novelraw Chapter 253: Ran into a Ghost?
Chapter 253: Ran into a Ghost?
Following Xiao Wang’s lead, the two men realized that Xiao Wang was already sweating profusely from pain. It was quite obvious that Xiao Wang’s left shoulder had swollen up considerably. Was there something wrong with Xiao Wang’s arm? Both men found it unbelievable. Just a few minutes ago, the three of them had been fine. How could his arm have suddenly become injured—and it seemed to be a severe injury at that? It was all too strange. Could it be that they had encountered something unclean?
"Don’t scream, or else we’re going to be in trouble!" they whispered to Xiao Wang, urging him to not make any more noise. Only then did they carefully pull away their hands, as they too wished to understand what exactly had happened.
"Someone...there was someone...just now, someone...broke my bone." Xiao Wang spoke in a very weak voice. He was in so much pain that he was nearly out of strength, but he had to ensure his brothers caught that person. To have been harmed like this in the dead of night—it must have been someone from Lin Family Village! Once they caught him, they would surely flay his skin. Otherwise, Xiao Wang’s suffering would be in vain!
"What nonsense are you talking about? As soon as you hollered, we turned around, but there wasn’t a soul in sight!"
"Are you dreaming or what? All the people here are our own, and you were at the very back. Who could have hurt you like this? If it were someone from Lin Family Village, wouldn’t they have called the police upon seeing our group, rather than leave us stranded here?"
Hearing Xiao Wang’s words, the two men immediately countered his accusations. When he had cried out, they had turned around right away but hadn’t seen anyone or even a shadow. Xiao Wang wasn’t one to talk nonsense. If he hadn’t been attacked, why would his arm be swollen up like this? What was going on?
But if someone had indeed assaulted Xiao Wang, it certainly couldn’t have been anyone from their own group, as no one would inflict such grievous harm on a brother. That left people from Lin Family Village, which was even less likely. Had the villagers discovered them, wouldn’t they have raised an alarm and driven the intruders out? None of the scenarios added up. How had Xiao Wang been injured like this? The situation was too eerie. Could it be...could they really have encountered a ghost?
The more the two men pondered, the more things seemed amiss. It seemed only an encounter with a ghost could explain Xiao Wang’s injury, especially since it was night, with a chilling wind whooshing by...
As the two men’s thoughts descended into chaos, Li Dahe at the front heard that half-scream. At once, he raised his hand to halt everyone, swiftly heading back to figure out what was going on. If they awoke the villagers in the middle of the night to find them holding petrol cans, they’d have their skin peeled off for sure!
"What’s all the screaming, you motherf******? If you don’t want to live, don’t drag others down!" Upon reaching Xiao Wang, Li Dahe saw him being supported by two men and his anger flared. He too lowered his voice and scolded Xiao Wang, annoyed by the disturbance in the pitch-black night that could wake the entire Lin Family Village.
"Captain, his arm has a problem."
"And it’s swollen up. It looks pretty serious."
The two men beside Xiao Wang quickly explained the situation in a low voice. Xiao Wang wasn’t to blame—his arm had swollen up significantly, and anyone would have struggled to bear it. Plus, the circumstances were so bizarre—without any warning and with the two of them right beside him, Xiao Wang’s arm had become like this. Confronted with such an event, no one could remain in control!
"Weren’t you all fine just a moment ago? How did it suddenly get like this?" It was only then that Li Dahe noticed Xiao Wang’s arm, which had indeed swollen and seemed very severe. Weren’t they all okay just a moment ago? How could it have suddenly swelled up?
"We don’t know, we were all fine just minutes ago, then suddenly it turned like this."
"Captain, this is too bizarre. Could we have encountered something unclean?"
The two men responded to Li Dahe, feeling that today’s incident with Xiao Wang’s arm was indeed freakish. Without any signs, his arm had suddenly swollen up; they hadn’t seen anyone touch it. Such things in the dead of night would make anyone think wildly. They had heard that encounters with "dirty things" could cause this—had they really come across a ghost today...?
"Stop talking such nonsense. You two stay here and watch Xiao Wang. I’ll go up front to direct the fire-setting. We’ll be leaving soon. Even if the Heavenly King himself shows up, I’m setting this fire today." Li Dahe was on the verge of laughter when he heard the fear in the two men’s voices—what a joke, what era was this to be talking about unclean things? Why didn’t they just say they believed the place was haunted? Since Xiao Wang was injured, it was best he stayed put. Being one man short wouldn’t matter.
