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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Seventy-Five: The Calamity of Liu Family Village (2)
At the same time I asked this question, I felt a deep sadness. I never expected that Liu Yishou was actually my grandfather's master, making him my grandmaster. If he hadn't taken in my grandfather and Master Ma, perhaps during the chaotic times of Early Liberation, my grandfather and the others would not have survived, and I would not exist either.
However, such a good person ended up facing such a fate. Although the Cultural Revolution has long passed, and I cannot truly understand that era, it seems to me that political movements are always just political movements. As long as the villagers did not incite Liu Yishou to be criticized and denounced, how could the government possibly know about such a person in Liu Family Village?
Therefore, after listening to Master Ma recount Liu Yishou's story, I couldn't help but feel angry at the villagers of Liu Family Village. Such a good person was tied up by them like a trend, completely disregarding past familial ties, kindness, and even life-saving grace, treating him as a public enemy. This reflects the coldness of human hearts and is undeniably tragic. Even if they do not remember past kindnesses, they should know that Liu Yishou is still one of their own clan.
My mood became very low. Perhaps it was because Liu Yishou was a kind-hearted person, or perhaps because without him there would be no grandfather for me. Maybe it was because I am also a Paper Craftsman and a practitioner of Yin-Yang arts; his experience made me feel as if I were part of it all. If I had lived in that era, perhaps my fate would have been like Liu Yishou's.
Master Ma paused for a moment, gazing out the window as if reminiscing about something. After a long while, he sighed and continued.
Liu Yishou's body was taken out of Liu Family Village by my grandfather and Master Ma, who found a good burial site for him. Although he was a good man throughout his life, he ended up with a tragic fate; at least he was buried peacefully after death. Perhaps this is what he deserved for being a good person all his life. If he hadn't taken in my grandfather and Master Ma, he might not have even had the chance to be buried.
Liu Yishou's son, Liu Laoniu, was captured and imprisoned. Master Ma and my grandfather wanted to rescue him but couldn't even see him; he remained imprisoned for many years until the political turmoil ended. Afterward, Master Ma and my grandfather tried to find Liu Laoniu but could not locate him at all; they didn't know whether he was still in prison or had escaped somewhere else or even died.
Over twenty years ago, during the period of reform and opening up, one day Master Ma heard some shocking news: something had happened in Liu Family Village—every villager had died overnight!
Master Ma and my grandfather were extremely shocked upon hearing this news. They wondered if it was because the villagers' previous actions were too heinous that they faced retribution from Heavenly Father.
Immediately, Master Ma and my grandfather rushed to Liu Family Village. Upon seeing the deceased villagers, they noticed something unusual: all those villagers had died from being ensnared by the allure of wealth through soul-capturing techniques. Their first reaction was naturally that their junior brother Liu Laoniu had returned for revenge...
At that time, the police intended to enter Liu Family Village to investigate the case; however, those who went either died mysteriously or became dazed and insane. In the end, not only could they not investigate the case, but no one even came to collect the bodies in Liu Family Village; they remained hanging inside the houses.
Master Ma knew that this was Liu Lao Er's way of ensuring that the villagers could not rest in peace after death, a consequence of their earlier refusal to allow Liu Yishou to be buried.
Later, the police also found this matter strange and suspected that it was the work of some practitioners of Yin Yang. Thus, they approached Master Ma and My Grandfather, asking for their help in solving the case and finding the culprit.
At this point, Master Ma seemed somewhat helpless, as if recalling some painful memories, so he paused again.
I understood why Master Ma was in such pain; if I were in his position, I would feel the same. As the saying goes, "Heaven's misdeeds can be forgiven, but self-inflicted ones cannot." The people of Liu Family Village, in modern terms, were simply asking for trouble. Their disaster was entirely self-inflicted.
However, I also knew that it had been two or three decades since the destruction of the Four Olds and the beginning of Reform and Opening Up. At that time, Liu Family Village had many young people who were completely unaware of what had happened and were similarly killed by Liu Lao Er without reason. Although the older generation of Liu Family Village had sown the seeds of their own demise, those young people who suffered at the hands of Liu Lao Er could be said to be innocent victims; his actions against them were excessive.
