Chapter 11: The Snoring in the Mountain Cave

  Every place in the village I have almost been to, except for that cave. The reason why I didn't go is that adults don't allow it, and secondly, I am really afraid of it. It's dark inside every day, and no one knows how deep it is. What's most frightening is that there might be vengeful spirits or malevolent ghosts inside.

  I really don't understand why Dahai's soul would hide in there. I think it's necessary for me to go in and take a look, because he's my good partner, and if I had persuaded him to let go of Huang Pizi at the time, today's situation wouldn't have occurred, so now that he's become like this, I also bear some responsibility, and with my father leaving home at this critical moment, I feel even more obligated to help Dahai find his soul.

  Although it's dangerous, Da Hei's father has been there before and nothing happened, right? Maybe the danger inside is just something adults use to scare kids, and I've decided to go during the day, even if there are ghosts, they won't dare appear in broad daylight.

  I went to Dahei's house to get my hat, and Dahei's parents heard me say I was going to the cave in Fengmen Valley. They were shocked and wouldn't let me go. They also knew my mom's temper, if something happened to me, my mom would blame them, they just feared that they wouldn't be able to live in peace afterwards. Dahei's mother said with a nose full of snot and tears: "This is Dahei's fate, his eight characters are bitter, Xiaodao you'd better not interfere, if you go into the cave and lose your own life too, I and your uncle will have no way to live either."

  The more Big Black's mother said that, the more I wanted to go. Taking advantage of their inattention, I quietly snatched a piece of clothing that Big Black had hung outside and slipped away. I thought it was just going to find Big Black's soul, so I didn't bring any kerosene lamp, only took a flashlight and a sickle and set off.

  The Wind Gate Valley is called this name because it has mountains on three sides and a valley in the middle, with very strong winds at the entrance of the valley.

  Because nobody dared to go to the cave, there was no road from the valley entrance to that place, which was full of small trees and wild grass. However, when I came here today, I found a new path cut out here, it can be inferred that it must have been cut by Da Hei's father.

  Along this newly opened small path, I came straight to the entrance of the cave and saw that it was hidden among a patch of wild grass and leaves, only about two meters wide. The entrance was surrounded by stones, and inside it was dark and gloomy, like the mouth of an evil spirit, which would swallow anyone who entered immediately.

  I shone my flashlight into the cave, and it went straight in, but I couldn't see how deep it was because the light couldn't reach the end. Moreover, the space inside was only about two or three meters high, extremely narrow. I stood there for a long time, hesitating whether to go in or not. To be honest, if I said I wasn't afraid, that would be a lie. I was really worried that I might not be able to get out once I went in, and my heart was blaming Hei for bringing me to such a terrible place!

  I shouted a few times into the cave, and naturally there was no response from Dahei. I thought of retreating, mainly because it was too dark inside and the space was too small... But then I remembered the scenes of playing with Dahei when we were young, as well as the sad look on his parents' faces, and my heart softened again. When we were young, Dahei was quite good to me, for example, when we went up the mountain together to pick wild fruits, he would sometimes give me the bigger ones. He was two months older than me, but we didn't have a brotherly relationship, I had always called him Dahei since I was little.

  Actually, we two are just like close brothers.

  Since I've come all this way, let's go in and take a look. I'm afraid that if I don't, I'll regret it later. Taking a deep breath, I stepped inside.

  As soon as I stepped inside, my scalp went numb and my whole body tensed up, just like I was walking towards hell. But after taking four or five steps, I slowly calmed down. I came for Da Hei, for the sake of brotherhood, and I'm willing to risk everything! When I thought this way, my courage doubled.

  I walked four or five meters into the cave and found that the stone walls inside were extremely dry, with a thick layer of dust on the ground. There were traces that looked like snakes had slithered by, as well as footprints from small animals. It seemed that this place wasn't as terrifying as legend had it, but rather might be a cozy little den for some creature. As I went deeper in, however, I felt an increasing chill - which didn't surprise me, since I knew that caves were generally warm in winter and cool in summer.

  I walked about seven or eight meters, and surprisingly, I still hadn't reached the end. My heart was getting uneasy, and I involuntarily stopped in my tracks. Mainly because it was too cold here, and also too dark. I was completely surrounded by darkness. I took out Dahei's clothes and waved them in front of me, whispering softly: "Dahei, are you there? I've come to take you home."