Despite feeling it odd, Li Dahe knew this wasn’t the time to ponder such things. It was better to start the fire soon and then relax. Once the fire blazed up, everyone could just run off and it would all be over. With that in mind, he moved toward the wall’s base, preparing to order the continued pouring of petrol and to light it and everyone would scatter.
Lin Feng, watching everything unfold from the sidelines, shook his head incessantly. It seemed he had to deal with them personally. He had initially thought about just giving a warning and letting them go, but their audacity of wanting to set Lin Family Village ablaze was too much. There was no way he could allow them to actually start the fire!
With that thought, Lin Feng couldn’t hold back any longer. Shielded by the cover of night, like a gust of black wind, he instantly reached the men pouring petrol, and without a word, kicked each one away from the area to prevent them from taking out any lighters or the like.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
...
"Ah..."
"Ah..."
"Ah..."
...
A series of harrowing screams pierced the night, setting all the dogs in the village barking. Seven or eight men lay on the ground, unable to stand, and everyone understood that making noise at this time was a dangerous act. Provoking the villagers could have unimaginable consequences; they were no match for them. But the pain was too much to bear, they couldn’t care less and just had to let it out.
After kicking these men, Lin Feng vanished in an instant, reappearing near the surrounding wall not far away. Looking at this demolition team, he seethed with anger. Who on earth gave them the audacity to set fire to houses? The houses in Lin Family Village were all over a hundred years old. It would be such a pity to see them destroyed by fire, as such a rich cultural atmosphere would be impossible to find in the future.
Hearing of the incident up ahead, Li Dahe started to panic. The men behind him had their arms inexplicably injured, claiming they had encountered ghosts, and now the ones in front were experiencing unknown problems. Today, damn it, what was going on? Could they not stay quiet for a moment? Did they really want to wake up the whole Lin Family Village and only be happy after getting caught for arson?
"What are you yowling about? Get up quickly, or you’ll wake everyone in Lin Family Village. Damn it, you’ll be pleased then, won’t you? If the villagers find out, they’ll skin us alive. You’re all damn fools, can’t even take a bit of pain!" Walking over to the men still rolling on the ground, he got even angrier. What were they still rolling around for at this time? Damn it, did they all have a death wish?!
But there was no time to delay; they had to resolve this quickly. Once the villagers arrived, they wouldn’t be able to escape. If they didn’t start the fire now and tried to leave, Tiger Bi would definitely have their hides once they got back. Everything had been set up; they just needed to light the fire and escape with their brothers, safe and sound.
"Boss, we were attacked."
"We really don’t know..."
"We were beaten up!"
...
Slowly, the men got up from the ground, struggling with their pain as they explained to Li Dahe what had happened. The situation felt too eerie; they’d been attacked seemingly out of nowhere, not even seeing who had done it. It was as if they were hit by a gust of wind and sent flying. Such actions weren’t humanly possible; no one could move that fast or be that strong!
What was going on here? They had all been struck down in an instant; could it be... they really ran into a ghost? The more they thought about it, the more likely it seemed. No one but a ghost could attack like that in the middle of the night, silently knocking men to the ground... They truly had encountered a ghost!
"All of you talking nonsense, claiming you were attacked. We’re all on the same team here; how could you be attacked by others? What are you saying, that you got hit by a ghost? If you’re looking for an excuse not to start the fire, don’t give me that unbelievable crap that even a ghost wouldn’t believe!" Li Dahe thought these men had conspired together, fearing danger from starting the fire and taking on responsibility, so they pretended to be attacked and fell to the ground. He was furious, thinking what the hell was wrong with everyone today, coming up with such unreliable tall tales and claiming to have been attacked out of thin air. It was just too strange!
"Boss, could we have run into a ghost?"
"Yeah, boss, everything that happened today is too strange!"
"Boss, have you forgotten how the machines broke down today?"
...
Now, the whole demolition team crowded around Li Dahe, chattering noisily. They all felt that today’s events were too strange, as if they had run into some malign force. In the afternoon, the machinery had mysteriously stopped working, and by night, first there was Xiao Wang whose arm had swollen up, then the few splashing gasoline were inexplicably knocked down. More importantly, in front of everyone’s eyes, it seemed like a gust of wind had passed and the men were flung out. If this wasn’t the work of a ghost, then what was it?
What’s more, the boss had just mentioned being hit by a ghost; his words fueled the team’s thoughts in that direction, because the night’s occurrences did indeed feel like they had run into a ghost. Although they didn’t believe in such things, the evidence was right in front of their eyes. Facing such an event in the dead of night, anyone’s mind might wander there.