My grandfather died at 11:58 p.m. that night.
We hired two people to sit vigil, at two hundred yuan for the night. When I brought them a late-night snack, one was sitting on either side of the coffin. One looked up at me, while the other leaned against the wall, dozing.
The next day, the people keeping vigil had changed.
Only later did I learn that those two had died on the very first night. The ones who sat vigil for my grandfather were dead.
On the day they dressed my grandfather's body, his face was covered in green hair. The hair moved as if it were alive. All the chickens, ducks, pigs, and dogs in the house died. At midnight, footsteps and voices came from the main room, and our whole family fled and slept elsewhere for a month.
The feng shui master said it wasn't an accident. Someone had set it all up.
I received a text from one of the dead men who had kept vigil: “Your grandfather's death wasn't an accident.”
Another text came from an unknown number. It said just two words: “Turn around.”
I heard breathing behind me. Then came my grandfather's voice: “Don't turn around. If you do, you won't be able to come back.”
At dawn, a line of crooked writing appeared on the ground: “Go find the old Daoist at White Cloud Temple.”
I took an old compass and climbed the mountain. The compass was alive. It spun by itself and recognized its master. The old Daoist said my birth chart was strong enough that even the dead wouldn't dare touch me. He also said my grandfather's case was connected to a door, one left behind by the Qing dynasty. No one knew what was behind it.
I used to be an ordinary office worker who didn't believe in ghosts or gods. I only wanted my family to get back to normal.
But after the dead man who sat vigil for my grandfather contacted me, I couldn't pretend nothing had happened.
I had to find out: Who killed my grandfather? What was behind that door? And who was the person behind it, holding my hand and telling me not to turn around?
