This incident had become a massive commotion and was really complicated. Frankly, it was something I had never expected. Lin Xiaoqiang, who had been beaten up by Lin Xiaoyao, actually called the police while we were about to perform the rites for Lin Erda.
Upon hearing Lin Xiaoqiang's words, Lin Sanshui, already of a fiery temper, glared at Lin Xiaoqiang as if he could eat him alive. Ignoring the presence of the police, he pointed at Lin Xiaoqiang's head and said, "You son of a b*tch, you think I don't know about your wife giving birth to your second child? If I don't hold back, I can fine you even if it costs me my pants!"
Lin Xiaoqiang still feared Lin Sanshui, otherwise, he wouldn't have let Lin Xiaoyao, a mere woman, chase him around without fighting back. Now, he couldn't bring himself to glare at Lin Sanshui, not daring to look into his eyes as he said, "Sanshui, this is a separate issue. I am a doctor, and my duty is to save lives."
"Save your mother!" Upon hearing this, Lin Sanshui immediately pounced on him, driven by anger. A desperado comes from desolate mountains and wicked waters, and once aroused, he becomes an irrational animal.
The fat policeman hurried to stop Lin Sanshui, and I too stepped forward and instructed Lin Sanshui's relatives, who were at a loss, to hold Sanshui back. "In front of the police, you dare to hit someone? This is a society governed by law," I scolded them.
The relatives finally managed to restrain the enraged Lin Sanshui, who was still cursing Lin Xiaoqiang. At this time, the villagers also rushed over. The old women were so furious that they almost spat Lin Xiaoqiang to death. Initially, he had been able to argue that they should believe in science. Considering Lin Erda was ill and needed to go to the hospital, wasting time here was equivalent to killing a person. However, Aunt Fatty's sudden outburst, "Are you too good for the hospital? Why can't you cure Erda? You act high and mighty now, but when Uncle San possessed Erda, why didn't you speak about science? You are a doctor, so why haven't you awakened Erda? So what if we brought a shaman? Even Leader Xiaoping said that it doesn't matter if a cat is black or white as long as it catches mice. You're all talk and no action!"
Aunt Fatty's speech was forceful and seemed to go on forever, leaving Lin Xiaoqiang red-faced and speechless. Seeing his expression, I couldn't help but laugh. Frankly speaking, up to this point, I didn't find Lin Xiaoqiang detestable. Although he had once chased after me in the village, and now he had called the police to disrupt our efforts to help Lin Erda. The reason was simple: he was a very persistent individual, and his persistence lay in his belief in medicine.
I even admired him a little. If not given the opportunity to be a doctor, Lin Xiaoqiang would be a reliable and compassionate physician. There was no profit in helping Lin Erda, so why would he risk offending the village leader and the entire village by calling the police? When a person becomes that determined, some may see him as foolish, but I found him worthy of respect.
However, what he did was indeed a little underhanded. In remote and backward rural areas, the people didn't understand the law, and their values were still rooted in the teachings of their elders. If you don't matter or have no money, you can't transact with the government. Mentioning lawsuits always involves claiming an absolute right, but others also say, "Do you dare to sue? Do you have connections in the government?" Brawls and fights were common within and outside of the villages, but people generally didn't involve the police. Therefore, seeking help from the police in these rural places seemed rather underhanded and even earned people contempt.
At this point, things had gotten somewhat out of control. When the police arrived, they may have initially thought it was a case of superstition leading to a death in a remote area. That was why they had brought so many people. However, upon arriving and realizing what was happening, their attitudes had shifted from anxiety to an overtly casual one. They were standing around, smoking and watching the spectacle.
This situation was difficult for the police as well. They couldn't arrest the villagers as they had reported a crime. At the same time, they couldn't perform the ritual while the police were present in the village. Continuing with the ritual at the time of their presence was a direct challenge to authority. It was almost an unsolvable situation, but it couldn't continue this way. It was already past 10 p.m., and they could waste time, but I couldn't. After midnight, Lin Erda would truly be beyond help!
