Chapter 23
The woman from before was now standing in the archway. The umbrella in her hand was missing, and she was holding the porcelain vase in her hands.
At this time, Xue Liangliang was surprised to find that after arriving under the archway, not only the pulling force of the water disappeared, but also the previous terrifying suffocation feeling disappeared.
He immediately began to breathe heavily. However, he just kept doing this action, but could not get the desired effect.
My mouth and nose seemed to be blocked, with no fresh air coming in at all.
He suddenly realized that what had changed was only his feelings, and what had not changed was the reality in front of him.
He is still at the bottom of the river.
But how is this done?
He knows how to swim. When he was a child in his hometown in Anhui, he often played in the water and swam with his friends. After going to college, he would occasionally go to a swimming pool with his classmates and swim laps happily.
But he didn't feel that his water ability was really so good. He had been in the water for so long, and he had already passed his limit of holding his breath.
I touched the area under the ears and found that the skin was still the same and no gills had grown.
He even looked back behind him and beyond. He wondered if he had drowned long ago, and now he was just...
Xue Liangliang held his head hard. He was forcing himself to calm down. He could use the method that was very effective in exams and looking at design plans, but it lost its effect at this moment.
He was still panicking inside, his body was still swaying, and his teeth were chattering.
He was afraid, afraid of the environment at the bottom of the river, afraid of this archway, and also afraid of the woman standing in the archway holding a porcelain bottle. He desperately wanted to escape from here, if he could.
At this time, the woman moved and started walking inside.
Xue Liangliang didn't move. He didn't dare to walk into the archway or actively explore the town.
However, after putting some distance between the woman and him, that terrible feeling of suffocation reappeared.
Xue Liangliang had to stagger forward a few steps quickly, and the feeling of suffocation disappeared again.
He understood that as long as he was too far away from that woman, that feeling would appear.
The woman continued to walk in front, and Xue Liangliang could only follow her and walked into the archway.
He had no choice. For someone who had just experienced despair and suffocation, going back to experience the torture would be several times or even dozens of times more painful.
There was obviously no connection between the woman and him, but there seemed to be a chain somewhere, with one end in the woman's hand and the other around his neck.
Behind the archway, there are more than thirty consecutive levels of downward steps.
Xue Liangliang couldn't help but be a little confused. Logically speaking, unless the specific terrain environment forced it to be built this way, most ancient villages and towns with archways would not choose this pattern of sinking as soon as they entered the main entrance.
The ancients preferred to raise the terrain a little higher, with the archway in front and below, and the terrain at the back higher, so as to better highlight the momentum.
But here, it's okay not to raise it up, but it's deliberately concave, and the concave is so big.
No wonder when I looked at this place from the outside, the buildings in the town felt very hazy, because half of them were actually covered, leaving only the upper half visible.
In addition, the shape of the steps is also very strange. Generally, the edges at both ends are designed with smooth smooth surfaces, and most of the area in the middle is used for people to walk up and down. But here, there is a huge smooth surface in the center for people to walk on. The steps are on both sides. They are very narrow and steep.
When walking down, Xue Liangliang sometimes had to turn sideways, as if everyone walking here had small feet.
After descending the steps and reaching the ground, what we saw was a stone brick road that was not very spacious and even seemed a bit cramped.
Moreover, these stone bricks are not laid flat, but are all erected with the small end facing up. This will not only consume more bricks but also increase the amount of construction.
At the same time, due to the erosion of time, no matter how good the ancient road surface is, it will be uneven, and because of this strange brick design, it is impossible to find an open space for your feet to land smoothly.
Every time you step on the foot, only a small part of the foot can be firmly stepped on, and the rest is empty. You have to walk extra carefully. If you are not careful, you may easily sprain your foot and fall.
Fortunately, the woman holding the porcelain bottle in front of her didn't walk too fast, and Xue Liangliang could still keep up.
After getting used to the road conditions, Xue Liangliang began to look at the houses on both sides.
