Nightmare

Chapter 27

After changing the bedding for He's mother and He Jing, Lin Hong took the soiled old mattress to the bathroom, disassembled it, and soaked it in water. She then cleaned up the vomit her husband had just thrown on the bed, leaving him half asleep. Exhausted, Lin Hong plopped down on the sofa and fell asleep.

It was just before dawn. The river was flowing quietly outside, and something was gradually emerging in the darkness. This thing seemed to carry a mysterious power, dragging the whole world into boundless darkness.

Dark forces were gathering, and dark images were appearing and disappearing, little by little, drop by drop. Slowly, the lights inside the three-story building went out, but a dark figure became clearer and clearer. Finally, this dark figure passed through the second-floor corridor and wandered around the building. When it passed a window, the dim light outside illuminated the blurry figure of a woman in white.

The woman in white walked to He Jing's door, paused for a moment, then opened the door and silently entered the room.

While fast asleep, He Jing sensed an ominous sign of impending doom and abruptly opened her eyes.

9)

"Hey, wake up, He Ming, wake up." Feeling someone forcefully slapping his face and splashing cold water on it, He Ming, still fast asleep, grumbled in dissatisfaction and opened his eyes. He saw Lin Hong, whose face was full of anxiety, standing in front of him: "He Ming, hurry up and open your eyes, something has happened at home again."

"What... happened?" He Ming yawned irritably, squinted at the strong sunlight streaming in through the window, and stretched his aching body. "What time is it?"

“It’s already noon,” Lin Hong told him urgently. “Something’s happened at home. My second sister… she… she’s gone missing.”

"Gone?" He Ming's eyes were open, but his head was throbbing, and his brain hadn't returned to normal thinking. "What do you mean, gone?"

“She’s gone, that means we can’t find her.” Lin Hong was so anxious she was almost crying. “Last night she was completely paralyzed and couldn’t move. She even soiled the bed. I changed the bedding for her and Mom, and because I was so tired, I fell asleep on the sofa. When I woke up and went back into her room, she was gone.”

"Oh, I thought it was nothing serious," He Ming stretched irritably. "Please, wife, let me sleep a little longer. My head hurts so much. That bastard Du Hongyuan actually put sleeping pills in my beer. He's a real piece of work." With that, he lay down and went back to sleep.

Lin Hong, furious, dragged him up: "He Ming, please get up quickly, something bad has happened at home again! My second sister has gone missing."

He Ming opened his eyes impatiently: "Hey wife, are you ever going to stop? My second sister is almost forty years old, how could she disappear? Don't joke around."

“I’m telling the truth,” Lin Hong said, her face turning pale with anxiety. “If you don’t believe me, go and see for yourself. Her room is completely empty.”

"So what if it's empty?" He Ming said unhappily, "She must have gone out again. She's always like that."

"The problem is that she's paralyzed and can't walk at all!" Lin Hong shouted.

"Who said she's paralyzed?" He Ming sat up. "She's my second sister, don't I know her well?"

Lin Hong was stunned for a moment: "You're saying she's faking it? Then why would she do that? Putting feces and urine in the blankets, ruining herself and others, what is she doing?"

“She’s not faking it; she really is paralyzed,” He Ming told Lin Hong. “But she is also a healthy person; she has no illness at all, and she’s healthier than you and me.”

"What are you talking about?" Lin Hong asked, puzzled. "Is my second sister really paralyzed, or not? If she is, she is; if she isn't, she isn't. How can someone be both healthy and paralyzed at the same time?"

"How could there not be?" He Ming rubbed his face vigorously with both hands, trying to clear his mind: "There are many clinical cases like hers. She has normal physical health and functions, and there is nothing wrong with her, but she just can't get out of bed and walk. She is incontinent and cannot take care of herself. There are many, many cases like this."

"What exactly happened?" Lin Hong sat down. "Can you explain this to me clearly?"

He Ming sighed, "Honghong, you should really read more books on psychology when you have time, otherwise you would be so ignorant."

"You call me ignorant?" Lin Hong was furious, standing up abruptly. "He Ming, what are you saying? 'When do I have time?' How could I possibly have time? Look at your family! You're my husband, yet you bring a man home to be drugged. If I hadn't called Lao Qin, who knows what would have happened to your wife? And look at your family! Your father clings to my hand, wailing and crying the moment I leave, while you just sleep like a dead pig. Your mother and sister torment me in all sorts of ways. How unlucky I was to marry you..."

