "Husband."
I told Ke'er to just tell me what was on her mind. Suddenly, she said, "Husband, something might be wrong; it seems Third Uncle's body is not in the grave."
I couldn't help but gasp in shock because I had personally witnessed his burial. Now, his body was missing from the coffin.
Ke'er continued, "Husband, I discovered this last night when I went to see Grandma."
In our village, there was a Mound where all the deceased were buried, so Third Uncle and my Grandma were laid to rest in the same Mound.
There was nothing strange about that.
But Third Uncle's body was unexpectedly missing from the grave. Was something strange going to happen again? I glanced at Ke'er, whose face was filled with worry.
I reassured Ke'er not to worry, saying, “Ke'er, even if Third Uncle has come to seek revenge, as long as it’s a ghost, I will find a way to deal with it.”
Ke'er nodded but then hesitated, saying "but..."
Before she could finish, Wang Wei suddenly knocked on the door and said, “Saning, it seems the Theater Troupe has already started.”
I didn’t respond to Wang Wei immediately; instead, I waited for Ke'er to continue. In the end, she shook her head and said it was nothing. Surely Third Uncle's body didn’t just crawl out on its own?
However, I suddenly thought about whether the Temple Guardian might be involved. After all, it was the Temple Guardian who informed me about Soybean's body last time. Could it be that this time, Third Uncle's body was also tampered with by him? As I spoke, I noticed Ke'er's spirit seemed to tremble slightly.
That Temple Guardian truly was an enigma!
Though Ke'er said there was nothing wrong, I couldn’t help but feel curious about her. It seemed like she had gained another Soul, though that was just my intuition; my eyes couldn’t discern anything at the moment.
Once again, Wang Wei urged me from outside, saying the performance had begun.
I turned to Ke'er and said, “Ke'er, Third Uncle's body might be related to the Temple Guardian.”
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