Human Debts

Paper Man Zhou, Bell Player Yang.

Back then, both families were well-known figures. They may not have been as powerful as people in TV dramas, but even before the country introduced cremation, they had already controlled the entire funeral industry in Luo City. Whether it was a funeral or a burial, from the officiant to the paper offerings, from the coffin to the funeral band, no one could avoid dealing with these two families.

With this business alone, the Zhou and Yang families quickly amassed enormous wealth, even though they were little-known in the underworld.

Just looking at this residence, with its three main halls and two side wings, it was easy to see how wealthy the Zhou family had been.

They might not have been figures of any great standing, but they were still far beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Xiao Ran had been wondering about it, too. By comparison, his own family had been outsiders. After his parents died, his grandfather had brought him to Luo City, where he relied on his skills and spent a long time slowly establishing himself.

What could a family of outsiders like his possibly have done to make the Zhou family, local kingpins, owe them a favor?

"Bang! Bang!"

The sound of a cane behind the door made Xiao Ran look up. At a glance, he recognized the figure coming out as the Old Woman who had just left.

Her clothes had changed, and her white hair had been replaced by a bald head, but otherwise she looked exactly the same.

The old man seemed to notice Xiao Ran's odd expression. He merely smiled without explaining.

The man stepped forward to support the old man's arm and asked with concern, "Dad, is Mom resting?"

The old man nodded. "Your mom's been fond of sweets lately. Keep an eye on her and don't let her eat too much."

"Good day, sir. My grandfather asked me to come pay you a visit. Sorry to disturb your rest."

Xiao Ran stepped forward and offered a polite greeting, looking the old man up and down. He couldn't make out anything, but the man's voice was clearly different from the one he'd heard earlier.

"Ah."

The old man nodded and gestured for Xiao Ran to sit. His cloudy eyes examined Xiao Ran from head to toe, then finally fixed on his eyes.

"How's your grandfather?"

"He's fine."

If this had been anyone else's family, Xiao Ran would have explained that his grandfather had passed away.

But this time was different. He had come in his grandfather's name, and saying that the old man had died might only make things harder to explain.

The old man didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he bluntly asked Xiao Ran, "My wife told me you came to collect on that favor. Our family acknowledges it. But what exactly do you need?"

Seeing how direct the old man was, Xiao Ran briefly explained that he was worried someone might use his birth date and time to harm him. He didn't explain the reason behind it.

"My grandfather said you were the only person I could come to about this. It concerns life and death, or I wouldn't have dared show up unannounced."

After hearing Xiao Ran out, the old man seemed to relax. Grinning, he said, "If it were something else, I couldn't make any promises. But this is simple enough. Wait here."

Then he looked up at his son and said, "Take good care of this young man. I'm going to the back hall."

"Right."

The man nodded carefully and helped the old man to his feet.

After the old man entered the back hall, the man turned to look at Xiao Ran. For a moment, the two stared at each other, and the atmosphere grew awkward.

A moment later, Xiao Ran took the initiative to smooth things over. "Sorry for offending you earlier, Uncle. Please don't take it to heart."

"You've got some nerve for someone so young. Quite the quick hand, too. Well, my family owed you a favor, and I was in the wrong earlier. Here's my card, young man. If you ever need anything, give me a call."

The man took out a business card and handed it to Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran took a look, and his brows twitched.

[Agricultural Wholesale Market, General Manager, Zhou Shen]

Xiao Ran knew the Agricultural Wholesale Market. More than half of Luo City's fruits and vegetables, poultry and meat, groceries, grain, oil, and rice passed through it.

"As expected, they've still got deep pockets. Otherwise, how could they control such a huge market?"

Xiao Ran knew that controlling profits on this scale took more than money. Without the right connections and influence, there was no way you'd get to run a business like this.

The Zhou family had lost the funeral industry, but had turned around and taken control of such a huge wholesale market. Xiao Ran couldn't tell whether this had been Zhou Shen's idea or the old man's.

"Uncle Zhou, with a market this big, you must have plenty of cattle, sheep, and poultry coming through every day."

Xiao Ran asked as if it were a casual question.

Zhou Shen didn't think much of it. He nodded. "Apart from the stuff that goes to Hui District, most of it comes through the wholesale market. We've got a slaughterhouse here, so the meat's fresh."

"Great. Would it be possible for me to get some whole cows, pigs, and poultry that haven't been cut up?" Xiao Ran explained. "You know my family makes a living from our trade. My grandfather passed his skills on to me, but there aren't that many corpses around for me to practice on. I was hoping I could practice on some livestock. Do you think that would be possible?"

