Chapter 3: Strange Happenings at Home

  Foreword: I'm not very good at talking, I just like to read and write as a hobby. I'm also a bit of a perfectionist, I love writing, but whether it's good or not, I don't know, because I couldn't possibly say that my writing is great, right? If you have the chance to see this book, I'll welcome you with applause and genuine excitement. Please pour yourself a cup of fragrant tea, light up a cigarette, and quietly read for a bit. Even if after reading it, you say: "This kid's writing is all nonsense, it's killing my eyes!" I'll just smile slightly and humbly accept it. I don't intend to offend anyone, nor do I want to please anyone, because everyone's tastes and appreciation angles are different, and no one can demand that someone like or dislike something, right? Old friend, fate brings us together, and our connection will never stop. A smile from the floating dust, a smile that clears my heart. Newbies need help and support, so I sincerely hope that you esteemed readers won't be stingy with your support for a newcomer like me. Please collect, vote for the monthly ticket, and recommend it, thank you!

  Red shirt red hat blood Luo Pao, three feet long knife corpse in laughter. Beheading drinking all do not ask, the world suddenly appears soul-cutting knife!

  This sword was not born for long, and the world began to be in great chaos. First, Li Zicheng, the king of the rebels, attacked and captured Beijing City, then Wu Sangui led the Qing army into the pass, with a furious hair standing on end, he handed over this good land to others, from then on, the national title was changed to the Great Qing!

  In the early years of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, the Wang family had already retired from their former occupation and started doing legitimate business. The treasured sword was also sealed away in the house, never to be asked about again. Although it was sealed away, strange things kept happening at home! First, there was the incident where Madame Ho, Wang Chongchuan's wife, encountered a bloody ghost child at night, and later their eldest son, Wang Rang, was haunted by a seductive female spirit. What exactly happened during this time, we'll discuss slowly as we go along.

  That night, after the Wang family had finished dinner and retired to their rooms for an early rest, Madame Wang, nee Ho, felt a severe stomachache. She got up to go to the outhouse, relieved herself of the foul matter in her belly, and felt slightly better. Suddenly, she heard the sound of a child crying outside the gate. Madame Wang found this strange but didn't think much of it, tidied herself up, and went out of the gate. There indeed was a four- or five-year-old child squatting on the ground, wailing loudly.

  Mrs. Wang saw the child crying pitifully, so she squatted down to ask him why he was crying, and the little boy said "yi yi ya ya" and told her the reason. It turned out that they were playing with several other kids, but the other children all thought he was stupid and wouldn't play with him, which is why he was crying.

  Mrs. Wang heard this and felt both amused and annoyed. She took the child's hand and said she would take him to find other playmates, so they could play together. The two of them had only walked a few steps when they heard the sound of children playing and fighting in the alley. Mrs. Wang looked around and saw five or six little boys wearing red vests, playing and fighting under a wall in a courtyard. When she got closer, Mrs. Wang was suddenly frightened to the point where her hair stood on end!

  What is this, a child wearing a red belly band? It's clearly just a few pieces of human skin with the chest hollowed out! Madame Wang hastily looked down at the child she was holding onto, only to see that the child had somehow become covered in fresh blood. The child's body swayed and suddenly bit off the arm that Madame Wang was holding!

  The child swung the remaining arm and ran towards those human skins, shouting in his mouth: "It's all right now, finally found clothes, no longer afraid of freezing!"

  "My goodness!" Mrs. Wang exclaimed in shock, dropping the child's arm and fainting away.

  Wang Chongchuan waited for his wife in the house for a long time, but she didn't return. He became anxious and rushed out of the bedroom, only to see that the courtyard gate was wide open, and his wife was lying at their own doorstep. Wang Chongchuan quickly carried his wife into the room and asked her what had happened. After hearing her account, he became furious!

  Find the treasure knife without asking, single-handedly hold the knife and rush out! Came to the street, but it was empty all around, where is there any ghost of a child? Wang Chongchuan searched for several laps, then shouted loudly at the empty street: "You listen to me! My name is Wang Chongchuan, my treasure knife does not ask questions. From today on, you walk your Yangguan Road, I cross my solitary wooden bridge, we have nothing to do with each other! If you don't listen to good advice, come and see!" As soon as the words fell, one knife cut the green stone table beside him in half! Then looking at the treasure knife in his hand, he said: "Wang certain recognizes you, my treasure knife does not recognize!"

