chapter 13

The big brother looked to be in his forties, very thin, as if it was the cause of perennial alcoholism, his body had bent and his breath came with a whiff of alcohol. His teeth were charred yellow and loose, with large gaps between his teeth and his fingers full of yellow sooty seeds. Hu Shisan handed over a cigarette and lit it for this big brother.

This big brother then pointed to the cement stele and said, “That’s Huangdian Tun.”

I asked anxiously, “Is this the only Huangdian Tun in Jinzhou?”

Big Brother said, “This is the only one I know, and the name of the place is Huangdian Tun, and behind it is the Huangdian Tun Graveyard!”

He went to the stone stele and pulled all the vines away, and there were still two graves underneath. If we had been more careful last night, we wouldn’t have delayed the night. I smacked myself hard in the back of my mind!

Hu Shisan looked at me at this time and said, ”Are you sure it’s Huangdian Tun? Are those the three words? Could it be the emperor’s emperor, Meadows of Meadows?”

I wasn’t sure and could only scratch my head and say, “I don’t know either, Old Hu called me and said he wanted me to come to Huangdian Tun, I didn’t expect it to be so troublesome!”

At that moment, an elegiac link torn by the wind flew over and landed in front of me, and I looked down and saw that it read: “Sorrowful tribute to Mr. Hu Qinglin!

I immediately broke out in a sweat, and as soon as I grabbed the big brother, I said, “Was it Old Hu who was carried into the graveyard just now?”

This big brother said, “You know Old Hu? Old Hu died within a few days of returning home, and it’s been seven days since he stopped. Just the right day for a burial!”

I was instantly confused by this sudden event, grief rose from my heart, and tears came down in a flash, crying, “Old Hu, how did you die?”

Hu Shisan said, “In this case, it was Old Hu who called you before he died, asking you to come back seven days later. It seems like the whole thing is still weird.”

This big brother sighed and said, “Old Hu is childless, not even a mourner, what is your relationship with Old Hu?”

I looked to Hu Shisan , then both of us nodded, and I said, “I have a good relationship with Old Hu, he has always taken care of me, simply, let me pay Old Hu a visit!”

This big brother was so happy that he shouted towards the graveyard not to enter the earth first. Then I found two sets of filial suits and draped them over us, and I said that Hu Shisan didn’t need to do that, and Hu Shisan shook his head and said, “It’s okay, I’ll be a son for old Hu too! After all, we all have the last name Hu!”

I was genuinely sad, and cried my eyes out on that day, and then the tears dried up. I don’t know why this is, maybe I’m not just crying for Old Hu, I’m also feeling sad for myself.

After we put Lao Hu in the ground, we followed the villagers back to their canton. Their tun was called Hu Jia Ling tun, and it was said that this Huangdian tun used to be a tun, but then the tun was burned down and the Huang family moved out. It’s slowly becoming a graveyard. This is all from the Ming Dynasty, but it’s still documented in history.

People in Hujialingtun made their living by farming, and most of the young people had gone out to work. The people in Hujialingtun were old people and those who don’t want to get ahead. We arrived at Lao Hu’s doorstep only to find that Lao Hu’s home was very grand. It was like the home of an ancient great official.

That big brother pointed and said, ”This house is imposing, isn’t it, the Hu family compound is famous in Shengjing, the ancestor of the Hu family is the great mage next to Huang Taiji, do you know? It is said that when Huang Taiji entered the customs, there was an easterly wind, which blew so hard that the Ming army could not open their eyes, we attacked with the wind and took the mountain customs in one stroke. It is said that this gale was invited by the ancestors of the Hu family. It’s just that this courtyard has been empty for so many years that we Hu family members wouldn’t dare to live in it, it’s too evil!”

I said, “Evil? Where’s the evil in that?”

“Hu Qinglin is a direct line, he can still live. Those of us who live in the side branches will be haunted, the light ones will vomit and have diarrhea, the sick ones will be sick for ten days and a month, the heavy ones will be paralyzed, anyway, whatever is said.” This big brother waved his hand and said, ”Let’s not talk about it, it’s too scary. You’re not allowed in this yard anyway.”

I nodded and said, “We got it.”

Afterwards, I took two packs of cigarettes out of the car and stuffed them in my big brother’s pocket, who left cheerfully. And invited us to his house for lunch, Hu Shisan and I both declined, going to his house, let alone having lunch, was disgusting enough to watch him.

