As soon as I said this, the old couple were stunned, and their eyes showed an inexplicable expression. Chen Gong even directly reprimanded me, "Xiao Mu, Little Loach just died, and both of us are grieving now. Don't make jokes with us."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Chen burst into tears even more. Seeing that they didn't believe me, I couldn't help but argue, "Chen Gong, Aunt Chen, I'm telling the truth. I can really help you call Little Loach out."
Waa... Hearing my words, Aunt Chen burst into tears.
And Chen Gong's face became even gloomier, "Xiao Mu, why don't you go back first. Don't join in the commotion. I'll accompany Aunt Chen. Don't say such silly things. Aunt Chen is grieving now, and if you say that, she will be even more distressed."
"I..." I was suddenly speechless.
Helpless, I stepped back and said, "Alright, Chen Gong, Aunt Chen, take care. I'm leaving first."
Chen Gong waved his hand and no longer paid attention to me, seeming somewhat angry. Seeing this, I silently turned and walked into the darkness. However, I didn't leave the riverside. Instead, I walked along the river to a spot about twenty meters away from Chen Gong and Aunt Chen.
Suddenly, I put down my backpack, and absentmindedly felt inside it, then took out several items one by one.
A lotus lantern, a red string, a white candle, and a small bag of rice.
I inserted a white candle into the lotus lantern, and then tied the lotus lantern with a red thread. Holding the other end of the red thread in my hand, the candle was already burning with a wave of my hand. In the blink of an eye, I suddenly threw the lotus lantern into the river, and the candle immediately went out.
But it doesn't matter, the lotus lantern has already entered the water, and the ritual has ended.
At this moment, I reached into the bag of rice with my right hand, picked out a few grains of rice with my index and middle fingers, and sprinkled them into the river with a slur, then shouted softly. Suddenly, a few wet heads emerged from the water at the spot where the lotus lantern fell.
These were the water ghosts who drowned in this river. The lotus lantern, also known as the soul-restraining lantern, after entering the water, can briefly restrain the ghosts around it, but the duration is very short, just a few minutes.
I tied a red string to the lotus lantern. After the water ghosts around the lotus lantern were restrained, I could use the red string to restrict them further.
Seeing four or five wet, bloated human heads suddenly emerging from the river, I said in a low voice, "Which one of you is Xiaoniqiu?"
Because the appearance of these water ghosts in front of me was completely different from when they were alive, I couldn't recognize them at all, so I had to ask this way.
Who would have known that as soon as I finished asking, one of the water ghosts suddenly stood up from the river, staring with a pair of white, bulging eyeballs, and answered me, "I am Xiaoniqiu."
I looked at him and indeed he looked like a child, but his current appearance was too terrifying and horrifying for me to stare at directly.
"Ok," I nodded, "The rest of you can disperse, and Xiaoniqiu, come here."
As soon as these words were uttered, the soul-restraining effect of the lotus lantern disappeared, and then all the water ghosts around the lotus lantern disappeared with a splash, except for Xiaoniqiu who remained standing.
Suddenly, I continued, "Xiaoniqiu, do you see that white lantern over there?"
Xiaoniqiu let out a hoarse and timid voice, "I see it."
I said, "Then go and see your grandparents, I know you are unwilling, but if things go on like this, your grandmother may get into trouble. Go, go and have a final meeting with your grandmother, and clarify things so that she can find peace in the future."
"Can I really do that? But I'm afraid my current appearance will scare them." Suddenly, blood began to flow, in a stream from Xiaoniqiu's eyes. However, these were not real tears, but bloody tears.
Ghosts do not have tears, but when they are extremely distressed, the tears they shed look like this, only blood-soaked tears.
I shook my head, "Xiaoniqiu, be brave, they are your grandparents, no matter what you look like, you will always be their grandson. No matter what you look like, they will never despise you."
Suddenly, Xiaoniqiu trembled all over, and finally took a brave step, then turned around and looked at me. I said again, "Go, nothing will happen."
"Okay," Xiaoniqiu nodded and began to walk slowly. His body was stiff and frail, extremely bizarre, but also heart-wrenching to see.
And at that moment, Mr. Chen and Mrs. Chen were still staring blankly at the river, completely unaware of what had just happened on my side. Mrs. Chen's mouth was still constantly muttering the words "Xiaoniqiu."
"Grandma, Grandpa." When Mrs. Chen kept mumbling, not far behind them, Xiaoniqiu's hoarse voice suddenly sounded.
The expression of the elderly couple froze instantly as soon as they heard this voice. At the same time, a trace of fear appeared on their faces.
Xiaoniqiu called out again, "Grandpa, Grandma."
The frightened expression of the elderly couple became more and more obvious, and suddenly they started trembling all over. Seeing this, Xiaoniqiu's voice was filled with pain, "Grandpa, Grandma, I knew I would scare you when I came out, don't be afraid, I will leave immediately, I will leave immediately."
By the time he said the last word, Xiaoniqiu's voice had completely turned into a whimper. Under the illumination of the white lantern, a large pool of bright red blood had already flowed in front of Xiaoniqiu, those were the blood-colored tears shed by Xiaoniqiu.
At this moment, the minnow turned around and was about to jump into the river. But just as his body was ready to move, I suddenly stopped the minnow and shouted, "Chen Gong, Chen Po, take a good look, this is your grandson, the minnow."
Suddenly, the two of them shuddered at the same time, and when they came to their senses, their faces had already turned pale. At this moment, I said, "Chen Gong, Chen Po, just now you said you wanted to see the minnow, but now that I've brought him to you, I didn't expect you to be so afraid. Take a good look, he is your grandson."
"Is it you who called the minnow?" Chen Gong regained his composure, looked at me with some fear and astonishment and said.
I nodded, sighed, and said, "Alright, I've done what I had to do, the rest of the time is for you and your family."
With that, I took several steps back. It wasn't until this moment that Chen Po slowly woke up and suddenly shivered, saying, "It's the minnow, it's really the minnow."
As she spoke, Chen Po suddenly rushed towards the minnow, burst into tears. Seeing this scene, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, feeling a weight lifted off my heart.