Chapter 362: Childhood Memories

The young man's words were like a whisper, drawing one to sink into listening uncontrollably, then becoming intoxicated by them. Wei Chengye was immersed in the world described by the other person before he knew it, forgetting his perception of the outside world, forgetting who he was...

……

"Hey, Savage, are you coming or not? Ergouzi and the others said the sweet potatoes in Li Guanggun's field are already big and sweet, fully ripe. Since Li Guanggun ran off to the city for a matchmaking session and won't be back so soon, let's hurry and dig a few! If we're any slower, Ergouzi and Pangliuzi will have finished off all the good ones!" A boy with a flat-top haircut, a dark face, and a yellowing undershirt with cracked, unrecognizable printed patterns pushed him, shouting anxiously at him as he stood there in a daze. Seeing that the other was still stunned, he could only click his tongue, run off first, and chase after the main group of village playmates who were howling like ghosts up ahead.

Wei Chengye looked at the other person in a trance, his eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment. He wanted to ask who the other was, but when he opened his mouth, he called out the other's name: "Hey! Shougou, wait for me. With your dog-luck, what kind of sweet potato could you dig up? I'll help you dig up a big one!"

The moment the voice was shouted out, Wei Chengye felt memories surge like a tide, as if he had returned to that past space-time, and his entire being had been replaced by his past self.

He was tall with long legs, known in the village for his "Dao-wolf legs," and he moved with flying speed. In no time, he caught up and slapped the flat-top's back.

The flat-top stumbled, barely avoiding a fall. He looked at Wei Chengye with resentment, "Are you crazy?"

"Hehehe, who told you to be as thin as a monkey, unable to take a beating." Wei Chengye wore a simple, honest smile.

"That goes without saying. You're from the city, you eat well and use good things, you're much sturdier than us. Even Erhu, the strongest in our village, was taken down by a few of your flying kicks; how could my small frame handle your abuse?" The flat-top shouted in dissatisfaction, his face full of gloom. "My dad even said kids from the city are delicate and pampered, their physiques aren't as good as us village kids, and they've long since been spoiled rotten. I always thought so too, until I saw you, this guy."

Three-Hairs, Lock-Head, and Jade-Rice stopped talking, their gazes turning toward Dog-Head.

"Where are we roasting them?" Wei Chengye asked the group of children. He had only come back to the countryside to visit his maternal grandparents during summer vacation, and it was his first time here. He hadn't stayed long, and although he had quickly hit it off with the kids here, he wasn't familiar with anything in the village.

After playing and joking along the way, they arrived at Li Guanggun's sweet potato field. As soon as the group arrived, they saw another group already digging up the soil for sweet potatoes. That group was taller than them, and on average a few years older—the aforementioned Ergouzi, Pangliuzi, and their crowd.

In short, Wang Bozi liked that girl the moment he saw her. Within two days, he married her, and less than a year later, Wang Bozi's wife was pregnant, and once pregnant, she gave birth.

The two groups glanced at each other without greeting or speaking. Wei Chengye and his few playmates leaped into the field and began picking spots to dig.

They had barely dug a few when they suddenly shuddered, their faces full of terror, because they heard exclamations coming from not far away.

The group realized what was going on, and they all started laughing wickedly, running back with armfuls of sweet potatoes.

Shougou rolled his eyes, "You have the nerve to ask? You dog-things ruined my kitchen last time, my mom almost beat me to death with a rolling pin. She already warned me—if I secretly use the home kitchen again, she'll throw me into the Sanxi River."

He told his playmates to take the sweet potatoes and get to the shore first. He took a stick and swept away all the footprints on the ground, then put on the shoe Ergouzi had thrown, hopped around on one foot in the field, jumped back onto the ground, and threw the shoe back at the scene of the crime.

"Let's go to Dog-Head's place!" Among the five of them now, a child named Three-Hairs suggested this, and the others named Lock-Head and Jade-Rice agreed.

But to this, Shougou suggested: "No, this time let's go to the Old Crow House in the north!"

"Holy crap, Guanggun is back!"

Wei Chengye was curious: "What kind of place is that Old Crow House?"

This was Sanxi Village, named precisely after the Sanxi River that flowed through the village.

