Sister's Home 2

My name is Xu Si. Ever since I could remember, I have lived in this place called Qingping Town. The town is not large; a winding flagstone path runs through it from east to west, flanked by scattered old wooden buildings. The crooked locust tree at the town entrance serves as our usual gathering spot.

In Qingping Town, there is a legend that everyone treats with deep dread: the Sister Drum. The elders often say that the drum was crafted from the skin of a young woman. Whenever it is struck at midnight, her vengeful spirit appears to grant the drummer’s wishes, but the price is devastating, plunging the entire town into endless darkness.

When I was a child, I once saw that drum from a distance in the abandoned, dilapidated temple at the west end of the town. It was carelessly tossed in a corner, its dark red surface exuding an eerie aura in the dim light, surrounded by a faint, misty fog that made one tremble with fear. Since then, the shadow of the Sister Drum has frequently appeared in my dreams, where a blurred voice always calls out to me, "Xu Si... Xu Si..."

I have a childhood friend named Ah Ming. He is very bold and filled with curiosity about the legend of the Sister Drum, always pestering me to help him uncover the truth. "Si, do you think the Sister Drum is really that magical? Maybe it’s just the elders trying to scare us."

Ah Ming brought this up more than once. Each time, I hurriedly stopped him in fear: "Ah Ming, don't talk nonsense; this is nothing to play with." But Ah Ming would dismiss my concerns, his eyes gleaming with eagerness.

One evening, Ah Ming dragged me toward the outskirts of town. "Si, I’ve discovered a secret. Come with me and see." I was terrified, but unable to resist him, I followed him tremblingly.

We arrived at a long-abandoned courtyard outside the town. In the center stood a dilapidated pavilion, and inside sat a drum—the Sister Drum.

Ah Ming ran over and reached out to touch it.

"Ah Ming, don't touch it!" I screamed in terror.

But it was too late. The moment his hand brushed the drumhead, the previously clear sky was instantly blanketed by black clouds, a gale arose, and eerie cries echoed from all around.

Ah Ming turned deathly pale and scrambled to my side. "Si, what... what is happening?"

I was trembling all over, but I forced myself to remain calm. "Let’s leave quickly; we may have offended the Sister."

Just as we turned to leave, a woman in a white robe, her hair veiling her face, slowly appeared before us. "Why do you disturb me?"

Her voice was ethereal and icy, as if it had come from hell. Ah Ming collapsed to the ground in terror, and my legs went weak, but I summoned my courage and said, "Sister, we didn't mean it. Please, let us go."

The woman did not respond; she simply raised her head, revealing a face of mangled flesh and blood. I shrieked, everything went black, and I passed out.

When I woke up again, I found myself lying in my own bed, with Ah Ming sitting beside me. "Si, it’s all my fault. I almost got us killed."

I comforted him: "It's alright, Ah Ming. Let’s never touch these strange things again."

But the matter did not end there.

From then on, I often heard the woman’s weeping in the night: "Xu Si... Xu Si..." The sound was mournful and shrill. I knew she would not let us go so easily.

One day, Ah Ming found me again, looking flustered. "Si, I dreamt of the Sister again last night. She told me to strike the Sister Drum, or she would take my life." My heart skipped a beat. "Ah Ming, this is surely her trick; you must not go." But Ah Ming said despairingly, "Si, I feel I cannot escape. If I don't do as she says, I will truly die."

A few days later, Ah Ming went missing. I searched everywhere for him, asking every person in town, but no one knew where he had gone. I had a faint, ominous premonition: had Ah Ming gone to strike the Sister Drum?

I decided to investigate the abandoned courtyard. When I returned, I found the Sister Drum was gone, leaving only the empty pavilion. Suddenly, I heard a familiar drumming sound from afar—*thump, thump, thump*—dull and eerie. I followed the sound to the dilapidated temple at the west end of town.

I crept into the temple and, in the dim light, saw Ah Ming standing before the Sister Drum, beating it frantically. His eyes were vacant, and he kept muttering, "I don't want to die... I don't want to die..." I rushed over to stop him: "Ah Ming, stop!" But he seemed not to hear me, continuing to strike the drum wildly.

