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Grandma's face was a silvery white, perhaps even whiter, and she hunched over, leaning against the door frame. In the shadows, her grin appeared eerie, a chilling smile that sent shivers down one's spine.
"Grandma," Ye Chenfeng called out, startled by her expression.
"My dear, I knew you would come back," she replied.
With her thick knuckles, Grandma reached for Ding Li's backpack. Ding Li, frightened, hid behind Shen Binghan and whispered, "Is that his grandma?"
"It seems so." Ye Chenfeng's next action confirmed it; he embraced his grandmother and promptly introduced his two new friends to her.
Looking at Ye Chenfeng's Grandmother, who seemed frail and unsteady on her feet, one couldn't help but wonder if she might fall with the next step. A reflexive urge to lend a hand arose, but when their eyes met, an invisible aura of menace radiated from her wrinkled old eyes.
Am I seeing things? Shen Binghan thought in surprise and quickly called out, "Grandma."
Ding Li echoed the call.
On Grandma's face, lined with wrinkles, it was hard to tell whether she was smiling or not. Her voice was as harsh as a windbag as she invited them inside to warm up some cold dishes. Once the food was served, she declared herself too tired to wait for Ye Chenfeng and the others to finish eating and retreated into the back room.
"Why doesn't your grandma live with you if she's not well?" Ding Li asked.
Ding Li had no grandmother.
His grandmother had passed away the year his parents divorced. His uncle said she died from anger over the divorce.
"She doesn't want to come; she says the air in the city is bad," Ye Chenfeng replied as he and Shen Binghan swiftly poured the remaining soup over their rice and polished off their meal in no time.
"I'll wash the dishes," Ding Li offered.
It must be said that Ding Li was quite independent. With two boys and one girl present, it was only natural for her to take on the duty of washing up.
"I'll go too," Shen Binghan said.
Ye Chenfeng and Ding Li entered the kitchen. They divided their tasks, one washing dishes while the other scrubbed pots.
Shen Binghan was in the living room, intrigued by a cross-stitch picture. He reached out to touch it, only to find a layer of dust. As he examined his hand, his gaze shifted to a shiny object in the corner of a low cabinet.
Bending down, Shen Binghan picked up the shiny object, only to feel a sharp sting as it pricked his fingertip, causing it to bleed. He looked at what he had found—a diamond-shaped piece of glass. Blood oozed from his fingertip as he hissed in pain and hurried to the kitchen to rinse the wound with clean water.
"What happened? Why is your hand bleeding?"
"I found a piece of glass from the low cabinet. I thought it was something interesting."
Ding Li watched as Shen Binghan cleaned the blood from his finger and asked Ye Chenfeng if there were any band-aids available.
Ye Chenfeng replied, "That must be from Grandma's fish tank!" Shen Binghan forced a smile and followed him to check the drawers of the low cabinet for a band-aid.
The three of them emerged together into the living room.
Shen Binghan and Ding Li continued to examine the cross-stitch, while Ye Chenfeng squatted down searching for a band-aid.
"Is this cross-stitch made by your grandma?"
With a clattering noise from the drawer, Ye Chenfeng stood up and handed a band-aid to Shen Binghan, replying, "My mom made it."
Ding Li lounged on the sofa, lazily curled up as she watched TV. She picked up the remote control, but the TV did not respond. "It's broken," she muttered, setting down the remote without noticing when Ye Chenfeng and Shen Binghan had stepped out.
Ye Chenfeng had gone to fetch a book for Shen Binghan to see.
Shen Binghan headed to the bathroom.
The rural bathroom resembled the one Shen Binghan had seen in the mountains—deep and large, with an intimidating pit that could easily lead someone to fall in if they weren't careful. Fortunately, Ye Chenfeng's grandmother's bathroom was built in a style more akin to those found in cities.
Years ago, Ye Chenfeng's parents had considered their elderly relative's safety and commissioned someone to renovate what was a relatively modern bathroom for rural standards.
A fifteen-watt light bulb hung with spider webs swayed gently in the wind, casting flickering shadows that added to the eerie atmosphere. It was enough to send chills down anyone's spine, especially Shen Binghan; if Ding Li were here, he might be too scared to even step into the restroom.
Woo—woo—
The sound resembled the roar of a river, like the call of a gusting wind, but more akin to someone weeping.
Shen Binghan listened closely and estimated that it was the whimpering of Ye Chenfeng's grandmother's dog.
He hastily finished up, pulled up his pants, and had just stepped out of the restroom when a swift shadow darted past him. Startled, Shen Binghan's scalp tingled as he turned around and asked, "Who’s there?"
Meow—
Meow—
Meow—
The chilling cries of cats echoed from different directions. Shen Binghan thought to himself that it wasn't mating season for cats; why did it feel like all the cats were gathered in Ye Chenfeng's grandmother's backyard? He stepped out cautiously from the restroom and peered into the dark depths of the woods, where a pair of green glowing cat eyes startled him.
There was something wrong in the woods, but it shouldn't be!
After all, Ye Chenfeng's grandmother was a medium; if there were any issues, she should know better than anyone else.
Unless, perhaps, Ye Chenfeng's grandmother didn't understand how to communicate with spirits or was simply deceiving everyone.
Shen Binghan patted the Ghost-Collecting Gourd at his waist and sneered, "Little Monk isn't afraid of demons and ghosts. I've got this Ghost-Collecting Gourd; want to give it a try?" The cats seemed to hesitate at his mention of the Ghost-Collecting Gourd and quietly slipped away, along with those green glowing cat eyes.
Shen Binghan turned back and entered the house.
