Chapter 11

Chapter 11

On the way back, we had only just reached a nearby village when Wang Cheng started groaning, “Oh no, oh no,” and said he couldn’t hold it anymore.

Clutching his stomach, he jumped out of the truck and plunged headfirst into a patch of tall grass.

I got out too and went to the village shop to buy a pack of cigarettes.

Seeing that I drove a big truck, the shop owner casually asked, “Delivering fish to that big estate again?”

I nodded. “Aren’t you people familiar with the Li Family? From what I saw, your village is the only one near their place.”

“Not really,” the shop owner said lazily. “No idea what kind of fool came from who knows where and spent money buying that plot of land. That mountain’s evil as hell. People get lost up there all the time.”

“The old folks used to say the feng shui of that mountain changed, and all the things buried there long ago turned into spirits.”

For the next two days after I got home, I kept thinking about that Blind Girl from time to time.

I really hoped the sound of those bells had only been my imagination.

But I also had a feeling that maybe the girl had shown up at that inn so she could take advantage of our fish delivery and sneak into the heavily guarded Li Family estate.

Maybe it was just because I thought about it during the day that I dreamed about it at night.

That night, the sound of bells once again forced its way into my dream.

In the dream, it seemed like two girls were running through the darkness hand in hand.

I could only see their stumbling footsteps and hear their breathing growing heavier and heavier.

Someone was chasing them from behind!

Shaking flashlights swept through the dark, mingled with barking dogs. At last, one of the girls’ legs gave out, and she fell.

“I can’t go on, Sister Xiao Feng. I can’t run anymore.”

The girl who had fallen wore only a thin long dress. Her legs were covered in scrapes, and one of her ankles was badly swollen.

“Lili, hold on a little longer. Just a little longer.”

The other girl helped her up, but the sounds of pursuit behind them drew closer.

My dream began to blur.

In the next instant, the girl named Lili had hidden inside a narrow crack between rocks, and I could already hear shouting outside.

“Sister Xiao Feng, Sister Xiao Feng!”

The girl tried to pull the other one in too, but the crevice was too tight.

“Lili, listen to me. Your mom has already found a kidney donor. She’s waiting for you at the hospital. You have to hang in there.”

A string of bells was stuffed into Lili’s hand. “If you feel anything getting close, shake these bells as hard as you can.”

“If I don’t come to get you tomorrow, wait until noon, when the sun is at its brightest, then run out. Run as far as you can, understand?”

“Sister Xiao Feng, Sister Xiao Feng, don’t go-” Lili’s face was streaked with tears and snot, but she couldn’t hold on to the other girl.

Soon, shouts came from outside. “Found her! Grab her!”

Lili held the bells in both hands and clamped her mouth shut, her entire body trembling.