Цветы персика

Глава 8

She stood still at the gate of the courtyard, with the skinny man following behind her.

"What did you hear?" she asked me.

"What have you done?" I retorted.

She raised her hand to slap me, but I stepped back to avoid it. She and the skinny man pounced on me, grabbing my arm and twisting it into a knot. The old woman said to the skinny man, "Let's lock this girl in the Buddhist hall first."

The skinny man was surprisingly strong; he gripped my arm so tightly it hurt. The older woman reached into her pocket, took out her keys, opened the door, and shoved me inside. The wooden door slammed shut with a bang. I pounded on it, shouting, "Auntie! You've already made one mistake! You can't make another! Let me out!"

The old woman turned to the old man and scolded, "You're so useless! This little girl can scare you like that. You better keep an eye on her, or I'll skin you alive!"

The uncle nodded nervously, watching them walk out.

I yelled at my uncle, "Quickly, find a way to let me out!"

"The key is with her." He spread his hands, indicating his helplessness.

"Uncle! Why are you so afraid of her? She's your wife! She did something wrong, you should stop her, how can you succumb to her power and become her accomplice?"

He waved his hand at me, his eyes filled with something unreadable: "Those traffickers all have guns. Girl, just stay calm! Don't go against them! Once your aunt calms down, I'll have her release you."

Your anger has subsided? She still wants to sell me!

Uncle! Uncle!

I shouted again, but it was no use; the courtyard was empty.

Slumped helplessly against the door, my vision blurred by darkness, a sense of utter exhaustion washing over me. Had I become too reliant on the Great Forest? In every moment of crisis and confusion, I hoped he would appear to save me. But what about myself? I opened my palms in the darkness, examining myself. I can't rely on the Great Forest forever! If my entire life becomes a burden to someone else, then I, Lan Ruoxi, am utterly useless.

I—I must save myself.

Inside the Buddhist hall, against the wall, was an image of a Bodhisattva, the Seven Crore Buddha Mother Cundi Bodhisattva, one of the Six Avalokitesvaras. Although it was pitch black, I could see her in my heart, could see her exquisite robes like those of the Ten Perfections Bodhisattva. Nothing had changed; only people's hearts had. I knelt and kowtowed before the Bodhisattva, begging her to protect the suffering people and to save this once kind village.

At that moment, the Bodhisattva statue changed. A faint, pale golden light emanated from her entire body, not dazzling but warm, instantly dispelling the chill of the humble room. I felt an urge to cry. What was happening? Something extremely gentle, like a current of air, flowed into my body.

"Grandma..." I called out to her with tears in my eyes as I was about to lose consciousness.

Gradually, I saw the wall where the Bodhisattva statue was enshrined move; the entire wall was moving… It was amazing! The wall seemed to have a central axis, rotating 180 degrees, and layers of light appeared behind it, intense, blazing light…

Has anyone come out?

My tear-filled eyes were closed; I was too exhausted, I wanted to sleep. No! I couldn't sleep! I still had so much to do, I still wanted to save lives! I had to stand up…

Even with my eyes closed, I could still feel the intense light moving, and I could hear a hissing sound—the sound of the heavy walls moving. Someone came out… came out…

I heard footsteps... one, two, three...

Closer and closer.

I heard my heart speaking; my throat made no sound, but I heard it.

Grandma, is that you? I miss you so much.

The person you miss is in your heart.

The voice was so familiar, so familiar that it made me want to jump for joy, but I couldn't move; my body felt as heavy as a thousand-pound boulder. But I swear, I wasn't asleep; my mind had never been so active and clear.

Grandma. I know you haven't left; you've always been by my side.

I can snuggle up to you like a little sparrow and be happy for the rest of my life.

Silly child. No one is immortal. I told you, the person you miss is in your heart.

Really? In my heart? Then I haven't grown up yet! I can't live without you.

You've grown up. Look, haven't you already learned to talk back to your elders? When your uncles and aunts do wrong things, you can face evil without fear and correctly understand the principles of family and law. You are gradually growing up.

Section 21: The Uninvited Guest (8)

My eyes are wet. Is it because I've cried too much? Ha! I laugh at myself. It seems I'm still as weak as ever.

This isn't weakness. Grandma's fingers always so gently and soothingly combed my long hair. My child, you are too kind; this is your strength, and also your weakness. You must remember to help those who need your help, and above all, never let bad people take advantage of your kindness. Remember that!

But...Grandma! What am I going to do now? They've locked me in this little room, it's pitch black, nobody knows I'm here, and there's no way to communicate. How can I escape? The girls trapped in the cave are waiting to be rescued...

Have you forgotten? Your psychic abilities? You can do it.