This issue needed to be resolved immediately. I went over, leaned into Lin Sanshui's ear, and explained the situation to him. His face turned green upon hearing it. He wanted to rush up and hit Lin Xiaoqiang again. How could such a thing have happened?
Lin Sanshui hadn't lost his basic sense, so he immediately went to speak with Fat Policeman Wang. He pulled him aside and said, "Do you remember this little kiddo? It was him who faked his grandfather's death before. Later, my third uncle passed away. You came over. Today, the kid we want to save was possessed by my late uncle who died that day!"
The fat policeman shuddered and said, "Sanshui! I believe you in this, but last time, you scared me so much that I had to invite a bodhisattva to my room just so I could barely sleep. If I could decide, I probably wouldn't have come this time. But this time, it's this little girl who went crazy and called us. What can I do?"
"Who is this little girl?" asked Lin Sanshui.
I also perked up to listen. The little girl was about the same age as me, and she gave off quite a rebellious vibe; the old policeman Wang was incredibly wary of her.
"The one who parachuted down from above, is probably also a red-clothed official's offspring. I heard that he came directly to be the deputy director of the sub-bureau. Today, he came to our jurisdiction to recognize the territory. This incident happened just as he arrived, so he came over. San Shui, go and speak nicely to her. But this young person, they say has a very unpredictable temper, not easy to deal with. Good luck to you." The fat policeman finished speaking and stood back in the police lineup, seemingly trying to avoid suspicion.
Lin Sanshui glanced at the little girl and then at me, and said, "Xiaofan, why don't you go and talk to her? Both of you are young people, it's not proper for an older person like me to approach a young girl."
"You're the village chief, you should go," I replied. I didn't want to get involved in this matter. I'm a young person, a university student, and I don't want to get into trouble. Can the police just avoid the issue because I'm here looking for a Taoist master?
This is something that an older person could do, but it really doesn't suit me.
As we argued about who should go and talk to this seemingly cold-hearted policewoman, the sneaky fat guy approached, stroking his own beard. He walked around the policewoman and said, "Beauty, according to my calculations, you are lacking in fire. Your fate is lacking me!"
The policewoman didn't even glance at him. She just pointed her finger, and the police officers nearby immediately went and restrained the fat guy, handcuffing him. I almost burst out laughing at the scene. This fat guy is really something, why would he do something like this? Could he not find something better to do? Can you even pat a tiger's bottom like that?
The fat guy didn't struggle when he was taken into custody, he just looked at the policewoman and said, "Young lady, your menstrual cycle starts on the 17th of every month. It has to be maintained for five days, and you have dysmenorrhea."
The policewoman's face instantly turned green. She turned and glared at the fat guy. It's lucky there were a lot of people around, otherwise I would have doubted the policewoman. At this point, I really couldn't help but burst out laughing. This fat guy is really too clever. Why would you say this in front of so many people?
When the policewoman heard my laughter, she glared at me and said, "No laughing!"
The goddess instantly turned into a shrew.
But the fat guy's mischief didn't go unpunished. The beautiful policewoman had probably been hesitating about how to handle the situation. Now, with a wave of her hand, she declared, "Spreading feudal superstition. Now I charge you with obstructing official duties and harassing a police officer. Take him away!"
This was serious! We need help here, what if she leaves? I immediately panicked and rushed forward, saying, "This can't be allowed!"
"Take one more step forward, and I'll arrest you too," the policewoman turned and looked at me. - This is definitely a young and inexperienced person who has no experience in dealing with grassroots incidents. As expected, as soon as she called for the fat guy's arrest, she was now going to arrest me too. The villagers immediately became upset. These elderly women all started ganging up against the police, and no one could stop them.
"Why are we breaking the law? If Second Egg [nickname for the deceased] dies, who do we go to for help?"
"Police are so great, want to arrest us all!"
The women were all talking at once, and the police were completely overwhelmed.
At that moment, the fat guy suddenly said in a low voice to the policewoman, "You probably have a brother."