The layout of the residential buildings is very compact, and the overall layout is the architectural style of Jiangnan water towns, with white walls and gray tiles.
Between the entrance of each house and the road, there is a groove less than half a meter, with a stone slab on top. This should be a drainage channel.
Xue Liangliang couldn't understand the significance of building a drainage channel at the bottom of the river...unless the town entered the river later.
On the left side of the door of each house, there is an alcove with a candle burning inside, emitting a faint green light.
At first, the doors of the houses that caught his eye when he first came in were all closed, but soon, Xue Liangliang saw the open ones, and it was so dark inside that he couldn't see clearly.
An uncomfortable feeling also emerged in Xue Liangliang's mind. This feeling did not come from inner fear and oppression, but from an unreasonableness, especially after seeing these residential doors.
After thinking for a moment, he finally figured out that it was because there was no threshold below these doors.
Modern architecture has naturally abandoned thresholds long ago, and people are used to seeing and using them. But the problem is that in traditional-style buildings, doors are often designed to be very high and long, so once there is no threshold, it will give people a sense of Very inconsistent feeling.
It's too direct and too eerie, like a monster opening its mouth, making you feel intimidated.
"Ah!"
While walking, Xue Liangliang suddenly saw a person sitting in a house with an open door on the right.
He was so frightened that he took two steps back. The damn uneven ground made him lose his balance and slipped to the ground. The direction where he was sitting was facing the door.
There was an old woman sitting in the door. Her skin looked very pale and slightly swollen due to being soaked in water for a long time.
She was wearing a blue jacket, the color was as bright as the shroud, but the design was more complicated.
The head, neck, and hands are covered with all kinds of jewelry.
She just sat there, as if she had been sitting for a long time. Fortunately, she had her eyes closed.
"Huh...huh..."
If her eyes were open, Xue Liangliang felt that she might be so inadvertently frightened that she would faint.
Although the environment he is currently in and the woman leading the way are very weird, the unique design of the residence and the people sitting inside can create another more impactful horror in the already weird atmosphere. .
Xue Liangliang got up, feeling the suffocation faintly showing signs of reappearing. He immediately jogged forward, closing the distance between himself and the woman.
In his mind, he still saw the old woman sitting in the door. It was dark behind her and no furniture could be seen.
This makes this compact house with only two floors look like a tomb that belongs to her alone.
An open tomb.
It turns out that this is not a vacant and flooded town.
So, were there people in the closed houses that I saw when I came in?
For those houses with doors open but no one inside, could their owners... be on the second floor?
Thinking of this, Xue Liangliang subconsciously narrowed the distance between himself and the woman.
Although he was also afraid of this woman, when he thought that the houses on both sides were tombs, and he was walking in the middle of the tomb passage, it seemed that the woman in front of him made him more adaptable. At least, she could move.
As he walked, Xue Liangliang saw the second house with an open door and people sitting inside.
This is a young girl, wearing embroidered clothes, with her hair raised high, looking very solemn. She is sitting there with her hands folded on her knees, her eyes closed, and her lips are particularly bright red.
After Xue Liangliang glanced at her, he immediately shuddered and looked away.
Then, he saw a woman sitting in the door wearing a cheongsam. Her waist was very thin, her sitting posture was very enchanting, her hands were placed by her sides, and she seemed to be smiling at the corners of her mouth.
It seems as if she is silently tempting you to go inside and talk to her.
Xue Liangliang discovered that the deeper he went, the more houses with open doors, and the greater the proportion of women sitting inside.
From the time he saw the first old woman to now, he has seen more than a dozen women sitting in the door.
They are of different age groups and have different clothing styles, but they all dress themselves up very formally, much like the kind of rural old people who buy themselves shrouds and materials before leaving, and want to keep the most respectable side of themselves for the rest of their lives. Come on.
This is what they carefully designed for themselves...to look like after death.
Because of being soaked in water, their skin color is very white, a bit too white.
But unlike those giants that formed after being immersed in water for a long time, they generally did not deform. At least, they retained their original state to a great extent.
