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墨書 Inktalez
At that moment, I heard Nong say, “Wang Squad Leader, follow me. Let's go check on Mao Mao’s house first.” With that, I followed Nong as we turned right down the path.
The path was flanked by the walls of houses, narrow and cramped, barely allowing us to pass through. I felt a bit anxious and stood on my toes to look around, swallowing hard before asking, “Nong, you can see them, right? But you can’t hear them?”
Without turning his head, Nong replied, “No, I can only see them. I can’t hear them. They don’t speak; they just appear in a vague form in corners or often linger in places they frequented when they were alive.”
I thought for a moment and interjected, “Could it be that they have some unfulfilled wishes?” Nong was silent for a while before responding, “Maybe, but I don’t know how to communicate with these things. Most of the time, I just pretend not to see them.”
So we continued walking through the dark village. My heart was already uneasy, but what was even stranger was that Nong occasionally made evasive movements as if avoiding obstacles in front of him. However, to me, there was nothing there. This realization made me quite anxious; I didn’t know whether to follow his lead and avoid something invisible or just walk through it as if it were nothing. In the end, I steeled myself and pushed through, but there was no particular sensation.
We eventually arrived at a brightly lit courtyard. Nong pulled me inside and said, “This is Mao Mao’s house.”
“Oh,” I replied absently, thinking he must want to see if Mao Mao’s spirit had returned. Fine then; I would accompany him and see if this so-called Yin-Yang Eyes really existed. I didn’t say anything more and followed Nong into the courtyard.
Once inside, Nong looked around while heading toward the Main Hall. The lights in the Main Hall were bright, and inside sat a group of people—mostly women and some elderly folks. Everyone was gathered around a few seated individuals; they must be Mao Mao's Mother and grandparents. Very few spoke; occasionally someone would murmur a few words of comfort. They were likely waiting for news from the Search Team.
I stopped outside because I didn’t know what to do and let Nong go in alone. He walked straight up to the people in the center and squatted down to say something. The people nodded continuously as he spoke again before standing up and starting to move around the room. After a while, he seemed to Disappear from my sight—probably heading into one of the side rooms.
I waited outside for nearly half an hour before Nong finally emerged from the Main Hall. In the dim light, he walked over with a frustrated expression and said, “Nothing.”
I shot him a skeptical glance; perhaps he sensed my distrust because he quickly added, “Let’s hope this is good news—Mao Mao hasn’t come to harm.”
I remained silent, looking at him as if asking what we should do next.
“Maybe it will take more time. It’s still not even 1 AM yet. From my experience, it’s usually around 1 AM when I’m most likely to see those things,” Nong pondered.
I felt speechless; we had to wander around until 1 AM just so he could see ghosts? This experience was truly bizarre. However, my curiosity was piqued—I really wanted to witness whether what Nong said was true or not.
After thinking for a moment, Nong said to me, “Let’s go to the Village Playground. If Mao Mao returns—alive or dead—she’ll have to come back through there!”
I silently turned around and followed him out of the courtyard into the darkness again. Watching his back, I suddenly felt like I must be crazy for believing him. I turned on my Flashlight, shining it ahead on the path while ignoring Nong’s movements and quietly wondered if this kid might be suffering from some delusions.
We arrived at the playground at the Village Entrance, which was essentially an open space with a few Stone Millstones and piles of Last Straw. The road into the village passed through here. The exit would split into several paths in front of the fields leading in different directions. The Search Team should return from here soon; at least there would be people waiting for news.
We stood on the Village Playground, observing faint lights flickering on the surrounding mountains; those must be from the dispatched Search Team. It seemed they wouldn’t return anytime soon. Standing there like that became unbearable for me, so I decided to find a place to sit down. Looking around, I spotted a stone post nearby and headed over to sit on it. Just as I was about to sit down, Nong suddenly grabbed my arm and shouted, “Don’t sit!”
Startled, I asked, “What’s wrong?”
“There’s something on that post!” Nong urgently gestured with his eyes.
My face changed color, and I forced myself to remain calm as I took several steps to the side, whispering, "Is there anything here that I can sit on?"
