The woman who was there earlier was now standing inside the archway. The umbrella she held before was gone, and she was holding a porcelain vase with both hands.
Meanwhile, Xue Liangliang was surprised to find that as he came under the archway, not only did the force of the water's pull vanish, but that terrifying suffocating feeling had also disappeared.
He started to take deep breaths. However, despite doing so repeatedly, he couldn’t achieve the desired effect. It was as if his mouth and nose were blocked; no fresh air came in.
Suddenly, he realized that only his perception had changed, while the reality before him remained the same. He was still at the bottom of the river. But how was this possible?
He knew how to swim. When he was a child in his hometown in Anhui, he often played in the water with his friends. Even in college, he occasionally went swimming with classmates. But he never thought himself to be such a skilled swimmer that he could manage something so outrageous. He had already surpassed his breath-holding limit.
When he touched beneath his ear, it was still the original skin, and he hadn’t developed gills. He even turned around to look behind him and further away, wondering if he might have drowned already, and that perhaps this current self was merely...
Xue Liangliang held his head tightly, trying to force himself to calm down. The methods he found effective during exams and while reviewing design plans didn’t work now. Inside, he was still panicked, his body was trembling, and his teeth were chattering uncontrollably.
He was terrified of the environment at the riverbed, terrified of the archway, and terrified of the woman standing inside it holding the vase. He desperately wanted to escape if only he could.
Then the woman moved; she began to walk further inside. Xue Liangliang stayed put, not daring to enter through the archway or to actively explore the small town.
However, as the distance between the woman and him increased, that dreadful suffocating feeling returned. Xue Liangliang had no choice but to stagger forward a few quick steps, and the feeling disappeared again.
He understood that as long as he remained too far from the woman, that feeling would emerge. The woman continued walking ahead, and Xue Liangliang had no choice but to follow her into the archway.
He had no other option. For someone who just endured the despair of suffocation, experiencing it again would be agony multiplied many times over.
Despite the lack of any visible connection between him and the woman, it felt like there was an invisible chain, one end in her hand and the other looped around his neck.
Beyond the archway lay a series of descending steps, over thirty in total. Xue Liangliang was puzzled. Typically, unless specific terrain dictated it, most ancient villages or towns with such archways wouldn’t choose this setup where one descends immediately upon entering.
People in ancient times preferred to elevate the terrain slightly. The archway would lead down, with the area behind elevated to create a more imposing effect.
Here, not only did they not raise the ground, but they deliberately carved it out, making it so deep. No wonder the buildings within the town seemed so hazy when viewed from the outside; half of them were actually obscured, leaving only the upper parts visible.
Moreover, the design of the steps was peculiar. Normally, smooth surfaces are on the edges, with the middle area providing stairs for passage. Here, the center was a massive smooth surface, with narrow, steep steps on either side.
As he descended, Xue Liangliang sometimes had to turn sideways, as if those traveling here had particularly small feet.
Reaching the bottom, he found a stone-brick road that was narrow, almost claustrophobic. The bricks weren’t laid flat; they stood upright, with the narrow face on top, wasting bricks and complicating construction.
Due to years of wear, even the best ancient roads would be uneven, and here, with this unconventional brickwork, finding a spot flat enough for one's foot was impossible.
Every step landed on a small patch, the rest hanging in the air. One had to tread carefully to avoid twisting an ankle.
Fortunately, the woman holding the porcelain vase wasn't walking too fast, allowing Xue Liangliang to keep up.
After he began to adjust to the path, Xue Liangliang took a closer look at the residential houses on either side. They were compact, in the style of Southern River towns with white walls and gray tiles.
Between each house and the road was a trench less than half a meter wide, covered with stone slabs — likely drainage channels.
Xue Liangliang couldn't understand the point of drainage channels at the bottom of a river... unless this small town fell into the waters later.
Each house had a niche with a burning candle on the left, casting a faint greenish glow.
Initially, the doors were all closed, but soon Xue Liangliang saw open ones, beyond which was darkness, hiding any details.
A sense of unease rose within him, not from inner fear or pressure, but from something unreasonable, especially when he saw the doors.
After pondering, he realized it was because they lacked thresholds.
