挖坟

我吓得赶紧挪了几步，面朝着爷爷的坟墓，后背靠着火堆，打开手机的闪光灯，照着爷爷老屋的方向。

I was so scared that I hurriedly moved a few steps, facing my grandfather's grave with my back against the campfire, and turned on my phone's flashlight, shining it towards my grandfather's old house.

我没有看到任何一个人，但是那沙沙的声音还在不断的响起，那声音，就好像是有人用指甲在扣沙子的声音！

I didn't see anyone, but the rustling sound continued. It resembled the noise of nails scratching in the sand!

难道是爷爷在坟里面开始挖洞了？他又要出来了么？

Could it be that my grandfather was digging a hole inside the grave? Was he coming out again?

噗通。

Thud.

我直接跪在地上，对着爷爷的老屋开始磕头，一边磕头一边哭喊着：“爷爷，孙儿在这里，你有么子事你托梦给孙儿，你不要再出来了黑人（吓人的意思）咯。”

I directly knelt on the ground, kowtowing towards my grandfather's old house, crying out, "Grandpa, your grandson is here. If you have anything to say, just come to me in a dream. Please don’t come out anymore, it’s too frightening!"

我这么一哭喊，那沙沙的声音果然消失不见了。

As I cried out like this, the rustling sound indeed disappeared.

我以为是爷爷听到了我的哀求，所以不再出来了。

I thought my grandfather had heard my plea, so he wouldn’t come out anymore.

可是没想到，过一会，那沙沙声再次响起。而这一次，不管我怎么哭喊，那声音都没有消失，而且声音越来越大，越来越急促。

But unexpectedly, a moment later, the rustling sound started again. This time, no matter how much I yelled, the sound didn’t go away; it only grew louder and more urgent.

终于，那声音停止了，我看了一眼手机，已经过了十二点，大伯也去了半个多小时，还是没有回来。

Finally, the sound stopped. I glanced at my phone; it was already past midnight, and Uncle had been gone for over half an hour, still not back.

我准备按他说的，先回去。

I was preparing to follow his suggestion and go back.

等我再把手机的闪光灯对着爷爷老屋的时候，我差点吓得心脏停止！

When I shone the flashlight towards my grandfather’s old house again, I was almost scared to death!

我看见爷爷老屋的顶上，一个张大着嘴的头缓缓冒了出来。铁青色的脸精准无比的对准了我的方向，眼睛紧闭着，整个脑袋已经开始有些浮肿。

I saw a head with its mouth wide open slowly emerging from the roof of my grandfather’s old house. The ashen-faced figure was perfectly aligned with my direction, its eyes tightly shut, and the entire head seemed to be starting to swell.

接下来的事情就更加的诡异，我看见他张大着的嘴竟然开始慢慢合拢，然后，在闪光灯的照耀下，往后裂成了一个极其恐怖的微笑！

What happened next was even more bizarre; I saw its wide-open mouth slowly closing, then, under the flashlight’s illumination, it split into an extremely horrifying smile!

爷爷他，在对着我笑！

Grandpa was... smiling at me?!

“啊！！！”

“Ah!!”

我大喊一声之后，就再也不知道后面发生了什么。

After I screamed, I blacked out and lost track of what happened next.

等我再醒来的时候，我已经躺在家里的床上了，我妈坐在我床边，在低声抽泣着，大伯和二伯坐在门边。

When I woke up again, I was lying in my bed at home. My mother was sitting by my bedside, quietly sobbing, while Uncle and Second Uncle were sitting by the door.

我喊了一声妈，我妈见我醒来，不由分说的就抱着我哭。

I called out, "Mom." Seeing me awake, my mother unhesitatingly hugged me and cried.

我看着大伯和二伯，他们也看着我，但是视线相交之后，他们就低头自顾自的抽起烟来。

I looked at Uncle and Second Uncle; they were also looking at me. But after our eyes met, they lowered their heads and started smoking, lost in their own thoughts.

我突然意识到什么，我问，我爸呢？

Suddenly, I realized something and asked, "Where's Dad?"

这么一问，我妈哭的就更厉害了。

As soon as I asked this, my mother cried even harder.

