Amidst the tangled chatter of Fatty and Yanzi, I hurriedly pushed away the feet of the dead person dangling in front of my chest and shifted backward. Unexpectedly, there was another corpse hanging behind me, which began to sway violently when I bumped into it. I heard the sound of coarse hemp rope rubbing against wood overhead. In the darkness, I didn't know how many Hanged Ghosts were around, so I could only lie back down on the ground, but I could still feel pairs of feet in cotton shoes swinging back and forth above my body like pendulums.
I broke out in a cold sweat. I must have dropped my satchel somewhere when I fell from the stone steps, and I couldn't look for it in the pitch black. I quickly told Yanzi, "Yanzi, light a Torch! Let's see where we've fallen to." Near the Forest Farm, one absolutely could not utter the word "fire," or even characters containing the fire radical, such as "light a lamp" or "Candle"; if one absolutely had to say something like "light a lamp," only "Shang Liang Zi" could be used as a substitute. This wasn't superstition, but rather due to a Taboo, much like how the fire department always uses the term "Fire Protection" instead of "Extinguish Fire."
Yanzi, having just tumbled down from the stone steps, was dizzy and dazed. Hearing me call for her to "Shang Liang Zi," she finally came back to her senses and took out a Pine Candle to light it. Although the deep part of the Cellar allowed for some air circulation, it was still filled with turbid gas that stung the eyes until they watered. It was a minor miracle the Pine Candle could even ignite. The Weak light was greenish, cold, and clear, and because of the excessive impurities in the air obstructing light transmission, the Brightness of the Pine Candle was barely stronger than a Ghost Fire, failing to illuminate even a one-meter square area.
Under the flickering, hazy Candlelight, I urgently wanted to see if there was a Hanged Ghost above my head. But whether it was because the Pine Candle's light was too dim, or because I was dizzy from rolling and falling, my vision seemed suddenly veiled by a layer of gauze. No matter how hard I tried to open my eyes, I couldn't see anything clearly. The only discernible thing was the light of the Candle, but in my eyes, that Candlelight transformed into a hazy, greenish glow, floating indistinctly before me, sometimes far, sometimes near.
I rubbed my eyes hard, but I still couldn't see clearly. However, I heard someone behind the light speaking softly, seemingly saying something to me. I couldn't help but wonder, who was speaking? Fatty and Yanzi both had booming voices and strong tones, but if it wasn't them, who was mumbling behind the Candle? I couldn't see clearly nor hear distinctly, but human nature has a subconscious urge; the less clearly one hears, the more one wants to know what is being said. I stretched my neck, trying to get a little closer.
As I moved my body, a sudden Chill swept through me. I vaguely sensed that something was wrong. Although I couldn't pinpoint the exact issue, the hazy light from the lamp seemed familiar, as if I had seen it somewhere before. I felt a danger in getting closer to that Pine Candle, and my mind repeatedly warned me against it. Yet, the Thought that the Candle was dangerous could not suppress the inner desire to approach it. I continued to move forward involuntarily, getting closer and closer to the green light emitted by the Pine Candle.
Just moments ago, I had clearly felt the cotton-shoed feet of Hanged Ghosts, and after lighting the Candle, the corpses that had died by hanging, along with Yanzi and Fatty, seemed to have completely vanished. Only the flickering light of the Candle remained. I suddenly remembered the tale of Hanged Ghosts looking for substitutes—luring people into Rope Loops. Seeing the greenish glow just inches away, I tried to pull back quickly, but my body was like one caught in a nightmare, completely unresponsive. At that moment, only my head and neck could move. It was all because of that damned Ghost Fire. Acting purely on the instinct for survival, without thinking, I gathered all my strength and blew out that green light of the Pine Candle in one breath.
