The little girl’s face lit up with a smile again.
Once the two kids had gone into the kitchen, Liu Jinxia sat down on a chair in the main hall, her expression heavy.
“Mom?” Li Juxiang was still holding the washbasin. “Did Little Yuanhou really see it?”
“Sometimes, you don’t need your eyes to see something.”
“How could that be?”
“You’d better ask Sanjiang. Who knows what tricks he pulled this time.”
“Sigh, I just hope the boy will be alright. I really like that child.”
“Oh?” Liu Jinxia gave her daughter a half-smile. “What, got your eye on him? Thinking about bringing home a son-in-law?”
“Mom, don’t joke like that. That thought never even crossed my mind. He’s Lan’s son.”
For once, Liu Jinxia didn’t scold her daughter for “degrading herself,” but instead comforted her: “That girl Lan was smart as a whip from the start. Her son? Even sharper. Which is exactly why he’s not suitable to be your son-in-law.”Li Juxiang chuckled. “Mom, listen to yourself—since when is being smart a flaw?”
“My girl, you just don’t get it.
Have you ever seen a kid who got possessed by something filthy and passed out one day, then the next day comes out to play like nothing ever happened?
Do you think he doesn’t know what happened to the bearded man’s family? Do you believe him when he says he fell asleep last night and didn’t see a thing?
Just now, he saw another unclean thing in here, and yet he could sit down and eat like it was nothing.
This kid isn’t just smart—he already understands exactly where he stands and can adjust himself accordingly.
Even when it’s… a matter of seeing ghosts.
He’s still young now, still has the softness of a child; but when he grows up, living with someone like that… it’s really not enjoyable. Because just one glance from him, and he can see straight through you. There’d be no secrets between you.
You couldn’t even throw a tantrum or act coy with him, because he’s always looking down at you, all-encompassing.
Cold. Emotionless.”
“Mom, how can you talk about a kid like that? I think Little Yuanhou’s a good one—so polite and well-mannered.”
“That’s because he’s like that with everyone. Just like his mother was at that age.”
“Mom…”
“Yeah, and his mom ended up divorced, didn’t she?”
“You…” Li Juxiang was getting angry.
Still not done, Liu Jinxia exhaled a cloud of smoke and went on: “People like those two are best suited for someone who has no ego, whose whole world revolves around them.”
“Mom, I’m going to find Uncle Sanjiang.”
“Go ahead.” Liu Jinxia waved her off. “If that Sanjiang dares drag his feet, ask him—if he messes up Hanhou’s favorite grandson, does he still want Hanhou to take care of him when he’s old?”
Li Juxiang dumped the dirty water and hopped on the tricycle, genuinely unwilling to hear more of her mother’s rambling.
Liu Jinxia stubbed out her cigarette, yawned, and slowly made her way to the kitchen.
The two kids had already finished eating. To her surprise, her pampered, housework-averse granddaughter was actually cleaning up, grabbing at dishes and wiping the table.
She kept saying, “Brother Yuanhou, put that down! I do this every day.”
Liu Jinxia couldn’t help but laugh.
Maybe it was the pressure of her own retirement security hanging in the balance, but this time, Li Sanjiang didn’t dawdle. He came right over on Li Juxiang’s tricycle.
After sending the kids upstairs to watch TV, Liu Jinxia led Li Sanjiang into her office.
“Whoa, Liu the Blind, you really packed this place tight,” Li Sanjiang said, patting the wooden crates stacked to the ceiling. “Anyone’d think you just hauled a shipment from Guangdong and switched to wholesale.”
“I don’t have time for your nonsense.”
Liu Jinxia laid everything out—today’s events, including the Niu family’s sacrificial rite.
Li Sanjiang’s eyes widened. “How could Little Yuanhou have seen it?”
Liu Jinxia inhaled deeply, clenching her fists, but managed to hold back her anger. “You’re asking me?”
Li Sanjiang pulled out a cigarette and tossed one to Liu Jinxia, keeping one for himself, sniffing it thoughtfully.
Liu Jinxia tapped the filtered end against the table and asked, “What the hell did you do last night?”
“A good deed.”
“You…” Liu Jinxia licked her lips. “That bearded man and his son showed up dead in the fish pond today. Did you bring the Dead Sinker over there?”
Li Sanjiang said nothing.
“How’d you bring it over?” Liu Jinxia pressed. Then her expression changed as a terrifying possibility dawned on her. She raised her voice. “You bastard old coot, you didn’t send Little Yuanhou to guide the corpse, did you?”
“Ahem…” Li Sanjiang cleared his throat. “Liu the Blind, got a light?”
Liu Jinxia chucked a matchbox at him. “You really did it!”
“Crack…”
Li Sanjiang averted his gaze and lit up.
Liu Jinxia stepped around the desk and got right in his face, spittle flying.
“Living people walk the path of the sun, dead people walk the path of the shade. You had Little Yuanhou guide a corpse—that’s walking the path of the dead! You’ve stained the kid with ghostly energy! Do you know he might be able to ‘walk the shade’ now?”
“Walk the shade?” Li Sanjiang blinked, then burst out laughing. “Ha! That’s bullshit! Like one little ritual could make someone walk the shade!”
“Heh… hehehe.” Liu the Blind let out a cold laugh.
Now it was Li Sanjiang’s turn to get anxious. He stood up. “If it were that easy, you wouldn’t still be playing the charlatan after decades in the business!”
Walking the shade—some places called it “摸瞎” or “下神”—was the ability to cross from the world of the living into the world of the dead. More plainly, it meant seeing things no living person should.
People came to spirit mediums like Liu the Blind because of their supposed ability to commune with ghosts and gods. But ninety-nine percent of them had no real power. Liu the Blind certainly didn’t.
Liu Jinxia calmed her breathing and said, “That kid is sharp. Observant.”
Hearing that, Li Sanjiang gulped. A memory flashed in his mind—last night, Little Yuanhou pointing at the river and saying, “Aren’t we waiting for her?”
Smack!
Li Sanjiang dropped back into his chair, shock and doubt etched across his face. Suddenly, Liu Jinxia’s words didn’t seem so far-fetched.
“His parents are in Beijing. Beijing household registration. The kid’s got a good head on his shoulders, he’d ace whatever path he took. A bright future, all laid out. And you drag him into this.
Never mind the effect of always seeing filthy things on his daily life. Look at yourself—an old loner who had to line up a trustworthy Hanhou just to handle your funeral arrangements.
Me? Ha, don’t even get me started.
Anyone who touches this line of work ends up cursed one way or another. You’ve brought sin upon yourself. What were you thinking?”
Li Sanjiang didn’t argue. His brows knotted into a deep “川.”
Seeing this, Liu Jinxia stopped mocking and softened. “Good thing it’s not too late. I think he can only vaguely sense things. He’s not truly walking the shade yet. We can still pull him back.”
Li Sanjiang’s eyes shone with resolve. “Then I’ll sever it!”
“How?”
“I’ll ask Hanhou to let Little Yuanhou leave home and stay with me for a while. I’ll perform a living vigil for him.”
Liu Jinxia opened her mouth. “A living vigil?”
That wasn’t something people usually did. Vigils were for the dead, to ward off foul spirits. Doing it for the living meant taking their bad luck onto yourself. Nobody in their right mind would volunteer for that.
As for “leaving home,” it meant severing ties with one’s family—temporarily cutting off karmic connections. You could still return to ordinary life later.
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