Aunt Maggie's husband and son claimed that last night, when they were looking for Aunt Maggie, they saw Aunt Maggie, who had been missing for several days, in the swamp near the bushes. She was in the middle of the swamp and was dragged into the swamp by a figure.
They couldn't enter the swamp, so they could only watch Aunt Maggie being drowned by the swamp, so they knelt in the chapel and prayed so sadly.
"The bodies of those swallowed by the swamp cannot be found. Poor Aunt Maggie can't go to heaven after her death." Hesha made the sign of the cross on her chest sadly.
Mei Li didn't expect that this incident would eventually involve the swamp monster. She frowned and asked, "Why are you so sure that the swamp monster killed Aunt Maggie?"
Hesha answered as a matter of course: "No matter whether it is a human or an animal, once they walk into the swamp, they will sink into it. The depths of the swamp are even more impassable. Only the legendary swamp monster can drag people into the swamp..."
"Aunt Maggie once told me not to get close to the swamp, lest I be taken away by the swamp monster. I didn't believe her, but now she has encountered a terrible swamp monster herself..."
Seeing that Hesha was crying emotionally, Meili did not discuss this issue with her anymore, but she did not believe that Aunt Maggie was killed by the swamp monster.
It is possible that the person walked into the swamp while being mentally ill, or fell into the swamp accidentally, but she would never believe that the swamp monster deliberately dragged the person into the swamp.
The swamp monster has been busy planting flowers recently, so why would he suddenly go killing people
After hurriedly leaving the market and going home, Mei Li prepared to find his own mobile gardener to confirm the issue.
Not seeing any signs of flowers waiting for him on the roadside, nor seeing any mud he had left behind near his home, Mei Li put down the basket at home and headed towards the swamp in the forest.
The shed built in the winter is still there, but the thick coverings around it have been removed. A few birds are perched on the shed, and the inside is empty.
It's not here either. Compared to the fact that the swamp monster has been following her every day recently, something seems amiss.
She walked through all the small swamps and mud pools around, but did not see the familiar figure. She could only guess that he might have returned to the wilderness.
It was already noon, and she didn't even have the heart to eat, so she headed into the wilderness under the scorching sun.
She had gone there several times to look for the swamp monster, and each time, she had found him, but not this time.
The wind blew over the hem of her skirt, blowing the newly grown weeds into layers of green waves, bringing a fresh grass scent.
She stood in the bright spring sunshine, feeling a sense of oppression that was in stark contrast to the surrounding scenery.
Where did he go
Did...something happen
At dusk, she finally returned home. She was too tired and hungry to think much. After dinner, she still didn't want to rest, so she simply picked up the lamp and went out again.
There is a hazy moonlight tonight, and there are some twinkling lights on the sunny hillside near the house.
Mei Li remembered the moonlit fairy she had met there before, and walked over with a lantern.
"Ah—it's her!"
"Will you come play with us?"
The moon fairy noticed her, stopped dancing in circles, lay on the white stone and talked to her.
Meili stopped one meter away from them and asked them, "I want to ask you, have you seen the swamp monster?"
"ah-"
"Hate-"
"We won't tell!"
A few night goblins screamed and disappeared from the stone flower pattern.
Mei Li just remembered that he might ask the fairies living near the forest if they had seen any trace of the swamp monster and ask them for help, but he failed the first time he asked.
When there was nothing to do, I often saw goblins coming and going around me. Now that something was wrong and I wanted to look for them, I couldn't find any.
Mei Li squatted by the small lake to rest. She scooped up water to wash her face. Suddenly, she saw a spot of light floating on the water, like a firefly, and circled around her ear.
"The swamp monster you're looking for has appeared in the wild—"
A soft voice entered his ears. Mei Li raised his head and heard the little light dot say again: "He's going crazy and making so much noise. Go and take care of him."
As it spoke, the little light fairy covered its ears again and floated away in distress.
Mei Li didn't know what kind of monster it was, or whether what it said was true. She didn't dare to delay and ran towards the wilderness.
The wilderness is a stretch of land from the woods on this side to the middle of the wilderness. Mei Li passed by there twice during the day and did not see any trace of the swamp monster.
The fragrant wind blew across his cheeks, bringing with it a smell of rain and mud. The moist water vapor that appeared on a clear moonlit night was undoubtedly coming from the swamp monster. In addition to this familiar smell, Mei Li also heard a terrifying and strange cry.
Mei Li was cheered up and quickened his pace with doubts. Finally, he saw the tall shadow from afar.
He was still walking on the grass with slow steps, but unlike before when he lowered his head and hunched his body, now he raised his head to the sky and let out... a shrill cry
The cry echoed in the wilderness, so sharp and piercing that it was unbearable and no one dared to approach.
She had never heard him make a sound before, this was the first time. It turned out that he could not speak, but he could make sounds.
