Having settled the matter with Uncle Qi Er, the heavy burden in my heart finally lifted, and I felt much relieved.

Before it got dark, I quietly returned home, took a bath, had dinner, and went to bed early.

These two days since Uncle Qi Er's incident, I've been really exhausted. Plus, staying up all night to keep vigil last night, my small frame couldn't bear it anymore.

This night, I had a dream. In the dream, I saw a yellow-faced man standing in front of me, glaring at me with a fierce look. He said that he had a grudge against me and would never let me off easily. Sooner or later, he would come for revenge.

The nightmare woke me up, drenched in sweat, and outside, it was already bright daylight.

Stepping out of the bedroom, I found Grandpa had returned, looking very tired.

Mom was cooking noodles for Grandpa, who was busy working.

"Dad, did you find Uncle Qi Er?" Dad asked Grandpa.

Grandpa nodded, "Yes, we found him. But when we found Uncle Qi Er, he was already dead, with all his bones shattered. We don't know how he died, but it's quite eerie!"

"How did you handle it? He won't come back to cause trouble again, will he?" Mom asked with a worried expression.

Grandpa peeled a clove of garlic and threw it into his mouth, crunching loudly, "No, he won't. Last night, we dug a pit, piled it with firewood, burned Uncle Qi Er's body to ashes, and buried it on the spot!"

Mom nodded, sighing in relief as if finally letting go of her worries.

I felt quite uncomfortable listening to this. Uncle Qi Er, who was kind and straightforward, now turned into a pile of bone fragments. It felt quite desolate.

Dad said, "After all, Uncle Qi Er has been kind to us. I'll go to the town and get him a tombstone. If someone dies without a tombstone, it's like a lonely grave, which is not good!"

Grandpa made a sound of agreement, giving Dad detailed instructions on the burial location of Uncle Qi Er. Dad took some money and went to town to get the tombstone.

I quietly remembered the burial place of Uncle Qi Er in my heart. Two days later, the tombstone was brought back, and Grandpa and Dad, along with a few others, went into the mountains to erect the tombstone for Uncle Qi Er.

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

I wanted to go with them, but Grandpa didn't allow it. I knew Grandpa was thinking about my safety.

The next day, I dug out some pocket money from the box, went to the village shop at the entrance, bought some incense, wax paper, and then found Fatty, asking him to go with me to pay respects to Uncle Qi Er in the mountains.

Uncle Qi Er was a lifesaver for both of us. Now that Uncle Qi Er was gone, Fatty and I felt that we should go to pay our respects and condolences.

Fatty and I quietly left the village and ran towards the mountains.

I remembered what Grandpa said last time, and finally found Uncle Qi Er's grave deep in the old forest.

Uncle Qi Er had no family, so when he died, his grave was simple, just a small mound of earth. On top of it were some rocks, pressing down the grave paper. In front of the mound stood a tombstone, with no memorial photo, only Uncle Qi Er's name.

The light in the forest was dim, and no sunlight could penetrate, making it look eerie.

Occasionally, there were one or two bird calls, making it feel even more desolate and barren.

Other people in the village were afraid of Uncle Qi Er, so they wouldn't come to pay respects.

In this vast forest, there were only Fatty and me. We placed candles in front of the tombstone, and each of us lit incense for Uncle Qi Er, inserted them into the soil, and bowed respectfully to the tombstone three times.

Fatty squatted in front of the tombstone, burning paper for Uncle Qi Er.

I took out a bottle of liquor, unscrewed the cap, and poured it on the grave.

A cold wind blew, and white paper ashes fluttered in the air.

Fatty now seemed like a frightened bird, at the slightest rustle of wind, he trembled with fear, crawling up from the ground: "Yang Cheng, it's getting late, and it's eerie here. Let's go back early!"

I nodded. I had to hurry back before it got dark to have dinner. I couldn't let Grandpa know that I had come to pay respects to Uncle Qi Er on my own, or I would definitely get a scolding.

Fatty and I turned back. The further we walked, the darker it became, as if the sky had completely turned black. Fatty and I couldn't help feeling uneasy.

Fatty said, "Yang Cheng, something doesn't feel right. Did we take the wrong path? I remember it didn't take us this long to get here?"

I had also noticed this problem. I had been wondering all along. The path under our feet was very unfamiliar, full of tangled old tree roots, like ghost claws, as if they could drag us into the ground at any moment.

We definitely didn't come this way when we arrived, but I remember we clearly retraced our steps. How did we end up going off track?

Misty fog began to drift in the forest. The fog came quickly. In the blink of an eye, everything around us turned into a vast expanse of white.

It wasn't strange for fog to appear in winter, but wasn't it a bit early for it today?

Fatty and I looked around in confusion, seeing faint sparks flickering in the mist.

Fatty wondered, "Are there still fireflies at this time of year?"

I licked my lips and said hoarsely, "Open your damn eyes and take a good look. Are those fireflies? Those are... will-o'-wisps!"

Many will-o'-wisps floated around, twinkling, emitting a greenish eerie glow, making the old forest appear particularly eerie.

Fatty said fearfully, "I heard that will-o'-wisps are the lanterns of the underworld. Once they light up, it means the underworld is summoning us!"

I scolded irritably, "Summon your ass! Stop talking nonsense. Didn't you listen to the teacher in class? Will-o'-wisps are just phosphorescence, a chemical reaction. There's nothing strange about it!"

For children growing up in the countryside, will-o'-wisps were not uncommon, especially on summer nights, when they could be seen floating around in the forest. When I was young, I was a little scared, thinking that will-o'-wisps were ghosts, but later, after going to school, I learned that they were a phenomenon of spontaneous combustion of phosphorus.

But it was strange. There were no graves here. Where did these will-o'-wisps come from?

Lost in thought, I didn't notice my footing and suddenly stumbled. I fell to the ground, covered in mud.

As I was about to get up, I froze, because I found myself lying on top of a grave mound.

Where did this grave mound come from? Why didn't I see it just now?

I clapped my hands and looked up, only to see a tombstone standing on top of the mound, with wild grass climbing on it, and cracks on the surface, weathered by the years. It seemed to be a grave from a long time ago.

On the tombstone, there was an inset black and white photograph.

I propped myself up against the tombstone and looked at the photograph inadvertently, and suddenly felt chills all over my body. The eyes were round and wide open, and the person in the photograph... I knew them!