Chapter 9 Chapter nine

Before dawn the next morning, Ah Ling followed Gennosuke's instructions and performed a play in front of her parents.After all, she was still nervous, and without Gennosuke waking her up, Ah Ling crawled out of the quilt by herself.When she ran to her father's room separated by a paper door and talked about the incredible divine revelation, she seemed to feel that she was not making up a story, and she even had tears in her eyes at the end.So the play works well. At dawn, the parents immediately prepared to go to Takadaya.Taiichiro said that even if you want to secretly catch eels or loaches in the river around the houseboat, when you think of the troubles when the Tosaku incident happened, you should first say hello and ask your superiors to show their respect.And it is most suitable to discuss this matter with Qibei, who is well-versed in human relationships.

"It's good for everyone to go to Ikenohata to eat food once." Taiichiro finally recovered his clear expression and said, "The boss took me there once a long time ago, and now I have completely forgotten the taste of lotus leaf rice." Duohui also looked very happy, and shouted: "We must eat."Ah Ling thought to herself, it's been a long time since she heard her mother's laughter. "A Ling also hurry up and get ready, we are going to Grandpa and Aunt Ah Xian's house." Urged by her father, A-Ling hastily explained: she didn't sleep well last night because of a dream, and now she was so sleepy that her head almost fell off her neck, and she wanted to stay at home and take a nap.

"But Ah Lu wants to go with us, Mrs. Xiu has returned to Takadaya...there are only you and Aunt Ateng at home." Alu is timid, and since the appearance of ghosts, he always finds opportunities to leave the houseboat. Xiutai, who is still an apprentice, has nothing to do because the guests don't come, so he doesn't come back to Takadaya anymore. "It's okay, Auntie, you can rest assured that Auntie is here. And the weather is so good today, the sky is very clear." In the distance of the warm and clear sky, there is a cloud as beautiful as the legendary celestial maiden's neon dress and plumage.Today, the sunlight shining on the roof and windows of the houseboat seems to be warmer and brighter.

"In this case, then Abba and Aunt will come back before Dahei." After saying that, they went out.Ari moved farther and farther away from the houseboat at a pace faster than that of the owner and his wife from time to time.A-Ling and A-Teng stood side by side at the door and watched the three of them off. "The girl probably won't be able to use it." After A-Lu's slender figure turned a corner and disappeared, A-Teng muttered to himself. "Ah-Lu?" A-Ling asked. "um, yes." "She's still terrified of ghosts." "Looking at her appearance, she may only look out for herself and neglect guests in the future. But don't worry about this kind of thing until the guests are willing to come to the door."

Ateng finished speaking with a self-defeating look, then quickly put on a smiling face and said: "Oh, really, I said such a thing. Don't worry, Ah Ling, you don't have to worry about the shop." Ah Ling smiled sweetly, pretending to be innocent.Aunt Ateng said such duplicity, did you think I would really feel at ease?This is the first time Ah Ling questioned Ateng's consolation.Does that mean I'm a little grown up, she thought?After all, I often talk to the ghosts of adults like Gennosuke and Ami recently. Even if the guests don't come, Ateng still has various housework chores to do.When Ah Ling was left alone, she breathed a sigh of relief, and went to the kitchen to drink cold water with a spoon—this could only be done when her parents were not at home—then slowly climbed the stairs leading to the second floor.She sat down on the central stairwell, and whispered, "Master Gennosuke?"

The warm sunlight streamed in from the door and the latticed windows, and the dust danced in the golden light. "Master Gennosuke, come out quickly." Ah Ling called twice, and suddenly discovered something.Never seen a ghost in broad daylight so far.The time I saw Amei by the river was also in the evening... When Grandpa Laughing Monk massaged himself, although I couldn't remember whether it was evening or late night or morning, the surroundings were indeed very dark. Too careless.I thought that I could call ghosts out alone at home, chat with them and discuss the future.In this case, I should go to see Grandpa Shichibei with my parents.Ah Ling tapped her head.

But what if you call to see it in a darker place?If ghosts can only appear in the dark in this world, then hiding in a storage room or closet may work. Ah Ling stood up energetically, and listened attentively.From the looks of it, Ateng seemed to be cleaning the upstairs room.So she went downstairs to her parents' room. The closet is full of sundries such as bedding and suitcases, but it is still enough to fit in as long as you turn around and get in.Ah Ling only remembered an important matter when she rolled up her sleeves, and hurried back to her room.She opened the suitcase for clothes, took out the small mirror given by Ami from the bottom layer, hid it in her bosom, and planned to get into the closet again.

