The quiet Wu Miaoke didn't lose her composure. She poured a cup of tea for each of us, and I looked up to see Lin Xiaoyao secretly watching me from the corner.
"Tell us, young man," the fat policeman said to me as he watched Wu Miaoke walk away.
I gave him a cigarette and slowly told him about my grandfather's funeral, which had started from the day of the seventh day after his death, up to the death of Sanye today.
The fat policeman, who initially had a slightly flushed face after seeing Wu Miaoke, began to turn white as he listened to my recounting.
"Is it really true, young man? You need to understand that you're telling all this to the police!" the fat policeman wiped the sweat off his face.
"Wang, it's true. At the beginning, I also did this," Lin Sanshui said.
"Lin Sanshui, I shouldn't be saying this as an officer, but damn, for this kind of thing, you should find a Daoist priest, what are you coming to me for!" the fat policeman stood up and scolded.
As soon as he finished speaking, the thin policeman pushed open the door and entered. The fat policeman quickly went up to him and asked, "Lao Song, what's the situation?"
The thin policeman looked at me and said, "You reported it? This person died of natural causes."
"Natural causes?" The fat policeman gasped in shock.
"Yes, there were no external injuries on his body, nor were there any signs of struggle. He should have died from organ failure due to old age," the thin policeman said.
"Alright, Lao Lin, let's meet in town another day. I'm leaving!" The fat policeman dragged the thin policeman and practically fled.
"Wang, can you go take a look at the grave? It might have been disturbed," Lin Sanshui said to the fat policeman.
But the fat policeman just walked away without even looking back. He didn't even have the time to greet Wu Miaoke.
"Xiaofan, what do you make of this?" Lin Sanshui asked me helplessly.
"Let's hire a Daoist priest," I said to Lin Sanshui.
"You, a college student, believe in this stuff too?" Lin Sanshui looked at me incredulously.
"Whether I believe it or not is not the most important thing, it's important that the villagers believe it," I said, furrowing my brow.
Because of Sanye's death today, the situation regarding my grandfather's rising from the dead was no longer something that could be kept hidden. If it were just rising from the dead and appearing in my bed, that would be one thing.
But this time, Sanye had died because of it, the venerable elder that everyone in the village respected.
The police could say he died of organ failure, but could the villagers believe that?
Empathizing with the situation, even if Sanye really did coincidentally die there, if it were me, could I believe it?
When Lin Sanshui and I returned to the ancestral hall, it was already apparent that my speculation was correct. After the police left, the villagers were all greatly agitated and said they wanted to seek justice for Sanye.
All are our fellow villagers, and they wouldn't make things difficult for our family, but they have just one request, which is to cremate my grandfather's remains.
First, to prevent any future exhumation and also to give a proper account for Grandfather San.
Is this request excessive? In my opinion, not at all, in fact, I have had the same thought myself, Grandfather cannot keep causing trouble like this.
Otherwise, sooner or later, I would go crazy.
But what is not excessive to me, is impossible for my family to accept. So when my grandmother heard the villagers say they wanted to burn my grandfather, she immediately went home and grabbed a kitchen knife to run over.
There are local traditions in the countryside, especially here.
When a person dies, cremation signifies releasing their spirit, subjecting it to the suffering of intense burning, never to be reincarnated.
"Who wants to burn my old man, has to kill me first," my grandmother said with a kitchen knife in her hand, just like that.
My father's thoughts are almost the same as mine, but due to the existence of this legend, we cannot tolerate them cremating my grandfather's body.
Second Uncle didn't say a word from beginning to end, just stood behind Grandmother when the villagers argued with her. This simple act made me feel much closer to him.
Some people are not good at expressing their feelings.
A single act expressed all his thoughts.
I am behind you, we are a family.
The reality is not as dramatic as a novel with such a passionate and conflictive situation, we are all fellow villagers, so it shouldn't be too distressing.
But understanding should be mutual, they can understand our refusal to cremate Grandfather, and we should also understand their concerns. Having a restless old man's body in the village, I guess even those with weak hearts will have trouble sleeping.
That's why I just told Lin Sanshui earlier that we must find a Taoist.
Because we must give a proper account for Grandfather San, for all the villagers, and have an attitude in handling this.
And this time, it's not just a minor illness or trouble with ghosts, this problem is serious, causing a loss of life. So, when we found the usual "Grandmother" in the village, she directly said, Lin Lao had a lot of killings in his life and now countless resentful spirits were troubling him.