Ye Chenfeng approached him empty-handed.
"The book is missing, but I found my ID."
"Oh." Shen Binghan nodded and followed Ye Chenfeng to the main room.
Inside, Ding Li was anxiously fuming; she was in the middle of watching the historical drama "Empresses in the Palace," but the remote control seemed to be broken and wouldn't work.
Shen Binghan didn't understand any of this.
Ye Chenfeng picked up the remote control, took out the batteries, and reinstalled them. Finally, the television sprang to life. Ding Li clapped her hands in delight, practically wanting to kiss him in front of Shen Binghan.
Shen Binghan was still thinking about the cat he had seen in the woods.
Ye Chenfeng wanted to call home, so he picked up the phone and dialed, but no one answered after a long wait. He put it down and noticed how seriously Ding Li was watching the television, so he quietly said to Shen Binghan, "Let's go by the creek."
Shen Binghan waved his hand and pulled Ye Chenfeng aside to talk.
"Are we going to check on your grandmother's dog?"
"Mao Mao?"
"Yeah."
Ye Chenfeng glanced at Ding Li; she was intently focused on the screen, her expression shifting with the plot.
Under a simple makeshift shelter curled a foul-smelling Mao Mao.
Ye Chenfeng felt that his grandmother had changed. She used to cherish these little animals, often bathing and grooming them. But now, Mao Mao's fur was matted together, and a nauseating stench wafted from it even from a distance.
Strangely enough, when Shen Binghan came for the first time, Mao Mao wagged its tail at him but bared its teeth and growled softly at Ye Chenfeng.
"Mao Mao."
Mao Mao staggered to its feet; it could only let out a low growl, looking as if it might topple over any moment.
"Is it sick?"
"It won't be. My grandmother takes good care of Mao Mao."
Ye Chenfeng crouched down, trying to reach out to touch Mao Mao.
Mao Mao dodged away, tucking its tail and retreating into the nest, refusing to come out again.
"I just heard a whimpering sound and thought it was Mao Mao calling," Shen Binghan said, confirming that the sound earlier hadn't come from Mao Mao. She muttered to herself, as if speaking to Ye Chenfeng.
"What did you hear?"
"Never mind, let's go back inside!" Shen Binghan glanced around the Purple Bamboo Forest, her eyes filled with worry as she looked at Ye Chenfeng.
"Is something wrong?"
"Nothing." Shen Binghan walked behind him, still sensing that cold gaze lingering on them.
Back in the main room, Ding Li was crying uncontrollably. She said she saw the emperor treating Zhen Huan poorly, and that Zhen Huan had gone to the temple where the women there bullied her.
Ye Chenfeng sighed, "Women..."
"What about women? You boys are all cold-blooded creatures," Ding Li pouted, wiping her tears with a tissue.
Shen Binghan found it amusing and clasped her hands together, saying, "Let's rest! I want to know where I'm sleeping tonight."
The north room was where Ye Chenfeng's parents rested. The large double bed wasn't suitable for Shen Binghan. He thought of the west room, which had a single bed and was used for storing farming tools.
In the end, Ye Chenfeng settled Ding Li in the room with the double bed.
Although the countryside nights weren't as vibrant as those in big cities, they shouldn't be this quiet either.
Ye Chenfeng and Shen Binghan both felt an unusual silence inside and outside the house.
It was quiet, too quiet, and it made them a bit anxious.
Shen Binghan went to rest.
In the main room, only Ding Li and Ye Chenfeng remained.
At first, he kept his distance from Ding Li. Then, he began to play tricks; he turned off the lights in the room, claiming that they were too bright.
Ding Li was focused on the television, not paying attention to what he was doing.
With the lights out, only the cold glow of the TV screen illuminated the dark surroundings.
Ye Chenfeng quietly shifted his position. Seeing that Ding Li didn’t object, he moved a little closer this time. He was close enough to catch a whiff of her fragrance. His hand began to move restlessly inch by inch.
Ding Li's hand was within reach, but at a crucial moment, she raised her hand to laugh at something in the drama, causing Ye Chenfeng to miss his chance.
As he inhaled the scent emanating from Ding Li, his heart raced wildly. He lifted his hand again, wanting to—just as he reached out, there was a sudden sound as the light turned back on; Grandma had appeared at the door without him noticing.
"Aren't you two going to sleep?"
"We're just about to sleep, Grandma. You should go to bed!"
Grandma silently turned and retreated into her room.
Ding Li looked at Ye Chenfeng's grandmother and then back at him, surprised. "You need to move away, move away."
Ye Chenfeng got up to turn off the light.
When he sat back down, he had a bag of raisins in his hand and offered it to Ding Li.
Ding Li's favorite pastime was watching television while snacking.
Ye Chenfeng had once again begun to implement his invasion plan.
He wrapped his arm around her waist.
Ding Li shivered but did not protest.
Ye Chenfeng felt a surge of delight as his hand slowly slipped beneath her clothing, and she did not refuse. Her body trembled, her breathing grew heavy, and her cheeks flushed. Her silent consent emboldened him, and he kissed her ear, then her lips, causing Zhen Huan to lose her allure.
The two figures intertwined.
Unbeknownst to them, a furious voice from the shadows exclaimed, "Damn it..."
Shen Binghan was tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep. She got up to boil water and turned on the light, only to see the two of them—clatter! The teacup fell to the floor. Ye Chenfeng and Ding Li stood up straight, momentarily embarrassed and at a loss for words.
"I'm going to bed," Ding Li said as an excuse to leave.
Shen Binghan shot a fierce glare at Ye Chenfeng before turning to leave as well.
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