The fox spirit is in a hurry like a law enforcement officer.

  In the summer of 1995, I graduated from normal school. Under normal circumstances, normal students are assigned nearby, teaching in their hometown or neighboring villages. After one or two years, those who perform exceptionally well can be transferred to the central primary school in the town. At that time, several nearby villages were short of teachers, and many old-generation substitute teachers had also reached the age of retirement, so I was sure I would be assigned near my hometown, waiting at home for the notification.

  I lost my father at the age of 10, and my mother brought me up with great difficulty. Due to overwork, her health is not very good. So despite my excellent grades, I chose to attend a normal college without hesitation, so that after graduation, I can return to my hometown to be a teacher and have more time to take care of my mother. Now it's finally the time for me to repay and show filial piety to my mother.

  In early August, I received a notice from the Education Bureau, and then I was completely stunned. I was actually assigned to a place called Beikeng, 200 kilometers away from home!

  Why did I get assigned to a remote area? Later, after asking around, I found out that my female classmate's cousin works at the municipal education bureau, and I had once rejected her invitation for a date. I guess this is the reason why I got into trouble. Now it's too late, even if someone helps me send a red envelope (bribe), it won't change anything. At least I'll have to go teach in a remote area for a year before I can be reassigned, and more importantly, my family is poor and we don't have the money to use our connections.

  It wasn't until the end of August, just before school was about to start, that I reluctantly went to register with my mother's repeated comfort. Along the way, I took a bus and got on an old minibus that should have been scrapped long ago, "bumping" along a newly repaired dirt road, shaking so hard that my bones were almost scattered. To block out the dust, most of the windows were closed in the sweltering heat, making the car compartment crowded to the point where it was hard to insert a needle, with not only people but also chickens and ducks, pesticides, fertilizers, etc., emitting a pungent odor mixed with gasoline, sweat, and other smells that made me feel like I was going to pass out.

  Finally, the bus stopped at a small village entrance. I rushed out and took several deep breaths of fresh air, then looked around. In front of me were all low, dilapidated earth walls and tile-roofed houses, without a single decent building. Under the sunset's afterglow, they seemed even more worn out and dim, with a desolate and bleak atmosphere.

  My mood was already terrible, and seeing this scene made me feel even colder. This is just like going back to the pre-liberation era! The ancients said that beautiful women are a calamity, why can "Glutinous Rice Sister" also bring disaster? My female classmate's face looked like it had been flattened by a brick, with acne all over her face, and she was entirely like a glutinous rice cake covered in sesame seeds.

  "Are you the new teacher Zhang?"

  There was a man who came around from the front of the car, speaking in local dialect. I barely understood him. Turning my head to look, it was a man in his 40s, slightly fat, with a shiny face and a smile all over his face, his eyes narrowed, with deep crow's feet at the corners of his eyes, giving off a somewhat sly vibe.

  I didn't even have the mood to respond, I just nodded slightly, and he enthusiastically came to help me carry my bag, introducing himself in not-so-standard Mandarin. It turned out that he was the village secretary, named Chen Jianguo, and the old principal had gone to the county education bureau for a meeting, entrusting him to welcome me, and he had been waiting for several days already.

  Although Secretary was personally greeted, I did not feel moved by the "high specification" reception and said coldly: "Trouble you, where is the school?"

  Lao Chen hurriedly said: "The school is just behind, there are still a few days before the start of school, and no one lives there now. You've had a hard journey, first come to my house for dinner and stay overnight, the bed has been prepared for you."

  "No need, let's go to the school first." I didn't want to disturb others and didn't like staying overnight at a stranger's house. Moreover, I was more concerned about what the school looked like.

  "It's better to go to my place first, you see it's already dark outside, and the school has been empty for two months, it's all dusty everywhere, there's not even hot water...it's a bit inconvenient..." Old Chen said with great persuasion, his eyes flickering slightly.

  I thought to myself, probably because the school is too old, so I won't let me go right away? The more this is the case, the more I want to take a look first. Old Chen couldn't persuade me, and had no choice but to bring me along a small path into the village, introducing the situation in the village as we walked, of course only talking about the good aspects.

