[Folk Horror] Ten Days of Mourning

3.

Your parents went out to have a look, asked questions, and came back not long after, and told you that there seemed to be a commotion outside the village, something seemed to have happened, and they had to go and have a look.

Originally, you didn't care about this kind of thing, but maybe the whole day's experience today was full of weirdness, and something happened just at this juncture, and your thoughts moved slightly, and you hurriedly shouted to wait for me, and hurried back to the house , all the way into the bedroom to get the coat.

The friend was awakened by your footsteps, stood up, rubbed his eyes and asked, "...what's wrong?"

"Woke you up? There seems to be something wrong in the village. My parents are going to check it out. It's not safe for the two of us to stay at home alone." Seeing that your friend woke up, you might as well put on your coat and suggest, " Why don't you go together?"

The friend didn't object, and nodded without saying a word: "Okay, I'll listen to you."

The two of you put on your coats and went out, hurriedly followed your parents and left the house, all the way to the outside of the village.From a distance, I saw a dirt road surrounded by many people, and it was already impenetrable. An old man's cry came from inside, which was indistinct and inaudible.You get close to the crowd, your ears are filled with the whispers of onlookers, buzzing: "How could it be..." "This is really evil..."

"What's going on?" Your father grabbed a villager he knew and asked with sharp eyesight and quick hands.

You and your friend are a little scared and hold each other's hands tightly.The coolness of your friend's hand calmed your worries a little.

"It's Goddess Zhao," the villager replied bluntly, "This matter is really out of the question... Isn't Goddess Zhao going to your relatives' house for the [-]-day banquet today? She said a lot of auspicious words. After eating and drinking, she didn’t go home until now. Isn’t her home outside the village? She just walked here and fell down. Come on, see for yourself."

Your father and your mother tiptoed into the crowd and took a look, both of them looked very ugly.For a while, no one spoke.

"Dad, what's the matter? Goddess Zhao..." You asked tentatively.

"Go back... bad luck..." Your father just waved his hand.

Why is it Goddess Zhao?If it is someone else, maybe you have listened to your father now and went home to rest with your friends.But it happened to be Goddess Zhao, and it happened to be today.My heart is scratching like a cat's paw, what happened?What is going on?All kinds of problems are intertwined, and you finally whispered a few words to your father, then turned your head and gently let go of your friend's hand: "I'll go and have a look, you and my parents will wait here for me later."

Unexpectedly, your friend suddenly grabbed your hand and said stubbornly: "We have to watch it together! You are not afraid of me, and neither are I!"

You are really afraid that she will be frightened by something bad, and you still want to persuade her. She has already held your hand stubbornly, with a serious expression, but you can't say a word, and it has become your default. Dad still wanted to stop you, but he probably thought of what you just said today, and understood that you couldn't let it go, so he didn't say anything more, and turned around to talk to your mother.

You and your friends hold hands like this, squeeze through the wall of onlookers, and squeeze into the circle.Goddess Zhao sat on the ground, patting the ground and weeping loudly, the cage fell at her feet, it was so dark that she couldn't see anything clearly for a while.

You swallowed, and approached a little closer: "Witch Zhao?"

At this distance, you can finally hear her cry clearly: "I have raised these little things for so long! I have never offended anyone! Who is against me? I have half a foot in the coffin! Who wants to harm me ah?!"

The moonlight is like water, shining slowly on the ground, the eyes gradually adapt to the darkness, the scene in the cage becomes clear, and it drills into your cornea.

The friend exclaimed and subconsciously covered his mouth.You didn't make a sound, but your body was already stiff, and the acid in your stomach was rushing back up, making you want to vomit.

Goddess Zhao continued to babble, crying: "I hang every moqiao* on my wrist with a rope. Why are they gone? They still move... They move all the way..."

There were no more than a dozen sparrows in the cage.

Inside the cage was a pile of small, bloody, warm, beating hearts that belonged to birds.

Each fleshy heart was carefully tied with a thin thread, and the other end continued to the trembling wrist of Goddess Zhao.

The words that Goddess Zhao just said are playing repeatedly in your mind:

They move all the way.

