Strange Tales

Chapter 8

"Alright, alright! Now we're saved!" A few scattered claps rang out, and a small group of people appeared from nowhere. Their faces resembled Lao Ba's—kind, pointed faces, and clever, slender eyes.

The leader was a shrewd-looking middle-aged woman, dressed in a dark leather robe and with her hair styled in a shiny bun. As soon as she saw me, she smiled broadly: "Oh, isn't this the eldest one? Is your name Firewing? I'm Zi'er!" I nodded and bowed to her. She looked no younger than my mother, but she treated me like a peer or even a junior. I really wasn't sure what to call her.

Zi'er turned around and patted Xiao Ba: "Of all my sons, Lao Ba is the most capable. He knew that the youngest one in Mr. Neyan's family was unreliable. He'd probably side with the old man's family!" I frowned secretly. Zi'er's words were really unpleasant.

Xiao Ba squinted his narrow eyes: "Why haven't I seen the Fourth Master of the Bai family?"

"Don't you know what time it is? Those old bones aren't something you can just get up on a whim!" Zi'er covered her mouth and laughed, affectionately putting her arm around my shoulder. "Look at Huoyi, you be the judge of this matter. Every year, our share is split equally between my family and that Bai Laosi family, but this year it's uncertain!" She led me to the stone table in the center of the tea pavilion. On the smooth blue stone table was a small lacquered plate, its faded patterns contrasting with pink silk paper. My face immediately turned red—wasn't that the rice cake I had just offered?

"We're missing one portion!" Zi'er exclaimed in surprise. "Every year it's exactly two portions, no more, no less. What are we going to do this year?"

I lowered my head. It wasn't like one portion was missing out of nowhere; that rice cake that was broken by the ice fin was meant for me...

"I think the old bastard from the Bai family stole that portion while Mr. Neyan wasn't around!" someone in the crowd muttered. "And then they tried to take ours!"

"Absolutely right!" the others chimed in. My face grew even redder, and I dared not lift my head, let alone admit that I had eaten the pancake. The Zi'er family's commotion escalated, gradually turning into cursing. I glanced at Xiao Ba, who had brought me here; he smiled helplessly and shrugged.

Just as the increasingly unpleasant commotion was about to proceed smoothly, an old and shrill voice rang out: "What's all the noise about? With Master Neyan gone, you've all lost your manners. You even stole the token! Zi'er, you have no manners at all!"

I turned my head to look outside the tea pavilion: on the stone path shrouded in a hazy blue mist, a hunched figure carefully avoided the stepping stones and slowly walked towards me—he seemed to be an elderly person, wearing an exquisite white robe woven with a square knot pattern, the long hem brushing against the roadside reeds, making a soft rustling sound.

Suddenly, I noticed something strange about this courtyard. It was supposed to be a snowy day, but not only was it not snowing, the light was unusually bright, like a sunny day, yet I couldn't see any sky at all. Also, the tall, blue-brick walls surrounding it had no doors or windows. How did these people get in? And how...did I get in?

"Oh dear, Mr. Bai! We can't take your words!" Just as I was confused, Zi'er quickly changed her expression to a smile. "We're just as anxious as if something went wrong! Look, we've even invited someone who can make the decision!" She pointed her chubby finger at me.

The Fourth Master quietly stepped onto the tea pavilion, glanced at me only once, and then retreated to the other corner. The Zi'er family members who were originally there immediately made way, some even retreating behind me, seemingly afraid of the Fourth Master. However, the Fourth Master's face was quite fierce, his eyes cold and stern. He rubbed his forehead with his pale, seemingly weak fingers: "Winter just makes me listless. This is the eldest one, right? His name is... what?"

"Firewing!" Zi'er said loudly and affectedly, as if she were very proud of herself.

"Yes, yes, that's the name." The fourth gentleman coughed twice. "Is someone this young able to make such a decision?"

Zi'er sneered: "Isn't the other person in Mr. Neyan's family who can make decisions even smaller?"

