Chapter 2: The Nightmare Begins

  I felt a strange unease in my heart and quickly grabbed hold of Second Uncle, saying loudly: "Second Uncle, don't listen to him, let's hurry back home!"

  "Xiao Yu, it's okay, anyway we're both late, being a bit later doesn't matter." My second uncle said calmly to me.

  Upon hearing this from Second Uncle, the young man in the shirt hastily laughed and pulled him aside.

  I grasped Second Uncle's hand tightly and exclaimed loudly, "Second Uncle, have you lost your senses to wealth?"

  As soon as I said this sentence, I regretted it. My second uncle is now a money-minded person, but he works hard to make money for what? Isn't it all for me? How could I say something like that...

  As expected, Second Uncle's face fell after hearing this sentence: "Xiao Yu, you read a lot of books, but you really know how to talk."

  After finishing speaking, I shook off his hand heavily.

  "Second Uncle, I..." My heart felt a pang of regret and I hastily wanted to make excuses.

  Second Uncle followed the young man in the shirt to the side without looking back, and a faint voice came: "Xiao Yu, you're in a hurry, just go back by yourself, Second Uncle will go back by himself."

  Since I was young, Second Uncle rarely spoke to me in this tone, so I knew he was really angry. My heart ached with regret. How could I let Second Uncle go alone? I had to hurry up and follow him.

  Through the noisy crowd in the yard, the young man in a shirt led Second Uncle straight to the main room of the new house. I felt uneasy and anxious, closely following Second Uncle. Soon, I saw the main room of the new house, which was sealed off with thick black curtains, as if what was inside couldn't be seen by the light of day, looking very mysterious.

  "Uncle, it's inside." The young man in the shirt pointed at the thick black curtain and smiled at Second Uncle.

  I think his smile looks a bit strange, and I feel even more uneasy in my heart, so I couldn't help but ask: "What's inside?"

  The young man in the shirt smiled at me and said with a hint of sarcasm, "What do you think is inside? Hehe, of course it's a coffin for dead people."

  As he spoke, the young man in the shirt no longer looked at me and instead invited Second Uncle to enter the main house. Second Uncle also seemed to feel that something was off, his face turning solemn, but he didn't hesitate for long, nodding slightly before lifting a corner of the black cloth curtain.

  Even as I stood behind my uncle, at the moment when the black curtain was lifted, a chill still emanated from it. Looking in through the opened black curtain, I saw that inside the main hall, candles flickered, surrounding a large red coffin in the center, which seemed to be stained with blood, its bright red color dazzling.

  In an instant, I felt my breath stagnate, my eyes widened, and I couldn't speak.

  Second Uncle just paused for a moment before poking his head into the main house.

  I unconsciously followed the urge to enter the hall, but felt as if someone was firmly holding me back from behind, making it impossible for me to take a step forward. At the same time, the young man in the shirt also blocked my way in front of me. The curtain on the door fell again, separating me and Second Uncle inside and outside the hall.

  "Little brother," the young man in the shirt said with a smile, "it's not convenient for you to go in there. If something happens, I won't be able to take responsibility. Besides, if you go in and affect your second uncle's spell, what then?"

  Although I was uneasy in my heart, I also knew he was telling the truth, and following him would be useless.

  "Go sit over there for a bit, it won't take long." The young man in the shirt patted me on the shoulder and said with a gentle smile.

  I let out a cold snort, shaking off the hand he had placed on my shoulder, and walked towards a table under the eaves. There was a stool beside the table, I sat down, my eyes fixed intently on the black curtain hanging from the main hall's gate, completely ignoring the curious gazes of the old and young people around me.

  I just hope that Second Uncle can smoothly complete the super-degree.

  After waiting for a while, my second uncle still hadn't come out, and I was getting more and more anxious. I glanced at the table next to me and saw an old man who kept glancing at me, as if he wanted to say something. My heart skipped a beat, and I quickly took the initiative to ask him about the situation here.

  The old man sat down beside me and was about to speak when a shrill voice like that of a female demon suddenly rang out, shouting: "Old Hu!"

  Upon hearing this voice, the old man seemed as if he had been caught by the throat, his face changed color and he hastily stood up and left.

  I was shocked in my heart, looking at the woman who made the sound, only to see a stout woman with a big waist and round shoulders. She gave me a cold look and quickly shifted her gaze elsewhere. At this time, I saw that under the pear tree on the edge of the courtyard, there was a group of people who looked very unusual. When I turned my head to look over, a man with a shaved head was looking at me. As soon as our eyes met, he dodged and shifted his gaze away, pretending to chat and laugh with the woman in leather clothes beside him.

  That table of people was dressed in a way that was not ordinary, looking like they came from a big city. Among them, there was a middle-aged man with a shaved head, wearing a crimson robe and a large string of Buddhist beads around his neck, who looked like a monk and was quite eye-catching. He had his eyebrows lowered and his head bowed, his expression calm, his lips moving slightly, looking as if he were meditating and reciting scriptures.

  "These people are obviously not ordinary guests, what did they come here for?" I'm getting more and more uneasy.

