I was rather surprised to see Brother Chen’s expression.
I quickly took the birth chart and checked it, confirming it again and again.
Back in the village, I’d heard the elders talk about it.
The birth chart represented a person’s fate; if it were written incorrectly, the results would be vastly different.
So, after taking the slip of paper, I examined it very carefully.
Year, month, day, hour, and the stroke count of the name.
After comparing them one by one, everything was correct.
Therefore, I said to Brother Chen very earnestly:
“Brother Chen, I haven’t written it incorrectly. It’s all correct.”
When Brother Chen heard my words, he looked at me with shock, drawing a sharp breath and saying:
“Xiao Qin! Your birth chart is not simple!”
Hearing Brother Chen say this, I became intrigued and asked doubtfully:
“Brother Chen, is there something special about my birth chart?”
Brother Chen picked up my birth chart and said with a wry smile:
“Xin Si year is a Yin year, Gui Si month is a Yin month, Gui You day is a Yin day, and Ding Hai hour is a Yin hour.
In other words, your fate, young man, is a Yin destiny.”
My heart gave a jolt, and I said with some dread:
“Yin destiny?”
Although I didn’t quite understand what a “Yin destiny” was, the name itself didn’t sound good.
“That’s right, you have a Yin destiny.
This kind of fate is one in ten thousand, extremely rare.
However, it’s not a good birth chart.
People with this destiny are very prone to being affected by unclean things.
Moreover, those with such a birth chart are prone to premature death.
Xiao Qin, you’ve often encountered strange things before, haven’t you?”
I took a deep breath. I hadn’t expected my birth chart to have such a significance.
But reflecting on my twenty years, apart from my parents dying young and growing up with my grandmother, and experiencing relative poverty, I felt I had always been safe and hadn’t encountered anything strange.
I shook my head:
“No, this is the first time. In fact, I didn’t even believe in ghosts or spirits before.”
I replied earnestly.
Chen Qiang was very surprised.
In his understanding, people with such a special birth chart destiny were naturally close to ghosts and prone to dying young.
For those who carried such a destiny, it wasn’t as if unclean things wouldn’t appear if you didn’t provoke them.
These things would find you by scent.
This was precisely why people with this destiny were extremely prone to premature death.
But hearing me say that it was my first encounter with a ghost at the age of twenty made him feel puzzled, even making him suspect I was lying.
However, seeing my serious expression, which didn’t seem like a lie, he was suspicious but didn’t ask further.
Afterward, we left the restaurant.
And went to People’s Park.
It was dark all around, with only a few streetlights by the roadside still on.
I checked the time; it was 9:57 PM.
Brother Chen took off his outer jacket and handed it to me.
Then he said:
“It’s about time.
Xiao Qin, do as I told you in the restaurant. Keep walking west along the road.
Remember, you can only stop when the yellow chicken starts to flap.
Along the way, don’t turn back or talk to anyone.”
“Brother Chen, I remember everything, don’t worry.”
This was a matter of life and death; how could I not remember?
Seeing me agree, Brother Chen nodded:
“Go on!”
I grunted and, holding Brother Chen’s jacket,
With the big yellow chicken cradled in my arms, I started walking west along the pedestrian path.
After just a few steps, I heard Brother Chen call from behind.
“I’ll wait for you here. Remember what I told you.”
“Got it, Brother Chen!”
I waved my hand at him with my back turned.
Because Brother Chen had repeatedly instructed me not to look back, I was very vigilant about this.
People’s Park was close to the outskirts of the city. After walking for about twenty minutes, the surroundings became quite desolate.
On the road, there were no people, and even very few cars.
Apart from the chirping of insects, the only sound was my own footsteps.
The big yellow chicken in my arms was very quiet.
It tucked its neck in, motionless.
As long as it didn’t flap, I dared not stop.
I continued walking at a normal pace.
After walking for more than an hour, there were no more streetlights, and the surroundings became chilly.
On this dimly lit road, I was walking alone at night, holding the yellow chicken.
The further I walked, the colder it felt.
I always felt a draft on my neck, a chill.
With every step I took, I could hear an echo.
“Tap, tap, tap…”
You must understand that we were already in the open countryside.
How could there be an echo when walking?
I felt like someone was behind me.
Mimicking my footsteps, and very close…
My whole body tensed up, I hunched my head and clenched my hands, not daring to look back at all.
But the yellow chicken in my arms didn’t move, so I had to keep walking.
After walking for about ten more minutes,
I suddenly saw someone at the stone bridge ahead.
They were crouching at the entrance of the stone bridge, I didn’t know what they were doing.
It was a bit far, so I couldn’t see clearly.
Feeling a bit nervous, my steps slowed down.
As I got closer,
I vaguely realized that the person crouching at the bridge was an old woman in gray.
She seemed to be trying to light a fire,
Striking matches one after another with her hand.
There was a “shick, shick” sound, but not a spark.
She was also muttering to herself:
“Why won’t it light?”
I knew about burning paper and lighting incense at bridge entrances.
I’d heard the older generation say it was called “paying the toll to pass.”
They said that souls could not cross water, and although there was a bridge, it was for the living.
Some souls couldn’t see the bridge and needed burning paper and incense to guide them.
There was also a saying that ghosts and gods guarded the bridge.
Burning money and lighting incense was to show them respect.
Then, the ghost officials, having received the offering, would let the souls pass, which was also called buying passage.
Thus, wandering souls could return home.
And this kind of thing had to be done at night.
Therefore, when I saw the old woman, I wasn’t as tense.
This should be someone burning money for their deceased relatives to pass, and lighting guiding incense.
Holding the yellow chicken, I continued to walk forward.
But as soon as I reached the bridge,
The old woman who was striking matches suddenly stood up.
Her standing up startled me.
I saw that the old woman before me was soaking wet, as if she had just crawled out of the water.
Her face was pale and swollen, and her eyes were dark, with no visible pupils.
Wet water droplets flowed down her face to her chin,
Constantly dripping down with a “drip, drip” sound. In just a moment, her feet were already wet.
The water stains were flowing towards me…
She looked up at me, her head slightly bowed, and spoke in a very hoarse voice:
“Young man, my matches are wet. Could I borrow some fire…”