Chapter 1, The Coughing Sound from the Abandoned Grave

The next day, Hu Daniao took the three of us, grabbed a shovel, called Huzi, and charged fiercely towards that desolate graveyard.

In that era, it was a time of chaos, with sparse population, inconvenient transportation, and great hardships in people's livelihoods

Before reaching the grave, I saw a patch of wild grass moving in the cemetery from a distance. As I approached closer, I noticed a plump wild rabbit darting away like an arrow, diving into the grave hole from yesterday

At that time, the staple food that filled our stomachs was mainly sweet potatoes, coarse grains, and wild vegetables. Meat was generally reserved for festivals and holidays. On ordinary days, if one wanted to live well, it all depended on the small fish and shrimp or wild chickens and rabbits that we caught ourselves

There is a small anecdote about Hu Daniao. It recounts that when Hu Daniao was around five or six years old, he accompanied his father, Hu Dadan, into the water to catch yellow eels. Hu Dadan was searching for holes and crevices underwater, and before long, he had caught several large yellow eels. This made Hu Daniao, who was playing on the shore, very happy; he clapped his hands and was eager to try. After a short while, Hu Daniao shouted loudly, claiming he had caught a big one.

Due to the sprinting akin to a hundred-meter dash, it wasn't long before we were panting and drenched in sweat, following Huzi to a desolate graveyard far from the village

Even until now, I am still unclear whether the coughing sound from the grave is an imitation by a wild rabbit or a hint from the person in the grave urging us not to dig any further

Cough— the familiar yet frightening voice echoed again from the cave.

Cough—this time the sound was louder and clearer, and all three of us heard it distinctly! It was indeed the sound of a person's cough coming from inside the grave!

Indeed, there is certainly not just one rabbit inside; perhaps there is a whole nest of them, hahaha... Dog Egg thought even more highly of it

Dog Egg and Tiger were guarding the entrance of the hole to prevent the wild rabbit from escaping, while Da Sha and I were pacing back and forth, thinking of a solution

Hu Danao also stopped his hand, seemingly unable to believe his own ears. He bent down and extended his head into the cave entrance to look inside.

The dog standing beside him did not believe it at all. It was still not dark, and with Huzi guarding him, what was there to fear! He bent down and leaned his head to look into the hole.

Since there are no other openings, there is only one path to take, which is to enlarge the opening so that the tiger can enter and retrieve the wild rabbit!

The matter is not yet concluded. Hu Daniao, the elder brother of the big fool, upon hearing of this incident, was both resolutely skeptical and deeply regretful about losing two wild rabbits. He believed that the place might be the main habitat of the wild rabbits. He decided to take us there the next day to witness it for ourselves, and more importantly, to catch some wild rabbits to satisfy our cravings

As evening approached, we spotted a plump and large wild rabbit, which from a distance looked as big as a piglet. Unfortunately, experience is key, and the rabbit was quick. With a series of agile turns, it soon left Tiger behind! Seeing that a large pot of fragrant rabbit meat was about to escape, we were not willing to give up easily, so we closely followed Tiger and gave chase.

Here it is mentioned that the father of the big fool is nicknamed Hu Daban, who is famously fearless in the village. Later, he took the lead in confronting the old turtle's den and the water ghosts (this is a later story, for now it shall not be discussed). His two sons have inherited Daban's boldness, especially the eldest son, Hu Daniao (the full name will not be mentioned), who is five years older than me and is similarly someone who does not shed tears until he sees the coffin

Cough— it seems to be responding to us. The person coughed again, and this time we heard it clearly; the cough was actually coming from the hole, from the grave we were digging. In other words, there was someone coughing inside the grave!

Since then, we have been hesitant to categorically deny the supernatural, and gradually began to believe in the strange tales of the spirit-guarding incidents recounted by the bold Hu Dadan.

This seemingly ridiculous ideal has profound roots in reality

As I was digging, I suddenly heard a cough, "cough—" I thought it was an illusion, but the big fool also stopped his hands at the same time and looked up at me

Because in my memory, the most frequent dream I had as a child was about eating meat, and upon waking, I would still savor the happiness of eating meat in my dreams

Although Dog Egg, Big Fool, and I are not sworn brothers, we share a common understanding. Since childhood, the three of us have held a shared ideal, which we firmly believed to be the highest pursuit of all humanity. This ideal is: to have meat to eat regularly

Finding a shovel at home was too slow, so Da Sha and I casually picked up a stick and eagerly began to dig at the edge of the grave with the librarian, expanding the opening.

They looked at each other and almost simultaneously asked, "Who is coughing?"