What is even more difficult to understand is that the dead were either sick or injured during their lifetime or died naturally due to old age. In short, their basic condition is not very good.
But among them, even the oldest old woman still retains a kind of calmness.
It seems that they did not go to death when the oil ran out, but actively chose to die when they still had the ability to live calmly.
To be honest, if there were all kinds of tragic deaths, Xue Liangliang would not be so scared.
But it happened to be this kind of atmosphere, I dressed up deliberately, sitting here, showing you, or looking at you, which made him extremely stressed.
In a trance, I will feel lost in consciousness. Am I observing them, or are they sitting in the room observing me?
In shock, Xue Liangliang bumped into the woman's back.
The woman didn't know when she stopped.
The woman did not move after the collision, and Xue Liangliang fell backwards to the ground.
The woman did not look back, but turned to the right, changed direction, and walked in.
Here, there is a crossroads with two small land bridges on both sides. There is no water underneath, it is purely for decoration and Feng Shui purposes.
Xue Liangliang got up and could only follow the woman around the corner.
Next...the doors of all the houses on both sides were open, and in each house, there was a woman sitting.
"Ah..."
Xue Liangliang felt that his spirit was about to collapse. Although they all closed their eyes, the intensive "sense of gaze" that still existed made him extremely painful and hesitant.
He could only choose the most ostrich way, following the woman with his head half lowered and not looking to both sides.
Although he still couldn't help but catch some from the corner of his eye, and although his heartbeat began to beat faster and faster, he finally persisted.
Normal people would go crazy if they came here.
If Xiao Yuan were here, he would behave differently from ordinary people?
Forget it, Xiaoyuan better not come here. He still doesn’t know if he can get out alive. No, he is not even sure if he is still alive now?
Finally, the houses on both sides disappeared.
Xue Liangliang stroked his forehead and took a deep breath. Even if it was just a simple action, he needed to relieve his inner pressure now.
Then, immediately pursue the woman.
At this time, without the terrifying stares from both sides, he could finally raise his head and look forward.
In front of it is a small open space, where a quaint building that is obviously different from other residential buildings stands there.
It should be the ancestral hall of Baijia Town.
Xue Liangliang couldn't help but stop. Do you want to go in?
Immediately, he walked forward, why did he hesitate, as if he had a choice.
"Squeak..."
The dark door of the ancestral hall slowly opened when the woman approached.
This ancestral hall still has no threshold, and after entering, there are still steps going down. The middle is still large and smooth, with only a little space on both sides for walking down.
After passing through a square courtyard that was not very spacious, the woman continued walking inside.
As Xue Liangliang followed her, his eyes were attracted by the old well in the middle. The well's mouth was not upward, but sunken downwards, and a nearby area was sunk downwards.
This is not acquired, it was designed like this from the beginning.
Around the well wall are rusty chains.
This can't help but make Xue Liangliang wonder whether it is to facilitate the people above to go down to get water, or to facilitate the people below to climb up.
The core location of the ancestral hall has arrived.
The woman held the bottle and knelt down without moving forward.
Xue Liangliang approached her, came to the side, and looked at the woman again.
Why does this young woman, who is obviously dressed in modern attire and has a dusty air, appear here, and is she so familiar with this place...as if she is going home?
So now, should I continue to stay here with her, or should I go inside and take a look?
With her as the center of the circle, he could have a certain range of movement, but he had been following her before and did not dare to go forward.
But he still chose to continue standing next to the woman and not go anywhere.
But, gradually, the feeling of suffocation resurfaced.
He began to feel uncomfortable pain, and his hands subconsciously clutched his neck.
However, the woman was right here, kneeling diagonally in front of him. Why did this feeling come again?
Xue Liangliang moved closer to the woman, but the feeling of suffocation did not disappear.
Is it useless?
He couldn't imagine that in such a gloomy and depressing place, he would have to continue to endure the torture of endless suffocation. What kind of torture was this with no end in sight?
"Uh...ah..."
Xue Liangliang also knelt down, wailing in pain.
