Chapter 45: Midnight Terror

What Leng Hui did not know was that someone, having missed their chance in the evening, grew incredibly audacious in the middle of the night, daring to sneak into the courtyard just to steal a few bricks and tiles.

As it turned out, the value of resources depends entirely on who is looking at them; in the eyes of someone in desperate need of bricks and tiles, they are precious.

In the eyes of someone with no need for them, bricks and tiles are nothing more than baked mud stones.

Under the cover of darkness, Shoupi and Linglipi crept sneakily toward the dilapidated courtyard gate.

Shoupi crouched low, stretching his neck to peer around. The moonlight was dim tonight, and the area surrounding the courtyard was overgrown with weeds.

In Shoupi's eyes, the house standing in the darkness looked like a lurking monster, exuding an eerie aura as it silently stared at the two intruders.

Shoupi pulled his neck back, a flicker of hesitation in his eyes. He whispered, "Linglipi, this place is creepy. If it wasn't, no one would have dared to live here for all these years. How about we just forget it? A few bricks and tiles aren't worth much money."

Linglipi was actually feeling uneasy himself, but if he backed down now, he would truly be unworthy of his nickname.

The "Lingli Armor" was known for being active by night, traveling through mountains and crossing waters—how could a broken courtyard stop him?

He gritted his teeth. "What's there to fear! We're just swiping a few bricks and tiles; we aren't touching their belongings, so they won't care."

Besides, it was already the Qingming Festival, and spring rains were approaching. Two of the rooms in their house had three leaks. If they could snag some tiles to patch up the roof, they could enjoy a leak-free life through the spring and summer.

The mere mention of "them" made Shoupi's scalp tingle. These intangible ghosts were what made him most unsettled. Looking into the courtyard, he felt as though vengeful spirits were drifting inside.

"Brother, I feel like several pairs of eyes are staring at us."

Linglipi's heart tightened, but he forced himself to act tough. "The Instructor said long ago that everything must be approached scientifically. This courtyard was rumored to be a haunted house years ago, but didn't you see those people going in during the day without any trouble? Besides, the fortune teller said since we were born that we have 'hard fates.' Ordinary ghosts and gods can't touch us. What are you worried about?"

The two stood in a standoff at the gate for a moment, having convinced themselves. With a grit of the teeth and a stomp of the feet, they rushed into the courtyard.

However, perhaps because they ran too fast, or perhaps because their guilty consciences made them inattentive, Linglipi, who was leading the charge, tripped over something and hit the ground with a loud *thud*.

Normally, such a move would be nothing, but in this state of extreme tension, Shoupi's legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground right behind him.

"Brother, why did you suddenly fall?"

Linglipi sat up to check behind him. He saw a black object and reached out to touch it, finding it was a brick. "Which unscrupulous jerk left a brick here to block the way? I tripped and scraped my skin."

Linglipi picked up the brick, intending to throw it in frustration, but as he looked up, he froze in shock.

Shoupi noticed that Linglipi was trembling uncontrollably, frozen in that exact position. Sensing something was wrong, a sudden chill rose from his tailbone and spread up his spine.

His voice trembled slightly as he spoke, "Ling... Linglipi, what... what's wrong?"

Driven by instinct, without waiting for an answer, he slowly turned his head to look in the direction of Linglipi's gaze.

Just then, a gust of wind blew through, swirling leaves in place.

They truly saw the leaves swirling. In the dim moonlight, they actually saw the leaves spinning.

Like ghosts dancing!

The crucial part was that in the very spot where the leaves were swirling, there had been thousands of bricks piled up that afternoon. Now, that patch of ground was completely empty.

That was the most terrifying part!

Looking under the eaves where the tiles were supposed to be, the tiles were gone as well.

Another, stronger gust of wind blew, making the surrounding leaves rustle loudly, as if countless invisible hands were churning them about—like a precursor to an outburst of rage.

Shoupi felt a chill on his back. He turned his head nervously, but there was nothing there.

Just as they thought they were merely scaring themselves, a sudden, heavy thud broke the eerie silence, completely shattering their fragile psychological defenses.

"Mother of God!"

The two screamed in unison, abandoning everything as they sprinted for the exit.

It was as if, if they ran even a moment slower, a ghost would catch them and devour them.

By the time the two had screamed their way out of the alley, the area had returned to silence, as if nothing had happened that night.

***

At the crack of dawn, Leng Hui and Tang Lin were already up.

They packed their clothes and belongings into wooden boxes and tied their bedding with rope to make them easier to carry later.

Leng Yongkang was awakened by the mother and daughter. He sat up in bed. "Are you really moving out today? There's nothing over there."

