C4 Grievance

Bathed in the soft moonlight, the man's eyes glowed with an unnatural green hue. I was momentarily taken aback, but he just flashed a sinister smile, patted my shoulder, and headed straight for the Sunn family estate.

I raced home and recounted everything to my foster father. Despite my account, he remained determined to leave the village.

Once we had packed, we set out in haste. My arm throbbed with pain, but I didn't pay it much mind in the heat of the moment.

Dawn was breaking as my foster father and I neared the village exit. That's when I heard someone calling out my name from behind.

"Changsheng... Zhao Changsheng..."

The voice was unmistakable. I spun around to see Ms. Xiaofeng standing in the nearby woods, beckoning to me.

Without a second thought, I dashed toward her, but as I approached, a towering figure emerged and yanked me aside.

"You... Who are you? Ouch!" I yelped in agony as his grip tightened on my shoulder, fingers digging into my freshly bandaged wound.

Before I could get a good look at him, Ms. Xiaofeng murmured an apology, her head bowed, and then she took off running.

Then, a corpulent man with bloodshot eyes stepped forward, clutching his bloodied ear with one hand and gripping me firmly with the other.

A cold realization washed over me.

"Charlatan Zhao, you little wretch, you and your father will pay for my son's life!" bellowed Sunn Youde in a rage.

My foster father and I were taken back to the village, where I had naively thought that even Sunn Youde wouldn't dare harm us in the light of day. But upon our return, I was met with a shocking sight.

Nearly the entire village had encircled our home, their stares hostile. Mrs. Lin and the Zhou family looked on with eyes brimming with loathing and fury.

What had happened here?

Confused, I looked to my foster father, who had already discerned the gravity of our situation. With a grim expression, he said, "Sunn Youde is trying to pin all the crimes on us."

I looked where my foster father was staring and noticed that the remains of the dead infant and Little Fatty hadn't turned completely to ash. Several charred bones lay half-burnt in the center of the courtyard.

"Sister-in-law, Mr. Zhou, take a look. These are the remains of Gouwa and Little Fatty. Charlatan Zhao has been raising spirits to prolong Zhao Changsheng's life. Who knows how many innocent children have perished because of him," Sunn Youde accused.

"The evidence is irrefutable, and everyone is aware that Elder Zhao used to be a paper craftsman involved in the trade of the deceased. He's always muttering to himself; it's possible he's used some dark magic to kill the children who've died in recent years," the village chief said, stirring the pot.

"Uncles, aunts, grandfathers, and grandmothers, that's not the case..." I defended myself vigorously, but Sunn Youde had conspired with the influential village chief to mislead the villagers, who were all too easily swayed.

Having been considered a harbinger of bad luck since childhood, my attempts to clear my name only seemed to make things worse.

"Village Chief, I'm telling the truth. I heard it from... Big Brother Dazhuang. It was Sunn Youde and his son who killed Gouwa and Little Fatty. They even killed Big Brother Dazhuang," I insisted.

Sunn Youde scoffed and retorted, "You claim you heard it from Big Brother Dazhuang? He's been dead for three days. Are you saying you've spoken to the dead?"

"Yes, I can hear what the dead have to say..." I was cut off mid-sentence by my foster father's stern voice.

"Changsheng, you mustn't speak of it!" he exclaimed.

"I..." I hesitated, but driven by the need to survive, I revealed the secret I'd kept hidden for over a decade, "I can not only hear the words of the deceased, but I can also see the approximate time of death for each of you!"

Yet, as I finished, the villagers exchanged skeptical looks. In a fit of urgency, I pointed to some of the elders and divulged their impending times of death.

"Grandpa Chen, your shackles are nearly gone. I reckon you won't last more than a day or two!"

"You... you little scoundrel, how dare you curse your own Grandpa Chen..." But before Grandpa Chen could finish his rebuke, he passed away, collapsing to the ground.