Diary of Getting Rich Quick in the South

The room was pitch black.

The room was filled with dry branches and firewood, and there were traces of the fire from years ago on the walls.

I took two steps inside, but didn't dare go in. I turned on my phone's flashlight and quickly scanned the area, then whispered, "Sister Wan."

I had just shouted when I heard a "hey" from behind me.

I was so startled I almost screamed, and I quickly turned around and shone my flashlight on it.

Su Wan squatted behind the door, just a door away from me. Her face was extremely pale in the white light, and there were tear stains on her face. She looked like a female ghost in a horror movie, as scary as could be.

I couldn't hold back any longer and let out a scream.

She was also startled by my scream and screamed back.

Her shout actually calmed me down.

"Sister Wan, why are you hiding here? Didn't you say you were already on the train?"

Su Wan gradually calmed down, but her chest was still heaving rapidly as she gasped for breath: "You scared me to death."

I thought to myself, "You're the one who scared me to death! Crying in a haunted house in the middle of the night, I'm lucky I wasn't scared out of my wits."

I pulled her up from the ground: "Let's hurry up and leave, this place is really dark."

Su Wan shook her head: "I think this is fine. Anjing, you go back first, I'll stay until dawn and then leave."

Can't it be quiet? I'm afraid you'll be scared if it gets too noisy.

I really wanted to tell her that someone had died in this place and that it was haunted, but I held back and didn't, afraid of scaring her.

Seeing that she wasn't leaving, I felt embarrassed to leave either, and I kept glancing at the beam where the old woman had hanged herself.

I keep feeling like there's a dark shadow flickering around.

"Sister Wan, why are you here alone? Did you hear some gossip?"

I had to change the subject, otherwise I really couldn't stand it for even a second longer.

Su Wan softly hummed in agreement: "I was planning to offer incense to your cousin and then leave, but Dad wouldn't let me in. I thought I'd go in after my parents fell asleep in the middle of the night, but the door was closed, and the buses to the city had stopped running. I had nowhere to go, so I came here when I saw no one around."

As she spoke, she squatted down again, picked up a twig, and drew circles haphazardly on the ground.

That's when I noticed she had written a lot of words on the ground, including my cousin's name and several strings of numbers, probably for an anniversary or something.

What was supposed to be a touching scene turned out to be terrifying to me.

Because when that old woman used to teach her children to write, she would squat here and write on the ground with burnt charcoal.

I banished those chaotic thoughts from my mind and squatted down beside her.

"Because my cousin is not yet 35 years old, we can't have a big funeral. Also, my aunt is Hui, so she can't offer incense. Therefore, the funeral hall was dismantled at night."

After I finished speaking, I took out a cigarette and lit it.

This was my first time smoking. The smoke burned my lungs and made me cough.

"Don't you not smoke?" Su Wan turned to look at me with a puzzled expression.

I forced a smile and said I was feeling sad and wanted to try it to see if it could help me relieve my sorrow, as people say.

I didn't dare say it because I was afraid.

"Give me one too." Su Wan held out her hand.

I hesitated for a moment and said, "Let's forget it. It's not good for women to smoke."

Su Wan didn't say anything, but snatched the cigarette from my hand, took one out, lit it, and took a deep drag like me. She was also choked and kept coughing.

As I coughed, tears started to come out.

I don't know if it was because I was choked by the choking, or because I thought of my cousin.

She looked up at the rising smoke, a self-deprecating bitter smile appearing on her lips: "I used to always advise your cousin not to smoke, and I even scolded him many times for it, but I never thought I would start smoking myself."

I wanted to advise her that her cousin was gone and that she should look forward.

Just as I was about to speak, I heard light footsteps, as if someone was quietly walking this way.

I don't know if they were attracted by our screams earlier.

Su Wan obviously heard it too, and quickly put out the cigarette in her hand, pointing to the pile of firewood under the beam and telling me to hide.

How could I dare? That old woman hanged herself there back then.

"You'd better hide quickly. The villagers all say that we conspired to kill your cousin. If someone sees me hiding here with you in the middle of the night, it will be really hard to explain."

Seeing that I didn't move, Su Wan kept pushing me.

Seeing that Su Wan was about to cry, I had no choice but to bite the bullet and hide behind the pile of firewood.

