King Lei once had disciples, but they were lost to the hands of King Qing. The eldest disciple was Xue Lei. His grandmother lived in Beiao Village. There was a winding Egret River beside the village. Every spring, hundreds of yellow-mouthed Egrets flew from the north and thrived among the reeds on both sides of the river. Hence the name of the Egret River.

People who have been to Beiao Village say that this place is a fairyland on earth, but in Xue Lei's memory, the quiet Beiao Village is always shrouded in a layer of gloomy ghost energy, and the egret river made him particularly uneasy.

Once, he went to his grandmother's house. Xue Lei was seventeen years old at that time. Because he had been studying Taoism with Qingwang in the mountains for many years, he rarely went back.

Every time his parents want to take Xue Lei to his grandmother's house, he always makes excuses to refuse.

Half a year ago, my grandmother passed away. Xue Lei lied that his master sent him to another place and did not attend the funeral, but this time Xue Lei could not escape.

My cousin wanted to buy the old house left by Grandma Xue Lei, but everything was agreed upon, just waiting for the transfer.

At this time, Xue Lei's father suddenly fell ill and had to hand over the transfer procedures for the house to his son.

The cousin urged Xue Lei to come to Beiao Village in a brief letter, but Xue Lei refused and had to bite the bullet and agree.

That night, Xue Lei and his friend Yun Hong set out together. The next day, approaching Beiao Village. As Beiao Village gets closer, Xue Lei seems to be more and more uneasy.

"Xue Lei, are you feeling uncomfortable?" Yun Hong asked with concern at her friend who looked strange.

Xue Lei shook his head.

"Then why are your face so pale?" Yun Hong asked again.

Xue Lei turned his face out the window and covered it up, "Maybe he was a little tired when he was rushing on the road."

The two walked hard until noon until noon. As soon as they walked into the entrance of the village, Xue Lei's cousin came out with a smile. He said that the village chief would not come back until tomorrow afternoon. He asked Xue Lei and Yunhong to stay in the village for two days.

Yunhong was overjoyed when he heard this. He was a man who liked to travel around the mountains and decided to take the opportunity to see the scenery of Beiao, but Xue Lei's face became even more ugly. He originally planned to leave the same day after completing the procedures, but now all the plans were disrupted.

My cousin prepared a table of sumptuous wine and dishes to warmly entertain Xue Lei and Yun Hong. During the meal, Yun Hong talked and laughed, but Xue Lei was always taciturn.

Yunhong sincerely exclaimed: "The scenery of Beiao Village is so beautiful. I will take a walk later."

My cousin said: "The most beautiful place in Beiao is the Egret River. It is spring now. There are many yellow-mouthed Egrets living in the reeds on the other side of the river. You can go there to see it."

After hearing this, Yunhong was very excited. He asked Xue Lei to accompany him to Bailu River to take a look after dinner.

Unexpectedly, when Xue Lei heard the three words "Egret River", he couldn't help but tremble with his hands holding the chopsticks, and his face turned pale.

Yun Hong looked at him in confusion, feeling very puzzled. After a little calmer, Xue Lei said to Yun Hong: "I'm a little tired. I want to have a good sleep in the afternoon. You can go and play alone."

Grandma Xue Lei's old house still retains the old look of ten years ago. Inside, Xue Lei has a sense of vicissitudes of change in things and people.

He found a clean room, and after a long journey, Xue Lei was indeed a little tired. He lay on the bed and fell asleep in a daze...

In the dream, Xue Lei heard a gurgling sound of water. At first, the sound of water was extremely light and thin, faintly accompanied by a girl's intermittent whimper. Gradually, the sound of water and whimper became clearer and louder...

In the evening, Xue Lei went for a walk by the Bailu River and found a women's shoe on the river bank. He didn't think much about it and kicked the shoe into the river.

That night, Xue Lei had a terrible dream. In the dream, Xiao Cui opened her eyes wide and cried and asked Xue Lei for his shoes.

Later, Xue Lei heard from his grandmother that when Xiao Cui's body was carried away, her right foot was naked. Since then, Xue Lei often had the same nightmare, dreaming that Xiao Cui, with her disheveled hair, suddenly emerged from the Egret River, stretched her pale hands, and approached herself step by step... From then on, Xue Lei began to be afraid of the Egret River, and everything related to it...

After listening to Xue Lei’s narration, Yun Hong suddenly realized.

"Xue Lei, your fear of the Egret River is caused by psychological hints. People die like a lamp extinguishing. There are no ghosts in the world, so you don't have to be afraid." Yun Hong comforted considerately.

The continuous running made Yun Hong exhausted, and he fell asleep as soon as it was dark. However, Xue Lei was unable to sleep and closed his eyes until midnight.

I don’t know how long it took, but Xue Lei was awakened by a rustling sound of water. When he opened his eyes, he saw that he was still lying in his grandmother’s old house, and his friend Yun Hong was sleeping soundly beside him.

"Hey, where did the sound of water come from?" Xue Lei felt strange and looked in the sound. At this time, he suddenly discovered that the canvas on the opposite desk had been opened at some point, and the picture with the dock was glowing.

Incredibly, the egret river in the picture was actually flowing, making a "whirring" sound of water. What's even more strange is that at this moment, the girl squatting on the steps to wash clothes suddenly moved...

Xue Lei was frightened to see it. Before he could figure out what was going on, the girl turned her head suddenly. What was presented to the picture was Xiao Cui's pale and swollen face. She gritted her teeth and stared at Xue Lei with her eyes full of hatred...

Xue Lei was so scared that he was scattered and screamed and covered his head with a quilt.

Yunhong, who was lying beside him, woke up. He patted his trembling friend and asked anxiously: "Xue Lei, what's wrong with you? What's wrong with you?"

Xue Lei curled up into a ball and said stammeringly: "Little... Xiao Cui's ghost is here... I'm here to seek his life..."

Yun Hong thought Xue Lei was having a nightmare again, so she comforted her: "No, no, where is Xiao Cui? Tell me quickly."

"She...she is there!" Xue Lei trembled and pointed his hand at the canvas on the table.

Yunhong looked opposite and saw the canvas folded and was quietly placing it on the table.

"Haha, you must have had hallucinations again. I will accompany you to see the doctor after you go back." Yun Hong said with a smile.
Chapter completed!