Wasteland: Lao Pei's Warning and the Tragedy of Colleagues

macabretaless 令人毛骨悚然 Short supernatural stories 288 2026年01月03日

Mr. Pei, whose first name is Yeqi, has never harmed any living creatures in his life. He is an honest and respected man in the village, and even shows compassion towards ants and never hurts them. Mr. Pei is in his seventies and has been retired for over twenty years. He used to work at a sugar factory in a nearby town, which was quite a distance from his village. Despite the hardship, he always walked to and from work, no matter the weather, and never complained. His biggest source of comfort is his diligent and virtuous wife and his well-behaved children.

The route Mr. Pei takes to work and back is rough and varied, including mountains, a river, rice fields, graves, and forests. He is not superstitious and does not believe in myths or supernatural beings. One year, the factory gave him a bicycle and appointed him as the temporary manager of a sugarcane station called Gange, which is located on his way back home. Gange is an old abandoned house where many people were unjustly killed during the Cultural Revolution. Despite the superstitions of the locals, Mr. Pei and his eight subordinates, five men and three women, cleaned up the area surrounding the old building and gave it a fresh coat of paint, making it look presentable. One day, they caught a beautiful jade snake while clearing the underbrush, causing the women to scream in fear and the men to become excited. However, Mr. Pei felt uneasy about their intentions. He believed that the snake, too, was a living creature and should not be harmed. Although he tried to stop them, his colleagues refused to release the snake and ended up killing it. Mr. Pei saw sadness and compassion in the snake's eyes and felt that his colleagues shouldn't have killed it.

As night fell, everyone was tired and busy from a full day’s work and went to cook dinner. The meal was rich, with snake meat prepared and a mother chicken killed to make a pot of snake and chicken soup, known locally as Dragon Phoenix Soup. Watching the thick snake soup, which looked like milk, the female companions forgot their fear and ate heartily. "Mmm! What delicious wild food! This is the first time I've tasted such a delicious Dragon Phoenix Soup since I was born," one male colleague said. However, for some reason, Lao Pei didn't feel quite right after eating. Yet, the strong smell of alcohol made him forget his misgivings, and he continued to eat the chunks of snake and chicken. After the meal, everyone, exhausted from the day, quickly rolled out their bedding and arranged their beds in the house before falling into a deep, restful sleep. The rural countryside was eerily quiet, occasionally interrupted by the calls of kites and partridges, followed by the chattering of sparrows, then silence.

In the middle of the night, Lao Pei turned over and felt the urge to urinate. He got up and, under the bright moonlight, went to the bathroom. As he came out, he saw many people coming and going, like a bustling market day. An elderly farmer carrying a plow walked past, and Lao Pei wanted to strike up a conversation with him, but the farmer didn't even look at him and disappeared into the bathroom. Lao Pei muttered to himself, "What’s with the attitude? Can't he just say a word? Ah, forget it, time for bed." As he took a step, he saw an old lady herding a group of ducks. Lao Pei thought that he wouldn’t have to go to the town market the next day to buy vegetables if he bought some ducks from her. With that in mind, he called out to her, "Auntie, are these ducks for sale? How much per pound? I'd like to buy a few." The old lady didn't even look at him and continued on her way with the ducks, leaving Lao Pei puzzled. He shook his head, wondering to himself, "These people are so strange. None of them want to talk." Feeling ignored twice, Lao Pei walked back to the dorm, feeling drowsy. However, as he took a step, he saw several young women wearing silver clothes walking towards him, chatting and laughing. Lao Pei thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but no, there were eight beautiful women, each one looking like a celestial being, dressed in flowing silver clothes. Lao Pei was dumbfounded, standing there like a statue. The young women, upon seeing Lao Pei, immediately stopped laughing and their expressions changed. One of them said, "It was this man's fault that our father was killed." This led to a chorus of mournful crying, casting a gloomy atmosphere. Lao Pei felt anger rising within him. It was the first time he had been unjustly accused. He had always led an honest life and never engaged in foul play, let alone murder! Taking a deep breath, he calmed down. Perhaps these women had mistaken him for someone else. This thought dissipated his anger. Then, an elderly lady suddenly descended from the sky, wearing a colorful robe and a crown, exuding an ethereal air. Lao Pei was astonished. The old lady said, "Children, it's getting late. You should hurry on your journey. It wasn't him who killed your father. Although he has made mistakes, enough. This man is honest and good. I've checked. He has never done anything wrong in his life. He doesn’t even harm an ant. Spare him this time." With that, she gently ascended into the sky, and her voice echoed from above, "Tomorrow you must leave this place. It's not where you belong. But if you stay, it will be left to your fate."