Ah Ling squeezed her back into the gap between the quilt and the quilt, her hands hugging her knees.The smell of cotton wool was all around, and she was a little out of breath, but she was not afraid.Not only is it not scary, but it is even fun.She stuck out her toes and slammed the closet door shut to block out the light.The closet was pitch black, and the surroundings felt very narrow. "Master Gennosuke, Master Gennosuke." Ah Ling tried to call.At first she called in a low voice, but soon her voice grew louder. No response, isn't he in the houseboat now? When Ah Mi gave Ah Ling the small mirror, she said, "If you are nearby, you will come out immediately." If "nearby" refers to the inside of the houseboat, then what exactly is "far away"?

"Master Gennosuke?" No response, maybe he was sleeping. Ah Ling struggled to twist her right hand to take out the small mirror from her pocket.She really felt like she was holding a small mirror in her hand, but it was so dark that she couldn't see anything, like a deep night where the moon and stars could not be seen. "Ami, Ami." Relying on the touch of her hand, Ah Ling whispered to the small mirror, "If you are nearby, please come out, I am Ah Ling." Ah Ling called a few times and waited with bated breath, but she couldn't hear Ami's response, couldn't feel her movement, let alone smell her hair fragrance.

Could it be that even if you hide in the dark, it still won't work in broad daylight? Ah Ling was very disappointed, suddenly felt that the surroundings were narrow and crowded, and she couldn't breathe.Ah, what a fool, let's go out - when I thought about it, the small mirror in my hand suddenly moved.A Ling was startled and almost let go of the mirror.In an instant, the mirror glowed white, clearly appearing in the darkness, Ah Ling moved her face closer to the mirror fascinated. The next moment, a small snow-white hand suddenly stretched out from the center of the small mirror, and slapped Ah Ling across the face.Ah Ling couldn't help throwing the mirror with a "wow".The mirror fell silently to somewhere in the closet full of things, and it was pitch black again around Ah Ling.