  Just then, I saw the young man in the shirt smiling and walking towards that table of people, as if they were his own kind. Before he even got close, he was already laughing and chatting with them, looking very pleased.

  I vaguely felt that their laughter seemed to convey a sense of sinister triumph, my heart skipped a beat, and I couldn't bear it anymore. I quickly got up and walked towards the main hall. Just as I reached the entrance of the main hall, I heard Second Uncle's muffled grunt coming from inside.

  "Second Uncle..." I exclaimed, just about to rush into the main hall recklessly, when suddenly the black curtain in front of me was lifted from inside, and Second Uncle walked out. He covered his chest with his hand, his face pale, his expression gloomy.

  "Second Uncle," I rushed to his front and anxiously asked, "What's wrong?"

  My second uncle lifted his head and looked at me quietly.

  At that moment, I found Second Uncle's gaze seemed somewhat unfamiliar.

  At the same time, I felt as if someone was pulling me from behind.

  But just for a brief moment, in the blink of an eye, Second Uncle's gaze became familiar again, only looking a bit tired. I suspected that I had just seen things, and my heart slightly calmed down, hurriedly asking Second Uncle what had happened earlier.

  Second Uncle seemed unwilling to say more, he just shook his head, his face looking unusually pale.

  At this time, a middle-aged man with a scarred face suddenly rushed out of the house next to the main room and shouted at Ershu: "I'm asking you, are you or aren't you a Taoist? Can you or can't you do magic? Dammit, now everything has been messed up by you! I'll see how you get out of this!"

  Second Uncle seemed to be at a loss for words, facing this burly man's fierce questioning, and could only nod repeatedly.

  I don't know what just happened, staring at the scene in front of me, I was stunned.

  "What a fake Taoist master you are!" The burly man with a thick beard was furious, grabbing the collar of Ershu's Taoist robe and shouting loudly, "You've done a great job! You've deceived me!"

  Second Uncle was held by others and did not struggle, but only nodded humbly, his face pale.

  A surge of blood rushed to my chest, I let out a loud roar and punched the puffy-faced man in the mouth with all my might, shouting: "Get out of here! My second uncle is indeed a Taoist master, how dare you say he's an imposter?"

  The burly-faced man was punched by me and stumbled, releasing the grip on my uncle's robe. However, he immediately shouted in anger and tried to pounce on me. At this time, people who were trying to mediate had already gathered around, with two sturdy young men holding the burly-faced man back, repeatedly advising him not to be impulsive.

  I and Second Uncle were also pulled apart and walked towards the courtyard.

  "Hong boss, this is Nie Wenshan, Master Nie from Yunlong Dam."

  "Yes, I know him, he often does fortune-telling for people, but he's not a swindler."

  In the midst of the cacophony, some voices were saying this. But Hong Laoban, the stout-faced man being held back, was still yelling and cursing, calling Ershu a swindler, a bastard, and a piece of dog shit!

  At that moment, I only felt a surge of angry blood churning in my chest, my ears buzzing with rage, and all I wanted to do was rush forward and beat up Old Man Hong. But just as I moved, I was held back by someone. I turned around to see that it was Second Uncle who had grabbed me. At that moment, Second Uncle's expression was extremely gloomy, his eyebrows furrowed in a frown, and he sighed as he said: "Xiao Yu, forget it."

  He seemed completely defeated, with no spirit left in him at all.

  I was stunned.

  Then I was mechanically dragged forward by someone until I walked out of the yard before I came to myself.

  I and Second Uncle arrived on the road, the young man in the shirt stood in front of Second Uncle, shook his head regretfully and said: "Uncle, it's really a pity that you didn't succeed in this matter. Boss Hong is very angry and won't give you any reward. However, considering you had no merit but did have hard work, I'll personally spend my own money to give you 300 yuan."

  As they spoke, the young man in the shirt took out 300 yuan and handed it over to Second Uncle, who did not accept it.

  A surge of anger burst out in my heart, and I couldn't hold it back anymore. I grabbed the 300 yuan and slammed it into the young man's face, shouting: "Who wants your stinky money? Get out!"

  On the way back, I kept asking Second Uncle what had happened in that main room, but he didn't answer anything and just walked silently.

  Later, I had nothing to say and only felt a wave of sadness in my heart. After walking for what felt like an eternity, we finally arrived home. Seeing the two of us walk into the house like zombies, our little sister and second daughter were instantly stunned.

  Second Aunt asked Second Uncle what was wrong, and Second Uncle only said in a gloomy tone "Nothing's wrong", then walked straight into the bedroom. Second Aunt and Little Sister thought Second Uncle was just too tired, so they didn't ask him anything else, but instead turned to me and asked about the Buddhist rituals I had been performing outside for the past few days.

  I forced a smile and pretended to be relaxed, barely managing to tell them about the past few days. However, I didn't mention a word about what happened at Old Huang's house in Shiziba during dusk.

  That night, I couldn't sleep and finally burst into loud sobs under the quilt in the middle of the night.

  The whole village of Yunlongba's dogs, on the night that nightmare began, seemed to have gone mad, wailing in terror for a whole night, disturbing the peace of the entire village.