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墨書 Inktalez
Grandma revealed a satisfied smile and said to me, "Ning'er, you must not bully Ke'er in the future."
I was a bit confused; I just thought the girl looked beautiful.
"Did you hear that?" Grandma's tone became somewhat serious.
I nodded, and Grandma smiled again. However, as her laughter faded, her figure grew more and more translucent until she finally disappeared.
I called out for Grandma, but there was no response.
"Husband, Grandma has already crossed the River of Yellow Springs."
I glanced at the woman before me, dressed in an ancient style, yet undeniably beautiful. I asked, "Will I still be able to see Grandma in the future?"
"You will, Husband. I'm taking you back now."
I wanted to say something else, but suddenly found myself unable to speak. Soon after, I lost consciousness.
When I woke up the next day, I touched my forehead and realized my head was aching. Once I was fully awake, I discovered I was lying in bed.
My clothes had been changed by someone, but my head hurt so much that I couldn't recall anything for a while. Just then, a knocking sound came from outside.
I asked who it was, and an old voice boomed back, "Saning, how long are you going to sleep? The sun is almost setting; hurry up and get up for breakfast."
Instinctively, I reached for my phone to check the time but found it was dead.
I got out of bed and noticed that the window was open. Suddenly, I seemed to remember something—last night, it seemed like Soybean had called for me...
Thinking of this made my head ache again, and I even felt a bit of pain in my throat. My skin felt somewhat wrinkled.
After scratching my finger across the surface, I left a white mark.
I suddenly recalled how, when we were kids, we would sneak off to swim in the river in front of the village. The adults would check if we had been swimming by scratching our hands or legs with their nails, leaving white marks that indicated we had indeed gone for a swim.
That method was quite effective. It was basically foolproof.
After trying it on my hand, I quickly rolled up my shirt and scratched my stomach as well, and there was a mark there too. However, I hadn’t taken a shower last night. Since it was still chilly in March and April, being a guy, I would only shower every couple of days.
Looking at the white marks, I suddenly remembered a lot—Soybean, yes, it was definitely Soybean. I hurriedly opened the door, fearing something might have happened to Soybean by the river last night.
I rushed towards Third Uncle's house, but halfway there, I stopped in my tracks. Now everything came flooding back; I had indeed been by the river last night and had almost drowned. It seemed someone had saved me, but how did I end up back in bed?
The more I thought about it, the more confused I became. Last night, that little rascal Soybean had really gotten me into trouble; I had nearly drowned because of him. However, that kid was quite good at swimming. Still, his behavior was rather strange.
It was time for Third Uncle to step in and teach him a lesson. If Third Uncle didn’t take action, I would have to deal with that little brat myself.
When I arrived at Third Uncle's house and he saw me, I could tell he forced a smile.
"Saning, you're here! Come sit."
I said I wouldn’t sit down and asked casually, "Has that little rascal Soybean come back?" I didn’t think much of it at the time. But as soon as those words left my mouth, Third Uncle's expression darkened instantly; his face turned sour.
Third Uncle didn’t answer me but pulled out his pipe and started smoking.
I didn't understand the situation and continued to ask, "Third Uncle, are you still angry with Soybean? He's just a child..."
As soon as I finished speaking, Third Uncle's expression turned dark.
"Saning, didn't your mother tell you? Soybean drowned four days ago," Third Uncle said, his voice trembling with emotion.
Upon hearing this, I was stunned. I replied, "I think I saw him last night..."
Third Uncle suddenly looked up at me and said, "Saning, you must have seen wrong. Soybean's body has already been buried."
I had inadvertently reminded Third Uncle of his sorrow, so I chose not to say anything further. Before leaving, I handed him two hundred yuan as a gesture of my sympathy.
After learning that Soybean had drowned, I decided not to mention what had happened last night, as it would only complicate things further with Third Uncle.
So, I went straight home.
When my mother saw me, she said, "Saning, I called you for breakfast. Where have you been?" She pretended to be angry.
I entered the house and sat down at the table. My mother had made porridge and bought some fried dough sticks.
"Hurry up and brush your teeth and eat breakfast."
"Mom, I just went to Third Uncle's house." As soon as I said this, my mother's expression changed. She then asked, "Did you go looking for Soybean?"
I nodded.
My mother hurriedly said, "Soybean had an accident and died four days ago. Did Third Uncle hurt you?"
I looked at my mother in confusion, not understanding what she meant.
She sighed and said, "Soybean died a few days ago. Your Third Uncle has been heartbroken and emotionally unstable. Just a few days ago, he even hurt a child in the village."
"How did Soybean drown? Didn't he know how to swim?" I asked, my heart already in turmoil. The events of the last two nights were still vivid in my mind.
Especially last night, when that little brat kept saying he wanted to tell me a secret, but in the end, he never revealed it. Was that secret meant to harm me? But I had always treated Soybean well! Whenever I returned home from college, I would buy him snacks.
Logically speaking, Soybean and I had a good relationship! He had no reason to want to hurt me!
My mother snapped at me, "Just because you can swim doesn't mean you won't drown! Often, it's those who think they swim well that end up drowning. Look at those who can't swim; they don't even go near the water."
Listening to my mother's words, I found some truth in them.
After she finished speaking, she served me a bowl of porridge and then turned to glance out the door. After confirming no one was around, she suddenly became anxious.
"Saning," she said quietly, "do you know why your mother hasn't let you go outside these past few days?"
I shook my head, indicating that I didn't know. She lowered her voice further and said, "It's because after Soybean died, his restless spirit has been wandering around the village at night. More than one person has seen him already, so everyone is afraid to go out after dark."
As I listened to my mother's words, an unsettling feeling grew within me; it seemed Soybean was seeking me out.
My mother continued, "You know the village rules: if someone dies before turning eighteen, they can't enter the ancestral hall. Soybean was only eleven when he died, and your Third Uncle buried him in a pit." At this point, my mother paused as if there was something unspeakable.
I couldn't help but ask what else there was.
My mother urged me to drink my porridge first while she went to close the door. People in rural areas tend to be somewhat superstitious, so I found it understandable that my mother was being cautious about something.
After my mother closed the door, she said to me, “Saning, this is quite a strange story! On the day Soybean drowned, after being rescued from the river, he actually woke up. The whole village was thrilled, thinking that he had come back to life and that surviving such a disaster must mean good fortune ahead! But what nobody expected was that after Soybean woke up, he played with the village kids for an entire afternoon. However, after sleeping that night, guess what happened?”
My mother left me hanging with her words, which made me feel a bit speechless.
“Mom, just tell me already! I’m dying of curiosity.”
My mother glanced around as if ensuring no one was listening before she continued, “The next morning, your Third Uncle went to wake him up and found Soybean’s body rotting in bed.”
Upon hearing this, I felt a chill run down my spine.
“Isn’t that eerie?” My mom reiterated, almost like she was telling a ghost story.
I murmured in response, my expression turning grim as I recalled what happened last night—Soybean had dragged me to the river…
At that moment, my dad came out from the back room and said to my mom, “Don’t worry about what others say; just focus on living your own life well.”
My mom shot a disapproving glance at my dad but ultimately chose to heed his advice and remained silent.
This situation truly was bizarre!
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