Chapter 3 Various Abnormalities

  Before each disaster occurs, there are often signs, but people in it often do not realize that until the disaster really comes, it is already late. The next day after that night, I saw my uncle get up early to do things, his expression was no different from before, and he was in good spirits, looking like nothing was wrong with his body, and his heart was calm.

  As I watched the faintly red sunlight rising in the morning, I thought to myself that it would be best if the incident at Shiziba could just pass by, as long as my uncle was able to let go and his body was fine. I hoped that the matter would quietly fade away into oblivion.

  The second daughter and younger sister saw that Second Uncle was a bit pale in the face, but everything else was normal, and they also put their minds at ease.

  Days went by as usual, and my little sister and I carried baskets on our backs to cut grass in the mountains.

  When walking in the village, I heard that all the uncles and elders in the village were discussing the barking of dogs last night. Yesterday, all the dogs in the village barked like they were crazy, which was very unusual. However, for people in mountain villages, this kind of thing is not a big deal, just a few words of discussion and it's over, it won't be taken to heart.

  Little sister also asked me about dog barking, I didn't know how to answer, and shook my head with a bitter smile.

  I really don't know why those dogs were barking non-stop last night, all I know is that because of the dog's barking, my muffled sobs under the quilt weren't heard by Little Sister and Second Aunt.

  Last night I cried, to be honest, I don't know why either.

  Some things are just like that, and it's hard to clearly tell others about them.

  After cutting the grass on the mountain, my little sister and I sat down beside the cornfield to take a rest. We looked at the misty forest in front of us and talked about me going to university for registration two months later. Although my little sister didn't like studying, she had many fantasies about universities and said that when I went to register, she must go with me to visit the campus.

  I naturally agreed, and in fact, my uncle had already told me that when I reported to university, our whole family would go together. He said that for most of his life, he had never taken my aunt on a trip outside, and now was the perfect opportunity to take her out to see the world.

  Thinking of the whole family seeing me off to college two months later, I feel warm in my heart and look forward to that day.

  After chatting for a while, I and little sister each carried a basket of green grass down the mountain.

  When I got home, I saw my second uncle killing a chicken.

  It's not strange to kill a chicken, Erniang had already said it early in the morning. My uncle and I have been busy with Buddhist rituals outside for several days, she wants to make spicy chicken to reward us, now it must be Erniang asking my uncle to help kill the chicken. What surprised me was an action of my uncle after killing the chicken. After he killed the chicken, his hands were covered in blood, then I saw him licking the warm and fresh chicken blood on his hand, with a look that showed several points of greed.

  "Dad, how can you eat chicken blood?" Little sister exclaimed in surprise at this scene.

  Upon hearing Little Sister's voice, Second Uncle's body stiffened slightly, but he quickly regained his composure and smiled at us, saying: "It's nothing, I just wanted to try the taste of this chicken blood."

  His mouth and teeth still had chicken blood on them, and his smile was a bit frightening.

  Little sister frowned and complained: "Dad, your mouth is all bloody, it's disgusting."

  Second Uncle hastily used his hand to wipe away the blood on his mouth, but his hands were also covered in blood, and the more he wiped, the more there was.

  The little sister glared at him and turned around to go into the house, took out a wet towel and handed it to him to wipe his hands and mouth.

  Second Uncle wiped off the chicken blood from his hand and mouth, revealing a somewhat embarrassed smile at me and Little Sister.

  "Ah," the little sister stomped her foot in anger, shouting, "There's still blood on your teeth!" As she spoke, she tiptoed and directly wiped the blood off his teeth with her hand. After wiping it clean, she seemed to feel a sense of accomplishment and giggled.

  "Hey little sister, when will you be able to grow as tall as your dad?"

  In our family, Second Uncle is the tallest. Second Aunt often jokes that when Second Uncle was young, he had a great talent and many girls from nearby villages wanted to marry him, but in the end, no one could win over Second Aunt. Second Aunt isn't very tall, but she has beautiful eyebrows and eyes, and when she was young, she was also famous for her beauty far and near.

  Little sister inherits the good looks of her parents, with a beautiful face and delicate features. She has basically inherited all the advantages of her uncle and aunt in terms of appearance, except for one thing - she didn't inherit her uncle's height. Although she is not short, at around 1.6 meters tall, sometimes when watching TV and seeing those female celebrities with their tall figures, she feels a little down. This often becomes a joke made by her uncle.

  Now listening to Second Uncle saying he is shorter than him, Little Sister was speechless and said in a bad tone: "Dad, don't be so smug, I'm only 17 now, later I'll definitely grow taller than you."

  As I watched them laughing and chatting, the sense of unease that had originally arisen in my heart gradually dissipated.

  I think there are many people in this world who drink raw chicken blood, so what's the big deal if Second Uncle tries some? I shouldn't be thinking wildly.

  However, this peace of mind was soon broken by my second uncle's actions.

  When eating, looking at a large plate of fragrant and spicy chicken, Second Uncle was originally enthusiastic and had a big appetite. However, after he ate a piece of fragrant and spicy chicken, his face suddenly changed color, and then without warning, he bent down, making retching sounds with his mouth, as if he wanted to spit out the chicken he had eaten.

  I and Erniang, little sister looked at each other in surprise, and hastily asked Erbo what was wrong.

  Second Uncle let out a few dry coughs, then lifted his head up, his face looking very unsightly, and didn't respond to our words.

  My heart skipped a beat as I recalled what happened at Old Hong's house in Shiziba last night. At that time, I heard my second uncle grunt in the mourning hall, and when he came out, he covered his chest with his hand, his face pale.