"Alright, alright, it's all my fault," He Ming said, trying to comfort Lin Hong without wanting to argue. "Yesterday's events were indeed my fault. I never expected Du Hongyuan to pull this stunt on me. Isn't that strange?" As he spoke, his gaze slowly shifted to Lin Hong, flickering with uncertainty. "Last time you had an accident, he sent you to a hotel for over a week. What happened during that week? As your husband, I had no idea."

"What do you mean?" Lin Hong felt as if she had been struck on the head, and staggered back two steps. "Do you suspect that I have done something to wrong you?"

“I didn’t say that, you said it yourself.” He Ming stared directly at Lin Hong with his cold eyes and said, word by word.

"Fine, fine, fine," Lin Hong trembled with anger. "He Ming, I only see through you today. You've never trusted me. In your eyes, I'm not your wife at all. I'm just... never mind. Since we don't even have basic trust in each other, what's the point of our marriage? Fine, I'm leaving. I'm leaving this place. From now on, we'll have nothing to do with each other anymore!"

He Ming's icy voice rang out from behind: "You've been looking for a reason to leave all along, haven't you? So there's no need to seek any justification for your actions. You've always been like this, we both know that. Now you must be filled with unspeakable regret. Now you finally have a reason, don't you?"

Lin Hong glanced at him with disgust, too lazy to even say another word, and went back to her room to pack her clothes. He Ming didn't try to stop her, and just lay down to continue sleeping. When Lin Hong finished packing and came out, she heard a thud, and the trembling He Zhenggang came out, leaning against the wall with one hand, tears streaming down his face, and anxiously stopped her: "Little Pig, don't go, Little Pig, you can't go!" As he spoke, his withered hand gripped Lin Hong's collar tightly.

"Dad, let go of me! I'm not a little pig!" Lin Hong cried angrily, "Let go of me! I'm not a little pig!"

“Oh, you’re not Little Pig, you’re Honghong,” the old man seemed remarkably clear-headed, leaving Lin Hong speechless. “Honghong, you’re not leaving. Don’t argue over such a trivial matter. Every couple argues sometimes. It’s okay to argue, but why get so angry? Xiaoming, come over here and apologize to Honghong.”

"Dad, it's not like that," Lin Hong was about to explain when He Zhenggang suddenly swayed. Lin Hong panicked and hurriedly supported him, preventing the old man from falling. However, the old man was too heavy, and she couldn't lift him up no matter what she did. She cried out in distress, "He Ming, He Ming, you damned bastard, you don't even care about your own father?"

He Ming rushed out of the room and, together with Lin Hong, helped He Zhenggang back inside. This ordeal finally sobered him up, and he kept apologizing and pleading with Lin Hong, refusing to let her leave. Lin Hong did want to leave, but she knew that if she left at this crucial moment, their relationship would truly be over. Even if He Ming was magnanimous, he probably wouldn't forgive her for abandoning him at the most critical time. So, He Zhenggang's confused interruption gave her a way out. However, she had made up her mind never to forgive He Ming for what he had just said to her; it was the most vicious insult a woman like her could receive. She would leave as soon as He Zhenggang recovered.

So although Lin Hong was no longer angry with He Ming, her feelings for him plummeted. After dinner and arranging for He Zhenggang and his mother to go to bed, the riverside building once again fell into darkness and silence. Until that ghostly white figure floated out. But even so, the ghost's appearance was still silent. Only He's mother felt it. She suddenly opened her eyes in her sleep but did not make a sound.

10)

When He Ming got up in the morning, he went out of his room, pushed open He Zhenggang's door, and saw that He Zhenggang was curled up like an infant. He frowned and called out, "Dad." He Zhenggang's body trembled violently, but he didn't say anything. However, his face was twisted beyond recognition, and his withered and old hands covered his face tightly.

Seeing his father's appearance, He Ming frowned and went inside: "Dad, has your illness flared up again?"

He Zhenggang looked at his son's face with a slightly surprised expression, then suddenly screamed, covered his head with his hands, and desperately hid in the corner of the wall. He hid so hard that he wished he could squeeze himself into the wall and hide forever.

