Go all out

Chapter 15: The Number of Deaths?

Hearing Zhang Fei’er say this out of the blue, I could only keep my composure and ask in a low voice, “Why do you say that?” Uncle Zhang has a very gentle temperament and is well-regarded in the village. Could it be that Zhang Fei’er saw I was alone and wanted me to be careful? “Tian, don’t be scared when I tell you this,” Zhang Fei’er’s voice rang out again. “What’s there to be afraid of? Go ahead.” I smiled slightly. I might not be the bravest guy around, but I’m no coward either. “This person… seems to be dead!” “What?” I jumped in surprise. The sudden loud outburst caused Uncle He, who was picking out items, to look over curiously. “What’s wrong, Xiao Tian?” Uncle He asked me with a smile. “Nothing, nothing,” I said, shaking my head hurriedly. Uncle He chuckled and went back to picking out items. “Did you see that wrong?” I quickly asked. It was too scary—how could Uncle He, who was perfectly fine, be dead? He was about the same age as Uncle Zhang before—how could someone in their forties possibly be dead? “No, look at his feet.” Hearing Zhang Fei’er say that, I instinctively looked over. I was glad I hadn’t looked at first, but once I did, I almost screamed again—because Uncle He’s feet were actually floating… Was Uncle He really dead? How could that be? I couldn’t believe it, but the reality before my eyes left me no choice but to accept it—Uncle He was dead. “Xiaotian, how much is this thing?” Uncle He suddenly pointed to a paper effigy by the door and asked me. It was a woman, and she was quite beautifully crafted. Uncle He was holding her little hand, looking just as satisfied as if he were picking out a woman at a nightclub—he was actually choosing a woman for himself right then. I felt like I couldn’t even take a step forward. Fear was one reason, but more importantly, Uncle He had died out of the blue. Just like Carpenter Chen before him, judging by his facial features, Uncle He definitely shouldn’t have died so young—so he must have been murdered. Murdered? A sudden sense of foreboding washed over me. “If you like it, Uncle He, just take it. It’s not worth much anyway.” I forced a stiff smile. “That won’t do! Here.” Uncle He pulled a red bill out of his pocket, placed it on the counter, and walked out carrying the paper figurine. I stood there dumbfounded for a moment. Only after I saw with my own eyes the eerie transformation of the red bill on the table—it had turned into a joss note—did I finally take a deep breath. Just then, someone else walked in from outside. I hurriedly looked over and only then let out a sigh of relief. “Tian Zhan, you’re finally back. Just now there was…” I walked over, but before I could finish my sentence, Tian Zhan sniffed the air and nodded gravely. “I know. Uncle He from the village has died, and I just saw him too—carrying a paper effigy on his back…” Tian Zhan said in a subdued voice. “How did Uncle He die?” I asked urgently. “It’s the same as the other two deaths in the village—their hearts were ripped out, and they died unjustly.” As he said this, Tianzhuan’s expression darkened. I froze on the spot. Was it my mom again? At that moment, my emotions were in turmoil. My mom was killing people one after another—all people I knew, people who’d been kind to me when I was a kid. What on earth was she after? “Where’s Zhang Fei’er? I’ll drop her off now, and then we’ll go to Uncle He’s house!” Tian Zhan’s voice snapped me out of my daze. Absentmindedly, I pulled the jade pendant from my pocket. A wisp of light smoke drifted from between my fingers; it quickly condensed nearby, and Zhang Fei’er appeared. Tian Zhan walked to the back yard. When he came out, he slung his backpack over his shoulder. He took out a sheet of yellow paper, a brush, and ink from his backpack. After asking Zhang Fei’er for her birth date and time, he wrote the details on the yellow paper, then quickly folded it into a paper crane. Tian Zhan pricked his finger and lightly dabbed each of the paper crane’s eyes. He immediately began chanting incantations, and then a bizarre scene unfolded: the paper crane actually flapped its wings and took flight on its own. “Take this ghost talisman. If anything happens to you, crush it—I’ll sense it, and I’ll rush over to save you as fast as I can!” Tian Zhan flipped his hand solemnly, produced a pale black