As soon as the policewoman heard this, her face darkened and she ran over to the fat guy and kicked him in the stomach. What's going on? The fat guy is trying to flatter her and get on her good side, but did he go too far? After hearing this, it's clear that he has overstepped some bounds.
After the fat guy muttered something, it seemed like the policewoman was completely enraged this time. During this process, which lasted ten minutes, exactly ten minutes, the fat guy lying on the ground seemed to have nothing wrong with him apart from some external injuries. It was actually the policewoman who looked exhausted and furious. - At the beginning when the fat guy mentioned the policewoman's menstrual cycle, I thought he was making it up to intentionally tease the policewoman. But when the fat guy mentioned the policewoman's brother, her sudden rage made me change my mind.
The fat guy wasn't just talking nonsense and getting beaten up, it was because he was remarkably accurate in what he said that he was beaten up. It seems that this fat guy really has some special abilities.
The fat guy was really persistent. After the policewoman had beaten him to exhaustion, he grinned and said, "Do you want me to continue to reveal some secrets?"
"If you say another word, I will tear your mouth apart! Try me, I dare you!" the policewoman said in anger. After that, she ordered the police officers to "Stop watching! Disband! Immediately!"
The police officers arrived and left in a hurry. Only one person stayed behind, the policewoman who had tried to pretend to be calm but was irritated by the fat guy's words. People say the children of the poor have to grow up fast, and even though the policewoman had been enraged just now, she had regained her composure by the time the police left. She reverted to her original noble and aloof demeanor.
"Miss, do you really not need me to say anything more?" the fat guy got up from the ground and brushed the dirt off himself.
"Go save people," the policewoman said, and didn't say anything more.
Just one sentence made me look at her more. Go save people, save people? Could it be that this policewoman, she too believes in ghosts and gods and doesn't think it's feudal superstition, but believes that this mysterious and mysterious art can be used to save people?
But I didn't have the courage to ask. I took out my phone and saw that it was already after 11 o'clock, with less than half an hour left until 12 o'clock. The fat guy didn't push it further and continued to organize people to rearrange the Tai Chi pattern. Lin Sanshui pointed to Lin Xiaoqiang and said, "Just wait and see what I do to you from now on!" After that, he continued to work.
Time passed quickly. I wasn't in the Tai Chi pattern, and the only people watching were me, the policewoman, and my second uncle (because we arrived late and didn't join their formation). Unnoticeably, the policewoman walked up to me and asked, "Who is this fat guy?"
"Just a fat guy, I'm not very familiar with him," I shuddered, as the image of the female warrior beating the fat guy had already left a mark of a female demon in my mind.
"I didn't waste words with you. You seem like an educated person. Let me tell you, everything he said just now was accurate," the policewoman said.
"That's not surprising, he is a Feng Shui master. What he's about to do will surprise you even more. At 12 o'clock, he's going to open the Ghost Gate here and watch the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade!" I said to the policewoman.
She glanced at me as if I was a fool.
12 o'clock arrived quickly, and the villagers, although the policewoman's eyes had previously told me she didn't believe a word I said, still subconsciously took two steps back when it was finally time. They stood behind me.
I held my blue screen Nokia, and the fat guy, who I don't know when, had a bronze coin sword and a black bag in his hands, looked at the sky with a serious expression and shouted at the villagers, "Remember! No matter what happens, don't look back! Whoever looks back is finished!"
At this point, someone was really scared and asked, "Can I go back now?"
"The ones who stay get 50 yuan, no, 10 yuan!" Lin Sanshui shouted, there were dozens of people there, he couldn't afford to give everyone 50 yuan, so he changed it midway.
"What can I do with 10 yuan?" someone immediately shouted.
"Just stop talking, I thank everyone for saving my Second Egg," Bai Zhenzhu ran out of the crowd, knelt in front of everyone. When I saw this, the policewoman behind me snorted and said, "A bunch of uncivilized people."