He Ming shook his head and muttered to himself, "I have to go find Ma Caishen again. Look at the mess this has made. If I had known it would turn out like this, I shouldn't have chased him away in the first place."

As he spoke, he went to his mother's room and knocked on the door. This manner of his was a natural quality; he always respected others, believing that only by respecting others could he earn their respect in return. After knocking, he opened the door, looked inside, and couldn't help but be taken aback.

The room was empty; Mother He was nowhere to be found. Only half of the quilt hung down from the bed. Mother He's clothes and shoes were all quietly placed in their original places, clearly untouched.

He Ming frowned and stood there for a long time, as if he had suddenly realized something. He rushed to his second sister He Jing's door, pushed it open abruptly, and saw that He Jing's room was exactly the same as He's mother's room. He Jing's clothes and shoes were still there, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Scratching his head in surprise, He Ming left He Jing's room and ran into Lin Hong, who was rubbing her sleepy eyes as she came out of her room. She was taken aback when she saw him and asked, "What's wrong now?"

He Ming seemed at a loss, spinning around in circles: "My mom...she...she went out too, just like my second sister."

Lin Hong glared at him, walked to the door of He's mother's room, pushed it open and looked inside. Then she turned around with a puzzled look on her face and said, "He Ming, tell me the truth, are your mother and your second sister really sick or are they faking it?"

"What's the difference between a real and a fake illness?" He Ming's face was extremely pale. "Of course it's a real illness."

"If it's a real illness, how come they were still able to walk?" Lin Hong asked angrily.

"Because they have delusions." He Ming's expression was very awkward, as if he was unwilling to tell Lin Hong about this.

"What is hypochondria?" Lin Hong pressed.

“Hypochondria,” He Ming said, his expression utterly pathetic. “Hypochondria means that their bodies are not sick at all, but they believe they are sick. Under this psychological suggestion, they actually become sick.”

"What on earth is going on?!" Lin Hong exclaimed angrily, "Why are they faking illness?"

“It’s not faking illness, it’s delusional!” He Ming repeated again, somewhat annoyed. “They avoid certain things in their hearts, or they are anxious about being powerless in a certain situation, or they are afraid when they encounter danger. All of these can cause them to develop an avoidance mentality and strengthen their avoidant personality. As a result, when they encounter a situation, such as a situation that they are unable to manage, they become ill.”

"Hmph, in the end, it's all just faking illness!" Lin Hong was trembling with anger. "No wonder they respond better to gentleness than force. The better you treat them, the more problems they have. But if you scold them a couple of times, they become much more obedient. You family—wait, where did they all suddenly disappear to? Where did they go?"

He Ming suddenly became angry: "I was wondering about that too!"

Lin Hong glared at He Ming, pushed open He Zhenggang's door and went inside, asking, "Dad, where did Mom and the others go?"

He Zhenggang's body shuddered violently, his ears twitching strangely. Slowly, he turned his face to look at Lin Hong, his expression indescribably eerie. His body, like a boneless jellyfish, slowly writhed and slid to the ground. He gave Lin Hong a shrill laugh, a laugh that sent chills down one's spine.

The eerie laugh sent chills down Lin Hong's spine. She quickly backed away and cried out, "He Ming, He Ming, come quick! What's wrong with your dad again?"

Before Lin Hong could finish speaking, He Zhenggang had already knelt down, supporting himself on the bed with one hand, and began to wail loudly at Lin Hong: "Zhu Hua, Zhu Hua, don't hate me! Just forget what happened back then. It was all my fault. I shouldn't have bullied you like that. Please, just forget it. It's not easy for me to live to this age. Just let me have a peaceful end."

He Ming walked over and muttered, "Dad, stop making a fool of yourself like this." He tried to help He Zhenggang up, but He Zhenggang grabbed him and tried to drag him to the ground. He Zhenggang cried out, "Xiao Ming, Xiao Ming, kneel down and beg Sister Zhu for your father's life! Please, Sister Zhu, let your father go! Hurry up, my good son! I beg you, kneel down and kowtow to Sister Zhu!"

He Zhenggang was incredibly strong, almost dragging He Ming to the ground. Furious, He Ming shouted into He Zhenggang's ear, "Dad, stop messing around! This isn't Sister Zhu. Sister Zhu passed away thirty years ago. This is your daughter-in-law!"

