Chapter 91: Weird Things in Lijia Village

At night, lanterns were lit outside the house.

Li Yanming couldn't wait any longer and just wandered around the yard with his shoes on, as if he had forgotten about his visit to Li Xiucai's house during the day.

His mother, Mrs. Wang, told him to be careful when playing, because it was dark and it would be difficult to find him if he got lost.

Li Yanming was naturally obedient and played in the yard. Fireworks were lit, and flickering lights came from them.

He played with it happily for a few seconds and when he was about to go back to his parents, he saw a person standing in front of his yard.

He looks and is of the same height as my playmate in the village, but I can't see clearly who he is.

Li Yanming walked over holding the incense stick used to light firecrackers and flashed it at the man, only to find that it was Wen Ge'er from Li Xiucai's family.

His hair was wet and water was dripping on his face.

He stared at Li Yanming with his eyes wide open, without wavering at all.

"You went to play in the water again?" Li Yanming was frightened by his gaze, muttering in his heart, it's already dark, if this kid doesn't go home, won't his parents scold him? And he suddenly ran to his door. He looked him up and down and saw that he was soaked.

If nothing unexpected happens, the kid went to play in the water secretly, and he probably came home on his way.

Wen Ge'er seemed to have heard what Li Yanming said and nodded woodenly. He pointed to the village and signaled Li Yanming to follow him.

"It's too late, too late. Let's go play after we wake up tomorrow." Li Yanming shook his head and rejected Wen Ge'er's invitation.

After all, it was so late, and going to the village to play was a bit itchy. His mother never wanted him to run around at night, always saying that there would be night wandering gods accompanying the patrolling King of Hell, and if he was not careful, the King of Hell would take his life.

Li Yanming knew the situation and would not go out at night. Even if a playmate came to him, he would reluctantly refuse the invitation.

"You should go back soon, otherwise your mother will give you a good beating if she finds out." Li Yanming said to Wen Ge'er.

Li Xiucai's family had strict rules, and Jiang had strict requirements for both of her sons. Wen Ge'er usually spent his days either reading or writing, and rarely had the opportunity to play.

He must have escaped secretly tonight. If he is caught by Jiang, he will be severely beaten.

Li Yanming really worries about his little friend.

However, Wen Ge'er didn't seem to understand what he said, and just stood outside the yard staring at him. Li Yanming was about to give him a lecture like a little adult when he heard Wang's voice.

"Ming Ge, who are you talking to?"

"It's Wen Ge'er from Li Xiucai's family. He asked me to go out and play." Li Yanming said to his mother.

When he turned his head again, Wen Ge'er in front of the yard had disappeared, leaving only a puddle of wet water.

His mother did not respond to his call, and it was unclear whether she heard it or not.

"He runs pretty fast." Li Yanming muttered, and then he didn't think about it any more.

After returning to his mother Wang's house, he slept with her at night.

The next day, Wang came back and told Li Yanming that Wen Ge'er, the son of Li Xiucai, fell ill the night before, and she needed to cook some chicken soup to nourish him. She also had to ask Li Laosan to scrape another chicken and send it to Li Xiucai's house.

"Did you get sick last night?" Li Yanming lay on the stove with his eyes wide open, looking at Wang curiously. He thought to himself that he had just seen Wen Ge'er yesterday, so how could he suddenly get sick?
"I saw him yesterday." Li Yanming said in a baby voice.

"You are talking nonsense again, kid. Wen Ge'er was sick all night yesterday and we asked a doctor to see him. Where did you see him?" Wang smiled at Li Yanming and reached out to pinch his chubby face.

"Mom, I really saw him. He was in the yard." Li Yanming looked at Wang with dissatisfaction and protested. He clearly saw Wen Ge'er yesterday, so why was she talking nonsense?

Thinking about how Wen Ge'er was soaking wet yesterday, could it be that he got sick from playing in the water? Wang's words came to my ears.

