The Wailing Bride

When I was young, a girl in our village died. She was seven months pregnant, unmarried, and had hanged herself.

Her parents were so ashamed they wrapped her body in a straw mat and dumped it in the wild graves—a place meant only for pigs dead of disease or chickens lost to plague, not fit for human burial.

After that, every night a woman's weeping echoed through the village: "Mom, Dad, it's me, Yun. Please open the door!"

1

The villagers were terrified. No one dared step outside after dark.

The village chief summoned a Taoist priest to perform rites. Before leaving, the priest warned repeatedly: "The wild graves on the mountain are a place of extreme yin. Do not set foot there for five years."

After the priest left, the village finally found peace. The woman's cries stopped at night.

Three years passed in the blink of an eye.

My uncle returned from the city with a pretty young woman. "Mom, Dad, this is my girlfriend, Diane."

Diane smiled. "Hello, Uncle and Auntie. Just call me Diane."

My grandparents beamed with joy. "Diane, come inside quickly," Grandma said.

But Diane was holding a camera. "Not yet," she said. "I want to take some photos first."

She raised her camera and started shooting—every corner of our yard, even the outhouse.

Grandpa shot a look at my uncle. "She loves photography," he explained. "She's never seen a village house before."

Grandpa said nothing and went inside.

Grandma stood at the door. "Diane, it's cold out. Come in when you're done."

She gave my uncle a meaningful glance, signaling him to go keep Diane company.

My uncle went over to her while Grandma and I went inside. Grandpa was sitting on the heated brick bed, smoking his pipe.

"Put that out," Grandma said. "The whole place reeks. You think a city girl can stand that smell?"

"Since when do people photograph outhouses?" Grandpa grumbled. "That girl has no manners."

Grandma snatched the pipe from his hand. "Stop smoking. Why do you care so much? I think she's lovely—pretty, educated, and she doesn't look down on our boy."

Grandpa was silent for a moment. "Old Zhang slaughtered a sheep yesterday. I'll go buy some mutton. You kill a chicken, and send Ying to buy a live fish. Let's make a proper meal."

I took the money and went out for fish. Grandpa went for mutton. Grandma stayed home to kill the chicken.

By evening, we had six dishes prepared.

"Ying," Grandma said, "go call your uncle and Diane for dinner."

I ran to the east room. "Uncle! Sister Diane! Dinner's ready!"

But the room was empty.

Where had they gone?

I ran back to the west room. "Grandpa, Grandma, they're not home."

"Not home?" Grandpa frowned.

I nodded.

"Maybe the boy took her for a walk," Grandma said. "Let's wait."

Just as she finished speaking, I heard the door open. My uncle and Diane returned, laughing and chatting.

"Wash up and eat," Grandma said. "Where did you go?"

"To watch the sunset," Diane said brightly. "It was beautiful."

She opened her camera. "Look."

We gathered around.

The moment my grandparents saw the photos, their faces went pale. Diane had been photographing the wild graves.

2

"What's wrong?" Diane asked.

Grandma collected herself. "Nothing. Come eat."

As Grandma led Diane inside, Grandpa signaled to my uncle. "Kevin, come help me move some wood to the shed."

My uncle followed Grandpa to the yard. I followed too.

Once inside the shed, Grandpa slapped my uncle across the face.

My uncle was stunned. "Dad, why did you hit me?"

Grandpa kicked him several times. "You worthless fool! Who told you to go to the wild graves? Don't you know Lin Yun is buried there?"

My uncle snorted. "You're hitting me for that? Lin Yun's been dead three years. What's there to fear? Dead is dead. There are no ghosts. That priest was lying, preying on uneducated people like you."

"Shut your mouth!" Grandpa's eyes blazed. "A few years in the city and you've forgotten your roots. Now you look down on your own father?"

My uncle sighed and crouched on the ground, silent.

Grandpa shook his head. "You're nothing but worry. If something happens to that girl Diane, you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

"What could happen? People die everywhere."

My uncle stood up. "I'll take Diane away tomorrow."

As he tried to leave, Grandpa blocked him. "No."

"Why not?"

