Finally, as evening approached, my grandfather returned home. As soon as he entered, he pulled me into the ancestral house, locked the door, and said to me, "Xiao Jiu, tonight you need to go to the grave well on the back mountain and lift the stone slab off the well." I was stunned when I heard this: "Grandfather, are you sure about this?" I had heard of the grave well; it was a well where the dead were buried, located in the wasteland east of our village. Many years ago, a beautiful woman in the village was wrongfully accused of being a loose woman who brought men to her home every day. Unable to explain herself and being hot-tempered, she jumped into the well in a fit of rage to prove her innocence. The villagers were immediately terrified, and no one dared to step forward. Later, the case was reopened. Some people planned to retrieve her body for a proper burial, but the iron hook they lowered could not touch the corpse at all. Those present at the time said that the body in the well was avoiding the hook because it found everyone too dirty, and it wanted to stay hidden. They concluded that someone had to go down and tie a rope to the corpse. No one in the village dared to go down into the well, so they had to seek help from a funeral master. After examining the situation, the master said, "This corpse has too much resentment; it can kill even without leaving the well, and if it comes out, it will be even worse. We need to quickly press it down with white town stones." Upon hearing the funeral master's words, the villagers covered the well's mouth with blue stone slabs and built a grave mound directly on top of it. That place then came to be known as "grave well." My grandfather wanted me to dig up a ghost's grave! Seeing my fear, he quickly comforted me, "Don't be afraid; the ancestral spirits will protect you, and nothing will happen. If a vengeful ghost leaves its coffin, it's either to repay a favor or to claim a life! If you help her once, she will owe you a favor in return! At a critical moment, it could save your life!" As he spoke, my grandfather took out a few stones tied with red string from his pocket and handed them to me. "Before you lift the well cover, tie these six stones around your ankles. With these weight stones, the woman in the well won't be able to pull you." "When she can't do anything to you, tie the red string to her hand and pull her out."聊天GPT-4o miniFinally, as evening approached, my grandfather returned. As soon as he came in, he pulled me into the ancestral home, closed the door behind us, and said, "Xiao Jiu, tonight you need to go to the grave well on the back mountain and lift the stone slab off the well." I was stunned when I heard this: "Grandpa, you can't be serious, right?" I had heard about grave wells; they are wells where the dead are buried, located in the wasteland to the east of our village. Many years ago, a beautiful woman in the village was wrongfully accused of being a promiscuous woman who lured men to her home. After she couldn't explain herself, being a strong-willed person, she jumped into the well in a fit of rage to prove her innocence. The villagers were immediately terrified and no one dared to step forward. Later, the case was revisited. Some people planned to retrieve her body for a proper burial, but the iron hook they lowered couldn't reach the corpse. Those present at the time said that the body in the well was avoiding the hook because it found everyone dirty; it was intentionally hiding, and the only way to retrieve the body was to send someone down to tie a rope to it. No one in the village dared to go down the well, so they had to seek help from a funeral master. After he came to take a look, he said, "This corpse has too much resentment; it can kill even without leaving the well, and if it comes out, it will be even worse. We need to quickly use white town stones to weigh it down." After hearing the funeral master's words, the villagers covered the well opening with blue stone slabs and directly built a grave mound on top of it. That place was then renamed "Grave Well." My grandfather wanted me to dig up a ghost's grave! Seeing that I was scared, my grandfather quickly comforted me: "Don't be afraid, the ancestral master is protecting you; nothing will happen. If a vengeful ghost leaves its coffin, it's either to repay a debt or to claim a life! If you help her once, she will owe you a favor! In a critical moment, it could save your life!" As he spoke, my grandfather took out a few stones tied with red string from his pocket and handed them to me: "Before you lift the well cover, tie these six stones around your ankles. With the weight of the stones, that woman in the well won't be able to pull you." "When she finds she can't do anything to you, tie the red string to her hand and pull her out."
