Chapter 5 Raw Dog Meat

  It's been nearly five years since I last saw Ma Si Zhe, but at this moment, there isn't a hint of unfamiliarity.

  Compared with when I was in school, I've lost a lot of weight and cut my hair short, but I still walk with the same swagger.

  "What's up buddy, still allergic to drinking?" Ma Si Zhe said to me with a smile while I was still immersed in the excitement of our reunion.

  "Or I'll drink some and show you." Then the two people burst out laughing at the same time.

  "Let's find a place to eat, talk while we eat, I'm starving!"

  I took a taxi with Ma Si Zhe and arrived at the nearest hotel. As soon as we reached the hotel entrance, Ma Si Zhe got into an argument with the porter over luggage.

  When we got off the bus, the porter came to pick us up. The luggage that was taken down from the car was not received steadily and was directly smashed on the ground. When putting it on the luggage cart, it was heavily bumped again. Marx's face changed color: "Didn't anyone teach you how to help customers carry their luggage before you went on duty?"

  The gatekeeper didn't think much of it and didn't respond. Ma Si Zhe's anger didn't decrease, he continued to say 'Young fellow, this trunk being damaged is a small matter, but if the things inside fall out that would be a big deal'

  I feel like something is off, I hope he didn't bring back anything that shouldn't be seen at home.

  I directly covered Ma Si Zhe's mouth and said to the doorman 'be careful' then dragged Ma Si Zhe all the way to the private room.

  As soon as he closed the door, Ma Si Zhe shook off my hand. "What are you doing? I haven't finished speaking yet."

  "Who knows if you'll take out some antique porcelain from the previous dynasty to show off, at that time we won't need to chat anymore, go chat with the police in the interrogation room instead."

  Ma Si Zhe burst out laughing and pushed me, "Look at your guts, how can you still be like this after all these years? Why would I bring that thing from so far away for no reason? Is it a gift to celebrate our meeting?"

  I thought so too 'what's that thing, it's a big deal, scaring people'

  "Let's eat first, I'll tell you later." Ma Si Zhe had a mysterious look on his face.

  I called the waiter over to order and it turns out that Ma Si Zhe's taste hasn't changed much after all these years, he still eats pretty much the same things as when we were in college, I find it kind of endearing.

  After the waiter left, Ma Si Zhe asked me what was going on and why I had called him over in such a hurry.

  It's hard to say, but it's just a difficult thing to understand. You can believe it or not, but the fact is really like that.

  "Stop beating around the bush and just say it."

  I told Ma Si-ze everything from the beginning, including what was said twenty years ago when I was a monk, twenty years ago when I hastily left home, and all sorts of strange things that happened at Master's funeral recently, as well as Grandfather's note and diary. Throughout, Ma Si-ze kept drinking water, his chopsticks didn't move once, and his two eyes were wide with fear listening to me speak, it seems he was also a bit scared like me.

  "So you want to find an outsider"

  "Right"

  It's me

  "Right"

  Ma Si Zhe wiped his sweat and trembled as he took another sip of water.

  "Give me a break, this is too damn exciting. I'm telling you, the people in your village aren't human, they're some kind of thing that turns into various animals at midnight."

  "As far as I know, I have seen people who are already dead appear before me again and climb up the tree like a snake after midnight."

  Ma Si Zhe stared at me with his mouth agape, his expression unchanged for a long time.

  "So hurry up and eat, after you finish I'll take you back to the village"

  "I'm not going, who knows if they go crazy and eat me" Ma Si Zhe hastily shook his head.

  "If I were going to die, I would have died long ago, yet I'm still alive today." I rolled my eyes.

  Finally, Ma Si Zhe was dragged back to the village by me. All the way, he was especially vigilant whenever he saw someone, and he almost hid behind me.

  "Aren't you quite bold? Always talking about me, look at your current state"

  "Nonsense, even if I had more guts, I've never seen this thing before. Maybe you're familiar with them and they won't harm you, but they don't know me."

  As soon as Marx entered my courtyard, he asked me 'Where is your grandfather?'

  "It's been buried" is a typical question from someone who lacks common sense. So many days have passed and it still hasn't been buried, it must be rotten by now.

  At this time, my mother went out and happened to see Ma Si Zhe. "Are you Sun Yi's classmate? He told me when he went out today that he was going to pick up his classmate."

  Who would have thought that Ma Si Zhe suddenly flashed back and whispered to me 'Is this someone, or is it that thing?'

  I turned around and punched Ma Si Zhe hard "What nonsense are you talking about? This is my mom!"

  Ma Si Zhe felt relieved and immediately laughed out loud, shouting "Auntie is great!"

  "To be honest, I'm now afraid of everything," Ma Siqi said nervously.

  "Don't be scared when you look in the mirror later"

  Ma Si Zhe got his luggage settled and we chatted about the recent years. This kid has become quite glib, it's clear that he hasn't wasted his time in society these past few years. During our conversation, I kept feeling like Ma Si Zhe was intentionally avoiding something, and because of how familiar we are with each other, I quickly picked up on his evasiveness. When Ma Si Zhe wants to talk about something, he'll naturally tell you, but when he doesn't want to talk about it, no matter what you ask him, he'll just joke it off and won't say the truth.

  In the evening, my mother made a big table of dishes. Ma Zhe and I had another big meal. After getting drunk and full, I persuaded Ma Zhe for an hour before he decided to go out with me at night.

