Chapter Two: Waves in the Water

After Wang Hou returned to the car, I immediately asked him what he had actually seen.

He let out a long sigh and told me that what he ran over was a brazier, apparently burning spirit money. He wasn’t sure about the specifics; after all, the highway was dangerous, so he only glanced at it.

“Oh!” I nodded. “I guess it’s a ritual for the dead. We often see this on anniversaries, but burning it on a highway… that’s truly reckless.”

Wang Hou nodded. He understood what I meant.

The so-called “burning for the dead” refers to burning paper money by the roadside to honor the deceased.

It’s something we all encounter from time to time, nothing particularly strange. Occasionally, vehicles or pedestrians accidentally step on the flames of these offerings. Those who believe will apologize, those who don’t just feel unlucky, but it rarely matters.

At least it wasn’t a person he ran over—nothing to be afraid of.

After I finished speaking, little A Si climbed onto my shoulder and, gesturing “comfort,” said to Wang Hou, “Don’t worry, Brother Wang! The child you saw might have just been a wisp of smoke from the brazier. Or maybe you were tired from driving and hallucinated? If you’re exhausted, I can take over for you…”

A Si’s words left me stunned.

Wasn’t he being a bit too enthusiastic? And did he have no limits to showing off his intelligence? He wasn’t even as tall as the steering wheel—how could he drive? Trying to cozy up should at least have some restraint!

Annoyed, I brushed the rambling A Si off my shoulder and instructed Wang Hou very seriously:

“Old Wang! Listen to me—first check the condition of the car, find the nearest service station or exit and get it inspected. When we get out, I need to talk to you about this wreck, and most importantly…”

As I was about to continue, Hongye suddenly interrupted me in a hurry.

Unexpectedly, Xian Hongye spoke up, “But…”

She only managed two words before falling silent.

In the awkward pause, we all watched her uncomfortable expression.

Seeing her hesitate, I couldn’t help but ask, “What is it?”

Hongye looked at me, then at Wang Hou seated at the front, her expression unsettled, but ultimately she said nothing more.

A bit embarrassed, I focused on the practical matters and didn’t press her further. I continued, “When you drive, concentrate—safety first!”

Wang Hou probably didn’t realize I was actually worried about his battered car, but he nodded, agreeing with my suggestion. After a brief division of tasks, the four of us began a thorough inspection inside and outside the car, preparing to leave.

But just as we finished checking and were about to start the car, Hongye suddenly tugged at my sleeve and pointed outside the window.

Her expression was extremely serious, her brows knitted with tension—she clearly seemed to have seen something extraordinary.

Following her gesture, I suddenly noticed a small, dark, slender woman furtively watching us from a pile of construction debris on the lower right side of the highway.

There was some distance between us, so I couldn’t see her features clearly, but the midday sun was bright enough for me to make out a haggard face, probably from poor rest or malnutrition.

Perhaps due to my own nervousness, I also felt there was a faint shadow of dark aura around her face. In any case, she looked listless, like a mouse hiding in the shadows.

As I looked at her, she seemed to notice me through the window.

Suddenly, the woman shuddered as if struck by electricity, and hurriedly ran away, quickly vanishing from sight.

“Do you think there’s something wrong with her?” I asked.

Hongye quietly told Wang Hou and me, “I feel that the brazier was placed by that woman. Otherwise, why was she watching us, and then why did she run? Unless…”

Her words left both Wang Hou and me wide-eyed.

Just as Hongye wanted to continue, I hastily interrupted, “Hongye! Let’s talk after we’re off the highway. Besides, a brazier burning spirit money isn’t dangerous, unless what’s inside isn’t spirit money, but something…”

Halfway through, I suddenly stopped speaking.

Because…I too sensed something was odd, and I realized the reason why.

But I felt I shouldn’t say it.

I knew this topic shouldn’t be discussed any further, because we were on the highway—the longer we stayed, the more dangerous it became. If an inattentive driver came barreling down, all four of us would be done for.

For everyone’s safety, getting Wang Hou to drive away immediately was the best option.

Seeing my attitude, Hongye understood and fell silent. Wang Hou didn’t understand but turned around and started the engine, getting the car moving again.

Yet, as the car restarted, the atmosphere inside the van changed abruptly.

For some reason, after the engine turned over, an unprecedented silence descended on everyone. Despite the car swaying along the highway, drafty from every corner, no one complained, and the lighthearted mood that once filled the van was gone.

Whether it was me, A Si, or Xian Hongye, we all gripped our seats and seat belts tightly, holding our breath, staring only at the straight road ahead and the white lines in the rearview mirror, nothing more.

