False evidence

Chapter 35 Cursed Poisoning (3)

I heard a noise and looked in the direction the sound came from, only to see that the gate was tightly closed and there was nothing inside the courtyard.

But the sound is still there.

"Kucha... Kucha..."

It was very light, but it sounded exceptionally clear.

It sounds like human footsteps, but it's quite different.

Looking back, I was incredibly brave. (Actually, after the incident, my grandfather came to a different conclusion—I was still drunk that night.)
I had a moment of madness, and I shouted at the door:

"What are you doing? Why aren't you sleeping in the middle of the night? Did a donkey kick your head?"

The sound stopped abruptly as soon as the shout was finished.

At the same time, the crying in the main room also stopped.

The entire courtyard was eerily quiet.

According to what I told my grandfather later, it felt like there was no one left alive in the world at that time; it was just so quiet!

It was at this moment that my still somewhat sleepy eyes finally cleared up.

Standing on tiptoe and craning my neck, I saw two small footprints on the snow inside the courtyard gate!

I'm sure those were footprints because there were two rows side by side.

But it's too small, it doesn't look like an adult's footprint at all... or it doesn't even look like a human footprint!

Much later, a few close friends and I concluded: everyone has obsessive-compulsive tendencies, just to varying degrees.

At that moment, I had a sudden, impulsive decision. Looking at those two rows of footprints inside the courtyard gate, I couldn't stand the sight of them. I don't know what I was thinking, but I just wanted to go straight over and smooth those footprints over.

That's exactly what I did.

But to my surprise, just as I stepped out of the door, the sound that had just disappeared suddenly came back with a 'crack'!

The next second, I heard a familiar, hoarse voice shouting at the top of its lungs:
"Go back! Go back inside! Close the door..."

I recognized the voice as Grandpa's, but by the time I heard it, it was already a little late.

The eerie footsteps suddenly intensified!

"Kusakuchakucha..."

It seemed to be running directly towards the house I was in, and it did so at high speed!

"Go back quickly..."

Grandpa is still yelling at me.

I was so scared my heart was in my throat. I finally came to my senses and hurriedly retreated back into the house, trying to close the door.

But it was just a tiny bit off, a gap of two or three centimeters, and the door just wouldn't close.

It felt like something was pushing against it from the outside!

I was so scared that I became violent, so I used the top of my head, both hands, and one knee to brace against the door.

I felt that there was something alive outside, and it was incredibly strong, desperately trying to push the door open and come in.

"You son of a bitch! Want to come in? I'll grant your wish?"

It's not like I've only had a momentary lapse in judgment, and besides, I've always been someone who's competitive and loves to argue.

I was so tired that I just started cursing.

Despite the scolding, I really didn't dare open the door.

The top of my head was originally against the door, but when I got really angry, I twisted my head and moved it sideways, trying to get my eyes to the crack in the door to see what was outside.

As soon as I moved over, I saw a large, yellowish-green eye peering through the crack in the door!
They were separated by just a door, one small and one large, their eyes almost as close as the thickness of the door panel.

"what……"

Even if I were incredibly brave, I still managed to scream.

But the moment I cried out and instinctively tilted my head back, I was slapped hard on the top of my head, and at the same time I heard someone yelling angrily behind me:
"You shameless bastard, you're a wolf in sheep's clothing! Even a turtle that falls into the water will still spit bubbles when it drowns, but you're too lazy to even stick out your tongue!" I was really scared at first, but when I heard that voice, I regained some of my confidence.

Because I recognized the voice as that of Old Bai, the person who patted me on the head from behind!
Strangely enough, the force blocking the door disappeared as soon as he yelled that.

Old Bai didn't stop. He pushed me back and started cursing while jumping around in the room.

He's getting old, and his physique isn't as good as my grandfather's. He was panting heavily after yelling for a while.

By then I had recovered, so I took over his job.

I imitated what he had just done, jumping up and down in the room, pointing at the door and cursing:

"You damn banana leaf! Where did you get this bastard? Take a piss and look at yourself! What kind of person are you?! You're not even human, a toad's head, you son of a bitch, were you beaten up by a living person and a tortoise?! A bear with flowers, not a human being at all! Like Pigsy gnawing on a clay pot, you only care about your own deliciousness, don't you care about how gritty it is for us…"

I rarely swear now, but I had so much more confidence back then.

Once he started cursing, he went on and on for most of the night.

I didn't time it, so I don't know exactly how long the cursing lasted. I just heard a rooster crow nearby, and then Old Bai covered my mouth.

"My son, your mouth is really... really annoying!" Old Bai sighed behind me.

"Um..."

I wanted to protest, but Old Bai didn't give me a chance at all. He kicked the door with his old cotton shoes, and the door slammed shut and bounced open again.

"Child, you mustn't make a sound!"

Old Bai leaned down and whispered a few words in my ear.

I nodded, then ducked under his overcoat, wrapped my arms around his legs, and put my feet on top of him, and let him carry me out of the house.

It was still dark at this time, but as soon as there was a glimmer of light, the snow made the world appear exceptionally white and bright, as if it were dusk.

I clung to Old Bai's leg, hiding under his military overcoat. I couldn't see outside; all I could see was the ground.

In a blurry way, as far as the eye could see, there were tiny paw prints everywhere, like those left by cats and dogs!

Old Bai was still in good health (mainly because I was thin back then).

He just dragged me around the yard like that.

Then, through the open front of his military overcoat, I could see the situation inside the main room.

That black coffin is still standing in front of the door.

Two rows of people sat or knelt on either side of the coffin.

I recognized that among them, besides Shao Hanzi's father, the bald old man, and his mother, that big fat old woman, there was also his wife and a relative from his hometown...

Seeing someone dozing by the door, I couldn't help but want to call out to them.

That's my grandpa!

To be honest, I wasn't afraid of anything just because I was clinging to Old Master Bai's coattails. After all, he was one of the few people I trusted during that period.

But when I saw Grandpa, and the scene before him, I couldn't help but shout:

"Grandpa! Get up! Get up now! That guy's trying to bite you! He's right up to you!"

Grandpa is my closest relative. I can live without anyone else, but I can't live without him.

I shouted, and people had already crawled out of their cotton-padded coats, eager to rush into the main room.

The moment he took a step, suddenly, the old man, who had been dozing off just a second ago, stood up abruptly, grabbed the dark figure in front of him by the back of the neck, and with his other hand, threw something forcefully into the open coffin!

"You idiot, even after you're dead you still won't stop, you still want to mess with my child? I'll smash your body to death, you bastard!"

Grandpa seemed like a completely different person; his old face was so contorted that I didn't even recognize him.

He cursed as he jumped up, rushed to the door, and hurled the figure he was holding hard into the yard.

"You old medicine addict! Don't mess around..."

(End of this chapter)