The man held an oil lamp in his hand, its tiny flickering flame casting dim light as he slowly shuffled forward with small steps. He glanced back at his wife, who was nervously hiding behind him, then shook his head. “Damn it, do you think you’re the only one scared? I’m so scared right now I feel like peeing!” But those words remained locked in his heart; he couldn’t say them out loud. He was originally from Xiushui Village, but his wife came from the provincial capital, so after marriage, he moved there to become a son-in-law. This time, during the holiday, they had returned to the village to visit his elderly parents—something they hadn’t done in quite a while.
As he thought, the couple had already walked past the main house and followed a side path. After rounding the first corner and preparing to make another turn to exit the village, something unexpected happened.
The first turn was definitely correct—they should have turned west, and indeed, the man did turn west. But just as he was about to make the next turn north, he suddenly realized that the path leading north was gone! Blocking the way was still that eerie Hu family mansion.
“What the hell? Are ghosts messing with me?” He stretched his neck to look closely, scratched his short hair for a while, his face full of confusion.
“Shhh… Don’t talk about ghosts in the dark! Haven’t you heard what the elders say? Talking like that will attract evil spirits!” The woman scolded him while peeking out from behind his shoulder. But the moment she saw what was ahead, her face turned deathly pale.
“Zhu Zi, I—I—how did we end up back here again!” Staring at the half-open main gate of the mansion, the woman froze mid-air with her trembling hand, shrieking in fear. For some reason, the plaque above the gate that read “Blessings and Longevity Combined” suddenly felt like a bucket of icy water poured over her head, chilling her from head to toe.
“Uh…” The man was equally confused, muttering, “Maybe I just haven’t walked this way in a long time and mixed up the turns.”
“Got lost?!” The woman, still clutching her chest in fear, calmed her flushed face slightly. “You’re a grown man! You’ve lived here since you were a kid and still got lost? If people heard that, they’d laugh their teeth out! You must’ve lost your mind along the way!”
“Alright, alright! Stop nagging me, woman! Let me think! Let’s try walking it again!” The man impatiently interrupted her and returned to the second turn, retracing their steps. But again, the mansion blocked their way.
West first, then south, then west again—yes! Then the next turn should be north. But again, the mansion loomed in front of them like a ghost from the grave! The man’s expression changed. Doubting his own memory, he suddenly turned south and saw something unexpected: a new path had appeared there!
“This path was supposed to go north, how come it’s now going south?”
He seemed to remember something and stepped forward. The road was lined with silent houses, all windows dark. After walking a short distance, the path ended abruptly at a wall. Frustrated, the man turned back, only to find the way he came had vanished! In other words, the alley they had entered from was gone! Looking back, where there used to be a red wall, now stood a huge mansion. Looking at the plaque hanging above the beams and the two white lanterns at the entrance, there was no doubt—it was the Hu family mansion!
The door was half open, and the plaque with the words “Blessings and Longevity Combined,” which should have hung proudly, was now hidden in the shadows of the eaves, barely visible.
The woman quickly grabbed a corner of the man’s coarse cotton coat, trembling. “Zhu Zi, I… I’m scared.”
The man extended the oil lamp in his hand toward the red-painted gate. The light revealed a faint glow inside—there was definitely light, though not bright.
He thought for a moment, then turned to his wife. “Something feels off. I think something might’ve gone wrong. Could it be we were bewitched by the Yellow Immortal?” (The Yellow Immortal refers to the weasel, which in old northeastern folklore is considered a spiritually gifted creature. It is believed that weasels can cultivate supernatural powers, even becoming spirits capable of bewitching humans. However, they also follow certain moral codes—if you help them, they will protect your home and bless your children. Because of this belief, many locals built temples and offered incense to the Yellow Immortal.)
“Let’s go in and check it out.”
The woman still didn’t let go. “I still feel uneasy. Let’s not go in.”
“We’ll just peek at the entrance, see if there’s a way out!” Without waiting for her reply, the man lifted the oil lamp and stepped onto the moss-covered stone steps in front of the mansion. He slowly pushed open the vermilion gate with his hand. “Creak—” the sharp, long sound of the door echoed faintly through the empty courtyard, gradually fading like a woman’s weeping—soft, lingering, mournful. The woman was startled, her face turning pale.
The man was also shocked. The oil lamp in his hand visibly trembled. Taking a deep breath, he scanned the courtyard with his eyes before stepping forward. As he crossed the threshold, the woman suddenly released the man’s coat and quickly stepped back. Shivering in the cold wind, she whispered, “Zhu Zi, let’s not go in. Let’s go find someone from the village to help.”
“Aww, now you’re scared? Besides, I, Wang Sanzhu, am a real man. If I listened to you, people would surely point fingers at me behind my back and call me a coward.” Saying that, the man boldly stepped further into the courtyard with the oil lamp. The woman, her eyes full of fear, glanced behind his shoulder and finally moved forward a bit. She tried to appear brave but trembled uncontrollably at the entrance.
“Strange, the Hu family should have many people. Why is it so quiet now? If it were our house, a thief could walk right in and take everything.” The man muttered as he looked around with the oil lamp.
The woman shrank her shoulders and looked up at the plaque above the door. At that moment, the moonlight pierced through the clouds, casting a soft glow that illuminated the narrow path and the woman herself—but strangely, not a single shadow was cast.
“Ahhhhhhhh!” The woman’s eyes widened in terror as she stared into the courtyard. She let out a stifled scream, her eyes filled with horror, unable to look away—as if something would leap out the moment she did. But at that moment, the man’s voice did not come.
At the same time, a loud “clang!” echoed from inside the courtyard—something had dropped to the ground. Then came the crackling sound of burning wood.
The woman quickly stumbled backward, nearly falling over from fear. When she looked back into the courtyard, the man was gone. All that remained was the oil lamp lying on the ground, its paper shade catching fire, burning like a ghostly specter. Sparks danced like the devil’s grin…
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