40 years ago, a bloodcurdling accident took place in Lui Village but it was not about a thunderbolt cleaving the cliff. To the villagers, it might be just a beginning.
Since then, a weird disease started to spread among the closed fishing village, beginning with a solitary senior, then a strong man, and then, kids,
"Weird disease? What was it?" Momo frowned.
Decades passed, but the aunt still revealed a frightened look whenever she recalled that incident. She trembled, "That wasn’t a weird disease! That was the demon‘s curse! It was a curse! I saw one on my sister! Horrible! They… they were not human! They were monsters!"
"Quiet!" Momo yelled in a low voice, a golden light flashed across his fingertips. Again, he pointed his finger at the aunt’s forehead.
That aunt calmed down but her face still showed a sign of panic. She opened her eyes wide, "From both hands to both feet! Something thickly dotted and stiff like deer horns grew there! Finally, their arms and legs turned into things like coral!"
She turned around, her finger was quivering while pointing at a corner of this room, "I saw it that day when I came in! Hidden over there! She hid behind the door, and curled up… she looked at me with fear. And I almost fell down… I ran away."
Momo remained silent. That aunt paused continued talking after pausing for a while, "It was the punishment from the sea lord! Old Female Immortal Huang said that was due to our disrespect towards the sea lord that caused such a punishment!"
"Who is Old Female Immortal Huang?" Momo asked suddenly.
She said, "She’s an immortal, good at divination and can summon dead men to the world! If some one-month-year-old kid is frightened, she’ll be invited to get rid of their fear."
Momo sneered, ‘Immortal? Humph, she must be a cheater. Decades ago, those who purposely made a mystery out of simple things were not practicing the true teachings from each sect of Taoism.’
Some were basic knowledge learnt from somewhere else; others were simply deceptions.
"And what happened next?"
The aunt took a glimpse at Momo with a face full of hesitation but she dared not to withhold anything ahead of his serious look. She whispered, "Old Female Immortal Huang said, there’s only one method to quiet down sea lord’s indignation, that is to return to the sea lord the wife whom it fancies. Otherwise, the whole Lui Village will be cursed and everyone will turn into corals in the end!"
"What’s the matter about the sea lord’s wife?" Momo asked, confused.
The aunt said, "Lui Village has never practiced intermarriage with outlanders… but several years before that accident happened, a fisherman married an outlander who had a mysterious background. We heard that she was saved by the fisherman at the seaside."
The aunt stopped before continuing, "Immortal Huang said that that woman was supposed to marry into the seabed but didn’t arrive there. It turned out that someone picked her up and married her. She gave birth to a child. The sea lord got furious after knowing about the truth! And blamed us–the Lui Village!"
"Then you sacrificed this woman to the sea lord?" Momo loured.
The aunt nodded, telling him, "Right at the rock that was cleaved by a thunderbolt… That day, everyone went there. We… tied up that woman, after conducting a religious rite, we threw her down into the sea."
"F*ck!! Ridiculous!!" Momo pounded the desk heavily, snorting, "You guys were taking an innocent life!"
He took a deep breath, snorting while seeing the aunt dared not answer, "What happened after that? The villagers were healed?"
She said submissively, "Then, Immortal Huang asked people to gather those who were cursed, sending them into the sea as the dowry… since then, no one in Lui Village had that problem!"
Momo squinted his eyes, asking after meditating, "Then, what about that old sorceress?"
The aunt said, "Then, some soldiers came and took her away in the name of breaking away from feudalistic superstition…"
"Stupid, ignorant, blur!"
Momo snorted, patting her forehead and knocking her out. After heaving a sigh of relief, he left this place.
…
…
The newly appointed village secretary started to develop Lui Village into a tourist attraction.
Hear-The-Sea Cliff was also developed into a scenic spot. Guard bar would be built and a stone tablet was set up, carved with the legend of the place being struck by a thunderbolt.
Lizi found Lui Hai sitting on the guard bar on top of the cliff. He was on the verge of collapsing and would probably fall at any time.
Lui Yiyun was terrified.
Ren Ziling drove her red MINI-CLUBMAN at the top speed, arriving at the top soon. Lui Yiyun rushed out of the car.
Lui Hai sat in the circle of beer cans. A bike was blown down by gale beside him.
"Dad! Don’t do anything stupid!" Lui Yiyun said with anxiety.
She ran to Lui Hai, grabbing his arm.
Fortunately, Lui Hai didn’t attempt to resist.
He looked drowsy, gazing at Lui Yiyun and recognizing her after a long while, "Yiyun, you came … Haha… come drink with dad, haha…"
"Dad, come down first!"
"Why… Here is good, what a nice landscape! Look at the sea… And the wind is cool…"
Lui Hai might have stayed here for the whole night. His body was wet due to the rain. It didn’t dry yet. His lips had turned white because of the cold weather.
Ren Ziling gave Luo Qiu a wink secretly.
Luo Qiu nodded. The two walked close to Lui Hai, grabbing his shoulders and pulling him down from the guard bar.
Lui Hai who had fallen down and was still in a daze stood on the ground, stretching his hands out to take the can.
Suddenly, he turned around like a crazy. Shaking his head, his finger pointed at them and yelled, "What do you guys want! You demons!! What are you going to do!! You threw my mum down!! Isn’t that enough? Come on!! Throw me down!! Come on!! You brute!! Come on!! Come on…"
Howling.
"Come on…"