Time flew fast. It seemed summer had arrived in just the blink of an eye.
Ru Xue took Li Meng and his one-year-old sister Nianchu to her mother’s place. Li Mazi took the chance and persistently asked me out for a walk.
As I was afraid that he would lose his mind if he kept staying home, I agreed to travel with him. We took the chance to travel to rural areas. Every day, we drove through mountains and fields. When we felt tired, we would find a lodge to stay the night and get something to eat.
The days were strenuous, but we saw countless beautiful sights. We had spent an entire week exploring the countryside. When there was nothing else to see, we went home.
“I’m not satisfied. I want to travel more!” Li Mazi nagged and insisted. I had to follow him.
Since we hadn’t brought a lot of money and we had camped outside for a few days in a row, we felt tired. We decided to drive to the nearest town to find a good hotel to rest. We had to withdraw some money. Otherwise, we would have to inhale the Northeastern wind to fill our stomachs…
When we passed by a village, Li Mazi suddenly stopped. He stuck out his tongue like a thirsty, big hound. “Little Brother Zhang, we should visit that village to ask for some water. My throat is burning.”
Knowing him, if I didn’t let him have the water, he wouldn’t stop talking. Moreover, it was scorching hot today. I couldn’t endure the thirst, either. I nodded in agreement.
Before we entered the village, a vast field of green watermelons came to our sights. Li Mazi had tiny stars twinkling in his eyes. He directly went over and picked a watermelon. Then, he wolfed it down.
I felt awkward. I wished that people wouldn’t come over and beat him for being a watermelon thief!
Fortunately, no one was watching the field. I found shade under a tree and sat down to take a look at this village.
The village was encircled with rows of green trees. To the East, I saw a small river, which aroused my interest. I wanted to go there for a swim.
“Little Brother Zhang, come eat watermelon!” Li Mazi quickly finished one watermelon. He took two more and handed me one.
“Nah, I’m not eating now. You can have more! Afterward, we should go swimming!”
Then, I went to the riverbank. Li Mazi was interested in swimming in the river, too. He took off his shirt and wanted to jump into the river before me.
As a routine, I checked the river first to see how deep it could be. The waters were strangely calm. I didn’t see even a ripple or a small fish swimming there. It looked as though it was a pool of stagnant water. It was strange. Instinctively, I grabbed Li Mazi’s arm before he could jump into the water.
“Bro, what’s wrong?”
“Hold on, this river doesn’t look right.” I rubbed my eyes and forcefully opened my Yin and Yang Eyes. Then, I observed the river one more time.
I gasped at first glance. The river didn’t look deep, but it had a layer of hazy black fog above.
Usually, river water under the hot sunlight would evaporate and release steam. However, as I was standing on the riverbank, I could feel the cold air from the depths of the river.
Li Mazi saw my stern face. In a ginger voice, he said, “This river sure feels strange now that you mention it.”
“It seems we’ve got a new task to do. Let’s get to the village to ask!” Then, I turned toward the village. There was something in the river for sure.
I could have ignored it, but if I could help these villagers, my karma would improve. That was why I couldn’t just leave!
After a few steps, I suddenly heard rapid footsteps. I turned to look. On the opposite side, a man wearing a red vest jumped into the river. He sank immediately.
My swimming skills weren’t good enough. I had to send Li Mazi to take a look. He didn’t reply and responded by taking off his shoes, ready to jump in. I hurriedly grabbed him and put some soil into his mouth before letting him jump into the river.
The water in the river had a pure Yin attribute, and so was the soil. With the soil in his mouth, Li Mazi could adapt easily to the water. At least, he wouldn’t drown himself with the other man if he couldn’t save him.
“Gosh! The water is so cold!” Li Mazi paled as soon as he jumped into the water.
He noisily complained, then dived into the area the other man had jumped in. I stood on the riverbank and watched. I was sweating.
Fortunately, Li Mazi quickly found the man wearing the red vest, and he was strong enough to pull him up. However, it was strange that every time the man’s head went over the water, he soon sank back down. It looked like something was dragging him down.
“What’s going on?”
“I’m afraid there’s a water ghost!”
Li Mazi waved his hand. “No, I don’t think so.” He continued to grope around. After a long time, he finally lifted the man to the riverbank.
Li Mazi spat the water then cursed, “Holy moly, that guy didn’t want to live anymore. He jumped into the river with a rock! If I hadn’t been strong enough to take the rock from him, I would have drowned too.”