Modern buildings often dispense with them, and that's normal. But in traditional styles, doors are designed tall and long. Without thresholds, the impression is unsettling, too direct and eerie, like a gaping maw of some beast.
"Ah!"
As he continued, Xue Liangliang was startled to see a person sitting inside one of the opened houses to the right.
The rough terrain made it difficult to keep his balance, and he fell backward, ending up sitting directly opposite the door.
Inside sat an old woman, her skin unnaturally pale and slightly swollen from prolonged submersion. She wore a bright blue coat, shining as if it were funeral attire albeit heavier in design.
Adorned with jewelry on her head, neck, and hands, she seemed to have been seated there indefinitely. Thankfully, her eyes were closed.
"If her eyes were open," Xue Liangliang thought, "I'd definitely have fainted from the shock."
Despite the weirdness of the woman's appearance and his eerie surroundings, it was the unique design of the houses combined with her presence that created an even more striking sense of horror.
Xue Liangliang scrambled up, feeling the suffocating sensation creeping back. He quickly ran a short distance to close the gap between him and the leading woman. His mind lingered on the old woman, who was sitting in the pitch-black interior without any visible furniture.
The tightly packed, two-level homes seemed more like personal graveyards for the inhabitants. Open graves.
This wasn't an abandoned town submerged under the river.
Were there people inside the closed houses he passed earlier?
And in the open ones without people visible, perhaps their residents were upstairs?
With that thought, Xue Liangliang instinctively shortened the distance between him and the woman, despite being wary of her. Walking through what felt like a street of graves was terrifying on its own, making the uneasy walk more bearable with the woman's moving presence ahead.
As he continued, he spotted another open house with a figure inside.
A young woman this time, wearing embroidered clothes, with an upright bun, looked solemn as she sat with hands on her knees, eyes closed, lips unusually red.
He quickly looked away, suppressing a shiver.
Another house revealed a woman in a qipao, gracefully seated with a slender waist, hands resting beside her, seemingly smiling at him, as if silently inviting him inside for a chat.
Xue Liangliang noted that the further he went, the more open houses he saw, with more seated women inside.
Since encountering the first old woman, he had seen over a dozen such women.
They varied in age and dress but were all meticulously adorned, like elderly villagers who prepare dignified funerary clothes to present themselves well in death.
This was their... carefully designed posthumous image.
Their skin, whitened excessively by the water, avoided the usual distortion that comes after long water exposure; they retained their form remarkably well.
What was unsettling was that the dead usually fall ill, suffer injuries, or die naturally at old age — typically not in the best state. Yet, even the oldest women here maintained a sort of serenity.
They seemed like those who weren’t dragged to death by failing health, but rather chose it despite the ability to continue living proficiently.
Honestly, if they'd had the classic grisly death appearances, Xue Liangliang might have been less scared.
But it was this atmosphere — meticulously awaiting, as if prepared for viewing or observing — that put incredible mental pressure on him.
In a daze, it was hard to discern if he was observing them or they, silently, him.
Startled, he bumped into the woman ahead.
She had stopped without warning, causing him to fall onto the ground.
Without turning back, the woman pivoted right, altering her direction.
At this junction was a crossroad, with two small arched bridges on either side, purely decorative, no water flowing beneath.
Xue Liangliang got up and reluctantly followed her turn.
Now... the doors of all nearby residences were wide open, each housing a seated woman inside.
"Ah..."
Xue Liangliang felt on the brink of mental collapse. Though the women kept their eyes closed, the pervasive "watching" feeling was unbearably overwhelming.
His only choice was to adopt an ostrich-like approach, following the woman closely, with eyes downcast, avoiding looking around.
Though glimpses were unavoidable, his pulse racing, he forced himself onward.
A normal person would surely go mad here.
Would Little Yuan react differently if he were here?
No, it’s better Little Yuan stays away. Who knows if I’ll even get out alive? Heck, I’m not sure if I’m even alive now.
Finally, the residential houses ceased.
Xue Liangliang rubbed his forehead, taking deep breaths. Even if it was just the motion, he needed to ease the internal tension.
Then, he rushed to catch up with the woman.
With the unsettling gazes from both sides gone, he finally looked ahead.
A small clearing lay ahead, where a distinct, archaic structure stood.