talisman, and tossed it to Zhang Fei’er. “Thank you, Brother Zhan. In a month, I’ll definitely come back on my own,” Zhang Fei’er said, her eyes reddening. Tian Zhan nodded without saying a word. “Brother Tian, I’m off then,” Zhang Fei’er said, looking at me. “Mm-hmm. Have a safe journey,” I said softly. As soon as Zhang Fei’er finished speaking, she turned into a wisp of smoke and slipped into the soaring paper crane. The crane flapped its wings and flew away at a steady pace, neither too fast nor too slow. Watching the paper crane drift away, I sighed. Tian Zhan said, “Let’s go check on Uncle He’s place.” “Okay.” I nodded and closed the shop door. The two of us hurried toward Uncle He’s house. Uncle He lived alone. When he was young, he had a wife and a daughter, but later—I heard—Uncle He did something, and his wife left home with another woman. She’s been gone for eighteen years now, never contacting him or coming back. Uncle He never remarried, so he was essentially a lonely, helpless man. Since we were all from the same village, it only took a few minutes to walk there. When we arrived at Uncle He’s house, I saw a smoldering pile of paper at the doorway—it appeared to be the paper effigy. I instinctively glanced around but didn’t spot Uncle He’s ghost. Just as I was about to ask Tian Zhan, he spoke up on his own: “He’s already gone down there.” I, of course, understood what he meant: Uncle He had taken the burnt paper effigy of the woman with him to the underworld to report his arrival. Tian Zhan pushed open the door and went inside. At a glance, I saw a corpse lying in the living room—its heart had been ripped out. Blood covered the floor, and the overpowering stench of blood nearly made me vomit. I covered my nose and saw Uncle He’s terrified eyes staring at me. His dilated pupils were indescribably terrifying, sending a chill down my spine. Tian Zhan frowned as he walked over. He crouched down to examine Uncle He’s body. I forced myself to ignore my physical discomfort and walked over. When I saw the claw marks on Uncle He’s chest, the last shred of hope I had clung to was mercilessly shattered. I stood there frozen, unable to speak. A few minutes later, Tian Zhan stood up, his face looking rather grim. After a moment’s pause, he said slowly, “Xiao Tian, I won’t hide anything from you. I came back this time because the deaths of those two people in the village were very suspicious, so the higher-ups sent me down to handle the matter.” I nodded without saying a word. I didn’t know what to say. I’d already guessed part of Tian Zhan’s true identity yesterday, so it didn’t surprise me—what did surprise me was that my mom had killed someone again. “And let me make this clear: it wasn’t a human who killed Uncle He,” Tian Zhan said, looking at me with grave seriousness. I let out a bitter laugh. I’d known that all along, but… sigh. “What about Uncle Zhang and Carpenter Chen? They’ve already been buried—did you…” “Last night I went to the graveyard and dug up their coffins. I examined them—they had the same wounds.” Tian Zhan continued, “Which means that for all three people who died in the village, their killers weren’t human!” “So you came here this time just to kill her?” I asked, staring at Tian Zhan. “Yes!” Tian Zhan nodded without hesitation. “But you promised me you wouldn’t do anything to harm your brother.” A bitter taste filled my heart. Saying those words left me feeling so powerless and helpless. My mom had seriously injured my master, and Tian Zhan had returned specifically because of this. He’s a master of Taoist arts—if my mom were to run into him, I’m afraid… “Xiao Tian, I’m doing this only to restore dignity to our kind! Humans have their rules, and spirits have theirs. We were supposed to leave each other alone, but she crossed the line, so I had to act! …Besides, humans must not die at the hands of spirits! I hope you understand that.” “Enough, don’t say another word.” I couldn’t bear to listen any longer. Tian Zhan gave me a deep look and fell silent. I spent a long time in a daze at Uncle He’s house, not saying a single word. My mom had killed someone again, and I felt powerless to explain—because no matter what I said, I’d be in the wrong. It’s just that I didn’t want the mother who saved my life when I was a child to be killed by my best friend. Tian Zhan continued to examine Uncle He’s