"Brother Wen has not left the house for the past few days. How come you saw him in the yard? Maybe you were too playful and recognized the wrong person." Wang glared at her son and pulled his hair hard. Then she patted Li Yanming's head and signaled him to go play by himself. "Mother has to work, you go play by yourself. The Lantern Festival is coming soon, you must not run to the mountains or the river, be careful of being captured by water ghosts and mountain monsters." "I know." Seeing that Wang didn't believe him, Li Yanming ran out holding his breath.

As I walked to the village, I was still thinking about whether I should go and see Wen Ge'er. After all, I saw him last night, so there was no way I could have mistaken him for someone else. He must have caught a cold while playing in the water secretly and got sick.

But he suddenly thought of the strange woman in Li Xiucai's house, shuddered, and was a little afraid to go. After thinking about it, he unknowingly strolled to the pond in the village.

What surprised him was that there were quite a few people near the pond, and there was even a woman who was slumped beside it, crying with her hands covering her mouth.

He went over curiously. Since there were so many people around, there was nothing to be afraid of. Instead, his curiosity quickened his pace.

As he got closer, Li Yanming squeezed into the crowd and saw a kid who had been scooped out of the water. Although he was white and swollen, he recognized him at a glance as the child of Li Tie from the south of the village. He didn't play with him much on weekdays, but he had met him several times.

But the corpse looked strange, and its face clearly revealed a smile of joy.

When Li Yanming saw the corpse, he felt his hair stand on end and his stomach churned as if he wanted to vomit. He had never seen such a death scene, nor had he seen a dead person. Thinking of Wang's recent warning to him not to play in the water, saying that ghosts would drag people into the water, he felt a chill in his head.

He recalled that he saw Wen Ge'er soaked in water last night, and the direction he pointed seemed to be this way. His mother said that Wen Ge'er had been ill all night and had not come out, and Li Yanming suddenly felt cold.

It’s not like no one is playing in the water in the middle of winter, but why go in the middle of the night?

He turned around and ran back home with his feet bare. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he shouted, "Mom! Mom!"

Hearing the voice, Wang hurriedly walked out of the kitchen and saw Li Yanming running towards her quickly, grabbing her legs and refusing to let go.

"what happened?"

Li Yanming didn't say anything, but just pressed his little face tightly against Wang's thigh.

Wang thought it was just the child missing his mother, so she didn't ask any further questions.

That night, when Li Yanming was sleeping, he developed a fever and began to lose consciousness.

In a trance, he seemed to see a yellow-haired fox, with a pair of eyes staring at him. Then he saw ghosts and Zhong Kui. In short, there were many strange things in his dream.

When he woke up again, it was already bright outside. There was a wet towel on his forehead and the bed was covered with adults.

"Wake up, wake up."

"My sister-in-law's talisman must be effective. This child is so frightened that he has lost his soul."

"I don't know what Mingwa saw that frightened him to death."

Hearing what his parents and grandparents said, Li Yanming blinked and looked at them, calling out "Mom".

Wang responded happily. She wiped her tears and stroked Li Yanming's forehead.

"You scared me all night, kid. But you're finally back. It's good that you're back."

"I'm sorry to have made my mother worried." Li Yanming said pitifully. "I won't play with water anymore."

"Oh, I heard that Mingwa was seen by the river yesterday. I guess you, kid, saw the drowning of Li Tie's kid yesterday. Don't join in these funs in the future." Grandma Li sighed, with some joy in her words.

After Li Yanming recovered a little, he learned about what happened at night from his father Li Laosan.

"Ming'er, what happened to you last night? Your face suddenly turned red in the middle of the night, and you had a high fever. You shivered all night, and talked nonsense all night. No matter how we called you, you wouldn't wake up. We asked a barefoot doctor, but he couldn't do anything. Fortunately, your aunt brought the white talisman and said that you might have lost your soul. Otherwise, you might not be able to come back to life."

Mother Li then added, "That was taken from the young master of the wealthy Li family in Jinling. Who knew it would really work? Next time you go to Jinling, you must go and thank the third young master of the Li family!"

Li Laosan agreed and discussed with his wife Wang about going to Jinling during the Lantern Festival.

(End of this chapter)