The Desolate Graveyard was a remote area covering more than three miles in every direction. The only narrow path leading into it had long been overtaken by wild grass. The earthen graves scattered around were in complete disorder, placed haphazardly without any sense of order. The only time anyone would step foot into this land was when someone from the nearby village passed away and needed burial. Otherwise, even during the Qingming Festival, no one dared to come here. Most villagers simply drew a circle at a nearby crossroad and burned some paper money as offerings.
The villagers avoided the graveyard because rumors had long spread that it was haunted.
Among the nearby villages, anyone who had ever entered the Desolate Graveyard could recount at least one or two spine-chilling supernatural experiences.
However, this didn’t scare Shui Miao and his friends.
It was said that young people had strong yang energy and weren’t afraid of such things.
But this time was different—it was at night. None of them had ever ventured into the graveyard after dark before, and now they were approaching it by water.
“What? Go to the Desolate Graveyard!?”
Lin Haiyang was startled and immediately felt fear creeping in, his voice stuttering.
“Old Zhou, weren’t you always saying you fear neither heaven nor earth?” Chen Bing chuckled and patted Lin Haiyang’s right shoulder. “If you’re scared, just say so. I’ll let you get off the boat right now.”
“Oh no…”
As soon as Chen Bing patted Lin Haiyang’s shoulder, Shui Miao felt a chill run down his spine. He had a bad feeling.
The elders in the village often said that each person had three spiritual lights—one on the head and one on each shoulder. These lights symbolized a person’s vitality. During gambling, if someone’s shoulder was touched, it would bring bad luck and cause them to lose money. Similarly, while walking alone at night, if someone suddenly patted your shoulder or you kept turning your head out of fear, the lights might be extinguished. Once the lights were out, fear would grow stronger, attracting malevolent spirits. If all three lights were extinguished, the person would be in grave danger. Even if they survived, they might bring something sinister back with them.
Upon hearing this, Lin Haiyang bravely replied, “Are you kidding? If you guys aren’t scared, why would I be?”
“Great! That’s the spirit!” Chen Bing grinned mischievously and raised his hand to pat Lin Haiyang’s other shoulder. Shui Miao quickly blocked him.
“Enough fooling around. Do you have any extra lights? Preferably high-wattage floodlights.”
Chen Bing was Shui Miao’s best friend, and Shui Miao could always tell what he was thinking.
Seeing his prank stopped and noticing the serious look on Shui Miao’s face, Chen Bing quickly gave up and went to his bag to fetch the floodlight.
For some reason, Chen Bing had always been afraid of Shui Miao. Whenever Shui Miao turned serious, Chen Bing felt terrified.
Shui Miao took the floodlight and mounted it on a bamboo pole. The 1000-watt lamp illuminated everything within a thirty-meter radius clearly.
With the floodlight, Lin Haiyang felt much safer.
Shui Miao turned to Li Hua and noticed his nervous expression. Li Hua had been weak and often sick as a child, even possessed by evil spirits once. That’s why he was always afraid of such things. He had come along tonight only because there were many people with him and they had brought two protective talismans on the boat.
“Li Hua, how’s university treating you?” Seeing how thin Li Hua had become, Shui Miao asked with concern.
Li Hua smiled faintly, “It’s okay, I guess. University life is just like that. By the way, Shui Ge, how’s life in Zhonghai? The hotels there must be top-notch, right?”
Li Hua was always envious of those working outside, just as Shui Miao envied him for being able to attend university.
“The hotels are decent, but what does that have to do with us workers?” Shui Miao shook his head. As a food runner in a restaurant, what right did he have to judge the hotel’s class? Just getting through each month without mistakes and receiving his salary was already a blessing.
Upon hearing this, Ye Haibing, who was rowing the boat, couldn’t help but say, “Shui Ge, there must be tons of pretty waitresses in that hotel. Haven’t you picked out a potential wife yet?”
…
Shui Miao was momentarily speechless. Wherever Ye Haibing went, he always thought about women, as if afraid he’d never find a wife.
But to his surprise, Chen Bing jumped in, “You guys don’t know! So many beautiful girls are after our Shui Ge—girls from Jiangxi, Anhui, Hebei, Zhejiang, even local Zhonghai girls, and even female bosses! But our Shui Ge ignores them all!”
“Why? Are they all dinosaurs from the Jurassic period?” Ye Haibing asked curiously.
“How could that be…” Chen Bing was about to explain when Shui Miao interrupted.
“Enough nonsense. When I get rich, I’ll find each of you a good one. For now, let’s stay focused. It’s been years since we’ve been back. We don’t know if the waterways have changed. Be careful.”
“Right, right. Let’s catch fish first, then talk about other things.” Chen Bing quickly agreed, always following Shui Miao’s lead.
Everyone fell silent.
Among the group, Ye Haibing was the boldest. He was the type who feared neither heaven nor earth. He didn’t believe in ghosts or spirits and always dismissed the elders’ stories as nonsense. The second bravest wasn’t Chen Bing, but Shui Miao. However, Shui Miao’s bravery was different—he actually wanted to see ghosts and spirits for himself. As a child, he often did inexplicable things, and even adults avoided him.
But as he grew older, Shui Miao matured. After three years of traveling outside, he had learned a lot.
