It is true to say that we were indeed bold. Back then, like many others of our age, we dared to take risks at the critical age of 20.
That afternoon, we went to Xuanming Temple again. Due to my psychological shadow from feeling dizzy last time, I didn't dare to go in directly, so I let Fat go first.
He wore a Buddhist prayer beads and bowed three times at the entrance of Xuanming Temple, chanting, "May the Buddha forgive..."
Then he pushed the door and walked in. After waiting for a few seconds inside the temple, Fat turned back and waved to me. I walked quickly to the entrance of Xuanming Temple, also bowed three times, and then walked into the temple.
Perhaps because the wandering ghosts had been sent away, there was no strange reaction when we entered the Xuanming Temple this time. After waiting for a few seconds, I smiled and said, "Fat, I'm fine."
"Don't talk nonsense, let's first pay respects to the Bodhisattva. If we really take things from inside, we need to ask the Bodhisattva for forgiveness first."
We actually didn't know the rules, we were just imitating the behavior of the older generation. When we reached the Buddha statue, because the temple was empty, it looked very desolate. The altar was covered in dust, there were no lit lamps, and the censer was empty. Even the Buddha statue looked a bit old, but we didn't dare to be disrespectful. We knew that the temple was protected by Bodhisattva, so we quickly lit the incense we brought and then bowed several times before placing the incense in the censer.
After waiting for a while and seeing no problems, we started to wander around in the temple.
Looking back now, Fat and I were really audacious at that time, even daring to take things from the temple.
After searching in different areas of the temple, we found nothing. Actually, this wasn't surprising. Xuanming Temple is now an empty temple, and it's possible that people with the same idea as us have visited here. Even if they weren't in the business of treasure hunting, finding valuable antiques could be profitable. Moreover, during the Cultural Revolution, many historical sites were destroyed, so it was fortunate that the temple was still standing.
"Did you find anything?"
I asked Fat after we met up.
"No, just a few broken door panels, not even a bottle or jar," Fat replied, shaking his head.
After thinking for a while, I said, "How about this, you go check the meditation room again and I'll go to the backyard, and if we don't find anything, let's go back. I feel like what we're doing isn't right."
With the mentality of giving it a try, I and the fatty separated and continued searching. The backyard of Xuanming Temple was not big, about half the size of a basketball court. The ground was covered with bricks and stones, overgrown with weeds. In the upper right corner of the yard, there was a large tree that had withered for many years, and there was a well underneath. I walked around the yard, and saw several clay pots, but the craftsmanship and workmanship were obviously not from the old age.
"Oh, still no gains..."
I sighed and sat down next to the well, preparing to wait for the fatty to return.
Just then, there was a sudden movement behind me. It sounded like a knocking, "thump thump," and I was startled, quickly stood up and looked back. This was the place of Bodhisattva. Our disrespectful behavior might have offended the Bodhisattva. I clasped my hands together and continuously said, "Bodhisattva, forgive me, Bodhisattva, forgive me..."
After the sound rang a few times, it completely stopped. Just when I had calmed down, I suddenly heard similar sounds again. This time, I listened carefully; the sound seemed to be coming from the bottom of the well!
I quickly took out the amulet and the dagger given by the fatty. The elders said that wells were quite mysterious – they either housed dragons or harbored Yin energy. If there was water in the well, it meant that there was an underground river, and there might be a dragon king inside. If someone had died in the well, and it hadn't seen sunlight for a long time, it might be harboring Yin energy or even a ghost. Why would there be a sound coming from the well of an empty ancient temple?
I felt strange and didn't dare to get too close. After a few more knocks, there was silence again. This time, I waited for a long time, but didn't hear any more noises.
My courage gradually rose, and I slowly approached the edge of the well, holding the dagger. I leaned down to look inside, and suddenly someone tapped my shoulder from behind. I shouted, raised the dagger, and turned around, narrowly avoiding stabbing it.