It must be the Bai Family Town’s ancestral hall.
Xue Liangliang hesitated. Should he go in?
Then, he proceeded forward; what choice did he have, really?
"Errrr..."
As the woman approached, the dark door of the hall slowly creaked open.
The hall, too, lacked a threshold, and inside, the stairs descended, with large smooth surfaces in the center, only narrow strips by the sides to walk down.
Passing through a not-so-wide courtyard, the woman headed deeper inside.
Xue Liangliang followed, his attention caught by an old well in the center — its mouth carved downward, surrounded by rusty chains.
He wondered if it was meant for fetching water from above or enabling something, someone to climb up from beneath.
Arriving at the heart of the ancestral hall, the woman, holding the vase, knelt without advancing further.
Xue Liangliang approached her side, studying the woman anew.
What was this modern-looking woman with an air of mystery doing here, as if she belonged?
Should he stay with her or venture further inside?
He’d stayed behind her previously; daring to move ahead was another matter.
Yet, he chose to remain beside her, not venturing further.
Gradually, the suffocation returned.
The discomfort grew unbearable, his hands grasping his neck unconsciously.
Yet the woman remained there, kneeling before him, so why was the feeling surging back?
Xue Liangliang edged closer to the woman, but the feeling lingered.
Was it no longer working?
He could hardly imagine, trapped in such a gloomy and oppressive place, how much longer he would have to endure this endless suffocating torment. What kind of unending torture was this?
"Ugh... Ah..."
Xue Liangliang also fell to his knees, crying out in pain.
His consciousness wavered between being fuzzy and sharply clear, and he loathed this clarity of mind—it felt like his spirit was being continuously whipped and tormented.
With a thud, Xue Liangliang leaned forward and toppled sideways. Since there was no threshold, technically speaking, half of his body ended up in the core of the ancestral hall.
At that moment, he suddenly realized that the feeling of suffocation had lessened.
After a brief hesitation, he moved further inside, and the suffocating sensation decreased even more.
He understood now. The woman hugging the vase was no longer effective. The chain she had on him was broken, and the new chain was within this place!
He continued to crawl further in until the suffocating feeling vanished entirely. Then, he could finally stand up.
Looking back, all he could see past the dark doorway was the blurry figure of the woman with the vase.
Turning to look ahead, there was a giant red coffin.
The coffin rested on a stand, elevating it, so when Xue Liangliang stood on his tiptoes, he could only vaguely see some of the yellow lining inside, but nothing beyond that unless he climbed up.
With an uneasy heart, he began to circle the coffin cautiously, ready at any moment for something unexpected to leap out at him.
But even after he walked a complete loop around the coffin, nothing terrifying appeared.
Directly in front of the coffin, instead of the usual table with memorial tablets, there was only a grand armchair.
On either side of the coffin were blue-brick walls.
The ancestral hall at the center of Bai Family Town seemed overly simplistic and barren, like a house built and furnished but never moved into.
Was that really the case?
Images of the women he'd seen sitting in the homes along his journey flashed through Xue Liangliang's mind. If everyone died in their homes, there really wouldn't be a need for memorial tablets in the ancestral hall.
So, could there be a way out of here?
Xue Liangliang did not give up on saving himself. He intuitively felt that the way out must be in this ancestral hall.
Gathering his courage, he expanded his search beyond the coffin, carefully exploring along the three walls. He walked a large circle around the room, knocking on bricks with his hands to see if there were any hollow secret doors while stomping heavily to detect hidden passages underfoot.
Disappointingly, he found nothing.
The room wasn't very large, and it was so sparse that hiding anything would be difficult.
What about above?
Raising his head, Xue Liangliang saw the ceiling beams were of an ordinary old-style design. He had no way of exploring them without proper tools.
But should he go to the houses to find tools?
Thinking of those women sitting behind closed doors in the houses made Xue Liangliang's back run cold. The thought of having to bypass them to rummage through their homes was terrifying, and he'd rather stay here.
"Hmm?"
Yet after completing a full circuit, when he came back to the entrance, Xue Liangliang was shocked to find the woman who had been kneeling with the vase was gone.
The vase had disappeared, too.
