Chapter Four: The Curse

At first, I thought I must have been mistaken. After all, it was dark and visibility was poor, and with the figure in front of me as black as an African, it would be all too easy to misidentify someone. But when I stepped closer and looked again, I was certain I hadn't been wrong—this was Wang Feiyang, without a doubt.

I rushed toward him, calling out as I ran, asking what had happened and when he had ended up lying in that paper coffin. Suddenly, I remembered the dream I'd had the previous night—the one where someone tried to climb out of the paper coffin, only to be forced back inside by that woman. A chill ran down my spine. Could it be that everything that happened last night wasn't a dream but reality? Was Wang Feiyang the one lying in that coffin?

Wang Feiyang looked as if the fire had driven him mad. He stared at me with bloodshot eyes, silent, his gaze sending shivers down my back.

"Feiyang, Feiyang!" I called his name twice. He didn't answer, just kept staring at me with that eerie look. I couldn't hold back anymore and asked if he knew what had happened to his family.

By now, I had reached him, but an ominous feeling gripped my heart. I was about to step back when Wang Feiyang, who had been sitting on the ground, leapt up and swung something at me.

I jumped back just in time and saw he was holding a knife—a bamboo-splitting knife from his home, the kind they used for cutting bamboo. He was hacking at me wildly, as if he'd gone insane.

I staggered backward, dodging as I shouted at him, asking if he was out of his mind, why he was trying to kill me.

He didn't answer, just kept chasing me with the knife. At last, I slipped and fell to the ground. Wang Feiyang advanced on me, his eyes blazing red under the moonlight, his face twisted with rage, and the blade in his hand gleaming coldly.

With a clang, he brought the knife down at my head. Instinctively, I screamed, already picturing my brains splattered everywhere. But luckily, the knife missed and struck a tree stump beside me instead.

I don't know how much strength he used, but the blade sank half its length into the wood. As he tried to pull it out, I rolled away and scrambled to my feet.

Perhaps the knife wasn't buried too deeply, because he couldn't free it. He continued to glare at me with those bloodshot eyes, and in his gaze I saw a deep, burning sorrow and hatred.

"Feiyang, just calm down!" I stammered, my teeth chattering with fear. I no longer doubted that he might really kill me then and there.

"Wu Dao, it was you! You destroyed my family!" Wang Feiyang suddenly pointed at me, each word he spoke dripping with venomous resentment.

I stood there in shock, completely at a loss. Maybe if I hadn't gone to make those seven paper coffins for his family, none of this would have happened. There was no way I could deny responsibility for their annihilation.

But none of this was my idea. Even making the coffins was something Zuo Daoyin ordered me to do. I never imagined things would turn out like this.

I wanted to explain, but Wang Feiyang seemed to read my thoughts and cut me off. He, who was always so stern and unsmiling, suddenly burst into wild laughter, as if he'd gone mad.

"Wu Dao, do you really think it's just because of those seven paper coffins? Ha! You wretch. Your grandfather and that old bastard Zuo Daoyin tried to drag my family down with them years ago, and now, even in death, they won't let us go. Your Wu family can't escape its curse, fine—but to drag my family down as well? Damn you all!"

I paused for a moment, then asked him, "You know something, don't you? What curse? Who is that woman, and what does she want?"

Wang Feiyang kept laughing, but suddenly squatted down, clutching his head in agony. "Wu Dao, my family owes your family nothing. Why? Why must my family pay with our lives? Tell me, why?"

"Feiyang..." I started toward him, wanting to help him up, but he suddenly stood and shouted at me to get out, to leave at once, or he'd kill me. Then he squatted down again, clawing desperately at his scorched hair.

I knew he was in no state to talk, no matter how many questions I still had. In the end, I turned and ran down the mountain, not daring to look back for fear I'd see Wang Feiyang behind me with that knife.

I ran all the way back to White Street. Halfway there, my grandfather called, saying he was home and told me to hurry back. Relieved, I picked up my pace.

Just as I neared the coffin shop, Zuo Daoyin suddenly blocked my path. His scarred face was ghastly in the moonlight, and his blue-glowing eyes seemed to emit a faint, eerie light. We stared at each other for two seconds before he asked if I'd burned the seven paper coffins.

I didn't answer, just nodded, then tried to walk around him toward the shop. At that moment, Zuo Daoyin pressed a red cloth bundle into my hand, ordering me to open it at midnight—it would save my life.

With that, he vanished into the night. I almost threw the bundle away, but after a moment's thought, I slipped it into my pocket.

When I reached the coffin shop, I saw my grandfather waiting at the door. In that instant, I felt as if I'd finally found my anchor, and tears welled up uncontrollably.

I hurried toward him, but he looked utterly exhausted, wounded, and deathly pale.

I anxiously asked what had happened. He shook his head, saying it was nothing serious, just that something had happened on his way home—someone had tried to hinder him with some dark trick, but he'd made it back in time. As long as I was safe, that was all that mattered.

He then asked me in detail about everything that had happened over the past two days.

Once I'd finished recounting the events, his brows furrowed deeply. He told me to go upstairs to my room, and that no matter what happened before dawn, I was not to come out.

I didn't understand why, but I didn't refuse. As soon as I entered the room, he slammed the door shut and locked it from the outside.

Why had he locked me in? I was startled, but there was no way out. Then his voice came through the door: "Don't be afraid, boy. As long as I'm here, you'll be fine when daylight comes."

Despite his reassurance, a sense of dread weighed on me. I couldn't sleep, so I opened my computer to pass the time. I don't know how much time passed before I suddenly heard a woman's weeping from downstairs.

The sound was eerie and sent chills down my spine. Instinctively, I tried to go see what was happening, but then I remembered the door was locked—I couldn't get out.

Something felt wrong, but I couldn't put my finger on it. The woman's wailing grew shriller, and I sensed it creeping closer and closer to my room.

A terror unlike anything I'd ever felt gripped me.

Just then, I remembered the red bundle Zuo Daoyin had given me. I checked the clock—it was exactly midnight. Without hesitation, I opened the bundle and found a slip of paper inside. When I read the message, my heart leapt into my throat.

"Wu Dao, run! The person with you isn't your grandfather at all. He's going to kill you!"