Poussière de cœur

Chapitre 2

"Third, there are many things that the 'government' has to deal with, which is not only exhausting but also difficult to accomplish. However, when it comes to gangsters, they will certainly do their best. During this time, whether or not we succeed in finding someone, we can obtain a lot of valuable information, which will lay a good foundation for a future strike and defeat." This was the explanation given in the secret meeting regarding the release of the person.

Of course, people soon realized that releasing the man was the right thing to do.

On the 26th, four large buses brought four long lines of private detectives, each looking worried as they took out their homemade tools and searched the entire mountain. At 10:07 a.m., one of them found a small side cave in the last cave of the Five-in-One Caves.

“There was a landslide here not long ago. And you can still see traces of people going in and out. There must be a hollow cave inside.”

People moved the stones and found the large hole in the cave.

The cave contains a deep pool, stalactites, food remnants, and footprints. Various food traces, discarded batteries, packaging, and playing cards remain underground, confirming that eighteen people once stayed here.

But the large opening inside the cave wasn't actually very big. They searched high and low but couldn't find any other passages.

After the first police dog suddenly went berserk and plunged into the deep pool to drown, experts immediately warned people to stay away.

—Gas testing has shown that the air inside the cave, especially near the pool, contains large amounts of ether and other gaseous components that can easily cause hallucinations or even mental confusion.

The search reached its end, but then a luxury car arrived, carrying an elderly man with a long, flowing beard reaching his belly and long, white eyebrows that almost reached his ears—a man of ethereal, otherworldly appearance. The old man looked around the mountainside, walked through it, went into a cave, and then descended the mountain, gazing into the distance until he reached the location of Wangzhuang.

“There it is. — Right there.”

“Let’s find all the famous people and the oldest people at the foot of the burial mountain and ask them.”

The oldest people are two brothers from Hujiazhuang. They have no descendants and are twins. They live in a small mountain god temple and receive offerings from the people.

They are living deities. It is said—according to them—that they have lived since the time of Pangu's creation of the world; devout believers say they have lived for over two hundred years, and according to records and analysis, they should be between one hundred and thirty and one hundred and fifty years old. In any case, no one disputes that people who have reached this level are living deities.

The two men were named Hu Tian and Hu Di. According to the family genealogy of Hu Family Village, their father was an only son named Hu Nongren; their grandfather's origins were unknown, and his name was Hu Shuo. No one knew where these three generations of ancestors came from. Hu Shuo claimed to be a resident of Hu Family Village because he said his surname was Hu and that he had been cultivating immortality for over a hundred years. He was indeed very much like an immortal. With a flick of his finger, ordinary headaches and fevers would disappear. With a few massages, people who had been paralyzed for many years could get out of bed and jump around. Over time, he became the immortal of the Hu family.

Hu Tian, smoking the Hongtashan cigarettes offered to him, answered idly, "Asking about Dazang Mountain? Good heavens! This cigarette has no strength at all? It's not even as strong as a tung leaf cigarette... Dazang Mountain, huh? It's empty too. Hmm. Foreign cigarettes are better. Stronger! What? Looking for someone? They've gone into the mountains? Then don't bother looking. It's useless. They've all become immortals. Who would want to go back to the human world to suffer?"

Hu Di, sipping his Moutai liquor, said, his hearing and eyesight failing, "Digging up graves? Don't dig! The mountain will collapse if you dig! What? Not digging up graves? Looking for someone? Go to the underworld. You'll have to ask Yama, the King of Hell, for them. Whether you can get them back is another matter. What? Shameful?... Shameful what? Bah! I've lived for thousands of years, have I ever done anything shameful?! You're the shameful ones!"夼夼刍≌φ饷茨押齿可睹磕闷坡郑科鸬拿忠补郑皇履米鸥銎坡肿痈墒裁矗颗丁皇嵌耍渴侨嗽谏缴隙耍磕堑萌ネ踪M踪剑⊥踪懈鼋型趿摹剑偈昀玻顺墒撬懒恕？ 纯赐醢舜钭琶唬克钭牛忝侨ノ饰仕伞廊说纳朗傧蕖?** *** ***---The Fairy of the Magpie Bridge replied [7]: On the 26th, people had already dug out the water, but they could not dig any further. But there was still nothing there.

At noon, Cai Yin woke up. She stared in horror at the unharmed Wangzhuang, unsure whether she was dreaming or in reality. But one basket was indeed missing. One plastic jug was indeed missing. And the largest piece of beef was indeed missing.

"They...are underground! Underground!"