This sudden change made Xue Liangliang feel a fresh wave of fear. The woman he'd followed all the way here had, in fact, been the most familiar "thing" to him in this place.
Her disappearance left him feeling isolated and lost once more.
He wanted to find her, to see if she had simply moved to kneel elsewhere in the hall, but as he prepared to head towards the doorway, the suffocating sensation returned even though he was still some distance from the exit!
Before, simply going inside had relieved him of the sensation.
Xue Liangliang inhaled deeply despite the air not being real, and with a burst of energy, he dashed to the door, the suffocating sensation assaulting him once more. He endured the pain and made it outside.
Looking around, he didn't see any trace of the woman. She had truly vanished and was no longer there.
At the same time, the larger entrance doors of the ancestral hall had inexplicably closed.
Now he was at his limit; he didn't even have the strength to reach the courtyard.
He hurried back, his steps becoming unstable, and he fell to the ground, his body feeling like a shrimp being repeatedly dried out.
Finally, he crawled back to the side of the coffin, and the suffocation receded, granting him temporary relief.
But as he lifted his gaze to the top of the coffin, he couldn't help but question: Is this truly salvation?
After a brief rest, he stood back up and began to cautiously move sideways.
He was horrified to discover that whenever he strayed from the coffin, the suffocating feeling returned fiercely and instantly.
Yet earlier, he had managed to walk along the walls and touch the bricks.
This meant his range of movement had been reduced again.
When he reached the head end of the coffin, his vision blurred, and he thought he saw someone sitting on the grand armchair facing the coffin.
But when he focused again, the person was gone.
No, it wasn't a trick of the eye. Anywhere else, perhaps, but here, definitely not!
Xue Liangliang circled the coffin again and, suddenly sprinting, reached the head of the coffin once more.
This time, he definitely saw it—there was indeed someone sitting in the grand armchair. That person... was himself!
Xue Liangliang clenched his fists, feeling on the verge of madness. How could that person, who looked exactly like him, be sitting there?
If that was Xue Liangliang, then who was he?
He touched his face, feeling its familiar texture, confirming to himself that he was still himself. When he looked up again, the chair was empty.
Though if he circled the coffin, he'd likely see himself in the chair again, Xue Liangliang lacked the courage to do so.
And he couldn't keep doing it, either.
For the suffocating sensation had returned. Even with one hand against the coffin, it still assaulted him.
It's shrinking, as though he was standing in an invisible air bubble underwater. The bubble had moved before, but now it was shrinking.
Once it receded entirely, he would never find a space to breathe again.
Xue Liangliang pressed closely to the coffin, realizing that the nearer his face was, the weaker the suffocating sensation became.
But gradually, he noticed it wasn't enough; the suffocation continued to worsen.
No, this can't happen...
Xue Liangliang started stepping onto the stand beneath the coffin, his hands clutching the edge, and began to climb up.
Once on top, he was eased once more, successfully fleeing the choking sensation.
But when he looked down, his eyes widened, and he gasped, losing strength in his arms and tumbling down.
He had seen someone—it was a woman lying in the coffin!
She was dressed in red, with a red veil over her head, and her hands placed on her abdomen.
The pain of the fall was secondary, overshadowed by the terror of the suffocating sensation returning full force.
Earlier, Xue Liangliang could flee outside to check for the woman’s presence, but now, he couldn’t step out of the safe zone, not even for a moment.
What had been just a suffocating pressure now felt like an invisible, powerful grip was squeezing his throat.
He bore not only the anguish of suffocation but also the direct pain of his neck being relentlessly crushed and twisted.
Xue Liangliang scrambled up, stepping onto the stand and gripping the coffin edge to haul himself back up.
In the throes of harrowing pain, he overcame his inner fear, seeking that brief comfort.
Though he knew such comfort likely wouldn't last.
He carefully avoided gazing at the woman inside the coffin, shifting his eyes away, looking in the direction the head of the coffin faced. Once more, he saw it—himself seated in the grand armchair.
Only, this version of himself wore attire vastly different from now: a black, shiny long jacket, purple trousers, with a hat and a red flower on his chest.
He looked like a groom from times past.
That identical face terrified Xue Liangliang to the point of tears.
At that moment, the man in the chair seemed far more frightening than the woman in the coffin.
