Chapter 8 The Lady in Red

  At this moment, a burst of crying suddenly came from the house, I was shocked, and the crying sounded very sad, as if someone had died. Then two men walked out of the house, one holding a roll of firecrackers ready to be lit, and the other was my father.

  This is really too coincidental.

  I called out "Dad", and the firecrackers also started ringing. I confirmed one thing, this family must have lost an old man, in our rural area, there is a custom of setting off firecrackers after someone passes away.

  My father walked towards me, asking how I came here. Because the firecrackers were too loud, we couldn't hear each other clearly, and I didn't respond. We were about to get on the car when several people suddenly ran over, old and young, all kneeling at my father's feet, looking very sad. My father helped them up and comforted them with a few words. The old man who came with me stood behind those people, silent. My father got on the car, looked at that old man, waved to him, and the old man nodded, turned around and walked towards the house, disappearing suddenly when he was about to enter the main hall.

  I was stunned for a moment, how did it suddenly disappear? Was it because I released fireworks and smoke, so I didn't see clearly?

  As we were about to drive out of Li Village, my father stopped and I also stopped beside him. My father asked me again how I came here, and I said it was getting dark and his phone wasn't reachable, so I came to find him. My father said his mobile phone had run out of power. I asked him who the old man was just now, and my father said he was an old man. I asked if he was about seventy years old, with all white hair and a black mole on his left cheek. My father said yes. I took a cold breath, wasn't that the old man I happened to give a ride home?

  Was what I saw his soul?

  I thought of the old man's soul sitting behind me at that time, and I couldn't help but feel a chill run down my spine.

  But how can I see the old man's soul?

  And his father saw it too, because his father waved at him.

  I didn't dare to express the doubts in my heart, and I was extremely frightened afterwards, afraid that the ghost would find me again. The car didn't dare to drive too fast, and I followed closely behind my father with great tension.

  As we were approaching home, a woman stood in the middle of the road ahead, wearing red clothes and holding a red umbrella. She looked like a new bride because it was already dark, although she was facing our direction, her appearance couldn't be seen clearly, but judging from her figure, she seemed to be quite young.

  When we were a zhang away from her, she suddenly stretched out her hand to block our way, the meaning was very clear, wanting to hitch a ride with us. What's strange is that my father, who has always been willing to help others, ignored her and drove the motorcycle straight past her side, because of the high speed, a strong gust of wind blew by, even blowing up her long hair, it was really beautiful and captivating.

  When I was less than a meter away from her, I took a face-to-face photo with her and found that she was no more than 20 years old. She had a very pretty face, but looked a bit pale. She stared at me, her eyes revealing a hint of expectation, hoping I would stop. However, since my father didn't stop, how could I dare to stop? After hesitating for a moment, I drove past her side.

  Because of the many strange things that happened today, I was in a state of excitement all night, tossing and turning on my bed, until it was almost midnight before I fell into a daze.

  It was as if in a dream, suddenly, a burst of "rustling" sound came from my ear, a surge of intangible horror rushed to my heart, I hurriedly opened my eyes, only to feel my heart sink abruptly. Under the moonlight, there was someone standing in front of my bed!

  She was wearing a red dress, slender figure, hair down to her waist, with her back to me. Because the light was too dim, the whole person looked like a black shadow.

  I wanted to sit up, but I found that my whole body couldn't move. In a panic, I asked: "Who... who are you?"

  She slowly turned around. I was shocked, she had turned around as if there was a spinning plate under her feet. And when I saw her face clearly, I was even more shocked and couldn't speak for half a day.

  It was actually the woman in red we met on the road!

  How could it be her? How did she end up at my home?

  Her face was deathly pale, like paper, and looked terrifying. And she stared straight at me, suddenly asking: "Why didn't you stop? Why didn't you save me?"

  The sound is ethereal and fleeting, as if it's very far away, yet extremely clear, because the voice is right next to your ear.

  My whole body was trembling and I stuttered: "I... I... I want to stop, but... but I'm afraid..."

  "Really?" She suddenly smiled. But her smile was even uglier and more terrifying than crying, I was at a loss for what to do, staring at her in horror.

