Chapter 9

When his figure came to a stop, Shao Er'gou shouted loudly, "It hurts! It's killing me!" As he rolled on the ground, he saw Liu Shoucai limping towards the stationery shop. "Liu Shoucai! I broke my bones! What do we do?!"

"Just wait there, you won't die!" Liu Shoucai shouted through gritted teeth; he was in pain too.

Bang!

Liu Shoucai pushed open the door of the stationery shop with his shoulder. At this time of year, most of the shops around the residential area knew the local children. Liu Shoucai's face and knees were scraped, and his arms were covered in abrasions from rolling on the road.

The plump shop owner, Mrs. Zhou, screamed when she saw Liu Shoucai, "Oh, Shoucai, what happened to you?" She grabbed a towel to help clean him up.

Liu Shoucai pushed Mrs. Zhou away and said, "Auntie Zhou, give me two bottles of ink, the best kind! And, I saw you knitting a red sweater for Zhou Hui yesterday. Give me a ball of the red yarn!"

"You naughty child, what are you up to? Did Accountant Shao hit you?" Mrs. Zhou, who didn't know the situation, was very warm-hearted. Over the years, she had made a good living from the children in the factory area, not just because of her genuine goods but also because of her warm-hearted nature. Moreover, her husband had been in the same trucking team as Liu Shoucai's father and had died in the same accident. The two families were very close, and Mrs. Zhou had even suggested a marriage arrangement between their children, but Accountant Shao didn't like her daughter, who was big and rough.

"Auntie Zhou, hurry up! It's a matter of life and death!" Liu Shoucai shook his head and grabbed the towel from Mrs. Zhou, urging her.

"You naughty child, how wild have you become!" Liu Shoucai's wildness was well-known in the factory residential area. Mrs. Zhou had seen this kind of thing many times. Seeing the child lively and unharmed, she was relieved. She went behind the counter, took out two bottles of ink, and then went to the back room to find a ball of red yarn.

Liu Shoucai wrapped the ink and yarn in the towel, thought for a moment, ran to Mrs. Zhou's kitchen, grabbed a bunch of chopsticks, and shouted, "I'll pay you back later!"

Then he ran out the door.

"Hey! It's raining outside!" By the time Mrs. Zhou reacted, Liu Shoucai was already out of sight. She didn't know that about twenty meters ahead, a motorcycle and a young man were rolling on the ground in the rain.

"Ah, this child, he never gives me a moment's peace." She said this and turned on the TV to continue watching the melodramatic series "Fences, Women, and Dogs."

...

Let's split the story into two parts.

On one side, Liu Shoucai left his cousin Shao Er'gou behind and rode his motorcycle straight to the reservoir.

On the other side, Liu Shoucai's uncle, Shao Decai, had just parked his bicycle, taken out his fishing gear, and prepared his bait, which was a mixture of fragrant sesame oil and cooked millet, solidified with flour. The fishing float was made from the main feathers of a goose. There was a small house by the reservoir, built by Shao Decai and his friends to store their boats. Inside were several homemade inflatable boats and a high-pressure air pump. These items were treasures to Shao Decai.

The weather was good today, and the low pressure from the rain meant the water had less oxygen. The big fish that usually stayed deep in the water would come to the surface on days like this.

Shao Decai had planned to fish with his friends, but strangely, they all had something come up today. One had a family matter, another had something else.

Shao Decai thought, "Fine, if you don't come, it's your loss. If I catch a big fish today, I'll show it off to make you all jealous."

As he pumped air into the inflatable boat, he saw many big fish surfacing in the middle of the reservoir. This was a rare sight that he hadn't seen in years. He thought it was a great opportunity to catch a large grass carp, and if he was lucky, maybe even a big turtle.

Thinking this, Shao Decai felt invigorated, sweating as he pumped the air pump and humming the theme song of a TV series.

What he didn't know was that he was about to have a stroke of bad luck.

While he saw the fish surfacing in the middle of the reservoir, he didn't see the three green, floating objects on the surface, which were staring at him with vengeful eyes. Green resentment was rising from these objects, and one of them was slowly wrapping a green thread around Shao Decai's neck.

Soon, the inflatable boat was full of air.

Shao Decai carried the boat, feeling good and not bothering to put on a life jacket, which he and his friends usually reminded each other to wear. The light rain was a bit cold, but the water was calm. To Shao Decai, there was no need to wear one.

He threw the boat into the water, got on with his fishing gear, and slowly paddled towards the center of the lake.

Life and death! In an instant!

...

For Liu Shoucai, this was a day he would never forget. How many times in a lifetime does one see a loved one die before their eyes?

If heaven could give Liu Shoucai another chance, he wouldn't want this to happen.

The motorcycle sped along, the gentle cold rain stinging his face like knives. For some reason, Liu Shoucai felt a burning heat, especially on the birthmark on his left wrist, as if it were on fire.

Uncle, Uncle, please don't go into the water. He called out in his heart, fearing it would be too late.

But sometimes, things happen this way. When Liu Shoucai reached the lake, he saw his uncle Shao Decai flailing in the water. Two green, vengeful spirits were staring at him with fierce eyes, and a green light in the water was controlling ghost grass, which was slowly pulling Shao Decai under.

"Let him go!! Uncle, get out of the water!!" Liu Shoucai found a stone by the reservoir and threw it towards the center of the lake. But the distance was hundreds of meters, and a fifteen-year-old boy couldn't throw that far. Even a world champion would be powerless.

At that moment, one of the spirits floating on the water turned its head. Its red, vengeful eyes stared at Liu Shoucai, and it suddenly opened its mouth, sending a green, vengeful thread towards him.

This was a thread of resentment, which could temporarily alter a person's fate, similar to being haunted by a ghost, bringing bad luck.

Once a person is under bad luck, their fate becomes unpredictable.

Shao Decai, accidentally entangled by the thread of resentment, couldn't escape his fate as a substitute death.

Liu Shoucai saw his uncle's death for the first time, watching helplessly as he sank to the bottom of the lake.

Then, the familiar feeling Liu Shoucai knew appeared. This was the sign of a substitute death breaking free from the earth-bound spirit's fate and entering the underworld. A green, jade-like light rose from the center of the lake, and the faint sound of the underworld's call could be heard.

Liu Shoucai knew Uncle Shao Decai was dead. At this moment, he must be full of resentment, sinking to the bottom of the lake, waiting for the light to disappear and transform into a water ghost. From then on, he would no longer recognize his family, seeing only hatred and killing in his eyes.

The vengeful thread rushing towards Liu Shoucai was getting closer, and he instinctively felt the terrifying tremor in his heart.

Thump, thump, thump... His heart beat violently, the urgency pressing on his throat.

This was an instinct Liu Shoucai had developed from seeing too many ghosts over the years!

In fact, most people have this instinct when facing danger, but few recognize and value it. For example, soldiers who have experienced the dangers of war use this instinct, which they call battlefield instinct, to dodge bullets and avoid fatal attacks.

[New book, please recommend, collect, and review!!!]

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