He lowered his gaze back to the woman.
When he had first entered the town, all the women behind the doors were seated, yet this woman lay down. She was positioned in the heart and very center of the ancestral hall.
Again, the suffocating feeling surged forth.
Xue Liangliang felt like an animal being driven by a whip.
Though he had come to a suspicion, he continued cautiously positioning his head, sensing for changes in suffocation.
And finally, his suspicion was confirmed: only by moving deeper into the coffin could he find safety.
His hands tightly gripped the side of the coffin, as he wrestled with his last inner struggle. However, the suffocating sensation that drew ever closer and intensified greatly shortened his moment of hesitation.
Gathering strength in his waist, he managed to get one foot onto the edge of the coffin, his hands reaching down to hold onto the interior wall. His initial intention was to only lean his upper body inside, maintaining as much distance from the woman within as possible.
But he overestimated his current strength, and as his body finally flipped over, he found himself unable to maintain his balance for the next move. He lost hold and fell inside the coffin.
He ended up landing on the woman’s body, which was cold and slippery. However, this slipperiness wasn’t in the usual sense, more like a jellyfish or some kind of secretion, making one feel extremely uncomfortable.
Right then, Xue Liangliang was horrified to find that the woman in front of him began to slowly lift her head. As she moved, the red gauze covering her face slid off slowly.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! At the Bai Family Town archway, the white lanterns suddenly turned red. Starting from there, all candles in niches at the front doors of the residences throughout the town turned from a ghostly green to red, emitting a chilling yet eerie sense of festivity.
Creak… Creak… The tightly closed doors of the houses slowly pushed open from the inside at this moment. Women, who were already seated with doors open, slowly stood up. Soon enough, women of different ages and from different eras, each with their own styles, emerged from their homes, stepped onto the bluestone slabs of the water troughs, and gathered along the roadside.
They appeared from different residential areas within the town, forming lines and moving forward at the same pace. The direction toward which they congregated was the ancestral hall at the town center. Although the women still had their eyes closed and none spoke, a continuous rustling noise floated through the town. Initially weak and chaotic, the noise became louder and increasingly orderly. Eventually, it harmonized into a unified chant that echoed across Bai Family Town:
"Heaven bestows blessings, the Bai Family invites a groom!"
…
"Hello, this is Li Zhuiyuan speaking."
"Hi, do you know Xue Liangliang?"
"I do."
"I think I've heard your voice before. My name is Luo. Have we met somewhere?"
"Are you Director Luo? I was the kid with Brother Liangliang yesterday."
"Oh, so it was you."
"Director Luo, did something happen?"
"It’s Liangliang... He had an accident. He kept mumbling 'Little Yuan' and mentioned this number before he fell unconscious."
"What happened to Brother Liangliang?"
"He fell overboard from the ship and is now in the hospital fighting for his life. The doctors say it's not looking good."
"Can I visit him?"
"Yes, I’ll send a car right away. Just give me a specific location."
"Shijia Bridge in Shinan Town; we’ll wait there for the car."
"Alright."
After hanging up, Li Zhuiyuan raised his arm and noticed that the mark had completely vanished, not reappearing at all. So, what was going on with Brother Liangliang? Could it be that Lady Bai still holds a grudge and has come for revenge? But that shouldn't be; wasn’t it all severed already?
Li Zhuiyuan took some pocket money and said to Aunt Zhang, “Aunt Zhang, I'm going to get a cigarette pack for my grandpa and some candies.”
“Okay, I’ll get them for you… Here you go, just right.”
"Thank you, Aunt Zhang."
Putting the cigarettes and candies into his pocket, Li Zhuiyuan walked home with a heavy heart. He had a nagging feeling that this was linked to Lady Bai and that it wasn’t just a simple case of falling into the water. Otherwise, Brother Liangliang wouldn’t have mentioned his name and number while unconscious. The most crucial part was, if it weren’t strange enough, Director Luo wouldn’t have sent a car at night to pick up a kid like him; he must be really anxious.
Back at the yard, Aunt Liu was cleaning up dishes and tidying the place, while Uncle Qin was chopping wood, chores delayed by watching the movie. The light in the east room was on, but the door was closed. Liu Yumei and Ah Li must be inside, especially since Liu Yumei seemed out of sorts after watching the movie tonight.
