Chapter 2

The moment I saw the corpse, I turned pale. My grandmother had once told me that if you encounter a floating body, you must never enter the river. If you see a body that looks like it’s surrendering and walking in the river, you should immediately move away from the river and run for your life!

Zhang Yidan followed my gaze and saw the strange corpse that had quickly appeared next to Huang Dong. He immediately started shouting, "What the hell, Huang Dong! Get out of there! Can’t you see there’s a dead body beside you!"

The other kids were all scared stiff, and Huang Dong’s face turned white. However, his family lived near this river, and he had seen floating bodies before. As the class leader, Huang Dong immediately put on a brave face and said, "You’re a coward, Zhang Yidan! You talk big, but you’re so afraid of a dead body. Don’t you know that this river has a few bodies floating in it every month?"

Just as he finished speaking, he watched in horror as one of his friends was pulled underwater as if he had disappeared, and a series of bubbles immediately appeared on the surface!

Huang Dong’s face turned green with fear. He opened his mouth to call for help but felt something grab his foot, pulling him into the water with great force. He lived by the river and was a good swimmer, but at first, he thought it was just some water plants. When he tried to swim away, he was suddenly pulled underwater.

"Huang Dong!" Zhang Yidan, being a loyal friend, saw his friend being pulled into the water and instinctively wanted to jump in to save him.

I watched helplessly from the shore as Huang Dong and his friend were pulled into the water by the strange corpse. I couldn’t do anything. The cold, eerie feeling on my back grew stronger, almost like a warning.

"Yidan, don’t go to your death! Run! Go find an adult!" I grabbed Zhang Yidan and ran, because I had already seen the strange corpse’s hollow eyes seemingly looking at me. If I stayed any longer, something unexpected and terrifying would happen!

Zhang Yidan was dragged along by me, and the other kids, too scared to help, cried and ran with us. We eventually found some adults by the shore and called the police.

I didn’t dare to go closer, pointing to the spot where they had fallen into the water and holding back Zhang Yidan from going.

The next day, the principal solemnly informed us that Huang Dong and his friend had drowned. I later heard from the adults that when they were pulled out, both had their eyes wide open. One of the adults who tried to save them also died. It wasn’t until the police arrived that the situation was brought under control.

Zhang Yidan and the other kids were relieved to have escaped with their lives. They followed my advice and didn’t dare to swim in the river again.

At that time, I wondered if the shadow in the water that held onto my clothes was the child bride my grandmother had arranged for me. Could she be a ghost?

To understand my invisible sister-in-law, I became curious about my grandmother’s magic and studied all her old books over the years, learning many new and interesting methods to drive away, summon, and even raise ghosts.

Although my grandmother knew I was studying her things, she never stopped me.

Unfortunately, even though I knew these supernatural techniques, I never had the chance to use or test them until I went to college and started working.

Perhaps it was because I never had the opportunity, or perhaps it was because my life was always protected by my grandmother and my invisible sister-in-law, so I never needed to use them.

However, after my grandmother’s death, I was forced to use these techniques, which eventually led me into the dark and eerie profession of a ghost raiser.

On July 16th, when I was in my twenties, I received a letter from my grandmother. The letter said that she wouldn’t live past July 14th and instructed me not to attend her funeral, not to return to the village, and to forget about the people and things in the village, never to come back, so that I could live a peaceful and safe life.

The letter was forwarded to me by my mother. Considering the date on the letter and the current date, if I believed what was written, my grandmother had already been dead for two days.

Unless someone had set a death date for her or she had committed suicide, it was impossible for a normal person to know their exact death date. In my memory, my grandmother was almost omnipotent, so how could someone set a death date for her?

My grandmother lived in a remote area with no phone, and my mother, who lived in the county, often visited her and knew her condition best.

So, I didn’t believe what was written in the letter and called my mother on my cell phone, telling her the contents of the letter.

I asked about my grandmother’s condition, such as whether she had shown signs of dementia recently, whether the relatives in the village were well, and whether there had been any conflicts with neighbors.

My mother was surprised to receive my call but didn’t take it seriously. She said she had just visited my grandmother a few days ago, and she was in good health, telling her not to worry. When she left, my grandmother even gave her a basket of eggs and two bags of glutinous rice. The neighbors were also friendly, and they parted on good terms.

After hearing this, I frowned, suddenly remembering the dream I had the night before. I felt uneasy.

In the early hours of July 14th, I dreamed that my grandmother came to see me. Her face was pale, and a little girl in red, with an equally pale face, was sitting on her shoulder, smiling and waving at me but saying nothing.

I wanted to walk over, but my sister-in-law’s hand kept holding me back. I tried to turn around to see her expression but couldn’t.