"That priest said no one should step foot there for five years. If you do, evil spirits will cling to you. I have to find that priest and beg him to save you both."

My uncle stared for a moment, then laughed. "Dad, is this really necessary? Diane and I are alive and well. What could possibly happen?"

Just then, I saw Grandma creeping out of the house. She motioned for me to be quiet.

She took my hand and led me into the shed. Her hand was ice-cold, her face panicked.

"Old man, something terrible has happened!"

"What?"

"At dinner, I saw corpse spots on Diane's neck. Her eyes were bloodshot. She looked like... a living corpse." Grandma's voice was barely a whisper. She turned to glare at my uncle. "You little beast! This is all your fault!"

My uncle frowned. "Mom, you must have seen wrong. That's impossible."

Grandma sighed. "Old man, what do we do?"

Grandpa puffed his pipe in silence.

"I went to the wild graves too," my uncle said. "Nothing happened to me."

Grandma slapped his shoulder. "Diane is a woman. Her body is weaker than yours. Easier for dark things to latch onto."

"I still don't believe it," my uncle said stubbornly. "I'm going inside to see."

Grandma blocked him. "See what? You never listen! Stay put."

Grandpa tapped out his pipe. "I'll go find the village chief. He can help summon the priest."

"You and Kevin go together," Grandma said. "And take Ying. I'll stay here and watch Diane."

"No." My uncle was panicking now. "Mom, Dad, if I really caused trouble, we should all go together. We'll all go find the priest."

Just then, a shadow appeared at the shed entrance. Diane walked in, smiling. "Why is everyone in here? Why aren't you coming inside?"

3

Grandma forced a laugh. "Coming, coming."

She took Diane's arm and led her toward the house, throwing a meaningful look at Grandpa over her shoulder.

At the doorstep, Diane stopped suddenly. She pointed at us. "Why aren't they coming?"

Grandma's smile was strained. "They have to chop firewood. We're out of dry wood for the stove."

Diane pointed at me. "Is he chopping wood too?"

I instinctively stepped back, hiding behind Grandpa. There was something wrong with the way Diane looked at me.

"Kevin," Grandpa said, "take Ying and chop the wood. Your mother and I will eat first."

He patted my uncle's shoulder firmly.

Grandma looked helpless. She opened the door and went inside. Grandpa followed.

But Diane still didn't move. She pointed at my uncle. "Come inside and eat."

My uncle's legs were trembling. His voice shook. "Alright. Let's eat."

He went inside. Diane followed.

I was alone in the yard. I ran toward the village chief's house.

Chief Lee Fu lived at the west end of the village. We lived at the east end. It took me nearly fifteen minutes to get there.

His big black dog barked at me as Chief Lee came out, frowning. "Ying, what are you doing here so late?"

"Chief, please come to my house! My uncle brought his girlfriend from the city. They went to the wild graves today. My grandpa sent me to get you."

The chief's face changed instantly. "I'll go fetch Master Chen."

He paused. "Ying, stay here tonight. Don't go back."

"What about my grandparents? My uncle?"

The chief's brow was deeply furrowed. He didn't answer for a long time.

I was terrified for my family.

He patted my head. "Be good, Ying. Wait for me."

He got on his motorcycle and drove off, leaving me alone in the empty yard.

I didn't listen. I ran back home.

When Grandma saw me come in, her hand tightened around her chopsticks. "Why did it take you so long to eat? The food is cold. Let me heat it up."

She picked up a plate of chicken, but Diane stopped her. "Don't bother. There's other food, isn't there?"

Diane's face was deathly pale. Her eyes were bloodshot. Her hair hung loose and wild. She looked like a vengeful ghost.

Grandpa gave Grandma a look. She put the plate down.

Diane looked at me. "Come eat."

I forced myself to stay calm. I walked to the table and sat next to my uncle.

I saw sweat beading on his forehead. His hand, holding the chopsticks, was trembling.

Diane smiled. "Kevin, how many girlfriends have you had?"

"Two. Both college classmates. I told you this."

He lowered his head, avoiding her gaze.

Diane's smile faded. She turned to Grandpa. "Uncle, is he telling the truth?"