"The other one" must be Icefin, right? Why didn't these two families come to my master? I looked up at Fourth Master, who was glaring coldly at Zi'er: "Then let this person tell me, how should we resolve such a big matter as a missing portion!" Is a missing piece of cake such a big deal that it's worth these two families being so nervous? "It's just a missing piece of cake!" I muttered under my breath.

"Oh dear! You can't say that!" Zi'er exclaimed in surprise. "We'll starve to death without them! These two cakes represent how much grain each of our two families will receive next year; they're important tokens!"

"What right do you have to lecture Mr. Neyan's family?" Fourth Master suddenly shouted at Zi'er, "What are you?!"

Zi'er immediately changed her expression: "What am I? I just sided with you, sir! I don't even know what went into that pancake, so let's not talk about who's who!" Clearly, Zi'er's words were a veiled attack on the Fourth Master, but I felt terrible. She might not even know that I ate the pancake, so I could only swallow this bitter pill. After all, "he who eats another's food is bound to be grateful."

As expected, the Fourth Master's expression changed drastically. He stood up abruptly, and Zi'er's family scattered in all directions. The situation was really bad, and since it was all my fault, I quickly stopped the Fourth Master: "It's just distributing the tokens, can't we just break the remaining ones apart?"

As soon as Mr. Si saw me, he stopped and sat down on the balustrade by the pavilion, nodding as if he were complying with my wishes. Although he looked stern, he wasn't unreasonable. I picked up the rice cakes from the lacquer tray, and Zi'er's family immediately surrounded me again. Both sides' gazes were intensely focused, and I was a little nervous. Moreover, children don't always know their own strength, so I broke off one side big and one side small.

“The amount shouldn’t be the same every year!” Zi’er crossed her arms. “Our family is large, so we should get more. Fourth Master, your family only has a few people. Aren’t you afraid of biting off more than you can chew?” This woman is really mean. I’m getting more and more annoyed with her.

Mr. Si sneered, "It doesn't matter if my family is short of food. If my son is hungry, he will naturally go to your house to find food!" Upon hearing this, Zi'er's face turned pale, and her family members huddled together, looking at me pitifully.

Since it's a keepsake, shouldn't both sides be the same? I noticed neither family was paying attention, so I secretly took a bite out of the larger side. But I bit too hard, and the larger side became smaller. Oh well, I had to take another bite… This pancake is so awful…

"No! Firewing!" I suddenly heard an anxious whisper in my ear. Little Eight had come over at some point.

I should have told you in the kitchen! If my mom and the others had seen me, it would have been terrible! It turns out that Xiao Ba saw me stealing the broken biscuit!

However, it was too late. Fourth Master and Zi'er stared straight at me, their expressions completely changed—they had already seen it!

"This is outrageous! This is also considered part of Mr. Neyan's family's food!" Zi'er pulled Xiao Ba away from me. "They're deliberately not sharing our food!"

"Now what do you suggest we do?" The Fourth Master's tone was completely devoid of any politeness, sounding harsh and cold.

I was completely at a loss, looking bewildered at the two people approaching: "Wh...what should I do?"

“Since you ate the token, you need a replacement. Just take something from your person that can serve as a token!” Zi’er smiled mischievously. The Fourth Master, unusually, agreed with her: “That’s right! According to the rules of previous years, anything exactly the same will do!”

"Which one is better?" Zi'er covered her mouth and chuckled. "By the way, these eyes are quite nice! So imposing!"

"Mom!" Xiao Ba tried to object, but Fourth Master seemed quite satisfied with Zi'er's suggestion: "Alright, anyway, I can't see what the other things on this person look like!" These two families actually united at this moment!

"I'll take it!" Zi'er stepped forward, but was forced back a step by the approaching Fourth Master. She cursed, "What do you want, old man? Because of the name 'Fire Wings,' you can't get close!"

"I don't trust you!" Fourth Master glanced at Zi'er. "Who knows what you might be trying to take from this person! Right now, this person is in the wrong, so he's feeling guilty, and when he's feeling guilty, he's short-tempered. Of course, I'm going to stick close to him!"

