I was being pulled tightly by Fatty, Jiuliang also advised me, saying that if they had a way to deal with the things in the coffin, I would be a burden if I went; and if they couldn’t handle it, then my going would be in vain, and I would just be courting death.
"Aren't you very powerful? Haven't you always claimed to be awesome, Fatty? At a critical moment, why are you running? Go save people!" I shouted angrily at Fatty.
"This is not that Fatty doesn’t care, it's that Fatty can't control it. The moon belongs to the yin, and there are two moons in the sky. What kind of layout is this?" Fatty said with a dark face.
I still had to go. Both the men in my family were now in uncertain life and death. I understood the general principles, but even though we understood so many principles, why were we still unable to live a good life? Just because we understood all the principles, but when real things happened to us, who could remain calm?
I struggled hard, but they held me tightly. In the end, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head, my vision blackened, and I felt nothing but darkness. I didn't know anything about what happened afterwards.
When I woke up, my head still throbbed with pain. I opened my eyes and saw three women, Lin Xiaoyao, Wu Miaoke, and Chen Jiuliang.
And at that moment, I was in my own bed.
I rolled over and asked, "Where's my dad? Where's my second uncle?"
Lin Xiaoyao suddenly flung herself into my arms and cried like a rabbit, "Xiaofan ge, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
I knew that everything was over when I heard this. I felt a wave of dizziness and weakness sweep over me. With red eyes, I glared at Chen Jiuliang and demanded, "Tell me, what happened."
I don't know how terrifying my eyes were at that moment. Jiuliang, under my angry stare, even took two steps back and said, "Xiaofan, don't be nervous, Fatty has already gone to help, nothing should happen."
"Fatty has gone?" I asked in surprise.
"Yes. He came back, smoked a whole pack of cigarettes, slapped himself a few times, spat a few times, then went over." Jiuliang said. - "So, you don't need to worry, the most important thing now is for you to stay steady."
"If I can stay steady, then it would be strange!" I put on my shoes, and they were about to stop me again. I stood up and said, "Anyone who stops me, I'll hit them. Try me if you don't believe it!"
I had never spoken to anyone like that before. When the three of them heard me say this, they were stunned, and I knew that my performance could protect Lin Xiaoyao and Wu Miaoke, but it certainly couldn't intimidate someone as bold as Chen Jiuliang. Seizing the moment while they were still stunned, I quickly broke free from their midst.
I knew that my going wouldn't be of any help, and I knew that there was more harm than good in my going, but I couldn't not go. A true man has to know when to act and when not to act. I couldn't bear to watch my father go to his death.
I ran out of my room. In a flash, I reached the front door, only to find a person standing there.
A woman, dressed in an elaborate costume with a phoenix coronet and robe, my mother.
After twenty-three years, it was the first time I had seen her smile at me.
The smile was so kind and gentle.
Seeing her, I thought of my father, who was immersed in playing the erhu, and his words, "One person from the Lin family must die."
His words were very clear, he was going to his death!
"Mom, let me go." I said to her, the move I had used on those three women just now was absolutely inappropriate for my own mother.
She continued to smile at me, but shook her head gently.
She stood at the door, stretched out her arm, and smiled at me. With just this simple gesture, it was her first command to me in her life.
"But Dad will die, I have to go and save him." I suppressed my inner anxiety and said to my mother.
She looked at me and shook her head.
"Mom!" Tears welled up in my eyes, but she continued to stand at the door, gently shaking her head.
At this time, the three women came out and stood behind me, without saying a word. I looked at my mother, and she looked at me. The atmosphere suddenly fell silent. Only the faint sound of Lin Xiaoyao sobbing could be heard.
At that moment, for the first time, my mother surprisingly beckoned to Lin Xiaoyao. Yes, she beckoned to her.
Lin Xiaoyao clearly hadn't reacted to my mother's gesture, and it was no wonder. In the impression of more than twenty years, who in the entire Lin family village didn't know that my mother was a fool? But her behavior today made everyone think that they had been deceived by this woman for more than twenty years.