"Take Second Egg's wife back!” the fat man shouted, and Bai Zhenzhu quickly returned to the circle. However, after her kneel, the crowd that had just started to stir quieted down again. After all, this was about saving a person's life, what's a little shock?
I watched the countdown on my watch. The fat guy didn't have a watch; he just looked at the moon. As soon as my watch indicated "12 o'clock," he started shouting as if he had gone crazy:
"Nine Hells guardian,
King Yama,
Ox-head and Horse-face,
Local city gods,
I have a sword!"
Reverse yin and yang, ghosts come out in the darkness. Listen to my command. What he called was almost the same as the incantation I heard from the shaman in the village when I was a child. The fat man, tall and big, sang and danced, looking very comical. But when he sang "Listen to my command", the bright moon in the sky suddenly had a dark cloud drifting in front, perfectly blocking the moonlight. Suddenly, everything turned into pitch darkness. There was no wind in the scorching summer, but almost at the same time, a gust of wind blew, making a rustling sound in the ancestral tomb. At that moment, I almost took out my blue screen Nokia to illuminate when there was no moonlight, but to avoid delaying the fat man's affair, I didn't dare. Just then, I felt someone lean on my back all of a sudden, and it startled me to ask, "What is it?" "It's me..." a female voice came from behind me, the same female police officer as before. I could even feel her body trembling. "Scared?" I asked. She immediately moved away from me, saying, "Who's scared?" I wasn't in the mood to argue with her, because I didn't know what the fat man was up to, but he suddenly took out his peach wood sword and something from a black backpack, scattering it into the air. In the light of his burning peach wood sword, I saw that it was actually paper money. Grey, ordinary paper money. After scattering the paper money, the peach wood sword burned out, and the entire ancestral tomb returned to darkness. At that moment, I suddenly saw many green dots appearing in the fat man's position. I thought it was the fat man releasing fireflies at first. But upon closer inspection, I realized that those green dots were actually eyes. There were pairs of green eyes! Because of the glowing eyes, I could even see many vague white figures inside. At that moment, the woman behind me suddenly pounced on my body again, this time more tightly, proving that city girls are indeed open-minded! You know that there's a difference between men and women, don't you? I was so scared that I almost peed myself, you know?! I could only vaguely see the green dotted eyes, growing more and more, some bending down to pick up the paper money, some sticking close to the villagers' heads. Finally, I understood why the fat man repeatedly instructed not to look back no matter what was seen! If it were me, I'd be scared to death too! Those green eyes were silent. They gathered more and more, but couldn't get out of the circle of villagers. Is this the legendary opening of the gate of ghosts?! "Lin Er, get back in position!" the fat man suddenly yelled in the quiet night, his voice like thunder! No response. "Lin Er, when are you going to return to your position?" the fat man yelled again! "Lin Er, come back!" Bai Zhenzhu also pleaded from the sideline. With Bai Zhenzhu's crying, there was suddenly crying in the ancestral tomb, and I saw a pair of white glowing eyes cautiously trembling, walking towards us. The door opened to release the green eyes, while Lin Er's eyes were white, which might be the fundamental difference between Lin Er and the ghost. Even though those eyes were fearful, they still followed the fat man's call, slowly approaching the circle. The fat man twisted his fat body, like a strange dancer, guiding the pair of crying trembling white eyes into the circle. "Lin Er, I told you to go back to your position!" the fat man shouted, kicking the black cloth covering Lin Er. "Don't move!" the fat man continued, shouting to everyone. At this point, the woman police officer behind me was already sobbing in fear. Chapter Thirty-Nine - It's Easy to Ask a God, but Hard to Send a God At this point, I could clearly see Lin Er's soul being kicked back into his body by the fat man's foot. In theory, this should have completed the soul-summoning process, but the fat man became even more nervous at this point. Then I suddenly thought of a saying: it's easy to ask a god, but hard to send a god. The fat man stopped chanting and twisting, and the package he carried on his chest was like Doraemon's pocket, full of various items. At some point, he pulled out a flag-like object that