大伯从后腰带上取出一只鞋子，说，昨晚追出去没好久，就见到了你爹的孩子（鞋子），人没找到，听到你喊，我就跑回来咯，刚好碰到你二伯过来。

Uncle took out a shoe from his waistband and said, "Not long after chasing you, I found your dad’s shoe. We couldn’t find him, but when I heard you shout, I ran back. It just so happened that your Second Uncle was coming over."

二伯也说，镇上的人没请到，他喊我赶紧回来，讲可能要出事。我很早就往回赶了，没想到半路迷了路，还是来迟咯。看到你的时候，你晕倒在火堆边上，你爷爷就站到你旁边。

Second Uncle also said, "Nobody in the town could be found. He told me to hurry back, as something might happen. I hurried back, but unexpectedly got lost on the way, coming back late. When I saw you, you had fainted by the fire, and your grandfather was standing next to you."

我挣脱我妈下床，大伯问我要闹那样。

I broke free from my mother's grip and got out of bed. Uncle asked why I was acting like this.

我说我要去找我爸。

I said I wanted to find my dad.

大伯拦下我，讲村支书已经发动全村人搜山咯，你就不要再去了。你爸就你一个娃儿，你要是再出事，我对不起你爸。

Uncle stopped me and said, "The village secretary has set everyone in the village to search the mountains. You better not go again. You’re your dad’s only child; if anything happens to you, I won’t be able to face your dad."

听我大伯这么一说，我妈哭的更厉害了，我没敢哭，因为这个时候我不能哭。

Hearing this from Uncle, my mother cried even harder. I didn’t dare to cry, as I couldn’t afford to at that moment.

就在这时，一个陌生的中年人进了我屋院子，我二伯见到他，噌的一下站起来迎了上去，脸上还带着笑脸，说道，老同学，你终于肯来咯。

At that moment, a strange middle-aged man entered my yard. Second Uncle stood up abruptly and went to greet him with a smile, saying, "Old classmate, you finally decided to come!"

那中年人叹息一声，摇了摇头，讲，唉，我也不想来，事情闹这么大，不来不行咯。你把搜山的人都撤回来吧，我有用。唉，人少了我怕镇不住……

The middle-aged man let out a sigh and shook his head, saying, "Alas, I didn’t want to come. This is such a big deal; I had no choice. You should call back the people searching the mountains; I have a solution. But alas, if too few people remain, I worry it won’t be stable..."

我二伯是一个极有主见的男人，但是听了他这个老同学的话后，立刻就找王青松，让人把搜山的乡亲们撤回来。

Second Uncle, a very decisive man, immediately found Wang Qingsong and instructed him to call back the villagers searching the mountains at the mention of the middle-aged man’s request.

在这个陌生中年人的招呼下，所有人都去了我爷爷的坟地。

Under this middle-aged man's lead, everyone went to my grandfather’s gravesite.

这个陌生中年人似乎有点名气，很多乡亲们竟然都认识他，称呼他为陈先生。我妈一开始还不同意把搜山的人都撤回来，但是知道这是陈先生的要求后，也就同意了。

This middle-aged man seemed to have some reputation; many villagers recognized him and addressed him as Mr. Chen. My mother wasn’t in favor of calling back the searchers at first, but upon learning it was Mr. Chen’s request, she agreed.

陈先生到了坟地之后，也不说话，绕着我爷爷的老屋走了一圈，然后掐了掐手指，就对乡亲们说道，留二十八个男的，其他人都回去。

When Mr. Chen arrived at the gravesite, he didn’t say much, just walked around my grandfather’s old house and then, snapping his fingers, he told the villagers to leave twenty-eight men behind while everyone else could go back.

陈先生又看了一眼我爷爷的老屋，接连唉声叹气了好几下，这才从他随身带来的一个布袋里取出一些东西。

Mr. Chen glanced at my grandfather’s old house, sighed multiple times, and then took out some items from a cloth bag he brought.

有铜钱，有红线，还有一些黄颜色的纸，后来知道，那叫做“符”，以及一些我叫不上名字的东西。

There were copper coins, red string, and some yellow paper, which I later learned were called "amulets," along with some other items I couldn’t name.

陈先生先是用红线在爷爷老屋的四周横七竖八的绕了一圈，在红线上还贴了些“符”，然后叫来这二十八个壮汉，每人发了一枚铜钱，要他们含在嘴里，并且对他们说道：“一会儿不管发生啷个事，不准开口，不准讲话，晓得了不？”

Mr. Chen first wrapped red string around the perimeter of my grandfather’s old house haphazardly, sticking some "amulets" on them, then called over the twenty-eight strong men, handing each a copper coin to hold in their mouths. He told them, “No matter what happens later, don’t speak, don’t say a word, understood?”