Grandpa paused. "I don't know about his love life."

Diane's voice sharpened. "You don't know?"

She turned to Grandma. "Auntie, do you know?"

Grandma's smile was wooden. "Diane, what are you really asking? Has Kevin upset you?"

Diane laughed coldly. "Wasn't Lin Yun his girlfriend? Didn't you know?"

4

I froze. Lin Yun? My uncle's girlfriend?

Back then, when Lin Yun got pregnant, it was the same year my uncle got into university. It had taken him two tries.

They'd never seemed close. They couldn't have been a couple.

My uncle lowered his head, stammering. "That was the past. We were young and foolish. We never even held hands. She wasn't really my girlfriend."

Diane's face twisted. She stood abruptly and flipped the table. Dishes and chopsticks clattered to the floor. "Wasn't?"

"Diane, please calm down," Grandma pleaded.

Tears of blood streamed from Diane's eyes. Grandpa lunged at her, pinning her to the brick bed. "Run! All of you, run!"

Diane let out an unearthly shriek. Her face began to rot. Corpse spots spread across her skin.

My uncle stood frozen. Grandma grabbed his arm and dragged him out.

We ran to the yard.

"Grandma, what about Grandpa?"

"There's no time. Go to the Goddess Temple!"

Grandma pulled my uncle toward the small temple. We rushed inside and bolted the door.

My uncle huddled in a corner, shaking uncontrollably.

Grandma raised her hand and struck him hard. "What really happened, you little monster?"

Tears filled his eyes. "It was years ago. I didn't want Lin Yun to die. I never thought she'd take it so hard."

Grandma pointed a trembling finger at him. "You beast! You did this? And you hid it from your father and me?"

My uncle fell to his knees. "I was so scared! I never thought she'd get pregnant. I was afraid she'd trap me into marriage. I was a university student! She only had a middle school education. She wasn't good enough for me. She got pregnant on purpose to tie me down. I couldn't marry her!"

Grandma slapped him again. "Beast! How did I raise such an inhuman monster?"

She collapsed to the floor, sobbing. "I watched Lin Yun grow up. She was such a good girl. If you didn't love her, why did you ruin her? Now the karma has come. Who can save you?"

My uncle grabbed her arm desperately. "Mom, you have to save me. I don't want to die."

He went on, his voice cracking. "If I'd known she'd become a vengeful spirit, I never would have taken Diane up there. Diane's family has money. I wanted to marry her. Her father would have gotten me a good job. I had a bright future. I can't let Lin Yun destroy everything. Mom, please, find a way!"

He was like a madman, trembling uncontrollably.

Grandma shoved him away. "Get off me! How did I raise such a monster?"

My uncle stared at her, then laughed bitterly. "I'm a monster? You gave birth to me in this poverty-stricken village. I worked my way through university, and you couldn't help me at all. And you dare talk about raising me? I regret being born in this godforsaken place."

He stood abruptly and threw open the temple door. "Let Lin Yun kill me! I don't want to live anyway!"

Grandma yanked him back and slammed the door shut, tears streaming. "What are you doing? Your father risked his life for you, and you're still causing trouble!"

5

"Let her kill me!" my uncle screamed. "I don't want to live!"

Just then, Grandpa's voice came from outside. "Wife, open the door. I'm back."

It sounded like Grandpa, but the shadow at the door was clearly a woman with disheveled hair.

My uncle, who had been so brave a moment ago, cowered behind Grandma. "Mom, Lin Yun is here. What do we do?"

Grandma knelt and kowtowed three times to the goddess statue, muttering a prayer. Then she stood and opened a cabinet. "Quick. Both of you hide in here. No matter what you hear, don't open the door. Don't make a sound. Only come out when you hear the rooster crow at dawn."

She stuffed me into a small cabinet and my uncle into a larger one.

The cabinet door closed, plunging me into darkness. I heard knocking at the temple door. Thump, thump, thump.

And Grandpa's voice, angry now. "Open the door!"

Thump, thump, thump.

Thump, thump, thump.

Bang! The door burst open.

Lin Yun was inside.