  It's very quiet all around, there isn't even any wind.

  Because I have yin-yang eyes, so before entering, I thought that if Dahei's soul is in here, I must be able to see it. But after coming in so far, not to mention Dahei's soul, I haven't even seen a bat!

  Am I too naive?

  "Hmm..." Suddenly, a strange sound came from beside my ear, and I tensed up, perking up my ears to listen carefully. The sound seemed to be coming from in front of me, "Hmm..." This sound was extremely familiar, just like the heavy breathing sound, in short, it was snoring.

  How can there be snoring sounds in here? My head suddenly went blank. Is someone inside?

  Is it the soul of Da Hei?

  I thought it was him, and no one else, so I cursed in my heart. "You big black thing, I risked my life to come to this ghostly place to find you, but you're sleeping inside!" So I shouted loudly: "Big Black!"

  The snoring stopped abruptly.

  "Hush...hush...hush..." Suddenly, a faint sound came from inside, rustling and creaking, like footsteps, but the sound was extremely light, not like someone walking out.

  Could it be... the spirit of Da Hei?

  After all, humans and ghosts are different. I subconsciously retreated two steps, quickly shining the flashlight in front of me, my eyes wide open, staring motionlessly ahead.

  For two or three minutes, nothing appeared, but then that snoring sound came out again: "Hoo---, hoo---"

  If it were Da Hei, he would have come out as soon as he heard my voice.

  But if it wasn't Dahei, where did this snoring sound come from? I believe no one in the world would be interested in sleeping in this dark and gloomy place!

  Isn't it all just superstition?

  As soon as I thought of a ghost, my head suddenly became big, all the hairs on my body stood up, and I let out a loud cry and turned around to run towards the entrance of the cave.

  The distance from here to the cave entrance is not long, but I feel like it's ten million eight thousand miles away, as if being chased by a demon, my nerves are stretched to the limit.

  When I finally ran out of the cave, a wave of heat hit me in the face. I didn't stop and ran another dozen meters before stopping. I didn't dare look back at the mountain cave again, afraid that when I looked over, there was a strange creature standing at the entrance, grinning at me...

  It wasn't until I was almost home that I realized I didn't have Da Hei's clothes in my hands.

  Where did the clothes go? Could it be that they were snatched away by Da Hei's soul?

  But I think this is impossible, Dahei and I are good brothers, he won't play tricks on me like that. Even if he did, I would have noticed something. Now that I think about it, I was probably just too scared earlier and threw my clothes into the hole in a panic.

  I just can't figure out why there is snoring in the cave.

  From Fengmen Valley to my home, I have to pass by Dahei's house. Because I didn't find Dahei's soul in the cave and was scared out of my wits instead, I'm too ashamed to see Dahei's parents, so I decide not to take the front path, but go around the back of the house. When I reached the back of Dahei's house, suddenly a sobbing sound came from inside the house - it was Dahei's mother! My heart sank, Dahei's mother is crying so sorrowfully, could it be that Dahei... has died?

  I rushed into Dahei's home and saw Dahei's mother sitting in front of the bed, crying and muttering to herself. Her tone was very strange, and I didn't quite understand what she was saying. The general idea seemed to be that Dahei had lost his soul at such a young age, and now what were they going to do...? My heart felt extremely painful upon hearing this, and for a moment, I didn't know how to comfort her. However, in secret, I vowed that I would definitely find Dahei's soul and make him wake up!

  But fortunately, Dahei didn't die. As long as he's not dead, there's hope.

  I remembered what my father said before he left, saying that some things could be found by asking Li Shenpo. I thought that since there was a sudden snoring sound in the cave without any reason, and no one was seen, it must be a ghost. Since it's a ghost, we have to ask Li Shenpo for help.

  I comforted Big Black's mother for a few words, and then I ran back home in the wind. As soon as I got home, my mom asked me where I had been, and then she told me to go herd the cattle. Very reluctantly, I drove out the two cows at home, took advantage of my mother's inattention, rode the motorcycle out, put the cows on a mountain, and then rode the motorcycle towards Lichun Village.