  It was thus that, from then on, this precious sword was hung at the eaves of the Wang family's house. For several years afterwards, they lived in peace and quiet until the year when the eldest son of the Wang family, Wang Rang, was seventeen years old. He went out to collect mountain goods, took a wrong turn into the ancient tomb on Huai Tree Mountain, got lost at night, and encountered a seductive ghost that confused his soul, which finally led to this sword being drawn again!

  That year, the Wang family started a small business selling mountain goods, and the trade was very prosperous, with goods in short supply. To take advantage of this trend, Wang Chongchuan decided to call his eldest son, Wang Rang, to go into the mountains for a trip.

  After Wang Ruan finished collecting goods in the mountains, he was worried about missing the timing, so he decided to rush back home overnight. In ancient times, walking at night was not like now, there were no flashlights and the like. At that time, walking at night meant relying on the light of the stars and moon in the sky.

  Wang Ruan was not very familiar with the mountain roads to begin with, and now that he was eager to return home, coupled with traveling at night which limited his visibility, he ended up taking a wrong turn. By the time he realized it, he had already found himself in the midst of a dense forest on a desolate mountain, unable to tell directions apart. Wang Ruan's heart began to panic as he looked around frantically, only to discover that before and behind him were nothing but rows upon rows of ancient tombs!

  Wang Rong was so scared that he turned pale, after all, he was just a seventeen-year-old boy. At the time, he ran away without caring about the direction, only thinking of escaping from this place as soon as possible. He didn't know how long he had run, but he felt suffocated and short of breath, so he stopped his footsteps, looked back, and found that he had already left the tomb area, and his heart was slightly relieved.

  Looking up, I saw a house on the mountain slope not far in front of me, and it was lit with an oil lamp at this time. Wang Rang thought to himself that he would go ask for directions and borrow some water to drink. If he could stay overnight in this house, it would be best to leave before dawn. Thinking of this, Wang Rang walked towards the light.

  There were two small thatched cottages here, looking quite poor. Wang Rang came to the gate of the courtyard, tidied up the dust all over his body, and then lightly knocked on the door. Unexpectedly, the one who opened the door was a young and beautiful girl.

  "May I ask what brings you here, sir?" The young lady's vermilion lips lightly opened, her appearance was beautiful and captivating. Wang Rang suddenly felt dizzy, his heart racing, and he stared blankly like a fool! This is not surprising, Wang Rang was seventeen this year, just at the age when one's emotions are first awakened, how could he not be moved by such a young and beautiful woman?

  As soon as she came to her senses, Wang Ruan's small face suddenly turned bright red, and she hurriedly bowed her head: "This sister is polite, I was walking on the mountain road at night and got lost, so I came to disturb you. Please trouble the host family to point out the way to go, and... also ask for a drink of water." After finishing speaking, she had already lowered her head in embarrassment.

  All I could hear was a burst of silvery laughter, and then I saw this young lady covering her red lips with her hand, her slender body trembling with mirth: "You're really something, I'm only sixteen this year, looking obviously younger than you, how dare you call me sister?"

  Listening to the girl's teasing, Wang Rang suddenly felt at a loss. His face turned red and he lowered his head, his hands nervously twisting the hem of his clothes on both sides. The girl looked at Wang Rang's tense little appearance and couldn't help but laugh again. After laughing, she stepped aside and let Wang Rang into the house.

  The girl cut him off before he could finish speaking: "The well is behind the house, do you want me to go fetch water for you?" Wang Rang had no choice, his thirst was unbearable, so he steeled himself and walked into the house.

  The furnishings in the house were simple and old, but relatively clean. Behind the house, there was indeed a well, and Wang Rong hurried forward, scooped up half a bucket of water, and just as he was about to drink it, he was stopped by the girl. All she said was: "Mountain water is hard, drinking it will hurt your intestines and stomach, wait for me to boil some hot water and make tea with you." After finishing speaking, without waiting for Wang Rong's reaction, she had already turned around and walked into the house.

  Wang Rong had no choice but to follow the girl back to her house. After tea was served, they started chatting sporadically. It turned out that this girl's ancestors were surnamed Lin. She lost both parents at a young age and struggled to make ends meet with an elderly grandfather. This place was called Old Tomb Mountain, where ordinary people buried their dead. The girl's grandfather was the guardian of Old Tomb Mountain.

