Chapter Thirty-Three: The Withered Hand

Zhou Hongxian blew out the oil lamp in one breath, plunging the room into darkness. Swiftly, she shed her clothes and slipped under the quilt, then reached out to tuck her fluffy tail safely inside.

Beside her, Cui Yu spoke in a low, lingering tone, “Sister, why do you insist on turning off the light before undressing? Your figure is so beautiful—can’t I even have a look?”

Zhou Hongxian replied, “We’re both women, what’s there to see? Let’s just go to sleep.”

“But the quilt is cold. I want to share yours, Sister!”

“It’s too small for two people. Be good, just sleep for a while and your own quilt will warm up.”

“Hmph!” With a soft, sulky sound from Cui Yu, silence settled over the room. After a while, Cui Yu spoke again, “Sister Zhou!”

“Mm?” Zhou Hongxian was already drowsy, her reply thick with a languorous, soul-stealing charm.

“Sister, your voice is so soft—wait, are you already asleep?”

“…”

“If you’re not asleep, then let’s chat!”

Zhou Hongxian yawned. “About what?”

“Do you have someone you like, Sister?”

“Probably… quite a few… but none of them ever worked out.” Her voice was slurred with sleep.

Cui Yu exclaimed, “Sister, are you joking?”

The sudden surprise fully woke Zhou Hongxian. “What’s the matter, Fourth Sister? What did you just ask me?”

“Sister, I asked if you have someone you like.”

“No, I don’t.”

Cui Yu finally laughed. “Since you’re alone and unattached, I’d like to help you settle down here in Husui County. How about it?”

“Why do you keep bringing this up?” Zhou Hongxian smiled wanly. “It’s really not possible. I have a few acres of land back home. I can’t just abandon them.”

“Sister, you’re a woman alone. Can you really manage on your own? If you’re unlucky, some villain might seize your land and your virtue, and then you’ll regret it!”

“…”

“Sister Zhou, why not stay? Let me recognize you as my honorary sister. Please?”

“No.”

“Hmph, do you care nothing about me?”

Though there was no light in the room, Zhou Hongxian could see Cui Yu’s beautiful, plaintive face clearly. Her own heart began to pound.

Cui Yu spoke again, her voice barely above a whisper. “Sister, to be honest, though we’ve only known each other a day, no one has ever made me feel so close or so fond. You know, Sister Zhou, my family has five children. Besides me and Fifth Brother, there are two older brothers and one older sister.”

“My brothers are both grown and now in Chang’an, but my third sister died of typhoid at thirteen. The day she died, I cried my heart out. She always took care of me and played with me when I was little. After that, I was the only daughter left. My health was never good either—I almost died at ten, just like my third sister, but Old Master He saved me.” At this, Cui Yu paused, tears glimmering in her eyes. “Third Sister was prettier and gentler than me, but she wasn’t as lucky. If she were alive, she’d be eighteen now, about your age, Sister Zhou.”

Zhou Hongxian saw the glistening tears and reached out to gently wipe them away, speaking softly, “Fourth Sister, it’s been so long. Don’t be sad anymore.”

Cui Yu clasped Zhou Hongxian’s hand to her cheek, refusing to let go, half laughing and half crying. “Sister Zhou, you don’t look anything like my third sister.”

“Oh.” Zhou Hongxian was relieved by this odd remark.

“But you’re as gentle as she was, and your way of speaking feels so comforting, just like hers.”

“…”

Suddenly, Zhou Hongxian felt the quilt shifting. She exclaimed, “Fourth Sister, what are you doing?” But before she finished, a slippery body slid in beside her, wrapping her in a tight embrace.

“Sister Zhou, I really like you!” Cui Yu’s smooth little face rubbed against Zhou Hongxian’s chest.

Zhou Hongxian froze. In her previous life, she hadn’t even held a girl’s hand—this was overwhelming. Though they weren’t completely exposed, both wore only their close-fitting undergarments, their shoulders and arms bare, and the sensation of skin against skin was something Zhou Hongxian had never dared imagine.

Whether from excitement or discomfort, Zhou Hongxian’s voice trembled on the verge of tears. “Fourth Sister, stop—”

“Sister, I can’t believe how warm you are even in winter. Hugging you is like holding a bundle of soft fluff. It’s so comfortable!”

“Don’t rub your head around—mm—” Zhou Hongxian quickly covered her mouth.

“Sister, what’s wrong?”

“Your hair poked me,” she said, biting her lip.

“Sister, my hair is so long, how could it poke you? All right, I won’t move.” Cui Yu hugged her even tighter, and Zhou Hongxian dared not move at all.

“Sister Zhou, why are you shaking so much?”