body. I couldn’t make sense of what he was doing, but his expression grew increasingly grim. A few minutes later, he stood up again. “Xiao Tian, how old was Uncle He this year?” I thought for a moment and replied, “Forty-three.” “What about Uncle Zhang and Carpenter Chen, who died earlier?” Tian Zhan asked. “Forty-five, forty-four.” As I spoke those three numbers, I felt a sense of unease. They were consecutive numbers. I knew Uncle Zhang had died because he’d injured my mom, but now that Carpenter Chen and Uncle He were dead too—could it be that they were trying to round the total up to a whole number for my mom’s sake? “Forty-three, forty-four, forty-five?” Tian Zhan began snapping his fingers repeatedly. I watched him quietly. Several minutes later, he looked at me with a sudden realization and asked, “Who else in the village is forty-six years old?” “Why do you ask?” “Because within a week, someone else in the village is going to die—and if my guess is correct, it’ll be someone who’s forty-six years old.” Tian Zhan paused thoughtfully before saying this with a grave expression. To be honest, when I heard Tian Zhan say this, my instinct was to refuse to believe it, because I couldn’t bring myself to believe that my mom was killing the villagers one after another like this. She’d turn into a murderous maniac. But I want to stop my mom from killing more people, because the more people she kills, the harder it will be for me to stop Tian Zhan. “I’m not sure about that. We’ll have to go to the village chief’s house to find out. He’s the one who organizes the census every time,” I said softly. “All right, then. We’ll go to the village chief’s house tomorrow,” Tian Zhan said after a moment’s thought. “Mm-hmm,” I nodded. By the time we got home, it was already past midnight. As usual, Tian Zhan slept in my bed while I slept on the floor, but neither of us said a word. We tossed and turned until well into the night, when I finally drifted off in a daze. I had a nightmare. In it, Tian Zhan looked cold and indifferent as he stood on top of my mom. He was holding a peachwood sword and stabbing her over and over again. Blood spurted everywhere. I ran over to stop him, crying and begging him on my knees, but Tian Zhan completely ignored me and kept stabbing her mechanically. There was a lot of blood, and my mom just stood there watching me from a distance, tears streaming down her face, until her eyes closed… I was jolted awake by the nightmare and found myself soaked through. I glanced out the window—it was already beginning to get light outside. “What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?” Tian Zhan looked at me curiously. “No, it’s nothing.” I shook my head, ran to the bathroom to take a cold shower, and returned to the room to get dressed. Tian Zhan was already waiting for me at the shop. I stared at him blankly, wanting to say something, but in the end, I didn’t speak. Sighing, I opened the shop door, and Tian Zhan and I set off toward the village chief’s house. It was at the edge of the village, so it wasn’t very far. When we arrived, the village chief had just returned on his electric scooter, with a cleaned fish still sitting in the basket. The village chief had gone to the farmers’ market early that morning. When the village chief saw me, he naturally noticed Tianzhuan as well. He walked over with a smile, patted Tianzhuan on the shoulder, and said, “Is that Tianzhuan? When did you get back? Why haven’t you come by to see me?” “Well, here we are now, aren’t we?” Tianzhuan said with a smile. “You two are just like when you were kids—you never show up unless you need something. Coming over this early in the morning—tell me, what’s going on? You can rest assured that if there’s anything I can do, I’ll take care of it,” the village chief said, patting his chest. Tian Zhan and I exchanged a glance, and I spoke up, “Village Chief, we didn’t come here for anything else—we just wanted to ask how many people in the village are turning forty-six this year?” “What, are you two young men snooping around in people’s private lives?” the village chief joked. “No, there’s a reason we’re asking,” I said, shaking my head. “A reason? Well then, you tell me first—what exactly is the reason!” the village chief said, looking at me. I was taken aback, not sure how to begin. Should I tell him about Tian Zhan’s analysis?