"rustle..."
On the night of the ceremony, it rained heavily in the village.
The thick mist from the heavy rain enveloped the remote village deep in the mountains like a damp blanket. A night like this should have been a quiet and peaceful one, but instead, it was shrouded in a chaotic atmosphere. Old-fashioned flashlights cast a yellow glow through the rain, blending with the glow of torches and lanterns that seemed out of date, creating a hazy, flickering veil of light.
"rustle..."
The rain is still falling.
The night in the mountains is extremely dark. Even if humans use all the lighting tools, the area below the waist is still dark, as if it has been swallowed by something.
But even so, the coffin that was carefully carried on the shoulders of four people still looked bright and eye-catching.
It was a coffin painted bright red.
Unlike ordinary coffins, this one was strangely painted with vibrant, intricate, and ornate patterns. Fine wood had been carved into a floral pattern, and a red silk flower was tied to the coffin lid.
The bright red characters "囍" were pasted on the head and tail of the coffin respectively. As people walked, the big red characters soaked by rain water dripped down with red water.
A group of people were in front holding wedding plaques, boxes, and offerings made of various cakes and fruits. Behind them were people playing gongs, drums, and suonas. Amidst the extremely festive wedding-farewell music, this group of people were carrying a wedding coffin and staggering along the narrow and rugged mountain path.
The long and hoarse joy flickered with the firelight in the rainy night.
If you listen carefully, you can still faintly hear the childish cries coming from the coffin.
"Wuwuwu...Mom...Mom...Dad..."
"I'm afraid..."
"Mom, where are you?"
Standing next to the coffin was a woman dressed in red. Hearing the crying coming from the coffin, a strong sense of reluctance appeared on her pale face, which was not concealed by her heavy makeup.
"It's okay, Yanyan, don't be afraid!"
The woman patted the lid of the strange coffin. Although she was trying to comfort the child in the coffin, her voice was filled with fear and anxiety that was difficult to conceal.
"Mom is here. Didn't I tell you? This is just a game. Once Yanyan wins this game, she'll become comfortable and healthy. She can eat whatever she wants and play whatever she wants..."
"No—I don't want to play anymore—Mom—I'm afraid—"
As expected, the child was not comforted. There was a constant "bang bang" sound coming from the coffin, and it was obvious that the child was struggling hard.
The scene before her made the woman feel like her heart was being cut by a knife.
She instinctively grabbed the gap in the coffin lid.
"Yanyan, don't be afraid, don't move! Your body can't take it!"
A pair of hands suddenly stretched out from the rain and covered the back of the woman's hand.
"Fourth sister, don't panic. This is how the ceremony works... Raining is actually a good thing, it means the Dragon God likes Yanyan." A strange mask suddenly floated up in the dark night. Facing the strange and distorted face, the woman screamed in horror, and then she remembered that it was not a ghost from the mountains and forests, but a village witch wearing a full set of sacrificial equipment.
"I, I'm not panicking," the woman said stutteringly after calming herself down. "It's just that the child might not be able to handle this. Yanyan's health is not good, especially his heart. I'm afraid he'll faint in here if he gets too excited."
She looked at the village witch in panic.
"Can't I carry him out first, and then put him in when we get there?"
The woman could hear clearly that as time passed, the clapping and crying coming from the wedding coffin became weaker and weaker.
This made her feel even more uneasy.
However, the village witch just stared at her, and her voice was strangely eerie in the rain and fog.
"This isn't something you can just do casually, Fourth Sister. I told you before, this is the Dragon God getting married..." She grabbed the woman's wrist with her backhand, each of her fingers so cold it gave her goosebumps. "I know you're from the city and don't believe these things now, but you lived here as a child, and you know how powerful the Dragon God is. This is his first wedding in all these years, and every step can be perfect. Otherwise, if he gets upset, not only will Yanyan not be saved, but all of us will suffer."
At the reminder of the village witch, the woman seemed to remember something. Her breathing became heavier and the fear in her eyes became more intense.
"But, but——"
"And now this is the last resort, Fourth Sister, you have to be patient. Think about it, didn't you bring Yanyan back because the doctors in the city said he was beyond saving? It's already like this, now we can only rely on the Dragon God to save Yanyan. You have to think that as long as Yanyan really marries, he will no longer be a mortal like us. The Lord Dragon God will protect him and will not let him die..."
"Woo woo, does this method really work?"
Hearing this, the woman finally burst into tears. She actually had no idea about the superstitious activities that were so strange and almost absurd before her.
However, thinking about the answers she got after traveling across the country with her child and consulting countless doctors, no matter how nervous she was, she could only grasp at this last life-saving straw in vain, vainly hoping that the illusory Dragon God could really save her only child.
"Yanyan, hold on a little longer, Mom is begging you! Be brave!"
Under the gaze of the village witch, the woman no longer dared to open the coffin lid. She could only lie beside the wedding coffin and shout to the weakly crying child inside.
After enduring this for an unknown amount of time, the group finally reached their destination deep in the mountains.
It was a cave as deep as a monster's stomach.
A trickle of water gurgled out of the cave, and perhaps because of the water, the humidity here seemed to have become a little heavier. The air also faintly exuded the unique dampness and fishy smell of caves.
Everyone stopped.
They raised their heads and looked at the cave in the dim light. Although they were all mountain people who were born and raised here, when they stood there, even the most burly and strong men had a hint of fear on their faces.
"We're here. This is the Luolong Marsh."
The village witch shook his head, and the gold powder on the mask flickered slightly, and under the interplay of light and shadow, it seemed as if some living thing was wriggling.
He walked over to the woman and explained.
"Go further in and you'll find Luolong Cave."
After he finished speaking, he turned around and gave the team a cold look.
"What are you standing there for? We're here to send off the bride! What are the proper etiquette for a wedding? Why are you being so dejected?"
At his scolding, the sound of the suona used to send the bride off rang out again. Unfortunately, because the player was timid and out of breath, the tune became intermittent and increasingly strange and harsh.
The coffin was finally brought into the cave.
This is a naturally formed cave. It is extremely deep, intricate and dangerous. If you accidentally walk into it, you will most likely be trapped to death.
Fortunately, the wedding hall this time was not set up deep in the cave. Not long after the group walked, they stopped on a flat stone platform in the cave.
A simple wedding tent has been set up here.
Tall red candles crackled in the darkness, and the big "wedding" character was bright and eye-catching in the wedding tent.
Joy paused again.
Fortunately, this time the village witch didn't scold the villagers, whose faces were already pale with fear. He directed others to bring up the offerings needed for the coffin opening ceremony.
They were two huge black carps, more than one meter long.
The village witch stepped forward and cut the fish open from the center. A strong, fishy smell spread, accompanied by dripping red blood. The man smeared the blood on the coffin, muttering something to himself.
After doing all this, he came to the wedding coffin and pushed open the coffin lid.
"Yanyan——"
The woman wanted to go forward immediately, but was sternly stopped by the village witch.
"Shh!"
He said in a deep voice.
"Don't disturb the Dragon God."
For some reason, the woman felt that his voice was also a little tense.
The village witch carefully carried the child out of the coffin.
It was a very thin child, who looked no more than five or six years old. He had already lost the strength to cry, and when he was carried out, he looked listless, occasionally uttering a few weak sobs.
Although only a child, he was wearing a complete set of formal, old-fashioned wedding gowns. The red satin was embroidered with fish scales in gold thread. Perhaps because he had struggled so hard in the coffin, the red veil had fallen off, revealing the child's face.
It was a beautiful child who seemed to be carved from ice and snow.
Even the child stars pictured on posters couldn't be more handsome than him. It was a pity that such a beautiful face was now so pale it was almost transparent, with a faint, abnormal bluish hue. Even with rouge on his lips and cheeks, it couldn't hide the frailty that emanated from his bones.
"Mother..."
After being carried out of the coffin, the child known as Yanyan finally stopped crying. He stared timidly at his mother with red, swollen eyes. He didn't like tonight's games at all. That included the various rouge on his face and the girl's dress he was wearing.
But his mother told him... this was a challenge game, and if he won, he could eat half a piece of fried chicken and drink three sips of Coke.
He has been tossing and turning in the ward ever since he could remember, always eating extremely bland hospital meals. He really craves that fragrant and sweet "junk food".
So the timid boy immediately agreed that he would complete this challenge game.
But...
He never knew that a game could be so scary.
Mom was dragged away by the strange masked grandfather.
The others also left.
When he came to his senses, he found himself left alone in a completely unfamiliar cave. It was pitch black all around, and the only light came from the two blood-red candles.
"Mother?"
"Wow... Mom?"
…
Hot tears burst out and wet the child's pale cheeks again, but he was born weak and even crying became extremely weak, sounding like a kitten.
"Wuwu…wuwu…wuwu…"
"Woo…"
The cave is deep.
The echo caused by the child's crying spread out again and again. In the continuous refraction of the sound waves, the sound was gradually stretched and deformed... It sounded like something else was whimpering in the depths of the cave.
The child began to tremble uncontrollably.
He covered his mouth and looked around in horror. He wanted to find his mother, but as soon as he moved, he stumbled and fell to the ground. The child struggled to lift the embroidered wedding dress, only to find that his ankle was tied with an iron chain - and the iron chain was tied to an iron ring under the wedding table.
He started crying again.
The child thought of the chicken that his grandmother tied in the yard when he returned home.
He stood beside the chicken and watched it for a long time, and asked his grandmother why there was a rope tied around the chicken's feet.
"Silly child, if you don't tie it up with a rope, it will run away soon. What will our Yanyan have to eat?"
Grandma was wiping her hands on her apron and talking to him with a smile.
…
The child shrank dazedly under the wedding table.
My tears have dried up, and my whole body is sore and cold.
He didn't know what he'd done wrong. Mom never wanted to do this to him. Why did this game happen? Wasn't it because he shouldn't wish for fried chicken... Yeah... Mom never liked him eating anything else because he'd vomit...
The child's consciousness gradually became blurred.
His frail body could hardly support him staying awake through the night, but just as the child was about to fall into a coma...
"rustle--"
He suddenly heard a very strange sound.
He felt a shudder, a fear that was rooted in his genes.
The child suddenly opened his eyes wide under the wedding table.
"rustle--"
The sound soon began to ring again, and it seemed to be getting closer... closer...
In extreme fear, the child carefully lifted the corner of the tablecloth. He held his breath and looked out through the tablecloth in fear.
——Then, he met a pair of blood-red eyes.