I had already encountered a female ghost that tried to take my life when I first arrived, and now with the madman's words, I felt even more unsettled.
I walked in quickly and went straight to Du Xiaolan's room. When she saw me come in, she quickly stood up from her chair and asked, "Mingyang, did you catch the person?"
I replied urgently, "Stop asking questions, pack up and leave here quickly!"
She asked again, "What's wrong?"
"It's a long story, but anyway, this place is not very peaceful!" I said, ready to leave after finishing. Seeing that she still hadn't moved, I turned and said in a low voice, "There are ghosts here!"
Du Xiaolan's face instantly turned pale, and I didn't want to explain more. I hurried back to my own room. Taking what I needed, I was about to leave the room when Liu Jiguang suddenly appeared at the door.
"Mr. Liu, I'm sorry, but we don't have the ability to complete this business. Please find someone else," I said, then walked out sideways.
Du Xiaolan had already packed up and walked out, and Liu Jiguang cleared his throat and asked, "Have you encountered that lunatic?"
I was startled, narrowed my eyes, and asked, "How did you know?"
Liu Jiguang chuckled lightly, "How could anyone believe what a lunatic says? You don't really believe what he said, do you?"
I shook my head but didn't let go of Du Xiaolan's hand.
He explained, "That lunatic wandered over from somewhere several years ago. Whenever he saw people, he would say there are ghosts. The whole village knows he's a fool. Feeling sorry for him, people would occasionally give him a meal. Tomorrow is my wedding day, I had my father go out and give him a steamed bun, he must have forgotten to close the door, allowing him to sneak in."
Being a guest, I didn't push too hard, but calmly asked, "Is that so?"
"Absolutely, if you don't believe me, I can take you out right now to ask the neighbors," Liu Jiguang said, gesturing for me to follow him.
As we walked out the door, I was puzzled to see that the village, which was dark and desolate just now, now had many brightly lit houses.
Puzzled as I was, I still followed Liu Jiguang to the house across the street.
After knocking on the door, it opened after a while, and a man in his forties came out yawning and asked with a smile, "Jiguang, what's up?"
Liu Jiguang said, "Uncle Liu, these are my two friends, who were frightened by the lunatic just now."
Uncle Liu seemed a little cheeky, with a big laugh at me, "Young man, it's a modern era, and you still believe in superstitions? That lunatic is just like that, we've long been used to it. You, a fine young man, shouldn't really be afraid of ghosts, right?"
I felt a bit timid by his words and responded quickly, "No, I just got a bit scared by him, that's all."
"Don't be frightened, you'll get used to it. Go and get some sleep," Uncle Liu said before yawning and closing the door.
Liu Jiguang looked at me, squinted and asked, "Do you believe it now?"
I nodded, but still felt something was off, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
"Mingyang, you scared me so much, I can't sleep at night," Du Xiaolan complained, and I could only muster a wry smile.
Back in the room, I collapsed on the kang, patting my head forcefully. Maybe I was overthinking it. Apart from the seemingly real and illusory scene when I first arrived, I couldn't find anything suspicious.
Du Xiaolan, innocent as she was, yawned and went back to her room. I turned off the light and half-sat on the kang. The drowsiness from the afternoon had dissipated, and I stared directly at the window opposite.
My mind was in a jumble, and I had no idea what I was thinking. It was already midnight, and I still had no desire to sleep.
Rubbing my swollen eyes, preparing to lie down, I saw a figure pass by the window. This family was pretty mysterious, and now I couldn't sleep either. I stood up straight.
Carefully opening the door, I cautiously peered into the courtyard, seeing a woman's figure slowly walking towards the small room at the back of the courtyard.
This should be Liu Jiguang's mother, although I knew she was a bit mentally unstable, I was very curious about what was in that small room.
As I watched her open the iron lock and walk in, I quietly followed.
In the early hours of the morning, the dark clouds on the horizon had already dispersed, and the moonlight was very bright. Creeping to the door of the room, I hunched over and peered inside.
In the moonlight, it was empty inside, and a very strong smell of incense ash greeted me.
My grandfather was a Feng Shui master, and I have smelled this scent for over ten years. Presumably, Liu Jiguang's mother was also a superstitious person, and this small room should not be a granary, but a place to pray to the gods.
With this idea in mind, I suddenly lost interest in the room.
As I turned to leave, a 'hehe' laughter suddenly came from behind me. Almost at the same moment, a chill swept out from the small room, making my neck feel cold, as if someone had poured a bucket of ice water over me in winter.
I quickly stopped, mechanically twisted my head backwards. Perhaps it was too quiet, but at this moment I could hear the sound of my neck turning clearly.
There was nothing inside the small room, but the terrifying 'hehe' laughter continued. The more afraid a person is, the more they want to find out what exactly happened.
Although this was a self-destructive mentality, at this moment I could not control myself. I only had one thought in my mind, which was to figure out what was going on.
With this thought, my courage instantly grew, and I opened my phone's flashlight, taking big steps into the small room.
At the moment I stepped in, the eerie 'hehe' laughter suddenly stopped. I quickly scanned the room, apart from the two spiritual tablets directly in front of me, there was nothing at all, let alone a person.
I clearly saw Liu Jiguang's mother walk in just now, so how did she suddenly disappear? Could there be a hidden passage inside, or, she never entered at all, and it was a ghost!
This idea sprang to mind, and I shuddered with fright.
I stood still for tens of seconds, nervously looking around, and then holding my breath, I walked towards the two spiritual tablets.
The tablets were spotless, and on them were written "Spirit Tablet of the Late Yan Liu (Jianliang)", "Spirit Tablet of the Late Mrs. Zhang (Yan)". Below the tablets were two framed photographs. I swallowed hard, and reached out to lift the frames. The moment I saw the two black and white portraits, I felt like the sky was falling.
It was a portrait of a middle-aged couple, the man was Liu Jiguang's father, and the woman was the ghost with the long tongue that I had seen in the dorm when I was sleeping!