他们纷纷点头，于是陈先生站在爷爷的老屋前，看了看天色，已经快下午三点了。

They nodded in agreement. So, Mr. Chen stood before my grandfather’s old house, glanced at the sky, and saw it was nearly three in the afternoon.

噗通！

Thud!

陈先生毫无预兆的跪倒在爷爷的坟前，手上捏了一个很奇怪的姿势，然后恭恭敬敬的对着爷爷的老屋磕了三个头。

Out of nowhere, Mr. Chen knelt in front of my grandfather’s grave, forming a peculiar hand gesture, then respectfully kowtowed three times towards my grandfather’s old house.

磕完头后，陈先生并没有站起来，而是继续跪在坟前，像是自言自语，又像是在对爷爷的老屋讲话，廷公大伯，不孝后生陈恩义，为救人性命，前来叨扰，如有不敬，多多海涵。

After kowtowing, Mr. Chen didn’t stand up; instead, he continued kneeling before the grave, as if talking to himself, or speaking to my grandfather’s old house. "Elder Tian, unfilial younger generation Chen Enyi, has come to disturb you for the sake of saving lives. If I am disrespectful in any way, please forgive me."

说完之后，原名陈恩义的陈先生一抛手里的六枚铜钱，然后弯腰仔细看了看，摇了摇头，又重复一遍之前的动作，磕头，讲话，抛铜钱。弯腰看了看，再次摇了摇头。我看得见，陈先生的脸色在看完第二次铜钱后，开始变得苍白。

After saying this, Mr. Chen, originally named Chen Enyi, threw six copper coins from his hand, then bent down to take a careful look, shook his head, repeated the previous actions — kowtowed, spoke, threw the coins. He bent down again, looked carefully, once more shook his head. I could see Mr. Chen's complexion turned pale after checking the second set of coins.

陈先生就这样前前后后抛了九次铜钱，到最后已经是面无血色，苍白的就好像死人一样。

Mr. Chen did this back and forth nine times with the copper coins, and by the end, he was as pale as a ghost.

第十次的时候，陈先生磕完头之后，没有再好言好劝的讲，而是指着我爷爷的坟骂了起来：“洛朝廷，你难道真的要断子绝孙？如果不是，你就给后生一个好兆头！”

On the tenth throw, after kowtowing, Mr. Chen didn’t speak kindly anymore but pointed at my grandfather’s grave and scolded, "Luo Chaoting, are you really going to cut off your descendants? If not, then give the younger generation a good sign!"

说完，陈先生再一次抛洒手里的铜钱。

After this, Mr. Chen threw the copper coins again.

铜钱刚落地，陈先生就迫不及待的弯腰去看。这一次，他终于脸色缓和了些，松了一口气，然后挣扎着站起来，因为跪的时间有点长，差点摔倒。还好我二伯眼疾手快，扶住了他。

As soon as the coins hit the ground, Mr. Chen eagerly bent to inspect. This time, his complexion eased a bit, and he sighed in relief, struggling to stand up because he had been kneeling for too long, almost falling over. Luckily, Second Uncle was quick and held him up.

随着陈先生的大手一挥，一声令下：“挖坟！”

With a wave of Mr. Chen’s hand, he commanded, “Dig up the grave!”

所有人听到这两字，都是面色一变，就连二伯都是一样。

Everyone changed their expressions upon hearing this command, including Second Uncle.

很显然，没有任何一个人想到陈先生之前准备那么多，竟然是为了挖坟！

Clearly, no one had expected that Mr. Chen had prepared so much just to dig up the grave!

我也是，我之前还以为陈先生留这么多人是为了给爷爷的老屋再加固一层，可是万万没想到，他居然是要挖坟！

I didn’t expect this either; I thought Mr. Chen had left so many people behind to reinforce my grandfather’s old house. But to my astonishment, he wanted to dig up the grave!

我二伯脸上有些难看，我大伯更是直接不准，还指着陈先生的鼻子骂骂咧咧。

Second Uncle looked a bit uncomfortable, and Uncle directly disallowed it, pointing at Mr. Chen and cursing.

