The moment he got off the vehicle, a foul stench rushed straight toward his nose. It smelled like rotting meat that had been fermenting for several days, mixed with the odor of vomit.
The smell was pungent. Lin Shuhuai stood beside the car, holding onto the door while dry-heaving, but he managed to spit out only a bit of sour water.
“Here, have some.” Bing Hua had a sickly complexion and was not faring much better himself, pinching his nose and looking around in disgust. “What is this smell? I am about to be choked to death by this stench!”
“Tsk, and look at this road, it is actually black.” Bing Hua raised his foot, a pained expression appearing on his face, “Ah, my white shoes!”
Just after getting off the vehicle, his white shoes had already become filthy, covered in black mud. If one looked closely, there were even some dark red fragments embedded inside.
“Thank you.” Lin Shuhuai unscrewed the bottle cap, tilting his head back to drink the water. After drinking, he took a new mask out of his pocket and put it on his face. Although the mask was only a thin layer, having it was better than nothing at all, as it could at least block out a bit of the air.
“Here is one for you too.” Lin Shuhuai handed a mask to Bing Hua as well.
Bing Hua was so touched that he almost shed tears, “Brother, you are far too good to me! Next time you face any difficulty, just tell me, and I will definitely help you.” Through the mask, his voice was muffled and unclear, but Lin Shuhuai could still understand the general idea.
After putting on the mask, he indeed felt much more comfortable. After resting for a moment, he dragged his suitcase and followed Second Aunt Lin.
The car was parked outside the village, still some distance away from the village itself.
Lin Family Village was a remote village surrounded by mountains on all four sides, making entering and leaving extremely difficult. Logically speaking, there should have been woods surrounding the dirt road, but along the way, they did not see many living trees, leaving only bare branches behind.
No one had cleared the overgrown grass either, leaving wild weeds half a meter tall. Not only that, but as they walked forward, they passed several houses.
The houses were heavily dilapidated, the yards overgrown with weeds, and the plaster on the walls had completely fallen off. One could tell at a glance that they had been abandoned for many years.
“Is this really Lin Family Village? This is completely different from what I remember. It looks so rundown. We would not have been tricked into some remote mountain wilderness, right?”
The more Bing Hua thought about it, the more terrified he became, as if he could already envision himself tied up in a chair.
“It probably shouldn’t be.” Lin Shuhuai was not sure himself either. In his memory, all these houses had been inhabited.
He had only been away at university for a few years, yet this place had turned so desolate.
“Perhaps it was too poor here, so everyone moved away,” Lin Shuhuai added.
“Oh my, you are talking nonsense! Our Lin Family Village is extremely wealthy. Lin Shuhuai, you do not know, but our village has had great luck over these past few years. Everyone made a fortune and had enough money to build new houses!” Second Aunt Lin said with a smile, her eyes narrowing into a slit, looking exceptionally eerie.
“Isn’t that right? My family built a new house…”
“Hahaha, I can finally take a wife! I am going outside to buy an obedient little wife…” A man rubbed his hands, a greasy light gleaming in his eyes.
“Bah, just wipe that grin off your face. If not for the Mountain God, you wouldn’t have the good life you have today.” Wang Tie spat toward him, his face filled with disgust.
“Mountain God?” Hearing this name, Lin Shuhuai’s brow furrowed slightly.
He searched his memory for any mention of a Mountain God, but he came up completely empty-handed.
“That is right! We need to properly thank the Mountain God, for it brought us wealth! Our future days have something to look forward to!” An old man spoke with a fanatical look and an excited tone.
“Mountain God, Mountain God, forever protect our Lin Family Village! However, why did it make this kind of demand this year?” A person whispered in his companion’s ear. Unfortunately, while he thought he was speaking quietly, every single word reached Lin Shuhuai’s ears.
“Exactly, I don’t know what is so good about him…” Saying so, the other person stole a glance toward Lin Shuhuai.
“Cough! Keep your mouths shut! Is the Mountain God someone people like you can discuss?”
Second Aunt Lin suddenly spoke up, her tone carrying a trace of warning and slight anger.
After she spoke, the gossipers immediately shut their mouths, swallowing their unfinished words back into their stomachs.
“Second Aunt, what is the Mountain God? Why have I never heard of it? Did Lin Family Village have a Mountain God in the past?” Sensing that something was wrong in his heart, Lin Shuhuai hurriedly asked.
“Oh my, don’t listen to their nonsense. That is all just trickery. Lin Shuhuai, you also know that our place is very remote, so there are always some people who believe in gods.”
“We are living in a scientific era, so how could there be ghosts or gods? Look, Lin Family Village is right up ahead. In a short while, Aunt will cook delicious food for you.” Second Aunt Lin waved her hand, unwilling to discuss this matter any further.
She forcibly shifted the topic, clearly hiding something guilty in her heart.
Lin Shuhuai swallowed the questions he wanted to ask back into his throat.
Ghosts and gods? Are there really no ghosts and gods in this world? Lin Shuhuai thought in his mind. The scene on the train floated back into his mind once again. That sensation had been far too real, seeming to still linger on Lin Shuhuai’s skin, ice-cold and soft.
He set the doubts in his heart aside for the moment, intending to find time to investigate on his own later.
Amidst their conversation, the group walked up to the entrance of Lin Family Village.
In an instant, Lin Shuhuai froze, unable to believe his own eyes.
In front of him stood rows upon rows of villas, with small sedans parked in front of almost every single household. Every villager entering and leaving appeared overjoyed, their faces glowing with delight as if some monumental event had occurred.
However, the village still had dirt roads without even a single stretch of concrete, creating a sharp contrast against the villas.
