Forbidden Land – CH 106

None of his previous experiences had felt as real or as terrifying as this one, a terror that pierced his very bones.

After Zhang Chao left the outhouse, Chen Rong helped him back into the house. His heart had been pounding wildly, and it took more than half an hour for it to gradually calm down.

Chen Rong was very worried. She gave him water to drink and gently patted his back.

Finally managing to regain his senses, Zhang Chao stammered, “Was that…was that the old ghost from your mountain?”

Chen Rong shook her head. “No, she’s a madwoman.”

Zhang Chao said, “Then…then why was she wearing funeral clothes, had a broken leg, and…and carrying a white lantern?”

Chen Rong said, “Don’t be afraid; don’t be nervous. She’s really a person, a madwoman, not a ghost. If she were a ghost, she’d be afraid of fire; how could she dare light a candle?”

Zhang Chao nodded, thinking her words made sense. He patted his chest, and after a long while, he smiled bitterly, “How could there be such a madwoman on your mountain! You didn’t tell me at all; I wasn’t prepared at all.”

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Chen Rong sighed and said, “I thought she was long dead; I didn’t expect her to still be alive. She was at my uncle’s house just now, and he told me about it, which is why I said I’d stay here. I didn’t think it was such a coincidence; the mountain is so big, and only a few families live there. People on the mountain don’t usually go out much; how could I possibly run into her at night? I was afraid of scaring you if I told you, so I didn’t tell you right away, planning to tell you about what happened on the mountain after we got back to school. Alas, I didn’t expect her to actually pass by and even shine a lantern on you! Looking at her, I think she’s getting more and more insane.”

Zhang Chao, who had basically recovered by now, couldn’t help but ask, “Doesn’t anyone care about this kind of crazy woman?”

Chen Rong said, “In the countryside, only family members care about crazy people, unlike in the city, where the ‘government’ deals with these frighteningly crazy people. This crazy woman’s family all left long ago, leaving her alone on the mountain. Nobody cares about her. When people see her, they just curse and chase her away.”

Zhang Chao asked, “Where…where does she live?”

Chen Rong said, “Just follow that little path outside; it goes up for about half an hour, and you’ll reach her house. We can see her house from outside during the day, but she lives there alone. I remember seeing half of the house had collapsed; it’s been years now, and I doubt anyone’ll repair it, so it’s probably even worse.”

Zhang Chao thought for a moment and said, “Then, how did she end up like this? What about her family?”

Chen Rong’s expression changed, and after a while, she sighed before saying, “This happened more than ten years ago. She used to have a son, about my age. There were many villagers on the mountain when we were little, and we kids often played together. One time, we were playing hide-and-seek on the mountain, and her son slipped and tumbled down. Unfortunately, there was a bamboo root sticking out after it was cut down at the bottom of the slope, and he was instantly killed.

“Later, several of our families compensated her family with some money. Her family thought it was just bad luck, so they let it go. But because her son died, she was overwhelmed with grief and began to go insane. Eventually, her madness became uncontrollable. She somehow obtained clothes worn by the dead, wore them, and carried a lantern every day, saying she was going to find her son. One night, while walking on the mountain, she fell and broke her leg. Later, her leg rotted, and her family took her to the hospital for amputation.

“But her illness worsened. Even with her broken leg, she still wore the clothes worn by the dead every day, carrying a lantern and searching for her son all over the mountain. The village children were terrified of her, and the adults would beat or scold her whenever they saw her, but she remained unaffected. Her family couldn’t bear to see her like this anymore and secretly moved out of the village, disappearing without a trace, leaving her alone on the mountain.”

After listening, Zhang Chao pondered for a moment and said, “In that sense, she’s quite pitiful.”

Chen Rong nodded and said, “Usually, villagers curse and chase her away whenever they see her, so she’s generally afraid of them. She probably came to check on you because you’re a stranger and scared you.”

The two chatted about things on the mountain for a while longer. It was getting late, so they prepared to sleep.

Chen Rong said, “The upstairs room is empty; it’s like a guest room. Why don’t I tidy it up, and you can stay upstairs tonight?”

Zhang Chao asked, “What about you?”

Chen Rong said, “I’ll sleep in Grandpa’s room.”

Zhang Chao, still shaken by the experience, was afraid to sleep alone. After thinking for a moment, he said shyly, “How about we sleep in the same room?… I mean, you sleep on the bed, and I’ll sleep on the floor.”

Chen Rong immediately understood. She looked down for a moment, then smiled and said, “Alright, seeing how timid you are, I’ll take care of you. I’ll go upstairs to tidy up. There’s hot water on the stove, and I have some towels and a spare toothbrush in my bag. Help yourself.”

Zhang Chao said, “Is there a chamber pot or anything like that at home? I don’t want to have to go to that dark outhouse later when I need to pee.”

Chen Rong laughed. “I’ll take the chamber pot upstairs later. Once you’re done, lock the door, turn off the light, and then come up.”

Then, Chen Rong went upstairs to make the bed, and Zhang Chao also washed up, turned off the light, and went upstairs. However, he seemed to have forgotten to lock the door.