The fatty stood behind me, expression full of surprise. Seeing me raise the dagger, he quickly shouted, "Damn, it's me! Don't move!"
I also saw his face clearly and quickly put away the dagger, scolding, "How can you walk without making a sound! You scared me!"
"What's wrong? Is there a situation?" The fatty asked hurriedly, seeing my unusual expression.
"It seems there's a movement in the well. I heard some strange noises," I pointed to the well in front of me. The fatty leaned down to look, the well was dry, and we could see the bottom, dark, but indeed nothing was there.
"Don't scare yourself, there's nothing inside," the fatty said. These days, I had indeed been a bit nervous, getting tense at every sound. After putting away the dagger, I took a deep breath and said, "Maybe I'm just too anxious. Did you find anything?"
"Nothing at all. It's all empty. Let's forget about it. How about we go to the flea market another day? Maybe we can get lucky."
The fatty mentioned the flea market, which was called the morning market in the northern dialect. It opened near the City God Temple every day in the early morning, selling mostly old things left behind after the Cultural Revolution, as well as some second-hand items or things that the government forbade from being sold openly, like hidden knives, military shovels, and even modified bird hunting guns. If we could find something related to ghosts and monsters at the flea market, it would be a small fortune.
"Okay, let's go back first."
I nodded and turned to walk with the fatty. Just then, there was a sudden sound from the well behind us, this time it continued for several knocks in a row, both the fatty and I heard it clearly!
"Did you hear that? Fatty," I whispered.
"I heard it, it came from the well, there seems to be something inside!" The fatty became nervous as well, and hurriedly responded.
I slowly turned around, my eyes fixed on the well. What could be in the well? A ghost? It should not be, this was an ancient temple! Could it be a subterranean creature? If it was, the fatty and I could make a small fortune.
"Is it a ghost?"
The fat man asked, clutching the Buddhist prayer beads.
"It shouldn't be. How could a ghost dare enter the place of Bodhisattva? It might be a creature of the earth, but I don't know what kind of creature it is. Do you have a rope on you?" I asked.
"Yes, why? What do you want to do?" The fat man looked at me with a puzzled expression.
"Use the rope to tie a stone and throw it into the well to see if you can hit any creature," I replied.
I had no other choice. The fat man immediately grabbed a piece of brick from the side, tied it to the rope, and then aimed and threw it into the dried-up well! Logically, when such a heavy stone falls into the well, there should be a sound, but this time, there was no noise at all!
"Why didn't it make any sound?" the fat man asked, staring at the well.
"It couldn't have reached the bottom. I think maybe it hit something. Pull the rope back quickly," I exclaimed anxiously. The fat man hurriedly pulled the rope back, but as soon as he did, his face immediately changed. He pulled several times, but couldn't lift the stone, and his face turned red. I realized something was wrong and rushed to help. When I grabbed the rope, it was completely taut. I exerted all my strength, but there was something at the bottom of the well that was incredibly strong. Our combined strength was no match for it, and we couldn't pull the stone up no matter how hard we tried!
"There's definitely something down there! Our stone couldn't have gotten stuck," the fat man exclaimed through gritted teeth.
"I don't know. Damn it, I'll go check it out," I cursed and drew out my dagger, walking towards the well. As soon as I let go of the rope, the fat man struggled even harder to pull it, his face turning even redder and the veins on his neck clearly visible.
I quickly walked to the edge of the well, looked down, and indeed, I saw a shadow! But the well was quite deep, and the lighting was poor, so I couldn't see clearly. But there was definitely a vague shadow. I turned around and shouted, "Fat man, there's something down there!"
As I was speaking, the rope suddenly broke, and the fat man, who had been using all his strength, fell and the stone, which had been tied to the rope, disappeared. The rope had been clearly cut!
"Are you okay?" I asked, helping the fat man up.
"I'm fine. So, did you see what it was?" He brushed off the dust and asked me.
"I couldn't see clearly," I shook my head and then muttered to myself, "Could there really be a dragon in the well in this world?"