Upon returning to the village, it was already midday.
Naturally, there was no food stored in the old house, but James had brought back quite a few ingredients from the city the day before.
The kitchen was very simple, with only a small stove for burning honeycomb briquettes. There were, however, several hundred briquettes stacked up.
After all, it was a holiday, and they couldn't be too frugal.
The salted duck was cooked, food brought back from the city, along with a plate of stir-fried beef, a plate of braised tuna chunks, and a few home-cooked dishes.
This meal was quite decent, with a balanced mix of meat and vegetables, and full of color, aroma, and flavor. It whet Little Dog's appetite.
"Brother James, can we discuss something?" Little Dog mumbled while gnawing on a duck leg.
"No discussion!" James replied without looking up.
"I haven't even said what it's about yet." Little Dog became anxious.
"I know what you want to talk about without you saying it."
"Well then, if you don't get it right, you have to promise me something." Little Dog tried to be clever.
"If you want me to take you to the city, fine! But pass the entrance exam for the city's middle school first."
James knew Little Dog's little plan all too well.
The word "exam" made Little Dog deflate like a punctured balloon.
The duck leg in his mouth suddenly lost its taste.
"Brother James, I promise I'll only go for two days. Please take me there."
There was a short break during the Renewal Festival, so playing for two or three days wasn't much of an issue. However, Little Dog was like a monkey who would climb higher given the opportunity.
Once he agreed too easily, there would undoubtedly be various follow-up requests. Better to keep him waiting for now.
Little Dog didn't know James' thoughts and was about to insist when someone called out from outside the courtyard.
"Is anyone home?"
The two brothers went out to see an old man passing by.
He wore a round bamboo hat and a green-brown raincoat, with a pair of rarely seen straw shoes on his feet, covered in mud.
He was already severely hunchbacked, and with a fish basket on his back, he appeared even more bent over.
His raincoat was quite peculiar, much larger than ordinary ones, with some strange patterns on it that made it look rather odd. But overall, it was still identifiable as a fisherman's attire.
"Young man, I'm just passing by and would like to ask for a drink of water," the old man spoke with a heavy accent, barely understandable but definitely the local dialect.
"Sir, would you like to come in and sit down?" Although James' family wasn't particularly prominent, they never lacked manners. When dealing with others, James displayed a rare sophistication for his age.
"No, no, I don't want to dirty your house with all this mud on me," the old man waved his hands repeatedly.
"Little Dog, get some water for our guest."
Little Dog hurried inside and poured a glass of warm water.
The old man took the glass and was about to drink when he shook his head, "Us country folks are used to drinking unboiled water. Drinking boiled water gives us upset stomachs. Some well water will do."
"Hey, Sir! Who prefers unboiled water over boiled water?" Little Dog commented sarcastically. Nevertheless, he went to the well in the courtyard and drew up a small bucket of water.
Gulp...gulp...
Despite the old man's frail appearance, he drank the water with great enthusiasm and surprisingly large quantities.
He finished the small bucket of water in the blink of an eye, smacking his lips as if he still wanted more.
Even Little Dog, who was usually capable of consuming large amounts of food and drink, found this astonishing.
Handing back the bucket, Little Dog suddenly thought of a time when he won a "free refill" at a city beverage shop and blurted out, "Another bucket?"
"Another bucket?" The old man seemed to weigh whether it would be appropriate before giving a cheerful smile, "Alright, another bucket it is."
After finishing the second bucket, the old man finally seemed satisfied. He waved his hands and prepared to leave.
He walked a few steps, then wobbled back and gestured for James to come closer.
"Young man, I drank two buckets of your water. Let me give you some advice."
"Please do, Sir."
The old man chuckled mysteriously, and it seemed as if he muttered something under his breath, but it was unclear if he actually said anything at all.
"Remember, remember."
With a mysterious grin on his face, the old man hobbled away.
"Little Dog, did you hear what he said?"
"Brother James! You didn't hear either? Do you think that smelly old man is playing tricks on us? He obviously didn't say anything." Little Dog was annoyed and wanted to chase after him for an explanation.
James held him back and shook his head, "Let it go. The old man is so old; it's just two buckets of well water."
The two brothers returned to their house with disappointment.
However, before they reached the living room, they noticed something unusual in the hallway.
"What's written on this hallway?!"
There were three lines of large characters on the hallway wall, written with a fluid and powerful brushstroke.
The first and second lines had thirty three characters each, while the third line had twenty seven.
Who wrote them?
The back door was closed, and there was no one in the house. The two brothers were outside the courtyard the whole time, so it was impossible for anyone to enter through the front door.
Moreover, it seemed improbable for someone to write so many characters in such a short time.
The strangest thing was that the characters were written with water.
Dipping water to write large characters was something James often saw in the city.
In parks and even open areas of residential communities, there were always old men who enjoyed calligraphy and liked to show off their skills in this way.
It was strange for four reasons.
First, the appearance of the characters was extremely mysterious. They looked calm and unhurried, without any sense of haste. It seemed difficult for someone to complete this many characters in such a short time using normal writing speed.
Second, the courtyard wasn't very big, and they were standing at the door just seven or eight meters away from the hallway. Even if someone tried to write these characters sneakily, it would be impossible not to make any noise.
Third, when dipping water to write large characters, they usually fade and disappear gradually. However, these water marks appeared even more intense than ink and showed no signs of fading.
Of course -
The most peculiar aspect was the content of these three lines!
"White tiger battles green dragon; heaven and earth are punctured".
"Crimson bird's backbone breaks; chaos ensues among humans."
"In a place full of conflicts, don't stay too long."
If James had merely guessed and sensed something before, these three lines suddenly appearing shattered any last traces of his optimism.
His previous premonitions seemed about to come true.
Little Dog was only twelve years old and had not yet graduated from elementary school. He couldn't understand these complex words nor grasp their deeper meaning. He grabbed a firewood knife leaning against the door and rushed into the house.
After searching inside and outside the house, he came out looking dejected.
Shaking his head, he said, "The back door is locked, and there's no one inside."
"Come with me." James seemed to have an epiphany and quickly walked towards the outside of the courtyard.
"That old man earlier went this way, right?"
James led Little Dog along the direction in which the old fisherman had left. They followed the path to its end, stopping near a small stream.
James pushed aside some bushes to reveal a fish basket and a pair of broken straw shoes.
It was a dead-end at the stream unless they waded across. But with all the recent rain, the water in the stream was deep. Even a strong adult would find it impossible to wade across without any tools, let alone an old man.
And even if they crossed the stream, there was no reason to discard something like a fish basket.
"Brother James, look! There's something in the water!"
Little Dog's keen eyes spotted an object in the water downstream about twenty or thirty meters away. It was floating and sinking among the waves and swimming away.
The creature had a head, four limbs, a shell on its back, and patterns on its shell.
It turned out to be a large turtle.
When Little Dog saw it clearly, he sighed with regret. "If only we had a net! This is such a big turtle - great for nourishment. If we sold it in town, it would be worth at least several hundred dollars."
At times like these, being young had its advantages.
Being young and ignorant meant fearlessness and no overthinking or confusion.
On their way back, Little Dog kept complaining about the old man who had asked for water, thinking that he must have had accomplices and deliberately played tricks on them.
As for the motive, Little Dog concluded it was because they were both young, and there were no adults at home.
James didn't explain anything; there was no need to burden a twelve-year-old child with such worries.
The brothers went back inside the house.