"Did he say what the ghost looked like?" I thought Li Xia was quite adorable, so I teased her a bit.
"He said it was terrifying, with long hair, a pale face, and bulging eyes..." Li Xia looked genuinely frightened. "Brother Lin, are you afraid of ghosts?"
"What's there to be afraid of? Besides, there's no such thing as ghosts. We often deal with the dead. How could a living person be afraid of the dead?"
"Really?" Li Xia seemed skeptical.
"Heh..." I chuckled, but my smile froze on my face when I saw Li Xia's expression change. Her eyes were wide open, staring intently behind me.
At that moment, a chill ran down my spine...
I slowly turned around to see nothing but darkness. I shined my flashlight around but saw nothing. I thought Li Xia was playing a prank on me.
However, just as I turned back, I saw a woman with disheveled hair standing right in front of me. My face almost touched hers as I turned.
I felt a sudden rush of fear, freezing me in place.
Then, a ghostly voice came from the figure in front of me: "Return... my... life..."
I was genuinely frightened, but hearing that voice made me realize what was happening.
"You little rascal..." I scolded, "You scared me half to death!"
"Hee hee..." Li Xia pulled her hair back and giggled. "You said you weren't afraid of ghosts!"
It was just Li Xia playing a trick. She had let her hair cover her face and used a flashlight under her chin. In the dark countryside, it was quite scary at first glance.
"I'm not afraid of ghosts, but that doesn't mean I'm not afraid of people." I blushed a little. Just then, I heard a faint noise behind Li Xia and saw a shadowy figure standing there.
My heart skipped a beat, but I didn't believe in ghosts, so I gathered my courage and shouted, "Who's there?" simultaneously shining my flashlight towards the figure.
There was nothing but empty space.
"Brother Lin, don't scare me..." Li Xia threw herself into my arms, holding me tightly.
Honestly, I had never been in a relationship before, so being hugged by a girl like this made my adrenaline spike.
Li Xia was hugging me chest to chest, and I could feel the softness of her body against mine. The pleasant scent from her was almost intoxicating.
But this wasn't the time for such thoughts. I had indeed seen a shadowy figure behind Li Xia.
"I really saw a shadow just now." I tried to explain to Li Xia. I shined my flashlight around again but saw nothing.
"Wait here, I'll go check it out." I told Li Xia.
"Don't go!" Li Xia clung to me even tighter. "Brother Lin, I'm so scared..."
"How about we go together?" I suggested. I needed to verify what I had seen to feel at ease.
"Xiao Lin..." At that moment, a voice called out from the hillside. I turned to see a flashlight moving towards us. Zhao Xiaotian arrived shortly.
"What the hell are you doing? Taking advantage of my little sister?" Zhao Xiaotian's face darkened as soon as he saw Li Xia hugging me.
He immediately pulled Li Xia away from me and hugged her tightly himself. "Don't be afraid, little sister. I'm here now!"
"Tian-ge, don't blame Brother Lin. I was the one who hugged him because I was scared," Li Xia said softly, leaning against Zhao Xiaotian.
"Stay away from those shady men. There aren't many good ones out there, except for your brother and me," Zhao Xiaotian declared self-righteously, while his hand wandered to Li Xia's waist.
I was genuinely curious how this guy could be so shameless. Who was the shady one here?
"Let's go to the Guo family's courtyard!" Zhao Xiaotian said, leading Li Xia away.
I shined my flashlight around once more but saw nothing. Seeing Zhao Xiaotian and Li Xia walking away, I quickly followed.
"Brother Tian, I saw a shadow just now. Shouldn't we check it out?" I was still uneasy.
"You must have been seeing things. It's late, who would be out here?" Zhao Xiaotian dismissed me. He was probably more focused on scaring Li Xia to take advantage of her than anything else.
"Tian-ge, do we really have to go to the Guo family's courtyard?" Li Xia's voice trembled. The courtyard was notorious for being haunted, and she was obviously terrified.
"With me here, there's nothing to fear. I'll protect you from both man and ghost." Zhao Xiaotian boasted.
It took us nearly half an hour to walk from the cemetery to the Guo family's courtyard. It wasn't far, but Zhao Xiaotian's constant boasting and groping slowed us down considerably.
Watching him grope Li Xia, I had an urge to rid the world of his presence.
Upon arriving at the courtyard, Zhao Xiaotian circled it a few times, shining his flashlight around, mimicking Ge Lao. Neither Li Xia nor I knew what he was looking for.
After circling four or five times, he finally led us into the courtyard. By then, it was already past one in the morning.
Once inside, Zhao Xiaotian pulled a rope from his waist and tied it to a tree. After preparing everything, he smiled at us. "Wait here, I'm going down the well to check it out."
Despite his usual nonchalance, Zhao Xiaotian didn't hesitate. Before we knew it, he had already descended into the well.
With Zhao Xiaotian down the well, the courtyard fell silent.
Li Xia and I stood by the well, not speaking. Li Xia was clearly terrified, clutching my sleeve and not letting go.
Seeing her so scared made me nervous too, especially after witnessing Xiao Hong's death in this very well.
Whether due to fear or something else, I suddenly felt the need to relieve myself.
I told Li Xia I needed to use the bathroom. Although she was scared, she wouldn't follow me to the toilet.
I tried to be considerate, hurrying as much as possible. I dashed out of the courtyard, turned a corner, and relieved myself against the wall.
The entire process took less than a minute, but when I returned to the courtyard, Li Xia was gone.
The courtyard was empty, not a single person in sight. Even the rope Zhao Xiaotian had tied to the tree was gone.
Both of them had vanished.
I rushed to the well, peering inside. There was no sign of Zhao Xiaotian, only the gentle ripples of the water reflecting my flashlight.
I sat down, calling out, "Zhao-ge! Li Xia!"
No response.
I ran out of the courtyard, shining my flashlight frantically, but found nothing. The village was completely dark. With no lights on in the surrounding houses, I felt utterly alone in the world.
"Bang..." A sudden noise from behind the courtyard startled me. I instinctively sprinted towards the sound.
After circling the courtyard, I returned to the entrance without finding anything.
Another loud noise followed, sounding like something heavy had hit the ground. This time, I didn't rush out. The sound seemed to come from behind the house, not just the courtyard.
I stood still, listening intently, but the noise didn't repeat.
After waiting for about five minutes, I couldn't bear it any longer and cautiously approached the back of the house.
As I moved, I picked up a brick for protection. Though scared, I had to prioritize finding Zhao Xiaotian and Li Xia.
The surroundings were silent. When I reached the back of the house, I was stunned. Two black coffins were placed against the wall.
Being from the countryside, I knew some elderly people prepared their coffins in advance. However, the Guo family members weren't that old, and the coffins looked new, with a strong smell of fresh paint.
Something was off. I noticed yellow paper strips on each coffin.
Curiosity drove me closer. When I saw the writing on the paper strips, I was shocked.
Each coffin had a strip with a name: "Place for the slut Zhang Yihan" and "Place for the scoundrel Lin Mingjun."