The phone fell to the ground, screen facing up, and only then did I see that it was a call from my mom.
I let out a sigh of relief, trembling as I picked up the phone and answered the call.
"Mom, what's wrong?" I tried to keep my voice calm.
On the other end, Mom's voice was a bit hoarse, carrying a hint of anxiety: "Your dad and I are at the hospital now, and we won't be coming back tonight. Stay home and don't go running around!"
"Hospital?" My heart tightened. "What happened?"
Mom fell silent for two seconds, then spoke in a low voice: "Your dad was in a car accident."
"What?" I gasped. "How did it happen? Is it serious?"
Mom sighed: "He crashed into a guardrail while driving today. His leg is fractured. It's not too serious, but he has to stay in the hospital for observation for a couple of days."
I breathed a little easier and told Mom to take good care of Dad, and that I would handle things at home.
After hanging up, I couldn't shake the faint feeling that something was wrong.
Dad had a bad temper most of the time, but he had always been steady behind the wheel. How could he suddenly crash into a guardrail?
This made me think of yesterday, when I had hit that aunt. A chill ran through me. It felt as if something ominous had latched onto our whole family.
Xiao Lin saw how pale I was. Although she had been badly frightened herself, she softly comforted me: "Maybe you've just been under too much stress lately. Don't keep overthinking things."
I forced out a smile, but I didn't know what to say.
Xiao Lin comforted me for quite a while. Seeing that it was getting late, she stood up and said, "Alright, stop thinking so much. I have to head back."
I instinctively grabbed her sleeve. My hand trembled slightly, and my voice carried a plea: "How about... you stay over tonight and keep me company? I... I'm a little scared."
I was truly scared, especially at the thought of having to guard the house alone tonight.
Xiao Lin hesitated. Seeing the fear all over my face, she finally softened and nodded: "Alright."
I looked at her gratefully: "Thank you."
That evening, we ate something simple and then went into my room.
I never dared to touch the jar under the bed. My instinct told me that if I broke it, something even more terrible might happen.
Xiao Lin noticed the jar, but she didn't ask anything. She just quietly glanced at me.
We lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, chatting idly about things from the past.
Perhaps because my nerves had been strung so tight these past two days, the moment I relaxed, exhaustion came rushing over me like a tide.
As we talked, my consciousness began to blur, and my eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
In my drowsy state, I sensed that Xiao Lin's body was unusually cold. Even though we were under the same blanket, her body heat didn't transfer to me at all. Instead, the blanket felt chillingly cold.
From outside the door came Xiao Hei's low whimpering. The sound gradually faded away, finally vanishing into complete silence.
I had a dream.
In the dream, Mom was sitting on the bed with disheveled hair, holding a baby in her arms. She rocked it gently while murmuring words I couldn't make out, as if coaxing a child to sleep.
I called out, "Mom?"
Mom's body suddenly froze, and she slowly turned her head.
Her eyes were blood red, her face deathly pale, and her voice was cold and piercing: "Look what you've done to your little brother! Why didn't you feed him blood? Why didn't you feed him blood..."
I looked down, and the thing she was holding was a dead infant, its face twisted, looking like an evil spirit.
Mom tossed the child aside, lunged at me, and clamped her hands tightly around my neck. Her face was twisted beyond recognition.
I jolted awake, and as I opened my eyes, I nearly died of fright at the sight before me.
Xiao Lin was straddling me, her hands clamped tightly around my neck.
Her eyes were shut tight, and her face was hideous, as if she had been possessed by something terrifying.
"Xi... Hehe!" I tried to shout, but only a faint wheeze came out. My throat felt as though it were about to be crushed.
I struggled desperately, prying at her hands with all my strength, but her strength was astonishing, and I could not break free at all.
The suffocating feeling blackened my vision, and my consciousness began to fade.
Just as I was nearly in despair, my chest suddenly grew hot, and a red light flashed.
Xiao Lin abruptly let go with a short cry, then collapsed limply to the side.
I gasped for air, my face flushed red, my throat burning painfully.
Xiao Lin also woke up and looked at me in bewilderment: "What's wrong? What happened?"
Once I had recovered, I told her what had just happened.
Xiao Lin was so frightened that she began to tremble all over, her voice shaking: "I... I don't remember anything at all..."
Clearly, something had bewitched her mind, and she had no idea what she had been doing.
I forced down the fear in my heart and comforted her with a few words.
That night, neither of us dared to sleep again. We simply lay there with our eyes open until dawn.
Early the next morning, Xiao Lin didn't even eat breakfast. She hurriedly said goodbye to me and left.
I could understand her fear, but living like this, constantly on edge, was truly pushing me to the brink of collapse.
I couldn't help feeling that the root of all this was the ghost jar under the bed.
Should I believe what he said?
Carry the jar east and find a peach tree to bury it under?
But wasn't he a demon himself?
What sins had I committed to bring these ghostly things upon myself!
If that ghost jar really was behind all this, carrying it outside would be far too risky.
What if I got hit by a car halfway there?
After thinking it over, I decided to visit Mom and Dad during the day, and ask Dad exactly what had happened.
Still, I felt the road would be unsafe.
I glanced at Xiao Hei, and an idea stirred in my mind.
This little guy seemed to have some skill. If I brought him along, he might prove useful.
I took out a small backpack and was about to stuff Xiao Hei inside when the front door suddenly swung open.
I looked up. Mom walked in, her face pale and deeply weary.
"Mom, why are you back?" I was a little surprised.
Mom rubbed her temples, her voice hoarse: "I came back to make some soup to nourish your dad. What are you doing?"
She saw that I was stuffing a dog into a backpack and looked puzzled.
I smiled awkwardly and set Xiao Hei back on the floor: "It's... nothing."
Mom didn't ask further. She went straight into the kitchen and started busying herself.
I followed her in, and while helping her wash vegetables, I cautiously asked: "How did Dad get into the accident?"
Mom sighed: "Last night your dad went to the countryside to collect mountain goods, and it was already dark when he came back. He said that halfway along the road, he suddenly saw a girl in a camisole standing right in the middle of the road. He didn't have time to brake, and in his panic he turned the steering wheel, and ended up hitting the guardrail."
I felt a chill as I listened: "Then... what about that girl?"
Mom frowned: "Your dad said that after he hit the guardrail and looked up, there was no one at all in front of the windshield. The road was completely empty. Where would a girl have come from?"
My heart tightened. This whole thing was deeply strange.
Mom sighed again: "Your dad has been driving for so many years and never had an accident. I don't know what's gotten into him this time."
I hesitated, then cautiously asked, "Mom, how about... we go and see Granny Tang?"
Mom paused and looked at me in confusion: "Who is Granny Tang?"
I was taken aback too: "She's the Temple Keeper at the Earth Store Bodhisattva temple outside our village!"
Mom frowned, her tone displeased: "Nonsense! That temple has been abandoned for over twenty years. Where would a Temple Keeper come from?"