Chapter Three: Rules

The man was momentarily stunned and said, “Brother, there’s nothing else behind this money—I simply want to make friends with you.”
The elder brother pushed the bag back again, hoisted his raft, and said, “I don’t like making friends. I’ve already retrieved the remains. You can go now.”
With that, he turned to me and my mother: “Let’s go home.”
Although I felt a pang of regret that my brother didn’t take the money, I was also filled with pride and relief. At that moment, he seemed impossibly heroic to me. I followed behind him, my mother trailing along with tear-stained cheeks, and once we returned home, my brother shut the door, leaving everyone else outside.
There were spectators lingering, including that influential man, Tang Renjie, and his entourage.
Inside, my brother took a shower, then carefully wrapped the hundred thousand yuan and handed it to me. “Go fix the house. If it’s not enough, come to me.”
“How can I take this?” I protested.
“You must, Zhongmou. It’s what your mother and younger brother owe you,” my mother said through tears.
“When I tell you to take it, you take it,” he said, his tone brooking no argument.
“I really can’t accept it.” With that, I tossed the money onto the table.
He glanced at me. “You won’t take it?”
I nodded. “I won’t.”
He picked up the money and flicked his lighter, about to set it aflame. I hurried to stop him. “Are you insane?!”
“If you won’t take it, I’ll burn it,” he said, then left the money and retreated to his room.
In the end, I took the money. Though I’d only known my brother a few days, I had the intuition that he was a man of his word—if he said he’d burn it, he certainly would.
When my mother and I stepped outside, the crowd’s gaze had changed—gone was the mocking look, replaced by admiration. Even Tang Renjie had not left yet; upon seeing me exit, he came over and asked, “Where’s your brother?”
“He’s resting,” I replied.
Tang Renjie handed me a business card. “I, Tang Renjie, love making friends, especially capable ones. Here’s my card—let’s keep in touch.”
He didn’t give me a chance to refuse, pressing the card into my hand before departing, his group following.
I knew he wanted to befriend my brother. For a man of his stature, it was only my brother’s skill that commanded his respect; he wouldn’t have spared me a glance otherwise.
No matter what, my brother’s feat had made him famous overnight.
The flag that marked the corpse retrieval was no longer a joke.
He had become a stranger of rare ability—someone who could extract remains from the Twelve Ghost Caverns.
His skills were spoken of with awe. To move freely in and out of the Ghost Caverns was one thing, but to find a child’s remains amid the countless bones with a single drop of blood—that was deemed miraculous.

We returned home from Sanlitun, and no sooner had we arrived than the village chief, Chen Qingshan, showed up at our door. Upon seeing me, he gave a thumbs-up. “Impressive, your brother is incredible!”
I grinned sheepishly, saying nothing, but I relished the feeling—my brother’s uncanny abilities made me proud.
Chen Qingshan pulled me onto the sofa and said, “I’ve just heard about your brother’s prowess. Someone’s already come to me, hoping your brother could help retrieve a body. You know who—my friend Ma Laosan from Majia Fort. His daughter fell into the Luo River years ago; the body was never found. Everyone said she’d been swept into the Ghost Caverns. We’d lost hope, but now your brother’s here.”
“You’d have to speak to my brother about this,” I replied.
“I don’t know him well, not like Tang Renjie. We’re just villagers, and ten thousand yuan isn’t easy for us to come by,” Chen Qingshan said.
It was clear he was here to bargain. Though I wanted to refuse, Chen Qingshan had always looked out for me since I started working, so I couldn’t turn him down. “Let’s talk to my brother together. You know I’ve only just met him, but since I’m asking, he’ll probably give us face.”
I barely had time to rest before following Chen Qingshan, along with Ma Laosan and his wife, who brought gifts as they sought out my brother.
When we arrived, my brother sat coldly, listening as Ma Laosan recounted his daughter’s story. Afterward, Ma Laosan asked, “After all these years, is it still possible to find her remains?”
My brother nodded. “It’s possible.”
Ma Laosan couldn’t hide his joy. “Brother, we’re all neighbors. You know rural folk—it’s hard for us to scrape together ten thousand yuan.”
My brother waved his hand. “Ten thousand. Not a cent less. When the money’s here, I’ll go into the river.”
Ma Laosan looked awkward, rubbing his hands. “Given our relationship, can’t you make an exception?”
My brother rose. “No.”
Seeing him about to leave, Ma Laosan hurriedly grabbed his arm, looking pleadingly at Chen Qingshan, who nudged me under the table. I stood up, bracing myself. “Brother, San Laosan’s been a friend for years. Rural people really don’t have much, but they just want their child’s remains to be laid to rest. Couldn’t you be flexible?”
My brother shot me a chilling look that made me shudder. “No.”
With that, he shook off Ma Laosan and went to sit quietly in the courtyard.
I felt embarrassed, but Ma Laosan sighed. “Brother Ye, don’t blame yourself. To retrieve a body from the Twelve Ghost Caverns—that skill is worth ten thousand. I’ll go raise the money, even if I have to borrow it.”
Ma Laosan’s wife pulled at him. “Are you crazy? Ten thousand? What about our daughter’s marriage?”
“She’s our child too. I failed to keep her safe years ago, let her slip into the water. Do you know how I’ve lived since? Every time I close my eyes, I see her in the river crying that she’s cold. Even if it costs everything, I’ll bring her home!”
With that, Ma Laosan, eyes red, stood up. “I’ll go raise the money. Wait for me.”
After he left, Chen Qingshan sighed. “Your brother has a peculiar temper.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I stood and went out to join my brother. He was quietly smoking, staring into the distance, lost in thought.
When I approached, he handed me a cigarette—one of the local brands, six yuan a pack—and spoke softly: “Don’t get involved in corpse retrieval anymore.”
I nodded. “I know. Rules can’t be broken.”
—Truthfully, I’d realized I couldn’t open the door for my brother to make exceptions. Otherwise, everyone would come to me to haggle—give this one face, not another; where would it end?