If my junior brother were to commit such acts, I would also be troubled. Should I disregard our past relationship or uphold justice and turn against him? This was a very painful dilemma.
Subsequently, Master Ma mentioned that they had never intended to agree to help the police solve the case because Liu Lao Er was their junior brother and the only descendant of Liu Yishou. How could they possibly capture their mentor's sole heir?
However, Master Ma and his companions knew that what Liu Lao Er was doing was wrong. To prevent him from going further down this wrong path, they sought clues to find him. In the end, they did find Liu Lao Er, but by then he was no longer the same person; he had become blinded by hatred.
When Master Ma and My Grandfather urged him to let go of his hatred and leave the mainland, Liu Lao Er told them that he still wanted revenge against those from neighboring villages who had participated in persecuting his father.
Master Ma and his companions realized that their junior brother could not turn back; he had changed into someone unrecognizable, no longer the brother they once knew.
To prevent Liu Lao Er from continuing his cycle of hatred and to spare more villages from suffering like Liu Family Village, they felt compelled to control him first before attempting to persuade him slowly.
However, when Liu Lao Er saw that Master Ma and his companions were trying to capture him, he cursed them for siding with the police and betraying their own kind. They had not anticipated that news of the police seeking them would reach Liu Lao Er. In his eyes, his father's death was largely due to the state, the government, and society as a whole; thus, he believed that Master Ma and his companions had betrayed him. He angrily accused them of being ungrateful wolves who had benefited from his father's kindness.
In an instant, former brothers became enemies.
I asked Master Ma, "So what happened later? Did Liu Er get caught?"
Master Ma smiled bitterly and said, "My junior brother is quite capable, and with the Underworld Ghost Seal in his hands, it wasn't that easy."
Hearing this, I was even more surprised. The Underworld Ghost Seal, weren't those the two jade pendants? How did they end up in my grandfather's and Master Ma's hands? Thinking about this, I was astonished and felt that there must have been a complicated situation among the three of them.
Sure enough, Master Ma continued, "As a result, my grandfather and I teamed up. After several encounters, there was one time when Liu Er was preparing to cast a spell on another village, and we suddenly attacked and defeated him. We didn't hand him over to the police because he was our junior brother after all, so we let him go but kept the Underworld Ghost Seal, warning him that if he returned to harm others, we would use the Underworld Ghost Seal against him."
"Did he really leave?" I asked.
"Whether he left or not, we don't know. Anyway, this place became peaceful afterward, and we haven't encountered him again," Master Ma said with a bitter smile, clearly filled with helplessness. Yes, originally they were like brothers, but in the end, they became enemies and rivals; it was indeed a tragedy filled with too much helplessness.
After finishing his story, Master Ma said, "When you first mentioned Liu Family Village, I was startled, fearing that your inquiry would bring him back. But unexpectedly, he really did return. Those Five Police Officers died from the intoxication spell; it was obviously his doing. Sigh, who would have thought he hadn't left this place!"
After thinking it over countless times, I never imagined that the enemy I had to deal with was actually another one of my uncles. Considering my grandfather's abilities and that he had to team up with Master Ma to confront him made me feel overwhelmed. No wonder Master Ma kept saying I wasn't a match for him; if I continued to investigate, it would only bring disaster upon myself—it seemed to be true.
"So what should we do now? The Five Police Officers just died a couple of days ago; clearly Liu Er is hiding somewhere in Liu Family Village." I couldn't help but feel flustered; I truly didn't know how to deal with such an old character.
"Now you’re scared? I warned you before; why didn’t you listen?" Master Ma scolded and then said, "I think he must have known about you for a long time; perhaps he knows about our relationship as well. Now there's no other way but to wait for his poisonous attack! After decades of enmity, it's bound to come to light!"
Master Ma sighed and turned back into the inner room without saying anything more...
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