I had only been hiding for two minutes when I felt light shining in from outside the window.

At that moment, I forgot all about being scared and quickly shrank behind the pile of firewood.

I thought the person would leave once they saw no one was around, but instead they just pushed the door open and came in.

It was Zhu Chaowei, the village's drunkard.

He's over fifty years old, doesn't do anything serious, and spends his days drunk wandering around the village. Whether he knows anyone or not, he'll rush over to mooch a drink whenever he hears of a wedding or funeral.

He lives near the end of the village and never passes by here. Could he have drunk too much?

But I soon realized what was going on; this guy was after Su Wan.

"Xiao Su, what are you doing here all alone in the middle of the night?"

Zhu Chaowei's gaze roamed over Su Wan without restraint, as if he wanted to gouge his eyes out and stick them to her chest.

Su Wan didn't recognize Zhu Chaowei, but she could sense his unfriendly gaze, and subconsciously shrank back towards the pile of firewood where I was hiding.

"Uncle, I'm feeling restless and can't sleep, so I came out for a walk. I'll be right back."

Zhu Chaowei said "Oh," and took two steps toward Su Wan, blocking her way: "I saw you here this evening, I didn't expect you to still be here at three in the morning."

Su Wan forced a smile, then took half a step back: "I...I'll be right back."

"Come on, Uncle will take you back!"

As Zhu Chaowei spoke, he reached out and grabbed Su Wan's hand: "Little Su, this place is haunted. Four people have burned to death here before. Aren't you afraid? Look at this beam above your head. Someone hanged himself here. He died a horrible death. His tongue even fell to his chest."

Su Wan shuddered and subconsciously looked up at the crossbeam.

In the blink of an eye, Zhu Chaowei will pull her into his arms.

Su Wan screamed in fright, forcefully breaking free from Zhu Chaowei's embrace, and glared at him angrily: "What are you doing!"

"What are you doing?"

Zhu Chaowei held his hand to his nose and took a deep sniff, then pounced on Su Wan: "Of course I'm going to fuck you!"

Su Wan twisted her body to dodge, picked up a piece of wood from the ground, and waved it around a couple of times.

"Don't come any closer, or I'll get rough."

Zhu Chaowei took a few steps back, his gaze towards Su Wan burning with rage.

"Don't pretend to be some virtuous woman with your uncle. You're hiding here trying to meet up with Chen An, aren't you? It's all over the village. You and Chen An killed Wang Long. That kid Chen An is young and doesn't know anything. My firepower is strong enough to satisfy you!"

Seeing that Zhu Chaowei was about to make a move, I couldn't hold back any longer.

He rushed out and kicked Zhu Chaowei in the chest, knocking him to the ground.

"You damn beast! We're from the same village, my cousin just died, and you're already eyeing my cousin's wife! I'll beat you to death!"

I was furious, so I went up and kicked him in the head a few more times.

When I was at my cousin's house, I noticed that this beast was looking at Su Wan strangely, but I didn't expect him to be so bold as to come over in the middle of the night.

"Chen An, what are you doing out here! Get out of here!"

When Su Wan saw me, a hint of emotion flashed in her eyes, but she was mostly afraid.

I stood in front of her, glaring fiercely at Zhu Chaowei as he got up from the ground: "You're my cousin's wife. My cousin is gone, I can't let anyone bully you."

I knew rumors would spread in the village, but I couldn't care less. I couldn't just stand by and watch Su Wan be bullied by Zhu Chaowei.

"Well, Chen An, Su Wan, I was right. You two were having a rendezvous here. So what the villagers were saying was true. You two are the ones who killed Wang Long."

Fuck you!

I kicked him in the stomach again, but Su Wan grabbed me and the kick went astray.

"Chen An, you'd better get out of here right now! If people find out we're hiding here, we're really doomed!"

I shook off her hand and said I wasn't afraid, but what would happen to me if I left?

Su Wan clung to me desperately, her voice trembling with tears: "Aren't you afraid? But your mother still lives in the village. How will she face the people in the village after this? I'll go with you."

I knew Su Wan was telling the truth, so I could only glare at Zhu Chaowei resentfully before pulling Su Wan away.

Suddenly, this guy bent down, picked up a thick wooden stick, and blocked the doorway, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Murder! Chen An has murdered someone!"