21: Jiang Daiyu uproots a willow tree

Surrounded by green mountains and clear waters, a murmuring stream flowed under the bridge. By the stream were dozens of households, shaded by green trees and lush bamboo.

Yet, in the blink of an eye, the hometown from childhood memories—Jiang Family Town—transformed.

The once picturesque Jiang Nan town was instantly covered in flying sand and rolling stones; the sky was overcast with dark clouds, and the atmosphere was gloomy and cold.

Furthermore, the once clean and tidy houses had become old and dilapidated.

Half-collapsed beams swayed precariously, yellowed wall bricks were peeling off, and spiderwebs were everywhere, making the entire Jiang Family Town appear dark and dreary.

And most chilling of all, the paper figures in the coffin shop at the end of the alley were actually smiling eerily at Jiang Yi.

"Ahhh! Mommy! Daddy Grim Reaper!"

Jiang Yi ran for his life while screaming in terror, glancing back from time to time, terrified that the filthy things behind him would catch up, just like a rabbit being chased by a hunter.

His foot tripped over a withered locust tree branch, and Jiang Yi suddenly woke up from his bed, bolting upright and throwing the quilt onto the floor. He scrambled out of the bedroom and into the living room.

He gulped down a few mouthfuls of soda, kept patting his chest, and gasped for air, looking as if he had just been fished out of the water. "Thank goodness, it was just a nightmare."

...

Jiang Yi's series of hysterical screams while on the bed had startled the family's Samoyed.

Yeye unlatched the lock on the dog cage, immediately rushed out, and ran into the living room.

"Woof woof woof!"

It barked at Jiang Yi a few times, seemingly wanting to ask what had happened. Then, it gently nudged Jiang Yi with its soft head, as if comforting him.

Looking at the Samoyed, Jiang Yi couldn't stop his tears from flowing. He hugged the Samoyed tightly, choking out, "Wuwuwu! Yeye, thank goodness you're here with me, that's so great!"

Ever since he returned to his hometown to pay respects to his ancestors in July, Jiang Yi's life had started to become abnormal.

For several days in a row, he would have the same nightmare every night, where Jiang Family Town in his dreams became dilapidated and filled with eerie sights.

And behind him, there were always filthy things chasing him.

There was no other way! He could only run for his life, constantly warning himself that if he were caught, he would be trapped in this nightmare forever, unable to wake up.

Jiang Yi regretted it deeply. If he had known it would turn out like this, he definitely would have listened to his grandfather's warning—a saying had always been passed down in Jiang Family Town: "On the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, you must return home before dark, otherwise you are likely to run into unclean things."

Only now did he understand the meaning of these words, but it was already too late.

Jiang Yi rubbed his throbbing forehead, feeling worried about his sister's situation. He wondered if his sister was having the same terrifying nightmares for several days like he was.

Jiang Yi picked up his phone and called his sister.

But the phone kept showing no answer~

...

"Nan Nan... Nan Nan..."

Jiang Nan felt a surge of joy; this voice must be her brother calling her.

"Brother, I'm here at the mass grave!"

Jiang Nan quickly stopped in her tracks and shouted in the direction the voice came from.

Sure enough, a figure was quickly approaching her, but unfortunately, Jiang Nan was too nervous and too eager to leave this haunted place.

She didn't notice that the figure was floating over~

"Brother, where did you run off to just now, leaving me all alone in the mass grave.

It's so gloomy here, you're about to scare your adorable little sister to death." As soon as she finished speaking, seeing her brother still hadn't spoken, Jiang Nan pouted, preparing to let out a barrage of complaints.

"Nan Nan, brother has been looking for you all this time!

Let's stay here together, okay!"

The person approaching revealed an eerie smile; it was clearly Jiang Yi's appearance, but his entire body had turned into paper. No matter how you looked at it, he resembled a paper figure that had just been crafted at the coffin shop at the end of the alley!

Jiang Nan's heart raced in fear, she collapsed to the ground, then quickly scrambled back up.

Greasing the soles of her feet, the twenty-year-veteran homebody ran with the proficiency of an athlete.

The paper figure extended its paper hand and grabbed Jiang Nan's arm directly.

"Won't little sister keep big brother company?"

"Ahhh!!! Help! Brother!"

"There's a ghost! Mommy!"

Jiang Nan felt as if her brain's CPU had instantly exploded. Under extreme fear, her instincts were triggered—the violent genes buried for over twenty years.

She grabbed the paper figure and performed a shoulder throw; the paper figure was light as a feather.

Feeling unsatisfied, she threw it on the ground and stomped on it dozens of times with "bang, bang" sounds, almost unleashing the Foshan Shadowless Kick.

She cursed while stomping: "Let you scare me! Let you scare me!"

The paper figure made "creak, creak" sounds, seemingly about to fall apart at any moment.

Jiang Nan finally stopped, looking panting at the deformed paper figure on the ground.

At this moment, a gust of cold wind blew by, and the paper figure suddenly stood up again, returning to its original appearance, and lunged at Jiang Nan once more.

Jiang Nan widened her eyes and screamed: "Again?!"

She immediately turned and ran, shouting as she ran: "Help!"

A burst of ghostly, furious sounds exploded like a thunderclap, making Jiang Nan's soul tremble.

Jiang Nan felt her soul shake, and the sound of gongs, drums, and suonas rang out in the mass grave.

The sound was like a life-taking curse, chilling one to the bone.

Listening closer, the suona music was like iron chains, binding Jiang Nan's limbs and making her unable to move.

Accompanied by the suona music, a group of ghosts in white robes carried an eight-bearer sedan chair, emerging slowly from a locust forest amidst chilling mist, heading straight for Jiang Nan.

"The auspicious time has arrived, bride, please board the sedan chair."

"Big brothers, you've got the wrong person! I've been single since birth!!!"

"The birth dates have been exchanged, please board the sedan chair, bride."

Jiang Nan's vision went black, and a wave of chilliness spread from her tailbone.

When she opened her eyes, she was wearing an ancient red wedding dress, her limbs bound, lying on a couch.

Turning her head, she saw a skeleton dressed in a groom's wedding attire, its head turning with a "creak, creak" sound to stare fixedly at Jiang Nan, looking like an evil ghost that had crawled out of hell.

"Wife... a moment of the wedding night is worth a thousand pieces of gold..."

"Don't be shameless, who is your wife!"

"Wife, we have exchanged birth dates!" The skeleton lunged at Jiang Nan.

"Ahhh! Ghost!"

Jiang Nan opened her eyes abruptly and sat up, wiping the cold sweat from her face, constantly trying to convince herself with self-suggestion.

"I just had a nightmare, I didn't encounter a ghost. I just had a nightmare, I'm not scared at all."

"Clang!" A sharp sound rang out in the silent night.

Jiang Nan, who was muttering to comfort herself, was startled like a frightened bird, almost jumping to the ceiling.

Reacting instinctively, she shouted loudly: "Hurry as the law dictates! Monsters, reveal yourselves... As you wish, as you wish, according to my will, quickly manifest... Supreme Venerable Sovereign... Buddha Tathagata..."

Just then, Jiang Nan's graduate school classmate opened the bedroom door, hair disheveled, wearing a Northeast-style bright red robe pajamas, poking out a small head, her face as pale as white paper.

Paired with the green light formed by the refraction of the mobile phone's flashlight...

Looking at the terrifying scene before her, Jiang Nan was startled, her eyes widened like copper bells, the whites of her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.

Seeing this, Jiang Nan's classmate hurriedly stepped forward to check, finding that Jiang Nan had only fainted and was otherwise fine. She breathed a sigh of relief and carried Jiang Nan onto the bed.