During the summer vacation of 1978, I returned home from out of town.

To save money, I didn't stay in the county town and walked back to the village.

By the time I was about to reach the entrance of the village, it was almost midnight.

The fog thickened, and it started drizzling.

Back then, unlike now, there were no streetlights, and the road was slippery. I didn't have a flashlight with me, so I relied on my instincts to walk through the fog while holding an umbrella.

I could see the crooked-necked pagoda tree at the entrance of the village from a distance.

As I approached the pagoda tree, white things fell from the fog, as if it were snowing.

I reached out and took a look, only to realize that they were paper money.

I felt unlucky and quickly threw them away.

Just then, I heard a faint sound coming from ahead.

Pitter-patter...

A white object ran towards me.

It wasn't until it got closer that I could see it clearly—it was a snow-white rooster.

But this rooster had no head.

In the countryside, occasionally when a chicken was slaughtered, you could see headless chickens running around the yard, but they usually died after a few steps.

Yet this rooster was lively. Despite lacking a head, its neck stood straight, and drops of chicken blood fell on the ground, forming a trail behind it.

The headless rooster ran up to me, seeming to sense something in front of it. It stopped, then circled around me and ran off again.

As I was puzzled, a long object floated and swayed in the fog, resembling a white jellyfish.

Soon after, two groups of people emerged.

The swaying object in front was a soul-calling banner about seven feet tall. Although it was midnight, the white characters on the black paper could still be vaguely seen, with the words:

"West Heaven Road."

Under the soul-calling banner, people were holding paper houses and paper carts, moving slowly.

It seemed like the people behind were also holding suona horns and drums, as if they were playing them, but there was no sound.

Then, eight people carried a coffin and walked slowly. Behind the coffin, two people were carrying a paper-covered sedan chair, trembling as they walked.

I encountered a funeral procession.