  "What exactly happened in that temple?" I worriedly thought, "Was Second Uncle injured or something?"

  I was worried about Second Uncle, but I also knew that I couldn't tell Second Aunt and Little Sister about the incident at Lion's Mouth Dam, so I held back and didn't ask.

  The second uncle did not eat another piece of spicy chicken. He hastily finished the rice and then put down his bowl, no longer eating.

  The second daughter-in-law anxiously asked him if he was uncomfortable, whether he wanted to go out and see a doctor. The second uncle just mumbled that nothing was wrong, only had no appetite, and didn't say much, then walked out of the house alone.

  Although we were worried about Second Uncle, we still thought of the good side of things. We thought that Second Uncle was just too tired from doing chores in the morning and had a poor appetite, nothing more. Moreover, Second Uncle's spirit did not seem to be weak, he didn't look like he was sick.

  I thought the matter had passed, but unexpectedly, at dinner time, my uncle showed abnormal behavior again. He was very resistant to spicy and greasy dishes like chicken with chili peppers, and could only eat some light vegetarian dishes. He even used cold tea to soak his rice, eating it hastily, which actually made him feel much better.

  This situation has never happened before, and I am very puzzled along with Erniang and Xiaomei.

  Second Uncle only ate a bowl of cold tea porridge and then stopped eating. Second Aunt couldn't bear it anymore, and asked Second Uncle if he was uncomfortable or not feeling well, telling him not to hide it and go see a doctor as soon as possible. Many rural people have the habit of saving money by enduring their discomfort when they are unwell, thinking that minor illnesses can heal on their own. However, some minor illnesses can become terminal illnesses if left untreated.

  Second Aunt is worried that Second Uncle will hide his illness and not say anything in order to save money, thus delaying treatment.

  Under the urging of Erniang, Ershu was still silent. When Erniang urged him again, he suddenly became angry and scolded Erniang repeatedly. Erniang cried out in anger, and as soon as she heard her crying, Ershu's momentum dissipated, and he sat down with a gloomy expression, saying that he was willing to see a doctor and asking Erniang to accompany him.

  He agreed to see a doctor, and Erniang finally stopped crying. We hastily finished dinner, and my little sister and I said we would accompany Erbo and Erniang to the street. Erniang did not object, after all, walking at night with two more people was quite lively.

  So we set out as a family with flashlights and walked through the night to the town ten miles away.

  All the way, Second Uncle didn't say much, and when stray dogs saw him on the road, they tucked their tails between their legs and fled with a mournful howl.

  The second daughter and the little sister thought it was my fault, and they didn't suspect anything. Indeed, I did look quite strange, even the vicious dogs in the village didn't dare to be presumptuous when they saw me, so at that time, I also thought it was my fault and didn't think much about it.

  When we arrived at the street, the doctor from the health clinic diagnosed my second uncle and told us that he was fine, just a bit weak, prescribed some medicine and asked my second aunt to cook more delicious food for him.

  After getting the doctor's diagnosis, we felt much more at ease. Following the doctor's instructions, after leaving the clinic, Erniang said she wanted to buy some supplements for Ershu to eat, but she didn't know what to buy, so she just bought a bit of everything, spending quite a lot of money. After returning home, Erniang told Ershu to eat those supplements, but he was very resistant and only ate a little before saying he wouldn't eat any more. Erniang was furious, saying that buying the supplements for Ershu to not eat them was truly a waste of money. No matter how angry Erniang got, Ershu just hung his head and didn't respond.

  The second daughter was so angry that she couldn't help but in a fit of rage, gave all those supplements to me and my little sister to eat.

  I'm worried, and even taking supplements doesn't taste good. Taking advantage of when Erniang and Xiaomei went to the kitchen to boil water, I looked at Erbo with a serious face and asked if he was injured at Hong Laoban's house in Shiziba Dam. With Erniang and Xiaomei not around, Erbo became much more cooperative, willing to speak with me in a calm tone, but after all the talk, he still didn't clearly tell me whether he was injured or not. I pressed him for an answer, and he solemnly told me that nothing was wrong with him, just a bit unwell.

  "What's wrong?" I heard a chill in my heart, staring blankly at Second Uncle, with an inexplicable sense of horror, unable to speak.

  "Xiao Yu," Second Uncle looked at me calmly, his voice a few degrees warmer, "Second Uncle is really fine, don't ask me anything again in the future, so as not to worry your mother and little sister."

  I asked Second Uncle if he was really okay for the last time, and he nodded firmly and gave me an apologetic smile.

  "Why did Second Uncle have an embarrassed smile?" I wondered in my heart. But I didn't want to think about it too pessimistically, and subconsciously I still believed that Second Uncle was really okay, gradually suppressing the unease in my heart.

  Tonight, the dogs in Yunlongba started barking loudly and fearfully again, non-stop. At midnight, I was woken up by the noise and couldn't fall asleep anymore, so I got out of bed and walked out of the house.

  The moonlight is like this, shrouding Yunlong Dam, as if it were a silver-white gauze.

  If it weren't for the frantic barking of dogs in the distance, before my eyes would be a beautiful and peaceful mountain village night scene. The anxious and terrified dog barks destroyed all this, I heard faintly someone's voice nearby, seemingly like me being woken up by the dog barks, the uncles got out of bed too.

  I didn't have the leisure to greet them, so I stood quietly for a while. Suddenly, a gust of night wind blew over, and I felt an inexplicable chill, unable to help but wrap my arms around myself, thinking of going back inside. But just then, I suddenly heard strange noises coming from the pigpen on the left side of the courtyard, like the croaking sound of frogs flashing by.