As my mom put it, “You’re the older sister. It’s your duty to sacrifice for your brother. You’re supposed to give in to him, no matter what.”
Seeing how “that family” of mine was all acting and thinking in sync only made me even more curious about the locked cabinet.
If opening it would bring disaster upon our whole family…
Well, that didn’t really matter to me.
I was beginning to understand a female character from the film "The Three-Body Problem" and why she pressed that reply button without hesitation.
After calming my awful mood, I headed back to the butcher shop. “Sir, give me another two pounds and four ounces of pork,” I asked.
The shop owner paused when hearing this special quantity. He quickly realized I had begun to uncover the truth.
“Did you smell the stench again? And the malice?” he asked.
I nodded in silence, too scared to say anything. My eyes darted behind me to signal to the shop owner that I was being followed and I urged him not to say anything more.
I had already noticed my brother was tailing me, not far behind and giving a report to my mom.
I tried calling my mom a few times to ask what vegetables I should buy, but her line was constantly busy. I called my brother, too and it was also busy. That’s when it hit me.
The butcher got the message. He weighed out two pounds and four ounces of pork for me and instructed me to come back every day for seven consecutive days.
My dad gave off a burnt odor, my mom reeked of rust, my brother had a blood scent and the cabinet in the kitchen gave off a foul stench...
The four smells mixed together until our home felt like literal hell on earth.
And yet none of them could smell a thing!
On the seventh day, when I bought the pork again, the butcher leaned in and whispered something to me, “Tonight’s the seventh day. After dinner, they’ll get drowsy and fall asleep. At midnight, when the yin energy is strongest, the hidden malice inside them will resurface. You must be extra careful.”
"Oh!" he continued. "During this time, you can open the locked cabinet, find a secluded spot and burn or smash the contents inside. Just make sure to damage them. The next day, expose them to sunlight and your issue with the foul odor will be resolved. This opportunity is rare, so you must seize it.”