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墨書 Inktalez
Earlier, there was a saying among us: the elderly would say that when someone has just passed away, their soul has not yet gone far and may be wandering around visiting places. The wood ash in the hearth can ward off evil spirits, and surrounding one's door with wood ash is meant to prevent the undead from visiting.
In the countryside, there is also a saying that children can see unclean things.
Once, when Er Dadan was about five or six years old, he went out to play and returned home for dinner as dusk fell. As he reached the hutong entrance, he saw an old man squatting by the millstone, dressed in a black cloak and black pants, wearing a cap. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was Second Master, who had been bedridden for three years.
Bold was naturally brave as a child but was also well-behaved. He approached Second Master and greeted him: "Second Master, what are you doing squatting here?"
Second Master lowered his head and did not respond.
Bold moved a little closer: "Second Master, are you feeling better? It's time to eat; let's go home."
Second Master still did not respond, keeping his head down.
Seeing that Second Master was ignoring him, Bold thought he might be deaf and hadn't heard him. Just as he was about to speak louder to Second Master, he suddenly heard his mother calling from the doorway: "Second Child, why aren't you home yet? The food is getting cold! What are you staring at by the millstone?"
Bold turned to Second Master and said, "Second Master, I'm going home to eat." He then ran towards his mother while saying, "I was talking to Second Master here."
His mother's face turned pale instantly at those words. If it weren't for the door frame supporting her, she might have collapsed. Gathering her courage, she sternly shouted, "What nonsense! Hurry home!" She grabbed the approaching Er Dadan and slammed the door shut with a bang, locking it without daring to look back as she rushed inside.
Bold's father was drinking corn porridge when he saw Bold Mother in a flustered state and shouted, "What's wrong? Did a dog chase you?"
Bold Mother couldn't even speak; she stared wide-eyed for a moment before finally telling Bold Dad, "Husband, quickly... go 'surround' our door!"
Bold Mother snapped at him again, saying, "Don't speak!"
Bold Dad frowned and, seeing Bold Mother's dazed expression, stopped asking questions. He quickly placed the bowl down and hurriedly ran outside with a large handful of still-hot Wood Ash from the Hearth.
Later, Bold learned that Second Master had passed away that very afternoon.
It wasn't until more than half a month later that Bold Mother questioned him about what had happened that evening on a bright sunny morning. Surrounded by a large circle of Aunts and Uncles, Bold recounted what he had seen, causing everyone around to break out in a cold sweat.
Although Bold was still a child, no one doubted his words because the Old Clothes worn by Second Master after his death were exactly what Bold had described!
The elders said that what Bold saw was the lingering spirit of Second Master, but the deceased could not communicate directly with the living.
For a long time afterward, no one dared to play near the Millstone at night.
Now, Bold has become a greasy middle-aged man. When chatting casually, he is often asked what he has seen, but he always smiles mysteriously and replies, "Nothing, nothing."
In our hometown's countryside, there is another custom: if someone in the family passes away, they cannot put up Door Paintings during the Spring Festival for the next three years. The elders say that during these three years, the deceased will return home. If you put up Door Paintings, it is like inviting door gods; the deceased cannot return home to receive offerings from the living and may hold a grudge.
In the 1980s and 1990s, there were very few televisions in the village. Often, half the village would crowd into homes with TVs to watch popular dramas like Huo Yuanjia and Sachiko. On the evening of the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month that year, Bold went with his mother to watch TV at someone else's house. When they returned home after ten o'clock at night and reached the Hutong Entrance near the Millstone, he tugged at his mother's hand and said, "Mom, look! Second Master hasn't come home for New Year."
Bold Mother collapsed right there. Fortunately, a neighbor passed by shortly after and helped her back home.
The old man said that the Second Master's son had forgotten the rules. In the first year after his father's death, he had already put up the Door Painting at the age of twenty-eight. When the father returned, he found he could not enter the house. (Next chapter: Crossing the Shadow)
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