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墨書 Inktalez
Human Sacrifice
"If he’s gone, we should burn his copy of Three Kingdoms for him."
I never imagined that this would be the last thing Old Man said to me.
Not long after Old Man passed away, I lay in bed dozing off, when I heard some commotion outside the door. In my daze, I glanced toward the door and was startled awake.
The terrifyingly old Big Black Cat had appeared again, crouching at the entrance. In the bright light, I could vaguely see a dark aura surrounding its body.
The Big Black Cat's piercing eyes were fixed on my bedside. Its tail swayed back and forth as if it had noticed I was awake. It let out a meow and turned to leave, taking a few steps before looking back and meowing again, still seeming to beckon me to follow.
Suddenly, I realized that I might be dreaming, so I held my breath and stopped breathing altogether. I didn’t want to continue this strange nightmare.
After a while, I woke up in a cold sweat.
Having the same dream two nights in a row felt unusual, and more than anything, I was worried. That Big Black Cat seemed like a spirit animal; was my dream merely a reflection of my thoughts during the day, or had my soul been taken by the Big Black Cat?
Once I woke up, I went to find Huzi and asked him to accompany me back to the mountain behind our village. I suspected that the Big Black Cat might still be lurking in the cave there.
Now that Huang the Lame was dead, Guo the Blind and I had developed some underlying tensions that made it impossible to rely on him for help. The cave at the cliff behind the mountain was known for its oddities. I remembered that when I descended from the cliff before, I had caught a glimpse of something white protruding from a muddy pit in the cave before it quickly vanished.
I didn’t dare rush up there alone. When Huzi wanted to check it out, I refused him as well. We shouted a few times from below the cliff but didn’t see any sign of the Big Black Cat coming out. Based on the terrain described in Feng Shui Secret Record, I found two spots where mountain spirits often lingered but still couldn’t find any trace of the Big Black Cat. Disappointed, Huzi and I returned to Bright Moon Village.
Huzi rubbed the jade pendant around his neck and said, "I don’t know what it is, but it felt like something was watching us in that wasteland. The temperature was particularly cold too."
I hadn’t felt anything watching us; perhaps Huzi had become paranoid after spending so much time with me lately. However, it was true that the temperature in that wasteland below Winding Mountain Road was indeed lower than in other areas of the mountains.
Perhaps it was the old Ancestral Grave of Futu Ridge buried there that caused the heavy Yin Qi, or maybe it was the Big Red Coffin in the cave that disrupted the feng shui of Dragon's Embrace Mountain, leading to the lower temperature. I had only learned a little from the Feng Shui Secret Record and couldn't make sense of it for now.
When I returned to Bright Moon Village, I saw several villagers hurriedly running toward the back of the village. Huzi stopped a woman in her forties and asked, "Aunt Liu, what's going on?"
The woman replied, "I don't know either; I heard Old Man is not doing well."
Huzi and I exchanged glances and quickly ran toward Old Man's house.
Upon arriving at Old Man's doorstep, I found the yard filled with people. Confused, I pushed through the crowd and walked inside.
In the main room directly facing the entrance, Old Man lay on a spirit bed, dressed in a black floral Funeral Garment, wearing an old-fashioned black hat. He looked peaceful in his sleep.
Inside the room, seven or eight elderly villagers were arguing about something, including Old Man Wang. When they saw me standing at the door staring at Old Man, their voices quieted down. One of the elders said, "Then let's go with what you all suggested; the villagers are still waiting."
The elder nudged Old Man Wang forward. He awkwardly adjusted his clothes and stood at the threshold of the main room, raising his voice to announce, "Old Man has passed away; he died peacefully at a ripe old age! A hundred years of joyous mourning!"
Upon hearing Old Man Wang declare it a joyous mourning, smiles appeared on everyone's faces as they began to discuss how Old Man had been a role model and helpful to others over the years in Futu Ridge.
I grabbed Old Man Wang by his collar and pulled him aside at the door, glaring at him with red eyes.
"What are you doing, Yang Hao? Are you going to hit someone? Hit someone!" Old Man Wang shouted loudly.
"Yang Hao, what are you doing? Don't cause trouble!" one of the elders inside questioned.
I pushed Old Man Wang away and looked at them. "Old Man talked to me just last night; now he's dead. A good person is gone just like that. You haven't even investigated the cause yet you're declaring it joyous mourning? Who gave you that authority?"
A few elderly men exchanged glances, and one of them pointed to a pile of hemp ropes on the ground behind the door. "If you must ask why, this is the reason. The Old Man committed suicide."
I looked at the pile of ropes and then at the Old Man's neck, where two clear marks were barely concealed by the collar of his funeral garment.
"The Old Man couldn't have committed suicide; he was looking for me last night," I said.
"Think about what he said to you. Didn't it sound like he was making arrangements for his affairs?" the old man asked.
I recalled the Old Man's words from last night; they did indeed sound like final instructions. But why would he commit suicide out of the blue? He was an old man who wouldn't have lived many more years anyway—why would he take his own life?