  Originally, Wang Ruan had planned to stay overnight, but since there was only a young woman in the house, it would be inappropriate to ask for lodging. After quenching his thirst, he hastily got up and bid farewell. As he reached the door, Wang Ruan turned back to the girl and bowed: "Thank you for the tea, I will come again someday to thank you!" He then turned around and left, but only heard the girl calling out urgently from behind: "Sir, please wait! This place has high mountains and dense forests, with many forked roads. Traveling at night can be quite inconvenient, what if you get lost again? I see that you are a gentleman, so I'm offering this advice. If you don't mind, you can stay here for the night and leave in the morning, it won't be too late."

  Wang Rong heard the girl's words and couldn't help but hesitate for a moment. But as soon as he thought about this lonely man and woman being in the same room, with many things not quite right according to etiquette, if it were to be spread around, it would likely damage the girl's reputation! So he hurriedly thanked her politely and turned to leave again, only to hear the girl speak up once more: "This mountain forest has many wild beasts roaming about at night. And this place is called Old Tomb Mountain, where there are many eerie and strange things. If you were to leave now, sir, you might really encounter a wild beast or an evil spirit..." At this point, the girl stopped speaking.

  When he heard the words "wild beast", Wang Ruan didn't feel much fear, after all, he had also learned a few years of martial arts from his father. But when the ghost said it, it made him uncontrollably tremble in his heart, and he became somewhat afraid. Later, after thinking about it, he decided to put aside his pride and accept the kindness of the girl, and leave early the next day. After making up his mind, the two returned to the house again.

  The girl arranged the bed for Wang Ruan, then smiled and said: "Young master has been rushing all night, you must be hungry. I'll go make a bowl of noodles for you to eat." After finishing speaking, she walked into the inner room. Wang Ruan had rushed on the mountain road for half the night, so he was indeed a bit hungry, so he didn't decline.

  Before long, the meal was ready, a bowl of hot and steaming clear broth noodles, so fragrant that it tickled his nose. As soon as he smelled the aroma of the food, Wang Rang's stomach growled with hunger, and after thanking the girl, he began to eat voraciously. After devouring a bowl of delicious noodles, Wang Rang felt an indescribable comfort all over his body. Just as he was savoring this delightful feeling, Wang Rang suddenly realized that his head was spinning, and the things in front of him were starting to blur!

  In a daze, the girl in front of him felt so beautiful and charming, with enchanting eyes that beckoned. A whiff of fragrance wafted over, and he felt as if she was sitting right next to him. The girl stretched out her slender jade-like hand and gently placed it on his chest. Looking at the lovely beauty in his arms, Wang Rang's heart grew more and more itchy, his mouth drier with each glance! Finally unable to control himself, he kissed the girl's red lips. Listening to the soft moans of the beauty beside him, Wang Rang spoke softly with a foolish expression: "You're so beautiful, you're so beautiful..."

  The next day, the wild sparrows in the mountains reported dawn, and Wang Rong slowly woke up. Recalling last night's dreamlike wind, flowers, snow, and moon, he really felt that his heart was drunk. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at the person beside him, and suddenly, Wang Rong was frightened with wide eyes and trembled all over!

  What a beautiful woman in his arms! It turned out to be a severely rotten female corpse! Wang Rang hurriedly shouted and pushed the female corpse in his arms, turning his face to look around, only to see that he was surrounded by a desolate wilderness. The house from last night had disappeared! And he himself was lying in an old coffin at this moment, next to him was the rotten woman he had just pushed away!

  Wang Rong hastily pushed aside the coffin lid, wanting to escape. At this time, he heard a coquettish woman's voice beside him: "Young master, you're being very rude! After a night of intimacy, are you just going to leave me like that? Never mind, I won't stop you from leaving, but remember, young master, when you return home, inform your parents and choose an auspicious day to come and marry me. I'll be waiting for you!" She then let out a chilling laugh!

  "Ghost... ghost, ghost, ghost! Ahh!" Wang Rang let out a strange cry and tumbled out of the coffin. He didn't even bother to grab his belongings, and ran down the mountain naked. It wasn't until almost noon that someone who had come into the mountains to collect goods found him, by which time he was already foaming at the mouth and lying unconscious by the riverbank.

  The people who came recognized him as the eldest son of Wang Chongchuan, the king of the capital city, and thus saved his life, sending him back home. From then on, the eldest son of the Wang family, Wang Rang, did not recover from his illness!