The boat moved quickly…
About seventeen or eighteen minutes later, they reached the area of the Desolate Graveyard. Ye Haibing didn’t slow down at all.
A gentle breeze blew, and the reeds along the river rustled continuously…
Unable to contain his impatience, Shui Miao broke the silence, “Ye Haibing, where exactly are we going?”
“Don’t worry, we’re almost there.” Ye Haibing slowed down and carefully examined the water surface, whispering, “I heard a stranger set up fishing nets around here. If we find the nets, we won’t have to worry about catching fish.”
It turned out Ye Haibing wanted to steal someone else’s catch. He had done this many times before.
“Ugh, I knew it…”
Chen Bing frowned, somewhat disgusted by the idea of stealing fish, “Hurry up! How much fish do we even need? I still want to catch frogs and birds later.”
“Found it! Found it!”
Ye Haibing spotted a white foam box floating on the water and immediately stopped the boat.
At that exact moment, the rustling sound from the riverbank suddenly stopped.
Chen Bing shone his flashlight around. Everywhere was pitch black. In the distance, graves covered in wild grass rose and fell unevenly, shrouded in deep shadows. There was no sound at all, making everyone feel uneasy.
As Chen Bing’s flashlight swept around, Lin Haiyang grabbed Shui Miao’s hand tightly and whispered fearfully, “Let’s not play around here. I’ll treat you all to dinner if we go back now.”
“Shh, I’m here. Don’t worry.” Feeling how cold Lin Haiyang’s hand was, Shui Miao quickly whispered reassurance.
Although his voice was low, everyone heard.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be done in ten minutes at most.”
Ye Haibing secured the boat with a bamboo pole and leaned over the bow to grab the floating foam box.
His hand was about to reach it…
Suddenly, there was a splash in the water. A white fish, at least half a meter long, leapt out of the water and slammed directly into Ye Haibing. Taken by surprise, Ye Haibing lost his balance and began to slide into the water…
This fish was way too big!
Everyone was startled!
“Don’t panic!”
Shui Miao shouted and rushed to the bow to grab Ye Haibing, but Lin Haiyang, terrified, grabbed Shui Miao’s clothes and clung on tightly.
Chen Bing was also startled. By the time he regained his senses, Ye Haibing had already fallen into the water with a loud splash.
Almost immediately after Ye Haibing hit the water, over a hundred large fish suddenly leapt out of the river, a dazzling white spectacle, creating a chaotic splashing sound that left everyone speechless!
Then the cement boat began to sway violently, as if someone underwater was trying to tip it over!
“Let go!”
Shui Miao shook off Lin Haiyang’s grip and climbed to the bow, but by then Ye Haibing had already sunk underwater and disappeared from sight. The water was only about a meter deep where they were, and Ye Haibing was over 1.7 meters tall. How could he sink so quickly?
“What should we do?”
Shui Miao hesitated. Something supernatural was definitely happening. If he jumped in, he might not come back. If he didn’t, Ye Haibing might drown for sure.
“Don’t go!”
At that moment, Li Hua suddenly shouted.
Shui Miao looked up and saw Li Hua throwing a dark object into the spot where Ye Haibing had fallen. He shouted desperately, “Grandpa, Grandma, Uncles, Aunts, we’re sorry! Please let us go!”
Everyone was already scared, but Li Hua’s sudden shout sent chills down their spines. Goosebumps rose on their arms, and even the air they breathed felt icy cold!
Strangely, as soon as the dark object hit the water, all the fish stopped jumping!
Within two or three seconds, Ye Haibing surfaced more than ten meters away from the boat. Shui Miao quickly grabbed a bamboo pole and extended it to him. When they finally pulled him aboard, Ye Haibing didn’t say a word. His whole body trembled violently, his face deathly pale. He rushed into the cabin and kept muttering, “Don’t pull me… don’t pull me…”
“Let’s go!” Lin Haiyang was almost in tears.
“Shui Ge, you sit at the bow to balance the boat. Let me row.” Li Hua had somehow tied a red cloth around his head. He quickly took the bow position, had Shui Miao sit cross-legged, and pushed off with the bamboo pole.
Li Hua’s father had been a professional boatman, so Li Hua had learned a lot about boats.
Everyone was extremely tense…
It didn’t take long before Li Hua successfully steered the boat out of the Desolate Graveyard’s waters.
However, just as everyone began to relax, the wind suddenly picked up on the water!
Behind the boat, splashing sounds grew louder, as if many people were swimming after them…
“Oh no! The black dog hide couldn’t stop them. They’re back!” Li Hua’s face turned pale upon hearing the sounds. “Quick! Throw the red package in the cabin into the water! And there are thirty-six ‘Heaven-Shaking Thundercrackers’ in the cabin—light them now!”
Clearly, Li Hua had come fully prepared for tonight.
“I’ll throw the package…”
Chen Bing turned and saw a red bundle in the cabin. It looked heavy, but when he lifted it, it was surprisingly light. As he brought it to his chest, he noticed a paper-made doll peeking out from the opening.
He was startled and quickly threw the bundle into the water.
Meanwhile, Lin Haiyang carried the “Heaven-Shaking Thundercrackers” to the stern…
But just as Lin Haiyang pulled out his lighter to ignite them, Ye Haibing suddenly stood up straight inside the cabin…
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage