Seeing this terrifying scene, I trembled all over. I frantically reached out and grabbed at my right ear, trying to pull out that bloody tongue.
How could I possibly grab it?
The ghost behind me and the bloody tongue it stretched out were all existences on the spiritual level. How could I, a mere mortal, grab them?
Huang Po heard the commotion and rushed over. "Chen Zi, are you okay?"
Huang Po grabbed my arm, and I stopped. I looked at the mirror again. There were only Huang Po and me in the mirror. Everything seemed normal.
There was no ghost lying on my back, and there was no bloody tongue wrapped around my ear. What had just happened seemed like a hallucination.
But I knew in my heart that it definitely wasn't a hallucination. There must be something strange about that bloody tongue that had penetrated into my ear canal.
Not to mention other things. Just now, when I tried to struggle and escape in my dream, I suddenly felt a stabbing pain in my ear. The pain traveled through the ear canal to my brain and then took control of it.
I didn't know what was going on at that time, but now I understand.
It must be that bloody tongue that controlled my body in the dream.
It had only penetrated a small part into my ear canal, and it was already able to control my body. If it went deeper...
Would I be completely controlled by it? Would I eventually become a walking corpse with a clear self - awareness but unable to control my own body?
Just thinking about this possibility made me feel cold all over. There was a strange itch in my right ear canal, and I had an urge to dig out my entire right ear with a knife.
Seeing me standing there in a daze, staring at the mirror and not answering his question, Huang Po asked again, "Chen Zi, don't scare me. What on earth happened?"
Only then did I come to my senses. I splashed my face with cold water, forcing myself to wake up. Then I went back to the living - room sofa and sat down. I told Huang Po everything about the dream I had and what I had seen in the mirror.
"Shit! What the hell's going on? This is so goddamn messed up!" Huang Po roared in impotent rage.
"The female corpse is after me. Now she's trying out my birth time. I don't know what she wants to do, but if she keeps trying like this, it's just a matter of time before she gets the right answer."
There was one thing I didn't say, which was that my death was also just a matter of time.
There is a separation between Yin and Yang, and the Heavenly Way does not permit their violation. The separation between the living and the dead is governed by the laws of Yin and Yang, and the Heavenly Way won't allow their union, which will only lead to the death of the living.
"What time were you born?" Huang Po blurted out.
I turned my head and looked at Huang Po in surprise, wondering why he would ask such a question.
Huang Po also realized that he had said something inappropriate. He quickly waved his hand and explained, "I'm just curious after hearing what you said. You don't have to tell me."
It's not that I don't trust Huang Po, but I'm even afraid to say my birth time when I'm alone.
My grandfather once told me that if a person doesn't have the innate ability to see ghosts (Yin - Yang eyes) or hasn't opened their Heavenly Eye, they can't see souls.
If a person has Yin - Yang eyes or has opened their Heavenly Eye, they will find that in real life, there are souls in many places. Ordinary people can't see them, but they can know what people are doing.
So the ancients said that there are gods three feet above your head (a Chinese saying warning people that one's deeds are watched by the gods). Before doing evil, one should think carefully. You can deceive ordinary people and the light of candles, but you can't deceive the ghosts and gods that the naked eye can't see.
Moreover, I saw a faint shadow lying on my back in the mirror. If I tell my birth date now, the female corpse will definitely know in the next moment. Can I still keep my life?
"Huang Po, it's not that I don't trust you. Don't forget there's something lying on my back. It's better not to even mention this matter."
Huang Po gave an awkward smile and said, "Right, Chen Zi, if you keep this secret, nothing will definitely happen."
I shook my head. "There are only twelve time periods (shichen) in a day. If they keep trying one shichen after another like this, how can I possibly escape?"
Huang Po's face immediately stiffened. Then he comforted me and said, "Chen Zi, don't worry. Dashan Temple is very effective. We'll go there to burn incense tomorrow. There will definitely be nothing wrong."
"I hope so."
I'm not sure if burning incense and worshiping the Buddha really works. Nowadays, many temples are commercially operated and collect incense money.
How much effect such temples still have, whether they can drive away evil things and protect my safety, is really hard to say.
"We still have to go to Dashan Temple tomorrow. If there's nothing else, go wash up and go to bed early," Huang Po suggested.
I was just about to agree when I suddenly realized. "No, I can't sleep tonight."
