Chapter 32 second quarter

Sarushige lives near Hoseiji Temple, on the banks of the Kamogawa River. He built a thatched hut on the embankment where the river would not flood and lived with his wife. On weekdays, he chops firewood, collects vines and weaves them into various tools, and then sells them in the capital, barely making a living.Also, cages containing fish or cormorants are often delivered to Kamo Chusuke's house. The strange thing happened for the first time on the night of six days ago. That day, the couple went to Dajin for business, and something strange happened that night after they came back. On the way home, Yuanzhong once quarreled with his wife over a trivial matter.

The purpose of going to Otsu is to sell fishing cages.It was redesigned by Ape. He uses bamboo to weave a cylindrical cage with a thin waist in the center and a wide opening at the entrance.Then, weave another small bamboo tube.The small bamboo tube is not a cage, but a veritable cylinder with openings at the top and bottom.However, one end of the cylinder has a relatively large opening, and the other end has a relatively small opening, forming a funnel shape. This cylinder is used to fit into the aforementioned cage.Insert the small opening of the small cylinder inward and the large opening outward.The large opening is as wide as the waist of the cage, allowing for a tight fit.

Put some bait such as earthworms or dead fish in the small cylinder, and then sink the whole cage in the river or pool. After sinking for one night, when the cage is picked up the next day, there will be many crucian carp, carp, eel and other miscellaneous fish or crabs in the cage. Although some people use similar cages to catch fish, the cage designed by Ape is more convenient. A fisherman living in Lake Biwa, Otsu, heard about the good reviews of the cages, and ordered a new order from the monkey. This cage was originally designed by Sarushige himself in order to make a living by fishing in Kamogawa, and he actually used the cage to fish in Kamogawa.Zhongsuke thought it was fun, and he himself used the cage of Yuanzhong to catch fish, and the word spread.

"This cage is really convenient." When the fishermen in Otsu heard how Zhongsuke praised Yuan Chong's cage, they scrambled to place an order with Yuan Chong. On this day, the couple was going to deliver the goods. On the way home, the husband and wife quarreled, and it was the wife who started the fire. "Why did you teach them?" asked the wife. It turned out that Yuanzhong not only sold the cage, but also told the Otsu fisherman all about the weaving method of the cage that he uniquely designed.This is what the wife complained about. "That being said, you can't hide that thing if you want to. A more dexterous person can weave as much as he wants as long as he observes my cage."

"But, you don't need to teach them how to weave." "Don't talk like that, aren't they very happy? And they paid a high price for my cage." "But……" As a result, when they arrived at the Kamogawa Bridge, the couple were still arguing.That night, the two slept separately. It was that night that someone visited Yuanzhong's hut. Yuan Zhong was sleeping soundly when he suddenly heard someone calling.The sound came from outside the hut. "Excuse me……" "Is anyone here……" Ape Zhong opened his eyes in the darkness, and saw the slender moonlight coming in through the gap of the straw mat door at the entrance of the hut, shining on the inside of the house.

"Excuse me, Master Yuan..." The voice came from outside the straw mat door. It seemed that someone was standing in front of the door calling Yuan Zhong. Ape rubbed his eyes again and got up.Seemingly half asleep and half awake, his mind is in a daze. "Rush away," said the voice, a man's voice. "If this continues, it will be washed away." It was a voice that Yuanzhong had never heard. Yuan Zhong opened the straw mat door and saw a man standing under the moonlight.Men wear floral rompers. "Quick, quick, Mr. Ape..." Yuan Zhong stood at the door, his left hand was held by the man with his right.

"Rush away, rush away." The man held Yuan Shige's hand and stepped forward. What the hell is rushing away?What does this have to do with me? Ape Zhong really wanted to ask the other party, but for some reason, he couldn't open his mouth.There seems to be something choked in the throat, as if mud or pebbles are choking the throat. "Go away. Go away." The man held Yuanzhong's hand and hurried on his way. Walk along the Kamo River on the embankment and head downstream. The two walked under the moonlight.Deep in the darkness, there was the sound of gurgling river water.

Soon, a bridge appeared in front of him.It was the bridge over the Kamo River that Sarushige had crossed during the day. People who live nearby call this bridge "Suihua Bridge". "Quick, come here..." The man took Yuanzhong's hand and crossed the bridge under the moonlight.Yuan Zhong followed behind the man. "Rush away. Rush away." The man muttered to himself. Walking to the middle of the bridge, the man turned suddenly. Turn left—the man took Apeshige's hand and walked towards the railing upstream. "Quick, here it is." The man jumped over the railing and jumped into the river under the bridge, still holding Yuanzhong by the hand.

A strong force pulled Yuan Zhong's hand.Just when Yuanzhong felt that he was about to fall into the river, a sharp cry came from his ear. "My dear!" It was a woman's voice, "Dangerous!" Then, someone grabbed Yuan Zhong.Yuan Yuan came back to his senses, only to realize that the woman was his wife, and he was sticking out his upper body from the railing, even his belly, and was looking down at the dark river from the bridge.Any more and it would fall into the river. "Are you planning to kill yourself?" asked the wife. Ape Zhong's forehead was covered with beads of sweat.

"No, no, I don't intend to commit suicide at all. Someone came to the house just now, and that person came here holding my hand." After Yuan Zhong finished speaking, his face turned pale with fright. "What are you talking about? You're all alone. Who's holding your hand?" "But, until just now, there wasn't always a man by my side..." "No, no one," said the wife. According to the wife's explanation, it happened like this. The wife, who was sleeping soundly in the quilt, woke up herself when she heard the sound of her husband rustling on the other side getting ready to get up.