Cai Yin spoke in a trembling voice, her heart pounding with fear, yet her conviction was unwavering.

How could a person be underground?

No one believed it. Some even whispered to Cai Yin, "See, that's where you went wrong. Is it worth cursing someone to death over a five-pound piece of beef? Those two brothers are city folks, they eat meat all the time, and they don't come home often, how would they know what it's like? And you, why didn't you just invite them home for dinner?"

The common opinion among these people was disbelief. They unanimously believed that Wang Jia and Wang Mu only realized or understood that it was just a "show" after eating the beef. Being too thin-skinned, they simply left quietly.

—When Cai Yin saw that they had left without saying goodbye and without returning the beef, she fell ill with anger and continued to curse them even in her illness.

None of these three people are right.

The lesson learned from this is:

—From now on, when neighbors and relatives send food, please don't send anything that's just for show; if you can refuse something that others send, don't accept it, and don't eat it if you can avoid it, so that it's all just for show.

As for whether Wang Jia and Wang Mu really came back, no one dared to be sure; and no one knew where the two of them had gone.

"Could we... go inside that big round hole and take a look?"

Wang Ma made a new request.

This statement has been taken seriously.

The implication of the statement is: if we can't find it, we'll dig up our ancestral graves.

Under normal circumstances, such a sentiment would at least draw public condemnation and ridicule, even if not outright insults or physical violence. But at this moment, everyone shared a common desire to dig up the ancestral graves. The Wangzhuang family had practiced feng shui for generations, and everyone knew the gravesites were in a good location, and that there should be a "geoming spirit" beneath them. However, no one knew what the "geoming spirit" of Wangzhuang actually looked like. Almost every feng shui master from Wangzhuang had discovered some kind of "geoming spirit" while examining the feng shui of others, but the fact that no one knew the form of their own village's "geoming spirit" was perhaps the greatest regret.

Moreover, the people of Liuzhuang knew perfectly well that their ancestral graves should not be disturbed, yet they still dared to dig them up, which suggests that it was not just a matter of venting their anger. The tomb raiders of Liuzhuang valued gold and silver treasures the most (because the value of antiques is difficult to determine), so could there really be a large amount of gold and silver treasures in the ancestral graves of Wangzhuang?

So people decided to "study" Wang Ma's opinion.

On that same day, people saw another group of people searching for someone.

II. The Art of Catching Shadows

On the 26th, from 4 pm to 6 pm, no fewer than 50 vehicles and no fewer than 500 people arrived.

The sheer variety of cars was enough to catch anyone's eye; but the people who came were even more alarming.

Armed police, soldiers, public security officers, township heads, and county heads respectfully escorted municipal government officials, well-dressed tycoons, refined scholars, and fierce-looking young men. The village leaders and "celebrities" from the villages and hamlets at the foot of the burial mountain were a motley crew, a bizarre and incongruous group, resembling a nation fleeing a disaster.

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [8]: Shortly afterward, five more military vehicles arrived, and armed soldiers or police officers jumped out of the vehicles and blocked the traffic within ten minutes.

Some of the visitors went directly to Wang Badai's home, while others, accompanied by the township head, summoned the village secretary, village head, elders, and celebrities of Wangzhuang, and gathered together in the large incense burning area that covered nearly two acres.

"Could it be an arrest?" The members of the Wangzhuang Self-Defense Corps discussed briefly, then notified each household to prepare their weapons. Everyone who could walk, from seventy-year-old elders to three-year-old children, was called out to surround the incense burner. At the same time, even more people arrived, mostly young and middle-aged laborers, women, children, and the elderly who were barely clinging to life from various villages. They crowded into Wangzhuang, all armed, and surrounded the village like an iron barrel.

The scene of tens of thousands of people was quite spectacular.

In Wangzhuang, there is only one elderly person, who has just celebrated his 100th birthday and is now clinging to life in bed. For more than ten days, he has refused to take his last breath, struggling to utter his "last words" more than twenty times.

"I'll be twenty-six...and then I'll be gone...and tens of thousands of people will be there to see me off...and the most important one will be me..." His children and grandchildren didn't believe him. But at this moment, they had no choice but to believe him.

This old man is Wang Badai.

Upon seeing the rare and distinguished guests arriving, Wang Badai immediately perked up.

"Great! So many people to see me off in my final days, how prestigious!" He patted his hands, as excited as a three-year-old. "Looking for someone? Sure! [Illegible characters]!"