At that moment, a pale light appeared in the sky, and a golden light shot across the horizon. Lao Pei turned around to see what was happening and realized that he had been lying in the bathroom, passed out from the night before, completely oblivious. He laughed at himself, bewildered by how absurdly drunk he had been. He got up, and just as he was about to leave the bathroom, he heard a sound of surprise, "Oh my God, so many little snakes!" Lao Pei rushed out of the bathroom to find many small snakes, each emitting a silver light and looking adorable. He counted, and there were exactly eight of them. Two male co-workers were about to strike them with their clubs, but Lao Pei stopped them, saying, "Don't! Don't hit them. Let them go. They're still so young!" Hearing his words, his colleagues lowered their clubs, and the small snakes neatly slithered into the bushes and disappeared. Lao Pei could clearly see eight celestial maidens with flowing silver robes flying into the sky until they disappeared into the clouds.

In the afternoon, the sky suddenly darkened, and strong winds and heavy rain began. Old Pei, who was about to lead his colleagues to measure the land, quickly led them back inside. At first, it seemed like a hallucination, but on closer examination, male colleague A’s bed was covered in silver snakes the size of two fingers. Some were frolicking on the bed, tangling with each other, while others rested peacefully on the bed, and some were raising their heads and spitting out red cores. A was terrified and trembling, ready to strike the snakes with a weapon, but Pei stopped him, insisting they posed no threat and should not be harmed.

Another male colleague, B, discovered a room full of snakes and attacked them, but even after killing two, more appeared, larger and more aggressive. One snake attacked B, coiling around him and leaving him defenseless, while another opened its mouth wide and swallowed him whole. The female colleagues were fainting from fear, and A was immobile with fear. Pei was overwhelmed, not knowing what to do.

"Something's wrong! Two male colleagues are missing!" one female colleague cried out at Pei's door. It turned out Pei had been dreaming, as the sun outside was still scorching. He asked the female colleague what the fuss was about and suggested they delayed work due to the intense sun. The female colleague informed him that both A and B were missing. Pei comforted the worried group, suggesting the two would return soon, as they could not have gone far in an unfamiliar place. However, upon entering his temporary office, he discovered a few silver snakes on the desk. Startled, he quickly backed out, but upon reentering, the snakes were gone, leaving only the pile of work documents. Recalling his dream, Pei laughed at his own fear and started pondering. Then, he heard the words of the fairy from his dream: "Leave this place soon, as it's not where you should stay for long."

He quickly gathered his colleagues and urged them to pack up and return to the factory. The female colleagues, previously apprehensive, swiftly prepared to leave. Of the male colleagues, only three remained, and two others were unaccounted for. Pei knew but remained silent. As the group started searching, the women, filled with fear, banded together and combing the area, but without success. Suddenly, they felt a chill, and panic spread as they discovered the horrific scene in A and B’s room. They were horrified, and the female colleagues were vomiting uncontrollably.

Realizing the gruesome truth, Pei felt sorrowful and swiftly led his colleagues away, leaving the three male colleagues in a state of shock and fear. Later, the group realized that A had killed the large silver snake, and B had skinned it.

Later, Pei was suspended and then reinstated to his original position as an employee. None of his colleagues had good outcomes, as male colleague C had a car accident on the way to work, male colleague D was electrocuted to death in the workshop, male colleague E had one hand crushed by a lathe while working, female colleague A faced difficulties during childbirth after marriage, female colleague B was unable to conceive a child after marriage, and another female colleague was raped on her way home from work and, feeling unbearable humiliation, drowned herself.

A month later, as Pei returned home, he intentionally took the route passing by the compound where the events occurred. Upon approaching, it was still desolate, with overgrown weeds, as if nothing had ever happened. At that moment, an old man dressed in silver clothes emerged from the compound house, carrying a plow over his shoulder, followed by an old lady also dressed in silver clothes, herding a group of ducks, all moving leisurely.

Originally posted 2024-04-06 12:24:31.

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