It was so quiet I could hear my own breathing.

Grandpa's voice: "Wife, why did you take so long to open the door?"

Grandma's voice: "What happened with Lin Yun?"

"The chief and the priest went to our house. Lin Yun has been dealt with. Let's go home." Grandpa's voice. "Ying, Kevin, come out. It's safe now."

Was it really safe?

I almost opened the door. But I remembered Grandma's words: only come out when you hear the rooster.

When I was little, she told me never to trust a ghost's words.

I stayed put.

A few seconds later, I heard my uncle's voice. "Ying, come out. You're the only one left. Let's go home."

Had my uncle really gone out?

"Ying, if you don't come out, we're leaving without you!"

"We're going now."

I wanted so badly to open the door and see.

Grandma's voice: "Ying, come out now!"

I closed my eyes and covered my ears. I forced myself to sleep, to ignore the voices outside.

I just had to wait for the rooster.

I don't know how long passed before I heard it—a rooster's crow. I pushed the cabinet door open. Light streamed in.

Dawn was breaking.

I saw a pool of blood on the floor. The cabinet where my uncle had hidden was open. The blood was right at its entrance.

"Uncle! Grandma!" I screamed.

No answer.

I followed the trail of blood. It grew fainter and fainter, finally disappearing at our front gate.

I pushed open the yard gate and ran inside.

"Grandpa! Grandma! Uncle!"

The door to the house creaked open. A foul, rotting smell hit me.

Blood on the floor.

I went to the inner room. Grandpa sat on the brick bed, his eyes vacant, as if his soul had been stolen. Grandma sat beside him, a strange smile on her face.

My uncle sat on a chair, blood still dripping from his head, his expression dazed.

I ran to him and shook his arm. "Uncle, what's wrong?"

He suddenly dropped to his knees and began kowtowing toward the doorway. "Yun, I was wrong! Please don't kill me! I'm begging you!"

He kept hitting his head against the floor until blood streamed down his forehead.

I turned toward the doorway.

Diane stood there. Her body and face were covered in corpse spots. Her eyes were milky white. She touched her belly. "Baby," she said, "this is your father. On the bed are your grandparents."

6

My uncle was shaking violently. "I didn't kill you! You killed yourself! It has nothing to do with me!"

Diane roared. "I was carrying your child! You denied it! You forced me to get rid of it! You have no heart! You drove me to death! You drove me to death!"

Tears of blood streamed down her face. Her features twisted into something monstrous.

My uncle knelt on the floor, trembling, begging. "Don't kill me! Forgive me! Please, Yun!"

I scrambled onto the brick bed and shook my grandparents. "Grandpa! Grandma! What's wrong with you?"

They didn't move. It was as if their souls had left their bodies.

Diane suddenly grabbed my uncle by the throat and lifted him into the air. I heard bones crack. My uncle's face turned red, then purple. Black blood bubbled from his mouth. His eyes rolled back.

"Uncle!" I screamed.

The door burst open. Chief Lee rushed in with Master Chen.

Diane threw my uncle to the ground and lunged at the priest with a savage snarl.

I ran to my uncle's side. "Uncle!"

Black blood trickled from his mouth. He was barely breathing, on the verge of death.

"Quick!" Chief Lee shouted. "Wake your grandparents!"

I shook them desperately. "Grandpa! Grandma! Wake up!"

No response.

Chief Lee grabbed an iron basin and banged it next to their ears.

They jolted awake.

"Kevin!" Grandma's eyes were red, tears streaming. "What happened to him?"

Grandpa jumped off the bed, his eyes also red. "This is a curse!"

"Don't worry," Chief Lee said. "I've brought Master Chen."

We gathered around my uncle. His body was ice-cold. His breath was faint.

Master Chen didn't return until evening.

Grandma and Grandpa knelt before him, begging him to save my uncle.

Master Chen pulled several talismans from his sleeve, burned them to ash, and stirred the ash into a cup of water. "Make him drink this. Whether he lives or dies is up to fate."

Grandma forced the water down my uncle's throat. "What now?"

"Cause and effect," Master Chen said. "Go to the wild graves. Bring Lin Yun's body home. Bury her in your family cemetery."