  Behind the village, at the foot of the mountain, there is a two-story building in the shape of a "凹" character, about 200-300 meters away from the village. As I approached, I found that although the teaching building is one of the few brick and wood structures here, it is very old and dilapidated. The roof tiles have many signs of repair, most of the glass on the doors and windows has disappeared, replaced by wooden boards nailed in a disorderly manner. The brick wall is peeling off, with blurry slogans that read "Welcome educated youth to the countryside" or something similar. In front of the teaching building, there are several old willow trees, and on the uneven mud playground, there is only one bamboo flagpole.

  I had expected the destination to be remote and impoverished before I came, but I didn't expect the school to be in such disrepair. More importantly, it's really too far from my hometown...

  "The conditions are a bit harsh, but they will change soon, we have been working hard, the old principal's trip to the city this time is to fight for more funding. Only education can change the backward appearance, and the village will also strongly support it..." Old Chen saw that my face didn't look good, muttered beside me, but these empty words had no comforting effect, instead making me even more depressed and annoyed.

  On both sides of the teaching building, a small house was built, which were the canteen and the toilet. The middle part of the main building was the classroom, and the two turning parts in the shape of the character "" were the teachers' offices and dormitories. Old Chen opened a room on the second floor, inside there were wooden frame beds, tables and two chairs, grass mats, quilts, thermoses, electric fans and so on, all of which were brand new. It seemed that Old Chen didn't lie, the school did attach great importance to my arrival.

  After putting down my luggage, Old Chen dragged me to his home for dinner, where several village officials were already waiting. On the table, there were braised pork trotters, stewed pig's ears, sweet and sour fish, clear-steamed old hen... The dishes were sumptuous, the host was warm-hearted, and the living room was piled up with crates of beer like a small mountain. However, all this could not improve my mood much.

  Wine is only worth a thousand cups when you meet someone who understands you. I don't get along with these people, so naturally I won't drink much. I could hardly bear their persistent persuasion and reluctantly drank a few cups, hastily filling my stomach before getting up to bid farewell.

  Lao Chen hastily pressed down on my shoulder: "Have a few more drinks, anyway school hasn't started yet, even if you get drunk it's no big deal, just sleep at my place tonight."

  "I shook my head repeatedly: 'Really can't drink anymore, it's too much trouble, I'll go back to the dorm.'"

  Lao Chen had already drunk a lot of wine, his face was completely red, and his eyes were blurry. He still held onto me tightly and said: "The school hasn't been lived in for a long time, it's really not very convenient. If you're not opposed to it, you can live at my house from now on, I have plenty of rooms..."

  Lao Chen's wife, who was standing on the side, whispered a sentence in dialect, which I didn't understand what she said, but it was clear that she was dissatisfied with Lao Chen's last sentence. I even less wanted to stay now. Several other village cadres also invited me to spend the night at their homes, but I don't like owing others favors and didn't want to leave any relationships or emotions here, so I politely declined them all.

  When I went out, the sky was not completely dark. Old Chen only sent me to the door and went back. Soon, the sound of guessing fists and laughter came from inside, it seemed that my arrival gave them a good opportunity to get together.

  As I walked on the road, I had a strange feeling that Old Chen's persuasion was not entirely out of enthusiasm, but rather he didn't want me to live in school, as if there was something unspoken. But why didn't he let me live in school? There wasn't anything valuable to steal...

  It's late summer and early autumn now, the weather in the south is still very hot, and the evening breeze is still a bit scorching. However, when I walked to the school playground, a gust of cold wind blew towards me, and I couldn't help but shiver, with goosebumps clearly appearing on my arms.

  It's strange, why is it particularly cold near the school? The last time I came with Old Chen, I found that the area around the school was especially cool. At that time, I didn't pay much attention to it, but now it's not just cool, it's a clear feeling of chilliness. This feeling makes me feel uncomfortable and also gives me a faint sense of unease.

  Looking around, the night had already begun to fall, the distant mountains were like a giant beast crouching in the vast wilderness, various nocturnal insects were screaming loudly, and the willow trees were swaying back and forth in the evening wind, like a female demon with disheveled hair.

  "Ahh!"

  A shrill, ear-piercing sound came from the classroom, scaring my heart into my throat. Then, with a loud "bang", I was so frightened that my heart almost jumped out.

