Eerie Red Light
Sitting in the car, Xiao Wenya clutched the paper package to her chest like a treasure.
Jiang Yi glanced at the paper package with contempt and said, “Mom, you actually believe in this nonsense?”
Xiao Wenya was displeased and glared fiercely at Jiang Yi. “Who am I doing this for? If you could find yourself a wife, would I need to worry so much? You’re thirty years old this year, not a child anymore. Do you think I want to worry about you? Your cousin Dongzi is several years younger than you, and now his son is already running around everywhere. And you? Still a single bachelor. My life is so hard—I found a husband who flies around and is never home, and raised a son who won’t let me rest easy. Is my life easy?”
The more Xiao Wenya spoke, the more wronged and sad she felt.
Tears fell in streams, and Jiang Yi immediately panicked.
“Mom, Mom! I was wrong, I was wrong, okay!”
Seeing that Xiao Wenya’s emotions were still unstable, Jiang Yi simply slapped his thigh and gritted his teeth. “Mom, whatever you say goes!”
“You mean it?” Xiao Wenya looked at Jiang Yi while wiping her reddened eyes.
Jiang Yi now had a splitting headache. As long as he could calm his mother’s emotions, she could do whatever she wanted.
“I mean it!” Jiang Yi nodded seriously.
Xiao Wenya immediately stopped crying and smiled. “You should have said so earlier, boy. You made me waste all those tears for nothing!”
Jiang Yi looked up at the sky speechlessly. Women were indeed such emotional creatures.
Gone was Xiao Wenya’s earlier sadness and grievance. She squinted at her son’s defeated expression and felt extremely satisfied.
“Son, drive to your place. We’re setting up this formation today!”
Jiang Yi saw that his mother was serious and wanted to stop her, but was silenced by the look Xiao Wenya shot him.
****
Jiang Yi said proudly, “Mom, although I’m single, I absolutely pay attention to hygiene!”
Looking at the refrigerator that only contained a few cans of beer, Xiao Wenya sighed. “This house really needs a woman!”
After inspecting her son’s work, Xiao Wenya walked around the house and pointed at the furnishings in the living room. “Move the extra stuff out of the living room. Taoist Cao said this formation needs to be set up in the living room to be effective.”
“Mom, are we really setting up this formation? Won’t there be any problems?” The more Jiang Yi thought about it, the more unreliable it seemed.
“At worst it just won’t work. What problem could there be?” Xiao Wenya waved her hand dismissively, flipping through the formation diagram and precautions. After confirming everything was correct, she began directing Jiang Yi to set up the formation.
Jiang Yi looked at the wooden posts carved with ancient characters, the red rope as thick as yarn, and the talismans covered in red lines—everything seemed to exude an eerie air.
Clearly Xiao Wenya didn’t think so. She now placed all her hopes on this supposedly miraculous formation.
Seeing Jiang Yi still standing there dazed, she urged, “What are you doing? Hurry up and set it up according to the diagram!”
Jiang Yi sighed. Under his mother’s intimidation, he could only set up the marriage-altering formation according to Taoist Cao’s instructions.
…..
Looking at the pentagram pattern connected by red rope and wooden posts on the living room floor, Jiang Yi muttered, “Mom, this doesn’t look reliable at all.”
Xiao Wenya looked down at the diagram and slapped her forehead in alarm. “Taoist Cao said we need to paste talismans on these wooden posts!”
Jiang Yi picked up the talismans as instructed and was about to paste them on the posts when Xiao Wenya stopped him.
“Wait!”
Jiang Yi saw Xiao Wenya take out a large pin and gesture at him. “Stick out your hand!”
Seeing the cold glint on the needle tip, Jiang Yi’s body trembled. “Mom, what are you doing? Torture and interrogation?”
“You silly child, I don’t have time for your jokes right now. Taoist Cao said your blood needs to be dripped on the talismans for this formation to work. Hurry up and stick out your hand!”
“Mom, it’s going to hurt…”
Before Jiang Yi could resist, Xiao Wenya grabbed his hand and pricked him without mercy, making Jiang Yi howl.
“Ouch, Mom, be gentle!”
Watching the bright red drops of blood continuously fall onto the yellow talismans, Jiang Yi felt indescribable heartache.
After pasting the talismans on the wooden posts, the formation was complete.
The awesome beams of light and sense of awe he had imagined didn’t appear. The great marriage formation remained as still as dead water. Jiang Yi and Xiao Wenya looked at each other blankly.
“Mom, see, I told you it was a scam! Let’s take it down—it takes up so much space!”
As Jiang Yi was about to dismantle the formation, Xiao Wenya grabbed him. “What’s your hurry? Wait a bit longer!”
The two waited for another moment, but there was still no reaction.
Seeing that it was getting late, Xiao Wenya said, “I’m heading back now. You’re not allowed to remove the formation on your own. I’ll come check in a few days, and if you dare disobey me and remove it, you’ll be sorry!”
Faced with his mother’s fierce warning, Jiang Yi nodded helplessly in agreement.
After Xiao Wenya left, Jiang Yi squatted on the floor looking at the pentagram pattern before him and clicked his tongue, muttering, “It’s clearly a scam. I’ll just leave it up for a few days to save Mom from nagging endlessly!”
Jiang Yi stood up and walked into the bedroom. He hadn’t written today, and if he didn’t work hard to save up chapters, he’d be facing a hiatus.
As daylight faded and night fell, when darkness completely devoured the light, the red ropes stretched across the living room floor suddenly glowed with a ghostly red light. The red light then surged violently, and five beams of light shot straight up, illuminating the pitch-black ceiling with an eerie glow.
In the bedroom, Jiang Yi was completely immersed in his novel’s plot, completely unaware of the eerie scene in the living room.