When I woke up, I was drenched in sweat and felt inexplicably sad.

Over the past twenty years, my sister-in-law had always protected me from danger, but what did the dream mean? What was wrong with my grandmother?

I looked at the letter again and again, considering for a long time before deciding to go back to my grandmother’s house. I hadn’t been back for almost a year, and even though it was dangerous, I couldn’t ignore it.

The handwriting in the letter was messy, but it was my grandmother’s distinctive style. There was an old yellow paper talisman with brownish-yellow characters inside.

I had seen such paper talismans before, written in human blood, which changed color over time.

In my youth, I often played with my grandmother’s talismans, so I was very familiar with them.

After careful study, I recognized the function of the talisman. It was something I had read about in my grandmother’s books, called a Yin-Communicating Talisman. It repelled evil spirits and communicated with ghosts.

More importantly, it was written with the blood from the middle finger, which shortened one’s lifespan, making it a very powerful talisman. No one would use or play with such a talisman unless it was absolutely necessary.

Perhaps my grandmother meant to warn me to avoid evil spirits and not to rush into danger, or perhaps it was just to protect the letter. Regardless, this unusual action made me worried.

I was working at a mall’s art gallery, which wasn’t doing well, and my boss often threatened to fire me because of my silence.

This gave me an opportunity, so I didn’t say anything, didn’t take my remaining salary, and packed my bags to go back to my grandmother’s house after work.

My mother lived in a different direction from my grandmother’s village, so I didn’t tell her I was going back. I was also afraid she would worry, as my premonition wasn’t good.

Premonitions are often attributed to a sixth sense, which can’t be explained but often provide a forewarning.

My grandmother’s village, Xiaoyi Village, had only about twenty households. It was located deep in the mountains, and transportation was difficult.

To get to the village, you had to walk several kilometers of muddy roads, making it almost impossible to travel during the rain.

When I transferred to a minivan and arrived at Kanglong Village, it was smooth sailing, and it wasn’t raining, but the fog was thick, reducing visibility.

Looking at my watch, it was 6 PM. The sky wasn’t particularly dark, and in the south, it gets dark late, around 8 PM. So, if I entered my grandmother’s village, it would be just getting dark.

If my grandmother was fine, I could still have a hot meal.

With this in mind, I picked up my simple bag and headed down the path to Xiaoyi Village.

"Boy, it’s so late, are you going to Xiaoyi Village?" an old man who had gotten off the minivan asked me, concerned.

"I’m visiting family," I replied.

"It’s late. Why don’t you stay in the village for the night? This road isn’t easy to walk at night," the old man warned, with a hint of hesitation.

I knew what he was thinking. Xiaoyi Village was the last village in the area, and outsiders rarely went there unless they had family. Over time, people started saying that Xiaoyi Village was eerie and had unclean things, so no one dared to walk there at night, no matter how urgent their business.

But I knew the situation in Xiaoyi Village. I had lived there for most of my life, and I knew everyone. When I was younger, I often returned from town around 5 or 6 PM and reached Xiaoyi Village by 8 or 9 PM.

Being young and inexperienced, I was fearless, and my grandmother never said anything about me walking at night, so I was used to it.

Seeing my determination, the old man didn’t say anything more. In this area, people didn’t like to interfere with others, especially those going to Xiaoyi Village.

Xiaoyi Village was a place with a dark history. According to legend, before the founding of the country, there was a town inside Xiaoyi Village. A plague killed everyone, and Xiaoyi Village, which wasn’t even a village then, was just a place to store the bodies. It remained abandoned for many years until my grandmother moved there, and it became a small village with fewer than twenty households.

Of course, I had heard this story from my neighbor, Old Zhang, and didn’t take it seriously.

The night was cool, and the path was narrow and difficult to walk. The bushes and trees were dense, and the night wind rustled through them, creating an eerie atmosphere. The fog made it hard to see more than a few meters ahead. Even if a familiar person walked by, you might only see a shadow without hearing their footsteps.

Squish, squish, squish.

I don’t know how long I had been walking when I heard a sound that could be footsteps or an animal moving through the bushes. I wasn’t superstitious, but I stopped, fearing it might be a snake. I picked up a branch to defend myself.

When I stopped, the sound also stopped, which surprised me. I remembered how my friends used to play tricks on me when I came back. I felt a bit playful and continued walking.

As I walked, the sound resumed. I wondered if it was Zhang Yidan. He used to come out at night to catch field mice and often played tricks on people. But I heard he had recently married and might be out catching mice for his wife.

As I walked through the fog, a black figure appeared in the middle of the path. I saw his back and recognized him. Wasn’t this Zhang Yidan, whom I used to play with as a child?

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