"Daughter-in-law?" He Zhenggang looked closely at Lin Hong's pale and bluish face, and chuckled: "Don't lie to me, I recognize you. You are Zhu Hua. No matter who you were reincarnated into, you can't fool me. You are not my daughter-in-law, you are Zhu Hua, and you have come to avenge the blood feud from thirty years ago!"

"Dad, don't talk nonsense, go back to bed!" He Ming had already broken free from He Zhenggang's grasp and hugged his father's waist, pushing He Zhenggang onto the bed: "Dad, Dad, I beg you, please calm down, that's Lin Hong, really not Sister Zhu, you're just scaring yourself."

"No, I know she's Zhu Hua!" Although his son had forcibly pinned him to the bed, He Zhenggang's frightening eyes were bloodshot, yet he kept his head turned and stared intently at Lin Hong: "Zhu Hua, I recognize you, how could I not recognize you? What happened back then, I was a little wrong, but it's all in the past, let bygones be bygones. If we keep dwelling on things, what's the point of living—I mean, what's the point of me living? I, He Zhenggang, haven't done much in my life, and I've offended countless people. If they all came to me like you, I'd rather..."

He Ming closed the door, shutting out He Zhenggang's incessant chatter from inside. Looking at Lin Hong's expression, a mixture of fear and surprise, he gave a wry smile: "Don't mind him. My dad has always been like this. When you're an official, when you're making decisions, it's inevitable that some people's interests will be harmed, and it's inevitable that you'll incur people's resentment. He just feels guilty about it, which is why he keeps muttering like this."

Lin Hong looked coldly at her husband: "Is the Zhu Hua that your father keeps calling out the same Zhu Hua, the nanny from back then?"

"You know that's enough, don't ask any more questions." He Ming suddenly got angry and shouted loudly.

The day passed just like that. Because of He Zhenggang's antics, she had no time to inquire about the whereabouts of He's mother and He Jing. That night, Lin Hong lay in bed fully clothed, unable to fall asleep. Suddenly, she sat up. In the corridor outside, she heard a faint sound, as if someone was tiptoeing.

Chapter Ten: Generations of Feuds

1)

Countless vengeful spirits wailed in the darkness, and chilling flames of blood flowed overwhelmingly. The extreme burning sensation, like a red-hot iron blade, pierced deep into his heart, bringing He Ming endless pain and sorrow. He struggled desperately on the bed, feeling countless hands tearing open his chest, the excruciating pain causing him to let out screams of agony.

With a scream, he sat up abruptly, breathing heavily, and looked around in alarm. Oh, he was still in his bedroom, in his own bed. This discovery eased his tension. He got out of bed barefoot, poured himself a glass of water, and gulped it down.

Just then, he felt a sharp pain in the sole of his foot. He lifted his foot and looked down to see that the sole of his snow-white sock had inexplicably turned black, with bits of grass and leaves stuck to it. Just as he was wondering what was going on, a loud ringing of the doorbell suddenly startled him, and he realized that someone was ringing the doorbell outside.

The doorbell had been ringing for a long time, but he was so caught up in the nightmare that he didn't realize it.

Looking out at the dark night sky, He Ming muttered to himself, wondering who would come to their house so late at night? He grabbed a coat and put it on, then went downstairs, calling out, "Coming, coming!" as he opened the door.

A woman with an elegant demeanor stood outside the door, dragging a large leather suitcase. Upon seeing her, He Ming was overjoyed: "Big sister, you're back?"

He Ying merely snorted and ordered, "Take my suitcase inside." With that, she went inside first.

He Ming hurriedly dragged his suitcase and followed behind, saying, "Big sister, you're finally back! If you hadn't come back, I might have called you. You have no idea how many things have happened at home since you left. They're all so strange and inexplicable, so bizarre and unpredictable..." As he was speaking, He Ying had already quickly gone upstairs and came down again in the blink of an eye: "Where's Dad?"

"Our dad?" He Ming blinked in surprise. "He's sleeping in his room."

"Don't talk nonsense!" He Ying was furious and scolded, "Go upstairs and see for yourself."

He Ming's face changed, and he hurriedly dropped his suitcase, rushing upstairs in a few strides. When he opened He Zhenggang's room, he was stunned. He Zhenggang's room was exactly the same as his mother's and He Jing's rooms; the shoes and clothes were all neatly placed there, but the person was nowhere to be seen.

