After Huang Xiaotao and I put on masks, we sat down on opposite sides of the table. She spoke first, "Dear, did you enjoy today's meal?" Then she chuckled, "Sorry, sorry. It feels like we're playing house. I couldn't help but laugh. Let me start over again."
She composed herself and asked sincerely, "Dear, did you enjoy today's meal?"
"Your cooking is getting better and better, darling," I responded casually. Then I pondered what to say next, "Oh right, did Mom go out to play mahjong again today?"
Huang Xiaotao nodded, "She did, and won a few dozen yuan today. She was extremely happy."
I sighed, "She usually loses hundreds of yuan. Winning this petty amount is nothing. Don't let Mom keep going out. It'd be nicer if she stayed home and watched TV."
Huang Xiaotao said, "You tell her that. I can't stop the old lady when she wants to indulge in her hobby. You're her son, how could you want to deprive her of that?"
"I'm just worried that something might happen to Mom going up and down the stairs," I said.
Initially, our conversation was completely scripted. We would pause briefly after each line to consider what to say next. But gradually, we immersed into our roles. The dialogue flowed naturally from our mouths, as if we were a real married couple.
We chatted about mundane daily affairs. Huang Xiaotao even pretended to eat with her hands. Strangely, the pitch-black room suddenly became bright. Sunlight streamed in through the window, and I could hear the sounds of a neighbor cooking, a child crying, and dogs barking. Cars passed by outside from time to time.
I felt like I had sunk into a vivid dream. My consciousness completely detached from my body. Without thinking, I heard myself say, "Dear, you're pregnant now, so take care of your health. Don't make oily foods like this next time."
Sitting across from me wasn't Huang Xiaotao wearing the mask, but the deceased when she was alive. She was in her forties, but didn't look old at all. She wore a purple knit sweater with her hair neatly combed, looking every bit a dignified and virtuous wife.
She coquettishly replied, "Every time I stew chicken or pork hocks, you complain they're tasteless. When you get home from work every day, you just want to eat some stir-fried dishes and drink some wine, don't you?"
I looked down. The table was covered with stir-fried dishes, and there was a pot of heated yellow rice wine and a small wine cup in front of me. I picked up the cup and took a sip. The spicy taste of alcohol spread through my mouth and throat. Damn, this felt so real!
I said, "For our baby's sake, I'm willing to eat plain food for a few months. Later, I'll quit smoking too. Secondhand smoke isn't good for the baby."
"We don't know if it's a boy or girl yet. I'd prefer if it's a boy. With a son and daughter, that would be perfect!" she replied.
I heard chewing sounds next to me. I turned to look, and there was an old lady, the deceased's mother, sitting there silently eating.
How could this be so realistic? I could vividly see every detail and action from the day of the murder, as if I was there.
I desperately tried to recall the prescription from the book - false daisy, longan, mouse-ear hawkweed, aconite... Damn! This wasn't an emotion-evoking prescription at all. This was clearly a hallucinogenic concoction. Ancestor, you tricked me!
But by this point, I was already fully immersed in the scene, even my own consciousness started to become blurred...
'I' was enjoying the delicious food and wine when suddenly, there was a buzzing sound in my ear, like an extremely shrill sound drilling in and out of my skull. My head throbbed with pain and I instinctively put my hand over it.
'My wife' asked worriedly, "What's wrong, dear?"
'I' replied, "Maybe I caught a cold..."
"I told you to wear an extra pair of long underwear since the weather was getting cold, but you refused to listen. Didn't Mom always say 'neglecting your feet is asking for frost on your head'?" After speaking, 'my wife' got up to close the window.
Then suddenly, she also grabbed her head and sat down, groaning in pain. 'Old lady' stopped eating as well, covering her head and moaning.
The three of us sat at the table, simultaneously gripped by this strange sensation.
I suddenly realized the bizarre sound was the key to this case!
"Why does my head..." 'My wife' held her head, frowning as she asked.
"Go close the window!" 'I' yelled.
"I can't, my head hurts too much to stand up!"
"Go close the window now!!!" 'I' slammed the table.
"Don't yell at me." 'My wife' suddenly smashed her bowl into pieces. "All you do is order me around everyday. Do you think it's easy for me? I quit my job to serve you and the children, endless housework everyday. Look what my hands have become!"
"You ungrateful bitch." 'I' shouted angrily, "I hustle outside everyday, bowing and scraping to clients like a sycophant, drinking until I vomit blood for this family. The burden of the entire family rests on my shoulders alone. Not only are you not considerate of me, you suspect I'm keeping a mistress! You even search my clothes!"
'My wife' flew into a rage, "Don't try to fool me with these words. Coming home so late every night, secretly hiding a cell phone. Who knows what you're up to out there!"
'I' whipped out my belt and snapped it loudly, "Bitch, you dare speak to me like this? I haven't laid a finger on you all these years, but you've grown more and more ungrateful. Today I'm going to teach you a lesson."
"Go ahead and hit me, I'm carrying your child!" 'My wife' said, then flung the entire table over. She had astounding strength, and the entire table of food and dishes poured towards me like rain.
'I' instinctively shielded my face, then lashed out with the belt. 'My wife' grabbed my arm with her hands, baring her teeth as she pounced towards me. I kicked her hard in the stomach, sending her flying back.
At this time, 'old lady' trembled as she frantically slapped the wheelchair armrests, loudly pleading, "Stop...stop..."
Seeing the old lady, 'I' suddenly felt an unprecedented disgust. I yelled at her, "It's all because of you, you old hag who refuses to die. You've burdened me with having to support both the old and young. My whole family's burden rests on my shoulders alone. You're so inconsiderate, I spent all the house down payment money to treat your illness, yet all you do is go out and gamble away my hard-earned money everyday!"
In a burst of rage, 'I' picked up a pair of chopsticks off the floor and viciously stabbed them into the old lady's eyes. I used so much force that the rough ends of the chopsticks stabbed into my fingers.
It felt like the chopsticks had pierced straight through the eyeballs and into the brain.
The old lady's bloodcurdling screams nearly shattered my eardrums. Her hands flailed wildly in the air, shredding my arms.
In a frenzy, I suddenly had astounding strength. I picked up the old lady and her wheelchair and flung them out the window.
With a crash, the old lady fell dead below.
Suddenly, I was gripped by a complex swirl of emotions - gratification, regret, bewilderment. What had I become? Why did I kill my own mother? My God, how could this happen!
Just then, 'my wife' leapt at me, hair in disarray, like an avenging spirit from hell. In her hand was a sharp cleaver that she slashed at me wildly.
I scrambled backwards desperately. My shoes crushed the broken bowls and plates on the floor. 'My wife' shrieked, "I'm going to kill you!" The cleaver in her hand whirled so fast it was a blur, slicing open several deep gashes on my arms and shoulders. The skin and flesh were split open, an especially horrifying sight.
Perhaps the knife was too sharp. At first I didn't feel any pain, but then a scalding pain seeped into my marrow. This agony provoked the beast in me. I kicked her away, then rushed into the kitchen to grab a cleaver.
Suddenly, an invisible fist struck my face, and something flew off.
Then my vision became blurred. The kitchen, blood, and the roaring 'wife' slowly faded before my eyes...
"Song Yang, wake up!" Wang Yuan shook my shoulders vigorously.