After counting the money, his old eyes, blurry with age, looked at the photos one by one. "Hmm, these girls are all quite pretty. Have they all found husbands yet? Tell my grandson about one... What? Read it again..." He read out the birth dates of the eighteen people again, but his eyes widened, his mouth opened wide, and he convulsed uncontrollably. Then, suddenly, he kicked his leg and spat out a mouthful of dark blood mixed with blood clots.

He died.

"Their birth charts clash and restrain each other, so they cannot be together. If they are together, trouble will happen wherever they go."

"—You're all still alive, right? The collective lifespan is next year, but a few individuals might die earlier."

Wang Shidai, the grandson of Wang Badai, who was short, thin, and had a withered appearance, answered the question for his grandfather.

Years later, Wang Badai's descendants still gathered in Wangzhuang on this day to proclaim Wang Badai's high level of feng shui, fortune telling, and supernatural powers. They even took it upon themselves to erect a monument on his grave that read "The Number One Feng Shui Master and Fortune Teller in the World."

After Wang Badai died peacefully in his bedchamber, it was already dark. The idlers in the grand burial ground were expelled, and the prominent figures and leaders of each village came out to persuade their people to return—but only a small portion went back. More people arrived one after another, simply to watch the spectacle. The grand burial ground was now filled with the wealthy, powerful, famous, influential, and daring; there were far fewer soldiers than generals. The soldiers were the "celebrities" from the foot of the burial mountain.

The township head opened the "Celebrity Directory," pointing out each of the notable figures one by one, and then introduced the real celebrities to the people—this is the mayor, this is the deputy mayor, this is the garrison commander, this is the regimental instructor, this is the director of the municipal public security bureau, this is the captain of the armed police squadron, this is the captain of the traffic police brigade and the deputy director of the public security bureau, this is the county party secretary, this is the county head, this is the county public security bureau… township head, township public security bureau… after introducing everyone, he looked at a tall, thin man and introduced him in a nonsensical way, "This is… teacher… yes, teacher." The tall, thin man had slightly dark skin, cold and fierce eyes, and his lips were pursed into a line. Hearing the introduction, he gave a cold smile.

A chilling aura then emerged.

That aura was undoubtedly ferocious.

"I've called you all here today to find a few people. They've gone missing at our Dazang Mountain, and there are so many legends about this mountain that it's hard to tell what's true and what's false. I hope everyone can come up with some ideas and think of a way to find them." The township head laughed heartily and continued, "Everyone has their own strengths, right? Many hands make light work, right? Think of a way, even three cobblers can outwit a Zhuge Liang..." While these people were having their meeting, Wang Ma mustered her courage and approached a kind-looking police officer, stammering out her son's disappearance.

"I already know about your situation. Here's what we'll do. There's a procedure to reporting a case. Go to the township government to report it, and then go back to the county's local police station to report it. Everyone will handle it."

"Then—weren't they lost too? Can we look for them together?" Wang Ma asked, full of wild ideas.

His kind face furrowed, and his tone became unfriendly.

“These days, there have been deaths from being crushed, car accidents, and fights everywhere. Everyone's incredibly busy. Go report the incidents to the police wherever you need to. Do you even know how to file a case, how to handle a case, or how to investigate? Huh? Why are you getting involved? Your problem is nothing at all!”

Wang Ma was furious. "It's the same thing—people going missing—so why is it such a big deal when someone goes missing in the city, but not when my son goes missing?"

My son is from the county; one's a section chief, the other's a member of the joint defense team! If what you're saying is true, what if someone from the province went missing? Wouldn't this entire burial ground be blown to smithereens? What if a foreigner went missing? Wouldn't this burial ground be dug up and buried, and Shi County be abolished? If my son wasn't from the county, just an ordinary citizen, would you beat me half to death before kicking me out? ...Go ahead and hit me! Go ahead and kill me!"

"Grandpa, don't be angry, don't be angry, don't cry, don't cry..." the kind-faced man said with a wry smile, trying to dissuade him. For them, the most troublesome and terrifying thing was this kind of person who was full of righteous indignation but completely unreasonable.

*** *** ***

What's the big deal about losing a few people? It's not like the entire burial ground was lost.

—If someone is lost at Dazang Mountain, go to Dazang Mountain to get them back. Why are you running to Wangzhuang?

The meeting lasted until nearly midnight without any results. The leaders in charge of the case were given a vivid lesson in storytelling, with locals eagerly recounting no fewer than thirty legends about the Great Burial Mountain, but none of them could tell where the missing person might be.

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [9]: But one thing is certain.

