There is an old saying in our hometown that on the half of July, the gate of hell opens. On the Hungry Ghost Festival, don’t enter the grave. If someone shouts, don’t look back.
It means that half of July is the Ghost Festival, so you must not go to the cemetery, and you must not look back when someone calls you.
But I was young and ignorant at the time, so I violated these two taboos, and the consequences will require me to make amends for the rest of my life.
We in the countryside are all poor, but we attach great importance to ancestor worship, and we will put cakes in front of the graves. My playmate Cui Fatty and I were greedy, so we went to eat a few pieces while no one was paying attention.
Nothing happened at that time, but after I returned, I suddenly became seriously ill and couldn't afford it.
There were no signs of a cold at that time, but I developed a high fever for no reason. I am an orphan, my parents died early, and I only have my third uncle and grandma around me, who are my only relatives.
When my third uncle and grandma saw that my fever was not going away, they were frightened and panicked. They hurriedly sent me to the health center in the town. However, infusions and injections were of no use, and the fever never went away.
At that time, I just felt that my whole body was cold, as if I had been placed on a big piece of ice, and my throat seemed to be strangled by something. My throat was sore and I couldn't make a single sound.
Injections and infusions didn't work, and grandma and uncle were as anxious as ants on a hot pot.
At this time, an old Chinese medicine doctor at the health center seemed to have seen some clues. He felt my pulse, and then looked at my grandma and third uncle with a solemn face.
"I'm afraid this child is not sick, but has some kind of hysteria."
The so-called hysteria is also a term in their profession. To put it simply, it means being entangled with some dirty things. It looks like you have a serious illness, but in fact, it is not the case.
Grandma and Third Uncle were frightened when they heard this. Our village is located in a mountainous area, and we believe deeply in ghosts. Now that they heard the old Chinese doctor say this, they felt even more worried.
At that time! My third uncle and grandma turned pale with fright. They kept saying nice things to the old Chinese medicine doctor and even knelt in front of him.
The old Chinese medicine doctor sighed, took out a silver needle, and pricked my arm a few times. What happened next was beyond everyone's expectations.
The moment the silver needle was pulled out, some black blood came out. After about five minutes, I slowly woke up.
Grandma and my third uncle were overjoyed when they saw that I was awake and my fever had subsided. They thanked and kowtowed to the old Chinese doctor.
When the old Chinese medicine doctor saw me waking up, he asked in a soft voice: "Young man, have you been to somewhere recently, a cemetery or something like that?"
My throat was dry, so grandma handed me a bottle of mineral water and drank a few sips. Then she nodded and talked about going to the cemetery with Fatty Cui.
After hearing this, the old Chinese medicine doctor frowned and asked, "When did you go?"
I also knew that something evil had happened to me, so I didn’t dare to hide it and answered honestly.
"Noon! Noon!"
The face of the old Chinese medicine doctor changed color instantly. He turned his head and looked out at the dark outside, then walked quickly to the door, took out a bell from his pocket, hung it on the door, and then returned to my side. .
"It would be bad if it is noon. As the saying goes, the positive pole must be yin, and the cathode must be yang. Noon is the time when the yin energy is the heaviest in a day. Today happens to be the Ghost Festival. The door of ghosts is open. It is said that you are lucky. You can walk out of the cemetery alive. , it can be regarded as God’s blessing.”
When grandma heard this, her heart suddenly sank. My third uncle slapped me on the spot, scolded me, and then asked the old Chinese doctor if there was anything he could do to save me.
The old Chinese doctor stroked his beard, sighed and shook his head: "I can't say that. The few injections just now are only to temporarily dispel the evil spirits. This kind of thing still needs to be solved by knowledgeable people."
Grandma and Third Uncle looked at each other, and in their minds, they thought of one person, the Coffin Yang in the village.
Coffin Yang is a yin-yang gentleman in the village. He has opened a coffin shop in the village and he is also very capable. In our villages all over the country, if something evil happens to a family, he will be approached to solve it.
Grandma gave the old Chinese doctor a big red envelope. As a thank you, we left the hospital. On the way, my third uncle kept scolding me, saying that I was the only one left in the old Zhang family, and he kept trying to die, for fear that his family would not be able to survive. .
I knew I was wrong, but I didn't dare to refute. Anyway, my third uncle scolded me all the way. By the time I got home, it was already afternoon.
Due to a high fever all night, my body was extremely weak, so my third uncle put me on the bed and left in a hurry.
I was lying on the bed, thinking about this incident. Fatty Cui went to the cemetery with me. Something happened to me, and I don’t know what happened to him.
Since I was a child, I was still very concerned about Fatty Cui's safety, so I asked my grandma to go find out. Grandma didn't want to go, but she couldn't resist me, so she went out.
After a while, grandma came back with a frightened expression. This time she did not bring any good news, but instead let me know the bad news about Fatty Cui.
he died……
I heard from grandma that Fatty Cui had a ferocious face and his eyes were so wide that they almost fell out of their sockets. He was obviously frightened to death by something.
I was even more frightened when I heard that Fatty Cui died, but he was still scared to death...
This voice kept echoing in my mind, and for some reason, I also fell into a dream.
When I woke up again, I found a man sitting next to the bed. He was a man in his fifties. He was wearing a robe, with some white hair, and his eyes were clear and clear.
This is Coffin Yang, the person Third Uncle invited to save me.
"Mr. Yang, my nephew, how is he?"
Coffin Yang's furrowed brows did not relax. He sighed and said, "There is some trouble."
After saying that, those clear eyes narrowed slightly: "Did you pick up something that you shouldn't have picked up?"
Before I could say anything, the third uncle beside me suddenly became furious: "You little bastard, tell me quickly, what did you pick up?"
I was also very aggrieved, even though Zui Greed and Fatty Cui picked up some tributes, they didn't pick up anything else.
I told Coffin Yang about picking up the tributes. Of course, after I told him, my third uncle scolded me and even wanted to beat me. Fortunately, Coffin Yang was here and stopped me.
"More than that, picking up some tributes will definitely not be like this. Did you pick up some money?"
I was stunned when I heard this and shook my head hastily: "No, I didn't. Why am I picking up paper money when I have nothing to do?"
Coffin Yang shook his head slightly, and quickly took out a wad of money from my pocket, about five or six thousand, which was tied with a red rope. Behind the money was a strand of hair and a note.
Coffin Yang pulled out the note. When I saw the words on it, I was shocked, as were my grandma and third uncle.
Because there were six blood-red words written on that piece of paper.
'The money is taken, the life is mine! '
Coffin Yang snorted and tore the note into pieces.
The third uncle hurriedly asked if I could be saved. The third uncle had no children and was not married. I had no parents since I was a child. The third uncle treated me like his own son. Now that something happened to me, he couldn't help but be anxious.
Coffin Yang's brows that had just relaxed were furrowed again: "Things are a bit difficult. Let me ask you, did you pick up this money?"