  The two of us walked around the road at the entrance of our home, feeling our way in the dark until we reached Ye Hua's door. The night was unusually quiet, and I could hear my own breathing and Marx's heartbeat coming from his chest. I glanced at my watch, it was almost midnight. I reminded Marx to hurry up. Marx tightened his clothes "It's too cold in your Northeast, what month is it?" I signaled him to be quiet.

  The two of us crouched at the door, not even daring to breathe. Occasionally a wisp of wind blew across our necks, sending shivers down my spine. Ma Si Zhe had long forgotten what it meant to be cold or not, his eyes fixed intently on the movement of the grass in the yard.

  Not long after, there was a figure flashing in the courtyard, and I took a closer look, it was indeed Ye Hua!

  He walked around the yard, staring at the ground, muttering to himself. The distance was too far and I couldn't hear what he was saying, he walked a few laps and suddenly stopped moving. Before long, another person came out of the house.

  It's a woman, over fifty years old. Is this Ye Hua's mother? She walked to where Ye Hua was standing still and looked around for a while before starting to dig with her hands!

  Like an animal, the speed was so fast that I worried if this method would work or not. The two of them seemed to have no pain at all, and after digging for about five or six minutes, when they stood up, their hands were already covered in blood. I was shocked and covered my mouth, but what happened next was even more bizarre. After finishing the digging, Ye Hua suddenly walked over to his dog's kennel, picked up the yellow dog and slammed it to the ground with great force.

  "My god!" Ma Si Zhe couldn't help but exclaim, I quickly covered his mouth. Ye Hua stopped what he was doing and looked towards the door. Ma Si Zhe and I stood there, not daring to move, afraid that any movement would attract him. My heart was racing violently, trying my best to hold back my breathing, finally even closing my eyes.

  After a while, I didn't hear any sound. I opened my eyes and saw the yellow dog lying motionless on the ground. Ye Hua's two hands pinched the dog's upper and lower jaws, and with a forceful tear, he ripped open the yellow dog's mouth.

  I was shocked by the bloody scene, my chest heaving violently. Marx was in a state of logical confusion for some time afterwards, I couldn't describe him, in other words, he was scared silly. Although I had already prepared myself mentally, I was still shocked.

  The place that was torn open started to gush out blood, emitting hot air in the cold night wind. Ye Hua was like a drug addict seeing drugs, crazily tearing and biting. Looking at his mouth full of blood, and his body covered with dog hair, I felt a wave of nausea, turned my head to look at Ma Si Zhe, this guy was already vomiting while leaning against the wall.

  It's strange that I haven't seen Ye Hua's mother since just now. I turned my head to take a look, and all around was pitch black, without any noise. When I turned my head again to look into the courtyard, a pale face suddenly squeezed in through the gap of the gate!

  Her eyes, sunken and filled with red blood vessels, had a few strands of hair hanging in front of them, staring straight at me! My brain was momentarily short-circuited by fear, and I stood there stupidly, locked in a stare with her. Her face slowly stretched forward, as if she were going to squeeze out through the gap in the door. Terrified, I hastily turned around and grabbed Marx, who was still vomiting, and we ran wildly all the way.

  Don't follow me, don't follow me. I ran while praying. In high school during the sports day, I didn't run as fast as now, for the first time I had a feeling of wind under my feet.

  I ran all the way home and didn't catch my breath until I locked the door behind me. Ma Si Zhe, supporting his knees, coughed while asking me "Not bad, your speed has improved a lot in these few years."

  "You still have the nerve to chat, cough, I almost got scared to death just now"

  "You think I'm not scared? Look at my legs, they're still shaking!"

  "Like trash"

  "What nonsense are you talking about? Didn't you say it was going to be a snake? Where's the snake? I'm still waiting for it to climb the tree, and this time, it directly performed eating dog meat for me!" Ma Si Zhe shouted at me.

  I'm also puzzled, the Ye Hua I saw last time is completely different from today's. Last time it was a snake, this time it looks more like a mammal, and it's super large. It's kind of like that cartoon "Martin Morning" where the main character changes into a different role every morning. Last time it was a snake, this time it's a super-large beast, who knows what even scarier thing it will turn into next time.

  "Hey, your dad and mom won't be like that too, right?" Ma Si Zhe said, glancing back, afraid that something would suddenly pop out.

  "You never thought that I might become that thing too." My gaze turned venomous, staring at Ma Si Zhe as I said in a low tone.

  Ma Si Zhe suddenly became flustered "Hey, Sun Yi don't mess with me" Ma Si Zhe retreated backwards, all the way to the wall, with no way out.

  "Our family doesn't have a dog, what did you say I'm eating tonight?" I continued to press on.

  Ma Si Zhe leaned against the wall, shivering with fear, not even daring to open his eyes. I looked at his shrinking figure and couldn't help but laugh, feeling relieved for a long time.

  "Sun Yi, you dare to fool me!" Ma Si Zhe finally reacted.

  I quickly slipped into the room before Ma Si Zhe went crazy and locked the door, then shouted to the outside 'Your room is on the opposite side!'

  Then came a loud slamming sound from the other side, and the house fell silent again. I lay in bed, thinking about what had just happened, and my heart still couldn't calm down.

  Looked out of the window and still didn't feel at ease, so got down to check the door lock again before going to sleep.