What?

vengeful spirits can control and interfere with people's brainwaves, and so can you! You're a child born with a "ghost eye," receiving information much more acutely than others, making you more susceptible to being haunted by ghosts. You can sense spiritual signals from other dimensions. Try sending the information you need to convey to your friends.

Apple?

Yes. Ordinary people have very weak reception abilities. Under hypnosis or while asleep, even your closest relatives or ordinary people can sense the signals you send. This is what we often call "sending a message in a dream." It's not a mental journey, but rather a separation of mind and body, like a vengeful spirit infiltrating your dreams… The greater the resentment of the vengeful spirit, the stronger its spiritual power. You are an extraordinary person, and your supernatural abilities will increase in the future… Be careful not to harm yourself…

The sound grew weaker and weaker.

What's wrong?

Have you left me? Grandma! I cried out hoarsely, with all my heart, but the sound lingered in my chest, unable to escape. Grandma! Don't go! I need you! Grandma!

Suddenly, I forcefully raised my hands to grab upwards...

My eyes snapped open, but all around was darkness, and I couldn't grasp anything. I looked up at the Buddha statue on the wall, but there was nothing unusual. I looked at the wall itself, but it remained perfectly still.

Am I hallucinating again?

No! It was Grandma trying to convey something to me. Yes! She reminded me, why not use my special abilities to send brainwave signals to the apple? Under hypnosis or while asleep, even ordinary people can sense faint electrical waves from their closest relatives.

Hypnosis?

Grandma! I'm so anxious I could cry. Do you know why I have these fragmented, blank memories? Have I been hypnotized? I still have questions that need answering!

The four walls were empty and silent, with no echo.

I felt for a cattail mat in the darkness, shook off the dust, and sat cross-legged like my grandmother used to. I needed to concentrate and send out my mental message. My dear apple, are you taking a nap? I hope you are. Please don't run around. When a person is active, their thoughts jump and become excited, like the red mark on a thermometer, soaring to its highest point, only to drop to its lowest point during sleep.

Time passed second by second...

The courtyard was very quiet; I estimated it was around two or three in the afternoon.

There was a rattling sound from the lock on the door. I was overjoyed, thinking that Apple and the Jeep had come looking for me, and rushed to peek through the crack in the door, but there was only the skinny man.

"What are you doing here?" I turned around with a stern face and went back to my mat to meditate.

"Hehe, little blue girl," the skinny man said hypocritically, "if you say a few kind words to me and beg me, maybe I'll let you out!"

"Let me go? Thank you!" I retorted. "Let me out of this room, then lock me back in that cave, waiting to be sold?"

"Hmph!" The fake face was torn off, and then the viciousness was revealed. "You brat! Still so stubborn! Let's see if you still have the strength to talk back after I beat you until your bones go soft."

The wooden door was kicked and pounded violently, creaking precariously. I suddenly realized I wasn't nearly as strong as I tried to appear; I was trembling all over, my teeth practically grinding my tongue to powder. It turned out I feared people far more than ghosts; when people are truly vicious, they are more ruthless and hateful than ghosts!

The string in my heart was so fragile that it was on the verge of snapping. With the violent tremors as the skinny man was about to burst through the door, I truly felt like my life was hanging by a thread.

What are you doing?

Suddenly someone shouted in the courtyard.

I recognized the voice; it was my uncle.

Someone arrived, and the skinny man's arrogance immediately vanished. He spat at the door and slunk away.

The uncle came over and peered through the crack in the door: "Child! Are you alright?"

In the past, I would have sobbed, but now, I can't shed a single tear. I've been weak before, and I once hoped someone would come to my rescue, but I don't want to be useless forever.

"Uncle! If you truly care about me, please let me out!"

“But… if your aunt finds out, she’ll skin me alive.” He rubbed his red eyes. “I’ve lived a pathetic life, never stood up straight or spoken with my head held high… I… sigh!” He placed a bowl of water under the door and slipped a steamed bun through the crack. “Eat up! I’ll go talk to your aunt again and tell her not to hold a grudge against a child like you…”

The long shadow behind him gradually disappeared through the crack in the door, and the courtyard was empty again.

I sighed deeply: They're going to sell me off too! Uncle, you're so foolish!

I picked up the bowl to drink water, my eyes fixed on a rusty screw on the door frame. That skinny man had used too much force; the door was already quite loose, and now it was just those few screws in the corner holding it together. I smashed the bowl in my hand and used the sharp, cracked porcelain to pry the screws off. I told myself: You can do it!

When the large screws were unscrewed, it was discovered that all ten fingers were cracked, with cuts of all sizes. But the door opened with a shove, and people are willing to pay any price to break free from their constraints.

As I opened the door and stood in the yard, I suddenly felt dizzy. It turned out that too much light could hurt my eyes. It took me a while to adjust before I opened my eyes again, and I saw Apple and Jeep rushing into the yard: "Ruoxi! I just had a dream. I dreamt that you were locked in a dark room, but Jeep insisted that I was making a fuss, that a dream is just a dream and has nothing to do with reality. Are you... alright?"

