Uncle Two suddenly emitted an incomparable killing intent, causing the entire courtyard to seemingly drop in temperature. Lin Sanshui, who was originally discussing business with me cheerfully, had the black package snatched by Uncle Two and thrown outside the door. His hand was frozen in mid-air, looking frustrated and conflicted, his face turning liver-colored in an instant.
"Why do this? I feel like this could be a mutually beneficial deal, don't you?" Lin Sanshui hurriedly ran outside to pick up the package, embracing the money tightly while ignoring the dust on the package. Suddenly, I felt that the current Lin Sanshui was pitiful, no longer the arrogant one who used to charge fifty yuan for a single grave in the past.
Money can give people confidence, but it can also make them lose their dignity.
The people in the courtyard were Lin Sanshui's in-laws, son-in-law, prospective son-in-law, and daughter. However, at this moment, no one said a word to Lin Sanshui.
"Uncle Two, let's talk it out, don't be like this," I stepped out to mediate, feeling that the deal could work and that Lin Sanshui was at least my future father-in-law. Moreover, my feelings towards this man had never been entirely negative.
But just one glare from Uncle Two made me too frightened to speak. His eyes contained an intent to kill.
I immediately lowered my head, but in my heart, I couldn’t help but wonder why, when Fatty was beaten so badly, you didn't act this way, but when facing a skilled opponent, you became flustered, acting so tough against us?
Under such circumstances, Lin Sanshui, since he still wasn't leaving, stood at the door and muttered, "Let's talk it out, this deal can really be done. That red coffin is not a good thing for the village, why can't you understand?"
At this moment, Father walked out, not showing anger but speaking calmly, "Sanshui, do you still remember your surname? If you didn't live well outside, you can come back, the villagers won't say anything about it. But do you have to bring outsiders here?"
"Yutang, listen to me. First, in the past, if someone wanted to buy the red coffin, forget buying it, we would have been willing to give it away, but no one wanted it. You all have a problem with your thinking. How come now, when someone wants it, it's suddenly a good thing that you refuse to sell?" Lin Sanshui explained. I had to admit, at least in my heart, I acknowledged the reasonableness of Lin Sanshui's words.
"Sanshui, let me ask you, where was the red coffin dug out from?" my father looked at Lin Sanshui and asked.
"It was dug out from the family grave, no, from beneath the coffin of my youngest uncle," Lin Sanshui replied.
"It doesn’t matter if it was from my father's grave. But do you remember it was a family grave? Do you know who the owner of that red coffin was?" My father continued his interrogation.
"Yutang, how could I know that?" Lin Sanshui replied.
"Since you don't know, and you dug it up from the family grave, how can you be sure that it definitely isn't from our Lin family ancestors? By bringing outsiders to search for the coffin of our Lin family ancestors, have you forgotten your own surname? Is it unjust to accuse you?" my father continued to press him, making me shiver.
After hearing this, Lin Sanshui's face showed a strange expression. Ancestors once said, "Words are another type of weapon, silent cannon fire." This time, I truly experienced it. My father's words gave Lin Sanshui the label of being unfaithful, unfilial, unkind, and unjust in an instant.
Lin Sanshui stood there for a long time, but couldn't provide a satisfactory explanation. Finally, he said, "In this day and age, who would still have conflicts over money?"
Upon hearing this, my father turned to me and said, "Xiaofan, your father gave you tens of thousands of yuan yesterday, go and bring it to him. Our Lin family can't engage in activities that betray our ancestors. Even if he is evil, he is still from our Lin family."
"Stop, Yutang! This is too much. Alright, I won't say anything about this for now. Can I leave now? You think about it again," Lin Sanshui said. If I really took those thousands of yuan and gave it to him now, it would truly break the bond of kindness and righteousness. Before I could go back inside, he swiftly left.
With his departure, he completely ruined our mood. Fatty called out, "Did I say it right? Luoyang has many Shang and Western Zhou period tombs at Mangshan. It used to be the core of Northern faction’s struggle. Luoyang's Scorpion is also famous in the struggle. But what's strange is, why do they want this red coffin? Apart from being full of resentment, what else is special about it?"
After saying this, the two of us immediately looked at Uncle Two. His intense anger upon hearing that someone wanted to buy the red coffin clearly indicated his attitude – it was not for sale. But why? What exactly was inside, and only Uncle Two knew.