"What's wrong?"
"Now as long as I sleep, I'll be controlled by the female corpse in my dream and go to the wedding ceremony. I'm afraid I'll lose my life if I sleep for a whole night."
"Then what should we do?"
"You go to sleep. I'll play games on my phone all night and just stay up until dawn."
"That won't do. I'll accompany you. It's boring to play alone. What if you doze off in the middle? Then it'll be all over." Huang Po disagreed.
It's true. In college, when I played online games with my classmates to level up, although I could stay up all night, I always got sleepy and took naps in the middle.
Now that I've been targeted by the female corpse, taking a nap can send me into a dream. To stay energetic and stay up all night, I can only keep excited by playing with friends.
I discussed it with Huang Po and we decided to go to an Internet café.
There are many people in the Internet café, and there's an atmosphere for playing games. It'll be easier to get through this night like this.
The community where Huang Po lives is next to a university, and there are several Internet cafés nearby.
We first went to the supermarket to buy a big bag of snacks and a box of Red Bull, then went to the nearest Internet café.
Huang Po and I played a duo game of League of Legends. This kind of competitive game is the most exciting. If you win, you want to win another game. If you lose, you'll fight desperately to turn the tables. Time flies when you're playing.
Huang Po and I were really unlucky today. Since we started the duo game, we've been losing continuously. Either the opponents were too strong or the teammates were too useless.
After several consecutive losses, both Huang Po and I were full of anger.
"Shit! Stop playing for now. Let's watch a movie. You'll be okay watching a movie, right, Chen Zi?" Huang Po meant whether I would accidentally fall asleep while watching the movie.
"It's okay. I'll drink Red Bull. I won't get sleepy."
Huang Po found a Hong Kong martial - arts movie. Although we've seen it before, this kind of old martial - arts movie with punches landing on targets and very neat and beautiful movements still gets our blood pumping when we watch it again. We soon got immersed in it.
Just as we were enjoying the show, someone suddenly walked up to us, tapped the table, and said, "You've got so much food. Share some with me."
Huang Po and I looked up and saw a bratty young girl.
She had dyed hair, wore fishnet stockings and a miniskirt. Her top was a revealing low-cut blouse. Her face was heavily made up, with lips painted as if she'd just drunk blood.
There was heavy eye makeup around her eyes, making her look like a monster. She had a cigarette between her lips, and her fingernails were decorated with gaudy nail art.
Huang Po and I had seen plenty of girls like this. They were in their rebellious teenage years, thinking the whole world couldn't understand them. They smoked, drank, and permed their hair, thinking they were being unique, but in fact, they were nothing special.
They didn't have much money but loved to act cool all the time, which made it easy for those greasy, lecherous middle-aged men to take advantage of them.
Actually, if she had asked nicely, Huang Po and I would have given her a couple of Red Bulls and a few packs of chips.
The problem was that this snot-nosed girl came up acting like we should just give her our food because we had a lot. She didn't even try to negotiate; she just reached out to take it.
Huang Po and I got a losing streak in the games and were already in a foul mood. Her actions instantly ignited our anger.
"Did I say you could take it? Put it down!" Huang Po shouted.
The girl stopped what she was doing and then let out a shriek: "Damn it! You two don't know how to appreciate a good thing! It's an honor for you that I'm eating your food."
As she shrieked, three dyed-haired guys got up and swaggered over like they were strutting ducks to back her up.
These young punks were all around seventeen or eighteen. At first glance, you could tell they were blockheads who needed a lesson from society.
Huang Po and I had a lot of pent-up anger. A few words from us provoked them into making the first move, and then there was a wild brawl.
Huang Po and I carried corpses for a living, so we were both very strong. Those three kids as skinny as twigs were no match for us. We beat them so badly that they were crying for their parents.
That bratty young girl was also tough. She actually picked up a can of Red Bull and tried to sneak up on Huang Po from behind. I rushed over and grabbed her by the neck, pinning her to the ground.
She scratched at me with her long nails. Before I knew it, she'd scratched my right ear, which had just scabbed over, and it started bleeding again. It was excruciating.
I couldn't hold back my anger any longer. I gave her two hard slaps across the face, and she opened her mouth and wailed.
Just my luck, a drop of blood from my ear dripped down and landed right in her mouth.
When I saw that, my heart skipped a beat. I had a bad feeling.
Why was it such a coincidence?