Ma Laosan’s words rang true: that skill is worth ten thousand.
By evening, Ma Laosan had scraped together the money, much of it in small bills, his wife trailing behind him in tears—whether for the money or something else, I couldn’t say. Ma Laosan, trembling, handed over the cash. I knew the family’s situation—they weren’t well off, and their worn clothes made me almost ashamed to accept the money.
At that moment, I even felt my brother was somewhat heartless.
Ultimately, I took the money.
Afterward, my brother used the same method to take a drop of Ma Laosan’s blood, then hoisted his raft and headed for the river. Night had fallen. I tried to persuade him, “It’s dangerous so late—why not wait till tomorrow?”
“It’s fine,” he replied.
Again we headed to the Luo River, with a crowd gathering as before.
This time, my brother emerged from the Twelve Ghost Caverns after just half an hour, carrying a small set of remains on his raft. Ma Laosan, upon seeing them, broke down, kneeling and bowing repeatedly to my brother.
Some money hurts to spend, but it’s worth it.
In a single day, my brother retrieved two bodies from the Twelve Ghost Caverns—one lost for three years, one for over a decade. Again, he amazed everyone. Yet what was spoken of now was his ruthlessness—the price was ruthless: ten thousand, and he made no exceptions, not even for his own brother.
I could only laugh. To put it bluntly—how much is my face worth, really?
The next morning, an outsider who’d heard the news came straight to my brother with money, hoping to retrieve a relative. Ten thousand was handed over; my brother took up his raft, and quickly found the remains.
In two days, he earned thirty thousand. No costs, the longest task lasting just over an hour—the retrieval for Tang Renjie’s son. The villagers watched in envy, mouths watering.
But after retrieving the outsider’s relative, my brother put away the flag marking his ability to retrieve bodies from the Twelve Ghost Caverns.
Everyone assumed he no longer needed the flag now that his reputation had spread, but it wasn’t so.
That afternoon, people still came—there were many bodies lost to the Ghost Caverns over the decades, so requests were frequent.
“I only enter the Ghost Caverns three times a year. I’ve already used up this year’s entries. I won’t retrieve any more bodies from inside,” my brother declared.
“Can’t you make an exception? We’ll pay extra!”
The man who came that afternoon wore glasses, designer clothes, and drove a Mercedes—clearly not short of money.
“No. That’s the rule,” my brother said, as firmly as ever.
After that, he truly stopped entering the Ghost Caverns. After the Mercedes man left, several more people came, but my brother refused them all. Eventually, he raised the flag again: “Only three entries to the Ghost Caverns per year, ten thousand each. This year’s three are finished. If you want a retrieval, come next year.”