I even believe that the reason so many people are willing to risk their lives to become high-ranking officials, wealthy merchants, or even emperors and presidents is merely to ensure they can have meat with every meal

We were filled with great joy and quickly surrounded the hole. Hu Danao instructed us from the side while he personally took action, using a shovel to enlarge the opening, allowing Huzi to crawl in and retrieve the wild rabbit.

Huzai stopped in front of a large grave, circling around it anxiously, whimpering in distress. Upon closer inspection, it was found that there was a hole at the edge of the grave, amidst the overgrown grass. Huzai could not squeeze through and was agitatedly pacing back and forth beside it.

I glanced around briefly and saw that this desolate graveyard contained dozens of graves, large and small. The cypress trees cast a dense shade, and the area was chaotic and overgrown, with thick grass and dense trees. Rarely visited by people, it was indeed a perfect hiding place for wild rabbits

Especially in the remote rural areas of northern Henan, scattered and disorderly houses are strewn along the banks of the Yellow River. Surrounding them are not the current restaurants, supermarkets, or convenience stores, but rather chaotic burial grounds and old cemeteries

The consequence of listening carefully was that I didn't even take the two wild rabbits I had caught, but instead ran home immediately

We must get it out; there are exactly three of us, one for each. I circled around the large grave but did not find any other exits

Let me share some stories from my childhood before joining the army! Of course, the main extraordinary experiences occurred after enlisting, during that chaotic autumn filled with mischief and supernatural beings.

Cough— that voice suddenly raised its volume and began to cough loudly. At the same time, Hu Danao seemed to have seen something terrifying, and he quickly turned around and ran away

Hu Dadan looked up and immediately broke out in a cold sweat. He saw that Danao was tightly gripping not a yellow viper, but a snake as thick as a child's arm, excitedly reporting the good news to his father. Hu Dadan hurried over to inform Danao that this was not a yellow viper but a large snake, urging him to let go. To his surprise, Danao showed no fear at all, insisting that he would not release it, claiming that whether it was a yellow viper or a long worm, he was determined to take it home.

Huzi is indeed a good dog; not only is his speed exceptional, but he is also very loyal. In less than an afternoon, he brought us two wild rabbits. The three of us were so happy that we ran around in the wheat field, laughing loudly

In the lunar year of Dingchou, which corresponds approximately to the 26th year of the Republic of China (I apologize, I have never been accustomed to using the Gregorian calendar), it was also the year when the Japanese invaders fully invaded China. I was eleven years old and experienced my first terrifying encounter that made my hair stand on end and cold sweat pour down my back

The usually fearless coward, in broad daylight, turned around and walked away, his face ashen. ... We all followed the coward and scattered in a rush ...

The villagers traverse winding, serpentine paths, encountering ancient tombs, new graves, and overgrown fields! They often come across various malevolent spirits and strange creatures, such as the black dog spirit, the sow spirit, the yellow and * picture * book deity, the hanged ghost, the half-body ghost (a rural colloquial term for a headless corpse), the snake spirit tree monster, and the myriad of phantoms and demons, including minor ghosts and the gods of the black and white roads, among others. These entities may frighten or harm people, seek revenge or repay kindness, play tricks on individuals, or attach themselves to others to avoid misfortune, resulting in countless bizarre tales that have spread far and wide, known to all!

However, the three of us, including Dog Egg and Big Fool, are not interested in this at all, and we do not even know what it means to be afraid. Firstly, we are young and inexperienced, having not gone through much. Secondly, being accustomed to filling our stomachs with coarse grains and wild vegetables, we are only interested in delicious food

"That big fellow must have gone in here," the big fool was very confident about his own tiger

And the most delicious of all is the oil-scented, thick-fleshed wild rabbit! However, while the meat of the wild rabbit is indeed fragrant, the process of catching one is not always filled with excitement; at times, one may be so exhausted that they are drenched in sweat, or so frightened that they might not even catch a single hair from the rabbit.

Indeed, in any case, it sends chills down one's spine: if a wild rabbit can mimic to such a realistic degree, it cannot be an ordinary wild rabbit; and if it is the latter, the bones of a corpse buried for many years would still cough, which would be even more unsettling for a good night's sleep

In that early winter, the wheat had just emerged from the ground, standing four fingers high, and there were no corn stalks or sorghum plants to obstruct the view. It was the season when the wild rabbits were plump and strong, and it was also a good time for us to improve our lives

I felt as if my hand had been burned by fire, so I threw away the stick in my hand and retreated to the side

I, along with Dog Dan and Big Fool, made an appointment to catch wild rabbits with his large dog, "Tiger".