My grandfather added, "The ancestor said that the fox will definitely try to stop you. But now is not the time; it won't harm you, it can only deceive you. Don't believe anything it says, just do what you need to do!" "Did you understand?" I understood, but when it came to actually doing it, I still felt apprehensive. My grandfather noticed my fear and patted my head, saying, "Don't be afraid, I'll go with you." He packed up his things and took me out the door. Before we even reached the village entrance, we were stopped by some villagers. The leader spoke first, "Old Chen, I know you want to save your grandson. But you can't bring disaster to our village!" Someone else chimed in, "Old Chen, what do you mean by digging up the grave? Are you trying to dig up the dead to swap skins for your grandson?" "Kid, you go home first!" My grandfather quietly nudged me and then said, "I'll do what I want; it's none of your business!" A group of people quickly began to argue. I knew that when my grandfather nudged me, he meant for me to go shout at the well. I quietly crept along the wall of a nearby family's yard and made my way outside the village, then ran towards the wasteland. Before long, I saw the grave that my grandfather had dug up. The grave that had originally stood in the wasteland was broken in half, and the blue stone slab covering the well had been pushed aside, revealing the more than one-meter-high well edge, with steam rising from between two piles of dirt. My grandfather told me to pull off the stone slab covering the well myself. But I was so nervous that I didn't think about why the stone slab had disappeared before I even got there! Following my grandfather's instructions, I clumsily tied the heavy stone to my ankle, pressed my hands against the well edge, and leaned over to look inside. "Zimu... Zimu..." I called out to the well, but countless echoes came back, sounding as if someone was continuously calling Zimu's name, falling down into the well. After calling out once, I didn't dare to shout again—I realized that I had leaned so far forward without realizing it that my head was already inside the well. I quickly pulled myself back, but then I heard my grandfather say behind me, "Don't be afraid, keep shouting." "Grandpa!" I turned around and glanced back, only to see a fox tail dragging beside my grandfather's cotton shoes. My head instantly buzzed. Was the figure standing behind me really my grandfather, or was it a fox wearing cotton shoes?聊天GPT-4o miniMy grandfather added, "The ancestor said that the fox will definitely try to stop you. But now is not the time; it won't harm you, it can only deceive you. Don't believe anything it says, just do what you need to do!" "Did you understand?" I understood, but when it came to actually doing it, I still felt apprehensive. My grandfather noticed my fear and patted my head, saying, "Don't be afraid, I'll go with you." He packed up his things and took me out the door. Before we even reached the village entrance, we were stopped by the villagers. The leader spoke first, "Old Chen, I know you want to save your grandson. But you can't bring disaster to our village!" Someone else chimed in, "Old Chen, what do you mean by digging up the grave? Are you trying to exhume the dead to swap skins for your grandson?" "Kid, you go home first!" My grandfather quietly nudged me and then said, "I'll do whatever I want; it's none of your business!" A group of people quickly began to argue. I knew that my grandfather's earlier nudge was a signal for me to shout into the well. I quietly crept along the wall of a nearby house and made my way outside the village, then ran towards the wasteland. Before long, I saw the grave that my grandfather had dug up. The grave that had originally stood in the wasteland was broken in half, and the blue stone slab covering the well had been pushed aside. The well's edge, over a meter high, was exposed between two piles of dirt, with steam rising from it. My grandfather told me to pull off the stone slab covering the well myself. However, I was so nervous that I didn't think about why the stone slab had disappeared before I even got there! Following my grandfather's instructions, I clumsily tied the heavy stone to my ankle, pressed my hands against the edge of the well, and leaned in to look inside. "Zimu... Zimu..." I called out into the well, but countless echoes returned. The sound seemed like someone was continuously calling Zimu's name, falling down into the depths of the well. After calling out once, I didn't dare to shout again—I realized that I had leaned so far forward that my head was already inside the well without even noticing. I quickly pulled myself back, but I heard my grandfather say behind me, "Don't be afraid, keep calling." "Grandpa!" I turned around and glanced back, only to see a fox tail dragging beside my grandfather's cotton shoes. My head instantly buzzed. Was the figure standing behind me really my grandfather, or was it a fox wearing cotton shoes?
But if it's a fox, shouldn't it be stopping me from saving the water ghost? How could it help me and let me call out? I wanted to take another look behind me, but I didn't dare turn my head too forcefully. I could only quietly shift my body back while propping myself up with my hands on the edge of the well. My grandfather's voice came from behind: "Call out again, hurry! If you don't get the person in the well out, no one can save you!" Suddenly, my heart trembled. There was no time to think; I tapped the edge of the well with my flashlight and continued to shout names. But just that little delay had caused the water in the well to rise almost to the level of the edge, the rippling water was less than a foot away from me, and the coldness seeping from the water made my hands ache painfully. Now I was truly scared. I pushed against the edge of the well, trying to stand up, but before I could get up, two hands suddenly reached out from the well and grabbed my wrists, pulling me down towards the water. I was lying on the edge of the well shouting for help, but with my hands being pulled, I couldn't muster any strength, and I could only watch helplessly as those hands dragged me into the water. In just a few moments, my hands were pulled into the water. The shock of the cold made me shiver all over, and I couldn't exert any strength, immediately being dragged into the well. Just when I thought I was going to be pulled in, my feet felt as if someone had grabbed them, keeping me in place. That was when the weight stone my grandfather had tied to my feet took effect. With the stone weighing me down, I couldn't fall into the well, but I also couldn't use any strength, and I was left hanging on the edge of the well, being pulled from both sides. In just a short while, I felt a tearing pain in my hands, as if the skin was being pulled off like gloves. Soon, that intense pain spread from my hands to my body, and I felt as if the skin on my body was being stretched and pulled off. Is someone in the well trying to skin me? This thought flashed through my mind, and I immediately felt a chill. My grandfather had told me that when skinning a living creature, it's best to first splash it with cold water to let the blood settle before making the cut. No wonder, when I arrived, the stone covering the well had already been pushed aside; something had hidden in the well in advance, preparing to skin me! My grandfather wasn't coming, my hands were being pulled, and there was a fox watching from behind. Was there any way out for me other than waiting to die? Just as I closed my eyes, waiting for death, it seemed like someone swam up from the well. The other party rushed towards that shadow, and the shadow hiding in the well instantly released my hands. Finally, with no one pulling me, the weight stone worked, dragging me back to the surface.
I was panting heavily as I looked into the well again. Suddenly, bright white droplets of water were shooting up into the sky in bursts, indicating that someone was fighting at the bottom of the water. I couldn't see where my fox had gone either. I didn't have time to see who was winning or losing; I just sprinted home, running for my life until I finally locked the door behind me and let out a sigh of relief. Just then, as I had just arrived home, I heard the familiar cry of the white fox from my childhood outside the door. The sharp and mournful sound pierced through the air, as if it were about to burst into the house and skin me alive. I was so frightened that I couldn't catch my breath, and everything went black before I fainted.