Increíble

Capítulo 5

I exclaimed in admiration, "Don't let Jeep's constant complaints about being oppressed by Apple fool you; he's probably hiding somewhere enjoying himself right now!" I mimicked Jeep's tone, "Wow! Our wife is so capable!"

"You brat! How dare you laugh at me!" She raised her hand to pinch me.

"No! It's all bubbles!"

Just then, the Jeep came in and said, "Ruoxi! I just saw your watchdog running up the western hill."

My heart skipped a beat. The western hills are all graveyards. What would it be doing there so late at night?

"I'll go look for it." I was still worried.

“I’ll go with you!” the jeep asked me.

"No need, I grew up here, I could walk back with my eyes closed." I left the courtyard and headed towards the western hills in the twilight...

It gets dark really fast on the mountain; once it gets dark, you can't see anything at all.

I brought a flashlight, but I didn't dare turn it on easily. My grandmother once told me that there were too many spirits on the Western Hills, and that they would come out of their graves for a stroll at night. The light of the mortal world would disturb them.

"Big Black!" I called out to it, my voice high-pitched and thin.

The wind is blowing.

The trees rustled in the woods, the leaves whispering softly, an eerie stillness prevailed. At the mountaintop lay many ancient graves, some three hundred years old, while the chaotic burial mound halfway up the mountain held the remains of landlords and local bullies executed during the Cultural Revolution. My uncle once told me that dozens were shot, half their bodies buried, heads still above ground. Vultures pecked at their flesh, leaving them bloodied and mangled, their intestines ripped out and eaten. No one dared approach, exposed to the elements for countless days. The landlords' descendants, having built the graves and added soil, fled beyond the mountains, disappearing into the crowds. For years, no one has added incense or tended the graves. Amidst the overgrown weeds, flickering, eerie blue flames danced, like the gaping maw of hell, only now its color was a sinister, ghostly blue.

Section 13: The Bleeding Jujube Tree (7)

Suddenly, I thought I saw a figure flit through the woods. Looking closer, it seemed to be an old man in white robes with white hair. I broke out in a cold sweat and dared not move. He stood motionless too. I raised my voice and whispered, "Is someone's old man here to pay respects at the grave?" It's an old custom in the village that some people visit graves at midnight to speak with their ancestors; it's said that this can summon their spirits. Widowed elderly people come to express their grief, and younger generations come to pray for blessings.

The old man in white didn't answer me. I mustered my courage and went a little further, and gradually I could see clearly that it was a white cloth banner hanging on a grave mound, fluttering in the wind. Further ahead, I could see even more clearly that it was a tattered mosquito net, and the holes, from a distance, looked like the eyebrows and eyes of an old man.

I found a straight locust tree branch and took a step forward. A sudden sound from the woods startled me, making my heart race and causing me to pound my fists.

It was a crow. I patted my chest.

As I walked further, I suddenly noticed something staring at me from the corner of my eye. The thing had eyes, its eyelids blinked, and when its eyelids opened, they had an unusual luster.

What is that?

My heart was pounding wildly! My palms were sweating profusely.

"Big Black!" I called out tentatively to the other side.

"Awooo!"

It came running over, humming, its paws snapping the branches with a cracking sound.

"It really is you! You scared me to death!" I waved the stick around to scare it. "Come on, let's go home!"

In the instant I turned around, I seemed to see a fire in the distance.

There are people on the mountain!

I crouched down and pressed down on Big Black's head, and it lay down.

The firelight flickered and then disappeared. All around was silent. I patted Big Black: "Let's go! Maybe I'm just seeing things."

As they walked, Big Black suddenly sprang out like a spring, roaring incessantly.

Who is it?

"Big Black! Let go! Stop biting, let go!" someone shouted.

The voice that came through sounded familiar.

I ran downstairs: "Uncle? What are you doing here?"

There were two figures in the shadows. One was hunched over, of medium height, and sturdy. I knew that was my uncle. Beside him was another person, the very person the black cat had attacked—a stranger. This person was thin and bony, as if a gust of wind could knock him over.

"Where did this dog come from? I'll kick you to death!" the skinny man shouted.

I was startled and summoned Big Black back. I stroked its mane in the dark, and noticed a sticky substance under its neck—blood? I froze. Was this skinny guy carrying a knife on its foot?

"Ruoxi?" her uncle asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I asked you first."

"I'm your uncle, how dare you talk to me like that?"

"The dog ran away, so I came out to look for it." It nestled at my feet, whimpering, and seemed to be in a lot of pain.

"Oh!" Uncle breathed a sigh of relief. "Then we found it. Let's hurry home!"

“He hurt our dog.” I pointed at the skinny man with one finger, unwilling to let him leave.

"So what if it's hurt? It's just a dog!" the uncle said. "We can give it back to the bag later. It was dark, and when it pounced on us, it was just defending itself. It probably thought it was a wolf!"

"For self-defense?" I stared incredulously at the unfamiliar face in the shadows. "There haven't been any wolves on this mountain for twenty years. What would a stranger like him be doing up the western mountain where our family has their graves in the middle of the night?"

“Look at you, child. This Western Hills is so big, and it’s not our family’s burial ground. How can you talk like that? Go home! Don’t meddle in adults’ affairs.” My uncle stretched out a hand, pushed me aside, and pulled the stranger past me.

There's something fishy going on here!

Could the person living in the west room next to Grandma be that guy from earlier?

