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墨書 Inktalez
Living Funeral
One moment, I was groggily opening my eyes, and the next, I was jolted awake in sheer terror, especially with a foot dangling less than thirty centimeters above my head. Once I regained my senses, I rolled off the bed. Gao Ling, who was sleeping beside me, remained blissfully unaware.
I tried to calm myself down and took a deep breath. When I glanced at the person hanging from the beam, I immediately recognized him—it was the male head of this household.
His face was pale, his tongue protruding, and there seemed to be scratch marks on his face. My breathing became heavy as I called out to Gao Ling, but there was no response. I had no choice but to go around and shake her awake. When she finally opened her eyes, she let out a startled scream and exclaimed, "What the hell? Who died so early in the morning?"
"Take a look for yourself," I replied.
After seeing the scene, Gao Ling's complexion turned even worse. The man who had hanged himself was the same one who had violently smashed into Guanyin Temple last night.
Both Gao Ling and I were thoroughly frightened. Why did he have to hang himself right above my head when there were several other rooms in the house? We had slept so deeply that we hadn’t noticed anything unusual. As we made our way outside, intending to call the family over to check on things, we stumbled upon an even more horrifying sight: three more bodies hanging from the living room beam.
I was utterly dumbfounded; an entire family had been wiped out. My scalp tingled with dread—one of them was just a ten-year-old girl. Was this truly the consequence of smashing Guanyin Temple? But logically speaking, Guanyin Goddess was known for her compassion and mercy; even if her temple was vandalized, it shouldn’t lead to so many deaths!
Last night alone, there had been a dozen or so fatalities, and now there were even more.
The thought struck me as terrifying—could it be that Guanyin Bodhisattva had truly come back to life? Just thinking about it sent chills down my spine!
I turned to Gao Ling and said, "Quickly go check on Zhang Xun."
It was just dawn; outside, the sky was beginning to lighten with a hint of gray. The morning air in the mountains was refreshingly intoxicating, but here it reeked of blood and death. When we reached Zhang Xun's place, we found a child playing with a rooster at their doorstep. Seeing this eased my anxious heart.
The child greeted us when he saw us, and I responded before heading inside. At that moment, Nian Chen and Zhang Xun were already awake. Upon seeing them, my worries began to dissipate.
Noticing my anxious demeanor, Nian Chen asked if something had happened. I nodded and said yes; everyone in the house I stayed at had hanged themselves.
After I spoke, Zhang Xun asked in disbelief if they were all dead.
I confirmed with a nod and questioned whether Guanyin Goddess could really be responsible for this. Zhang Xun asked if I believed it. I paused before answering honestly—I didn’t believe it at all. The idea that Guanyin Goddess could harm people felt eerie indeed. With an entire family gone, someone needed to inform the villagers about this tragedy. So I decided to tell the Father of the Child.
Upon hearing this, he immediately rushed toward that direction.
Everyone in this village shared the surname Yang. The child approached me and asked if something had happened over there.
I was watching the child closely, my palms sweating. The child's name was Bai, and he looked about twelve years old. Bai lifted his head to look at me, and I nodded in response. After that, Bai dashed off in that direction.
The four of us stood together. I asked Gao Ling if we could find the fortune teller today.
At that moment, my question seemed trivial; so many people had died in the village...
Gao Ling replied, "I'll call back and ask." With that, Gao Ling made a phone call. After a brief conversation with family on the other end, Gao Ling hung up and said, "Gao Qing said the fortune teller will come to us when the time is right. We should wait here for them."
We exchanged glances, saying nothing until noon when all the bodies were brought out and laid together. Over twenty people had died, and the entire area was filled with a somber atmosphere. Just before this, those twenty-plus individuals had been vibrant lives.
All of this chaos stemmed from the five children who had passed away, serving as the catalyst for these events. At that moment, Bai ran back to us, furrowing his brow as he said, "I didn't expect so many people would die after offending Guanyin Goddess."
Bai looked troubled as well. Suddenly, I recalled what he had said earlier. I asked him, "You mentioned that Guanyin Temple wasn't built by your village but by someone else. Who was that person? Do you know where they are?"
"I don't know," Bai replied. "I wasn't born when Guanyin Temple was established. However, all the children who died last night came from there seeking help."
I wanted to ask more questions, but it seemed Bai's knowledge was limited. He added, "Big brother, I'm scared." He called me big brother as I stared at him and reassured him, "Nothing bad should happen."
So many people had suddenly died in the village, most of them young. The village usually didn't have this many coffins prepared; only a few people had coffins while the others were buried directly in pits without any covering. After burying those twenty-plus individuals, another day passed with everyone in the village crying—a scene that felt quite terrifying.
I suggested, "Why don't we go check out the temple?"
It was almost dark by then. We quickly made our way up the mountain to the temple, which had collapsed beyond recognition. With the aid of our flashlights, we could see its entirety.
After a few glances around, I noticed someone kneeling amidst the rubble of Guanyin Temple. I was immediately drawn to this person. As I approached closer, I asked, "Who are you?"
As soon as I spoke, the person kneeling turned to look at me. I recognized him; he was the old man who had tried to stop everyone from destroying the temple yesterday. Under the flashlight's beam, he appeared somewhat haggard.
Upon seeing us, the old man asked, "Where are you from?"
I briefly explained our situation. The old man sighed in relief upon realizing we weren't from his village. His words struck me as odd—what did he mean by it being good that we weren't from his village? After saying this, he ignored me completely.
He turned away and remained still in his kneeling position.
We began to investigate our surroundings to see if there was anything hidden here. Just then, the old man suddenly spoke again: "This Guanyin Temple has been destroyed; the spiritual energy in the village has been ruined. The person who has been suppressed will soon emerge." It felt as if he were talking to himself or perhaps addressing us directly.
Gao Ling lit a cigarette and asked, "Hey, old man, what are you doing?"
The old man continued to stare ahead, completely ignoring Gao Ling. I turned to the person being pressed down and asked Nian Chen, "Do you see anything?"
Nian Chen shook his head, indicating that he saw nothing. In truth, I hadn't noticed anything either. The atmosphere here was quite ordinary; I now suspected that aside from the villagers who had been crushed to death, those who had hanged themselves might not be connected to this dilapidated temple at all.
Tonight, a crescent moon hung in the night sky. After looking around for a while without any discoveries, some villagers soon arrived, kneeling here with Yuanbao Candles to confess their wrongdoings. There were fewer Joss Papers than before, and many were crying.
Just then, the old man sitting in the rubble suddenly let out a cry of surprise.
Snapping back to reality, I rushed over. Upon getting closer, I noticed that the ground in the center had collapsed, revealing a pit about two meters wide and long. I shone my flashlight down into it, but it was too deep to see the bottom.
I called out from above, "Hey, can you hear me? If you can hear me, please respond."
But there was no reply from within. The villagers gathered around to take a look; after a few glances, everyone's faces changed. They began to kneel by the pit and threw various offerings into it—fruits for worship and even live chickens—pleading with the deity of this place to spare them.
However, no one seemed concerned about the old man's fate. Once the villagers finished their rituals, they quickly left. It was just the four of us remaining there. "Should we go down and take a look?" Gao Ling suggested. But just as his words fell silent, a noise came from inside the pit.
He said, "You four come down!"
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