Regarding this red coffin, which I had almost forgotten about, because of Lin Sanshui and this group's return to the village, it suddenly reentered my field of view. Previously, I had been indifferent about the red coffin, as long as it didn't cause harm. But this time, my curiosity was thoroughly piqued. What exactly was inside that made Luoyang's Scorpion act so aggressively?
The group of men with black glasses had thoroughly prepared for their visit. In addition to hiring Lin Sanshui as their stooge, they even leveraged their connections to make Nine Li return. It's worth noting that Nine Li's status was quite transcendent; he was a prince who had been demoted. The fact that they even targeted Nine Li must have required a tremendous amount of effort.
But Uncle Two clearly did not want to answer any of our questions. When he noticed Fatty and me looking at him, he directly went back to his room.
"What a peculiar person. Are all practitioners of the Yin-Yang arts so eccentric?" Fatty muttered in a voice that only I could hear.
I was almost tempted to curse. Damn it, wasn't Fatty implicating me as well?
After his return, Lin Sanshui had not made another appearance, and those Scorpions who had recently returned to our village had also been unusually quiet these days. It seemed they hadn't expected to encounter formidable opponents such as Fatty and Second Lin in our remote Lin family village, and as a result, their arrogant demeanor had diminished considerably.
Meanwhile, Fatty assigned me to secretly monitor the movements of these black glasses, and the reward was the recipe for Wang Ba soup.
These black-glass men seemed like a group of tourists, idly wandering around the village. I deliberately or inadvertently roamed around the village as well. Of course, I wasn't like Second Lin, trying to keep my distance from them as much as possible. Otherwise, I suspected I would be beaten to death without even realizing it.
While they wandered, they would collect soil from the ground. Some even grabbed a bit of dirt and sniffed and tasted it. What was most peculiar was when they brought out steel pipes to form a shovel and thrust it into the ground. I told Fatty about this, and he said, "It looks like these bastards are determined to dig up tombs at the Lin family village. They're exploring feng shui and geomancy, in other words, looking for the red coffin!"
"They're tomb robbers. Can we bring Nine Li to arrest them all?" I asked.
"No, you don't understand. In today's society, people are degenerate, and even if we bring out Nine Li's old man, they might not be deterred. Luoyang's Scorpion is notorious for being ruthless in business, but no one can do anything about them. They have their connections in both the black and white worlds," Fatty explained.
"These powerful figures, they do everything. Why must they engage in such despicable activities of robbing graves?" I wondered aloud.
"You know nothing. There is nothing more worry-free and profitable than grave robbing. It's a high-profit business with no expenses," said Fatty. Then, he furrowed his brow and asked me, "Where do you think Uncle Two might have buried the coffin? These people have specialized skills and might not miss his hiding spot."
"Who knows?" I replied.
As I said this, I couldn't help but wonder if Uncle Two had forbidden everyone from following him to the burial site because he had foreseen that someone would come looking for it, so he purposely buried it in an extremely secret location.
This one red coffin had brought forth a scent of conspiracy and scheming for me.
I couldn't help but worry if Uncle Two had concealed the seemingly valuable coffin in a place that wasn't entirely secure. What if it was found, leading to disaster?
Yet, my worries seemed to be unnecessary because the very next day, a group of people crowded at the entrance to our house.
The curious villagers who followed along were kept outside by the black-glassed individuals.
The black-glasses man that day wasn't wearing sunglasses and his facial wounds had scabbed over. It was then that I noticed his youthful, handsome face. His wounds couldn't detract from his handsome appearance, and everyone around me couldn’t help but feel a bit envious.
Originally, I was thinking of persuading Uncle Two to sell, but now he wouldn't sell it even if his life depended on it, simply because this calf was more handsome than me!
After a group of people entered our home, they stood quietly by the door. It was only the handsome black-glasses man who pulled up a small stool, sat down, and began inspecting our house.
It seemed he suspected that Uncle Two had hidden the red coffin in our house?
— All my family members suddenly came out. Fatty, upon seeing the black-glasses man, seemed particularly jealous and shouted outside the yard, "Who's going to fetch Lin Second over? I'll pay him a hundred!"
"Liu Tianci, right? I've heard of you. Sanshui told me about the incident last time; it was a misunderstanding. Today, I’ve come to apologize for my mistake and discuss some business. First, let me introduce myself. I am Black Three," the handsome man said with a self-satisfied smile, appearing like a gentleman while introducing himself.
However, during his self-introduction, his gaze was fixed not on Fatty, who was currently glaring at him with anger, but on Uncle Two.
"Never heard of you," Uncle Two lazily replied.