I wasn't willing to give up, so I turned back halfway and climbed the mountain in the dark. Big Black's neck was still sticky with blood, and it was whimpering softly like a baby that hadn't been weaned. I took off my vest from under my shirt, wrapped it around the dog's neck, and patted its head: "Don't bark. Dogs in the mountains have half their soul attached to their owners; a little injury won't kill them. The wind will dry the wound and stop the bleeding. I'll bandage it for you when we get back. Now, help me find them." I put my index finger to my lips to shush them, "But don't startle them."

Big Black seemed to understand, and began sniffing up the mountain with its head down. I followed behind, and soon I discovered a fire coming from a cave halfway up the mountain, the light flickering in the wind.

Did my uncle and that skinny man go into the cave dwelling?

I couldn't move my feet any further when I looked ahead; Big Black was desperately tugging at my trouser leg.

"Why are you biting me?" I reached out and pushed it away.

As soon as I got up, it bit me again.

"You don't want me to go in and see, do you?" I asked it.

Big Black whimpered and rubbed its head against my heels. They say dogs understand human nature, and it seemed it sensed something. But I was almost certain that this cave dwelling held a secret.

"Let's go! We'll come back when it's light." I patted its head and turned to head down the mountain.

Section 14: The Uninvited Guest (1)

uninvited guest"

Grandma's house.

I pushed open the door and called out, "I'm home."

No one answered me.

I walked to the water tank, scooped up a ladle of water, drank half of it, and poured the other half into my palm: "Big Black." It was very obedient and wagged its tail as it came over.

"Where have you been! You still know how to come back!" The old woman shouted as she came out of the inner room, scaring the dog away.

With a bang, the door slammed shut again.

Sigh! I patted Big Black: "Neither of us are well-liked." It's old too. When Grandma was alive, it could enjoy life, often having bones to gnaw on, and would just lie in the yard sunbathing when it was free, without anyone scolding it. Now... times have changed.

"Shh! Ruoxi!" A head popped out from the kitchen. "Come here quickly." Apple waved to me.

What are they doing hiding in the kitchen?

"What's wrong?" I had just reached the door when she pulled me inside.

"There's something delicious here!" she winked at me.

I saw the Jeep covered in soot, making it look like Bao Gong (a famous judge in Chinese history), and I chuckled, "What are you doing?"

“Your aunt is so stingy. We found food in the little basket she took out, including fried dough sticks and fried noodles! It’s a pity they were cold, so Jeep and I discussed making a fire to heat them up.”

I felt really bad: "I'm so sorry, I should have treated you to all this..."

"Please! Stop whining!" said the Jeep. "I can't take it anymore, Ruoxi, come save me! I can't handle this stove of yours, it's choking me to death."

Apple and I burst out laughing, clutching our stomachs: "Who would put their whole face into a stove to blow on a fire... hahaha..."

I grabbed a handful of wheat straw, put it into the stove to start a fire, and fanned it with a small hand fan. The fire started right up.

"Look at this pot of yours, it's big enough for ten people to eat in." Apple circled the iron pot, clicking her tongue in disapproval.

The two of them were chattering away, but I had no interest in joining in. All I could think about was: tonight, I'm going to go to the backyard and confront that ghost…

I silently asked myself, but I didn't even hear the jeep calling my name: "What are you thinking about, Ruoxi?"

"Huh?" Coming to her senses, she quickly grabbed the fried dough and noodles and poured them into the big pot. "The pot is hot, the fire is strong, just stir a few times and it'll be ready."

"It smells delicious!" Apple reached out to grab the hot fried dough.

"Hot!" I slapped the back of her hand. "It's no wonder your hands get blisters if you put them in the pot like that. Go get some chopsticks."

They chuckled, picked up their chopsticks and bowls, and stood side by side waiting for the meal to be served.

I'm more like a cook in a cafeteria, wielding a big shovel to distribute food.

In the still of the night, I went to the backyard alone. Silence reigned, seemingly as usual, but was it truly calm? I stood under the jujube tree for a long time, until the night wind chilled my hands and feet, but still no ghost appeared. I felt annoyed at my own misjudgment; whenever I was anxious, my precognitive abilities seemed to wither away. Utterly useless!

I shook my head, and a boundless loneliness welled up inside me.

I haven't seen a great forest in a long time. It turns out that longing can make people feel both depressed and happy. Just like the endless mountain range, as long as there is longing, there is always hope in life.

"So you know what it feels like to miss someone..."

A voice carried far away on the wind, a gentle female voice, middle-aged yet very young.

I was stunned. Who could possibly understand my innermost thoughts?

Turning around, there was no one behind me, only the howling wind. The cool night air brought both clarity and sorrow, for longing also carried a bitter taste.

"Since you also understand the sorrow of longing, why did you take my child away?" came another mournful cry from an unknown source.

The voice was so mournful it sent chills down one's spine, as if the speaker's tongue itself was bitter and languid.

But……

"Where are you?" I cried out to the heavens.

"Can you hear me?" The voice seemed to be coming from behind the jujube tree. I looked closely, and there it was, the tree trunk was weeping…

A jujube tree shedding tears? Unheard of.

But no! Those weren't tears! The liquid flowing from the tree trunk gradually turned crimson...

Section 15: The Uninvited Guest (2)

My teeth chattered, and I was terrified. I wanted to run, but another thought in my head commanded me to stay: "Whose soul are you?"