I was so terrified I couldn't move my legs, watching helplessly as Mr. Si approached step by step. He stretched out his pale, weak, and cold hand, slowly drawing near my eyes. An exchange of goods for another—it seemed fair to them, but was I really going to lose my eyesight for a piece of bread?!

Just then, Mr. Si suddenly made a vomiting sound, as if he had swallowed something very bitter. His face was contorted with discomfort, and the hand that had been reaching for me covered his dry, thin lips: "I felt something was wrong just now. You... what did you bring!"

"Bring it out quickly!" Xiao Ba shouted urgently, and Zi'er slapped him hard on the head.

What...did I bring? I instinctively touched my chest, and through the brocade fabric, my fingertips touched something bulging...That's right! The tiger-head cake that Grandpa Ruichanju gave me!

I snatched the silk paper package. Warm from my body, the tiger-head cake emitted a faint, unique medicinal fragrance—perhaps mugwort or calamus, or some other Chinese herbal medicine I couldn't identify. Suddenly, my face lit up with joy—these two identical tiger-head cakes were perfect as a token! I unwrapped the silk paper and held the cakes up to both families: "They're exactly the same; let's use these as a token!"

The fourth gentleman's already pale face turned almost blue: "This...?"

Seeing that I was in the right, I immediately pressed my advantage: "You were the one who told me to make the decision, and now you're denying it. What are you up to?"

"I admit it, I admit it!" The Fourth Master had completely lost his previous sharp and cold demeanor. "As long as it's the same thing, anything is fine..."

I turned to Zi'er's family, who had already fled far away as soon as things seemed to be going wrong: "What about you?"

Zi'er covered her eyes: "This thing looks really creepy, quickly put it away! Next year, we'll still split it 50/50 as usual, okay?"

“Then take the token home!” I said matter-of-factly.

"No need, no need!" both the Fourth Master's and Zi'er's families exclaimed in unison, "We've already kept it in mind!"

Still feeling uneasy, I placed the tiger-head cake on a lacquered tray lined with silk paper in the center of the stone table: "I'll keep this. From now on, this will be our token. Don't bother me with this annual squabble!" Seeing that both families seemed reluctant but dared not contradict me, I suddenly remembered what my grandfather had said in his study, so I added in a serious tone, mimicking his: "We all live so close by, let's not ruin our harmony!"

It was Xiao Ba who brought me back; apart from him, the other two families seemed unwilling to come near me anymore. Snow was falling heavily in the courtyard, and as we reached the kitchen door, we happened to run into Bingqi coming out. He was carrying a rather large earthenware bowl, in which he stored leftover food each day, placing it on the open ground in front of the kitchen. Firstly, to avoid waste, and secondly, because his grandfather had said there were snakes, rats, and birds in the old house; having these things to eat would keep them from stealing and damaging the food. Seeing that Bingqi was struggling to carry it, Xiao Ba quickly took the bowl from him.

Icefin looked Hachi up and down, then turned and saw me behind him. She immediately laughed, "You look so impressive, you little thief! If they take your eyes, your auntie will definitely scold you to death!"

"How did you know?" I glared at him, pointing with Icefin towards the kitchen: "I've been listening from there the whole time!"

I immediately snapped: "And you still dare to talk! You didn't even come to help me! It's all your fault, you're the one who ruined the pancake!"

We bickered like that, completely unaware of when Xiao Ba left. When he left, the earthenware pot was already empty. I also didn't ask how Bingqi, who was in the kitchen, could hear the conversation between Zi'er and me—the kitchen was a relatively independent courtyard, and Xiao Ba and I entered the courtyard from the door of the main house's side room.

As for Grandpa Ruichanju, when I went to the pastry shop to thank him properly later, he told me that it was all my grandfather's instructions before he passed away. My grandfather said that he must prepare tiger-head cakes for me to ward off snakes, rats and poisonous insects for the Dragon Boat Festival on the first New Year's Eve after his death. As for the reason, he did not say.

Those two tiger-head cakes were really effective; those two families haven't bothered me since. Although I can still hear their voices coming from inside the wall when I'm lying in bed at night, it's just a little bickering. As soon as Icefin in the next room throws something against the wall, it immediately goes quiet here too. But to this day, I still don't know where those two families are talking, because judging from the structure of the house, there should only be one wall between my bed and Icefin's.