She saw bright red blood dripping from my drooping fingers and was about to scream in surprise, but I quickly shouted, "Don't scream! I need you!"

They looked at each other, puzzled.

I gazed at the horizon, where the setting sun cast fragments of crimson light.

I know that my hometown is no longer the same as it used to be, and I need to make a decision.

"Did you bring your phone?" I asked the Jeep.

“I brought it,” he replied.

"Call the police!" I felt utterly exhausted, but running away was pointless...〖LM〗

Section 22: Stranded Memories (1)

Stranded Memories

Three years after Hai's death, the police visited Shebupo again. Several accomplices of the human traffickers were still collecting "goods" in the nearby mountains, and some had escaped. Uncle was also arrested. He wasn't the ringleader, but he was guilty of harboring and protecting criminals; the law is merciless.

I visited my uncle in the detention center, bringing him his favorite walnuts. His eyes were red, just like mine. When I was nine, I was sent back to my grandmother's house. My uncle took me to see a shadow puppet show on his bicycle, asking me the whole way if I was thirsty or tired. During the Lunar New Year, the house was too quiet, so my uncle specially made a kite for me. He was a rough and careless person; he would prick his fingers with bamboo skewers while making those delicate things, but he wouldn't utter a sound. Before the Spring Equinox, I excitedly ran to the top of the hill to fly a kite, and he stood under the old locust tree, his hands tucked into his sleeves, grinning from ear to ear. He taught me to ride a bicycle, afraid I would fall, he would hold onto the back of the bike with both hands, following the wheels as far as he could, refusing to let go. When making dumplings for the Winter Solstice, he would always secretly put the one with the hidden silver coin in my bowl…

I remember all of this vividly.

But now an iron fence separates us. I rescued those in distress, but also sent my own family to prison.

I said to my uncle, "Uncle, please don't hate me."

He nodded and asked me, "Have you been to Xishan?"

“They’ve gone,” I replied. “The girls locked up in the cave have gone home, but some were sold to other parts of the mountains, and the police are looking for them. Mei Xue has no other relatives, so that child will probably be sent to an orphanage…”

He remained silent, his head bowed low.

I continued, "The mirror that Mei Xue's family heirloom has been examined by experts and found to be a fake made during the Republic of China era, not a genuine Han Dynasty artifact..."

“I’m asking…” he suddenly raised his head, “Have you visited that lonely grave on the north side of West Mountain?”

I stared at that gaze for a long time: "I've seen it. The grave is in a terrible state. It's been washed away by rain, and the bones weren't properly placed in a coffin. The white bones are all exposed..." That's why Dahei was able to find such human bones.

He covered half his face with both hands, looking very sad. I didn't know if he was crying, but the wrinkles on the back of his hands resembled the gullies of the loess plateau.

"Uncle, you should tell me what's going on with that coffin in Grandma's room. Coffins eventually have to be buried, and that person has been dead for seven days now. It can't stay there forever. Also, whose is that lonely grave on the north side of West Mountain? You don't want it to remain a desolate tomb forever, do you?"

Section 23: Stranded Memories (2)

His sallow face turned deathly pale instantly, his curled nails digging into his hair as he painfully recalled: "After Liangdi died, your aunt sent a telegram to the child's father, saying that the child was too naughty and had slipped into the river at the village entrance. The next day, the father and daughter appeared at the village entrance. The child's father jumped into the river to search for her without even resting. Summer is the flood season, and the river swelled up in just one afternoon. By the time the villagers found him downstream, he was already bloated from being submerged. When Meixue heard that her father was dead, she rushed to the riverbank like a madwoman. She said she would never forget that scene; the straw mat wasn't long enough, and her father's feet were sticking out, pale and swollen like steamed buns. She cried and begged the villagers to help her prepare her father's body for burial, and your aunt readily agreed. I was wondering why she..." Having been stingy her whole life, this was the first time she'd been so generous; a good coffin must have cost a fortune. According to the village's old custom, adults should be buried for seven days after death. Although your aunt was extremely reluctant to bury Meixue's father early, the villagers said that a person's soul lingers nearby immediately after death and needs to be appeased before it leaves. She managed to get a coffin in a single day and placed Meixue's father in it. But I knew immediately where that coffin came from; she and the dealer had dug up Meixue's mother's grave in the Western Hills and dug up that cheap coffin. I asked her, "What happened to Meixue's mother?" She said she'd placed her body on the north side of the Western Hills. No one ever goes there; there's no grave there. Who would bury someone there? I knew she must have disposed of the body. But I was timid and didn't dare say anything, letting her become even bolder, selling Meixue to the dealer as well…”