Hu Shisan said, ”There must be something in this yard, Old Hu called you, I think it’s what made you come to this yard to get something. We have to get in.”

I looked around and said, ”Look at the Hu family members in this tuna, they look at us as if we are thieves-proof. We can’t break down the door and go in, after all!” 、

In fact, I know that they are not deliberately defending us. The countryside is like that, and usually there are no strangers coming, and once they do, the village people visit as pandas.

Hu Shisan said, “Let’s pretend to leave and come back at night, we’ll sneak in!”

“Didn’t we say the yard was haunted?”

Hu Shisan looked at me and grunted, ”Brother Xing, it’s not me who’s talking about you, now you’re a living ghost! I’m a Daoist, and you and I are afraid of nothing else!”

That’s when it dawned on me, and I looked down at myself and said, “Yeah, I’m a living ghost. You’re right, I’m still afraid of a ghost!”

The two of us drove out and found the nearest town on our navigation. Arriving in town just at noon, we drank a couple of drinks, asked for a table dish, ate and found a hotel to stay, after a good night’s sleep, drove back to Hujialing Tun.

We parked the car in the small woods outside the tune and peeked out to the tune. Before dark, many of the older people were sitting outside the Hu family compound with fans to cool off, and they were quite lively with their jokes, and by the time dinner was served, people were gone. But the streets were still frequented.

Hu Shisan and I then hid on the roof of a dilapidated firewood house and watched the movement across the way. After the elderly people had finished their dinner, they all came outside this Hu family compound again to chat. It wasn’t until ten o’clock in the evening that they dispersed.

The streets were horribly quiet at this time, and I hadn’t felt such silence since I’d been in the city. Hu Shisan and I came down from the roof of the firewood house and stepped outside the Hu family compound, only to realize when we got close that the wall was really too high.

We walked around the yard for half a while and finally found the branches of a large acacia tree sticking out of the wall, and we followed the tree to the head of the wall, which was so high that neither of us had the courage to jump and started climbing along the wall, for not far away a wooden carriage was leaning against it. The two of us went down the wagon, and as soon as our feet hit the ground, I felt an eerie sensation.

I said, “Shisan, there really are ghosts here! Why doesn’t that feel right to me!”

Hu Shisan whispered, ”Brother Xing, you’re the ghost! Let’s go, there must be a reason Old Hu asked you to come today.”

Although I am a person who is a ghost, but speaking from the bottom of my heart, in this big night into this ghost house, I still felt irritable. Hu Shisan walked in front and I followed behind. I asked Hu Shisan to wait for me for a while, then peed against the wall, mentioned the empty pants, then looked at Hu Shisan, surprisingly disappeared.

I whispered to him twice, ” Master, Master, don’t you scare me!”

He did not respond, this can scare me enough, scolded: “Shisan, where the hell have you been? Don’t you fucking scare me!”

I secretly told myself that if a cat came out of nowhere, don’t be scared out of your mind! I walked step by step towards Hu Shisan’s side, it was a corridor under the eaves, speaking in my heart, at this time I surprisingly had an illusion, I felt like I had walked into a large household in ancient times.

It seemed that at any moment a big lady or an old housekeeper would appear in front of me.

I took a step forward, and when I passed the doorway, I took a look inside, and found Hu Shisan standing in the doorway, staring in awe. I stepped in, patted him on the shoulder and said, “You scared the hell out of me, didn’t you hear me call you?”

He looked at me, then turned his head away again. It was only then that I looked up and found two chairs set up in front of us, with a table in the middle. In one of the chairs, there seemed to sit a man.

I stood up in a sweat and grabbed Hu Shisan’s arm as soon as I could. Moving my body towards Hu Shisan’s back. But again, I couldn’t help my curiosity and looked ahead with half a head bared.

The large room fell silent and I could even hear my own heartbeat. It’s just that my heart beats exceptionally slowly after a long time. I even shudder at the sound of my own heartbeat.

Hu Shisan and I didn’t move, and neither did the figure over there. Hu Shisan’s hand slowly lifted, and in his hand was a flashlight, and suddenly a pillar of light struck out, which shone on one face. I froze when I saw this face: “Old Hu! You, are you a ghost?”

That’s right, it was Old Hu who was sitting in the chair. Old Hu is already dead, so what else would be sitting here if not a ghost?