Old Man Wang then spoke up, "We old buddies were just hanging around, wanting to find the Old Man to enjoy some cool air and listen to him tell stories. When we entered, we found him hanging from the beam, dressed in his funeral garment. The garment was perfectly smooth, and a stool lay overturned nearby. If he hadn't done it himself, then who could have?"
Another elder chimed in, "The Old Man had no children or relatives. He had come to Futu Ridge to escape the chaos of war. There aren't many relatives in the county. The Old Man valued his reputation; he was the most respected person in all of Futu Ridge. Outsiders who don't pass down their lineage for three generations in Futu Ridge can't be buried in the ancestral grave. Those who die a violent death or commit suicide are even less likely to be accepted there. It would be disrespectful to our ancestors, and other villages would mock us for it. We are the oldest people in the village, having listened to the Old Man's stories for decades, and we are grateful to him. But the rules of the mountains cannot change; if he died a disgraceful death, he cannot be buried in the ancestral grave. His body must be burned and disposed of in the pond—taboos are taboos!"
"That's right, Yang Hao. The Old Man took care of you; do you think he should be buried properly in Bright Moon Village's ancestral grave or burned and thrown into the pond?" Old Man Wang asked angrily.
"Who decided these rules anyway? What era are we living in?" Huzi said from behind me.
"The rules passed down from our ancestors can be broken, but it depends on who has the authority. Your grandfather was the village chief; if he could break them, then he could do so. But he would have to burn incense and swear an oath before both our ancestors' tomb and the mountain god's temple; he alone would bear the consequences. Otherwise, if we violate these mountain rules, will you take responsibility?" one elder replied.
While they were talking, Li Fugui appeared at the door without anyone noticing. He looked expressionlessly at the Old Man lying on the funeral bed and then bowed respectfully before him.
Li Fugui said, "Get someone to hold a fire basin for mourning; I'll cover the expenses. The Old Man's funeral needs to be handled properly."
"No need; I'll take care of the funeral arrangements," I said.
"Li Fugui said, 'You can't come. The burial is tonight; it can't be delayed until dawn. Things have been unsettled in the mountains lately.'"
With that, Li Fugui left, not giving me a chance to respond.
"Then let's hurry. The village head agrees it's a joyful funeral. We need to buy mourning cloth in town and hire some mourners. The expenses will be charged to Li the Village Head," Old Man Wang urged everyone to get busy.
An elderly man in the hall looked at me, who was left standing aside, and said, "Yang Hao, you really can't handle the mourning duties. At midnight, during the funeral, there are customs to follow—three steps for a cry, five steps for a wail, seven steps for a song. Even if you can't cry, you must pretend to. If you do it poorly, you'll be blamed for being unfilial. You haven't experienced any of this."
Under Old Man Wang's arrangement along with several village elders, everyone began to busily prepare. The old man's funeral couldn't be taken lightly; it had to be grand, with the entire village following the body.
"How could this happen?" I looked at the deceased Old Man on the spirit bed, feeling lost and helpless. I suddenly realized how weak I was, lacking even the right to do something for the deceased in my own way.
"Hao, let's go," Huzi said as he pulled me away.
I nodded and followed Huzi out of the crowd.
Huzi caught up with Li Fugui and asked, "Grandpa, Old Man knew so much and had such a good mindset. How could he have hanged himself? Aren't you going to investigate?"
Li Fugui replied, "What good would it do to investigate?"
I said, "If we can't find out who killed Old Man, then at least we should bring them to justice. Those of us who respected him deserve to know the truth."
Li Fugui snorted and stopped walking to look at me. "What do you know about the truth? There are too many people in Futu Ridge who want to know the truth, but they only end up dying faster. Don't think that just because you've studied for a few years and feel righteous that you're some kind of savior."
"I'm not a savior, but at least I won't actively harm others. Some people during the Ten-Year Catastrophe caused countless innocent deaths. If they really had any ability, why hide away in a mountain village and bully others?" I replied angrily.
“What are you?” Li Fugui's eyes glinted with malice as he approached me.
“Grandpa!” Huzi quickly stepped in front of me, turning his face to say, “Hao, don’t. My grandpa must have his reasons. Back in those days, every family had its own troubles.”
“So that gives him the right to harm others?” I replied fearlessly, looking straight at Li Fugui.
Li Fugui let out a cold laugh, glancing at me as he said, “Some truths are better left unknown. Otherwise, you’ll end up regretting it yourself. I see you’re not afraid of death, but don’t drag my grandson into this.”
With that, Li Fugui turned and walked toward the edge of the village. I called out after him, “Do you know who killed Old Man?”
He didn’t look back, disappearing from my sight.
Huzi’s face darkened as he said, “Hao, we’re brothers, but please don’t make it hard for me. My grandpa is also thinking about the safety of the village.”
“I… never mind.” I hesitated, glancing toward Guo the Blind's house. “I need to find Guo Huaiyi.”
Not everything you see is the truth.
I wonder if any of the old readers remember that saying: what you see as death may not be death; what you see as life may not be life.
Yang Hao felt a growing unease within him, sensing that a dark net was being woven, closing in around him.
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