I was bewildered and looked at the unconscious man. I pushed on his chest a few times to make him vomit water.
We got him as soon as he jumped into the water, so his life wasn’t threatened. After he vomited water, he slowly woke up.
With a confused face, his look shifted from the river to us. Then, he stooped and wept.
I couldn’t stand it when women cried, let alone an adult man! I turned my head aside in disgust.
Li Mazi was panting. He spat and cursed, “You are a big man. What burden is weighing your heart? You wanted to kill yourself and now you are crying. If I had known that before, I wouldn’t have saved you…”
“You thought I wanted to kill myself?!” The man in the red vest tried to suppress his anger when Li Mazi scoffed at him. His voice turned aggressive.
I knew there was a story behind this. My occupational intuition surged. I reacted and said, “Did you encounter something foul?”
I knew I was being hasty. Before I had time to correct my words, the man nodded then sobbed louder.
“I’m Zhang Henshui, and I live in this village. These days, I have been listless. I sleep for more than twelve hours a day, but it isn’t enough. At first, I thought I was so worn out because of the farming work. I didn’t pay attention to it. This morning, I heard a voice in my head. Someone was urging me. I thought that I had slept so much that my head was muddled. I took a shovel and left the house. I wanted to go to work on my rice paddy fields but when I went there, the voice in my head grew louder. It asked me to go to the riverbank! I followed the voice to the riverbank to see what was there. As soon as I got to the riverbank, I felt a cold wind and lost consciousness afterward.”
I frowned. It seemed he’d really encountered something foul. “Is anything else happening in your family these days?”
“No, everything is fine. There’s only one thing: I always feel so tired after sleeping, more tired than working in the field. Sometimes, I lay in bed but feel even wearier than walking a hundred kilometers. When I get up, my entire body feels so sore that I can’t even get off the bed…” Zhang Henshui blurted without thinking. It seemed he had experienced these things for a long time.
But to me, his situation was more like sleep-walking. I still wasn’t sure if something foul was pestering him, so I wanted to ask him if anyone else in his family had the same sleep-walking incidents.
Before I could ask, he started telling us about another event!
Time flew fast. It seemed summer had arrived in just the blink of an eye.
Ru Xue took Li Meng and his one-year-old sister Nianchu to her mother’s place. Li Mazi took the chance and persistently asked me out for a walk.
As I was afraid that he would lose his mind if he kept staying home, I agreed to travel with him. We took the chance to travel to rural areas. Every day, we drove through mountains and fields. When we felt tired, we would find a lodge to stay the night and get something to eat.
The days were strenuous, but we saw countless beautiful sights. We had spent an entire week exploring the countryside. When there was nothing else to see, we went home.
“I’m not satisfied. I want to travel more!” Li Mazi nagged and insisted. I had to follow him.
Since we hadn’t brought a lot of money and we had camped outside for a few days in a row, we felt tired. We decided to drive to the nearest town to find a good hotel to rest. We had to withdraw some money. Otherwise, we would have to inhale the Northeastern wind to fill our stomachs…
When we passed by a village, Li Mazi suddenly stopped. He stuck out his tongue like a thirsty, big hound. “Little Brother Zhang, we should visit that village to ask for some water. My throat is burning.”
Knowing him, if I didn’t let him have the water, he wouldn’t stop talking. Moreover, it was scorching hot today. I couldn’t endure the thirst, either. I nodded in agreement.
Before we entered the village, a vast field of green watermelons came to our sights. Li Mazi had tiny stars twinkling in his eyes. He directly went over and picked a watermelon. Then, he wolfed it down.
I felt awkward. I wished that people wouldn’t come over and beat him for being a watermelon thief!
Fortunately, no one was watching the field. I found shade under a tree and sat down to take a look at this village.
The village was encircled with rows of green trees. To the East, I saw a small river, which aroused my interest. I wanted to go there for a swim.
“Little Brother Zhang, come eat watermelon!” Li Mazi quickly finished one watermelon. He took two more and handed me one.
“Nah, I’m not eating now. You can have more! Afterward, we should go swimming!”
Then, I went to the riverbank. Li Mazi was interested in swimming in the river, too. He took off his shirt and wanted to jump into the river before me.
