Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I dove beneath the surface and searched everywhere for Hua Yuling. The pool wasn’t big, only about ten feet across, and since the sky hadn’t gone dark yet, the shallows were clear at a glance.

Hua Yuling was underwater too, eyes wide open as if she were looking for something. When she saw me, she pointed upward.

The two of us surfaced together. Hua Yuling wiped the water from her face and burst out laughing.

“I lost my footing just now and fell in.”

I looked at her skeptically.

“Fell in? Weren’t you pulled down?”

Hua Yuling lowered her head.

“Of course not. There’s no one else in the water, so who would pull me? I was trying to scare you, but I lost my balance.”

“Really?” I didn’t think too much of it, though a vague unease lingered in my chest. “As long as you’re fine. Let’s get out early.”

I swam toward the bank, but Hua Yuling grabbed my arm. What she said next froze me on the spot.

“Since we’re already here, why don’t we take a bath while we’re at it?”

The water had been warmed by the sun all day, and soaking in it felt pleasantly cozy. I waved a hand and saw a layer of grime float up around me. Hua Yuling had already started scrubbing dirt off her arm.

After the two of us finished bathing, we washed the clothes we had been wearing as well. Then, feeling completely refreshed, we climbed ashore and changed into clean clothes.

Jiang Haoyan had been standing with his back to the pool. When he heard us come ashore, he asked cautiously, “Are you done washing?”

Hua Yuling said, “Done!”

Jiang Haoyan turned around.

Hua Yuling said, “But I haven’t put on my clothes yet.”

Jiang Haoyan clapped his hands over his eyes in panic and let out a scream.

Hua Yuling burst into laughter.

“I’m messing with you. Look at you, acting like a shy little bride.”

After we had all finished bathing, we returned to the village and found the old lady from earlier waiting for us by the roadside.

Seeing our wet hair, she clearly let out a sigh of relief.

“You’ve all bathed?”

“That’s wonderful!”

“I mean, you all look much more refreshed now.”

The old lady was even warmer than before. After we got back to her home, she even bustled over to a neighbor’s house to borrow water so she could cook noodles for us. It was just that everything she said sounded strange.

“Nothing in the water bit you, did it?”

“Did you hear any odd noises?”

Jiang Haoyan asked, “What do you mean? Is there supposed to be something in the water?”

“Oh, I forgot to remind you earlier. Around here, there’s a kind of little black snake that likes to appear near pools of water. As long as you’re fine. As long as you’re fine.”

With Hua Yuling, the Miaojiang Gu Girl, around, we had no reason to worry about snakes, insects, rats, or ants. I didn’t take the old lady’s words to heart.

That was, until early the next morning. I had just finished breakfast when a burst of frantic knocking suddenly came from outside.

“Wu Genshui, open up! It’s time!”

The old man opened the door. I put on my clothes and went over to watch the commotion. At first I had no idea what was going on, but one look nearly scared me out of my skin. The courtyard was packed with old men and old women.

Dawn had only just begun to break. They all had white cloths tied around their heads, and their faces and bodies were covered in gray dust, yet their eyes shone with a terrifying brightness.

“Genshui, are you ready?”

The old man nodded. As if he didn’t see us at all, he picked up a large porcelain bowl from the corner, followed the villagers, and headed toward the center of the village with them.

Hua Yuling was very curious.

“What are they going to do?”

I smiled confidently.

“You can’t tell? This atmosphere, this energy-one look and you know they’re going to do square dancing!”