But why is he crying
Why is the cry so sharp and painful
Mei Li felt a pain in her ears, so she quickly pulled off a decorative edge of her skirt, rolled it up and stuffed it into her ears, which somewhat blocked out the harsh sound.
She covered her ears and ran towards the swamp monster walking in the grass.
When she caught up with him, she saw that the weeds where he walked were swallowed up by the swamp in the blink of an eye. The swamp spread to both sides at a rapid speed. It was obvious that it would not be long before this area would become a new swamp.
It spreads like a plague.
Mei Li's heart skipped a beat and he avoided the sunken swamps.
"Cute! Stop—"
She gave him a "cute" name, and every time she called him, her heart was filled with light and flying emotions, as if a dandelion was shaken, and the whole heart was filled with flying fluff.
When he heard her call, he would look at her and extend his hand to her, as docile as a large pet.
"cute!"
The swamp monster's shrill cries echoed in the wilderness, completely covering her voice. He kept moving forward. The flowers that were originally blooming on his body had disappeared and were melting, dropping a lot of sticky mud. It was this mud that fell on the ground and quickly turned the ground into a swamp.
Mei Li didn't pay attention for a moment and stepped into the swamp. She struggled to pull her legs out, but her shoes were stuck in the mud and couldn't be pulled out. She gritted her teeth, ignored the shoes, and continued chasing with one foot barefoot.
Some sharp blades of grass cut her feet, causing a dull pain.
Mei Li endured the pain in his ears and feet and ran faster and faster, finally catching up with the swamp monster that seemed to have grown taller. He dropped the lantern in his hand, pounced on him and grabbed his hands tightly with both hands.
Her strength was too small compared to the swamp monster, and when he was no longer docile and would not cooperate, it was natural that she could no longer pull him.
Now he was like a giant that could not be shaken. She hugged his arm, but not only did she fail to stop him, but she was led forward by him.
"Kwai, stop! Stop!" Mei Li shouted.
Being too close, his crying was more devastating. She even felt as if her ears were bleeding. Everything she heard was blurry, even the sound she heard from her own mouth sounded fragmented.
Being dragged forward, she kept calling him even though her throat was sore. After an unknown amount of time, Mei Li suddenly felt the vibrations in her body stop, and her crying also suddenly stopped. There was a sudden silence in her ears, causing tinnitus.
The swamp monster paused, slowly lowered his head to look at her, and seemed to be a little more sober.
Mei Li raised her head and saw two unusually obvious tear marks on the swamp monster's sculpture-like emotionless face. The mouth that had let out a shrill cry earlier was still open, but was slowly closing as she watched.
"Pah—" the transparent water drops that kept overflowing from the swamp monster's eyes hit her face.
The feelings of melancholy and sadness were also passed on to her.
"What's wrong with you? Why are you crying like this?" Mei Li pulled the two pieces of cloth from her ears and stretched out her arms towards him.
The swamp monster lowered its head, crossed its long arms behind her, and wrapped them around her, almost wrapping her in its shadow.
Mei Li's back was pressed against his arm, unable to retreat in the narrow space. She could only feel the swamp monster's tears falling faster and faster, falling on her face and body like heavy rain.
His tears were different from human tears. They smelled like rain soaking grass. Mei Li felt like he was sitting in the grass and getting caught in the rain.
“… I’m going to drown in your tears.”
"Ah, don't cry first... My hair is wet, and my clothes are wet too..."
"Puff—cough cough—" He choked on the water.
Mei Li groped his hands to the swamp monster's cheeks and covered the two "faucets" on his face.
The transparent rain water overflowed from between her fingers again.
Although Mei Li also wanted to wait until he calmed down before making any plans, and they could slowly communicate and sort out any problems, the current situation was that a new swamp was forming around them, and her calves from the knees down were almost completely sunk into the mud.
The swamp monster was still "raining", and by the time he recovered, she might have been buried by the swamp he created.
This is a tragedy, isn't it
She could only hold on to the motionless swamp monster, trying to lift her legs out of the mud and step on his arms.
After forcibly raising his own terrain, Mei Li raised his sleeves and wiped the swamp monster's face.
"Stop crying, big mud. If you keep crying you'll lose your girlfriend."
"If you collect your swamp, you will collect your tears."
"What wronged you?"
"Being bullied? Who dares to bully you?"
I don’t know if he understood all this chatter, but he at least had another reaction—he picked up Mei Li and walked forward.
Mei Li sat on his arms and couldn't help looking at his face. His tears were not as many as before, but they were still flowing down. She suspected that the two tear marks on his face were formed by too many tears.
If they can't be wiped away, won't I become like a cheetah with tear marks all over my body
I couldn't help but put my hand under his chin to get some water and wash my hands.
The swamp monster carried her all the way, and Meili's sleeves were soaked with water from wiping his tears.
"Where are you taking me?"