—No one has ever seen the person in the photo.

Another point that can be confirmed is:

Everyone has a feeling of playing "house" at some point.

This is fucking ridiculous!

"Just because someone casually says someone is in Wangzhuang, does that mean they're really in Wangzhuang? What makes you think they're in Wangzhuang? Are the people of Wangzhuang just bored and looking for trouble to make fun of? What? Do they think the flesh of those dozen or so people smells good? Did Wangzhuang kill and skin them to sell human flesh buns? They lost someone at Dazangshan, and now they're coming to Wangzhuang to demand their return! You bastard! You bastard!"

"Don't they have police dogs? Can't they find people? All they know is eating meat? Don't they have a TV station? Why don't they put up a missing person notice? I bet the people of Liuzhuang bribed these corrupt officials to try and divert our attention. They want us to give up? No way! We're not done with them!"

Back home, Wang Tie spoke angrily. Cai Yin, however, had a different opinion.

"So many people have come to Wangzhuang, even Liuzhuang doesn't have that kind of ability. Judging from their tone, it was said by two old immortals from our mountain, so it's possible that the people are really in our village."

"Bullshit! What old immortals? -- Aren't they just two old swindlers? What's the difference between them and the immortals and quacks in our village? They've just lived a few more years. Turtles can live for hundreds of years, aren't turtles immortals too? The Communist Party doesn't believe in ghosts or gods, so why do they believe in these kinds of people? These two old swindlers, one likes to smoke and the other likes to drink. When the people of Liu Village give them something, they can't just say whatever they want. Their father was called Hunren, and their grandfather was called Hushuo. They're even more bizarre, one talking nonsense and the other nonsense. If we dare to say they don't die out, what will we call them if they have a son or daughter?"

"What about Jiamu and the others? They're lost too, really underground!"

"Hey! Stop talking nonsense! Haven't you seen what people are saying about you? Is it worth it for a five-pound piece of beef? Let alone five pounds, even if you gave them a whole cow, you wouldn't be cursing them, would you? Why are you becoming more and more like a nagging old woman?"

"Iron—it's real!"

"Really? Bullshit! You're probably possessed. You've been unconscious for so many days, constantly talking about earthquakes, but where did this earthquake come from?"

"But... there really is a long crack in the graveyard."

"That's because of the heat! Sunburn! Go to sleep, go to sleep! How can your body, which has just gotten a little better, withstand running around like this? Tomorrow I still have to go to the township and county offices to report a case for my aunt. These bastards, they don't care about anything. They'll only file a case if they don't bribe someone."

They had barely lain down when someone knocked on the door.

The young men from the Wangzhuang Self-Defense Corps escorted Wang Tie out.

When the people from the neighboring village returned, they trampled the fields into a mess, making this year's harvest hopeless. Moreover, they also engaged in petty theft, stealing chickens, dogs, ducks, and horses; but that's not important. What is important is that a group of people, carrying torches, wandered around the graves.

When Wang Tie arrived at the cemetery, he saw more than thirty strong men following behind a dark-faced man. That dark-faced man was the "teacher" who had been introduced last at the main altar. The local thugs from the surrounding area bowed and scraped to these men as if they were seeing their patriarch. In terms of status, Wang Tie was a "celebrity," and the local thugs all feared him, but now, seeing him arrive, they didn't even give him a second glance.

A member of the self-defense force tugged at him. Wang Tie took a few steps back, and in the shadows huddled a local scoundrel, who was said to have once mingled in the city and made a name for himself for a few days.

"Is something the matter?" Wang Tie asked softly.

"Shh—keep it down!" The little rascal looked around fearfully, then whispered in Wang Tie's ear, "Uncle Tie! Uncle Tie! Listen to your nephew, don't cause trouble! You absolutely mustn't!"

"What? That dark-faced guy, he's... pretty good at fighting?"

“No.” Little Rascal was even more terrified. He pointed to one of the group of burly men, “When I was a gangster, I was beaten back by that guy. Those guys are really tough. I heard they have a leader too—look, those two following behind Black Face.”

Wang Tie looked closely and saw a group of men following behind two unfriendly-looking young men, who in turn followed closely behind the dark-faced man, one on each side. However—the dark-faced man followed the other two with utmost respect.

The two people were an old man, with a venerable and elegant appearance, a white beard reaching his waist, and white eyebrows that reached his ears, looking even more like an old immortal than Hu Tian Hu Di; beside the old man was a little girl of about sixteen or seventeen years old, thin and frail, whose face was difficult to see because of the distance.