……move…?

What's moving... Oh, yes... Those little birds have ropes tied to their feet, tied to Mistress Zhao's wrists, the sparrows are bouncing around, and the thin strings will vibrate... But, are they small sparrows, right?It is a living bird that moves like this... How do these hearts move?All the way...then these hearts...were...when...were dug out...?

This pile of hearts is piled up here, as if it is still steaming with blood, but what about the body...?Where are the bodies of those sparrows?

The throbbing of the temples, the constant gag, and a chill down the spine.What exactly is going on?These things are completely unreasonable...impossible, right?Did Goddess Zhao lie?No, she has no reason to lie, does she?what is going on?

You finally came to your senses, took a few steps closer, and began to comfort Goddess Zhao in a low voice.Although your friend didn't know what you were doing, he still endured the discomfort and helped you to calm Goddess Zhao's emotions.You seem to have been in such a tacit understanding since you became friends, no matter what time you will help each other for no reason.You can't help but think about your friend, trying to drive away the chill that's making you speechless.

The surrounding villagers gradually left, and your parents stood not far away, watching your behavior strangely, waiting for you to go home.

You see, Goddess Zhao's mood gradually stabilized, she hesitated for a moment, and finally whispered what you heard from your parents about your grandfather: jaundice, high fever, inexplicable recovery, you will not be allowed to see your parents before the first birthday, and you will not be allowed to You call father and mother.

My friend has been sleeping just now, and I just learned about this, and I also tasted ominousness from your retelling and various unusual experiences today, and I couldn't hide the surprise on my expression.

"Witch Zhao, do you know anything?" You asked softly.After asking, you also find it funny, Goddess Zhao is just an old man who does fortune telling and earns money, so what can she know?Could it be that these past events in your family have something to do with her?Maybe it's all because of your overthinking...

You want Goddess Chao to tell you categorically that she knows nothing so you can believe that these are all your imaginations and that those fears are out of thin air and you can go back with your friends and lie down to sleep comfortably and be happy squander the rest of your vacation.You really hope so.

But Goddess Zhao's cloudy eyes stared at you for a long time: "You are not allowed to call your parents, you are not allowed to see your parents...?"

"Yes." You nodded.

Goddess Zhao was silent for a moment, and replied somewhat unnaturally: "I don't know so much..."

Your friend has already seen that Goddess Zhao's expression is wrong, so she hurriedly said, "Old man, what do you know?"

You stopped your friend, took a deep breath, and gave the guess you were most afraid of: "It has something to do with the ten-day mourning and the filial daughter's heart?"

Goddess Zhao did not answer.

Your heart sinks.

It seems that it took a long time before you found your calm voice: "...you said in the daytime that if the old man does not close his eyes, he will make trouble for his offspring and family. But now your sparrows are like this, if you really and What is related to the ten-day mourning... This is probably not unusual."

Goddess Zhao finally spoke.

"I hear what you mean," she said, "Your grandfather recognized the Yin God as your parents and extended your Yang life."

You never expected to get such a surreal answer. You were struck by lightning for a moment, dumbfounded and unable to speak a word.You glanced at your friend, her face was completely shocked, unable to recover, and you guessed that your expression was exactly the same.

"Specifically, I can't say right now," Goddess Zhao glanced at your parents behind you, raised her hand and wiped her tears again, "You can come to me tomorrow... If you are really a ghostly adopted daughter, this matter It's troublesome."

"What do you mean?" My friend asked.

"Yin God has a time limit to continue the life of his adopted daughter. When this time limit is reached, he should let the child accompany him," Goddess Zhao's tone became very gloomy. There are living creatures whose hearts are dissected until the tenth day when you are dragged into the coffin. I have only heard about these specific things from the master—your parents, your friends, as long as you don’t take this The filial daughter's heart is cut out, and none of them can escape."

She murmured, as if talking to herself: "From the fifth day, people will start dying..."

The author has something to say:

Maqiao: Sparrow

Because it is a revision and expansion, it starts with two updates a day, and today I will update four chapters in one breath, and the time is set at [-]:[-] pm

Hope it's a charming story...!