The air was nearly suffocating, like the calm before a storm.

In the midst of this sudden, heavy silence, I quickly realized things couldn’t go on like this, or I’d suffocate. The tense atmosphere was making me increasingly nervous, and if anything unusual happened, I’d probably overreact.

In short, I couldn’t stand this oppressive feeling.

Uneasy, I moved my lips, trying to break the discordant silence.

So I tentatively called out Wang Hou’s name.

He didn’t respond. I called him a second time. Still no response.

How could this be? Surprised, I jabbed Wang Hou’s shoulder and called him a third time!

I shouted urgently, “Wang Hou! Are you falling asleep at the wheel? Don’t scare me…”

My tone was so urgent that my volume rose more than half an octave, startling everyone.

Not only did Wang Hou roar back at me, even the long-silent A Si started complaining.

“Bu Er! Quiet down!” Wang Hou shouted at me without turning, “It was bad enough that I drove over a ‘shit brazier’! Now you’re freaking me out—are you trying to kill me?”

“What? Why so angry!” I said, taken aback. “Still, you ought to answer me! I thought you’d been possessed!”

Wang Hou retorted, “Wasn’t it you who said ‘stay focused, safety first’? If I’m focused, how am I supposed to answer you?”

His words left me speechless.

Even little A Si joined in, “Exactly! Brother Wang is right! You should study the traffic laws—drivers shouldn’t talk while driving…”

I was thoroughly defeated. Since when did Wang Hou get a sidekick?

So, under the combined legal education of Wang Hou and A Si, I had to shut up and sulkily gaze out the window and at the rearview mirror.

Actually, after Wang Hou responded, my mood improved a bit. At least it meant he was fine and I’d vented a bit of my pent-up anxiety.

But to my surprise, despite my little interruption, we quickly slipped back into that eerie silence.

The stone I threw into the pond didn’t even make a decent splash.

At that moment, I suddenly felt trapped in a dilemma.

I wanted to speak, to shatter this uncanny silence.

But I didn’t dare.

I feared saying something inappropriate and causing unforeseen consequences—most of all, I worried Wang Hou, the driver, might be distracted by my words, leading to disaster.

The feeling was like something stuck in my throat.

Helpless, I could only endure the bizarre atmosphere, praying inwardly—praying to ancestors, sages, the Jade Emperor, and even Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, all the revolutionary forebears—hoping they’d all bless us, and that the car would make it to the next service station.

But as I prayed, Hongye, who hadn’t spoken in ages, suddenly hooked my pinky with her finger.

The unique smoothness of her skin sent a shiver through me. The gods and revolutionary mentors in my mind couldn’t even finish their names.

Obeying the silent command, I turned and looked at Xian Hongye, her brows furrowed and breath held, face full of worry.

She seemed to have something on her mind.

Seeing her uneasy expression, I naturally whispered, “What is it?”

Hongye didn’t answer immediately. She stared ahead for a moment, then leaned close to my ear and said, “Brother Tian… I feel Wang Hou isn’t acting normal.”

Her words were light and elusive, sending chills down my spine…

Maybe the atmosphere was just too oppressive—I actually felt none of us were acting normal.

So, I sensitively asked, “Why do you say that?”

Hongye didn’t elaborate; instead, she quietly pointed to the rearview mirror in the middle of the car. “Look!”

Following her direction, I gazed at the image reflected in the front mirror.

In the rearview mirror, I could only see Wang Hou’s eyes.

But his eyes made me uneasy, even perplexed.

At that moment, Wang Hou’s gaze shimmered with inexplicable excitement and exhaustion. These two contradictory emotions blended together, and there was a hint of savage gleam I couldn’t comprehend.

Those eyes suddenly felt extremely unfamiliar to me, as if… they weren’t Wang Hou’s at all.

“Something’s wrong…” I whispered.

Seeing my realization, Hongye seized the moment to “remind” me:

“Brother Tian… I suspect Wang Hou might have… encountered a ‘ghost banquet’. And that brazier he saw on the highway, though he said it was burning spirit money, I suspect… it was actually burning ‘beef-fat red pine nuts’.”

Her words made me shiver!

I couldn’t help but open my eyes wide, re-examining this woman whom I thought I knew so well. I wondered about her identity, her family, her background, everything.

I knew that anyone who could say “ghost banquet” and “burning red pine nuts” wasn’t just any affluent child or official’s descendant—most likely, Xian Hongye was also a descendant of the “Five-Organs Temple”…