"Damn, we got played!" Shougou immediately understood what was going on and, in a rage, threw a stone in the direction the group had left. He was rational enough not to throw the sweet potatoes tucked inside his clothes as stones; those were his spoils of war.

"Holy crap, Brother Ye has actually trained properly. Shougou, are you comparing him to regular city kids?"

Seeing Shougou throw stones at them, Ergouzi threw the shoe he had just worn out, provoking them in return. The other side had much more strength than Shougou, and the shoe he threw almost hit Shougou. Seeing the arrogant faces of that group, Shougou was so angry his face turned even darker.

Hearing this, Sanmao and the other two were goaded. Their tempers flared, and they shouted with red faces: "What's there to be afraid of? You dare to go, why wouldn't I dare to go!?"

"Exactly, exactly! There are exceptions to everything. There are weak kids in the countryside too, like you!"

"But... but we can't go to the Old Crow House." Sanmao stammered, his words showing great taboo toward the place Shougou suggested.

Shougou was thin and small but had a bold heart. He looked at the three with disdain and explained to Wei Chengye: "It's fine, Savage. It's just an abandoned old house. Ten years ago, a family lived there, but for some reason, within five days, all five members of the family died. After that, it was said to be haunted; you could always hear crows calling like vengeful spirits demanding lives, so no one dared to go near it. I went inside a few days ago and walked around a few times, and there was no problem. Look at these grandsons—they're all taller than me, but they don't have as much guts as me."

The other children in the group hurriedly stood up to refute and tease the flat-top, causing the flat-top to turn red in the face and shout in a desperate rage.

"Damn, why not give it this time?" Sanmao heard the name Old Crow House, his face showing terror as he retorted.

After running for a stretch, they headed toward the north of the village. Few people lived there, so everyone switched from running to walking, strolling along slowly and chatting.

Wei Chengye didn't pay attention to their bickering; he was already used to the noisy way these guys interacted. He was actually quite interested in the "haunting," "Hey, is there any story to it? The haunting thing, tell me about it."

Wei Chengye and Shougou were also scared, but looking around, where was Li Guanggun's lean, wretched figure? There were only the figures of Ergouzi, Pangliuzi, and those other scumbags, mocking and ridiculing them as they ran.

Once these words were out, the two little brats stealing sweet potatoes were so scared they fled in a panic, throwing away the few sweet potatoes they had dug up.

Shougou was indeed fearless, saying without any taboo: "Actually, it's nothing. It's just that ten years ago, Wang Bozi's family of three lived there. I heard it when my mom and dad were gossiping. I wasn't born yet, and I never saw what Wang Bozi was like... um, one day, Wang Bozi's parents got him a wife. I heard my parents say she was bought. From the people who sell humans, she was a girl from the city, very pretty. Whether she was really bought, I don't know. Some say it was a childhood engagement, or that she came for a matchmaking session, or something."

"Who's afraid of whom!"

"Damn, Lengzi, say that again and see if I don't beat you to death!"

"Let's go then!"

"Forget it, let's not dig anymore. Dabao and Erbao's sweet potatoes were thrown away when they got scared, so we can just take those and go back to eat." Wei Chengye stopped the impulsive Shougou. Although he was also displeased, he was relatively calm. He looked at the broken shoe on the ground, his eyes rolled, and he gave a sly grin.

But not long after Wang Bozi's wife gave birth, one day she said she heard crows calling, and then she dreamed that something wanted to eat her child. Whether it was true or not, I don't know, but the child did suddenly fall ill with a high fever. After three days, the child died. It is said the state of the corpse was horrific.

After the child died, Wang Bozi's wife started acting crazy. She pointed at her mother-in-law and said she was going to die too, then pointed at her father-in-law, and then Wang Bozi, saying they would all die. Who knew that in the next three days, the family died in the exact order Wang Bozi's wife had said, and their corpses looked just like the child's.

The villagers were afraid that Wang Bozi's wife had been possessed by something, so they locked her in the house. For that whole day, the house was filled with her screams—sometimes wailing, sometimes weird laughter—and occasionally you could hear the crows calling. The villagers were terrified and all kept their distance.

But on the second day after she was locked up, the person sent by the village chief to deliver food discovered that Wang Bozi's wife was in the house, having used strips of cloth torn from a quilt and clothes to hang herself.