It means the problem is big, and she cannot handle it.
Actually, I understand. This so-called "witch" who usually helps the villagers with minor illnesses and troubles can play occultism all she wants. But when it comes to real issues, she wouldn't dare to take on such a job.
"You can go ten miles away to find a person, a Feng Shui master, who has a relationship with the netherworld from his early years, you should go find them, and they will have a solution," Grandmother said.
We paid her three pieces of money as a token of appreciation. This is a custom, the rural "witches" are usually just quacks, and most of the time what they provide to dispel evil is just pills or herbal medicine. It's just a small token of appreciation from the villagers, and Grandmother's standard price is three pieces of money, less is not acceptable and she doesn't want more.
"Xiaofan, I know the Feng Shui master ten miles away, I am just about to go to town, I can help you invite him over on the way. Since this is related to your grandfather, your family will bear the cost, right? If the money is not enough, I can advance your salary for a few more months," she said.
"It's fine, it's what we should do, the family should still have some money, so we won't trouble you," I replied. When I heard him say he was going to town, my emotions were quite complicated.
Annoyed that he has such a good wife at home, why go to town?
But also happy, go ahead, then you can stay away from Wumiao Ke.
When I returned home, my grandmother was still crying there. Grandfather, I didn't even know which time this was for his reburial, and this time, there were not as many rituals as the first time, the burials afterwards were all rushed, none of the families could stand such a disturbance.
After we had completed the burial for Grandfather, we immediately went to find wood and started building Grandfather San's old house. Grandfather could be buried within two days due to the unglamorous nature of his death and the hot weather, but Grandfather San absolutely cannot, because his status in our village is completely incomparable to that of my grandfather.
He was the clan leader during his lifetime and was a person who strictly adhered to the customs. My father even had to persuade him before he reluctantly agreed to be buried within two days.
So Grandfather San must observe the old customs of our village and his body must be laid in state for three days.
So the coffin must be made as soon as possible, because it's hot now and Grandfather San has to stay in the coffin during the period of observance. Otherwise, his body would swell and foam after today, and it would be very troublesome to prepare him for burial.
After settling all this, it was already getting dark. Since Grandfather San had no children, our family had to take full responsibility for his funeral, and so we had to take turns to observe his body.
People gradually came to pay their respects, offering incense to Grandfather San, in the early part of the night. Later on, fewer and fewer people came, and eventually, only the three of us were left to burn incense for Grandfather San.
Who is feeling the most pressure recently? Definitely not me, but my father. He is the head of our family and has to consider many more things than I do. At this moment, he looked extremely haggard as he said to me in front of Grandfather San's coffin, "Xiaofan, I have no fear if anything happens, but if this incident occurs, who will dare to marry you in the future."
"Dad, don't worry, I won't be an old bachelor, you go and rest first. I and Second Uncle will manage here," I persuaded him.
"You go rest, and after this, quickly go to your classes, get your salary and don't delay your studies," he insisted on not leaving. Eventually, we agreed that he would rest first, and then we would take turns resting, as observing the vigil was to last for a full three days.
After my father left, I felt exceptionally bored. Second Uncle was also a very reserved person, so what is there to talk to him about? Thus, after remaining quiet for half an hour, feeling annoyed by the heat from burning incense and paper money, I asked Second Uncle a topic, "Do you think, Second Uncle, if Grandfather San's death might have been caused by Grandfather?"
"It wouldn't be," he responded without hesitation.
"How can you say that?" I asked.
"Do you think your grandfather would do such a thing? Moreover, there isn't a single wound on the clan leader's body, it's very possible that it was a cold entering his body at night, and since he's already very old, death was just around the corner, and that bit of cold became the catalyst for his death," Second Uncle replied without much silence this time. Moreover, what he said seemed quite reasonable.
This piqued my interest, and I asked him, "In that case, Second Uncle, what is your opinion on Grandfather's death? Is it true that he was troubled by the many killings he committed, or was it a deliberate act?"
"It's not a deliberate act," he said, "I didn't sleep at all on the seventh day, but I have no idea how he ended up on your bed without making a sound. This seems to be quite mysterious."
