The Dried Up River

The Dried Up River

Zhang Zhiyong's hometown has a dried up riverbed that never has a drop of water no matter when. It is quite eerie. The old folks say that during the period of the Anti-Japanese War, the bodies of the villagers who were killed were thrown into the riverbed. After a few days, the bodies mysteriously disappeared. Since then, the riverbed has never seen a drop of water again, even during heavy rainstorms. Rumors of haunting started to spread, with warnings not to go there at night, or else the vengeful spirits would haunt you. However, it is a necessary route to the county town, so people pass by the riverbed every day. They only do so during the day though, as nobody dares to go there at night.

Zhang Zhiyong heard about this from his grandfather when he was young. At that time, he thought his grandfather was just telling him stories and didn't believe it. He even wanted to go to the riverbed to see for himself. However, his grandfather scolded him harshly and he was not convinced. Although he was young at the time, he didn't believe in ghosts. The next day, he told Wang Haoxuan about it at school. Wang Haoxuan, although younger, was known for his bravery in school and even in their hometown. They decided to go to the riverbed at midnight tonight to find out if there really were ghosts.

That night, after dinner, Zhang Zhiyong said he was going to bed. When the clock struck twelve, Zhang Zhiyong got up, got dressed, and slowly opened the door after making sure everyone in the family was asleep. Wang Haoxuan was already waiting at the door. Zhang Zhiyong called out to him and they ran towards the riverbed. Suddenly, it started raining heavily. They were almost at the riverbed, but they decided to pick up the pace and find out if it was really haunted. When they arrived at the riverbed, they were shocked. They saw that the rainwater slid away from the riverbed when it was about ten meters away, as if there was a barrier that prevented the water from entering. They were scared and sat down crying. At that moment, they saw a woman in rough clothes walking towards them from under the riverbed. Their crying became even louder. They shouted, "Grandpa, where are you? Grandpa is looking for me too!" For Zhang Zhiyong, this was like a lifeline. He shouted with all his strength, "Grandpa, I'm here, come and save me!" As the woman approached, Zhang Zhiyong used all his strength to crawl in the opposite direction, shouting for his grandpa. Finally, his grandpa arrived and helped him up. His grandpa scolded him, "You little rascal, why don't you listen? I told you not to come here, but you didn't listen!" Zhang Zhiyong started crying again and said, "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Grandpa, take me home." His grandpa grabbed his hand and they walked back home. At that moment, Zhang Zhiyong pointed behind them and choked, "Grandpa, Wang Haoxuan is still there!" Zhang Zhiyong's grandpa quickly ran over, but when he arrived, he found Wang Haoxuan lying on the ground, unconscious. Zhang Zhiyong's grandpa carried him on his back and held Zhang Zhiyong's hand, walking back. The rain had stopped by then. Zhang Zhiyong looked back and saw that the woman in rough clothes had disappeared. The next day, Zhang Zhiyong had a high fever. His grandpa thought it was because he got wet in the rain last night, so he took Zhang Zhiyong to the hospital. However, after staying in the hospital for two days, there was no improvement. Zhang Zhiyong's grandpa suspected that he might be haunted by vengeful spirits, so he took his grandson to the nearest temple. The abbot there gave Zhang Zhiyong a talisman and told him not to leave his body within a range of five meters before the age of twenty. If he left that range, the vengeful spirit would immediately take his life. The talisman couldn't touch water; if it got wet, it would lose its effectiveness. Zhang Zhiyong also asked for a talisman for Wang Haoxuan. Although he didn't know if Wang Haoxuan was haunted, it was better to be safe. It has been 19 years since then. In a few months, Zhang Zhiyong will turn twenty, while Wang Haoxuan will turn twenty a few months later. They have been together all these years, from elementary school to middle school, and now they are studying at a university. One night, they went out to eat and it was already past 11pm when they were walking back to the dormitory. Suddenly, there was a loud thunder followed by a heavy rainstorm. They held tightly onto the talismans and covered their arms to shield themselves from the rain. They saw a dilapidated house in front of them. They had never seen that house before when they passed by this area. But they didn't have time to think about it. They quickly ran towards the house to avoid getting their talismans wet. As they ran, they noticed that the rainwater didn't touch them. Zhang Zhiyong and Wang Haoxuan were scared, so they hurried to the door. Surprisingly, the door was not locked. They wanted to push it open and go inside, but what if there were people inside? They knocked on the door, but there was no response. They tried several times, but still no response. So they pushed open the door. The inside of the house was messy, with a few broken tiles on the roof, and rain was leaking from there. It seemed like nobody had lived there for a long time. They thought of leaving, but as soon as they stepped inside, they froze. They looked at the talismans in their hands and were shocked. The talismans were wet. They tried to wipe them dry with their clothes, but it was impossible. As soon as they wiped them, the talismans tore apart, and their hopes shattered. At that moment, they saw a woman in rough clothes walking towards the house, accompanied by two boys wearing the same rough clothes. They walked in the rain, but the rain didn't touch them. Zhang Zhiyong and Wang Haoxuan were scared, so they quickly ran towards the door. But just as they reached the door, it slammed shut. They quickly found a place to hide. When they passed by the window, they glanced outside and saw that the woman was gone. They suddenly felt a cold sensation on their necks and slowly turned their heads, only to see a woman in rough clothes with the two boys standing less than two meters away from them. At that moment, a hoarse voice came out of the woman's mouth, saying to the two boys, "You have suffered all these years. Tonight, you can eat to your heart's content." Zhang Zhiyong and Wang Haoxuan were startled and thought they should run before it was too late. They ran towards the door, stretched out their hands, and pulled the door open. They ran out, but to their surprise, they saw the exact same door in front of them. They slowly turned their heads and saw the woman and the boys standing there, looking at them. Zhang Zhiyong and Wang Haoxuan felt a chilling breeze and a sense of foreboding. They suddenly realized that this was a haunted phenomenon. They calmed down and tried to think clearly.

