The old temple outside the village has been abandoned for over twenty years?
Impossible, that's absolutely impossible!
I panicked at once, my heart gripped as if by something cruel.
Granny Tang watched me grow up. These past ten-plus years, she has always been by my side.
When my parents went to the provincial capital to work, I stayed at Grandmother's house. Whenever I was wronged, I would run to Granny Tang and cry.
She always stroked my hair gently to comfort me, and whatever good food there was, she always saved some for me.
How could this possibly be a mistake?
For over ten years I have been able to see Granny Tang. How could she not exist?
Seeing my face shift between expressions, Mom sighed and said firmly, "That temple was abandoned around the time I married into Baihe Village. Many of the village's fields have to pass by the Old Temple. Would I not know whether anyone lives there? Besides, the temple is in such ruins, how could anyone live in it?"
She paused, then continued, "I've heard the village elders say that a group of people in strange clothing came from somewhere, carried a blood coffin, buried it there, and built a Earth Store Bodhisattva temple. When I first married into the village, the temple still had some incense offerings, but later everyone said the temple was unclean, and it gradually fell into disuse. Now even passersby keep their distance..."
Hearing Mom's words, my heart felt as though an invisible hand had clamped down on it, the pain unbearable.
In broad daylight, fear crept over me like a maggot clinging to bone, pressing down until I could barely breathe.
I looked down at the glaringly red red cord on my right wrist, and a chill ran through me.
Unable to hold myself together any longer, I dropped the vegetable basin with a "thud" and began frantically yanking at the cord with my left hand, trying to pull it off.
Strangely, the red cord Granny Tang had so easily fastened on my wrist now seemed to be growing out of my skin, and no matter how hard I pulled, it wouldn't come off.
In desperation I tried biting it, my wrist aching from the tightness, but the cord didn't budge.
I was trembling all over, my legs went weak, and I nearly collapsed to the ground.
Suddenly I thought of burning the cord, so I hurriedly grabbed a lighter and lit the flame to burn the red cord.
But the red cord was unharmed, utterly unafraid of fire.
"Mom!" I cried out in a trembling voice, my palms ice-cold, screaming in terror.
Mom rushed out of the kitchen in a flurry. "What's wrong?"
Sobbing, I pointed at my wrist. "The red cord, I can't get the red cord off my hand!"
Mom looked down anxiously, but her face showed confusion. "Isn't your hand fine? Where's any red cord?"
I froze, eyes wide.
Mom... she can't see it?
"Xiao Yin, what's wrong with you?" Mom's eyes were full of worry.
Tears streamed uncontrollably down my face, my fear reaching its peak.
Mom hurriedly wiped her hands on her apron, came over and hugged me. "There, there, don't be scared! Are you under too much mental pressure? I don't understand schoolwork, but don't put so much pressure on yourself."
My whole body was ice-cold. Huddled in her arms, my eyes darting around, I said through chattering teeth, "Mom, there's... there's a ghost in our house!"
Mom froze for a moment, frowned, "Nonsense, don't say such foolish things at home again! Don't think about anything lately. Go out and have fun for a few days, I'll give you money."
She still believed I was under too much pressure and was imagining things.
My voice hoarse, I said quietly, "You... don't you find that black jar Grandmother brought back a bit strange?"
Mom didn't understand what I meant. She smiled wryly and said, "She's so old, let her fuss over whatever she likes!"
"Alright, just play here a while, dinner will be ready soon." Mom patted my back and turned back to the kitchen.
I slumped limply onto a stool, my mind in a tangle.
Could it be that what that fake Xiao Lin said was true?
That the red cord on my hand was a marriage thread, and once the Three Nines period passed, it could never be removed?
Could it be that, as Mom said, there was never any Temple Keeper in that Old Temple?
Did Granny Tang, whom I'd seen these past ten-plus years, not exist at all?
At dinner I had no appetite at all.
Mom put soup and food into an insulated container, saying she would take it to Dad and let me play at home by myself.
Flustered and unable to settle, I went back and forth in my mind, and in the end decided to put Xiao Hei into my backpack and ride my electric scooter out.
I wouldn't give up; I had to go to the Old Temple myself and see for myself.
Xiao Hei poked its little head out of my backpack. I rode the electric scooter with it on my back, which must have looked ridiculous, drawing many passersby's stares along the way.
Although I had mentally prepared myself, when I saw the Old Temple with my own eyes, the last flicker of hope in my heart was completely extinguished.
The Old Temple was nothing but crumbling walls. The top of the walls was overgrown with dead weeds, the temple gate leaned askew as if it might collapse at any moment.
Inside the temple was utter desolation: broken tiles covered the ground, and the roof beams were riddled with holes, exuding a gloomy ghostly energy.
This was the Old Temple where Granny Tang lived, yet it was absolutely not the way I remembered it.
These past ten-plus years, was it my hallucination, or... was Granny Tang really a ghost all along?
My fear had reached its peak, yet my body had gone numb and couldn't move.
The images from my memory now blurred and indistinct, as if they had never truly existed.
My heart was in turmoil; I didn't even know how I had gotten back home.
That night, I locked every door and window tight, then crawled under the covers and wrapped my head up completely.
Before long, I felt suffocated under the blanket and had to poke my head back out.
Thankfully the light was still on. I scrolled through videos on my phone for a while, trying to distract myself.
Just then, the room's temperature suddenly began to drop. The overhead incandescent bulb emitted a crackling "zzt" sound, flickered a few times, and then went out with a "pop."
The room plunged into darkness instantly. Just as I was about to scream, a cold hand suddenly clamped over my mouth.
I shuddered violently, as if struck by electricity.
After a brief darkness, a faint light seeped through the window. In the dim bedside, a man sat with his side to me, coldly staring at me through a mask.
I remembered that fake Xiao Lin had said that once the red thread on my wrist turned deep red, he would come to take me away.
He really was a demon.
I had locked the doors and windows tightly, yet he appeared directly in my room.
This is it, he's definitely here to take me away.
At the thought, I jolted, and with lightning speed pulled my head into the blanket, curling up into a ball, trembling as I begged, "Ghost grandpa, no... ghost big brother! Please let me go, I'll burn paper for you every day, just don't kill me, don't kill me..."
I wailed and sobbed under the blanket, but his icy voice came through my ears: "Come out."
How dare I come out? The moment I did, he would kill me.
Crying, I pleaded, "I don't want to die, you... you let me go, tell me what you want, I'll burn it for you, will that do?"
His tone remained cold: "I'll say it once more. Come out!"
"No, you'll kill me! I'm not coming out!" I summoned my courage and shouted.
From outside the covers came a faint "tsk," as if carrying a trace of a sneer.
After a long while, there was no movement outside. I thought he had left, and had just let out a sigh of relief when his voice came again, cold: "Isn't it uncomfortable to hold your breath?"
It was very uncomfortable. I was nearly out of air, breathing becoming difficult.
I held on a little longer, but I could no longer endure it. I had no choice but to steel myself and slowly poke my head out from under the covers.
The moment my head emerged, he leaned in close, his eyes behind the mask cold as he stared at me, his voice laced with a hint of mockery: "So you're this scared of me?"