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墨書 Inktalez
Human Sacrifice
I remember that Huang San'er was just a greasy, chubby guy who fought fiercely. All the students at Futu Ridge feared him and regarded him as their leader.
However, Huang San'er was quite lewd. During his first year, he would sneak into the girls' dormitory at night to share a bed with the girls. Although nothing serious happened, he often engaged in such behavior. Eventually, he was caught during a surprise inspection by the Dormitory Supervisor, who reported him to the school, leading to his expulsion.
After being expelled, Huang San'er became even more reckless. By the age of fourteen or fifteen, he started hanging out with local youths, smoking, fighting, drinking, and even wielding knives—he was always at the forefront of trouble. One time, while drunk with a group of thugs, Huang San'er recalled that his grandfather had predicted his fate: he was destined to survive; bullets would veer away from him, and no one could kill him.
Strangely enough, despite being involved in countless fights with local ruffians, he never sustained any injuries. He claimed that his grandfather practiced martial arts in his youth, so he had picked up some skills along the way and was more agile than most.
This Huang San'er was the chubby man who led the bullying of Zhou Manman on the bus.
Huang San'er's grandfather was none other than Huang the Lame, a Feng Shui Master from Dagu Village.
Previously, I had learned that among the ten or so villages in Futu Ridge, the most renowned Feng Shui Master was Guo the Blind. In reality, only two people truly understood Feng Shui in Futu Ridge: Guo the Blind and Huang the Lame from Dagu Village.
Just yesterday, I had seen him at Yang Kuan's funeral in Dagu Village. At that moment, I wondered why he suddenly turned to glance at me. Could it be true what Guo the Blind said—that Huang the Lame could see the black veil hovering above my head?
However, I hadn't done anything wrong on that bus; even if there were ghosts, they shouldn't be after me. Considering that Zhou Manman wasn't dead at all, why would a female ghost seek me out? Did we collectively encounter something sinister on Winding Mountain Road?
I couldn't make sense of it all and prepared to leave when Guo the Blind suddenly pointed at me in front of everyone and asked Li Tong, "Is he one of your seven?"
Li Tong turned to look at me in shock. "You're not dead?"
I replied, "Sorry, I got kicked off the bus."
"Is he among those seven?" Guo the Blind asked again.
Li Tong said, "No, but after we left the woods, he went back in."
"Heh heh, Li Tong, I'm not as desperate as you guys. I have a girlfriend. It's not that I look down on you; there are plenty of hair salons and foot massage places in the city. What services can't you find? Only you lot would do something so embarrassing," I interjected confidently, appearing completely unruffled and self-righteous.
"That's right, Yang Hao is the only college student in our village, and he's not bad looking either. With those conditions, which girl wouldn't want him? Why do you have to slander him?" Zhang Widow defended me.
Li Tong wanted to say more, but Widow Li stopped her. Now that Li Tong was already seen as a sinner, if she angered Guo the Blind, it would surely mean her demise. Therefore, even with her bad temper, she dared not lash out at anyone.
Guo the Blind frowned at me and muttered, "What’s going on?"
"Bad people get their comeuppance. Besides, the news didn’t say anything about a female driver dying; she might have just fallen from the car and hung on the cliff without dying," I said before turning to leave.
After I walked away, Guo the Blind looked at the kneeling mother and son before him. "Although this child has committed a crime, handing him over to the police now would mean certain death for him. The black veil is upon him; he won't survive tonight."
Upon hearing this, Widow Li knocked her head against the ground like she was pounding garlic, pleading with Guo the Blind to save her son. Guo the Blind replied, "Humans and ghosts are on different paths; matters of the Yin realm cannot be meddled with. Even if your son has killed someone, ghosts cannot interfere in this matter; otherwise, it would disrupt human morality. I will take care of this; get up."
Guo the Blind then took a vermilion yellow talisman from his pocket and handed it to Li Tong, along with a piece of jade he had on him. "Keep this yellow talisman close; don’t let it leave your side even when bathing. This jade is precious; once I find out where that female ghost came from and subdue her, you can return it to me."
The mother and son expressed their endless gratitude, but Widow Li still felt uneasy and asked, "Uncle Guo, my son won’t be in any danger now, will he?"
Guo the Blind reassured her, "The black veil above his head is gone for now; he won't be in danger temporarily. The others are all in Dagu Village. Since they are all mixed up with Huang San'er, who is the grandson of Huang the Lame, naturally he will take care of this matter. I won’t meddle further."
After Guo the Blind left, the villagers of Bright Moon Village began to disperse as well, leaving only a few relatives of Dazhuang's family behind to wait until after sunset to bury Dazhuang.
