As a young man exuding the aura of a ruffian, Li Ang and another male passenger were assigned to stay at the home of Dusheng Village resident Shi Chengpeng.
Shi Chengpeng was an honest and taciturn, stout fella, but his son Shi Miao, who had just started elementary school, was quite lively. He pestered Li Ang in the guest room, trying to get a smartphone from him to play a couple of rounds of "Honor of Kings."
"No signal, what's there to play?"
Li Ang said irritably, "What are kids like you playing mobile games for? Go do your homework."
"I don't have homework."
Shi Miao picked his nose. "Our school only has four students and one teacher. Now that Teacher Meng is gone, we have to go to other villages for school. The classrooms there are newer and bigger, and the teachers assign less homework..."
As he spoke, Shi Miao's mood began to dampen.
Dusheng Village was located in a remote, underdeveloped area. Some villagers had gone to work in towns and county cities. After gaining some financial capacity, they moved out one after another, leaving many elderly people behind.
About ten or twenty years ago, school-age children from nearby villages would all come to Dusheng Village for elementary school. At its peak, there were more than a thousand students.
As the process of urbanization continued, the villages near towns and townships merged, and educational sites were relocated to the townships.
The elementary school in the remote Dusheng Village also began to decline. Its two double-story teaching buildings housed over twenty classrooms, yet only four students remained. Among the four students, two commuted from even more remote villages.
Meng Qixi was originally just a teacher sent to support rural education. Through an unexpected turn of events, he ended up working at the Dusheng Village elementary school for ten years, transitioning from a substitute teacher to a community-sponsored teacher, and eventually becoming the school's sole remaining teacher.
Perseverance and dedication became synonymous with him.
Six months ago, he contracted a strange illness and died mysteriously. The villagers discovered they didn't even know where his ancestral home was, so they had no choice but to bury him on the hill behind the village. The most up-to-date version is on *.
Li Ang listened in silence to Shi Miao's somewhat jumpy and disorganized narrative, piecing together the life of the middle-aged man, Meng Qixi, in his mind.
"Teacher Meng was really good to us, but he didn't talk much. He always lived alone in the school building and cooked for himself," Shi Miao mumbled, munching on the soft candy Li Ang had given him. "The villagers never included him when they played cards."
"Play cards?" Li Ang's eyebrows lifted. "Where do they play cards?"
"At the village chief's house," Shi Miao said, chewing the candy. "In the past, the adults of the village often went to the village chief's house to play cards together, playing all night long. But they never let women and children come along. My mom said my dad went once, but he ran back home in the middle of the night."
"I see." Li Ang nodded noncommittally, his curiosity about the seemingly kind and amiable village chief, Lu Gui, intensifying.
A covered-up Cat's Eye, a death seven months ago, a rural teacher who died of a strange disease, the task name 'Six Feet Under'...
This village has deep waters.
Shi Chengpeng and his wife returned from repairing the backyard fence. Standing at the door, they called their son out, telling him not to disturb the guests.
Shi Miao ran out of the house. Shi Chengpeng stood at the door, glanced at Li Ang's ruffianly attire, hesitated for a moment, and then said in a subdued tone, "We're going to sleep now. You should get to bed early too."
"At night, there might be some noises outside; just ignore them."
"I've nailed wooden boards on the doors and windows. Wild boars can't get in from outside, and the security doors inside can't be opened."
"The bathroom is downstairs, if you need it."
"Thanks, buddy," Li Ang nodded, watching Shi Chengpeng and his family go to the master bedroom.
「————」
Shi Yuande, Yu Kui, and Jian Chen were three male college students. Their school had let out early, so they decided to visit Shi Yuande's hometown in the countryside together.
Before they could reach their destination, they encountered a landslide and ended up stranded in the village—a very troublesome situation.
The three of them stayed at the home of a villager who had a two-story bungalow. In the middle of the night, Shi Yuande, tossing and turning, sat up and shook his close friend sleeping next to him.
"Kui, Kui, wake up."
Yu Kui impatiently swatted Shi Yuande's arm away, his eyes barely open. "What do you want?"
Shi Yuande continued to shake his close friend. "Come with me to the bathroom."
"Can't you just use a bottle or something?"
"It's not number one, it's number two."
Shi Yuande dragged the cursing Yu Kui to his feet, along with Jian Chen, who had also been woken up. "It'll just take a minute."
The three turned on the bedroom light and walked to the living room. The bathroom was located between the master bedroom and the side bedroom.
Shi Yuande hurried into the bathroom to relieve himself, while Yu Kui and Jian Chen idly played with their phones outside the bathroom door.
Listening to the clattering noises inside, Yu Kui gently kicked the bathroom door with his heel. "Are you done yet? Or are you planning to die in there?"
"I've got diarrhea, alright?" Shi Yuande said weakly. "Just a moment, I'm almost done."
Yu Kui and Jian Chen exchanged a glance and helplessly shook their heads.
DRIP.
The almost imperceptible sound of a water droplet hitting the floor came from the master bedroom across from the side bedroom.
Yu Kui looked up. In the unlit master bedroom, a vague silhouette stood in the shadows of the doorway—seemingly Shi Derong, the villager hosting them.
"Haven't slept yet?" Shi Derong's voice echoed out of the darkness.
"Yeah, we're keeping our classmate company to the bathroom," Yu Kui stood up straight, a bit embarrassed. "His stomach is a bit upset."
The figure didn't speak but just quietly watched them.
DRIP. DRIP.
Shi Derong looked like he had just been fished out of a pool, dripping water from head to toe, creating a tiny stream on the floor at the entrance to the master bedroom.
Yu Kui took a startled half step back to avoid the water and looked up. "Uncle, you..."
"Yes? What is it?"
In the shadows, Shi Derong's figure tilted his head, his neck twisted at almost a ninety-degree angle onto his shoulder.
Yu Kui abruptly clamped his mouth shut and grabbed Jian Chen, who was about to cry out. His face pale, Yu Kui forced a smile. "It's nothing. We'll go to sleep soon."
"Alright. Go to bed early. If there's anything, just call me."
Shi Derong's neck continued to slant further down, his whole head drooping onto his chest, like a limp slug.
Yet, as if noticing nothing unusual, he calmly turned, entered his room, and casually shut the door behind him.
Yu Kui and Jian Chen exchanged a look, hastily poked the bathroom door, and quietly urged Shi Yuande to come out quickly.
The latter, pants in hand, impatiently opened the door. He was about to speak when Yu Kui covered his mouth and dragged him into the side bedroom.
The three of them braced the door. Moments later, dull footsteps sounded from outside.
The steps, heavy and viscous like water-soaked sacks dropped on the ground, made a SQUELCH. SQUELCH. sound with each footfall.
The three held their breath, listening as the footsteps wandered outside for a while, then slowly approached their bedroom.
The knocking—a series of dull THUDS—wasn't sharp; it sounded more like someone was banging their head against the door.
"Students, open the door."
From outside came Shi Derong's muffled voice, as though his mouth was full of water. "My neck hurts a bit. Could you come out and help me with it?
I feel like it's about to break off..."