但是陈先生是铁了心的要挖坟，可究竟是为什么，他也不解释，就对我二伯说了一句，你如果不想你老三死，就赶紧挖坟。

But Mr. Chen was determined to dig up the grave. As for the reasons, he didn’t explain but told Second Uncle, "If you don’t want your third son to die, hurry up and dig the grave."

这话一出，我大伯和二伯就都没脾气了，赶紧招呼大伙挖坟。

Upon hearing this, both Uncle and Second Uncle lost their tempers, quickly calling for everyone to dig up the grave.

“再不挖坟，就来不及咯。”陈先生看了一眼天色，叹一口气道。

“If we don’t dig up the grave now, it will be too late,” Mr. Chen glanced at the sky and sighed.

那些壮汉再也不敢耽误，拿起锄头就准备挖坟。

The strong men dared not delay any longer and picked up their shovels to prepare for digging.

“九个人一组，轮流挖，剩下的一个站到坟头。记到起，不管啷个样，一旦开始挖坟，就不准讲话，更不能开口。要是铜钱掉到坟里，那就自求多福。”陈先生再次叮嘱道。

“Group of nine, take turns digging; one person stays on the grave. Remember, once you start digging the grave, you are not allowed to speak or open your mouth. If a copper coin falls into the grave, then pray for your own luck,” Mr. Chen reminded again.

接下来的段时间，就看到这二十八个壮汉轮流开始挖坟。他们都不敢说话，就好像是一场哑剧一样，只有锄头锄地的声音不断传来。

In the following time, I saw these twenty-eight strong men beginning to dig up the grave in turns. They didn’t dare to speak, as if it were a silent play, with only the sound of shovels breaking the earth echoing continuously.

陈先生在坟地里走来走去，似乎很是焦急。

Mr. Chen walked back and forth in the gravesite, seemingly quite anxious.

因为爷爷的老屋被水泥加固过，所以最外面一层最难挖。好在昨晚爷爷自己爬出来挖出了一个口子，所以动起工来也不算太难。

Since my grandfather’s old house had been reinforced with cement, the outermost layer was the hardest to dig. Fortunately, my grandfather had dug out an opening himself last night, so it wasn't too difficult to get started.

一个小时后，外面的夯土层总算是被全部挖开，露出了里面的棺材。

An hour later, the outer packed soil layer was finally all dug out, revealing the coffin inside.

陈先生分开众人来到坟边，看了一眼棺材。然后在大家惊诧的眼神中，跳下去趴在棺材上面，把脸贴在棺材上，好像是在听棺材里面的动静。

Mr. Chen stepped away from the crowd to the grave, took a look at the coffin. Then, to everyone's astonishment, he jumped down and laid on the coffin, pressing his face to the coffin as if listening to sounds inside it.

大约一分钟之后，陈先生跳上来，急急忙忙的指着棺材吼道，快点儿开棺，快点儿开棺！

About a minute later, Mr. Chen jumped back up, urgently pointing at the coffin and shouting, “Hurry, open the coffin, quick!”

喊完这话之后，他又马上阻止了大家，然后让那些人把嘴里的铜钱吐出来，在棺材的四周摆了一圈，有三边是九颗铜钱，坟头那边只放一颗。

After yelling this, he quickly stopped everyone again and had them spit out the copper coins they had in their mouths, arranging them in a circle around the coffin, laying nine coins on three sides, and just one on the side facing the grave.

开棺的第一锤是一直站到坟头的那个人敲的，然后大家伙一起开棺，没多一会儿，棺材上的铆钉全部被拔出来，只剩下最后一步，开棺！

The first strike to open the coffin was made by the person who had been standing on the grave, then everyone joined in to open the coffin. In a short while, all the nails holding the coffin down were removed, leaving just one last step, to open the coffin!

我原本以为陈先生会像电视里演的那样，对着棺材做一些法事什么的，可是没想到，陈先生招呼大家一起把棺材盖子给掀开了，大家伙往里面一看，都不由得倒吸了一口凉气！

I had initially thought Mr. Chen would perform some rituals in a manner like they do on television before the coffin, but unexpectedly, Mr. Chen called for everyone to together lift the coffin lid, and when everyone peered inside, they couldn’t help but gasp!

棺材里躺着的，竟然不是我的爷爷，而是失踪了一天的我爸！

Inside the coffin lay not my grandfather, but my dad who had been missing for a whole day!