His consciousness became blurred again and again at this time, and he regained consciousness again and again. He hated his current clarity of mind, because it caused his spirit to be tortured by repeated whippings.
With a "pop" sound, Xue Liangliang leaned forward and fell forward.
Because there is no threshold, strictly speaking, half of his body entered the core of the ancestral hall.
At this time, he suddenly found that the suffocation feeling had weakened.
After a brief hesitation, he immediately moved inside again, and the feeling of suffocation was reduced again.
He realized that the woman holding the vase was no longer working. The chain she was holding him was broken, and the new chain was inside!
He continued to crawl in until the suffocation completely disappeared and he was finally able to stand up.
Looking back behind me, it was dark outside the door, and only the woman holding a vase at the door could be vaguely visible.
Looking in front of him again, he saw a huge red coffin.
There was a shelf under the coffin to hold it up, so Xue Liangliang stood on tiptoe and could only vaguely see some of the yellow lining inside the coffin, but could not see the inside unless he climbed up the coffin.
With an uneasy feeling, he slowly moved around the coffin, thinking that he might see something popping up at any time.
However, after I walked around the coffin, nothing terrible appeared.
Directly opposite the head of the coffin, there should be a table and memorial holder, but there is none here, only a Taishi chair.
On both sides of the coffin are blue brick walls.
The ancestral hall in the center of Baijia Town looks too simple and deserted, like a house that has been built and renovated but has not been moved in yet.
But, is this really the case?
Xue Liangliang thought of the women sitting in the houses he passed along the way. If everyone died at home, there seemed to be no need to place memorial tablets in the ancestral hall.
So, is there a way out here?
Xue Liangliang did not give up on saving himself. He vaguely felt that the way out should be in this ancestral hall.
Next, he boldly stopped circling the coffin and began to move around the coffin in a larger area. He walked around the three walls while groping, and he made a full circle.
He would even tap the bricks with his hands to see if he could find a hollow secret door. At the same time, when walking, he would stamp his feet on the ground extra hard to test whether there was a tunnel.
Unfortunately, he couldn't find it.
The area here is actually not too big, but it is also too empty. It is so empty that it is difficult to hide anything.
So, what about the top of your head?
Xue Liangliang raised his head and looked up. It was a very ordinary old-fashioned beam roof design. He had no way to go up and explore it unless he found some tools.
But, go to those residential houses to find tools?
Xue Liangliang felt chills on his back when he thought of the women sitting behind the doors of the houses. He had to go around them and rummage through their houses... He would rather stay here.
"Huh?"
However, after completing a large circle and arriving at the entrance, Xue Liangliang was surprised to find that the woman kneeling there holding the porcelain bottle was gone.
I don’t know where the porcelain bottle went.
This sudden change made Xue Liangliang feel terrified again. The woman he had followed all the way here was actually the "thing" he was most familiar with here.
Her disappearance is equivalent to putting herself back into hesitation and loneliness.
He wanted to look for the woman to see if she had changed her position and knelt down or gone to another place. But when he was about to walk towards the door of the house, he was still some distance away from the door, but the suffocation feeling appeared again!
However, when I just entered the door before, I didn't feel this way anymore.
Xue Liangliang took a deep breath that didn't exist at all, and then rushed to the door with all his strength. The feeling of suffocation came over him again. He endured the pain and came outside. Looking around, I didn't see that woman. She really disappeared. She was really not here anymore.
At the same time, the outermost door of the ancestral hall that I entered earlier had been closed at some point.
But now, it was his limit, and he couldn't even run to the yard.
He could only run back quickly, his feet began to float, and he fell to the ground, his body like a shrimp that was constantly squeezed dry.
Finally, he climbed to the coffin again, the feeling of suffocation subsided, and he was saved again.
But when he raised his head and looked at the bottom of the coffin above, he couldn't help but wonder: Is this really redemption?
After recovering for a while, he climbed up and began to tentatively walk sideways.
