ID No. 019 - Chapter 6.2

Chen Yang threw the box into the arms of the young man beside him and asked Zhao Yuan, “What color can it be other than red? I’m still human.”

Zhao Yuan choked on his words at the retort. He, Zhang Yan and Lin Yue sat away from Chen Yang, thinking he was cursed. Each of them had their guard up against him.

Zhang Yan asked Lin Yue to aim her phone at Chen Yang while he checked out the wound. He propped himself up with one hand on the ground as he leaned closer to examine him, but didn’t find anything unusual.

“The effects of curses vary from person to person, so the physical changes differ. You might not necessarily turn into a dandelion or develop a liking for fertilizer,” Zhang Yan said.

Chen Yang’s mood soured upon hearing the latter half.

Bang!

The sound of the young man’s crutch hitting a rock snapped Chen Yang out of his thoughts and he no longer panicked about whether he was cursed.

Chen Yang and the others had a discussion before deciding to return to Li Dafu’s house.

The older one gets, the more secrets one comes across. Old Madam Qi was the oldest, but they couldn’t confront her for now. Apart from her, there were a few other islanders who were in their nineties.

Madam Li was one of them.

She hadn’t gone back to sleep and stood hunched over at the door, her head full of grey hair leaning askew.

Chen Yang walked over and asked, “Granny, why’re you standing here? Where’s your son?”

Madam Li did not react.

At this point, everyone started feeling uneasy.

Chen Yang followed the old woman’s gaze only to see a flicker of fire at the end of it. He leaned closer to her ear and raised his voice, “Granny?”

Madam Li’s face, covered in age spots, twitched and her pale lips moved.

The expression on Chen Yang’s face instantly changed and he quickly whispered to the others behind him, “Her breath smells like fertiliser!”

Zhang Yan and Lin Yue promptly retreated while Zhao Yuan stood dumbfounded for a moment before running away.

Chen Yang couldn’t rule out the possibility that those who smelt of fertiliser were the ones who were cursed. Why else would they hide?

The atmosphere dramatically changed within the span of a few seconds.

Chen Yang shot a sideways glance at Zhang Yan and the rest, who were hiding far away by the stacks of hay. He fell silent for a moment, then turned to look at the young man who remained where he stood. Even if he couldn’t run, he could have hobbled away on his crutches.

Regardless if he was indifferent, carefree or simply unafraid of death, the fact remained that he stayed.

Chen Yang did not expect him to interrogate the old lady. It was enough that he stayed. He himself took on the role instead, trying to sound normal as he probed, “Granny, did you know that something happened to Mrs. Liu’s son?”

Madam Li’s hearing suddenly seemed to improve and she replied, “Her son turned into dandelions.”

Chen Yang gulped and nodded. “Yes, he did. I heard that the dandelions burst out of the coffin and now the entire mountain is in flames. We’re all very scared.”

Madam Li’s cloudy eyes shifted from him to the young man, then to the trio who were hiding by the haystacks. “Two are missing.”

Chen Yang’s scalp tingled and he said, “They went out for fun and haven’t come back yet.”

Madam Li’s voice crackled as she said, “You shouldn’t wander around.”

“Yes, we’re very worried too.” Chen Yang continued, “But we’re too afraid to look for them with everything happening on the island.

“It’s terrifying. How could someone turn into that after death? We’re all atheists. Do spiritual beings actually exist in this world…”Chen Yang realised midspeech that the elderly lady was drawing closer to him, sending chills down his spine.

Madam Li opened her mouth, the pungent smell of fertiliser wafting out as she said, “Yes.” Her cloudy, unfocused eyes seemed to be staring off into the distance. “There are. They exist.”

Chen Yang stopped himself from retching. “Did Mrs. Liu’s son actually offend a spirit? He’s just a child. How could he have provoked—”

“Child, why haven’t you all left the island yet?” Madam Li anxiously interrupted, rambling. “Quick, ask Dafu to send you off the island! Hurry!” She paused for a moment before murmuring, “Can’t leave anymore. Dafu can’t leave anymore. No one can send you off the island.”

