Cemetery of the Martyrs

  Waking up from my dream, I found myself lying on the withered grass. My uncle was sitting by the fire pit, using a stick to stir the flames. When he saw me getting ready to get up, he turned around and smiled at me. This smile made my heart flutter with anxiety.

  Uncle's smile was already perfect, and at this moment, it was even more irresistible. He turned around, leaned towards me, his eyebrows and eyes getting closer and closer. I felt Uncle's gentle breath flowing out, passing through my entire body.

  "You love me so much, why didn't you tell me?" Uncle whispered in my ear.

  His whole body shook, what was Uncle Ah saying to me?

  "I know you love me so much." Uncle raised his eyes to look at me, a sly and charming smile spreading across the corners of his mouth. This uncle was somewhat different from the one in my heart, who was like a god.

  I love Uncle, loving such a sacred uncle. I once fantasized that one day when I opened my eyes, Uncle would sit beside me with deep affection, gently stroking my cheek or even giving me a kiss. But this is just a fantasy and nothing more, because I know Uncle will never fall in love with me.

  The only woman in his heart was a dead one.

  When I think of Liu Xi Jun, I don't feel jealous. If it were An Ling Long, my heart would ache. After all, An Ling Long is alive and well in this world, whereas Liu Xi Jun is a female corpse who has been dead for over 2,000 years. Perhaps Uncle's love for Liu Xi Jun is just like having a crush on a male celebrity, putting him on a pedestal in his heart.

  Uncle was never an ordinary person, and putting a woman who died thousands of years ago in his heart is not without reason. In any case, I don't dislike Liu Xiujun, and I have no jealousy towards her at all.

  It's just that now, Uncle is so close to me, and I can still feel his even breathing, with a faint airflow blowing on my face.

  "Uncle, you..." My heart beats faster, if this continues, even if Uncle won't do anything to me, I'm not sure I can guarantee the same for myself towards Uncle.

  "Uh-huh." Uncle gave a light hum, his lips so close to my earlobe that it sent shivers down my spine.

  Uncle's fingers slowly combed through my hair, moving bit by bit until the tip of his finger touched my cheek. I subconsciously turned my head to one side, but met Uncle's gaze instead.

  His behavior today was very strange, but I always believe that Qin Yue Yang, the one I love, is so sacred and inviolable.

  "Are you afraid of me?" Uncle slightly frowned, somewhat puzzled.

  I saw clearly the lines between his eyebrows, a sense of familiarity entwined in my heart, this is my uncle, my real and true uncle.

  "No." I shook my head slightly, feeling a bit embarrassed. What's wrong with Uncle tonight?

  "Why are you hiding from me?" Uncle stretched out his hand and continued to stroke my cheek, his fingernails scratching against my face, a slight tingling sensation, my blood accelerating, if I could at this moment, I would rather give myself to Uncle right then and there.

  Under Ah Shu's gaze, I started to feel a bit uneasy, physically uncomfortable.

  "What's wrong, uncomfortable?" Uncle drew a faint smile from the corner of his mouth, and I looked up at those eyes, deeply trapped in them.

  "No, nothing." I stuttered, still wanting to explain more clearly that I really didn't have any thoughts about Uncle Ah, or maybe it was just that I didn't have any thoughts about him at this moment.

  But my body had already betrayed me, and Uncle took his hand away from my cheek, the warmth disappearing, leaving me feeling more liberated than ever before.

  That hand didn't leave at all, instead it grabbed my waist tightly, and I felt a bit of pain as Uncle's hand went from the bottom up, seemingly about to...

  I suddenly opened my eyes wide, although I had thought that Uncle was coming true, and fantasized that Uncle was real, but when the sense of reality arrived, I was so afraid, looking at Uncle's face getting closer and closer, lips, maybe just a tiny bit of distance, about to touch.

  I swallowed hard, and somehow found the strength to push away Uncle, who was already leaning forward over me, and through his thick clothes, I could feel the warmth of his body.

  This moment came too suddenly, and Uncle may not have thought that I would refuse.

  Yes, Ah Shu is a man, and he's been living with the female lead for a long time. It's inevitable that something will happen between them on those lonely nights. This is a common cliché in books - whenever the male and female leads are together, there's bound to be some kind of entanglement.

  But I stopped this immoral thing in feudal thought at this moment of clarity.

  "Isn't this what you wanted?" Uncle sat up straight, narrowing his eyes at me, looking very puzzled.

  I got up and looked at Uncle sitting by the fire, thinking that if I didn't refuse, it seemed to be about to become a reality, and I felt ashamed and lowered my head.

  "Uncle, I..." I could only call out like this, unable to express my emotions at that moment. I had hoped for something with Uncle, but just as we were about to have it, I was so afraid, afraid that it would be just a temporary impulse and ruin the relationship between me and Uncle.