While He Ming was still confused, He Ying suddenly shouted, "Xiao Ming, where's your wife?"

He Ming was startled by his older sister's voice and hurriedly pushed open Lin Hong's room again. His face turned pale instantly. Lin Hong's room was also empty, except that her shoes were gone. It was clear that she had left with her shoes on. If He Ying hadn't suddenly returned, He Ming, who was sleeping like a log, probably wouldn't have discovered it until dawn the next day.

“Tell me the truth,” He Ying walked up to He Ming and said sternly, “Where did your wife take our whole family?”

He Ming seemed to have been struck on the head, his body swaying slightly, and he stammered with a pale face, "Big sister, things haven't been cleared up yet, shouldn't we be more careful?"

"It's too late to draw conclusions now!" He Ying was furious. "Do you know how I got back? I suddenly received a call for help from Dad. His voice was trembling with fear on the phone, and he was crying so hard that I cried too. He begged me to come back and save him because his daughter-in-law was possessed by a vengeful ghost. Am I wrong?"

"Possessed by a vengeful ghost?" He Ming's face turned even more grim: "Big sister, it's best not to say such things. There's no such thing as a ghost."

“But this is what our father told me himself.” He Ying walked up to He Ming and looked him straight in the eyes. “Think about it carefully. Your wife has been very strange from the very beginning. I still remember how she looked when I found her in that remote border town. There was a kind of panic in her expression. She was clearly running away from something, being chased by something terrible. Think about it carefully. Have any strange things happened in your life after you got married?”

“There are strange things,” He Ming admitted, “but those were all done by the little pig, and have nothing to do with Hong Hong.”

"You're still protecting her at a time like this?" He Ying was furious. "This is clearly a smokescreen by that woman. I was blind too, how could I not see it? I was fooled by her. Call the police right now. I don't want that woman to treat our family like this." As she spoke, she walked over to grab the phone, but He Ming suddenly grabbed her arm.

Looking back in surprise, He Ying saw He Ming's pleading expression and was furious: "Are you afraid of calling the police and sending your wife to jail?"

Unexpectedly, He Ming shook his head: "No."

"Then why?" He Ying didn't understand.

He Ming grabbed He Ying's clothes and knelt down with a thud: "Big sister, please, if you go back this time, take me with you. I'm so scared. I have nightmares every night, dreaming that the police are knocking on the door."

"What's it to you if the police knock on the door? Why are you so scared?" Taking a step back, He Ying's expression suddenly changed: "Xiao Ming, is it... true that those rumors outside about our dad embezzling money are true?"

“Absolutely right,” He Ming said with a bitter smile. “Big sister, why are you pretending to be confused? I opened this Huaming Company to launder money for Dad. Do you think I’m some kind of business genius? Making tens of millions just by opening the company door? The competition in the business world is the most ruthless. If it weren’t for Second Sister being swindled out of all the money we made, I would have taken the whole family and fled abroad long ago. But now we don’t even dare to report it to the police. As soon as they check the accounts, they’ll find that the company has been losing money. Besides, the purpose of sending you abroad in the first place was also to launder money through this method. Who knew… who knew things would turn out like this, with our whole family disappearing? Big sister, please take me with you, or it might be your turn next…”

A sharp slap landed on He Ming's face. He Ying angrily shouted, "You good-for-nothing! What can I say about you? Dad ignored my advice and went through so much trouble to register your company, then used administrative means to squeeze out all your competitors. To put it bluntly, he just wanted you to make money. I couldn't stand your behavior, so I fled the country. And here you are, letting the company lose money, and you even have the nerve to say that the company is for Dad to launder money? Are you an idiot? How can you be so stupid? Empty-handed and penniless, where are you going to run to? And how are you going to escape?"

"What should we do then?" He Ming stood up, covering his cheeks in grievance. "Big sister, things are already like this, what's the point of hitting me again?"

"Don't blame me for hitting you!" He Ying scolded, "You and Xiao Jing are both adults, how come you can't even protect yourselves? Especially Xiao Jing, she lies in bed pretending to be sick whenever something happens, making even small things seem particularly troublesome. And you're even more useless, ruining yourself like this for a woman. And Dad, how could he be so muddle-headed? Embezzling, he actually did such a thing, it's heartbreaking." At this point, He Ying covered her face with her hands and began to sob because of extreme sadness and disappointment.