"Grandpa Zhang, my hands are dirty, can I wash them here?" I asked suddenly while we were chatting.
"Wash your hands! It's easy. There is a ladle in the bucket. Just get some water and wash it yourself!" Old Man Zhang pointed to the bucket next to me and said to me.
I nodded to Old Man Zhang, then went to use a ladle to get some water and wash my hands.
In fact, I don't really want to wash my hands, but I saw a grimace in the bucket not long ago. Now I want to see if the grimace is still there?
I took the ladle and stirred it in the bucket a few times, stirring up layers of water ripples, but I didn't see any faces.
Then, in order not to arouse Old Man Zhang's suspicion, I quickly washed my hands and then returned to my seat, sitting with Meng Shiyu and Old Man Zhang.
Old man Zhang is very talkative and humorous. He can often make Meng Shiyu laugh with just a few words.
Moreover, he is knowledgeable and can chat with you no matter what topic you talk about.
But this is strange. What I saw was completely different from what Meng Xiuxiu and I said!
"You two sit here now, and I'll make some tea with you." As he said this, Old Man Zhang stood up and walked to the kitchen.
As soon as Old Man Zhang left, I quietly asked Meng Shiyu, "Meng Shiyu, you have yin and yang eyes. Can you look carefully at whether there is anything dirty in this room?"
"No!" Meng Shiyu said directly without thinking too much, "I looked over it very carefully when I just came in, but there was nothing."
Then Meng Shiyu patted her hand gently, "I think what Grandpa Zhang said is completely different from what Auntie said. Grandpa Zhang is talkative and humorous. I don't understand why he has no friends and doesn't interact with other people?"
This is also what I find strange.
Meng Xiuxiu said that Old Man Zhang rarely went out except to pick up two loads of stones during the day or occasionally buy some daily necessities. This was too abnormal. Old Man Zhang lived alone, but guarded this brother's house alone. He was the only reliable person.
The explanation is that there is something in this house that prevents Old Man Zhang from leaving!
In addition to the outhouse, Old Man Zhang's house also has two inner rooms, but the door to the inner room is closed, so it's hard for me to go in and take a look.
"Haha...I asked you to wait and come and drink the chrysanthemum tea I brewed." Old man Zhang walked towards us holding a tray. "I planted these chrysanthemums myself in the autumn, and they are perfect for making tea now." Old man Zhang laughed.
Said hehe.
Then he made Meng Shiyu and I each a cup of tea. The chrysanthemum tea made by Old Man Zhang was indeed good, with a pleasant fragrance.
"Wow! Grandpa Zhang, the chrysanthemum tea you made is so fragrant!" Meng Shiyu said excitedly, holding the tea cup.
"Haha... drink it quickly!" Old Man Zhang urged me
I gently blew on the tea, and the hot air rushed to me immediately. I closed my eyes comfortably, and then I picked up the tea cup and took a sip.
"Grandpa Zhang, your tea..." What I originally wanted to say was, Grandpa Zhang, your tea is so fragrant, but before I could finish my sentence in the middle of the sentence, I was stunned.
Because I lowered my head and accidentally saw a ghost face reflected in the water with a few petals floating on it. The ghost face was mostly covered by hair, with blood-red pupils, looking at me indifferently.
"Ah..." I was jumped deeply, and the tea cup in my hand fell to the ground without holding it.
"Zhao Dongfang, what's wrong with you?" Meng Shiyu looked at me in surprise.
"What's wrong with you? Does my chrysanthemum tea not taste good?" Old man Zhang also looked at me doubtfully.
After a few more seconds, I finally came to my senses and looked at the chrysanthemum tea spilled on the ground in shock.
"It's okay! There was a small bug in the chrysanthemum tea. I didn't pay attention for a moment and was scared!" I took a few deep breaths and tried to regain my composure.
"Then let me make you a cup of chrysanthemum tea!" Old man Zhang stood up and was about to make me tea.
"No, I've already finished my drink. Grandpa Zhang, we have caused you a lot of trouble! We have something else to do, so we'll leave first!"
With that said, I picked up Meng Shiyu and quickly walked outside.
When I was far away from Old Man Zhang's house, I let out a breath and gradually slowed down.
"Zhao Dongfang, what's wrong with you?" Meng Shiyu pulled her hand away and asked me puzzledly.
"It's nothing. There was a big dead fly in the cup of chrysanthemum tea that Old Man Zhang made for me. It's so disgusting!"
Meng Shiyu Nunu mouthed, "Just make it up as hard as you can! I don't believe it! Your expression just now was not the expression of seeing a dead fly at all, but the expression of bumping into a ghost!"
Then Meng Shiyu asked me, "What on earth did you see?"
I sighed helplessly, and then told Meng Shiyu about the several times I saw ghost faces. After hearing this, Meng Shiyu covered her mouth in surprise, "You said you saw ghost faces twice!"
I nodded, "Do you think I would lie to you about this kind of thing?"
"But I have yin and yang eyes, why didn't I see it?" Meng Shiyu was extremely puzzled.
This actually means that what I don’t understand is that only I seem to be able to see it from beginning to end. Is that ghost only interested in me? So no one else can see it?
Thinking about this possibility, I couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Then I waved my hand to Meng Shiyu, "Forget it, I can't figure these things out, let's go back first!"
Meng Shiyu nodded slightly and followed behind me.
Meng Shiyu and I returned to her aunt's house.
When we got home, it happened to be dark, and then Meng Xiuxiu and Meng Shiyu had dinner together.
The dinner was still very sumptuous, but when I thought about the ghost faces I saw twice during the day, I lost much appetite. After just two bites, I returned to the room that Meng Xiuxiu had arranged for me to rest.
After lying on the bed, I was thinking about old man Zhang, and I fell asleep despite tossing and turning.
Finally, I took out the "Encyclopedia of Yin and Yang Magic", and at the same time I made up my mind that I would not sleep tonight, and take advantage of the middle of the night to visit Old Man Zhang and try to understand the origin of that ghost face.
After making this decision, I felt like a big stone had been lifted from my heart.
I set the alarm clock, lay down on the bed again and fell asleep quickly.
In the middle of the night, when I was drifting off to sleep, I was suddenly woken up by the noisy alarm on my cell phone.
I quickly got up from the bed, put on my clothes, and quickly jumped out of bed. My movements were very gentle, for fear of waking up Meng Xiuxiu and Meng Shiyu.
I tiptoed to the living room, opened the doors and went out.
When I went out, I looked up at the sky. The sky was clear tonight, but there was no moon.
I took out a few breaths, adjusted my breathing, and then walked towards Old Man Zhang's house.
I walked quickly and arrived at Old Man Zhang's house in much shorter time than during the day.
Old Man Zhang's house stood there quietly late at night, and the big locust tree in front of the door looked even more weird and eerie.
I hid behind the big locust tree and secretly stared at Old Man Zhang's house.
Suddenly, someone tapped me on the shoulder. The tap on my shoulder was very light, but such a light action was like a heavy hammer that made my heart sink.
I walked all the way, and my movements were very gentle. I was sure that I didn't alert anyone, and no one followed me all the way. So who slapped me from behind?