As a routine, I checked the river first to see how deep it could be. The waters were strangely calm. I didn’t see even a ripple or a small fish swimming there. It looked as though it was a pool of stagnant water. It was strange. Instinctively, I grabbed Li Mazi’s arm before he could jump into the water.
“Bro, what’s wrong?”
“Hold on, this river doesn’t look right.” I rubbed my eyes and forcefully opened my Yin and Yang Eyes. Then, I observed the river one more time.
I gasped at first glance. The river didn’t look deep, but it had a layer of hazy black fog above.
Usually, river water under the hot sunlight would evaporate and release steam. However, as I was standing on the riverbank, I could feel the cold air from the depths of the river.
Li Mazi saw my stern face. In a ginger voice, he said, “This river sure feels strange now that you mention it.”
“It seems we’ve got a new task to do. Let’s get to the village to ask!” Then, I turned toward the village. There was something in the river for sure.
I could have ignored it, but if I could help these villagers, my karma would improve. That was why I couldn’t just leave!
After a few steps, I suddenly heard rapid footsteps. I turned to look. On the opposite side, a man wearing a red vest jumped into the river. He sank immediately.
My swimming skills weren’t good enough. I had to send Li Mazi to take a look. He didn’t reply and responded by taking off his shoes, ready to jump in. I hurriedly grabbed him and put some soil into his mouth before letting him jump into the river.
The water in the river had a pure Yin attribute, and so was the soil. With the soil in his mouth, Li Mazi could adapt easily to the water. At least, he wouldn’t drown himself with the other man if he couldn’t save him.
“Gosh! The water is so cold!” Li Mazi paled as soon as he jumped into the water.
He noisily complained, then dived into the area the other man had jumped in. I stood on the riverbank and watched. I was sweating.
Fortunately, Li Mazi quickly found the man wearing the red vest, and he was strong enough to pull him up. However, it was strange that every time the man’s head went over the water, he soon sank back down. It looked like something was dragging him down.
“What’s going on?”
“I’m afraid there’s a water ghost!”
Li Mazi waved his hand. “No, I don’t think so.” He continued to grope around. After a long time, he finally lifted the man to the riverbank.
Li Mazi spat the water then cursed, “Holy moly, that guy didn’t want to live anymore. He jumped into the river with a rock! If I hadn’t been strong enough to take the rock from him, I would have drowned too.”
I was bewildered and looked at the unconscious man. I pushed on his chest a few times to make him vomit water.
We got him as soon as he jumped into the water, so his life wasn’t threatened. After he vomited water, he slowly woke up.
With a confused face, his look shifted from the river to us. Then, he stooped and wept.
I couldn’t stand it when women cried, let alone an adult man! I turned my head aside in disgust.
Li Mazi was panting. He spat and cursed, “You are a big man. What burden is weighing your heart? You wanted to kill yourself and now you are crying. If I had known that before, I wouldn’t have saved you…”
“You thought I wanted to kill myself?!” The man in the red vest tried to suppress his anger when Li Mazi scoffed at him. His voice turned aggressive.
I knew there was a story behind this. My occupational intuition surged. I reacted and said, “Did you encounter something foul?”
I knew I was being hasty. Before I had time to correct my words, the man nodded then sobbed louder.
“I’m Zhang Henshui, and I live in this village. These days, I have been listless. I sleep for more than twelve hours a day, but it isn’t enough. At first, I thought I was so worn out because of the farming work. I didn’t pay attention to it. This morning, I heard a voice in my head. Someone was urging me. I thought that I had slept so much that my head was muddled. I took a shovel and left the house. I wanted to go to work on my rice paddy fields but when I went there, the voice in my head grew louder. It asked me to go to the riverbank! I followed the voice to the riverbank to see what was there. As soon as I got to the riverbank, I felt a cold wind and lost consciousness afterward.”
I frowned. It seemed he’d really encountered something foul. “Is anything else happening in your family these days?”
“No, everything is fine. There’s only one thing: I always feel so tired after sleeping, more tired than working in the field. Sometimes, I lay in bed but feel even wearier than walking a hundred kilometers. When I get up, my entire body feels so sore that I can’t even get off the bed…” Zhang Henshui blurted without thinking. It seemed he had experienced these things for a long time.
But to me, his situation was more like sleep-walking. I still wasn’t sure if something foul was pestering him, so I wanted to ask him if anyone else in his family had the same sleep-walking incidents.
Before I could ask, he started telling us about another event!
