What about above my head?
Xue Liangliang looked up at the ceiling to see the usual old-style house beam design, unreachable by hand unless he found some tools.
But to search for tools in those residential houses?
The thought of those women sitting behind the doors of the houses sent a chill down Xue Liangliang’s spine, preferring to stay right where he was rather than having to pass them and rummage around their rooms...
However, after circling around, upon reaching the entrance, Xue Liangliang was surprised to discover that the woman who had been kneeling there holding a porcelain vase had vanished.
The porcelain vase was nowhere to be found as well.
This sudden change filled Xue Liangliang with horror once again; the woman he had followed all the way here had become the most familiar "thing" in this place.
Her disappearance meant he was back to wandering and loneliness.
He wanted to search for the woman, to see if she had simply moved to a different spot to kneel or gone elsewhere, but as he prepared to walk towards the doorway, even though he was still some distance from it, the feeling of suffocation returned!
Yet previously, just by stepping inside, this sensation had dissipated.
Xue Liangliang took a deep breath of what seemed like non-existent air and then, mustering his courage, rushed to the doorway where the intense feeling of breathlessness overwhelmed him once again. Enduring this pain, he managed to step outside.
Looking around, he saw no sign of the woman; she had truly vanished, no longer present.
At the same time, the main gate of the ancestral hall, which had been open when he entered, was now inexplicably closed.
And now, he had reached his limit; he didn’t even have the strength to run out into the courtyard.
He could only race back quickly, his feet starting to float, stumbling to the ground, his body resembling a shrimp being drained of moisture.
Finally, he crawled back to the side of the coffin, the suffocating feeling abated, and he found his redemption.
But as he lifted his head and looked up at the bottom of the coffin, he couldn’t help but wonder: was this truly redemption?
After a short respite, he stood up and tried to walk to the side.
He discovered to his horror that every time he moved away from the coffin, the feeling of breathlessness attacked again, each time more ferociously.
Yet before, he had been able to touch the walls and feel the bricks.
This meant that his range of movement had been reduced once again.
He went over to the head of the coffin and suddenly, his vision blurred, and he thought he saw someone sitting on the Taishi Chair facing the head of the coffin.
But when he looked intently again, the person had disappeared.
No, it wasn’t an illusion. Such things could happen anywhere else, but not here!
Xue Liangliang walked in a circle around the coffin, then with a burst of speed returned to the position at the head of the coffin.
This time, he saw someone sitting in the Taishi Chair: it was himself!
Xue Liangliang clenched his fists; he felt on the verge of madness, unable to understand why someone who looked exactly like him was sitting there.
If he was Xue Liangliang, then who was he?
He touched his own face, finding the sensation identical to any other day, ensuring he was indeed himself. When he looked up again, the Taishi Chair was empty once more.
Although circling the coffin might allow him to see the person in the Taishi Chair again, Xue Liangliang no longer had the courage to do it.
Moreover, he couldn’t do it any longer.
Because the feeling of breathlessness had returned, despite one hand leaning on the coffin, it still besieged him.
It was shrinking; it felt like he was standing inside an invisible underwater bubble that had previously moved but was now contracting.
Once he lost its protection, he would no longer be able to find a crevice to catch his breath.
Xue Liangliang stayed close to the coffin, discovering that the closer his face was to the coffin, the weaker the sensation of suffocation.
But gradually, he realized it was not enough; the suffocation was intensifying.
No, it couldn’t be, it just couldn’t...
Xue Liangliang’s feet were on the base frame, his hands grabbing the edge of the coffin as he started to climb up.
Once up, he felt relieved; he had once again escaped the pursuit of asphyxiation.
But as he lowered his head to look down, his gaze fixed, and his mouth agape, his arms went limp, and he fell.
He saw someone in the coffin!
A woman in red clothes, a red veil over her head, with her hands placed on her lower abdomen!
The pain from the fall paled in comparison to the horror of being engulfed by the breathlessness once more.
Previously, Xue Liangliang had been able to run outside to check for the woman’s traces, but now, it seemed impossible to leave this safe zone, not even slightly.
Initially it was only suffocation, but now it felt like a pair of invisible, terrifyingly strong hands were choking your neck.
It wasn’t just the torment of asphyxiation; it included the visceral pain of constantly being strangled and twisted.
Xue Liangliang immediately got up, his feet back on the base, his hands grabbing the coffin edge, hoisting himself back up.
Under the immense torture, he overcame his inner fear, seeking that moment of comfort.
Although, this comfort was likely not to last long.
He tried not to look at the woman lying in the coffin, shifting his gaze from top to bottom, looking in the direction opposite the head of the coffin, and there he saw it again, himself sitting on the Taishi Chair.
Only, the version of himself on the chair was dressed differently: he wore a black, shiny robe, purple trousers beneath, a hat on his head, and a red flower pinned to his chest.