“…”

“Sister, why won’t you answer me?”

“…”

“Sister Zhou, what’s that furry thing behind you?”

“Mm—don’t touch!” Zhou Hongxian grabbed Cui Yu’s wandering hand and pinned both hands to her chest, panting, “It’s a dusting brush for the bed!”

“It doesn’t feel like one…”

“It is! You should behave yourself—if you’re going to sleep, just sleep properly!” Zhou Hongxian finally managed to sound stern.

“Oh. Even your anger is like my third sister’s. I really like it!”

“Go to sleep.”

“All right!” At last, Cui Yu settled down, gently leaning into Zhou Hongxian’s embrace. Soon, her breathing became even. But Zhou Hongxian’s eyes were wide open, filled with struggle. She cried inwardly, “Oh heavens, tonight will be a sleepless night!”

As if to confirm her fear, a sudden, agonized scream echoed from the He family’s backyard. The cry was so eerie it startled even the newly sleeping Cui Yu, who trembled in Zhou Hongxian’s arms and opened her eyes in confusion. “Sister Zhou, what happened?”

“I don’t know either,” Zhou Hongxian replied.

Suddenly, another scream rang out, abrupt and terrifying in the dead of night. Cui Yu burrowed deeper into Zhou Hongxian’s arms. “So scary!”

Footsteps sounded outside—the He family members had been awakened by the screams. Someone called, “Who’s screaming in the middle of the night?”

“It seems to be coming from Jiu Lang’s room!”

“Hurry, let’s check!”

Soon, a woman’s anguished cries could be heard not far away. “Jiu Lang, don’t frighten your mother!”

The screaming continued, growing more desperate. The woman shouted, “Quick, hold my son down—save him!”

Hearing this, Zhou Hongxian sat up, intending to go see what was happening. Cui Yu grabbed her arm, “Sister Zhou, I’m scared alone—let me come with you!”

“All right.”

“I’ll light the lamp first!” Cui Yu reached for the fire striker by the bed. Once the oil lamp was lit, she saw Zhou Hongxian already dressed and about to get out of bed. Surprised, she asked, “Sister Zhou, how did you dress so quickly? Didn’t you need the light?”

Zhou Hongxian, her back to Cui Yu, replied, “Practice makes perfect! Hurry and get dressed—we need to go.”

“Quick, pull my son out!”

“He won’t budge, Second Brother!”

“Heavens, save my son!”

One room was ablaze with light. When Zhou Hongxian and Cui Yu reached the doorway, they saw many people crowded around a bed, clutching a man’s lower body and trying to drag him out from beneath it. A woman was crying and pulling as she called out. Suddenly, chaos erupted—the group was thrown back, and the half of the man under the bed seemed swallowed by some unknown beast, vanishing in an instant.

Zhou Hongxian and Cui Yu were both startled.

“Move the bed—save my son!”

They rushed forward to help. With everyone’s effort, the heavy bed was finally moved aside, exposing the floor beneath.

But what they saw made everyone recoil in fear. The ground had somehow split open, revealing a dark crevice, from which a giant withered hand protruded, clutching a man’s waist. His upper body was already swallowed by the fissure, only his legs remained outside. As the crowd reached for his legs, the monstrous hand quickly pulled him into the depths, and the crack sealed itself as if nothing had happened.

The woman was Liu, wife of He Ping. Seeing this, she broke into wailing sobs. He Ping joined her, pounding the ground and crying, “My son!”

Cui Yu screamed in terror and threw herself into Zhou Hongxian’s arms, sobbing, “Sister Zhou, what was that?”

“I don’t know either,” Zhou Hongxian replied, dazed. She’d caught a glimpse of the giant hand—it was real, not an illusion, shrouded in black mist and full of chilling energy. But she had no idea what it was.

By now, everyone in the household was awake, gathering to see what had happened. Old Master He arrived, leaning on his cane, even little Cui Ye wandered over yawning. “I was sleeping so well—why is everyone crying?”

He Ping and his wife sobbed for a while, then He Ping suddenly flew into a rage. His face twisted as he declared, “Tonight, even if I have to dig three feet into the earth, I’ll find my son!”

At his insistence, the He family members fetched their hoes and began to dig.

Time passed, and dawn broke. They dug far deeper than three feet, excavating until they reached nearly twenty feet below ground. At last, they unearthed a dried skeleton. The clothing on the bones was immediately recognized by He Ping and his wife as belonging to their son He An, but the hair was brittle and white, as if the corpse had been dead for centuries.

From then on, He Ping and his wife were utterly broken, but an overwhelming chill settled on everyone’s hearts and would not disperse.