NOVPUB25: Chapter 25: The Curious Bear Child
25 -25: The Curious Bear Child
Gu Youyou, who had lived in the dark room all year round and had never done any manual labor, had particularly delicate and fair skin.
Of course, if she could have a bit more flesh on her, she might even be considered a little beauty!
In the courtyard, she sized up Jin Zijin’s home, a dilapidated straw hut.
The yard itself was quite spacious, with a small plot of green vegetables planted on one side, though most of the space was empty.
Dangling under the eaves were dried shiitake mushrooms, dried bamboo shoots, and some sun-dried vegetables that had lost their freshly-picked appearance, so Gu Youyou couldn’t quite make out what they were for the moment.
Jin Zijin had built his house quite tall, allowing a view of the entire Lotus Village from his yard.
The height meant that water usage was not very convenient; the village river lay below, requiring a walk of more than ten minutes to reach it.
The other villagers had it easier, as their homes were mostly built close to the riverbank.
Gu Youyou looked down at the fields where many villagers were laboring—some working and arguing, others happily chatting as they worked, and children playing in the pastures.
Indeed, this rural vista was as beautiful as a pastoral landscape painting, only…
if her ears weren’t so sharp, she might not have inadvertently overheard those two little scamps discussing her!
“Gu Erbao, look over there, isn’t that your family’s ghostly sister?”
Gu Erbao, the younger son of Uncle Gu Wen, was ten years old that year—a not-so-young age for a farming family, old enough to help his parents in the fields.
But since the Gu Family was fairly well-off and they had enough labor at home, he picked the lighter task of herding cattle.
He spent his days driving the cattle to the hillside and then scampering off to play with some kids from neighboring homes.
Gu Erbao looped the rope on the bull’s nose around a tree stump and, shielding his eyes from the sun, stretched his neck to look toward Gu Youyou’s direction.
He gasped and said, “Oh no, isn’t that the hunter Jin’s house?
That thin pole that could be knocked over by the wind, it really is my ghostly sister!
That’s not right, didn’t my parents say she was about to die?
How come she’s out of the house by herself, even standing in the courtyard?”
He turned his head to ask a child beside him, “You see her standing on her own, right?”
The other child looked for a while and stammered, “Seems like she is leaning on a crutch; come on, let’s go have a look.”
“Let’s go, let’s go see the ghostly sister!”
It didn’t take long to run from the opposite hill to the one where Gu Youyou was—it was a quick run for the two lads, and they would soon be there.
Gu Youyou was extremely vexed; why was it so difficult just to enjoy a peaceful moment basking in the sun and catching a breeze?
Being sickly, she had no energy to deal with mischievous children!
Having no other choice, Gu Youyou could only return to the house, and she took the opportunity to close the door as well.
“Thump, thump, thump…” the door was knocked upon.
These rascals clearly weren’t planning to leave her alone.
She understood their psyche though.
Think about it: a ghostly sister confined all year long to a small dark room, known by name but unseen in person, surrounded by rumors that she couldn’t be exposed to certain people, especially men with ‘strong yang energy.’ Children are naturally curious and even more so about such mystical matters.
Now that an opportunity had finally come, how could they resist the temptation to witness something so peculiar!
And it wasn’t the first time this had happened; during the half year Gu Youyou spent in the small dark room, Gu Erbao had boasted to his little friends more than once about his family’s ghostly sister, and on more than one occasion, when his home was empty, he had led several kids to peer through the cracks in her door.
Only, the small dark room was tightly sealed, and they had never succeeded!