"Good man..." The wife called her husband, but the husband didn't hear him at all. Soon, the husband opened the straw mat door at the entrance and walked out. At first, the wife thought that her husband was empathizing with someone else, and would only go out late at night when he had a tryst at his lover's house.The wife decided to follow her husband. Following behind her husband, the wife found her husband walking alone on the embankment, heading downstream until he came to the bridge he had passed on his way back from Otsu during the day. The husband crosses the bridge.Near the middle of the bridge, the husband suddenly turned and planned to cross the railing beside the bridge. It is impossible for a husband to commit suicide because of the daytime quarrel between husband and wife, but if he falls over the railing and falls into the river, he will definitely die. Therefore, the wife opened her mouth to call her husband loudly, and the husband came back to his senses. After listening to his wife's description, the husband was terrified. The next day, the strange thing happened again. At night, when the ape fell asleep again, he found his wife got up.I thought my wife was getting up to go to the toilet, but seeing her, I felt something was wrong. The toilet is outside the hut. If you want to go to the toilet, you can just go out, but the wife stands in front of the straw mat door, nodding her head as if responding to someone, saying: "Yes..." So far, Yuan Zhong is still half asleep and half awake, and his mind is not yet clear.It wasn't until his wife walked out of the straw mat door that she suddenly remembered something. What he remembered was what happened to him last night. Yuanzhong hurriedly got up from the quilt and chased after his wife.However, there was no sign of his wife outside the door. It turned out that the wife was heading towards the other end of the embankment, some distance away from the hut. Taking a closer look under the moonlight, his wife was the only one on the embankment.The wife's left hand was stretched forward, as if someone was holding hands, and she walked forward without looking back. Obviously walking, but the speed is as fast as jogging. Yuanzhong thought to himself, could it be... what happened to him last night, happened to his wife tonight? Last night, I clearly heard a man's voice and saw a man's figure.Moreover, you can definitely feel that someone is holding your hand firmly! Yuanzhong wanted to chase his wife, but his legs felt weak.If he didn't know anything, he would probably run after him without thinking and call for his wife.However, I heard my wife's explanation last night. But the appearance of his wife is obviously not normal. Could it be that the hand that is holding his wife now is the hand that was holding himself last night, trying to drag him into the river? Thinking that some kind of monster or ghost was possessing his wife, the pace of chasing his wife slowed down involuntarily. While hesitating, the figure of his wife got farther and farther away. Can't just turn around like this, Yuan Zhong had no choice but to raise his spirits again and continue to chase his wife. The wife's pace is very fast. It was hard to catch up, and the wife was crossing the bridge. Yuan Zhong quickened his pace. When Yuanzhong stepped on the bridge, his wife was already in the middle of the bridge and was about to jump over the railing. "Wait!" Yuan Zhi yelled, calling his wife's name, and galloped up. The wife who came back to her senses instantly when she heard the call of the monkey, the upper body of her body had already crossed the railing on the bridge. Ape rushed over and hugged his wife from behind. The wife who was carried back found that it was her husband who rescued her, so she hugged her husband immediately. The wife was shaking all over.She seemed to understand what was going on with her. Back in the hut, after listening to the husband's explanation, the couple finally understood that the wife had indeed encountered what Arushige had experienced last night. It's just that it's not a man who calls his wife out tonight, but a woman. That night, when his wife heard someone calling her, she opened the straw mat door and saw a woman in a blue dress with narrow sleeves standing in front of her. "If you don't go quickly, you will be washed away," the woman said. After finishing speaking, the woman took his wife's hand and walked forward. The wife just felt like in a dream. "I walked too slowly last night, so I didn't catch up. I have to go faster tonight." After the woman finished speaking, she hurried on the road. If Yuanzhong hadn't caught up with his wife in time, his wife would have almost fallen into the river and died just like Yuanzhong did the night before. the next day— At night, Yuan Zhong and his wife did not sleep.There was a hatchet for chopping bamboo at their feet, and matches were burning in the hearth. The couple kept talking to avoid sleepiness. In the middle of the night-- "Excuse me……" "Excuse me……" There were male and female voices outside the door. It was only after the discussion between the two that they realized that what Yuan Zhong heard was a male voice, while what his wife heard was a female voice. "Come out." "Come out." There were calls from men and women outside the door. "If you don't hurry, you will be washed away." "Will be washed away." "Quick, come and open the door." "Open the door." "Open here." "Open here." Yuanzhong and his wife are beside the hearth, hugging each other as if to stop each other's trembling.Yuanzhong clenched his teeth tightly, holding the hatchet in his right hand.The teeth chattered up and down, making a creaking sound. "If you don't open the door..." "We can't get in." "Please open your mouth and allow us to enter." "Please speak up." "If we are not invited in, we will have to find the entrance ourselves." "Looking for the entrance." The person outside the door said so, and there was also the sound of the other party moving. The two seemed to be separated left and right, one to the left and the other to the right.The sound of footsteps circled to the left and right outside the hut.Soon, the footsteps stopped. "Is it here?" "Is it here?" Whenever the sound is heard, the wooden boards nailed to the outside of the hut will also creak. "It's a little cramped here." "The plank will only last until the night after four days." "Will be blown away by the wind." "Well, blow away." "If it blows away, we can go in, but we have to wait four days." "Four days will be too late." "Ok." "Ok." The footsteps of the two circled back to the entrance again. "Hey, Master Ape..." "Madam Yuanzhong..." "Please open the door." "Please open the door." "Just say 'come in'." "Just say 'come in'." "Otherwise it will rush away." "Otherwise it will rush away." The complaints of the two lasted all night. The same thing happened on the night of the second day and the night of the third day. Finally, Sarushige and his wife couldn't take it anymore and went to the residence of their friend Ka Moo Zhongsuke to discuss with him.