Prophecy of the Shaman and Fear of the Night.

University life, if anything is not abundant, it is certainly abundant in time. While studying in Chiayi, I heard that the Minxiong haunted house was very famous, so a few of us friends decided to explore it one day.

We chose to enter at noon. My friend, Ah Xia, insisted on praying before entering, and reminded us, "Once we're in, we cannot call anyone's names!"

After praying, the five of us slowly walked into the haunted house, with Xiao Chen responsible for filming with a camera. After walking for a while, I started to feel increasingly scared for some reason, a chill ran down my spine from the soles of my feet. Timid Ah Tian couldn't help but call out to me, "Jingting, let's get out of here!"

After he spoke, I looked at him in shock, and everyone, including Ah Tian, knew he had committed a grave taboo - no one can call out names inside a haunted house.

"They should still be sleeping at noon, and unable to hear us!" Xiao Chen reassured me.

And that concluded our not so pleasant visit to the haunted house.

Fortunately, I lived in the same dormitory with Xiao Chen, Ah Tian, and Ah Xia, so I didn't feel as scared thinking about it.

After we returned that day, Xiao Chen showed us the footage from the camera, and there were no abnormalities, so I felt a bit relieved. They say as long as nothing happens the first night, then nothing will happen, so my companion during the day, Songzi, also came to our dorm and slept with us.

I slept soundly that night, finally feeling relieved, but I still felt a bit scared. So, at Ah Xia's insistence, we went to see the shaman to ward off any potential danger. He had learned online that the shaman was related to the Minxiong haunted house, and that seeing her could turn bad luck into good.

Because there were no road signs in the countryside, and even if we had an address to ask the locals, they mostly didn't know the street names. When we found the shaman's residence, it was already dark. The shaman lived alone at the foot of the mountain, and her house was a traditional red brick building, and there was no one else besides her inside. After explaining our purpose, she didn't understand our behavior.

"Why are you disturbing them for no reason? Come see me when something happens, it's too late now!"

At Ah Xia's request, the shaman finally told me about protective measures.

"They still don't know your surname, as long as you don't tell them you're fine. Come see me again on the first day of next month, I'll help you dispel it. You come alone."

By the time I was on my way back to school, it was already dark. The streetlights in the countryside were not common, and halfway through, I passed by a temple, where an old man was worshiping. Someone was there so late? The more I thought about it, the more uneasy I felt, and I began to feel scared. After arriving at school and asking the other four people, I found out that I was the only one who had seen the old man there, which made it even more terrifying.

On the second night, Songzi came to sleep with me again, and we talked about some things related to the upcoming gathering next week. Suddenly, he asked me, "By the way, what's your surname? I forgot."

I almost blurted it out. Suddenly, Songzi's face became very fierce, and I passed out in terror.

The next day, I woke up peacefully, lying in bed. Everyone else was still asleep, but Songzi was missing. Later, when I saw Songzi again, he told me that he had gone home that day! Knowing this, I almost collapsed. Who was this "Songzi" who asked me my surname that day?

Ah Xia patted my shoulder, reminding me never to disclose my surname, especially on the day of the gathering when there would be a self-introduction session, and also at night.

The day of the gathering went smoothly, and no one mentioned my surname during our conversations. I asked everyone to call me by my English name. That day, Xiao Tian arrived the latest, he said because his tire had burst, so he had to find a repairman, which delayed his arrival. I vaguely felt something was wrong, but fortunately, nothing strange happened until the end of the gathering, and no one asked about my surname.

Before I knew it, the first day of the month arrived. Ah Xia gave me a talisman before I left, telling me to come back early. Xiao Tian originally insisted on accompanying me, but because the shaman had said I had to go alone, and for the sake of my life, I had to bravely go alone to keep my appointment.

When I arrived at the shaman's house, it was just noon, but the door was tightly closed, and no one answered my knocks. After waiting for more than an hour, no one came out, and I found that I had no signal on my phone. For my life, I continued to pluck up the courage to wait, until it was dark, and I finally saw the shaman coming back from outside, carrying a bag of things.

"Good, you're here, I've prepared everything."

It turns out she had gone to prepare the props for the ritual. After I went in with her, I saw a well in the corner of the courtyard and couldn't help but think of the legend about the Minxiong haunted house that Ah Xia had mentioned.

A wealthy man coveted the beauty of a maid, who resisted to her death. She escaped the room and, while being chased, the wealthy man accidentally pushed her into the well. The maid, who died, sought revenge, pulling all the people in the villa into the well one by one...

By my calculations, if that maid were still alive, she should be about the same age as the shaman...

Everything went black before my eyes, and I gradually lost consciousness...

In fact, Ah Tian had always been afraid to tell everyone that on the day he went to see the shaman, just before leaving, the shaman had pointed at me and asked him, "Is his surname Ha?" Ah Tian had slipped and replied, "Huang."