It's the Old Gen's family again!
Lu Fei and Hu Zi exchanged a glance.
"Looking at the fur, it should be Da Hua."
"I was saying I hadn't seen her for a while, I thought she had run away due to the lack of food in the village because of the drought, but it turns out she fell down the well."
"Da Hua was raised by Old Gen's mother, and it had been with her for many years. Before she passed, it was what she loved most. As long as she had something to eat, she would never fail to feed this cat."
"Old Root's mother had passed away, and it was only when it started howling at the door that everyone found out."
"At that time, it was crying like a child. It made me feel really uneasy."
"After Old Root's mother was buried, it never came back home. Sometimes I saw it sleeping in front of her grave, carrying little birds and mice there."
"Cats are more filial than people!"
"Old Root and his wife haven't gone to pay their respects even for a single day."
"Hush! The village isn't at peace yet. Who knows, maybe Old Root's mother has come back..."
The old folks sighed deeply.
"Huzi, this Dahu is a good cat. Find a good place to hang it. A cat can only rest in peace if it's hung from a tree."
"Uncle, Aunt, I understand." Huzi nodded seriously.
"We won't keep you any longer. We need to go fetch water today." The elders glanced at the increasingly scorching sun, waved their hands, and prepared to leave."
"Uncle, wait a moment."
Tiger stepped forward and handed all the ghost-repelling charms he had to the elders.
"These are protective amulets, very effective. If you carry them with you, you won't get sick or have a fever."
"Protective amulets? Are they really useful?"
"They are! My parents survived because of these amulets!"
"Then we'll take them! Tiger, you've grown a lot since your trip to the city! Thanks a lot!"
Whether useful or not, it was Tiger's kind intention. The elders gratefully accepted the amulets, thanked Tiger, and picked up their water buckets to fetch water from a place more than ten miles away.
Looking at their frail and aged figures, Tiger sighed.
"Boss, this cat is so pitiful, let's go find a tree in the mountains to hang it on."
"We can't hang it. There's bad luck in this cat's body; it died with resentment. We need to find a place to burn it," Lu Fei said after a moment's thought. He then added, "Let's go to Old Gen's mother's grave. This cat was very loyal to its owner, let it be reunited with its owner."
"Good!"
Since it was hot anyway, Huzi simply took off his short-sleeve shirt and wrapped the cat's body in it, carrying it in his hand.
The two of them, under the increasingly scorching sun, walked toward the graves behind the village.
Both inside and outside the village, the land was a mass of dry earth.
The fields were barren, and the ground was cracked, with not a blade of grass to be seen, a stark contrast to the lush green mountains in the distance.
Only their village and the surrounding area were suffering from the drought.
Huzi found Old Gen's mother's grave at the edge of the cemetery.
It was a solitary small grave, showing signs of having been dug up and reburied.
After Old Gen's mother's body was burned, it had been reburied here.
Huzi gathered some dry branches and cremated Dafu's body on top of the grave.
"Mother-in-law, you had a hard life when you were alive, and that was Uncle Laogen's fault. We can understand if you have resentment, but you shouldn't take it out on the other villagers."
"We brought your favorite Ahua here, so you'll have a little companion. Please calm down and stop troubling our village, okay?"
Huzi bowed to the grave.
Lu Fei walked around the grave.
Graves with drought bones are usually very moist, but this small grave was very dry.
Clearly, the drought bone ritual worked at the time.
So, what is the real reason for the ongoing dryness in the village?
Could there be another grave with drought bones?
Lu Fei then walked around the entire cemetery and did not find any graves with moist soil.
"Huzi, are all the graves of your village here?"
"They're all in this area." Huzi looked around and answered with certainty.
"Then that's odd!"
Lu Fei also couldn't figure it out. He really didn't know what other evil spirits, besides the dry bone burial, could cause a place to suffer from drought.
"In any case, it should be related to the monster from last night. Let's think of a way to catch that monster tonight."
"Will the monster come again after being at a disadvantage yesterday?" Huzi was worried.
"If it's really related to Old Gen's family, it will definitely come back."
"Let's hope so!"
The blazing sun was directly overhead.
Standing outside for too long, both of them felt as if their skin was going to melt.
Huzi went home to put on some clothes, then the two of them drove to the town clinic to visit Huzi's parents.
Although it was also hot in town, it was much better than in the village.
The old couple's fever had greatly subsided, changing from a high fever to a low one.
But it had lasted for quite a long time, and they were still very weak, needing more recuperation.
Hu Zi was much relieved and busied himself, carefully taking care of his parents, making sure they ate and drank, and even gave a red envelope to his cousin who had helped out.
The cousin praised Hu Zi, saying he had really grown up and become sensible. She said that once Hu Zi's parents recovered, she would arrange a match for him.
After finishing everything at the hospital, Hu Zi and Lu Fei checked into a hotel for a few hours of rest.
Time flew by.
Before they knew it, it was evening.
Hu Zi went to the hospital again and then returned to the village with Lu Fei.
They parked the car.
As soon as the door was opened, the hot air hit them in the face.
The two of them headed straight to Uncle Laogen's house.
"Uncle, Uncle Laogen, are you here?"
Huzi knocked on the door for a while, but no one answered, so he and Lufei, who were familiar with the place, climbed over the wall into the courtyard.
"Uncle Laogen, it's me, Huzi!"
Huzi pushed open the door to the house.
The room was in a mess, just as it had been the night before. There were signs of incense and paper offerings in front of Aunt Laogen's memorial portrait, but Uncle Laogen was not there.
"Uncle?"
Huzi searched inside and out, but found no trace of anyone, and he became anxious.
"Oh no, boss, could Uncle Laogen have already been eaten by that monster?"
"It's broad daylight, that monster probably wouldn't dare to come out. Don't panic, make a phone call first." Lu Fei said calmly.
"Oh, right, make a phone call!"
Huzi quickly pulled out his phone and dialed Uncle Lagen's number.
He tried several times before the call went through.
"Uncle Lagen, where have you been?" Huzi asked anxiously.
"Huzi, what do you want from me?" Uncle Lagen's voice came through the receiver, weak and feeble.
"What else could I want! I was afraid the monster would come again, so I specifically came to your house to find you. Why weren't you there?"
Uncle Lagen was silent for a moment before answering, "I've gone somewhere else to hide. Don't call me anymore."
With that, he hung up the phone.
Huzi was extremely frustrated and cursed Uncle Lagen for being irresponsible.
"Boss, if Uncle Lao Gen is not here, will that monster still come?"
Lu Fei thought for a moment: "We can only take a chance. Hu Zi, go find one of Uncle Lao Gen's clothes and put it on."
"Okay."
Hu Zi did as he was told.
The two of them deliberately closed the door and left the lights on, creating the illusion that Uncle Lao Gen was still at home.
Night fell as expected.
The entire village became eerily silent again.
With dim light, Hu Zi sat nervously in the house, constantly feeling a chill down his neck, and occasionally turning to look at the photo of the old lady on the memorial altar.
The old lady's withered eyes seemed to be silently watching him as well.