After listening to my words, the fat man sat there smiling, his smile not diminishing in the least. For the first time, I felt a sense of detachment from his face full of beard.
"I've said everything I wanted to. What's your intention?" I didn't dare to look into his eyes, as if he hadn't forced me, I wouldn't want to betray my second uncle's secret.
"So, using colored rooster blood to deal with possession was also your second uncle's idea?" the fat man asked me.
I nodded. At this point, there was no point in denying it.
"Do you see any issues with my second uncle?" I asked eagerly.
The fat man shook his head and said, "I have actually been observing this person for a long time, but I need to correct one thing for you. Your second uncle has never wanted to hide his true nature, especially not in front of me."
After he finished speaking, he looked at me and said, "Perhaps you don't understand my meaning. I'll tell you this, your second uncle, if he wanted to hide his abnormality, he should have acted like an ordinary person, just like the day I came to help Lin E Dan summon a spirit. He just stood there, indifferent, not like an ordinary person's reaction. A discerning person would immediately notice his abnormality."
I nodded, seeming to understand the fat man's meaning. To the other villagers, my second uncle was indeed a bit too conspicuous.
"So what do you mean?" I asked the fat man.
He shook his head and said the same words as my second uncle, "I'm not a saint. The profession of a feng shui master has been mythologized by many novels and movies. I actually knew about the red coffin as soon as I entered the village, but the reason I didn't act was that I also didn't have a foolproof plan. Dealing with ghosts is actually the same as treating illnesses. Perhaps a sentence has already explained all the principles, understanding the enemy leads to a hundred victories. A doctor can only treat a disease when they know what the illness is, and we are the same. Reincarnation is destiny, so why would someone break free from reincarnation and become a ghost in the living world, what is the reason behind it? These are all things that need to be clarified, otherwise, how can we deal with it?"
"So are you saying that there is no good way to deal with this red coffin?" I asked disappointedly.
"It's not that there is no way, but that there's no certainty. If I have the chance, I would like to talk to your second uncle. Would that be possible?" the fat man asked.
I hesitated to answer. I couldn't refuse this request on behalf of my second uncle. Finally, I said, "Okay, I'll talk to him, but I hope my father's situation can be resolved as soon as possible. Honestly speaking to you, I can't casually mention any conditions like that female police officer, but since you have helped, if you ever need the help of Lin Xiaofan, it's just a matter of one word."
The fat man chuckled and scolded, "No money means no money. Who doesn't know how to speak nicely? With your bear-like appearance, there'll never be a time when I need you. Hurry back and tell your second uncle. I don't think your father's matter is a big deal, as for the reason, I still can't figure it out. Didn't your second uncle say he would help? Let him take a look first."
The fat man's words were quite a slap in the face, making me blush with embarrassment. I stood up to leave, but at that moment, the fat man stopped me, saying, "Wait, you probably can't explain everything to your second uncle either. Give this to him and tell him to come find me."
The fat man handed me something, it turned out to be a business card-sized piece of paper, printed very delicately, framed in gold and silver. It was clear that the fat man had a taste for luxury. On this "business card," there was a line of small characters that read, "Purple Palace Mountain Xuanzhen Daoist Liu Tianci."
As much as I tried, I couldn't figure out where exactly the Purple Palace Mountain Xuanzhen Daoist was. But I did like the fat man's approach, it was awesome, just like the respectful letter in a martial arts novel.
This was already a self-introduction, meaning it was saying, "Who am I? What sect do you come from? Declare your identity, I won't hesitate to kill an anonymous pawn!" Therefore, this business card gave me a very curious feeling. Carefully tucking the card away, I bid farewell to the fat man and returned home, where everything seemed to be fine. At this time, my second uncle had already gone to the fields to help my father. I felt a sense of dizziness. If there weren't so many strange things, how harmonious this family would have been.
Glancing around, I didn't see the police woman Niu Liang. I asked Wu Miaoke, who was busy with household chores, "Where is that female police?"
She looked at me, with a somewhat evasive look in her eyes, and said, "It seems like she went to the school."
After saying this, she continued with her work, ignoring me. This was the biggest difference between Wu Miaoke and Lin Xiaoyao. After that night, Lin Xiaoyao and I had become as close as ever. What used to be gestures she was uncomfortable with, she now accepted without hesitation. On the other hand, Wu Miaoke, who was comfortable with intimate actions before, became distant after that night. She even intentionally avoided me.
I didn't say anything to her. I left and headed to the school. It occurred to me that while in Lin's village, I wasn't just a idling freeloader, I had a job. I was an unregistered teacher.
I even had aspirations to help the children leave the mountains and see how wonderful the outside world was. But this series of events almost made me forget that there was a group of children waiting for their teacher Lin Xiaofan to give them lessons.
I arrived at the school, which was a few shabby buildings where the rain outside was heavy but inside it was light. Outside the school, I heard singing.
Passing through the door, I leaned against the wall and saw the policewoman with a ponytail, holding a girl with cute pigtails in her arms.
The children were laughing and singing a nursery rhyme with the police woman:
The dark sky hangs low
Bright stars appear in the sky
Insects are flying, insects are flying
Who are you missing?
The stars in the sky are weeping
The roses on the ground wilt
The cold wind blows, the cold wind blows
As long as you're there to accompany me
"Insect flies, flowers sleep,
Pairs and pairs are so beautiful,
Not afraid of the dark, but afraid of a broken heart,
Don't care if it's tiring or not,
And don't care about the directions,
Looking at this harmonious scene, I even felt a bit intoxicated. I leaned against the wall and fell asleep. When I woke up, a group of children surrounded me and called me Teacher Lin. There was even a bold and playful child who asked me, 'Teacher Lin, will you marry Teacher Chen?'
I just tapped his head and laughed, scolding, 'Go home and eat! After the teacher is done with this busy period, then we can continue the class.'
'Our homework was all handed to Teacher Chen,' said the girl with a ponytail.
I patted her head and said, 'You're very good.'
After the kids dispersed, I looked at Jiuliang, and she appeared much more pleasing to my eyes. It was the leisurely and kind beauty she displayed while teaching the children to sing that had left a great impression on me. How I wish time could freeze in the present, with grandpa still alive, enjoying his pipe tobacco while being bossed around by grandma every day.
Third Uncle would still be sitting in the ancestral hall playing with the kids.
Time flies like clouds, and from the day I came to this school, my students came to tell me that a person who looks exactly like my father had visited, my life, and the whole Lin family village, underwent earth-shattering changes.
Second Uncle, just who are you, and why did you come?
'What are you planning to do tonight?' the policewoman asked while my thoughts were in turmoil.
'Wait and see first. It's not that I don't believe what you said, it's just that I need to see my father's situation with my own eyes before making a decision,' I replied.
The policewoman took out a phone and said, 'Take this, it can record videos. I was really scared last night, I couldn't even speak loudly. Otherwise, I could have recorded it.'
I took the policewoman's phone, and I was familiar with this type of smartphone since I had played with my roommate's before. I fiddled with it for a while, found the camera function, and at that moment, the policewoman suddenly said to me, 'Come on, take a few photos of me.'
So, a beautiful policewoman in uniform posed in a mountain village, and it felt like I had gone back to my college days.
The inexperienced me and the inexperienced her.