Later, I also searched for that desolate courtyard overgrown with reeds, but I found nothing, whether by day or night. However, I did learn one thing: if you hear any noise when passing by the kitchen at night, there is no need to be afraid. It may just be a white snake or a gray rat enjoying the food we share with them.

That's more like it! We all live so close together, it's most important to get along well!

The Whispering Panels (End)

The sunset of the red spider lily

My birthday is at the beginning of the seventh lunar month, while my cousin, whose nickname is "Ice Fin," is at the end of the month, just as summer reluctantly closes its eyes. As if overnight, from the fallen leaves that still retain the heat and humidity of midsummer, countless slender, smooth stems gracefully tilt and lift the crown of solidified flames—that is how the red spider lily blooms.

It's always been like this. Ever since my birthday, with the blooming of the red spider lilies, Icefin has been acting strangely for a whole month. I know better than anyone why he's so down—"Icefin, so many red spider lilies have bloomed in the courtyard again! It's awful, and no one's brought back any of their bulbs. Where did they all come from?"

"Um."

"This flower is also called the Red Spider Lily! Why is it called such an unlucky name?"

"Um."

"Are you even listening to me?! It's called the Red Spider Lily because it blooms around the autumnal equinox, and the spring and autumnal equinoxes are also called 'the other shore'!"

"There's still more than a month until the Autumn Equinox, Firewing!" Icefin changed his indifferent attitude. "The reason it's called that is because these red flowers sprout up from the ground in patches without you even noticing, and from a distance they look like wildfires from the other world!"

"What do you mean by that!" I retorted, annoyed. "You always act sarcastic and sarcastic around your birthday, isn't it all because of that person? Didn't I tell you not to care?"

"Don't care? I'm here waiting to celebrate my birthday, but that person has disappeared, and you're telling me not to care?" Icefin lowered her eyelids and spoke in a suppressed voice, "...My brother will never forgive me."

Icefin has never been able to get over this—he was supposed to be the younger of twins, but his older brother wasn't born alive. No one can be blamed, yet Icefin may still stubbornly suspect that he took his brother's life to be born safely.

Knowing Icefin's temperament, his deceased brother became a taboo subject in our family. My grandmother, my family, and my uncles all deliberately avoided any topic that might remind Icefin of that person. He was the only one in the family who couldn't take the past in stride.

The one who won't forgive you is yourself... Frowning helplessly, I reached out my hand above Icefin's shoulder. His thin clothes seemed to be pulled up by an invisible hand, showing unnatural wrinkles, and then smoothed out in an instant as if they had broken free from something.

What was struggling in my hands, visible only to me and Icefin in this house—was a wraith with a snake-like form.

I clapped my hands lightly, and the ochre-colored demon turned into murky smoke between my fingers: "Be careful! You've been so depressed that even this kind of thing can possess you! It's July!"

July is a magical month. Just as the dazzling midday sun at the critical point of the day makes one's vision uncertain, in this month in the middle of the year, the boundary between this shore and the other shore becomes blurred.

“Yes, it’s July…” Icefin turned to the distant late summer sky outside the carved window, “There are more and more things to see now, will I see the people I want to see…”

"Don't talk nonsense!" I exclaimed, my expression changing. "You might not only fail to see the person you want to see, but also attract some terrifying individuals!"

But Icefin smiled faintly: "That's right... the more you want to see someone, the less likely you are to see them..." I know his heart is like a tiny pearl oyster; his brother's untimely death is undoubtedly a grain of sand it cannot digest. So many years of longing have surrounded this grain of sand, and perhaps only his biological brother, who doesn't even have a name, can untie this knot in his heart. But Icefin and I have never "seen" that person. It seems that even without a blessed life, he doesn't hate anyone, he has no obsession whatsoever, disappearing without a trace as simply as morning dew.

It would be great if we could meet, these brothers... Maybe Icefin doesn't know: his expression right now looks like he's about to cry at any moment.