He was horrified to find that as long as he left the coffin for a certain distance, the feeling of suffocation would appear and become more rapid.
But before, I could walk close to the wall and even touched the bricks with my hands.
This means that the scope of his activities has been narrowed again.
When he came to the head of the coffin, his eyes suddenly blurred. He seemed to see a person sitting on the chair facing the coffin head.
But when he looked again, the man was gone.
No, it’s not because I’m dazzled. It may be like this in other places, but not here!
Xue Liangliang walked around the coffin again, and then reached the head of the coffin again with a quick stride.
This time, he saw that there was indeed a person sitting on the Grand Master's chair, and that person... was himself!
Xue Liangliang clenched his fists. He felt that he was going crazy. He couldn't understand why the guy who looked exactly like him was sitting there.
If he is Xue Liangliang, who am I?
He reached out to touch his face and found that the touch surface was no different from before. After confirming that he was still himself, he looked up again and found that the Taishi chair was empty again.
Although if he ran around the coffin again, there was a high probability that he would see the person on the Taishi's chair again, Xue Liangliang did not have the courage to do it again.
At the same time, he couldn't do it anymore.
Because the feeling of suffocation reappeared, even though he was holding the coffin with one hand now, the feeling of suffocation still came.
It is shrinking, as if it has been standing in an invisible underwater bubble. This bubble was moving before, and now it is shrinking.
Once you lose its shelter, you will no longer be able to find a space to breathe.
Xue Liangliang began to cling to the coffin. He found that the closer his face was to the coffin, the weaker the feeling of suffocation became.
But gradually, he realized that it was not enough, and the feeling of suffocation was getting worse.
No, no, not like this...
Xue Liangliang's feet began to step on the shelf below, and he started to climb up while holding on to the edge of the coffin.
After waiting up, he felt relaxed again, and he once again successfully escaped the suffocating pursuit.
But when he lowered his head and looked down, his eyes suddenly froze, his mouth opened wide, his arms lost strength, and he fell down.
He saw a person lying in the coffin!
A woman wearing red clothes, with a red veil on her head, and her hands on her belly!
The pain after falling was second, and the most terrifying thing was the feeling of suffocation wrapped up again.
Previously, Xue Liangliang could run outside to check for traces of the woman, but now, he seemed to be unable to accept it as soon as he left the safe area.
If it was just suffocation originally, now it's like a pair of invisible and terrifyingly powerful hands are squeezing your neck.
What you endure is no longer just the pain of suffocation, but also the intuitive pain of your neck being constantly pinched and twisted.
Xue Liangliang immediately got up, stepped on the shelf with his feet again, grabbed the sides of the coffin with both hands, and lifted himself up.
Stimulated by tremendous pain and torture, he overcame his inner fear just to find that moment of comfort.
Although, this kind of comfort will most likely not last long.
He tried his best not to look at the woman lying in the coffin. He shifted his gaze and looked from top to bottom in the direction the head of the coffin was facing. He saw himself again on the Grand Master's chair.
However, the person on the chair was dressed differently from the one he was wearing now. The other person was wearing a black and shiny gown, purple trousers on the lower body, a hat on his head, and a red flower hanging on his chest.
It's very similar to...the groom's dress in the past.
Especially the face that looked exactly like his own made Xue Liangliang so frightened that he burst into tears.
At this moment, he felt that himself on the Taishi's chair was more terrifying than the woman in the coffin.
So, he lowered his head and looked at the woman.
When we first entered the town, all the women behind the doors of the houses were sitting, but this woman was lying down, and she was lying in the core and center of the ancestral hall.
At this time, the feeling of suffocation resurfaced.
Xue Liangliang felt like an animal being driven with a whip.
Although he had already made some guesses in his mind, he still stuck his head out, moving up, left and right to feel the intensity of the suffocation.
In the end, he found that his guess was correct. Only by going inside the coffin could he be safe.
His hands were clinging to the side of the coffin, making the final inner struggle.
However, the approaching and increasingly intense feeling of suffocation greatly shortened his hesitation time.