  It turned out that there was a window in the classroom that wasn't closed properly, and the sound of the wind blowing it open was what I heard. The last loud noise was the window closing. After I came back to my senses, I couldn't help but curse silently in my heart, and also slightly despise myself for being too timid.

  I calmed myself down and went up the central staircase of the teaching building, then along the corridor outside the classroom to the dormitory. The second floor was wooden, already severely worn out and loose, making a heart-pounding creaking sound when walking on it, some of the wooden boards on the classroom doors had been dismantled by naughty kids, with dark holes like open mouths of giant beasts... damn, this atmosphere is really not right!

  I took out the key to unlock the lock, pulled a switch on the side of the door, and the light came on. The bulb emitted a very dim glow, I don't know if it was because the wattage was too low or the voltage was severely insufficient.

  The room was a bit stuffy, so I pulled open the window latch and pushed open the north-facing window to let in some air circulation. At the same time, I also took a glance outside... Whoa, right before my eyes was a vast expanse of graves!

  The school is at the foot of the mountain, and behind it is a slope. Because it's very close, even in the dim light of night, you can still see the tombstones on the slope, one after another. Some of the tombstones have many wreaths placed on them, possibly because they've been bleached white by the sun and rain, or maybe it's just that the lighting is insufficient, making them all appear white, which is particularly eye-catching and eerie.

  My heart is racing, I finally understand why Old Chen repeatedly advised me not to stay overnight at school. There must be some problem here! If I had known earlier that the back of the school was a chaotic burial ground, eight or nine out of ten times I would have accepted Old Chen's invitation. Now that I've already refused him, how can I turn back?

  It's just a burial mound, I used to pass by the burial mound in my hometown when I was young and went to cut firewood, it's nothing big! As a teacher, with a belly full of science, you can't be scared by a few graves and lose the face of a people's teacher, so I decided to ignore it and start packing up.

  In the mountainous area, dusk falls quickly, and the last ray of light in the west disappears. The night has completely fallen, and I inadvertently glanced out of the window to find a blue-green glow on the hillside, flickering and drifting.

  Will-o'-the-wisp!

  I was shocked, I had heard of this thing before, but it was the first time I saw it with my own eyes. The so-called "ghost fire" is actually phosphorus fire, which is produced by the decomposition of phosphine when a corpse rots, and it self-ignites. However, being in the midst of it for the first time, I still felt a chill run down my spine. Perhaps it was just my imagination playing tricks on me, but I felt as if there were many eyes watching me from the direction of the tomb, which scared me so much that I quickly closed the windows and doors.

  Here, far from the village, in an empty and desolate school building, I am alone. Next to it is a chaotic burial mound. How can one not be afraid? However, I know that now is not the time to be afraid. The more you fear, the easier it is to encounter "unclean things". When your heart is strong and your spirit is upright, ghosts and monsters dare not approach you. That's why there's an old saying: "If you don't do anything wrong, you won't be afraid of ghosts knocking on your door at midnight."

  A bookworm has an aura of righteousness, what ghost or monster dares to come near!

  After closing the doors and windows, adapting to the light, I felt a bit more grounded. I opened the zipper of my backpack and started organizing things. At times like these, doing something to distract myself from thinking about things I shouldn't think about can help alleviate tension in my mind. It's best to hum a tune or recite some ancient poetry, showing that I'm very calm and composed.

  "By the Yangtze River's head at night, sending off a guest, maple leaves and smartweed autumn rustling..." I started reciting Bai Juyi's "The Pipa Player", but only got two lines in before stopping in shock. When passing through the town, I bought three apples, ate one and left two wrapped in a plastic bag in my backpack, now there is only one apple left in the plastic bag!

  At that time, although the economy had improved, fruit was still a rare thing in remote mountain villages. My family's situation wasn't good either, and we rarely bought fruit, so I attached great importance to the remaining two apples. The knot on the plastic bag was tied by me personally, it didn't come loose, there were no holes in the plastic bag, my backpack hadn't been touched by anyone, the window was closed from the inside, and the door was locked, how could the apple possibly disappear?

  I didn't believe it was a mistake, so I dumped everything in the backpack onto the bed. As a result, there were still no apples. Suddenly, my back felt cold and I had the feeling that someone was standing behind me...