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墨書 Inktalez
Human Sacrifice
I was jolted awake in terror, only to realize it had been a dream. However, what frightened me was that I was alone in bed; Zhou Manman was nowhere to be found.
Suddenly, the door creaked open, and I dared not move. I vaguely saw Zhou Manman, her hair disheveled, walking towards my bedside, engulfing me in her shadow. She stood there, staring blankly at me, her expression devoid of emotion, as if possessed.
I was too scared to even breathe. Was Zhou Manman sleepwalking or something?
“Zhou Manman?” I called out hesitantly.
In the darkness, Zhou Manman showed no reaction.
I turned on the bedside lamp; the bright light hurt my eyes. I could finally see Zhou Manman's face, pale as paper.
Perhaps stimulated by the light, she slightly furrowed her brow and slowly lay down on the bed, falling asleep almost immediately.
When my fingers touched her body, they recoiled suddenly; she felt as cold as ice. After that, she remained still, breathing evenly.
The second time I woke up, I heard my mother bustling around in the yard. I opened my eyes to find Zhou Manman already dressed and sitting at the edge of the bed, looking at me with a shy expression.
“Hi!” I greeted Zhou Manman, feeling an immense joy inside. Although nothing had happened between us last night, just sharing a bed with such a beautiful girl made me very content.
Zhou Manman smiled back at me, and I realized she was indeed stunningly beautiful, exuding an indescribable allure.
But recalling last night’s events, I asked, “Zhou Manman, do you have a history of sleepwalking?”
She shook her head and replied, “I’ve never sleepwalked before. Did I sleepwalk last night?”
I quickly responded, “No, I was just asking.”
“Yang Hao! Get up for breakfast!” my mother’s voice suddenly called from the yard.
"Mom, don't come in yet!"
Every time my mom called for me, she would peek into my room. Right now, Zhou Manman was still in my room, and if my mom saw that I was hiding a girl here, I couldn't imagine what she would think.
But my mom came in anyway. She spotted Zhou Manman by my bed, and Zhou Manman turned bright red as she looked at both of us and said, "Hello, Auntie."
My mom looked awkward and hurriedly said, "You two continue, continue."
She exited the room while I quickly got up to put on some clothes.
During dinner, my mom kept staring at Zhou Manman. She didn't ask about our relationship or how I brought Zhou Manman home, which made Zhou Manman a bit hesitant to eat.
I had intended to explain that Zhou Manman was a survivor of the Cliffside Bus Incident, but seeing my mom's reaction, I knew she wouldn't believe it. Although my mom was somewhat superstitious, she wasn't narrow-minded. When I was in high school, she started encouraging me to find a girlfriend because she wanted grandchildren. By the time I got to college, she urged me to study less and go out on more dates with girls. However, I knew we didn't have much money at home, and I wasn't really into partying or meeting girls, so dating never materialized.
Now that there was suddenly a beautiful girl at home, my mom was naturally pleased and didn't care about her background; she just kept serving Zhou Manman food.
After dinner, my mom invited Zhou Manman into the living room and pulled me outside into the yard. "You’re quite something! You quietly brought a girlfriend home."
"Mom, you misunderstand. It's not what you think; actually, she..."
"Alright, I've been through this too. Do you think I can't tell when you're looking at this girl with sparkling eyes?"
I had no choice but to stop explaining. I did like Zhou Manman quite a bit. Initially worried about her mysterious background, now that she was being seen as my girlfriend, I was more than willing to accept it.
After lecturing me, my mom went back inside to chat with Zhou Manman. From outside the screen door, I could see they were having a good time together. It seemed like Zhou Manman had forgotten most of what had happened earlier; she hadn't called the police or rushed to go home.
I was reluctant for Zhou Manman to leave but didn't bring it up. As evening approached and she still showed no signs of leaving, I found it strange but didn't think too much about it.
I could tell that Zhou Manman had some feelings for me too—perhaps because of my bravery during the incident or maybe due to how I cared for her. In any case, she willingly stayed without mentioning anything about leaving.
That night, I still shared the bed with her, but I never touched her. My mother had prepared some nourishing soup for us to drink, which made things quite awkward. Since I hadn’t slept well the night before, I quickly fell asleep after getting into bed and didn’t wake up at all during the night.
If my mother knew that I was lying next to a beautiful girl without doing anything, she would definitely scold me for being worse than a beast. Now that Zhou Manman wasn’t leaving and was willing to share a bed with me, it was clear what she thought of me.
While we were having breakfast, there was suddenly a knock at the door. Taking advantage of my mother going to answer it, I slipped some food onto Zhou Manman’s plate. She smiled shyly, and seeing her so happy made me feel delighted. I secretly took her hand in mine and squeezed it. She didn’t pull away; instead, she bit her lip and looked at me, her face radiating joy.
After a while, my mother called me outside with a worried expression. I felt something was off and asked her what was wrong.
She said, “Your Third Uncle’s son died last night.”
“From Dagu Village?” I asked.
My Third Uncle is a distant relative. My father left Futu Ridge when I was two or three years old for reasons unknown and never returned. Since my Third Uncle isn’t my direct uncle, I hadn’t kept in touch with many distant relatives over the years. However, Futu Ridge is a town with schools where children from surrounding villages gathered to study. Back then, I used to play with my Third Uncle’s son; I vaguely remembered his name was Yang Kuan. He had been a healthy and lively child—how could he have died?
My mother nodded. “Although we haven’t been in contact for many years, he is still family. You’re grown up now; you should go pay your respects.”
I thought about it and realized she was right. After my father left, my mother had been handling everything on her own. Over the years, I had only asked her about my father’s whereabouts once; she always cried and refused to talk about it. As I grew older, I stopped bringing it up because I didn’t want to upset her. It wasn’t unusual for someone from our poor rural area to disappear; he might have even died outside long ago.
