The sight of those two paper coffins immediately made me think of the coffin shop owner.
Buying a coffin from him that afternoon had left me seething. I hadn't even settled the score with him, and now the old bastard had come to provoke me himself.
Old Liu's expression suddenly changed when he saw the paper coffins at the door.
I had faced danger with Old Liu many times, and he had always remained unruffled. This was the first time I had ever seen him look like this.
Puzzled, I nudged Old Liu and asked:
"Old Liu, what's wrong? I hardly ever see you look this grim!"
Old Liu prodded the two paper coffins with his battered stick and said quietly:
"I never thought a place this small would have something that damages people's karmic merit like this!"
I looked at Old Liu in surprise and asked:
"Old Liu, aren't these just a couple of lousy paper coffins? What's so different about them? The craftsmanship doesn't look all that good, either!"
Old Liu glanced at me and said gravely:
"Have you ever seen anyone selling paper coffins? Besides, these two are heavy with yin energy. They look like they've accompanied a burial!"
"Accompanied a burial?"
His words left me stunned, and I asked:
"You mean these two paper coffins were dug out of a grave after being used?"
Old Liu nodded and said:
"Burial companion paper coffins are rare. They have to be buried alongside the wooden coffin after someone dies. The more unjust the owner's death, the greater their resentment, and the longer they're buried, the heavier the yin energy!"
His words gave me goosebumps, and I said:
"I went to buy a coffin with Auntie Li's nephew this afternoon. I could tell that shop owner was no good, and I argued with him. I never thought he'd play dirty!"
As I spoke, I raised my leg to kick the two paper coffins away.
Old Liu reached out to stop me.
"Don't touch them. These things ruin your luck. You can't just throw them away!"
Then Old Liu told me to find a piece of cloth inside and cover the two paper coffins before carrying them into the courtyard.
"Old Liu, that's it? Just carry them into the courtyard? That hardly counts as dealing with them!"
"There isn't much you can do with paper coffins. Yin energy is what keeps them from rotting in the grave. Leave them in the sun for two days, and they'll rot on their own."
"What happens if we don't deal with them?"
Old Liu frowned and said coldly:
"They're heavy with yin energy, and they're particularly destructive to people's luck. Once someone's luck is gone, an unnatural death isn't far away!"
With that, Old Liu went inside, looking troubled.
I had thought that, with Guan Jun's secret finally uncovered, I could return to the company tomorrow and confront Old Wu. But these burial companion paper coffins had appeared at just this moment. Now I would have to wait at least two days for them to rot in the sun before I could leave.
Early the next morning, Old Liu urged me to take him to the coffin shop to meet the owner.
On our way there, we happened to run into Auntie Li's funeral procession.
The mourners wore sackcloth and wailed inconsolably, filling me with an inexplicable sadness. Li Gang walked at the front, with a little girl of five or six beside him.
The little girl wasn't crying. As she passed me, she kept staring at me with wide eyes. Even after the procession had passed, she kept looking back.
Before long, Old Liu and I reached Ma Dong's coffin shop at the village entrance. The gate stood open, and four coffins and some paper figures were arranged neatly in the courtyard.
Old Liu had been frowning ever since we entered the courtyard. Worried, I asked:
"Old Liu, did you spot something wrong?"
Old Liu said nothing and stepped inside.
The building wasn't large. Through the entrance was a showroom filled with funeral wreaths and burial clothes. A door on the left presumably led to the owner's bedroom.
I had been in a hurry yesterday and hadn't looked closely. In a corner of this cramped showroom stood a black coffin with its lid on.
This black coffin was very different from the four outside. It was several centimeters longer than an ordinary coffin, and its surface was covered with strange patterns.
Just as I was about to move closer for a look, Old Liu tugged my arm from behind.
I turned to complain, only to discover the coffin shop owner standing in the doorway, staring at us.
"Oh, isn't this the young fellow who came yesterday? What is it? Buying something?"
The owner had shifty eyes, and his eyebrows kept twitching with his expressions as he spoke. It was deeply unpleasant.
I replied irritably:
"I'm here to settle a score. Did you leave those paper coffins last night?"
The owner put on an innocent expression and said with a smile:
"You must be joking, young fellow. I only stock wooden coffins for the dead. Where would I get paper coffins? Who would I sell them to?"
I was about to swear at him, but Old Liu waved a hand and stared at the owner.
"Burial companion paper coffins damage people's karmic merit. If you don't want a gruesome death, stop here!"
With that, Old Liu walked out.
Seeing him leave, I hurried after him. As I turned to go, I glanced back to glare at the owner. In that very glance, I thought I saw the black coffin in the corner move!
Outside, Old Liu simply walked on with his head lowered. I caught up and asked:
"Old Liu, I was right, wasn't I? He left those paper coffins last night!"
Old Liu shook his head and said:
"There's no yin energy on him. He didn't leave them!"
"He didn't?"
His answer was completely unexpected.
The word "bad" was practically written all over that shop owner's face. If it wasn't him, who else could it be?
Old Liu didn't explain further. He only said we would have to come back when we had time.
