Siheyuan: Hang Jia Dongxu, smash Banggeng to death!

Yi Zhonghai lay on the bed, his abdomen wrapped in thick gauze, with dark red bloodstains slowly seeping out from the center.

Old Liu held a needle back and forth over the flame of the kerosene lamp, then sighed.

"Old Yi, stop bragging. You'd better bear with it; it'll hurt a lot without anesthesia."

"Pain? Pain is nothing!"

Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth, his face as pale as paper. "Let me tell you, back then, when the Japanese devils beat me half to death, I didn't utter a single sound..."

"Alright, alright, I know you're brave."

Old Liu shook his head, dipped the needle and thread in the liquor, and said, "But this time is different. You tore open the wound you just stitched up last night. I'm going to stitch it up again, so you have to promise me you won't move around."

Yi Zhonghai snorted, but his eyes darted to the other end of the room.

There lay the body of Sha Zhu's sister, He Yushui, and next to her on the ground was Liu Haizhong's watermelon head.

"Old Liu," Yi Zhonghai's voice suddenly lowered, "you're saying... that thing really did fall off the mosquito net last night?"

Old Liu paused for a moment, not answering directly: "I'll say it as many times as I want. Don't call me Old Liu, call me Old Man Liu. Lie down, I'm about to begin."

The moment the needle pierced his skin, Yi Zhonghai gasped, his fingers gripping the sheets tightly until his knuckles turned white.

"ah--!"

Old Liu definitely did it on purpose, oh, that hurts!

Old Liu's hands were steady as he stitched up the torn flesh stitch by stitch. Yi Zhonghai trembled all over in pain, but he bit the blanket and kept quiet, only letting out suppressed sobs.

"Almost done... the last injection..." Old Liu's forehead was also covered in sweat.

After the stitches were finished, Yi Zhonghai lay sprawled on the bed, soaking wet, as if he had been pulled out of the water.

He was breathing heavily, his eyes fixed on the ceiling.

In ancient times, Guan Yu underwent bone-scraping surgery; today, I, Yi Zhonghai, can stitch up wounds without anesthesia.

"Old Liu," Yi Zhonghai said, panting, "do you think that evil spirit... is coming for me?"

Old Liu slowed down as he tidied up his needlework: "Don't overthink it. There aren't that many gods and ghosts in this world."

"Then explain how that watermelon head hairstyle in your bangs ended up in your house? And why did it just happen to fall on me?"

Yi Zhonghai's voice trembled slightly, "How could I be pregnant with ten children?"

Old Liu silently wiped his tools, and after a long while he spoke: "I don't know, but let me tell you, the most important thing right now is your injury. If you bleed again, even a god can't save you."

Yi Zhonghai closed his eyes, whether from exhaustion or fear, it was hard to tell.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Old Liu, open the door!"

Old Liu and Yi Zhonghai exchanged a glance. Just as Yi Zhonghai was about to speak, Old Liu made a shushing gesture.

"Who is it?" Old Liu called out towards the door.

"I am Sha Zhu!"

Old Liu had just opened the door a crack when Sha Zhu barged in and said to himself, "Hey Old Liu, why are you dawdling?"

The Third Uncle asked me to pick up the First Uncle, saying that the Third Uncle could deal with the evil spirit by noon, and to take the First Uncle there.

Old Liu's heart skipped a beat; this was a perfect opportunity to get rid of this troublesome person. He glanced at Yi Zhonghai, who nodded slightly.

Sha Zhu first saw Yi Zhonghai on the bed, then his gaze swept across the room and suddenly fixed on a corner.

"Oh my god!! What's Second Uncle's watermelon head doing here?"

Sha Zhu was so frightened that he took a step back and bumped into the door frame with a dull thud.

Old Liu quickly went over and closed the door, lowering his voice: "After you left last night, it suddenly fell off the mosquito net, which scared Old Yi so much that he had another hemorrhage."