For many years, all family matters were managed by my mother alone. Now that I had graduated and returned home, it was time for me to step up for this distant relative's funeral.
After finishing breakfast, I rode the family electric bike over to Dagu Village. Zhou Manman wanted to come with me, but as a girl, it would be unlucky for her to see a dead person. With my mother accompanying her at home, she wouldn’t be too lonely.
Upon arriving at Dagu Village, I saw a crowd gathered by the roadside discussing something in hushed tones. Fear flickered in their eyes as if they had experienced something terrifying.
“How could Old Yang’s son die so tragically? His death was horrifying,” one woman said.
“Yeah! Didn’t you see? His eyes wouldn’t close; they were wide open as if he were staring at something! Who dies with their eyes still open? Clearly, he died without peace,” another woman added.
“Shh! Keep your voices down; what if we attract something unclean…”
Hearing the murmurs of the villagers, I felt a strange unease. My mother hadn’t told me how Yang Kuan had died when I arrived. Someone who dies young usually meets with an accident or suffers from a terminal illness. In the mountainous region of Futu Ridge, the chances of a car accident are slim. Could it be that he drowned while bathing in the river?
I didn’t dwell on it further and inquired about Yang Kuan's address before riding over. The villages of Futu Ridge were scattered over several miles, each home to about a thousand people. After living together for so many years, everyone knew each other well. When something happened in one household, by evening, the whole village would be aware. If something new occurred, it was likely that all of Futu Ridge would know.
Although I was somewhat prepared, I was still taken aback when I saw Yang Kuan’s lifeless body among the crowd. He lay on a straw mat, his hands rigidly clutching his own neck, his eyes bulging like those of a startled cow, nearly popping out.
In Futu Ridge, there is an old custom that unmarried individuals cannot lie on a bed after death; hence, Yang Kuan was placed on the straw mat in the main room. Many people gathered outside to watch, and some adults were so frightened that their hair stood on end. Parents hurriedly covered their children’s eyes and rushed them home, fearing nightmares from witnessing such a sight.
“This is clearly a case of him choking himself; he must have provoked something unclean!” an old man remarked.
“Shut up! There’s nothing unclean about this; if he had a fishbone stuck in his throat, it could cause this too! Stop spreading nonsense!” another middle-aged man scolded.
With Yang Kuan’s eyes protruding like that, it was evident that after death, blood had not returned to his body but had pooled in his head, causing his eyeballs to become engorged and preventing his eyelids from closing.
What puzzled me was how he could have had such strength to hold on even in death. Was it possible that something truly lodged in his throat?
If only we could call the police; a coroner would determine the cause of death. But why was he just left here?
As a distant relative whom no one recognized, I felt like just a child among all these adults and had no right to intervene in how they handled things. After all these years living with my mother without much contact with relatives, I decided to leave rather than contribute to the funeral expenses.
As I passed through the courtyard, I noticed a Feng Shui Master overseeing the funeral carrying a bracelet made of willow branches as he walked into the yard. He limped slightly and glanced at me as he passed by.
In Futu Ridge, it is customary for the deceased to wear willow branches on their wrists; they are believed to ward off evil spirits. Wearing them ensures that if any unusual circumstances arise during burial, the body will not cause trouble.
I didn’t fully understand these rural funeral customs but had heard bits from my mother before. When I arrived, I noticed that Third Uncle’s house had already placed willow branches at its entrance—a practice common in many regions. It is believed that those who die unexpectedly carry resentment that can harm others; thus, families fear their loved ones’ spirits returning home. The willow branches serve as a message to the deceased's soul that they are now separated from this world and need not return.
The crowd at the entrance grew larger and larger. I wasn’t fond of such noisy environments and dared not look at Yang Kuan again before leaving—his appearance was too horrifying, and I felt an odd sense of familiarity with him as if I had seen him somewhere before; perhaps we had played together once long ago.
In Futu Ridge, unmarried individuals must be buried by sunset on the second day after their death. I couldn’t wait until then; otherwise, I wouldn’t dare return home under the moonlight.
As I returned to Bright Moon Village, I vaguely saw an old man standing at the village entrance, looking in my direction. As I got closer, I recognized him as Guo the Blind, our village's Feng Shui Master.
When Guo the Blind saw me, he smiled and said, "Yang Hao, you're back. Have you seen the body of that young man?"
I was puzzled. How did he know about the death of someone from Outer Village? So I nodded and replied, "Yes, I saw him. He was a distant relative. I just came back after attending the funeral."
"It’s been over ten years since we last met, but you still look familiar, right?" Guo the Blind remarked unexpectedly.
I shot him a surprised glance but soon understood his words. I had excelled in my studies and spent time in Futu Ridge; after sixth grade, I attended school outside the village. I was the only child from our village to get into a key high school, which everyone knew. Many classmates hadn’t seen me in over a decade, so it made sense that he would remember me even if I hadn’t seen a relative from Outer Village for so long.
However, what Guo the Blind said next annoyed me. "You have dark energy above your head; you must have attracted something unclean!"
"Go to hell! You're the one who attracted something unclean!" I cursed silently in my heart. Out of respect for his age, I refrained from saying it aloud. Besides, Guo the Blind was all alone and had one eye blind; he seemed quite pitiful. I replied curtly, "Just leave me alone."
But just as my car moved a few steps forward, a chilling thought struck me.
That Zhou Manman had been dragged out by a few thugs after their deed, and they hadn’t gotten into their car afterward. So those men had survived the accident.
And Yang Kuan looked just like one of those thugs!
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