"My mom is calling you!" I said to Lin Xiaoyao. After speaking, I looked at my mother again, wanting to use this opportunity to rush out.
Previously, my mother was "foolish". Lin Xiaoyao could take care of her and do anything in front of her, but now, it was like the first time a daughter-in-law had met her mother-in-law, and Lin Xiaoyao's face was as red as a monkey's bottom, her legs trembling so much she could barely walk. She made her way with difficulty to my mother.
My mother's expression seemed to freeze at the moment of her smile.
She took Lin Xiaoyao's hand and gently put on a dark green bracelet.
Lin Xiaoyao suddenly threw herself into my mother's arms and burst into tears, saying, "Uncle Lin will be fine!"
I took the opportunity to try to rush out, but in that instant, my mother, like a martial arts master, extended her arm and uttered her first word.
"Wait."
The voice was very soft, with a hint of hoarseness, which was completely different from her when she sang Peking opera.
Most importantly, I still couldn't break through my mother's blockade, because I simply couldn't offend my mother, who was today's "unfolding wisdom". The four of us stood at the doorway.
It wasn't until dawn that there was no sound coming from the direction of the threshing ground.
After daybreak, Liu Fatty and Second Uncle came back. Second Uncle was only wearing a pair of pants, and it was the first time I had seen his naked upper body, which was well-proportioned and smooth. But his back was covered in scars. Countless huge scars crisscrossed his back like the roots of an old tree, seemingly telling an endless story.
Fatty's whole face was swollen, and he was carrying someone on his back. Seeing this, I immediately rushed over and said, "Dad!"
Fatty waved his hand and said, "Don't use him, he's barely alive!"
He gently placed my father back in the room. We followed to go inside, but were stopped by Second Uncle, who said, "Don't go in, he is extremely fragile right now. Let him sleep. If he wakes up now, he is absolutely doomed."
After saying this, Second Uncle suddenly spewed a mouthful of blood, which made me feel a pang of pain. I quickly went up to support him and said, "I'm fine. Remember, no one can leave this house until I come back."
After speaking, he gently pushed me aside and went out again.
The fat guy in the room shouted, "Hurry, bring some rice over!"
I didn't hesitate and just brought the rice sack straight into the room, not daring to speak loudly, afraid of truly waking up my father and him never waking again. I lowered my voice and asked, "What do you need the rice sack for now?"
The fat guy ignored me, grabbed a handful of rice from the sack, gently sprinkled it on Father, then gestured for me to follow as we both left the room.
"Fat man, about what happened just now, I want to apologize to you," after knowing that the fat guy had returned, I smoked a cigarette and slapped myself a few times, feeling particularly guilty about the harsh words I had said to him earlier.
It's normal for people to run away when they face difficulties. Compared to the fat guy, he doesn't owe us anything. Even after coming to Linjiazhuang, he has been spending money. Although talking about money seems mundane to these enlightened people, isn't there a saying that "people die for money, birds die for food"?
The fat guy gestured for me not to be melodramatic. "Kid, just what is the deal with your second uncle?" he asked.
"If only I knew," I looked at him, admitting the truth.
The fat guy lit a cigarette, pulled me aside, and lit one for me too. "Kid, I'll tell you what I saw just now, do you want to know? I saw your second uncle bowing to that coffin! And he was muttering in a strange language."
"What does that mean?" I asked.
The fat guy shook his head and said, "Let me tell you this, many people nowadays claim to be able to communicate with the supernatural, but it's all nonsense. I may not have any other special abilities, but people who claim to be these 'real' individuals, I don't take them seriously. Except for your second uncle, I can't figure him out. You may not understand what a 'supernatural person' is."
"In a nutshell, humans speak human language, and ghosts speak ghost language. Your second uncle, he can actually speak ghost language!" the fat guy whispered.
"Also, kid, with so many things happening in your family now, I'm unsure whether I should say something, but since I consider you a friend, I will be straightforward. Your mother, she has a major problem," the fat guy furrowed his brows.
The fat guy said a few unpleasant things.
Second uncle speaks ghost language.
My mother has a problem.
But I was powerless to argue.
Because I knew, even I myself, that what she said was the truth.