"So, what you mean is, Grandfather was truly troubled by spirits from the netherworld?" I changed from using "you" to using "you" to address him, showing that what he said seemed quite reasonable. Moreover, his earlier statement of not sleeping on the seventh day indicated he was someone who did things quietly, making me feel a rush of warmth inside.
"Nonsense, troubled by too many killings? Would that mean everyone who has been to the battlefield should be haunted after death? Not to mention, I heard that people who have killed have an aura of dread and even ghosts are afraid of them. In ancient times, the executioners' execution tools were often used to ward off evil spirits from houses, and many people have done so." Second Uncle said.
I wholeheartedly agreed with what he said because when I was in college, one of my roommates liked to watch horror movies from Hong Kong and Taiwan and most of them had this belief.
Second Uncle is truly wise!
Now I wasn't feeling sleepy at all, and I had even stopped burning the paper money in my hand. I asked Second Uncle, "So, what do you think of Grandfather's circumstances?"
"I don't understand this, but I feel that if ghosts really exist, there must be rules in the yin and yang realms. Otherwise, the world would be in chaos. Your grandfather not reincarnating must be because there is something he can't let go of, maybe it's you, or perhaps he's worried about your marriage. Once you get married, maybe this matter will disappear." Uncle Er occasionally made a joke with me.
But until now, he has never called my grandfather "Dad" even once. He just uses "your grandfather" instead.
I didn't pay attention to this, with regard to Uncle Er's joke, I just said, "I'd rather believe that he hid some private money. So, he passed away while still holding on to it."
After that, we had nothing more to say. But even with just a few sentences, I was already satisfied because I felt that as long as we continued to communicate like this, my relationship with Uncle Er would become increasingly harmonious. It's not that I can't stand his silence, it's just that living under the same roof as family, who doesn't hope for a good relationship?
After almost an hour, it was already 2 in the morning, and I wasn't feeling sleepy. So, I said to Uncle Er, "Uncle, why don't you take a nap?"
As soon as I finished speaking, I suddenly heard someone calling out, "Xiaofan."
The ancestral hall was filled with memorial tablets. Apart from that, there were only the two of us and the third grandfather in the coffin. I thought someone had come to pay respects to the third grandfather at such a late hour, so I replied, "Who is it?"
But no one answered me.
In an instant, my hair stood on end. Although it's true that the ancestral hall was filled with our Lin family's ancestors, it didn't prevent me from feeling scared.
I called out loudly, "Who's there! Stop messing around!"
At that moment, someone called out again, "Xiaofan..."
The voice was very eerie, just like the ghostly voices in horror movies. This scared cold sweat out of my entire body.
I looked at Uncle Er, and he had a serious expression too.
Because I recognized the voice, it was my third grandfather's voice. And the sound was coming from inside the coffin in front of me!
When encountering such a situation, my first reaction was to immediately burn some paper money and throw it into the incense burner, then kowtow several times, and call out to the coffin, "Third Grandfather! Please don't scare me!"
I'm not a very timid person, but when it comes to this kind of situation, being anything but timid is impossible. - Who dares to tell me now that there are no ghosts in the world? I'd smack them to death!
"Third Grandfather, if you have any instructions, please go ahead." I kowtowed and called out.
I admit, I was really terrified at that moment! My mind was almost blank.
At this moment, Uncle Er stood up. Slowly, he walked toward the coffin. I couldn't figure out the situation, but I knew that it was definitely not wise to approach the coffin at this time. I can say that if it weren't just the two of us in the ancestral hall, I would have hightailed it out of there.
"Uncle Er, what are you doing!" I called out.
He made a gesture for me to be quiet and slowly approached the coffin.
My heart was in my mouth, and most of my fear was transferred to my concern for Uncle Er.
As Uncle Er approached the coffin, the coffin placed on a long table suddenly shook violently, and crackling sounds came from inside. It was like someone letting out a long series of farts.
"Uncle Er, run!" Seeing this situation, in a Hong Kong horror movie, there would probably be a zombie-like third grandfather breaking out of the coffin in the next moment.
But at this moment, Uncle Er leaped and stood on the coffin board and called out to me, "Go catch a multicolored rooster! Hurry! Its feathers must have multiple colors!"
At this point, I couldn't care about anything else. If someone asked me to bring back a bowl of hot noodles to contain a ghost, I'd be able to do it on the spot. I immediately rushed out of the ancestral hall.
Where can I find a rooster? This stuff is the one thing not lacking in the mountains.