As Tang Lin packed towels and washbasins, she said, "I always stand by my word. If I say we move today, we move today. The child is growing up; if we stay here any longer, I worry they'll pick up bad habits!"

Leng Yongkang scratched his hair, sighed, and left the room with a sense of resignation. Once Tang Lin finished packing, he returned.

Without a word, he began helping move things.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Leng Hui noticed a handcart parked by the entrance. Leng Yongkang placed the washbasins and buckets onto it.

"I borrowed it from a neighbor," Leng Yongkang said, seemingly sensing her confusion.

If not for the handcart, Tang Lin and Leng Hui would have needed several trips to transport everything by bicycle. With the cart, it could be done in one go.

Leng Hui did not refuse.

Tang Lin finally carried the bedding downstairs. Seeing the cart piled high with belongings, her expression softened slightly.

Passing by the state-run restaurant, she went in to buy ten steamed buns and handed two to Leng Yongkang, wrapped separately in oil paper.

"Thank you for helping us move."

The polite, distant tone left Leng Yongkang with mixed emotions; no marriage had ever ended quite like this.

"Don't mention it. White flour is hard to come by; keep them for yourselves."

Leng Yongkang's refusal did not move Tang Lin in the slightest; instead, her expression instantly soured again.

She turned and shoved the buns toward Leng Hui.

Leng Hui understood immediately. This was an exchange of equivalence. Since they could no longer be husband and wife, they didn't even want to be friends; the best outcome was to have no contact at all.

Leng Hui pressed the buns into Leng Yongkang's large palm. "Dad, just eat them. An emperor doesn't lack hungry soldiers; eat so you have the strength to pull the cart for us."

The road was flat. With the handcart's rope slung over his shoulder, he only needed one hand to steady it. With the other hand stuffed with the oil-paper package, Leng Yongkang gave Tang Lin a helpless look but ultimately ate them.

He had only had porridge last night and hadn't eaten breakfast before heading out; he was truly hungry.

Watching Leng Yongkang finish the two buns in no time, Leng Hui didn't give him more. Instead, she spoke: "Dad, you have a responsibility to support Mom, but the second family is not your responsibility.

If you can't find a house, I advise you to apply for a dormitory at your workplace. If you live in a dormitory, even if you bring Mom to live with you, your salary will be more than enough to support both of you, and you can live quite comfortably."

If Leng Yongkang insisted on taking over that whole large family, his life would surely be miserable.

When that time came, based on their blood relation, she would be the one left to clean up the mess.

Leng Hui did not want to be entangled with the rest of the Leng family again in a few years or a decade.

"It's a difficult time right now. If I don't look after your uncle and the others, their family might struggle to even eat. Huihui, I am the eldest in the family."

That single phrase, "the eldest in the family," choked back the words Leng Hui wanted to say.

Forget it. Respect people's destinies.

Don't try to forcefully interfere with someone else's fate; otherwise, you'll end up bearing the karma yourself.

Leng Yongkang had to go to the factory for work today. After delivering the handcart to the courtyard, he rushed off to work.

"Mom, you haven't asked for leave today. How about you ride the bicycle I borrowed yesterday to work, and bring me lunch from your factory canteen at noon?"

Tang Lin paced the courtyard once. "Fine. If there's heavy lifting that requires two people, wait until I get back. For today, you go ahead and tidy up the courtyard."

"Alright, if you have to work, go quickly, or you'll be late."

It was still early. Aside from housewives rising early to make breakfast, most people were still in bed. Taking advantage of the lack of neighbors, Leng Hui hurried to put the bricks and tiles from her space back into their original places.

Tang Lin stood at the courtyard gate, keeping an eye on the surroundings. Only after Leng Hui had finished putting the bricks and tiles out did she feel safe enough to ride her bicycle to the factory.

After Tang Lin left, Leng Hui quickly took out masonry tools and PPR pipes needed for the hand-pump well from her space.

She drew a bucket of water from the well and began manually mixing cement.

She only took ten bags each of cement and river sand from her space, piling them in the main room; one bag of cement would likely be enough to seal the well.

Once the cement was mixed, she used a wooden board to create a simple mold over the well opening, then poured the cement slurry over it, leaving a section of water pipe protruding.

Once the cement hardened, she would build the cement pillar for the hand-pump well and install the pump.

Thinking about staying in this courtyard tonight, she couldn't exactly sleep on the ground.

She searched her space for furniture she had previously collected. These were items she had gathered from a furniture warehouse during her search for supplies in the apocalypse.

She found a plain, natural wood bed frame and set it out. For the mattress, she found a six-centimeter-thick palm fiber mattress. After covering it with a quilt and sheets, the fact that it was a palm mattress was invisible from the outside.