  "Since you don't want to save me, then come and accompany me..." She suddenly stretched out her hand and pinched towards me. I was shocked and wanted to dodge, but my whole body couldn't move at all, my throat tightened, and I only felt a pair of icy hands pinching my neck, and in an instant, I suffocated.

  "Ah!" A loud shout suddenly came from outside the door, followed by a "bang!", my throat relaxed and the hand that was gripping mine let go. The red-clothed woman's body quickly retreated towards the window and disappeared in an instant. The lights in the room flickered on, and my father rushed over, grabbing my hand and asking: "Xiao Dao, who was it just now?"

  My whole body was cold, and I stared at my father in shock, unable to speak for a long time. My father kept rubbing my hands, comforting me, and called my mother to bring a basin of hot water over. After my mother wiped my sweaty forehead twice, I finally came back to myself, but I found that I had lost the ability to speak.

  The following days were even more painful, I was in a coma all the time, constantly muttering don't come over, don't come over... and my whole body was icy cold, but my forehead was sweating profusely. Sometimes when I finally woke up, I would stare blankly at the air without making a sound.

  Later, I became a little more conscious and saw my parents sitting in front of my bed anxiously looking at me. My mother saw that I was awake, grabbed my hand and called out my name, and asked with concern: "Child, how are you feeling? Are you cold? Are you hungry?" I wanted to speak but couldn't say a word. My mother hastily asked my father what was going on with me, why the illness had relapsed after just getting better, what kind of evil spirit this was, and which god or ghost we had offended!

  His father's face was solemn and he didn't say a word.

  Mother was very angry with Father, scolding him severely. She said that as a doctor, he couldn't even cure my illness, and from now on, he shouldn't be a doctor anymore. Father said heavily: "I'll go find Li Godmother." And then he walked out.

  I was surprised, previously my father would not easily go to find Li Shennu, last time if it wasn't for being forced by my mother he wouldn't have gone, and this time he actually took the initiative to find Li Shennu, did he see something unusual?

  Not long after Father left, a black shadow appeared outside the window. I felt my heart sink and quickly opened my eyes, wanting to shout, but I couldn't make a sound. Mother found that I was awake and immediately rushed over to grab my hand, calling out my name.

  The dark shadow outside the window moved slowly and finally appeared at the door.

  Could it be that the woman in red has come to take my life again?

  Fortunately, it was not the red-clothed woman, but a man. He was in his forties or fifties, wearing a black cloak, a duck-billed hat, and sporting an eight-shaped beard, with thick and long eyebrows that looked like two caterpillars.

  The mother also turned around upon hearing the sound, and when she saw the man at the door, she immediately stood up and asked: "You... who are you?" The man said: "I was just passing by..." Then he looked at me and asked: "What's wrong with the child?" My mother replied with a worried face: "I don't know what happened, but suddenly he fell ill, not speaking or moving..." The man walked straight towards me, looking directly at me. Suddenly, I noticed his mouth corners moved slightly, revealing an almost imperceptible faint smile.

  But my mother was completely unaware of this, took a step forward and wiped away her tears, saying: "I don't know what's wrong with this child."

  The man slowly walked towards me, and for some reason, every step he took forward made me feel a strange sensation in my heart. His faint smile was too eerie, and I was very scared. However, the fear that had been hidden deep within my heart also slowly dissipated. This was really strange and contradictory, but it was all true. It was as if his arrival dispelled one of my deepest fears, yet brought a new threat.

  What kind of person is he?

  When he reached my bedside, he lifted my eyelids and took a look. I don't know where the strength came from, but I suddenly shook off the invisible restraints on my body, and sprang up from the bed with a conditioned reflex, staring at the man in horror.

  My mother was startled and cried out: "Xiao Dao!"

  "Xiao Dao, Yang Xiao Dao..." The man muttered to himself and turned around to walk out the door.

  "Ah...... you......" My mother wanted to call out to the man, but he quickly walked away. She turned around and stared at me, asking repeatedly: "Xiao Dao, how are you? Where do you feel uncomfortable?" I said I was fine, just feeling a bit cold. Mother quickly pulled up the quilt and wrapped it around my body.