There was a henhouse in the ancestral hall, where the chickens raised by the third grandfather were housed. I ran over, opened the henhouse door, and as if I were a madman, searched for a multicolored rooster.
But, there were none. There were black and white ones, but none with multiple colors.
I was so anxious that I was about to cry. At that moment, there was suddenly a woman's voice next to me asking, "Xiaofan, what are you looking for?"
As soon as I heard the voice, I followed the moonlight and saw a graceful figure. At such a time, who else but Lin Xiaoyao would still call me?
"Xiaoyao, tell me quickly, where can I find a multicolored rooster? I ran over to her and shook her shoulders.
"We have it at my house. Why do you need a multicolored rooster?" She asked in surprise.
"Take me there fast!" I grabbed her and ran towards Lin Sanshui's house. At this moment, I only had one thought: I mustn't let Uncle Er have an accident.
We ran all the way to Lin Xiaoyao's house. I knocked on the door like a madman, and the one who opened the door was Wu Miaoke. - What appeared before my eyes was her partially exposed cleavage.
White, still as snowy white.
But other than glaring at it fiercely at this moment, what else could I do?
"Aunt, I need to catch a multicolored rooster!" I urgently said.
"Go catch it, why are you saying anything else, no need to greet." Lin Xiaoyao pushed me from behind and said.
I turned around and looked at Lin Miaoke who was fixing her clothes and said, "Aunt, I'll explain to you later."
"Go quickly, Xiaofan," she said to me.
In the henhouse, I caught a multicolored rooster. I didn't even have time to greet them, and like a lunatic, I rushed back to the ancestral hall. When I got to the ancestral hall, I saw Uncle Er, who was in a very strange posture on the coffin board at that moment.
He was initially standing on it, but at this moment, he was playing a handstand on the coffin board.
"Uncle Er, the multicolored rooster is here!" I said.
He shifted and flipped in the air, jumped to the ground, and took the rooster from my hand. At this moment, the coffin board was shaking so violently that it was almost about to be torn apart in the next moment.
"Push it open!" Uncle Er said to me.
"Push what?" I asked.
"The coffin board!" He said.
"Will this work?!" I suddenly felt that Uncle Er was very strange. Perhaps this was the real Uncle Er, but his actions made me very uncertain. What if he couldn't handle it?
"Quick, once he comes out, we won't be able to control him!" Uncle Two's face was also covered in sweat.
At this point, I couldn't care much, and Uncle Two shouldn't be an unreliable person either. I took out a crowbar from the corner and pried open the still swaying coffin lid.
This was an absolute death wish, equivalent to releasing a tiger back into the mountains. After I pried open a crack, I immediately retreated to the side with the crowbar in hand, staring firmly at the coffin.
Then I saw a hand inside covered in white hair, climbing up the edge of the coffin.
"Uncle Two! He's coming out!" When I saw that hand, I nearly wet myself.
At this moment, Uncle Two, from the altar in front of the coffin, which was adorned with offerings to Grandpa San, including a broken pair of chopsticks, he broke the chopsticks and with a very skillful technique, pierced the neck of a colorful rooster, which wildly struggled in his hand but couldn't move an inch.
Uncle Two grabbed two chicken legs in one hand and pulled the chicken's head with the other, approaching the coffin, dripping the still-warm blood onto the hand covered in white hair.
"Hiss!" A puff of white smoke emitted from the hand when it came into contact with the crimson chicken blood, sounding like boiling water.
The hand quickly retreated, but Uncle Two didn't stop, reaching into the crack I had just pried open. Regardless of all the chicken blood dripping inside, the coffin kept emitting white smoke and intense screams.
It took a full five minutes for everything to calm down.
"Is it okay now?" I asked.
"Yeah, close the coffin lid. Remember, don't let anyone see what's inside again," Uncle Two wiped the sweat from his face.
Just as I was about to nod, I saw the gleam in Uncle Two's eyes, giving me another shiver. I had seen this gleam once when Grandpa San mentioned legitimate and illegitimate offspring; I felt this was a killing intent.
I followed his gaze and saw Lin Xiaoyao standing at the door, biting her finger to stifle any sound.
Sensing Uncle Two's oddity, holding a broken chopstick, he began to walk toward the door.
Suddenly, I thought of our time together at the pond.
The handmade thousand-layer sole cloth shoes.