The green light, like a Ghost Fire from the Pine Candle, was extinguished by my breath. Suddenly, the entire Cellar lit up, and the choking stench disappeared. I looked down and saw myself standing on the edge of an Earthen Kang, my hands gripping a coarse Hemp rope Loop that was looped around my own neck. I cursed Gloomily Aura and quickly pushed the Hemp rope aside.
Before I could properly examine my surroundings, I saw Fatty and Yanzi standing beside me, both staring intently at Hemp rope Loops dangling from the ceiling, preparing to hang themselves. Yanzi was still holding a lit Pine Candle, but the flame was no longer green. I quickly reached out, took the Pine Candle from Yanzi's hand, and simultaneously pulled down the Hemp rope Loops in front of them. They both coughed and snapped out of their trance-like state.
I didn't have time to dwell on the terrifying, nightmare-like experience I just had; first, I needed to assess the surroundings. Looking up, the deep part of the Cellar was a small room with an Earthen Kang. We had fallen from the stone steps, tumbled into a heap on the Ground, and somehow crawled onto the Earthen Kang in a daze, nearly hanging ourselves by standing on the edge. The interior size of this Cellar was similar to an ordinary dwelling. It was very dry inside, containing an earthen stove, an earthen platform, and an Earthen Kang, just like a common home in the mountains. Above, there were several beams, from which hung countless Rope Loops tied with coarse Hemp rope. Copper wires made of raw silk were woven into the Hemp rope, preventing them from Rottening and breaking like ordinary Hemp rope over Time.
Suspended among the countless nooses were four Male Corpses. The bodies had been dried out by the cold wind inside the Cellar. All four "Old Hanging Grandpas" had their Tongues sticking out and their eyes wide open. The Dried Corpse's purplish-brown skin made their expressions after Death even more horrifying. Because the hanging had lasted for too long, the deceased's necks had been stretched by a considerable length.
Yanzi was terrified of ghosts—be it Mountain Ghost, Water Ghost, or Hanged Ghost. In the dim Brightness of the Pine Candle, seeing the four shocking "Old Hanging Grandpas," she quickly covered her eyes. Fatty and I were speechless for a long time. Encountering Hanging Guests head-on was truly the height of Gloominess Aura.
I saw a bronze Oil Lamp on the head of the Earthen Kang, which still contained residual Pine oil. I used the Pine Candle to light it. This made the room much brighter. Shining the Oil Lamp around, I saw that the four Male Corpses that had died by hanging were all dressed identically: all black clothes, black shoes, and black trousers, even their hats were black. The only exceptions were the belts tied around their waists and their socks and hat pins, which were bright red—specifically, the vibrant, blood-red kind. I couldn't discern any particular significance to this attire, but it didn't seem too old, perhaps clothing from twenty or thirty years ago. I estimated that the Yellow Great Immortal Temple buried in the earth was likely dug up by this group. Unexpectedly, they couldn't get out after entering. As soon as we entered this Cellar, we acted as if afflicted with madness, crawling into the Rope Loops ourselves. If I hadn't blown out that Ghost Fire, there would have been three more Dead persons hanging in this Cellar by now. Folk wisdom says that a Hanged Ghost must trick a Living person into hanging themselves before they can reincarnate. Were we just possessed by the "Old Hanging Grandpas," afflicted by some evil spell?
Fatty finally recovered at this point. He pointed at the four "Old Hanging Grandpas" and started cursing loudly, nearly getting caught by those Hanged Ghosts himself. The thought made his teeth itch with anger. There was a vat for lamp oil in the Cellar, and while cursing incessantly, Fatty began preparing to pour the lamp oil onto the hanged deceased to light their sky lanterns.
I thought burning them was for the best, preventing them from harming the Human nature of Living persons in the future. But just as I stood up, I noticed a crack in the side wall. This crack wasn't due to the wall crumbling from age; it was intentionally left there. There was more Space behind the earthen partition, separated by an earth wall that I hadn't noticed in the dim light. Peering through that crack in the earthen partition were two small, greenish lights observing us.