Ah Ling's heart was pounding, her cheeks were burning hot from the beating, and tears even leaked from the corners of her eyes.The other party slapped Ah Ling mercilessly. —that little hand. Only Amei would do such a thing.She didn't think it was enough to make faces at Ah Ling, so she even slapped Ah Ling. ——It’s really annoying, how can I not call back. Ah Ling made up her mind, twisted her hands and feet in a restrained posture, and began to grope for the small mirror that fell somewhere.Before long, the toe of my right foot touched the cold edge of the mirror.The mirror seemed to have fallen between the bedding and the trunk.Ah Ling pressed her face against the quilt, stretched her hands as far as possible, and finally picked up the mirror. The mirror glowed silver again.This time the light kept increasing, and the clear white light looked divine, bright enough to wake a sleeping man without dazzling.Inside the closet, it illuminates every corner like a seat lamp. Ah Ling looked at the mirror fascinated, and the little hand just now appeared in the center of the mirror again.The little hands shook up and down, calling Ah Ling, "Come here, come here".Following that gesture, Ah Ling moved her head closer to the mirror. The white hand flew out of the mirror again like a bent whip, grabbed Ah Ling and then grabbed Ah Ling's right ear. "it hurts!" Ah Ling screamed, feeling her whole body being pulled into the mirror at the same time.Ah Ling let out a "wow", and was sucked into the mirror like a rabbit falling into a hole. When she came to her senses, Ah Ling found herself in a very cold place. It was as dark as in the closet.The difference is that it is very humid here, and the sound of dripping water can be heard from nowhere. After Ah Ling's eyes gradually got used to the darkness, she slowly saw things around her. Surrounded by a circle of stone walls.She reached out to touch and touched the wet moss. When she twisted her feet, she found water under her knees, and there was a sound of water when she moved. A gust of wind blew past, messing up Ah Ling's hair and brushing her forehead.Attracted by the wind, Ah Ling couldn't help raising her eyes to look up. The night sky was sliced ​​into a circle.The sky was high, the circle was smaller than a bathtub for showering, and in the center was a slender crescent moon floating like claw marks, overlooking Ah Ling. ——Where is this? is the bottom of the well. Ah Ling trembled after realizing this. —I fell to the bottom of the well. There is nothing nearby that can be grasped or stepped on to allow Ah Ling to climb to the mouth of the well.She paced at the bottom of the narrow well, her feet covered with mud.Lifting his right foot to see, there is also mud between the toes.Ah Ling stomped on her feet disgustingly, something caught on her left toe.Picking up the thing in the dark, it was a thin, soft thing like a bamboo stick.what is this?Ah Ling thought for a while before she suddenly realized. It's a bucket hoop.The bucket for drawing water was broken, and the bucket fell to the bottom of the well and rotted in the water, leaving only the bucket hoop. The surrounding area was much brighter than before, and it was the moonlight shining into the well.Ah Ling looked up again, the moon was about to be full, and the moon that should have taken half a month to grow in size turned into a round shape in the blink of an eye, and the moonlight also increased. Soon it was full and full, and then the moon actually began to thin, and the light also weakened.It didn't take long for the moon to hide in the night sky as if closing its eyelids, and it was dark again all around. However, in less than a breath of time, a white and slender moon appeared in the night sky again, and it began to grow larger as before. Watching the moon waxing and waning again and again, Ah Ling noticed something, which meant that time was passing.After A Ling fell into the bottom of the well, the sun and the moon passed over A Ling's head. —Is it a dream? If it was a dream, it was a cold, scary, lonely dream. —Whose dream is it? Who the hell had this cold, scary, lonely dream? Stomach growls. --very hungry. Ah Ling looked down at her stomach and was startled.The moonlight illuminates Ah Ling, and she is not wearing the blue dress dyed with small patterns this morning, but the red dress dyed with plum blossoms. This is...Amei's clothes. Ah Ling raised her hands.The moon began to wane, and the moonlight gradually weakened.What I could barely see under the dim light was something that could no longer be called an arm. It was bone, whiter and brighter than the moon, skinny bone. "A Ling." Someone was shaking Ah Ling's shoulder. "A Ling." Ah Ling thought to herself, don't shake it so hard.My arm is bone, shake it hard and it will fall off.If it is dropped, wild dogs will take it away. "A-Ling, why are you sleeping here, A-Ling!" It was Aunt Ateng's voice. Ah Ling woke up suddenly, and in front of her was Ateng's big round face that was smiling. "Really, why did you get into the closet?" After Ah Teng finished speaking, he helped Ah Ling up.Surrounded by bright, warm sunlight.Ah Ling found herself sitting in front of the closet in her parents' room.It seems that Ateng pulled Ah Ling out of the closet. "Auntie, I..." "You fell asleep in the closet." A-Teng hugged his thick arms with sleeves tied up in drawstrings in front of his chest, and looked down at A-Ling with a smile. "I used to hide in the closet for pranks when I was a child, but I never fell asleep in it. You are so laid back." Ah Ling rubbed her eyes with her hands.It's not cold around, and I don't feel cold anymore.Both feet were clean and free from mud.The arms are also round, not bones. A Teng told A Ling: The proprietress said that the weather turned cold last night and I felt very cold, so I wanted to find a quilt with a thicker cotton core to dry it in. When I opened the closet, I found you sleeping in it, which surprised me. "You are snoring like an adult, your body is stiff, did you have a nightmare?" "Ok……" "Who told you to sleep in such a narrow place, you probably have nightmares when you can't breathe." "It must be so, I..." "A Ling," Ateng put away his smile and frowned worriedly, "Are you afraid of ghosts and can't sleep at night, so you're so sleepy during the day?" Things were completely opposite, but Ah Ling couldn't answer.She just faltered and wiped her face, and Ateng continued with an expression of knowing everything: "You didn't want to make your father and mother worry so you kept silent? I understand. Taiichiro and Duohui said that they had to work day and night before the shop was put on track, so they let you sleep in another room. In fact, you still want to be with your father. Grandmother sleeps in the shape of a river. This way you feel more at ease, you usually sleep like this, not to mention sleeping alone in a haunted house should be more terrifying." Ateng swung his thick shoulders up and down exaggeratedly, sighed and said, "Duohui needs to work harder." "I'm not afraid, Auntie." A-Ling noticed the reproach in A-Teng's uncharacteristic tone, and quickly said, "I'm no longer a child. I fell asleep just now because I felt very comfortable in the closet, really." "You're such an obedient boy." Ateng still had a melancholy expression on his face, patted A-Ling's head and said, "We'll have lunch together after I've got the quilt in the sun. I've already made rice balls." A-Ling nodded with a "hmm", at this moment she found that the small mirror had returned to her bosom.The mirror seemed to hide itself cleverly, not wanting Aunt Ateng to see it.She touched the mirror, and it was still a little warm. This afternoon, Ah Ling had had enough, and no longer wanted to call the ghosts out.They would probably show up after dark anyway, she thought, and it would be safer to wait.The dream of being sucked into the mirror was too terrifying and sad, which made Ah Ling feel depressed. When the sun had just set, Taiichiro and Tae Hui returned home under the dark red sunset, their faces full of joy.The two were as energetic as when they left the house this morning, and their eyes were piercing, but there was a serious line between the father's brows when he encountered a difficult matter. "How's the big boss?" Ateng comforted the two of them, but still couldn't help asking, "Any good ideas?" Taiichiro and Tae glanced at each other.There were faint smiles on the corners of their mouths, but they seemed a little embarrassed, which was worrying. "To be honest, we have a guest." Taiichiro said first, "The boss asked for it." "Ah, isn't that what you wish for?" Ateng clapped his hands and cheered. "And there are two groups." Duohui smoothed her messy hair and said, "Sister Ateng, I heard that those two groups of guests want to have a 'exorcism contest'."