Just then, the Sister’s figure appeared again, floating in the air and slowly approaching Ah Ming. "Ah Ming!" I shouted. Ah Ming finally regained his senses and looked at the Sister in horror. "Save me, Si!" he pleaded. Ignoring my own fear, I rushed over, grabbed him, and ran. But the Sister was incredibly fast, catching up to us in an instant. She reached out her hands, trying to seize us.

In the panic, I saw a stone on the ground. Without thinking, I picked it up and threw it at her. Strangely, the stone passed through her body, but the Sister let out a sharp cry, and her form began to dissipate. Ah Ming and I froze, not knowing what had happened.

Just then, an old, raspy voice echoed in the temple: "Children, leave here quickly. The vengeful spirit of the Sister Drum cannot be easily dispelled." Following the voice, I saw the town’s old shaman. She told us that the spirit’s resentment was too deep, and only by finding her remains and giving her a proper burial could her anger be calmed.

Guided by the shaman, we found the Sister’s remains in the temple’s backyard. We held a simple funeral and laid her to rest. From that day on, the weeping ceased, and Qingping Town returned to its former peace.

After this experience, Ah Ming and I understood that there are some mysteries one should not touch lightly. Our lives returned to normal, yet whenever I passed that abandoned courtyard, I would recall that terrifying ordeal, a chill creeping into my heart.

Years later, a group of strangers arrived in Qingping Town, dressed in peculiar clothes, claiming to be researching ancient culture. Among them was a young man named Lin Feng, who was particularly interested in the legend of the Sister Drum and inquired about it everywhere. When Ah Ming and I heard this, we found him and shared our experience, urging him not to repeat our mistakes.

Lin Feng was not deterred; instead, he grew more determined. "Xu Si, Ah Ming, I believe there is no riddle in this world that cannot be solved. I will definitely find a way to let the Sister rest in peace." His eyes were filled with persistence. Ah Ming and I shook our heads helplessly, knowing we could not dissuade him.

Lin Feng began searching for clues, poring over ancient books and asking the elderly. Finally, he discovered a secret. The owner of the Sister Drum was a woman named Ah Zhen. She was an ordinary girl in Qingping Town, but a local tyrant had set his sights on her. To possess her, he murdered her family, and Ah Zhen was cruelly skinned to make the drum.

Lin Feng decided to avenge Ah Zhen. He sought evidence to bring the tyrant to justice, but the tyrant wielded immense power in town, and Lin Feng’s investigation was met with heavy resistance. One day, he came to us, hoping for help. "Xu Si, Ah Ming, Ah Zhen was so pitiful. We cannot let her die in vain, nor can we let the tyrant continue to roam free," he said sincerely.

Ah Ming and I exchanged glances and nodded. We decided to help Lin Feng seek justice. After much effort, we gathered enough evidence to report the tyrant to the authorities. Faced with ironclad proof, the tyrant finally received his due punishment.

Since then, Lin Feng often visited us. He even wrote a book about the Sister Drum, letting more people know of this tragic history. As for Ah Ming and me, we finally shed the shadow of the drum and lived peaceful lives. Yet occasionally, in the dead of night, I still recall the Sister's mournful cries and silently pray that she has found peace in another world.

***

After the tyrant was brought to justice and Lin Feng left town, Ah Ming and I believed life would remain calm. However, the gears of fate had not stopped turning; it was merely a brief respite before the storm.

A few years later, a rare drought struck Qingping Town. For months, not a drop of rain fell; crops failed, and the villagers fell into despair. The town elders began to whisper that this was a punishment from the gods for disturbing the Sister Drum.

One day, while fetching water from the old well at the town entrance, trying to squeeze a few drops from the drying depths, a cold wind blew, and I shuddered. In a trance, I heard that familiar, chilling voice again: "Xu Si..." It was faint yet filled with resentment, as if coming from an endless abyss. I looked around in terror, but no one was there.