resembled a soul-summoning flag from a mythical story. The fat man waved the flag, but at that moment, the countless green eyes started to become restless, as if resisting the flag's call and refusing to return to the underworld! The fat man could only wave the flag, looking extremely strained, and I was extremely nervous as I watched. "Don't be afraid," I gently reassured the woman. A woman of strong character showing a vulnerable side is quite cute. "There won't be any problem, really." I comforted her, and she, who had left my body, crouched on the ground, not daring to lift her head. I then walked towards my second uncle, who was watching from the sidelines, and asked him, "Second uncle, it looks like the fat man is in trouble. Should we go help?" My second uncle stared at the circle of villagers and shook his head. "Let's wait and see. The fat man should be able to handle it; he's just feigning incompetence." "How is it possible for him to feign incompetence at a time like this?" I was puzzled. My second uncle glanced at me, said nothing more, and didn't even look at the circle, then turned and walked away! As he left, I realized why the fat man was pretending to be incompetent. - He had asked me a question before, saying that he had heard I used a rooster's blood to dispel a ghost, but I said I learned it from television. It was clear that he didn't believe me. Could it be that my second uncle meant that the fat man was deliberately pretending to be incompetent to force me to act? With my second uncle's words, I trusted his judgment, but at this point, countless pairs of green eyes inside the circle started to violently impact the villagers, making even the timid ones cry. Damn, this fat man is really bold, it's already this point, and he still dares to play like this?! "Hurry up!!" Lin Sanshui was also inside the circle, shouting at the fat man, sounding close to breaking down. I saw several pairs of eyes near him, almost sticking to his face. At this moment, the fat man suddenly bit his middle finger and quickly wrote something on the soul-summoning flag. After finishing, he waved it once again, shouting, "If you don't return to the underworld, both your form and soul will be destroyed!" At this moment, the fat man was really awesome. In my mind, I couldn't connect the fat man's lecherous appearance with his current high spirits. With a furious roar, the restless spirits, who had been so agitated a moment ago, seemed very afraid after his shout. They lined up and followed the guidance of the soul-summoning flag, gradually disappearing into the air. The dark cloud in the sky also slowly dissipated, revealing the bright moonlight. After completing all this, the fat man shouted, "Lin Sanshui, if you don't stew a chicken with mushrooms to nourish my body, I'll make both your form and soul be destroyed!" After shouting, the fat man also collapsed on the ground. Lin Xiaoqiang also squatted on the ground, looking at the scene in the circle, with incredulity in his eyes. I walked over to him as if possessed and called out, "Uncle Xiaoqiang?" He didn't answer me, but said incoherently that this couldn't be happening. It seemed that his belief of many years had collapsed, and his spirit was having a hard time accepting it. "It's just a magic trick," I said to him. "The fat man had colluded with us in advance to perform a magic trick, so, Uncle, you still need to believe in science."
"Really? Everything is fake, right?!" Lin Xiaoqiang's eyes suddenly lit up, looking at me eagerly.
"Yes, it's all just a show I put on with Fatty," I said. I didn't know why I lied to him at that moment, perhaps I felt that it wasn't right to subvert someone's beliefs, especially someone I genuinely admired. It was a well-intentioned lie.
At this moment, the villagers all stood up. Some were so scared they even wet their pants. Just managing not to run away earlier was already miraculous, but now they were running back home. The brave ones went to help Fatty, who had collapsed on the ground, while others went to open the black cloth wrapping Lin Er-egg.
"Stinks!" the person who opened the cloth cursed.
Lin San-shui turned on his flashlight, and I hurriedly went to see how Lin Er-egg was doing. At first glance, it seemed fine, but as soon as I saw, I immediately took a sharp breath. Lin Er-egg had vomited a large puddle of black water, which had an incredibly foul smell. Some people went to lift him and discovered that he had lost control of his bladder and bowels.
"What's going on here?" Bai Zhenzhu, seeing this situation, immediately started crying bitterly.
"He won't die. Carry him back and wash him, he'll wake up in the morning!" Fatty weakly called out.