  Because I know Uncle Ah, if he hadn't suffered some kind of injury or eaten something wrong, he absolutely wouldn't do something like this to me.

  "Uncle, do you still remember what just happened?" My question was a bit silly, but I asked the truth. I didn't believe Uncle would be like this under normal circumstances. Maybe he was possessed by a ghost, or maybe I was having a hallucination after being possessed by a ghost.

  He turned around and glanced at me with a hint of a smile.

  "Of course I remember."

  "Ah——" However, I was still surprised in the end.

  To ease the awkward atmosphere, I turned around and stared at Xiaobai who was sleeping soundly with his eyes closed on a pillow made of dry grass.

  My feet unconsciously moved, and when I turned my head back, Uncle was already standing up, stepping on the occasional fallen leaves blown in by the wind, standing in front of the old temple's peeling red wooden door, with his hands behind his back, a habitual gesture of his.

  Looking at his back, he seems to have worries and a sense of desolation.

  "A Li, let's go out for a walk." Uncle Ah raised his head to look at the moon that was no longer full, sighed deeply, and then turned back to stare at me for a while before speaking slowly.

  "Oh." I had no reason to refuse Uncle's request, since he wanted to go out for a walk, I would accompany him. After the commotion earlier, I was wide awake anyway.

  I didn't want to disturb Xiao Bai, so I got up and brushed off the dry grass that had stuck to my body. I turned back to look at Xiao Bai, who was still recovering from his old injury. The autumn night was cool, so it would be good for him to get a good rest too.

  "Where are we going?" I followed Uncle out of the ancient temple, along the winding path that led down from where we came. Uncle was walking quickly ahead, and I had to hurry to keep up with him. This didn't seem like just a casual stroll anymore; it seemed like something was happening, so I asked Uncle who was walking in front of me.

  "Just take a walk." Uncle didn't stop, went straight ahead. Since he didn't want to answer, I could only follow behind him on this winding muddy path.

  This place is very familiar...

  The surroundings were pitch black, but if Uncle hadn't opened my heavenly eye, I might not have felt scared in this dark night. However, I could still vaguely see everything around me at night.

  My legs felt a bit weak, and although having the Heavenly Eyes was a good thing, at that moment I had an idea - I hoped Uncle would take away this ability of mine. It wasn't because I desperately wanted to get Uncle's kiss; if so, I wouldn't have refused him just now.

  It's just that, here, unlike the earth mounds of Qin Village scattered sparsely on the mountain slope with dozens of graves, it was a vast expanse of densely packed tombs stretching as far as the eye could see.

  Tombstones are crowded together, I don't know if it's to save space or to find neighbors for the dead in the underworld, where the gates are also crowded together, so they can have some company.

  It's a beautiful thing for the dead, but for the living, it's an extremely terrifying thing, especially for someone like me who is afraid of death. My legs are already trembling because Uncle is by my side; if I were left alone here, maybe when I wake up, it would be three or four days later.

  Even if I'm not dizzy, I'll still knock myself out by running into a tree!

  After saying so much, perhaps everyone will wonder, where is this going?

  This is where dead people are buried, in fact, saying so, ghosts also know that this is a place for burying the dead, isn't it nonsense to say so?

  "Uncle, where...where is this?"

  He turned back to look at me, under the moonlight, his face was somewhat gloomy, and this smile immediately became even more ominous.

  "Chaotically Buried Hill."

  Perhaps it was just my illusion, the way Uncle Fang looked just now, it was just my illusion. A formidable person like Uncle Fang would not be possessed by some filthy thing, even vengeful spirits would retreat in his presence, let alone any ghost who dares to haunt him.

  I can only comfort myself like this, because Uncle had already turned around and walked towards the grave mountain after saying the three words "mixed burial hill".

  Staring at Uncle's back as he walked away, my trembling legs couldn't move. The cool breeze blew by, and the few remaining leaves on the nearby bamboo trees rustled softly. I didn't dare turn around, and I let out a slight shiver, unsure of what to do next.

  If I retreat now and run back to the ancient temple, this path that I came from will scare me. But if I move forward, in front of me is a mountain of tombs, which I have already seen before. The chaotic burial grounds are generally places where ghosts often appear, either looking for substitutes or wandering through time. Some may even encounter one or two male ghosts sitting on tombstones to see if there are any beautiful female ghosts coming out to breathe.

  Uncle's back figure is getting farther and farther away, I don't have time to think, just follow Uncle, it's the safest, dare not look around again, gritted my teeth and followed Uncle's footsteps, running all the way, finally caught up with Uncle when we just entered the tombstone pile.

  I grasped the corner of Uncle's clothes, I was afraid, my body couldn't touch him, but his clothes could be touched casually. Uncle seemed to have felt that I had caught up with him, turned his head and smiled at me, and continued walking forward.

  But who is that faint black shadow in front of me?