"She did this to my son," Grandpa said bitterly, "and you want her buried in our ancestral plot?"

"Lin Yun's resentment runs deep," Master Chen said. "If you don't appease her, she will haunt your family forever. Besides, she was carrying your family's child. She belongs in your cemetery."

Grandpa was silent. He sighed and slapped himself twice.

"What about Diane?" Grandma asked. "Is she still alive?"

Master Chen shook his head. "Her body is outside."

Grandma's eyes reddened. She said nothing for a long time.

"I'll go get Lin Yun's body," Grandpa said.

Master Chen stopped him. "You must do it properly. With full wedding rites. Not a single step can be skipped."

"Lin Yun's parents are dead. What do we do?"

"Then find her elders."

Master Chen left. Grandpa had no choice but to arrange the wedding.

He draped my uncle in black and white funeral flowers. He hired mourners. Four men carried a coffin as the procession wailed and played music all the way to the wild graves.

My uncle didn't go. His neck was broken. He was completely paralyzed from the neck down, confined to the brick bed. Only his mind still worked.

7

At the wild graves, Lin Yun's body hadn't decayed. Aside from the corpse spots on her neck, she looked as if she'd died only days ago.

Lin San called out, "Yun, the sedan chair is here. The Wang family has come to take you to your wedding."

With each chant, black and white flowers were draped over Lin Yun's body. Several men lifted her into the coffin and sealed the lid. The procession wound down the mountain, playing and wailing.

The coffin was placed in our yard.

My uncle lay on a donkey cart, his eyes vacant, staring numbly at the scene.

Ten tables of banquet food were set up in our yard. The villagers thought it was bad luck and didn't want to come, but Grandpa went door to door, begging. They came, but their minds were elsewhere. They just wanted it to end so they could go home.

Grandpa drank too much at the banquet. He was thoroughly drunk.

By evening, all the guests had left. Only the four coffin bearers remained.

Grandpa led them to the back mountain, where our ancestors were buried. Lin Yun's coffin was lowered into the ground. A tombstone was erected.

Grandpa brought a small memorial tablet home and placed it on the altar.

He seemed to have aged ten years overnight. His salt-and-pepper hair had turned completely white.

Grandma sat on the brick bed, her eyes swollen from crying. After a long silence, she finally spoke. "Old man, what do we do with Diane's body? When her parents come looking, what do we tell them?"

Grandpa puffed his pipe, saying nothing.

Grandma sighed and lowered her head in defeat.

My uncle lay on the bed, wailing. "Kill me! I'm useless now!"

Grandma's eyes welled up. "Kevin, you have to live. You can't die!"

Grandpa kicked him. "Shut up! You've ruined this family. Say another word and I'll throw you out."

My uncle sobbed. "Go ahead! I'm a cripple. Living is worse than dying!"

Grandpa was furious. He threw on a coat and went outside.

My uncle wept. "I'm a cripple now. Are you happy, Lin Yun? I hate you!"

Grandma clamped her hand over his mouth and glanced at Lin Yun's tablet. "Don't say things like that."

I felt suffocated. I went outside too.

Grandpa was sitting there, smoking his pipe, wiping tears from his eyes. He was crying.

I didn't dare approach. I sat quietly beside him.

A few days later, strangers came to our house. They were well-dressed and drove a car.

It was Diane's parents, her cousin, and her younger sister.

When they saw Diane's body, they broke down. Her mother fainted, screaming that she would kill my uncle. Grandpa and Grandma barely held her back.

"How did my daughter die?" Diane's mother wailed. "Your son must have killed her!"

"She fell from the mountain," Grandpa said. "It was an accident."

"I don't believe you!"

"Call the police!"

They did. The police came and investigated.

After two weeks, the coroner confirmed that Diane's death had nothing to do with my uncle.

Her parents didn't believe it. They brought people and trashed our house.

Grandpa and Grandma let them.

But then Diane's father grabbed Lin Yun's memorial tablet and threw it to the ground. It broke in two.

Grandpa shoved him. "That's Lin Yun's tablet! How dare you smash it!"

