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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Seven Drowned Ghost
There is a river where we live, not wide, and there used to be an old path that passed by the river, but since I was little, that path has been closed off. Moreover, on a large stone by the river, there is a big red cloth covering it, which looks quite strange. Since I was young, my grandmother repeatedly warned us not to play by the river. When I asked why, it turned out that the river was haunted.
This story was told to me by my grandmother! Many years ago, a couple moved into Village. The woman did nothing but take care of the children at home while the man sold Sesame Cake in Village. They had two daughters. People in those days were not wealthy; they just hoped to live peacefully. The incident happened two or three years after they moved in!
Because the man was making Sesame Cake, he accidentally set his house on fire, and then his hair caught fire as well. By the time the Villagers arrived, the Old Man had already been burned to death. Afterwards, the people of Village helped with the funeral arrangements; everything was taken care of properly. That was how it ended, but in the future, they could no longer enjoy such delicious Sesame Cake. Everyone said it was a pity that a good person had died.
Everyone knows that Rural Person likes to gather and gossip about everything. Even now in some places, people just seek momentary pleasure without considering others' feelings. So, everyone was gossiping about something like Widow's Curse, Widow, and other fragments of conversation. Naturally, these words reached the Woman's ears. Not long after, she left her two daughters and went to a river north of Village, where she drowned herself, leaving her two daughters behind…
When the Villagers learned that the Woman had jumped into the river, they no longer dared to gossip. Only a few men carried the Corpse from the river back and placed it in a broken shed at the village entrance. Some people went to find the two children of the Woman. When they arrived at her home and called for Eldest Sister and Ernie, no one responded after calling for a long time. They thought the children had gone out to play and returned to the village entrance.
Initially, everyone thought this matter would end there; they would help with the funeral arrangements and notify relatives to take care of the children. However, this was not how it ended.
That day, as the afternoon sun gradually set, everyone still did not see Eldest Sister and Ernie. Back then, dinner was prepared early, so everyone took turns watching over the Corpse, fearing that cats or dogs might jump on it because it is said that if a recently deceased Corpse is touched by animals like cats or dogs, it could lead to Corpse Transformation.
The next day, everyone discussed burying the Old Lady. After all, they had been neighbors for several years; since they hadn’t helped her while she was alive, they should help her rest in peace after her death. After discussing it, everyone agreed; it could also be seen as accumulating good karma for themselves. Once this was settled, everyone hurried back home to get busy.
People returned home to gather money or lend a hand. Soon everyone gathered at the village entrance. At that moment, a voice suddenly came from the Horn: “Attention everyone! Attention! Two Corpse have been discovered over at XX Village. Let’s check if they belong to our village.”
After repeating this message three times through the Horn, everyone couldn’t help but feel worried because hadn’t the two daughters of the Woman not returned for an entire night? Thinking of this, everyone hurriedly rushed to where the incident occurred.
At this moment, everyone's hearts were in their throats. After arriving at the scene, the worrying thing everyone feared finally happened: Eldest Sister and Ernie were lying there, their corpses swollen and grotesque, making one feel nauseous. But more than anything, it was fear that prevailed. Everyone lamented the tragedy, saying it was truly a misfortune for such a good family to end up like this.
Men are men; they remain calm in any situation. I heard a few men say, "Stop talking nonsense! Quickly find two straw mats to carry the bodies back." In just two or three days, three lives were lost in such a tragic manner. Everyone thought that burying the four family members together would bring closure and accumulate some good karma. However, what happened next was beyond anyone's imagination...
In the days that followed, everyone resumed their daily lives and gradually forgot about the incident. My grandmother later told me that everything changed one day. A man from the village went to Neighboring Village to drink and accidentally fell into the Small River while passing by at midnight. He drowned, and his family came to claim the corpse, crying uncontrollably. They initially thought it was just a normal drowning, but then two more people drowned in that same Small River.
At that moment, everyone recalled the incident from years ago involving that family. They said the woman who had jumped into the river had turned into a water ghost, and some villagers claimed she had returned for revenge.
Why did they say this? Because those who drowned were all people who had spoken ill of that family back then. Everyone went to the graveyard to pay their respects, but it didn't have much effect; almost every month, one or two people would drown in that river. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, they spent money to hire a Taoist priest to perform rituals, which calmed things down for a while.
However, good times didn't last long. Soon after, people from other villages began to drown in that Small River as well. They also hired someone to perform rituals, but after a while, it only improved temporarily. Gradually, no one dared to walk along the riverbank anymore.
Yet some people refused to believe in superstition. My grandmother said there was a big man who one day had a sudden urge to see what was going on by the riverbank. So he drank some alcohol and around 10 PM went there alone to check it out, determined to break this superstition. As you can imagine, he ended up being found dead; approximately 20 people drowned afterward, all of whom had spoken ill of others or had badmouthed them after their deaths. During that time, no one dared to go out; everyone just ate and slept, even those who worked in the fields went in groups instead of alone.
Later on, my grandmother told me about Grandpa Liu from our village. He had to pass by that Small River for errands. Since it was daytime, he felt safe. After finishing his business and realizing it was too late to go home without passing by the river again, he worried about his family's concern but ultimately decided he couldn't avoid it. After much contemplation, Grandpa Liu steeled himself and headed back home. As he approached the Small River on his bicycle, he saw through the mist by the riverbank that someone was singing opera!
"How could anyone be singing opera at this hour?" Grandpa Liu wondered as he walked closer. But at that moment, he was horrified because it was a woman singing with two children sitting nearby and a man accompanying her! These four people were none other than the family who had died previously selling flasks!
Grandpa Liu was terrified; he knew he had seen ghosts. Stopping there without knowing whether to stay or leave, he smoked a cigarette and ultimately decided to return to where he had been working; he would sit there all night if necessary.
So much time passed since then that those unaware of what happened still felt an inexplicable chill when walking along that road. When discussing this matter, people would lie and cover it up. Gradually, this incident faded from memory; however, the elders always remembered it. Later on, some claimed they saw performances near there; eventually, they learned that the couple who died years ago were indeed performing—she was singing while he accompanied her—because their families disapproved of their marriage after they had two daughters before drifting into our village!
Now I understand why no one goes near that Small River even today: there is a large stone by its edge covered with red cloth. Previously thought to be for celebrating someone's wedding, I now realize that red cloth was placed there by a Taoist priest as a means of warding off evil spirits; this is what has kept that river safe over the years since then.
This story, although it happened many years ago, remains uncertain whether it is true or not. However, no one dares to play by the riverbank, let alone uncover the red cloth that covers the stone, which is said to ward off evil...
In the next chapter, I will tell a story about a Weasel seeking revenge. As everyone knows, when a Weasel reaches a certain age, it can transform into a spirit, just like a fox; it is a sentient creature that should never be underestimated. In the countryside, there are often cases of people being possessed by some entity, leading them to seek exorcists or shamans for help. Many of these cases turn out to be caused by such entities. Now, let me share the story of this Weasel.
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