Sha Zhu patted his chest, still shaken: "My goodness... how did this thing get here? Second Uncle isn't..."

He paused, then didn't continue.

Yi Zhonghai spoke weakly, "Zhu Zi, you just said that Third Master has a solution?"

Sha Zhu finally came to his senses and walked to the bedside: "Right, right, Third Master said that if you perform the ritual at noon when the yang energy is at its peak, the evil spirit will definitely show itself."

The third uncle is already helping with the preparations and has sent me to pick you up. The police have already started searching this area.

"Help me up." Yi Zhonghai struggled to sit up.

Old Liu held him down: "How can you walk like this? Your wound was just stitched up, and it will bleed again if you move."

Sha Zhu scratched his head as if to say, "What should we do? The police have started searching everywhere. If we don't leave soon, they'll find us here..."

Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth: "I can do it. Zhu Zi, carry me."

"This..." Sha Zhu looked at Yi Zhonghai's pale face, then at Old Man Liu.

Old Liu sighed, "If you go out like this, I'm afraid you'll die halfway there..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear.

Suddenly, a noisy commotion came from outside the door, as if a number of people were walking around nearby.

The hearts of all three jumped at the same time.

"Hurry up and carry me away," Yi Zhonghai urged. "If the police find this place first, it will be hard to explain."

Sha Zhu stamped his foot and said, "Alright, I'll carry you!" He then bent down and carefully helped Yi Zhonghai onto his back.

Yi Zhonghai gasped in pain, but forced himself not to cry out.

Sha Zhu straightened up and adjusted his posture to make Yi Zhonghai as comfortable as possible.

"Be careful with his stomach," Old Liu warned.

"I know, I know," Sha Zhu replied, and walked towards the door.

As he passed He Yushui's body, Sha Zhu stopped and glanced at his sister's pale face, his eyes reddening.

"Rain, I'll get revenge for you soon, you...you just wait."

His voice choked with emotion, and Yi Zhonghai was also moved: "Shazhu, don't be sad. As long as that evil spirit is eliminated, the rain will be at peace."

Old Liu stood aside, watching this scene, and suddenly said, "I'll go with you."

Sha Zhu frowned: "Old Liu, why are you following us instead of helping to watch over my sister's body?"

Old Liu slung an old satchel over his shoulder: "Old Yi just had his wound stitched up, and I'm afraid he might bleed badly again on the way."

Your sister's body is lying here, who would move it?

Besides, you said the police are searching. If I don't leave, with one and a half corpses here, wouldn't I become a murderer?

He paused, then lowered his voice: "Besides, I always feel like something's off about this house. Ever since that thing appeared last night, I've felt like someone's watching us from the shadows."

These words sent a chill down Sha Zhu's spine. He looked around and saw the dilapidated house casting long shadows in the morning light.

In a dark corner of the room, He Yushui's corpse suddenly sat up. Her movements were stiff, unlike those of a living person. Her neck was tilted at an eerie angle, revealing bluish-purple ligature marks.

Even more terrifying, she held her watermelon-shaped haircut in one hand, and slowly raised the other hand, waving it at the three of them.

The corpse grinned, revealing a stiff smile.

"Aaaaaah!!! It's a ghost!!!" Yi Zhonghai's scream almost lifted the roof off.

Sha Zhu's eyes widened, his voice trembling: "Yu Shui, I'm your brother! Don't come any closer!!!"

Old Liu was so frightened that his legs went weak and he sat down on the ground with a thud. His satchel fell to the ground, scattering the medical supplies inside all over the floor.

Sha Zhu instinctively wanted to run, but forgot that he was carrying someone on his back.

He stumbled and fell, taking Yi Zhonghai down with him, who crashed heavily to the ground.

"ah!!!"

Yi Zhonghai let out a heart-wrenching scream, "Shazhu, get off me! My stomach hurts so much!! Old Liu, come quick, am I going to have another massive hemorrhage?"

……