Seeing this situation, I also felt relieved. At this moment, Fatty seemed especially pleasing to the eye. If the female ghost in the ancestral hall brought me an unknown fear, Lin Er-egg brought me tremendous internal pressure. Finally being able to breathe a sigh of relief, I thought, 'It's good now. If he died, how would I explain to my sister-in-law?'
With these matters settled, the villagers dispersed. At the same time, the female police officer stood up and ran to the area where we had just been, searching on the ground for something.
"Miss, what are you looking for?" I asked.
"Joss paper," she replied.
"Why are you looking for that thing? It's not recognized in any country on earth! If you want, I can buy you a stack worth ten billion." Remembering her earlier behavior, I teased her.
"Get lost." Her true nature resurfaced at this moment. She kept searching on the ground, and a moment after telling me to get lost, she came over and asked, "All the joss paper was really picked up? Not even one left!"
Damn! Women really are detail-oriented. If she hadn't brought it up, I would have forgotten. I quickly ran over and found that Fatty's joss paper really was gone. Could it be that this money truly belonged in the underworld? I had always thought, when I was a child, that this stuff was just like toilet paper, too rough to even use for wiping, and burning it as money was just a way to deceive people. But at this moment, it made me reconsider my beliefs.
"I really can't explain this item," I said to the female police officer.
"Hey, I want to tell you something. Do you want to go into town? I'll drive you," the female police officer quickly changed the subject.
"Why do you want to take me to town? I'm not just any random person!" I said.
"One word out of you and I'll tell you to beat it! Don't want to go? Suit yourself!" The female officer grumbled and got into the car. As soon as she started, she turned back to me and said, "Get in!"
"Miss, it's late at night, are you afraid of driving alone?" The police officer patted the steering wheel and said.
I got in the car obediently, not daring to laugh. The police officer drove at a fast pace, and I even suspected we might fall off the mountain road. I was on edge the whole way, but when we reached town, she took me straight to a guesthouse, showed her police badge, and got us a room. The girl at the front desk looked at me behind the female police officer, her eyes revealing a hint of flirtation. The female police officer either didn't notice or didn't care, and led me upstairs after getting the key.
We just met last night and now we're getting a room?
I was totally unprepared!
After we entered the room, it was my first time sharing a room with a woman. The feeling was truly indescribable. The female officer snapped the door shut behind me, pointed to the bed, and blushing, said, "Sit!"
I sat down honestly, a lone man and a lone woman in one room. Even if she wanted to use force against me, I wouldn't be able to resist. It was better to be honest and obedient and maybe suffer less in the end.
After I sat down, the female officer hesitated for a moment, then came and sat on the bed across from me. She took off her hat, and her long hair cascaded down like a waterfall. At that moment, she really looked like a woman, giving off a completely different feeling from Wu Miaoke.
One seductive, one youthful and beautiful.
"I'm very interested in Fatty," she said.
"Are you interested in Fatty and then brought me here to get a room with you?" I said. I didn’t know where these thoughts were coming from. I knew it was risky to tease this woman, but I couldn't help myself.
"My dad is an official, and I have a big brother. Only a few people know about it," the female police officer said.
"Planned birth control?" I instantly understood what she meant.
Limiting births and favoring the birth of daughters is also a way to leave descendants. For Party members and officials, setting an example is even more important. The higher a position held, the more it's crucial to adhere to these principles, as any slight issues could ruin their careers.
"Are you afraid that Fatty will use this secret to threaten your father, or are you curious about how he knows about you having a brother?" I asked.
"You don't need to worry about this. I just want to know how Fatty found out about this, and what else he might know," the female officer said, looking at me.
"Miss, you've got the wrong person. I'm not close to Fatty, and we even had some conflicts. He's not from our village," I said.
The female police officer nodded and didn’t say anything. She seemed to have something on her mind but was hesitant to ask, and just as she was considering whether to say something, she suddenly opened the door and left.
She left quietly, just as she had come.