Like a flamboyant contagious disease, the red spider lilies gradually spread from the courtyard. From the cracks in the bluestone paths of the alley, one could often see these unassuming red blossoms peeking out here and there, like tiny signposts guiding someone slowly into the courtyard of the house where Icefin lived. What I feared had finally happened…

As the setting sun casts its reflection at dusk, a wondrous light fills the entire Ice Fin room. This ever-changing light creates an incredible illusion, as if one were inside a large, beautiful aquarium filled with illusory liquid. It is because the sun has changed its angle, projecting the shimmering light from the goldfish pond in the center of the courtyard into the room.

Through the open carved window, I saw the shimmering threads of water weaving into a blurry shape in front of the screen beside the ice fin bed—it was an infant!

Nine times out of ten, infant spirits are incredibly ferocious, driven by an unfulfilled desire to survive. In an instant, their precious future becomes something unattainable. No one could calmly accept such a thing, especially an infant who has no concept of good or evil. Oh no, Icefin has indeed attracted another terrifying being!

I pushed open the slightly ajar door. The dim light cast its elongated silhouette onto the dark, cool wooden floor. The shimmering infant leaned silently against the six-panel screen. I tried to approach it, but didn't know what to do next—unlike the spirits of adults, infant spirits were impossible to persuade. I clapped my hands, trying to get its attention, but to no avail. I could only open my arms to its hollow, watery eyes, as if to hold a child—the infant spirit's eyes seemed to move slightly. That was good! It hadn't completely lost its infant instincts! I clapped again, but in that instant, the shimmering infant vanished!

—Someone is standing in the doorway, blocking the sunlight!

"Who is it!" I shouted angrily.

"That's the question I should be asking!" the figure in the backlit doorway retorted coldly. "This is my room!"

It's an ice fin! After entering the house, he casually lowered the bamboo curtain that had been drawn, blocking the sunset from the window. The slanting sunlight streaming in from outside painted a rich color onto the tangled mess of threads he was tightly holding in his hand.

"Firewing, you'd better not come into my room so casually." Icefin walked over and said expressionlessly, "Every time I come here, it becomes a mess." What kind of talk is that! You don't need to use such a lame excuse to kick me out!

If things weren't this bad, I would have been furious by now. At this point, I could only suppress my anger and point to the six-panel screen with bamboo painted on a light blue background: "Icefin, do you see anything? Here, right here!"

Icefin slowly walked to the screen. The setting sun brought the ripples of the water in again, but the infant spirit had completely vanished. "What is it?" He looked at me questioningly. "My eyes aren't as good as yours; I can't see those lowly things very clearly, but it's unlikely you can fool me!"

How dare you doubt me! This time I couldn't hold back any longer: "There's an infant spirit here! It's an infant spirit! You think I like meddling in your affairs?"

"...Infant spirit?" The lingering sunlight cast an ethereal glaze on Icefin's face, making him look slightly unfamiliar. "Don't meddle in other people's business!" He slowly released his fingers, and the tangled mess in his hand drifted to the screen, reflecting the fading sunset.

—Red spider lily!

An ominous premonition instantly filled my chest—why would someone who sees the red spider lily as an icy fin of hellfire pick this flower and then throw it into the place where the infant spirit once appeared? This is not a flower for suppressing souls!

I took a deep breath to compose myself: "Icefin, can't you really see it? Something that's so powerful..."

"What is that?" Icefin's tone had never been so intense. "Where is it? Show it to me!"

I was speechless for a moment. The infant spirit had indeed vanished, leaving not even a trace; perhaps it had simply gotten lost and had now found its way. But an unprecedented unease gripped me: this was too abnormal! The evasive ice fins, the ice fins that had lost their composure…

The next afternoon, Icefin locked himself in his room. At dusk, he drew back the bamboo curtain, letting the sunlight cast the reflection of the fishpond into the room, and then went into the courtyard to pick red spider lilies. I walked through the fire alley to his room. Golden reflections rippled in the dim interior. In the slight feeling of suffocation, I saw once again the figure woven from the water's shimmering light, leaning against the six-tiered bamboo screen.