The soul light of the person in the view from the Earth Dog Star suddenly disappeared, like a tiger lying in wait before pouncing.
However, after we got ready, the person still didn't show up.
After waiting for more than half an hour, I quietly said, "It seems like they've left."
Though I said that, none of us dared to be careless. As the fire weakened, I stayed close to protect Xu Dafa and added some pinewood to the pyre.
The fire had been burning for more than four hours. The person still hadn't appeared, which meant they were probably gone.
After such a long time, the bones of Zhao Lao Wei's wife had turned into a mass, not quite as completely reduced as in a cremation furnace due to the lower temperature, but enough to fit into an urn.
Xu Dafa used a stick to scoop the bones out, intending to place them in the urn.
I guessed that the urn made by Song Quezi had the effect of sealing and spiritualizing the bones, but after seeing that she was just a controlled ghost servant, there was no need for such an extravagant expense.
The 20,000 yuan was likely gathered by the whole village.
In this economically underdeveloped era, food wasn't a problem for rural families, but if a family didn't have a man working away from home, gathering cash would be a huge challenge, requiring careful saving from every little bit.
I stopped Xu Dafa and said, "No need to waste it."
Xu Dafa glanced at me and said, "I'm worried that the evil spirit will cause trouble in the village."
"Don't worry! I'll handle it. I'll take the urn with me when I leave, and return the money to you."
That person didn't dare show up, and I couldn't stay here forever either. I had to go find them, and then solve everything in one go.
Even if there were any consequences, they would likely target me directly.
With a decision made, I started planning ahead.
Once the temperature of the bones dropped, Xu Dafa wrapped them in a cloth and picked them up.
I planned to go directly to Zhao Lao Wei after we left the village.
When we passed by the brigade office, people were still waiting in line to make phone calls.
Though the phones were already automated, there weren't many in each village, and it took a long time to find someone.
But even so, people were enthusiastic, because for those who had never left the mountains their whole lives, making a phone call was a major event.
If I hadn't gone into the city, I would probably still be like them many years later.
In the courtyard of the brigade, half-grown children were playing and causing a ruckus, making the place lively.
I glanced around but didn't linger.
Xu Dafa originally wanted to call the village chief, but we had already been delayed in the mountains for several hours. I was worried something might go wrong, so I told him to take me directly there.
Zhao Lao Wei was really poor—poorer than even the old man Gan Nian from our village.
The courtyard wall was made of a few pieces of woven branches, full of holes.
A small tile house was divided into three rooms, the middle one for living, the left one for livestock, and the right one was piled with firewood and other junk.
The dilapidated door was tilted to one side, as if it would collapse at any moment.
"Zhao Lao Wei, Zhao Lao Wei!"
Xu Dafa shouted twice, but no one responded.
I accidentally touched the "wall," and the branch fence immediately fell down, which scared me into quickly propping it up again.
After calling a few more times with no answer, Xu Dafa knocked on the door.
After two knocks, the door board fell down with a crash, and there was no way to stop it.
Just as Xu Dafa and I bent down to pick up the door, Zhao Lao Wei's voice came from inside, cursing, "Who the hell comes knocking on my door in the middle of the night?!"
The door from the inner room swayed and opened, revealing a crooked old man about sixty years old.
When he saw the door had fallen, his face changed, and he cursed indistinctly, "Damn you, Xu Dafa, why did you knock my door down? Get it fixed right now, or I'll make you regret it!"
While swearing, Zhao Lao Wei reached out and grabbed something—he picked up a shovel handle and rushed out.
I took a half-step back.
People like him weren't to be trifled with. If you provoke him, he might try to pin it on you, and if you resist, he'll probably just hit you with a few blows, and you won't get anything back.
Xu Dafa seemed used to this, standing straight without moving.
He was in his forties, strong enough to match two Zhao Lao Weis.
Zhao Lao Wei, bristling with anger, suddenly hesitated when he saw Xu Dafa not back down. His eyes flickered, and his head lowered.
Only then did Xu Dafa throw the cloth-wrapped bones at him.
Zhao Lao Wei thought it was something valuable, opened it, and saw a black lump. He shuddered and quickly threw it back on the ground.
Xu Dafa then said, "This is your wife's corpse."
Normally, anyone would rush at us in a fit of fear or anger after hearing such a thing.
But Zhao Lao Wei turned into a wilted old man, avoiding our gaze, clearly nervous.
I said, "Zhao Lao Wei, do you know you're about to die?"
Zhao Lao Wei panicked, but upon seeing it was me talking, he froze and said, "Who are you? What do you know? If you don't know how to speak, go get your elders!"
Zhao Lao Wei was one of those who knew how to judge the situation. Seeing that I was dressed like an urban person, and noticing I wasn't soft-spoken, his attitude immediately changed.
Xu Dafa scolded, "Zhao Lao Wei, mind your manners. This is a gentleman from the city."
When he heard the word "gentleman from the city," Zhao Lao Wei got even more nervous.
I believe even a hardened person would be afraid of a little discipline. If I were from this village, I would've given him a lesson, but after today, we may never meet again, so I didn't want to waste time with him. Seeing him make trouble, I asked Huang Jiu to control him and went straight into his house.
As the saying goes, those who are detestable must have their pitiable side. Zhao Lao Wei's living conditions were truly miserable.
In the small room, there was a stove in the corner, with unwashed dishes and moldy food on the mud-brick counter. In another corner, sprouting potatoes were piled up.
I searched around the room and found a stack of money under the blackened mattress. It was about 4,400 yuan.
Xu Dafa followed in, and upon seeing the money, he said in surprise, "Zhao Lao Wei's wife was a medicinal herb addict. They never had enough to eat, and they would always exchange any eggs they had for medicine, so how could they have this much money?"
I counted it and confirmed it was 4,400 yuan, probably a round amount, but he had already spent 600 yuan.
I took out the 5,000 yuan from my pocket and placed it under the mattress, then took the 4,400 yuan.
Zhao Lao Wei must have seen that person before. His scheme wasn't bad, and he must have considered this possibility, so he wouldn't let Zhao Lao Wei see anything directly.
The village people were investigating everywhere, and if they couldn't figure anything out, this money would be my only clue.
After all, money always carries a trace of energy.
It's just that over a month had passed, and I wondered if the Earth Dog Star could still trace it.
Leaving Zhao Lao Wei's house, we happened to run into the village chief, who greeted us warmly, saying he had cooked a stew with an old hen and invited us to have a midnight snack.
Huang Jiu, exhausted, immediately perked up and seemed ready to eat anything. I was starving, so I didn't decline.