As I returned home, I saw Zhou Manman coming out of the yard. She said, "Yang Hao, dinner is ready. Auntie asked me to call you back for a meal."
I glanced around nervously and said, "Come inside first; I need to talk to you."
"What’s wrong?" Zhou Manman asked in confusion.
I pulled Zhou Manman into the yard and leaned close to her ear. "Another person has died in the village, and they were all people who bullied you. Now they suspect it’s you who turned into a ghost for revenge, so make sure they don’t see you; we don’t want any trouble."
"But I'm not dead! What will happen if they see me?" Zhou Manman frowned slightly with an unhappy expression.
I held Zhou Manman's hand and said, "There are too many old superstitions in the mountains. I heard from my mom that before the founding of the country, there was a plague in the mountains. A woman from outside was suspected of being an ominous spirit that brought misfortune to the village, and the villagers captured her and drowned her in a pig cage. These people are easily swayed by rumors, so for safety's sake, I'm sending you back tonight."
Zhou Manman looked pale with fear. Hearing that I wanted to send her away, a deep reluctance showed on her face. She fiddled with the hem of her clothes and murmured, "I don't want to go. I want to stay by your side a little longer."
When I heard Zhou Manman say this, my heart felt as sweet as if I had eaten honey. For a moment, I softened, but for her safety, I steeled myself to send her back to her home in the county town and promised to find her again after some time. Besides, Guo the Blind had ominously warned me about something hanging over my head like a dark veil; I needed to find out what was going on or I'd always feel uneasy.
During dinner with my family, I said to my mom, "Mom, after we finish eating, I want to send Manman home first. There have been consecutive deaths in the mountains lately; it's quite frightening."
My mom replied, "By the time we finish eating, it will be dark. There are strange happenings in the mountains right now; who knows what might happen at night? Let's wait until tomorrow to send Manman. I'll go with you."
"Mom..."
I was about to persuade her when suddenly our front door creaked open.
I looked outside and saw Guo the Blind standing at the door with a gloomy expression, peering into the house through the screen door.
"Oh no!" I thought anxiously, quickly brainstorming a plan. Although Zhou Manman's photo hadn't been released in the news, when Guo the Blind last visited my house, I was still single. Now that I suddenly had a girlfriend, it would be strange if he didn't suspect anything.
"It's Mr. Guo. I didn't invite him to join us for dinner when I asked him to help with the spirit summoning. We just cooked some fish; he can come eat with us," my mom said.
"Mom, don't get up; I'll go," I quickly stood up and went outside. Smiling at Guo the Blind, I said, "What brings you here today, Grandpa Guo? Why aren't you home for dinner at this hour?"
"This kid talks too much," my mom chimed in from behind. "We cooked some fish; come eat with us."
"No thanks. Just came by for a stroll. Do you have guests?" Guo the Blind asked sharply as he looked at Zhou Manman through the screen door.
"My girlfriend," I stated firmly.
"Your girlfriend? Just before this, your mom told me you didn't have one and were thinking of hiring a matchmaker for a wife," Guo the Blind remarked.
"Already talked about it, someone I met online, but you wouldn't understand," I said with a hint of annoyance.
"Don't stay outside, Haohao, let the gentleman in to sit," my mom added. "How can you not know a bit of hospitality? It's full of mosquitoes outside; come in and let Grandpa Guo serve you some food."
"No, just coming in to take a look and then I'll leave. If I can marry a Yang University Student, she must be quite the beauty," Guo the Blind said as he pushed the door to come in.
"Grandpa Guo, my girlfriend is timid; your appearance might scare her, and she could have nightmares at night," I pressed against the screen door to keep Guo the Blind from entering.
"Yang Hao, how can you talk like that?" My mom was immediately angry upon hearing me and hurried over. "What’s wrong with this child today? He really doesn’t know how to behave."
"It's fine, I'm just peeking at the door and then I'll leave. I was thinking of checking your daughter-in-law's fortune; Hao is trying to keep his beauty hidden," Guo the Blind said, his only eye peering through the gap in the screen door at Zhou Manman, who was sitting by the dining table.
Guo the Blind had already lost one eye and was old enough for his skin to be wrinkled, with some scars from his youth on his face. Anyone seeing him for the first time would be startled by his appearance; I used to keep my distance when I first met him.
Zhou Manman was no exception. When she looked up and saw Guo the Blind's face, her chopsticks fell to the ground. Her face turned pale as she realized her rudeness and quickly bent down to pick them up.
"It seems I've really scared this girl. Such a beautiful young lady; I guess I’m not so unpleasant after all. I'll come back another time," Guo the Blind said, giving me a meaningful glance before disappearing into the dusk.
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