Back home, I told Ah Ming. His expression turned grave. "Si, has the Sister returned? But didn't we avenge her and bury her properly?" We racked our brains but could find no answer.

Meanwhile, strange phenomena plagued the village. At night, villagers heard faint drumming—like someone striking the Sister Drum in the distance, each beat striking our hearts. Children began to run fevers and babble, as if seeing something horrific.

The old shaman returned, telling us we must hold a grand sacrificial ritual to appease the spirit. We gathered offerings and held a ceremony in the town square, but it did nothing; the drought persisted, and the eerie occurrences grew more frequent.

Ah Ming, seeing the town decline, looked at me with determination. "Si, I believe there is a hidden truth here. We cannot just sit and wait for death. Perhaps we missed some clues. Let's go look again." Though I was afraid, I knew I could not watch the town perish, so I agreed.

We returned to the abandoned courtyard, now even more dilapidated and choked with weeds. We searched every corner until Ah Ming found a hole hidden by vines. "Si, look, a hole!"

We cleared the weeds. The entrance was small, only large enough for one person. Ah Ming volunteered to go down while I kept watch. He climbed into the darkness, which was filled with a pungent, rotting stench.

As he felt his way along, his hand touched something cold. It was a human skeleton, its hand clutching a piece of tattered cloth. Ah Ming retrieved it and climbed back up.

"Si, look at this." He handed me the cloth, which bore faint, illegible writing. After careful study, we realized these were Ah Zhen’s last words. It turned out her soul had been trapped in town, unable to move on. Even though the tyrant was dead, a mysterious force behind him had been manipulating everything to prevent her soul from finding rest.

According to the clue, this force hid in an abandoned ancient tomb outside town. To end the crisis, we decided to infiltrate it.

We prepared simple tools and, on a dark, windy night, set out. The tomb was on a desolate hill, surrounded by an eerie aura. We followed a narrow path to the entrance, which was carved with strange symbols.

Inside, the tomb was damp, with faint green lights flickering on the walls. We moved cautiously until a deep roar echoed ahead. Ah Ming gripped his torch, eyes alert. A massive, rotting monster with blood-red eyes charged out of the darkness.

I screamed, and Ah Ming shielded me, brandishing the torch to drive the beast back. As it lunged, he threw the torch at it; taking advantage of the monster's recoil, we fled.

We stumbled into a side chamber with a half-open door and a faint light. Inside, a massive stone stele was covered in inscriptions. Reading them, we finally understood the full picture: the mysterious force was an evil organization attempting to use Ah Zhen’s soul to gain power and rule the town. They had set traps and caused the drought to stop her from finding peace and to halt our interference.

Beside the stele, we found an ancient book detailing how to break the curse and defeat the organization. We found a mechanism in the chamber, and when activated, a flash of light revealed Ah Zhen’s figure.

Her face was no longer terrifying, and her eyes were filled with gratitude. "Xu Si, Ah Ming, thank you. I have been trapped too long, but now I can be free." Her voice was gentle and ethereal. We promised to help her escape the organization’s control.

Ah Zhen infused us with her power, enabling us to stand against our foes. We left the tomb, ready for the final confrontation.

Outside, we were surrounded by the organization’s men. A man in black robes sneered, "You thought you could stop our plans? How naive. Today, you die."

Ah Ming and I, unafraid, used the power Ah Zhen had bestowed upon us to fight. We gained the upper hand, but their numbers were overwhelming, and our strength began to wane.

Just then, Lin Feng appeared. He had been monitoring the situation after leaving town and had rushed back upon sensing danger. His arrival boosted our morale, and together, we defeated the organization.

With their fall, heavy rain began to fall, ending the drought. Ah Zhen’s soul finally found peace, her figure fading into a radiant light.

Qingping Town slowly regained its vitality. The villagers learned not to be blindly superstitious, nor to hide from the unknown. Ah Ming and I grew much from this, cherishing our hard-won peace.

After staying for a time, Lin Feng set off on a new journey, carrying our legendary tale to share with the world. Ah Ming and I remain in Qingping Town, guarding the land we love, looking forward to a future filled with tranquility and beauty.