You should be able to solve it by urinating, so they both closed their eyes, took off their pants, and started urinating. The woman was still standing there, but she clearly felt cold and sensed that something was wrong, so she wanted to rush over. Suddenly, heavy rain fell on Zhang Zhiyong and Wang Haoxuan. They opened their eyes suddenly and found themselves standing in a wild field with no buildings around. They suddenly heard a piercing scream, and when they turned around, they saw the female ghost rushing towards them like the wind. Without thinking, they turned and ran. Zhang Zhiyong happened to see a little boy standing in front of them, the one the woman brought.

One of the two children in love, Zhang Zhiyong quickly pulled Wang Haoxuan to run to the other side, but on the other side, there was another boy standing there. The woman and the boy had already caught up. Zhang Zhiyong gritted his teeth and sped up to charge forward. When he was about to reach the second boy, it was difficult to tell the two boys apart. Let's call the first one Ah for now. He rushed towards the second boy, but Zhang Zhiyong seemed to hit a wall and the second boy didn't move at all. He knocked Zhang Zhiyong down to the ground, hurting him. The woman and another boy caught up and stood beside Zhang Zhiyong and Wang Haoxuan, saying to the two boys, "Mine is tastier, you should eat quickly." The two boys remained silent, just nodded. Like Zhang Zhiyong and Wang Haoxuan, they pounced and bit their arms, tearing off a piece of flesh from each of their arms and chewing on it. Zhang Zhiyong and Wang Haoxuan both let out a scream as the two boys seemed excited and started tearing and biting directly on Zhang Zhiyong and Wang Haoxuan's bodies. After a while, the two boys stopped, stood up, and Zhang Zhiyong and Wang Haoxuan had become corpses dyed red with blood. The next day, the dried-up riverbed in Zhang Zhiyong's hometown had two more skeletons. No one knew where these two skeletons came from. The woman in coarse clothes and the two boys disappeared, as if they had returned to the riverbed waiting for the next person who came to this world out of curiosity. No one knew when they would be able to have a meal again.