Chapter Sixty-Nine: Commencement

I stood up and walked outside. Chen Dongfang’s furious outburst had left me somewhat unsettled. By rights, someone as steadfast as he would never lose his temper so easily, unless something truly crossed his bottom line.

“What’s wrong, Uncle Dongfang? Please calm down, tell me slowly,” I asked in a low voice.

“I know Fat Liu is investigating this. He’s hired someone from the black market, and that guy’s place is formidable—you can find out nearly anything you want there. But you must tell Fat Liu to stop immediately, do you hear me? Immediately! This matter cannot be investigated! If you dig any deeper, no one will survive! What a damn fool!” Chen Dongfang thundered, and after his tirade, I heard a loud bang from the other end, as if he’d smashed his phone in rage.

Only then did I truly sense the gravity of the situation. I hurried back inside and found that Fat Liu had also hung up. Even someone usually fearless like him looked pale, his forehead beaded with sweat. I looked at him and asked, “Did we mess things up?”

Fat Liu nodded. “Did Chen Dongfang say the same thing?”

“Yes, he’s furious. Told you to stop immediately, not to dig any further,” I replied.

Fat Liu wiped his brow and laughed bitterly. “The Scholar just called and chewed me out, said he’d cut ties with me. Luckily, he didn’t dig too deep—if he’d actually found something, we’d be in real trouble.”

He still seemed anxious. He pulled out a cigarette and tossed me one. I was shaken myself. The two of us sat there, puffing smoke, thinking: who’d have guessed that just now, in these humble houses of Fudi Gully, Fat Liu had done something to alarm some very important people?

I smoked through half a pack. Fat Liu finally chuckled wryly. “Damn it, should Fat Liu be crying or laughing now?”

We looked at each other—then burst out laughing. I cursed Fat Liu for being an idiot; he cursed me the same; and in the end, we realized we were both idiots.

I stopped laughing and asked him, “Are we alright?”

Fat Liu shrugged. “So long as we stop now, nothing will happen. The Scholar will catch hell, no doubt. King of Thieves, I thought I already had a high opinion of these matters, but it’s bottomless. Seems our guess was right: your father Ye Tiancheng, Chen Dongfang, and Tang Renjie—these three were special talents selected from the military district, formed into an elite squad. There must be others in the team, and whatever they did must never be investigated. That’s where we made trouble.”

At that moment, Chen Dongfang called again. I glanced at Fat Liu and gave him a wry smile; he nodded, equally wry. “Go ahead, answer.”

“You do the deed, and I take the scolding,” I muttered as I picked up.

“It’s settled. The old man just chewed me out. Tell Fat Liu, don’t investigate any further. I don’t care who he is or how he knows that black market guy—just tell him to stay away from this, as far as possible. I never thought you’d get this far. If you’re really curious, I’ll tell you when the time is right. And stay away from Fat Liu, that guy stirs up too much trouble—he’ll get you killed eventually!” Chen Dongfang finished, then hung up.

“What did he say?” Fat Liu asked.

“He said I should stay away from you, you’re too much trouble, you’ll get me killed sooner or later,” I laughed.

“Bullshit! If it weren’t for your business, would Fat Liu have stirred up this mess? If anything, you’ll get me killed!” Fat Liu retorted, laughing.

“Seriously though, with things this complicated, are we still going to dig, Fat Liu?” I looked at him, worried this would make him give up. We were partners in adversity; if Fat Liu quit now, I’d be left all alone.

“Dig! Why not? If I give up now, am I still Fat Liu?” he slapped the table.

“That’s the Fat Liu I know. But this path is cut off now, we’re at a loss for where to start,” I said.

“Let’s finish building the Martial Saint Temple first. Right now, we really need Lord Guan’s help,” Fat Liu said, chuckling bitterly.

—The next day, we asked Fat Liu, and it turned out to be an auspicious day for breaking ground, so there were no taboos. We began laying the foundation for the Martial Saint Temple. It wasn’t a regular temple—just a private shrine to Lord Guan—so it didn’t need to be big, but according to Chen Qingshan, it couldn’t be too small either. Many villagers had worked on construction teams outside; after discussing it, they estimated that with painting and everything, it would take at least half a month, even with a rush—ten days minimum.

I was at the construction site when Tang Renjie called. “So, do you not care about Chen Zhuzi’s life or death? Are you determined to go against me?!”

His threats scared me a little, but I knew if I backed down, he’d get what he wanted. So I said, “Don’t think I don’t know anything. Chen Zhuzi waking up matters much more to you than his death. And Tang Renjie, after you knelt in the hospital that day, I don’t believe you truly dare to kill him.”

“Fine! We’ll see!” Tang Renjie snapped and hung up.

After I put the phone down, I noticed someone standing beside me. It was none other than my eldest brother, Sun Zhongmou—a homebody who rarely set foot outside, which surprised me greatly. I asked, “Big brother, what brings you here?”

“Just wanted to get out for a bit,” he said.

“Fat Liu says that to deal with the drought demon, we need Lord Guan’s help. Do you think this will work?” I asked.

My brother nodded. “That’s true. Come, let’s go home and see Mom.”

He hadn’t been back in a long time, and I could see Mom was happy. At noon, Mom and Han Xue cooked several dishes. The family sat together, enjoying a rare moment of harmony.

After lunch, my brother asked me to go for a walk. Usually, it was me seeking him out; this was the first time he’d come to me. In truth, he just wanted me to walk him back.

“Be careful. Chen Shitou will make a big move soon. Tell Fat Liu—he must finish building the Martial Saint Temple before the full moon,” my brother said.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“It’s not going to be peaceful. Also, yesterday Chen Dongfang called me. That matter truly can’t be investigated—not now, at least. But the fact that Fat Liu managed to dig into it, risking his life, means he’s trustworthy. Still, remember: never get too close. Always keep a card up your sleeve, so you’ll never be defeated. Even if you lose, it won’t be too devastating,” he said.

“Alright,” I replied.

We happened to reach the primary school entrance. My brother stopped, pointed toward Han Xue’s dormitory, and asked, “Do you know the secret of the Dragon Head Stele?”

“How would I know? Actually, last night Fat Liu stumbled onto that matter by accident. At first, we wanted to investigate Chen Jin Zhi—the Chen family patriarch here,” I said.

“He’s right inside the Dragon Head Stele,” my brother said, gazing in that direction.

“What?!” I exclaimed in disbelief.

“That man was a powerful master of yin and yang, but his mind was heavy and dark. He had many names; Chen Jin Zhi was just one of them. It’s no surprise Fat Liu couldn’t track him down. In fact, this village wasn’t always filled with Chens; it was originally settled by the Ye clan. The Ye family weren’t just a single household—they were natives. The Chen family were outsiders. When Chen Jin Zhi came here, he slaughtered the Ye clan,” my brother explained.

I was utterly shocked—not just by my brother’s words, but by the fact that he was actually telling me anything. Was the sun rising in the west today?

“What happened?” I asked.

“In those days, the Luo River dried up. From the twelve ghost caves emerged a stone coffin and nine hundred ninety-nine female corpses. Chen Jin Zhi was the sorcerer invited by the Ye family,” my brother said.

“The nine hundred ninety-nine female corpses were sacrifices to the Yellow River Goddess. The Ye family treated the contents of the stone coffin as the river god. The twelve ghost caves, naturally, became the river god’s palace. They called in Chen Jin Zhi not to exorcise demons, but to preside over the sacrifice. Unexpectedly, Chen Jin Zhi used the entire Ye clan—hundreds of people—as an offering to the river god,” my brother continued.

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