The fat man and Uncle Er are equally skilled, but their childish and cute behavior in this matter made me really speechless. I had to go back to discuss it with Uncle Er again. Anyway, the fact that the fat man came to my door was a face-saving gesture. Uncle Er said, "You lost your mountain cave and the Zifu Mountain Xuanzhen Temple. Are you still so concerned about saving face?"
The place they agreed to meet was in the ancestral hall. The two of them were audacious to go to the forbidden area of the entire Lin family estate. I and the policewoman stayed outside. Even a fool could see that my Uncle Er was behaving strangely. It could be said that the fat man had elevated Uncle Er's status. If Uncle Er were not a high-level person, there would be no way the fat man, currently at the peak in the Lin family estate, would come to meet him.
"What kind of person is your Uncle Er?" the policewoman asked me.
"I don't know, but he should also be a legendary disciple of Yin and Yang," I said.
The fat man and Uncle Er's conversation lasted for two hours. When they came out, they were surprisingly familiar with each other, despite it being their first meeting.
"Brother Baqian, I really regret not meeting you sooner. The plan we discussed today can be put into action," the fat man smiled and said to Uncle Er.
Uncle Er nodded and looked back at the ancestral hall with a conflicted expression. As for what they talked about, we didn't ask. Even if we did, it would've been pointless. Both of them were quite mysterious, as if they were planning some kind of conspiracy here. Asking would have only led to unnecessary trouble.
And then? Nothing more happened. Basically, everyone went their separate ways. I was anxious every time I saw my father because I was afraid that his actions at night were like a ticking time bomb, ready to destroy this man who had been strong all his life.
"Uncle Er, when is that thing going to take place?" I asked.
"Why are you in such a hurry? It will happen soon," Uncle Er would say every time.
The policewoman stayed here for a day and then returned to town, saying she needed to go home. Before leaving, she gave me her phone number and asked me to try to persuade the fat man, at the very least, to let her know of his whereabouts when he left.
After the policewoman left, there would still be tapping on the wall in the middle of the night, but I pretended not to hear it. The next day, I could always see Lin Xiaoyao's resentful gaze, while Wu Miaoke, after that one night, became remarkably indifferent, as if nothing had happened.
And so, three days passed. On the fourth day, I finally saw the actions of the fat man and Uncle Er. Lin Sanshui suddenly gathered the villagers at the threshing ground early in the morning, and each person had to bring a bucket of clean water. I was called to Lin Sanshui's home, where he asked, "Xiaofan, where is the family book of our village?"
"The family book?" I was taken aback. This had been managed by Grandpa's Third until his passing. When Uncle Er arrived, I went to him to have my name added to the family book. After Grandpa's Third passed away, the younger generation of the village was indifferent to this concept, and no one took care of it. The old folks who wanted to take care of it couldn't read! So, the family book should definitely still be in the ancestral hall.
"What do you need the family book for? Few people go to read it now. No one has managed it since Grandpa's Third passed away," I asked.
"Why are you asking so many questions? You, go and get the family book," the fat man told me.
I was immediately at a loss. The family book was in the ancestral hall. You want me to go and get it? I didn't dare!
"What's the matter? Are you scared? Go then, it's broad daylight; don't worry, nothing will happen. Besides, looking at your unclouded complexion, you're still a boy, and nothing will happen to you," the fat man said.
I was already a twenty-something young man. Embarrassed by the fat man's words, I didn't dare say that I was actually scared, so I could only put on a brave front and run to the ancestral hall. The ancestral hall was in a secluded location in the village, and when I arrived at the entrance, there was no one there. Even though it was broad daylight, I felt a bone-chilling cold. I slapped myself twice, picked up a nearby brick, and walked in. Even though I knew that a brick wouldn't be of much use if I encountered something, having a heavy object in my hand at least bolstered my courage.
I gently pushed open the door of the ancestral hall. The red coffin inside was still there. The fat man was right - red is a twisted color, representing both joyousness and eerie feelings. It’s even worse than white in terms of sensory impact, in my opinion. Black coffins were what I was used to, so I wasn't comfortable with the color red.
I didn't focus too long on the red coffin and instead rushed into the inner room of the ancestral hall, where Grandpa Er had lived. The table was in there.
When I opened the door, I was immediately dumbfounded. I saw a person lying on the bed that had belonged to Grandpa Er, their back facing me. The bed and the ground in this room were completely covered with joss paper. The person seemed to be sound asleep, but my whole body's hair stood on end in an instant!
"Who?!" I asked in surprise!
The person slowly turned around in front of me. I saw this thin, elderly, speckled figure, and to my surprise, it was a very familiar person – my third grandfather!
I immediately ran out. This kind and honest elder, after his passing, had completely changed. The scene where he had possessed Lin Er Egg still vividly lingered in my mind.
I dashed out of the ancestral hall, straight to the home of Lin Sanshui. The fat man saw me panting and asked, "What's wrong, being chased by a female ghost trying to rape you?"
"I saw him in Third Grandfather's room! He was sleeping on a bed covered with paper money!" I exclaimed loudly to Lin Sanshui and the fat man.
"What?!" Lin Sanshui immediately stood up. The fat man also said solemnly, "How is that possible?"
"Regardless of possibility, I saw it with my own eyes, and he even turned back to look at me!" I gasped.
—This time, the three of us went to the ancestral hall, and when we arrived at Third Grandfather's room, we found it empty. The person I had seen just now was nowhere to be found.
But they didn't accuse me of lying because the paper money was still there.
If the paper money wasn't there, it could be described as my illusion. But with the paper money there, it indicated that everything I had just seen was real. But where had Third Grandfather gone?
"Don't worry about it. This darn village of yours is really inexplicable!" The fat man wiped the sweat off his face and said.
It was like an interlude, arriving silently and leaving without a trace. The three of us found the family tree that Third Grandfather had hidden before, and without returning home, we went directly to the thresher ground where the villagers were gathering.
This was a vast open space, and at this moment the villagers had already gathered, in a disorderly manner chatting and laughing. When they saw us, someone shouted, "Lin Sanshui and his prospective son-in-law are here. What are you gathering us for this time?"
Lin Sanshui said solemnly, "We're making sculptures out of clay, just like when we made clay figures when we were young. But this time, we have to make them life-size. They may not look alike, but they must be distinguishable as men and women!"
"Early in the morning, the work in the fields isn't finished, and we adults are asked to play with clay?" someone immediately protested.
"Make one and it's worth five yuan! We need ninety-nine of them! The more you make, the more you'll earn!" Lin Sanshui was now also too lazy to argue with people and directly handed over the money. Lin Sanshui might not have much money, but the fat man was wealthy.
When the villagers heard there was money, they immediately became enthusiastic to get to work. Each was worth five yuan, which was pure profit. Could the yellow clay on the ground be exchanged for money? Who wouldn't want to do it?
"Uncle Sanshui, why are we making clay figures?" I was very curious and couldn't help asking.
Lin Sanshui gestured to the fat man and smiled at me, indicating that he didn't know either. The fat man looked at me and said, "The mountain man has his own way."