“This change is way too huge! They even built villas!” Bing Hua rubbed his eyes, his face full of disbelief.
A look of shock also crossed Lin Shuhuai’s eyes, though fortunately the stray hairs on his forehead covered his eyes, making it impossible for others to see his inner thoughts clearly.
In Lin Shuhuai’s impression, Lin Family Village was poor and remote, and the villagers were people who would love to strip a layer of skin off others. How could they possibly have the money to build houses like these?
Quite a few people were standing at the village entrance. The moment Lin Shuhuai and his group approached, they gathered around warmly.
Leading them was the village chief of Lin Family Village, Lin Shoukun. He was in his seventies or eighties, leaning on a walking stick, standing shakily at the very front.
Seeing Second Aunt Lin, his eyes lit up, and he stepped forward hastily, “Oh my, you are finally back! Everyone has been waiting for you for a long time. How is it? Did you bring the person back? No accidents happened on the way, right?”
Lin Shoukun’s voice was not loud, yet everyone present heard it clearly.
“I brought him back. He is right over there.” Second Aunt Lin gestured toward the back with her chin. Only then did Lin Shoukun see Lin Shuhuai, who was standing behind the crowd wearing a mask.
Lin Shoukun walked in Lin Shuhuai’s direction as the crowd cleared a path for him. “You are back. It is good that you are back.”
His murky eyes scanned Lin Shuhuai from head to toe, satisfaction showing in his gaze. “You must be tired from the journey. Your second aunt has already tidied up your grandmother’s house, so hurry back and rest.”
As he spoke, he looked at his suitcase with a frown, “What is wrong with you people? Don’t you know Lin Shuhuai’s health is poor, yet you still make him carry a suitcase? Will you take responsibility if something happens?”
“There is no need, Grandfather. I am still able to carry the suitcase myself.” Lin Shuhuai directly refused Lin Shoukun’s offer, choosing to carry it himself.
Following that, Lin Shuhuai pulled his mask higher and continued, “Grandfather, I have not returned for a long time. The changes in this village are far too fast.”
Lin Shoukun’s eyes shifted, a strange smile appearing on his wrinkled face.
“Oh my, Lin Shuhuai, you don’t know, but our village has government support. Every family made big money, so everyone had the funds to build houses.”
The village chief spoke with total composure, but the doubts in Lin Shuhuai’s heart grew even stronger.
There was an obvious flaw in the village chief’s words. If they had cooperated with the government and every family had built villas, why was the village still full of dirt roads? That could only mean they lacked the money to pave concrete roads, and the houses were not built with their own money either.
However, the village chief clearly did not want to discuss this topic and abruptly shifted the conversation away. He turned back to look at Lin Shuhuai, “Hurry back and rest. We still have a gathering early tomorrow morning.”
“Yes, exactly! Lin Shuhuai, hurry back and rest.” Second Aunt Lin rushed over hastily, “I will lead the way.”
“No need, I still remember the way.” Lin Shuhuai answered stiffly, dragging his suitcase forward.
Villagers stood all around, staring at his every movement.
Lin Shuhuai felt as though he was a lamb pinned to a chopping board, surrounded closely by a pack of wolves.
Lin Shuhuai lowered his head silently, striving to minimize his presence. He struggled to drag his suitcase toward the house from his memory.
“Brother, keep in touch at all times!” Bing Hua caught up quietly, speaking right beside his ear while showing him his phone. On the screen was a QR code.
Lin Shuhuai did not refuse either, casually adding his contact information.
“This Meow-Meow-Chan is you?” Lin Shuhuai pointed at the pink cat avatar, asking curiously.
“Yes, that is me.” Bing Hua scratched his head, speaking awkwardly. “Well, let us chat on the phone later.”
“Mm.” Lin Shuhuai gave a faint response and then continued walking forward.
The two parted ways at a fork in the road.
A few minutes later, Lin Shuhuai arrived in front of his grandmother’s house.
The house was just as it was in his memory, but the yard was overgrown with weeds. Lin Shuhuai did not mind it, pushing open the gate gently and stepping inside.
Lin Shuhuai pulled off the white cloth covering the furniture, wiped down the tables and chairs with a rag, and cleaned up a bit, considering himself settled in.
“And she said she had already cleaned it for me. What a joke.” Lin Shuhuai gave a mocking smile. Did he not know what kind of person Second Aunt Lin was? She was a petty person who calculates every detail and never tells the truth.
Lin Shuhuai lay on the bed, his head filled with the events that had occurred today.
It was inappropriate to ask directly during the daytime, but reflecting on it now, Lin Family Village revealed strangeness everywhere.
First, the village had inexplicably become wealthy, with every household buying villas, yet they lacked the money to pave concrete roads.
Second, the village was constantly permeated by a rotting smell that he found unbearable. Fortunately, this smell was not present inside his grandmother’s house, otherwise Lin Shuhuai would have been driven crazy.
Finally, and the point he cared about the most, was the villagers’ attitude toward him.
From Second Aunt Lin to the village chief to the ordinary villagers, the way they looked at him was like looking at prey, making one shudder.
They definitely have things hidden from me, and they might even want to harm me. No, as soon as I get the items tomorrow, I will leave immediately.
Lin Shuhuai began to feel nervous again. He instinctively clutched the jade pendant on his chest, whispering softly, “Grandmother, you must protect me.”
He curled his body up, trembling under the blanket.
After some time passed, the breathing inside the room became steady. Lin Shuhuai fell asleep while clutching the jade pendant.
Just after he fell asleep, a strand of black mist crept in through the crack in the window. Then, as if it had already locked onto its target long ago, it charged toward the person on the bed.