On our way back to the village chief's house, we passed the great weeping willow again and happened to encounter the old woman surnamed Guan, whose house we had stayed at on our first night.
With her head down and a bulging sack on her back, the old woman hurried home.
I had always thought she was pitiful, all alone like that. But ever since hearing what the village chief had told us, I couldn't muster the slightest fondness for her.
The old woman didn't look up at us. She turned at the fork and went home.
The village chief was delighted to hear we would be staying another two days and had several extra stir-fried dishes prepared that evening.
After several rounds of drinks, it was completely dark. We chatted as we watched television.
Suddenly, someone outside the gate shouted loudly for the village chief. Before long, a man came inside, drenched in sweat, and said:
"Something terrible's happened, Chief! Old Zhang in the west of the village is in trouble too!"
The village chief had just raised his cup when it slipped from his hand.
"What happened? Tell me clearly!"
"Old Zhang went to get something from the storeroom this evening. It looks like he was bitten by a snake too. He's not breathing anymore!"
Hearing this, the village chief hurried off the raised platform and ran toward Old Master Zhang's house.
When we reached the Zhang house, we took a look.
Sure enough, Old Master Zhang looked just as Auntie Li had in death, with two neat, tiny tooth marks beneath his right ear.
Everyone was busy inside when someone suddenly spoke in the courtyard:
"Where did this paper coffin come from?"
Old Liu and I hurried out to look. Sure enough, a small paper coffin sat on a cabinet in the storeroom.
It was exactly like the ones I had seen outside my door last night-a burial companion paper coffin!
Auntie Li's nephew, Li Gang, was there too. Seeing the paper coffin, he said in surprise:
"I saw one of these in our storeroom yesterday too. I thought the coffin shop owner had given it to us!"
Paper coffins had appeared in both deaths. Hearing this, the villagers exchanged frightened looks.
After daybreak, Old Liu suddenly urged me, rather mysteriously, to go to the old woman's house in the west of the village.
I followed without asking much.
Daylight was different from night, and I felt braver. Once in the courtyard, I leaned against the window to look inside and discovered that the old woman was actually asleep.
Older people generally kept regular hours. It was rare for someone like her to still be in bed at ten in the morning.
Old Liu also looked through the window. After we left the courtyard, I asked curiously:
"Old Liu, what's so interesting about an old woman sleeping?"
Old Liu said meaningfully:
"Didn't you notice she's sleeping in her clothes? I'm going to teach the Zhang and Li families how to sun their paper coffins. Remember to come back here later!"
I nodded, not understanding.
After lunch, it was already past one. Old Liu went into the village to deal with the paper coffins, and I returned to the old woman's house in the west as he had instructed.
Strangely, the old woman was still asleep.
I wondered, She's been sleeping all morning. Did she have insomnia last night?
On the way back, I saw a number of villagers gathered together, discussing something in alarm, so I went over to listen.
What I heard shocked me. Since last night, in the space of a single day, five households in the village had discovered paper coffins!
The first two households to find paper coffins had each suffered a death, which only heightened everyone's fear.
Old Liu became even busier, personally visiting every household that had found a paper coffin to direct their disposal.
Soon, another day came around.
When night fell, Old Liu dragged me outside before he had even eaten dinner.
Bewildered, I asked:
"Old Liu, tell me where we're going first!"
With a stern face, Old Liu said quietly:
"The old woman's house!"
This was our third visit to her house that day. Both previous times, she had been asleep.
By now, I was bored and had lost interest.
I leaned behind a haystack and yawned, about to close my eyes for a short nap.
Old Liu nudged me and whispered:
"Look!"
I got up and looked over. The old woman had finally opened her door and come out.
She was still wearing the clothes she had slept in during the day. With a sack on her back, she hurried toward the western hillside.
Before I could ask, Old Liu spoke.
"Do you remember what the village chief said about her being mentally unwell and liking to dig up graves in the hills?"
I nodded with wide eyes and asked quietly:
"I remember. I even ate the meat she cooked. Could she be going up there to dig up graves for meat again?"
Old Liu shook his head and said:
"I asked the village chief. Only two people have died in the village recently, but she goes into the hills on ordinary days too. I don't think she's looking for meat!"
As he spoke, the old woman had already passed around the great weeping willow at the fork in the village road.
Old Liu and I dared not delay and hurried after her.
We followed her all the way, and sure enough, she finally arrived at a neglected burial ground.
But these earthen graves were all old mounds. Some were abandoned graves without even a headstone.
Their occupants had long since rotted into piles of bones. If she wasn't looking for meat, why was she digging up graves?
Old Liu and I continued watching in secret. Before long, the old woman finally dug open a grave mound and took something out.
I craned my neck as far as I could, trying to see it clearly.
It was none other than a burial companion paper coffin, the very thing that had terrified everyone these past few days!
Seeing the paper coffin, Old Liu nodded and whispered:
"Just as I thought!"
I spoke as realization dawned on me:
"So the coffin shop owner really wasn't behind those paper coffins. This old woman dug them all up. But why would she deliver them to people's homes?"
Old Liu shook his head and said something that stunned me.
"Besides her and the coffin shop owner, there's someone else in the village whose specific job is delivering paper coffins!"