After nightfall, the rain stopped. The world was pitch-bck. You Wuqiang sat cold and shivering next to the grave he had dug with the other two men at Wugongling's cemetery, gasping for breath. He could hear the roar of the raging waters of the Tangxi River.

  You Wuqiang had been waiting here for a whole afternoon, but there was still no sign of Zhong Qi. In fact, You Wuqiang should have anticipated that Zhong Qi wouldn't show up. If he dared to come, he wouldn't have been a deserter. Gritting his teeth, You Wuqiang plunged the bayonet into the ground with force!

  Just as You Wuqiang was in a pce where his heroism was useless, using a bayonet to stab into the soil, a security guard darted from the town street into the small alley where Zhong Qi's house was located and arrived at Zhong Qi's doorstep. The door to Zhong Qi's house was tightly shut. The security guard could see the lights inside through the crack in the door.

  The security guard knocked on the door. Although the rain had stopped, water was still dripping from the eaves. Seeing no response from inside, the guard knocked harder. After waiting for a while, he heard faint footsteps approaching the door, and a woman's cautious voice came from inside, tinged with a hint of panic: "Who is it?"

  The security guard said, "It's me, Zhu Gu, big sister-in-w."

  Shen Wenxiu suppressed her complex emotions and asked, "What's the matter?"

  Zhu Gu said, "Our Captain Zhong asked me to inform you that he won't be coming home tonight."

  Shen Wenxiu's heart raced wildly. "Is there something wrong with your captain?"

  Zhu Gu replied, "Big sister-in-w cares a lot about our captain. Our captain is really lucky to have such a faithful wife like you. Don't worry, big sister-in-w, Captain Zhong will be fine. He's drinking with Mayor You and the others right now."

  After Zhu Gu left, Shen Wenxiu returned to the hall. Her mother-in-w, who was having dinner, put down her chopsticks and asked, "Who was it?"

  Shen Wenxiu's two young sons looked innocently at their mother's gloomy face.

  Shen Wenxiu forced a smile. "It was Zhu Gu, saying that Captain Zhong won't be coming home tonight."

  The mother-in-w sighed and said, "That beast! He doesn't treat this family like a family at all. If I hadn't scolded him, telling him that he often doesn't come home at night and doesn't even say a word to the family, he wouldn't have let the stray dog speak. This beast will eventually cause a big problem! Wen Xiu, this family owes you so much. If it weren't for you, I would have been driven to death by him long ago. My bones could be dug up from the grave and used to beat drums! Wen Xiu, this beast doesn't even treat you like a human. The way he tortures you so maliciously, he's not human! How did I end up raising such a scoundrel of a son! Wen Xiu, I know you have unspeakable pain in your heart. For the sake of these two children and my old bones, please bear with it a little longer. I'll apologize to you on behalf of that beast. I can kneel down and bow my head to you as you wish. Just don't think too much about it. Many things shouldn't be taken to heart; it's all fate!"

  Shen Wenxiu didn't say anything. She picked up the bowl and forcefully shoveled rice into her mouth with chopsticks, tears streaming down her face and falling into the bowl. At that moment, a mournful song echoed in Shen Wenxiu's heart, making her humble soul tremble. What unimaginable things would happen on this night?

  It was te at night.

  The wind swept through the mountains and fields after the rain.

  The sounds of insects came from all directions, trying to compete with the roaring waters of Tang Creek. Fireflies flickered on the dark hillside, like countless ghostly eyes.

  The once narrow Tang Creek, now widened by the flood, emitted a ghostly white light in the night, mysterious and chilling.

  You Wuqiang still sat beside the grave dug by San Laizi, watching Tang Creek. The rusty bayonet was stuck in the soil in front of him, silent and motionless. The bayonet wouldn't speak, wouldn't tell him about the dangers hidden in the dark night. Your clothes were still wet, clinging to your body. He didn't feel the cold; instead, he felt heat rising from his body, mixed with the sour smell of sweat.

  In You Wuqiang's mind, a scene always appears: Shen Wenxiu curled up naked on the bed, hands clutching his head, while Zhong Qi, with twisted facial muscles, swings a copper-headed whip, crazily beating Shen Wenxiu. Shen Wenxiu's curled-up naked body convulses, and his mouth emits a desperate wail...

  You Wuqiang's head feels like it's going to explode.

  At that moment, You Wuqiang heard a song.

  A desote song:

  “Oh, my dear, my heart is higher than the heavens, but my fate is as fragile as paper, oh, my dear —”“Oh, my dear, the smoke has dispersed, the water has flowed away, my heart is shattered, oh, my dear —”“Oh, my dear, the sky is so distant, the road so long, where can I find your trace, oh, my dear—?”“Oh, my dear, the wind is fierce, the rain relentless, my tears are as sticky as blood, oh, my dear —”

  This is the death of a man from Tang Town and the mourning song sung by the deceased's wife during the funeral. The sound of the mourning song came from the bank of Tang Creek, and it was extremely eerie. You Wuqiang could hardly believe his ears; who would be singing a mourning song towards Wugong Ridge by the bank of Tang Creek outside the town at this te hour?

  You Wuqiang pulled the bayonet out of the mud and drew its tip across his arm, the pain making him unusually alert. The mournful song echoed so vividly across the desote fields, and You Wuqiang recognized the voice. As soon as he identified who it was, he immediately stood up, clutching the rusty bayonet, and hurriedly made his way towards Tang Creek, stepping deeply and shallowly. A dull thunder rumbled behind him.

  You Wuqiang stood by the Tang Creek, listening to the mournful songs from the opposite bank, his emotions extremely complex. The woman's voice was desote and full of despair, sounding so faint against the terrifying roar of the flood. From her singing, You Wuqiang could hear blood and tears... He looked across the river but saw nothing. The opposite bank was a pitch-bck expanse, like the depths of hell.

  Normally only a few dozen meters wide, the Tang Creek now resembled a great river, with the floodwaters submerging the riverbanks on both sides. Huge whirlpools swirled across the wide river surface, as if they were about to swallow all living things. The roar of the floodwaters added a terrifying hue to the Tang Creek, and You Wuqiang felt as if countless ghosts were rushing across the river surface, wailing.

  Suddenly, a thundercp echoed through the sky, and a bolt of lightning split the heavy darkness on the opposite bank. In that instant, You Wuqiang saw a woman standing on the riverbank across. A surge of adrenaline rushed to his head, and he shouted across the river, "Wait for me—"

  You Wuqiang tightened his belt, tucked the bayonet into his waistband, and with a "plop," jumped into the rushing waters. The singing on the opposite bank abruptly stopped, followed by a scream...

  In this dark night, Tang Town hides its restlessness in silence. After the flickering oil mp went out, Song Ke opened his eyes again.

  His body felt as if it were bound by invisible ropes, unable to move. This wasn't the first time he had encountered such a situation. Ever since he piled the portraits of the dead under his bed, every night, after the oil in the mp ran out, he would be awakened by ghostly voices, and then his body would be unable to move. He would listen to the dead recount their death stories. Almost every night, different ghosts would appear, telling different stories about death. Song Ke listened in horror but had no way to refuse to listen.