He exerted force on his waist, reached up to the side of the coffin with one foot, reached down with his hands, and hugged the inner wall of the coffin.
His original intention was to only let his upper body go in and keep as much distance as possible from the woman inside.
It's just that he overestimated his current physical strength. When he finally turned up, he was no longer able to maintain his balance and make the next move. Instead, he lost control and fell into the coffin.
He hugged the woman. The woman's body was cold and slippery.
But this kind of smoothness is not in the conventional sense, it is more like a jellyfish or some kind of secretion. In short, it makes people extremely physically uncomfortable.
At this moment,
Xue Liangliang was horrified to find that the woman in front of him slowly raised her head.
Along with her movements,
The red gauze that originally covered her face,
Also slid down slowly.
"Buzz!" "Buzz!" "Buzz!"
On the Baijia Town archway, the white lanterns on that side suddenly turned red.
Taking it as a starting point, the candles in the niches at the entrances of all the houses in the entire town also changed from green to red, filled with a kind of gloomy yet permeable joy.
"Squeak..."
"Squeak..."
The closed doors of the houses were slowly pushed open from the inside.
The woman who had the door open and was sitting inside slowly stood up.
Soon,
Women of different age groups and dressed in different eras walked out of the house one after another, stepped on the bluestone slab on the sink, and came to the roadside.
They appeared from houses in various locations in the town, then lined up and moved slowly at the same speed.
The direction in which they gathered was the ancestral hall in the center of the town.
Although they all still had their eyes closed and no one opened their mouths, the rustling sounds continued to appear in the town.
At first, it was very weak and messy, but gradually, the sound became louder and more orderly.
In the end, it merged into a neat sound, like everyone singing, resounding over Baijia Town:
"The Heavenly Official has blessed me, and the Bai family is looking for a son-in-law!"
……
"Hello, hello, I'm Li Zhuiyuan."
"Hello, do you know Xue Liangliang?"
"Knowing."
"I seem to have heard your voice. My surname is Luo. Have we met somewhere?"
"Are you Director Luo? I am the kid who was with Brother Liangliang yesterday."
"Oh, it's you."
"Director Luo, what happened?"
"Something happened to Liangliang. When he was unconscious, he muttered 'Xiaoyuan' and read out this phone number."
"Brother Liangliang, what happened to him?"
"He fell into the water on the boat and is now being rescued in the hospital. The doctor said his condition is very bad."
"Can I go see him?"
"Okay, I'll send a car to pick you up right away and give you a specific location."
"Shijiaqiao, Shinan Town, we will wait for the bus there."
"Okay."
After hanging up the phone, Li Zhuiyuan immediately raised his arms and found that the mark had completely disappeared and did not reappear now.
So, what happened to Brother Liangliang?
Could it be that the Bai family lady still holds a grudge and came to take revenge on him again?
But this shouldn’t be the case. Aren’t they already broken?
Li Zhuiyuan took out his pocket money from his pocket and said to Aunt Zhang: "Aunt Zhang, let me buy a pack of cigarettes for my grandfather and some candies."
"Okay, I'll get it for you...here, just right."
"Thank you Aunt Zhang."
Li Zhuiyuan put the cigarettes and candies into his pocket and walked home with a solemn expression.
He vaguely realized that this matter should be related to the Bai family's wife, and it was by no means a simple fall into the water and coma.
Otherwise, Brother Liangliang wouldn't be mumbling his name and phone number when he was unconscious.
The most important thing is that if things weren't weird enough, Luo Gong wouldn't have sent a car to pick up his kid so late at night. He must have been very anxious.
Back on the dam, Aunt Liu was putting away the dishes and cleaning, while Uncle Qin was chopping firewood. These were all tasks delayed by watching movies.
The lights in the east room were on, but the door was closed. Liu Yumei and Ah Li should be in the room. After watching the movie tonight, Liu Yumei was in a very bad state of mind.
Li Zhuiyuan walked up to Uncle Qin and asked, "Uncle Qin."