Li Zhuiyuan approached Uncle Qin and asked, “Uncle Qin.”
“Little Yuan, what’s up?”
“It’s not about my family's soy sauce bottle falling down. Would you reach out to straighten it?”
Uncle Qin: “…”
“It’s about that university student who stayed with us last night. He's in trouble and is being treated in the hospital. I won’t speak of this outside, nor will I tell my great-grandfather. So, Uncle Qin, could you help?”
Uncle Qin felt his pocket and pulled out some money: “Little Yuan, do you need to pay his medical bills? Here’s a bit. Later, I’ll ask your aunt for some more, and you can take it to your friend.”
“Okay… Thank you, Uncle Qin.”
Li Zhuiyuan could only nod. It seemed he had no choice but to wake his great-grandfather and seek his opinion. However, his great-grandfather likely wouldn’t have a solution, as he had shown apprehension towards Lady Bai the other day and opted to retreat.
At that moment, the door of the east room opened from within. Dressed in her pajamas, Liu Yumei, her hair down, walked out, her eyes still red.
“Ah Li, you should go with Little Yuan to the hospital to send the money.”
“Alright, I understand.”
Li Zhuiyuan was surprised at Liu Yumei’s response. He had only asked tentatively, not expecting her to agree so readily.
“Little Yuan, wait a moment. I’ll fetch the bicycle,” Uncle Qin said.
“No need, Uncle Qin. We’ll be waiting at the bridge south of the village road for the car.”
“Oh, alright then. Let’s go. If we’re back late and your great-grandfather wakes, your Aunt Liu will explain to him, so don’t worry.”
“Okay.”
“Do you need to take anything along?”
“No, we can leave now.”
Before leaving, Li Zhuiyuan bowed to Liu Yumei: “Thank you, Grandma.”
Liu Yumei didn’t respond and turned back into the house.
After Li Zhuiyuan and Uncle Qin left, Aunt Liu came in with a basin of warm water. After setting the water down, she picked up a comb and began to tidy Liu Yumei’s hair. Time had cruelly passed, affecting everyone. Last year, Liu Yumei’s hair had been just silver-gray; now, only the surface held that color. Once the comb passed through, all that was beneath was soft white hair. As Aunt Liu combed, she couldn’t help but choke up.
“Why are you crying?”
“I’m not crying.”
“Ha.” Liu Yumei placed a wiped-clean ancestral tablet back in its place.
“I want to know why you agreed this time. Even if Uncle Sanjiang doesn’t know, and indeed it has nothing to do with him, Little Yuan lives here too, after all. He’s family to you. What if…”
“Of course, I know what if.” Liu Yumei gazed at the line of ancestral tablets before her, “But today I’m in a bad mood, and I don’t want to worry about what ifs for a while.”
Aunt Liu quietly combed, not continuing the conversation.
Suddenly, Liu Yumei’s voice rose: “What, am I now too old to have the right to be willful?”
“No, you have it, you do!”
Liu Yumei stood up, pointing at the tablets with fervor:
“Back then, when these fellows left with the fleet, they just went. They didn’t even give me a heads-up. The whole family—no, two families—totally kept me in the dark!
“Alright then, they were all so magnanimous, dying without a single one left, leaving me alone with an orphaned child. In those times, did they ever think of me?
“They didn’t even want to leave a single spirit back; they sacrificed it all, making me face these lifeless tablets with no one to talk to for decades! Why should they get to impose their wants, and I have to tread carefully here, fearing the backlash of good luck turning bad? It’s unfair…”
As she spoke, tears fell from Liu Yumei’s eyes. One hand supported the offering table, the other covered her face. Aunt Liu felt deeply for her but didn’t know how to comfort her.
After a while, Liu Yumei lowered her hands, raised her head, and looked at the tablets with a smile:
“Ha-ha, did you see this? Did you see? Now you’re no longer here. It’s probably not even been that long, and those white rats under the river dare to crawl ashore to disgust people.”
Liu Yumei’s expression grew serious, her eyes sharp:
“Well, I’ll just smack it back. Let those creatures remember who, on this river’s surface, really calls the shots!”
(This chapter ends)