After moving everything from the handcart into the house, Leng Hui began mixing the yellow clay she had dug up while making the well yesterday, using it to repair the walls inside and outside.

Standing in her courtyard, Qin Baiqiu heard the commotion coming from the dilapidated yard. She said to Auntie Sun next door, "How pitiful. The factory is bullying them, giving a mother and daughter such a broken courtyard. They'll have to work hard just to repair it enough to live in."

Auntie Sun's courtyard was separated from the broken one by only a path, just a few meters away, making them true neighbors to Leng Hui.

She glanced toward the yard and inquired, "You said this courtyard was assigned to a mother and daughter? Who are they?"

"The mother is a worker at the machinery factory; it's a good unit. Her daughter seems to have just graduated from school and doesn't have a job yet."

Qin Baiqiu wasn't certain; she had forgotten to ask about the girl's situation that day.

"No job, huh?" Auntie Sun raised an eyebrow, a plan forming in her mind.

Remembering what her son had instructed her to do, she jogged out of her courtyard. When she reached the half-demolished courtyard wall and peeked inside, she didn't see Leng Hui.

There were many bricks and tiles piled in the yard, and a handcart sat under the eaves.

Auntie Sun walked back, disappointed.

Qin Baiqiu craned her neck and asked, "What are you running to look at? The little girl?"

Auntie Sun didn't hide it from Qin Baiqiu. She leaned into her ear and whispered, "I was thinking, since that mother and daughter are moving here with no connections, we should look after them a bit. Besides, the daughter doesn't have a job. If she's decent-looking, I was thinking of introducing her to our Dahai as a wife. The families would live close together, making it easy to look after each other. How convenient is that?"

Qin Baiqiu's mouth hung open in shock as she stared at Auntie Sun. "You old widow, you really have some nerve!"

"Didn't they say that in the revolution, one must dare to think and dare to act, to turn the impossible into the possible?"

Auntie Sun wasn't offended by the joking tone. The more she thought about it, the better the idea seemed. Thinking of her son, who was still lying in bed, she decided she had to discuss this great idea with him immediately.

"I'm not talking to you anymore. I have to go call Dahai to get up and eat. After he eats, he can go next door to help out with some work. When neighbors are in trouble, one must lend a hand."

Watching her retreating figure, Qin Baiqiu spat on the ground. "A toad daring to dream of a swan—doesn't even bother to look at what her own son looks like!"

With that kind of character, how could he be worthy of such a celestial girl?

Auntie Sun entered the house. "Dahai, Dahai, get up and eat!"

Seeing no response from her son, who was covered by a quilt, she went over and patted him a few times.

Sun Dahai threw back the quilt and asked impatiently, "Mom, what's the situation with that courtyard over there?"

"I didn't see the girl, she's probably inside tidying up the house."

"Mom, I mean, are there bricks and tiles piled in the yard?"

"Oh, yes." Auntie Sun felt envious thinking about that large pile of bricks and tiles.

"You didn't see wrong?" Sun Dahai bolted upright in bed, grabbing Auntie Sun's arm and urgently confirming, "Mom, you didn't missee it? Does her yard really have bricks piled there? How many?"

He still held onto a shred of hope that if there were only a few, perhaps he had just misseen them last night.

"A huge pile. At least a few thousand."

Sun Dahai let go of his mother's arm, his face turning deathly pale.

He couldn't understand why there were no bricks in that courtyard last night.

Yesterday afternoon, he had seen with his own eyes as they unloaded two truckloads of bricks and tiles from a tractor. How could they have vanished in the middle of the night?

It was truly haunted!

"Son, Dahai, are you okay? Your face looks terrible."

Sun Dahai collapsed back onto the bed and pulled the quilt over his head. "I'm fine. I just want to sleep a bit longer."

Auntie Sun pulled the quilt down. "I haven't told you the important thing yet. Don't sleep; listen to me first, then consider it."

"I heard from Qin Baiqiu that the courtyard next door was assigned to a mother and daughter. The daughter doesn't have a job; she just graduated. My idea is, if the girl is decent-looking, I'll hire a matchmaker to go over and arrange something for you. What do you think?"

Sun Dahai remembered that eerie scene from last night, and his whole body shuddered, his forehead breaking into a cold sweat. "No!"

Thinking about that mother and daughter living in that haunted house in the future, a vision of a pair of female ghosts in red hanging themselves inexplicably flashed through his mind.

Just thinking about it was enough to kill him!

If he were to marry a red-clad hanging ghost, that would truly be—seeking a premature death!

"Sigh, you child. A wife without a job is easy to manage. Once she enters the house, she'll treat you like heaven and follow your every whim. I'm doing this for your own good, and you won't even appreciate it!"