"Hahaha!" Nong suddenly burst into laughter, doubling over. "I was just kidding! The stake is completely clean; there's nothing here!"
Damn! This guy is actually teasing a future superior. I awkwardly smiled at the stone stake, thought for a moment, and then squatted down to brush off the ground beneath my feet before sitting down to take a break.
Nong sat down beside me. Although he was still looking around nervously, I sensed that he was becoming a bit anxious. I wondered what he was worried about. After a moment of silence, I asked again, "Nong, can you tell me why you want to be a soldier?"
Nong remained silent for a long time before quietly answering, "I want to stop being afraid..."
I looked at Nong and sighed. To be honest, even now I wasn't sure if he was being sincere. However, this buddy of mine had many good qualities; aside from his rural simplicity, he was also perceptive and considerate.
We talked for a long time, and before we knew it, it was already past midnight. At this point, the Search Team still hadn't returned, and I began to feel sleepy. I said to Nong, "I'll give you half an hour more. If there's still no news, I'm really going back to sleep."
After years in the military, my biological clock had developed such that around ten o'clock at night, I would start feeling drowsy. Staying awake until one o'clock was already a miracle. By this time of night, the air had turned quite cold. I curled up into a ball, hugging my legs as I dozed off.
I don't know how long it had been when suddenly Nong shook me awake with a few hard pulls. I lifted my head and rubbed my eyes, looking around in confusion, still not fully awake.
I saw Nong squatting in front of me, whispering urgently, "Mao Mao is here! It seems something really happened!" I noticed the blue light flickering in his eyes again. Looking around the playground revealed no changes; it was still as dark as before but quieter with fewer insects chirping. Could there really be ghosts? Could we actually see them? The thought that the answer to this question that had troubled so many people for years was right in front of me made me feel both nervous and excited!
A cold breeze swept through, causing me to shiver in my summer uniform. At that moment, Nong slowly stood up and took two steps toward the edge of the playground before stopping and staring intently at one spot. I didn't know what he was looking at, but without realizing it, I stood up too and followed his gaze. Unfortunately, I couldn't see anything unusual. I thought about turning on my flashlight to take a look but hesitated, unsure if it would be inappropriate. So I held back and took two steps toward that direction but still saw nothing.
Nong moved forward another step without saying anything, but I felt like the temperature around us had dropped slightly—perhaps it was just my imagination. I watched as Nong focused intently on that spot as if trying to memorize everything about that invisible presence.
Suddenly, Nong whispered in front of me, "Mao Mao is crying; she's soaked all over and has lost one of her shoes. She's crying non-stop; she's very scared and wants to go home."
What a thriller! Regardless of whether it was real or not, Nong's performance would make him a good actor in any movie—he had great dramatic tension. I thought to myself as I crossed my arms over my chest.
After a while, Nong finally turned around and said to me, "It's the Pond! I saw Mao Mao all wet with algae; she must have fallen into the Pond!"
I was greatly surprised. "Did you really see Mao Mao's ghost?" Nong nodded vigorously. "And where is she now?"
"She went home," Nong said as he gazed in the direction of the village.
I didn't know what to say. After a while, I asked, "Do you know which pond it is?"
Nong replied, "There aren't many ponds near the village. It's just past the mountain pass, along the road to the other village."
I casually responded, "I wonder if the Search Team will go look for it."
Nong said, "They should. There's only that one fish pond nearby, and it's not very deep—about one or two meters. The Search Team has no reason not to check it out."
I thought for a moment and said, "Then let's wait here for the Search Team. If they can find Mao Mao, that would be great. If not, we might as well take them to try searching; it's better than doing nothing."
Nong seemed to sense my doubt and silently nodded, standing beside me as we waited.
Just then, I heard a commotion of footsteps and voices behind me. Was the Search Team back?!
I turned around and saw several beams of flashlight moving toward us from the road outside the village. Did they have news?!
Could Nong's words come true?
(The story of Ghost Eye has concluded. Please look forward to the next chapter: Werewolf, Love Like the Wind, The Work of Chasing the Wind. Tomorrow will be even more exciting!)
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