For a brief moment, the cloudiness in Madam Li’s eyes were replaced with intense fear and regret. She sighed as she turned towards the blaze, muttering, “None of you can leave.”

The air at the door turned still.

Chen Yang watched as the old lady returned to her courtyard, his gaze following her every step of the way. He noticed eleven bags of fertiliser piled next to a cart with an empty sack lying on the ground.

The wind blew, causing the sack to flutter a short distance, briefly scraping against the ground. The sound made their hair stand on end.

He whispered to the young man, who had been leaning on his crutch all this time, “Do you want to eat fertiliser?”

The man remained silent.

“I still don’t want to. Even now… What should I do? I’m starting to feel nauseous. I can’t hold it in anymore. That smell from granny’s mouth is really…” Chen Yang’s eyes abruptly widened and the man furrowed his brows.

Madam Li swiftly grabbed a shovel and dug a hole right in front of the door. Then, she stepped into the pit and began filling it back up.

Chen Yang had the man’s crutch in a tight grip. “What’s she doing?”

“She’s planting herself into the ground.”

Chen Yang shuddered, stuttering as he called out, “Gr-granny?”

Madam Li mechanically continued to shovel the dirt back into the hole.

The hole wasn’t deep and only reached up to Madam Li’s shins. She compacted the dirt using the back of the shovel. In the blink of an eye, her limbs stretched out into long branches, turning into a bizarrely-shaped tree.

Her face began to contort, gradually transforming into stiff bark.

The scene chilled them to the bone.

“Why are you all standing at the door instead of coming inside?” Li Dafu and his son rushed over. Li Dafu’s short, thin body abruptly froze when he laid his eyes on what Chen Yang and the others saw. His hoarse voice trembled uncontrollably as he asked, “Where’s my mom?”

No one answered.

Half of Madam Li’s head was still intact.

The father and son were so frightened that they lost control of their bladders. The smell of urine quickly began to spread.

Li Dafu’s expression darkened as he violently shook. He yelled at Chen Yang and the rest, his eyes bloodshot and a frenzied look on his face, “I’m f*cking asking you, where’s my mom?!”

Chen Yang struggled to find the right words, while the man remained indifferent, detaching himself from the situation. Zhang Yan and Lin Yue were looking at the tree, unable to conceal the terror in their eyes. None of them had the capacity to deal with Li Dafu, who was afraid to face reality.

Zhao Yuan, who was the weakest of the group, couldn’t escape from Li Dafu’s frightening gaze. He immediately broke down crying, “Didn’t you see it?! That’s your mom!” He pointed at the old tree where some of the skin had yet to turn into bark, shouting at Li Dafu, “That’s her!”

“Bullsh*t!” Li Dafu roared, his eyes red as he rushed over and kicked Zhao Yuan. He was about to follow up with another kick when he noticed the change in Zhao Yuan’s expression and turned his head to look.

In front of the door was an old tree, the leaves on its branches swaying gently in the wind.

Li Dafu stood there in a daze. Then, he fell straight to the ground, his head colliding against the floor with a loud thump.

One moment later, he scrambled to his feet and ran into the house, bumping against Chen Yang who stood by the door. When he emerged, he had an axe held tightly in his hands.

“This isn’t my mother! This isn’t my mother!” Li Dafu ran to the tree and wildly swung his axe. He looked like an utter savage as blood dripped down his face. “Monster. This is a monster!”

Snap!

The old tree was chopped down, its branches and leaves scattering all over.

Li Dafu staggered as he tossed the axe aside before rushing into the kitchen with a bundle of tree branches in his arms. He trembled uncontrollably as he stuffed them all into the stove, muttering incoherently, “Burn it all. Burn it all.”