Diane's father was wild-eyed. "Your son married a wife and still brought my daughter back to this godforsaken village! What was he thinking? He wanted to destroy her!"

8

Diane's mother sobbed. "This isn't over! My daughter is dead. You'll never have peace!"

They smashed everything inside, then moved to the yard.

Everything that could be broken was broken.

They left at nightfall.

Grandpa picked up the broken tablet and bound it together with cloth strips. He placed it back on the altar.

"Kill me," my uncle said. "Living is worse than dying."

Grandpa and Grandma said nothing. They silently cleaned up. I helped.

When the house was tidy, Grandpa went to clean the yard.

His back was hunched. His hair was white. He looked ancient. He sighed endlessly.

The next day, Diane's parents came again, with even more people. They smashed everything Grandpa and Grandma had just repaired.

Grandpa and Grandma stood in the yard, not stopping them, just watching.

Diane's parents weren't satisfied. They stormed inside, intending to attack my uncle.

Grandma shielded him with her body. "He's paralyzed! Please, leave him alone!"

Diane's father's eyes were bloodshot. "Leave him alone? Who left my daughter alone? She's dead!"

"Mom, let him," my uncle said. "I don't want to live anyway. Let him kill me."

My uncle was completely paralyzed. He couldn't move his lower body. He did everything on the bed. Grandma took care of him.

Grandma's voice trembled. "No, son. You have to live."

She dropped to her knees and kowtowed to Diane's parents. "I'm sorry. My son wronged your daughter. I'll kowtow to you."

She kept kowtowing. Grandpa struggled to pull her up.

He looked at Diane's parents. "He's still breathing. He's alive. If you kill him, it's murder. Go ahead. We won't stop you."

Grandma tried to intervene, but Grandpa held her tight.

Diane's father walked to my uncle's side. His fists were clenched. He raised one to strike.

Diane's mother grabbed his arm. "Don't. We still have Tong to raise. She's only sixteen."

Diane's father let out a roar of anguish and ran outside. His wife followed.

Grandpa and Grandma exhaled. They looked at each other.

Diane's parents took her body and left. Our house fell into a fragile silence.

Two years passed. My uncle's muscles atrophied severely. Bedsores covered his back. He was skin and bones, on medication every day. His body grew weaker and weaker.

Grandpa made him a wheelchair. When I was on break from school, I would push him out to the yard to soak up the sun.

"Ying," my uncle said, "bring out Lin Yun's tablet. Let her get some sun too."

I hesitated, then obeyed. My uncle's temper had grown strange over the years. He was quick to anger. Everyone indulged him.

I placed the tablet on the table. My uncle spoke to it. "Lin Yun, why didn't you kill me? You left me with just enough breath to suffer. You're cruel."

I sat silently nearby.

"Ying," he said, "get some spirit money. I'll burn it for Lin Yun."

I nodded. "Okay."

I brought the paper money and lit it.

"Ying," my uncle said, "I'm thirsty. Get me some water."

"Okay." I ran inside to get water.

When I came back out, my uncle was leaning his body against Lin Yun's tablet. It fell into the fire. It crackled and caught flame.

My uncle laughed like a madman. "Lin Yun, die! Die! I'm not afraid of you!"

I ran over and poured the water on the fire.

The flames died. But the tablet was charred, half burned away. Red liquid seeped from the remaining part. I touched it.

It was blood.

9

My uncle was hysterical. "I'm not afraid of you, Lin Yun! Die! I curse you! May you never be reborn!"

"Uncle, stop!"

"I won't stop! All my suffering is because of Lin Yun! She deserves to die!"

He went on, his voice rising. "For years, I've been lying here paralyzed. You all look down on me. You think I'm a burden. Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. You're all waiting for me to die!"

"Uncle, calm down. No one wants you to die."

I tried to soothe him, praying my grandparents would come home soon.

He laughed bitterly. "I'm a burden. I'm worthless. I don't want to live. Ying, kill me. Please, kill me!"

His eyes were red. Tears welled. I saw true despair in them. He genuinely wanted to die.

