He had not even had time to think it through.
Bang, bang, bang!
The one outside was knocking.
Thank goodness, thank goodness. I barred the door.
Bang, bang, bang!
Still knocking.
I won't open the door for him.
When will the power come back on?
I want to turn on the lights!
Bang, bang, bang!
This time, the one outside spoke. His voice was muffled, as though it came from far away.
"Come on, hurry out and come with me."
"This is too important for you not to help!"
Cui Jiuyang clenched his teeth and stared at the wavering candle flame in his hand. Sweat kept streaming down him, and his lips had gone a little pale.
I won't listen. I won't.
No matter what he says.
"You're really not coming? Then I'll go first. Follow me afterward!"
Those were the last words that came from outside.
But there were no footsteps.
Cui Jiuyang had no idea whether he had left.
He sat on the floor, feeling utterly drained of strength.
He could not stand. Even the hand holding the candle had stiffened; he could not open his fingers to put it down.
Cui Jiuyang took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
Stay calm...
Whatever happened today.
I have to face it. I have to bear it.
It's just... if only I hadn't quit my job and come back.
Cui Jiuyang was a man who never regretted anything, but this time, he allowed himself that regret.
And just ten seconds later, he regretted something else.
Wanting to see whether the thing outside had left, he summoned his courage and pulled back the curtain.
... The entire window was crammed with faces.
Their pitch-black eyes were wide open, staring fixedly at Cui Jiuyang through that thin pane of glass.
Cui Jiuyang jerked backward, wanting only to get as far from those faces as possible.
He accidentally tripped over a pair of shoes on the floor.
The candle went out, too.
When he looked back, everything was pitch-black. He could not tell whether those... those things were still there.
Cui Jiuyang sat on the floor against the wall, his heart pounding like a drum, his temples throbbing.
There was not an ounce of strength left in his body, as though the sight had drained it all away.
Just then, the light flickered with a buzz.
Was the power back?
That brief flash had let Cui Jiuyang see perfectly clearly: the faces outside the window were gone.
The light buzzed and flickered again.
Fog billowed outside the window.
The lights all came on.
Cui Jiuyang was so moved he nearly cried, wanting nothing more than to praise the return of light to the world.
At that moment, another faint voice sounded outside, completely different from the one that had called out before.
His voice was full of urgency.
"Little one, don't be afraid!"
Cui Jiuyang looked up at the light and did not answer.
"I'm your Great-Grandfather!"
Lights are wonderful. This light is really doing what a light should.
"My name is Cui Chengshou! The youngest male of the Cui Family's Cheng generation!"
"Your name is Cui Jiuyang, the only male of the Cui Family's Jiu generation!"
"One lone seedling in a thousand acres-how could your Great-Grandfather ever hurt you?"
The voice outside grew warmer as he spoke, coaxing him patiently.
"Child, open the door, quickly. Great-Grandfather will get you out of here."
"That man just now has devilish schemes brewing in his belly. You must beware of him."
Cui Jiuyang stopped looking at the light and began recalling the names on the gravestones he visited every year.
Starting from the easternmost side, the front row belonged to his father's Yang generation. The second row to the west was his grandfather's Hua generation, and only farther west came the Cheng generation.
What were all those names in the Cheng generation again?
Ignoring the voice outside, he clutched his head and strained to remember the names on those marble gravestones.
Cui Chengmao, Cui Chenglin, Cui Chengji, Cui Cheng... shou!
Yes, Cui Chengshou is my Great-Grandfather.
But Great-Grandfather's grave is right there. I even burned paper offerings for him this Qingming Festival.
The one buried in that grave is Cui Chengshou, my Great-Grandfather.
Then what is this thing outside the door?
"My own grandson, my own great-grandson! Hurry, or it'll be too late. That fellow from before will be back any moment."
Cui Jiuyang felt as though his head would explode. He snatched up a shoe and hurled it hard at the door. "Get lost! Get lost, now! All of you, get lost!"
The voice outside suddenly fell silent.
After a long while, another round of urgent knocking began.
Bang, bang, bang!
The muffled voice from the first time had returned.
"Why haven't you come out yet? If you don't come out now, it'll be too late!"
"Hurry over! This is such a good thing. Why won't you come?"
Cui Jiuyang looked at the thick fog outside the window, then at the door banging under the knocks.
He knew he might truly have no escape.
Standing behind the door, he asked, "What good thing?"
Hearing Cui Jiuyang's question, the voice outside took on a hint of laughter. "You finally answered. We're going to send off the Drought Ghost! Once we send off the Drought Ghost, rain will fall on our village!"
As soon as that question was answered, daylight blazed outside.
The fog dispersed.
Chapter 3: Great-Grandfather
There was nothing in the courtyard.
No fog, no faces, and no Great-Grandfather.
Summer sunlight shone down, dazzling even through the window.
Tentatively, ever so tentatively, Cui Jiuyang opened the door.
The cool fog with its stifling, musty smell was gone, replaced by a somewhat hot, dry summer breeze.
Only... there was still no sound.
Everything outside was utterly silent.
The wind stirred the leaves, and the leaves trembled, yet it was as though someone had pressed the mute button. Not a sound came from them.
Cui Jiuyang picked up the shoe that had tripped him and hurled it hard into the courtyard.
Bang!
The sound of the shoe striking the concrete echoed.
Was everything all right now? Cui Jiuyang wondered.
He sat cross-legged just inside the doorway and lit a cigarette. The wind made the lighter's flame dance and scattered the wisps of smoke he exhaled.
The cigarette butt he flicked away bounced and rolled a few times on the ground, then stopped.
Nothing strange happened.
Was it really over?
Such thick fog, and it had simply dispersed, just like that?
Before you continue