Zhou Shen's mouth twitched. Wow, he really knows how to take advantage of an opening. That was fast.

But he had just made a big show of boasting, so Zhou Shen was too embarrassed to refuse. After thinking it over, he realized it really wasn't a big deal. "That won't be hard. You don't need to pay, either. I'll call the slaughterhouse and ask them to find you a few carcasses to practice on. As long as it doesn't affect sales, it should be fine."

As he spoke, Zhou Shen picked up the phone and called the slaughterhouse in front of Xiao Ran. Perhaps he wanted to save face, so he put the call on speaker. As soon as the person on the other end heard what Zhou Shen wanted, they agreed without hesitation.

They only reminded Xiao Ran that if he wanted to go, he should come around two in the morning, so he wouldn't interfere with the shipments that started going out at three.

That was no problem for Xiao Ran.

After they settled on a time, Zhou Shen hung up. Xiao Ran naturally offered him a few words of praise, which seemed to put Zhou Shen in a much better mood.

"Zhou Shen!"

The old man's voice came from the back hall.

Zhou Shen hurried to his feet. "Let's go to the back hall. Dad's probably finished helping you."

"Okay."

Xiao Ran stood and headed for the back hall. Zhou Shen didn't follow.

He passed through the main hall, crossed the residence, and walked down the corridor. Only after going through another door did he reach the back hall.

The hall was wreathed in incense smoke. It was small but spacious, with three doors standing open. Through them, Xiao Ran could see ancestral tablets on a huge offering table.

Xiao Ran walked in and saw the old man sitting in a chair, holding a teacup. He pointed to one side.

Xiao Ran took a closer look. It was a paper figure about thirty centimeters tall.

What surprised him was that it looked exactly like him.

Its expression, hairstyle, and clothes were all identical to his, just in miniature.

The only difference was that its eyes were blank, with no pupils painted in.

"Did you just make this?"

Xiao Ran stared at the old man in surprise.

He and Zhou Shen had only talked for less than fifteen minutes. The old man had finished it already?

But after a moment's thought, Xiao Ran understood. The old man had once controlled the funeral industry. There was no way he could be anything but a master of his craft.

"I'm old now, and my skills aren't what they used to be. Take this paper figure home, child. Use your blood to paint in its eyes, write your original Birth Numerology on its back, then burn it. Remember, the time you burn it will become your new Birth Numerology. If some evil or sinister spell is used to harm you, it can shield you from disaster once."

"It's that simple?"

"That's all there is to it. But your new Birth Numerology can only help protect you from people trying to harm you. If you ever get your fortune told or have your fate read, you'll still need to give your real Birth Numerology. And this new one can only protect you for a year. Once that time's up, it won't work anymore."

"Thank you, sir."

Xiao Ran nodded, making sure to remember everything. He held the paper figure in his arms. "Sorry for the trouble. I won't disturb your rest any longer. I'll head home. If there's ever anything you need me for, I won't hesitate to help."

"Hahaha! Good, good, good."

The old man nodded with a laugh, then called for Zhou Shen and asked him to see Xiao Ran out.

It had taken no more than a quarter of an hour. Zhou Shen returned to the back hall and asked, somewhat displeased, "Dad, I thought the Xiao family were outsiders. When did our family ever owe them a favor?"

It was no wonder Zhou Shen was unhappy. As far back as he could remember, other people had owed his family favors. That was still the case now.

He had never heard that his own family owed anyone a favor, let alone that someone would come to their door to claim one.

At this, the old man set down his thermos and looked up at the ancestral tablets on the offering table.

He said nothing, but the silence weighed so heavily that Zhou Shen gradually stopped daring to speak.

Only after a long while did the old man slowly say, "Xiao Zhenye wasn't an outsider. He just went into hiding for a while, then came back."

"Then... our family..." Zhou Shen could tell that his father seemed to have an unusual connection with the Xiao family's patriarch. He cautiously pressed, "Do we really owe him a favor?"

"All you know is that your mom is usually on me. You don't know why she can be on me."

As he spoke, the old man stood up and unfastened his shirt, pulling it open at the chest.

There, sewn neatly onto his withered, emaciated chest, was a woman's face. Her closed eyelids trembled a few times before slowly opening a crack. With a resentful expression, she said, "You old coot, didn't you say you wouldn't tell the child about this?"