Chapter 0002: The Old Man and the Ghostly Claw

The elderly man dressed in a red Tang suit saw us approaching and turned to walk towards the large door

However, I feel that my mind is still clear. When I reached the steps in front of the main door, I sensed a cool breath emanating from my chest, and I immediately came to a halt.

As my movements ceased and that sound rang out, the large red door in front suddenly creaked open with a "squeak," and the old man in red reappeared inside, looking at me with a fierce expression, reaching out his hand to grab me

I extended my palm towards the old man in the red clothes

For some reason, the moment I saw that old man, I seemed to see my own grandfather, and I instantly forgot about where my mother was, then I found myself unconsciously walking towards that large door

I was suddenly taken aback; the old man's face at that moment was truly terrifying, devoid of color, as if a thick layer of white powder had been smeared on it, grotesque and fearsome. At that moment, I felt my mind go blank, completely at a loss.

The old man in red stammered a sentence: "Let's go, follow me"

I know how cold a dead person's hand can be. I remember two years ago, an elder named Zhang passed away in the village. My grandfather went to help with the funeral arrangements, and I followed closely behind him. At that time, I was young and reached out to pull the elder Zhang, who was lying on the wooden board. The chill I felt then is still fresh in my memory.

An idea suddenly flashed through my mind without my knowing how it came about

I hurriedly reached out and pulled him, and the moment I grasped his palm, I felt that his hand was icy cold, devoid of any warmth. It was just like a dead person's hand! The chill made me immediately retract my hand.

I asked Nobita.

This is the first time I have seen that there are actually many strange and peculiar items in my grandfather's old wooden medicine chest

As he spoke, he turned his body slightly

At this moment, that hand had already transformed into a claw-like appearance, shriveled and bony, with protruding knuckles, and the desiccated skin was covered with brown spots. Later, I learned that these were postmortem lividity.

I hurriedly turned around and saw my grandfather quickly running towards me

I can sense that at this moment, Nobita is in a state of being unpopular. No, that's not quite right; it seems he still has a trace of popularity. I cannot quite articulate what this feeling is, but it is certainly abnormal

However, this did not stop the actions of the old man in the red robe, as he still extended his withered palm

Grandfather's voice rang out once more

My grandfather walked up to the stone tablet, lifted Da Xiong, and reached out to touch his forehead, exclaiming, "So cool?"

I followed behind him and arrived at the front of the large red door. Just as I lifted my leg, about to step over the threshold, a loud shout halted my movement

Grandfather

He forcefully pushed the large door open a crack, then smiled and called out to us: "Come, come..."

At this moment, Nobita seemed somewhat strange; he stood there with his head slightly lowered and his body stiff, and spoke in a peculiar voice: "Over there"

I was so frightened that I fell to the ground, and at the same time, hurried footsteps sounded behind me

In my grandfather's words, that is called lacking popularity

But when I think of having my grandfather around, what is there to fear? I just stood there, my eyes fixed on my grandfather's back, no longer daring to shift my gaze.

Stop!

I turned my head and nearly fainted from fright

I called out to him, but he did not respond and continued to walk forward with his head down

Eating something? In this moment, I feel as if my weary and hungry body can no longer endure the torment of such hunger. I seem to catch a whiff of the enticing aromas wafting from within the door, the scents of food and books, the fragrance of meat and vegetables, reminiscent of the meals my mother usually prepares for me, and once again, I find myself lost.

After my grandfather finished speaking, he patted my shoulder and walked towards the stone tablet

At the entrance, an elderly man dressed in a red Tang suit stood there, waving to us from a distance

Mom? I sprang to my feet and saw Nobita standing right beside me

Not far away, there stood a tall mansion, its gate painted in a vivid red, the kind of red that is blood-like. The two stone pillars in front of the door were also painted in a striking red, a red that was eerie and unsettling, evoking a sense of dread.

My grandfather quickly ran to my side, embraced me tightly, and kept stroking my hair, saying: "Ning, are you alright?"

As I watched that hand about to grasp my collar, a milky white light once again illuminated my chest

At that moment, I was so frightened that my legs trembled, and I nearly sat down on the ground again

Behind the stone pillar, there is a large burial mound

This time, he did not attempt to hold my hand again, but walked ahead by himself

Then, he placed Nobita beside me on the ground and opened his wooden medicine chest

The powerful shout invigorated my spirit, and I immediately came to a halt.

How could such a grand mansion suddenly appear in this desolate wilderness

Where is my mother

I shouted at my grandfather, not knowing where the strength came from, and unexpectedly ran towards him

The old man in the red robe smiled at me with a ghostly grin and reached out to grasp my palm

"Beast, stop!"

My grandfather gently patted my shoulder and said, "Don't be afraid, I am here. Daxiong will be fine, just stand here and don't move."

I suddenly felt a chill run through my body, especially when I saw Nobita with his head down, walking step by step towards the door.

At this moment, Nobita is lying on the open ground in front of the stone tablet, fast asleep

The tall courtyard that was just there has vanished, replaced by a blood-red stone monument that is half a person's height. Behind the monument stand two tall, dilapidated stone pillars, identical to the pillars in front of the red gate, except that the red on them has become severely weathered.

He was carrying his old wooden medicine chest on his back, dressed in a peculiar Daoist robe, with a slightly flushed face, breathing heavily

I raised my head and looked ahead

This voice sounds so familiar, it seems to be my grandfather's voice

No, nothing at all

I can see that his gaze is very serious; those murky old eyes now appear quite spirited, even carrying a somewhat sharp meaning

That hand immediately retracted.

I have never seen such a large burial mound, it resembles a small mountain, and I even suspect that there might be an elephant buried inside it

The moment his palm touched the center of my hand, he abruptly withdrew his hand and looked at me in astonishment

I hid in my grandfather's arms, crying uncontrollably. After a few sobs, I suddenly remembered that Nobita was still by my side, and hurriedly said to my grandfather: "Grandpa, Nobita, Nobita is still over there."

As I was deep in thought, the old man in the red coat appeared before us once again. He smiled at the two of us, extended an aged hand, and said to us: "Come, follow me, I will take you to eat."

If it were not for my extreme familiarity with his face and voice, as well as that particularly familiar medicine box, I would have almost failed to recognize him

I instinctively looked around and found that the surroundings were eerily quiet. Under the moonlight, there were silhouettes resembling small mounds everywhere.

I asked a question in a rather strange manner at that time

What are those small mounds if they are not burial mounds

What is wrong with you

I did not know what was wrong with me at that time, I was just mechanically taking steps, slowly moving forward

Nobita