"Xiaoyuan, what's the matter?"
"My soy sauce bottle has fallen over, would you lend a hand to help it?"
Uncle Qin: "..."
"That's the college student who stayed with us last night. He had an accident and is now being treated in the hospital.
I won't tell anyone about this, let alone my grandpa. So, Uncle Qin, can you help me? ”
Uncle Qin touched his pocket and took out some money: "Xiaoyuan, do you want to pay for his medical expenses? I have some here. I will ask your aunt for some later, and then give them to your friends."
"Okay...Thank you, Uncle Qin."
Li Zhuiyuan could only nod. It seemed that he could only wake up his grandfather and ask his opinion.
However, there was probably nothing he could do, because that day he also showed fear of the Bai family's wife and chose to retreat.
At this time, the door of the east room was opened from the inside.
Liu Yumei, who had changed into pajamas, walked out with her hair down, her eyes still very red.
"Ali, follow Xiaoyuan to the hospital to give money."
"Okay, I get it."
Li Zhuiyuan looked at Liu Yumei in surprise. He just wanted to give it a try. He didn't expect that Liu Yumei would nod so simply this time.
"Xiaoyuan, wait a moment, uncle will push the bicycle out."
"No, Uncle Qin, let's wait on the bridge south of the road at the entrance of the village. A car will pick us up."
"Oh, okay, let's go. If you come back late and your grandpa wakes up, your Aunt Liu will help you tell him, don't worry."
"Yeah."
"Do you need to get anything?"
"No, we can leave now."
Before leaving, Li Zhuiyuan bowed to Liu Yumei: "Thank you, grandma."
Liu Yumei didn't respond and turned around and entered the house.
After Li Zhuiyuan and Uncle Qin left, Aunt Liu came in with a basin of hot water. After putting the hot water on the shelf, she picked up the comb, walked to Liu Yumei's side, and helped her take care of her hair.
The growth rings of time will mercilessly crush everyone. Last year, Liu Yumei's hair was only silver-gray, but now, only the surface layer is still the same color. When the comb is combed open, there are soft white hair underneath.
Aunt Liu was combing her hair, feeling a little choked.
"Why are you crying?"
"Didn't cry."
"Ha." Liu Yumei put the tablet that she had wiped in her hand back.
"I want to know why you agreed this time.
Even if Uncle Sanjiang doesn’t know, it does have nothing to do with Uncle Sanjiang, but Xiaoyuan, after all, lives here, and he and Uncle Sanjiang are still related, just in case..."
"Of course I know what if." Liu Yumei looked at the rows of tablets in front of her, "But I'm in a bad mood today, so I don't want to worry about what if."
Aunt Liu combed her hair silently and didn't answer any more words.
Liu Yumei's voice suddenly rose: "Why, am I, an old lady, so old that I no longer have the qualifications to be willful?"
"No, you do, you do!"
Liu Yumei stood up, pointed at the tablets, and said excitedly:
"These guys took the fleet by themselves and went right away without even saying a word. The whole family, no, the whole family, all deliberately hid it from me!
Well, they were all so generous that no one was left alive. When I was left orphaned and widowed, did they ever think about me?
They didn't even want to leave any soul behind, they sacrificed them all, leaving me looking at these lifeless tablets for decades without anyone to talk to!
Why can't I just let them be willful? I have to stay here carefully, for fear that if something goes wrong, my luck will backfire.
This is not fair..."
As she spoke, tears flowed from Liu Yumei's eyes. She supported the altar table with one hand and covered her face with the other hand.
Aunt Liu was heartbroken, but she didn't know how to comfort her.
A few moments,
Liu Yumei put down her hands, raised her head again, looked at the tablets, and said with a smile:
"Haha, have you seen it? Have you seen it? How long has it been since you are gone? Those white rats under the river dare to climb up to the shore and disgust people."
Liu Yumei's expression became solemn and her eyes became sharp:
"Then I'll slap it back.
Let them remember,
On this river,
Who has the final say? ”
(End of chapter)