"I was a university student," he said. "The only one in this village. I should have had a bright future. I should have married Diane and gotten a city户口. I shouldn't be living like this. Kill me, Ying. Please! I can't even kill myself anymore. Kill me!"

My heart felt like it had been stabbed. Tears burned in my eyes.

I didn't know how to comfort him.

Thankfully, my grandparents came home.

I handed the charred tablet to Grandpa. He kicked me. "You can't even take care of your uncle? What good are you? This is Lin Yun's tablet!"

He raised his hand to hit me again, but Grandma stopped him. "Enough. Hitting him won't help. We need to fix this."

"I'll go find the village chief," Grandpa said.

"Be careful," Grandma said.

Grandpa left with the tablet.

The three of us were alone. "I'll make dinner," Grandma said. "Watch your uncle."

"Okay." I pushed my uncle's wheelchair under the eaves.

He laughed coldly. "Ying, do you feel wronged?"

I said nothing.

"Your grandpa hits you and yells at you without even letting you explain."

"Uncle, what are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying, kill me. We'll all be free."

10

"No," I said. "I won't kill you."

"Why?" he roared. "I'm in agony! Killing me would be a mercy! I'm begging you!"

I turned away, refusing to look at him.

He muttered to himself. "Lin Yun, come kill me. Come on."

That night, Grandpa came back, disheveled, clutching the charred tablet.

"Did you find Master Chen?" Grandma asked.

Grandpa shook his head. "He wasn't at the temple. No one knows where he went."

Grandma staggered back, her eyes instantly red. "What do we do now? Who can save Kevin?"

My uncle suddenly laughed. His face was so gaunt, just skin stretched over bone. The laugh was eerie. "I'm finally going to be free. Lin Yun, come kill me!"

Grandpa's brow furrowed. His hands clenched into fists. "How did I raise such a monster?"

Grandma patted his shoulder. "Old man, don't say that. What's meant to be will be. There's no escaping this."

She placed the charred tablet back on the altar and bowed to it.

"Ying," Grandpa said, "go stay at your Third Uncle's house."

"I don't want to. I want to stay."

Grandpa coughed violently. "Do as you're told. Don't make me repeat myself."

Before I could argue, Grandma took my arm. "Ying, this has nothing to do with you. Don't get involved. Our family owes that girl. She's come to collect her debt. It's only right."

She pushed me out the door. "Be good. Go."

I nodded. "Okay, Grandma."

I pretended to obey. But I didn't go to Third Uncle's house.

I took a side path back home and climbed onto the shed roof.

I heard my uncle's voice from inside. "Why isn't Lin Yun coming?"

"Mom, Dad, open the door. Let Lin Yun in."

"Why isn't she coming?"

Deep in the night, every house was dark. Only ours had lights on.

I saw a shadow with disheveled hair enter the yard. In the moonlight, I recognized her.

Lin Yun.

I covered my mouth to stifle my scream.

She stood at the door. My uncle's voice came from inside. "Kill me! Lin Yun, kill me!"

"Mom, Dad, open the door! Let her in!"

"Open the door!"

Lin Yun stood there. She didn't enter. On her twisted face, I saw a smile. The corners of her mouth curled up.

She seemed satisfied with my uncle's condition.

Like a walking corpse, she turned and disappeared into the night.

I slept on the shed roof that night. I didn't come down until dawn.

I went inside. My uncle lay on the bed, despair in his eyes, red veins spiderwebbing across them. He muttered to himself, "Why won't she kill me? Lin Yun, you bitch!"

He was paralyzed from the neck down. He couldn't even kill himself.

Maybe living was torture for him.

But who would kill him?

Grandma wiped his body with warm water. "Ying," she said, "your grandpa and I are old. If we die, you'll have to take care of your uncle."

I nodded. "I'll take care of him. Until I die."

My uncle looked at me with hollow eyes. He laughed through his tears. He cried through his laughter. He seemed insane.

Eight years later, my uncle died on a cold winter day. His last words were, "I'm finally free."

He died before my grandparents. They had to bury their own child.

After he died, I took my grandparents to the city. We only returned to the village on holidays to burn paper money for my uncle and his bride.