“Probably, there is no one at home that I can talk to?” said Luo Zheng. “Actually, this isn’t easy to talk about… and I feel that since you have met Dazhe, or are at least bystanders the least, there will not be any pressure for you to talk about this matter… Of course, I’m not saying we’re not close! It’s just that we don’t keep in touch with each other often.”
“Then, what do you think of him?”
“My perception?” Luo Zheng was startled, thinking for a while, before sighing, “I felt that it’s a pity…To be honest, I still don’t understand why Dazhe is such a jerk all these years. My impression of him is that he is not that type of person. In fact, my sister still refused to give up on him for a period of time. She often went to see him in prison, but he refused to see anyone and didn’t say a word. It was like he… lost his soul. By the way, Dazhe was the one who proposed the divorce when he was still in prison. Later, as I told you before, he was in and out of prison many times. It’s like he had given up on himself entirely.”
“Have you not asked him before? Since you don’t understand?” said Luo Qiu.
Luo Zheng sighed and said, “Yes, why didn’t I? But, whenever I talk about this topic, he always avoids me… But, once I was chatting with him, he seemed to be drinking too much. He said something… something about returning an item to someone, and it must be returned something like that. Then, he fell into a coma and didn’t say anything after waking up. I wondered whether it had something to do with the incident when Dazhe and his brother kidnapped and killed the child.”
Having said this, Luo Zheng looked at Luo Qiu, scratched his head, and said, “You don’t know about this, right? I haven’t told you about this matter in detail before.”
Luo Qiu smiled and said, “Actually, I have looked for this old news on my phone.”
“You are lucky to find the news still.” Luo Zheng shook his head and then said with a complicated expression, “That incident was a big mess at the beginning. Later, I heard that the child’s mother was blind from all of that crying. And then, the child’s father’s garment factory went bankrupt. So, he left his wife alone and ran away by himself, leaving a huge amount of debt for her. I heard someone said that the child’s mother tried to commit suicide several times. It seems that what’s his name… the boss who stopped her from doing… I forgot his name. So, this is how the matter went. Not only was a child killed, but a family was also ruined. Do you know that my sister did not have it easy in her workplace all those years? Her colleagues constantly criticized her at work. When she came home, she was always crying…Later, when we met our present brother-in-law, our life slowly improved, and my sister started a new life. Sometimes, I think that maybe it’s a good thing that my sister gave up on him. Otherwise, we won’t have such an improvement in our life… Let me tell you something. My sister just got pregnant recently for two months. However, she is a little chubby. Well, it’s normal for her to be out of shape. After all, she is thirty-five or thirty-six years old. You probably don’t see her beauty. But, let me tell you, my sister was gorgeous when she was young!”
“Supper?” Luo Qiu stood up, looked at the time, and asked Luo Zheng.
Luo Zheng rubbed his stomach, “Oh, that is a good idea! You get supper. Let me get some beer. You drink, right? College students should not be afraid of drinking! Anyway, we are brothers!”
“Sure.”
…
After returning to Lord Jin’s villa nursing home, Lord Jin did not say anything. He let Dazhe go to the Buddhist hall alone and stayed there. He then took Big Head to another room while directing him to different things found in the room.
Big Head was sweating from moving these things, but he did not dare to complain… Instead, he asked curiously, “Sir, these tables, yellow cloth. What are they? And what is this? Wooden sword? Copper coins? Are you holding a ceremony at this age?”
“It’s not for holding a ceremony but to exorcise ghosts. Do you believe it or not?” Lord Jin smiled.
Big Head looked at those things that were seemingly decent, “Exorcise, exorcise ghosts!? Sir, Sir, don’t scare me. I am quite timid!”
Big Head had heard that this sir had some unusual abilities…Of course, it was just a rumor.
“Don’t worry. Even if there is a ghost, you can’t see it.” Lord Jin took a brush and dipped it with a little cinnabar. He began to write something on the yellow paper while saying, “The ghost will not come back and seek a filthy and petty-minded person like you.”
“But, if there is a ghost, does it mean I can just ignore it because I can’t see it? The ghost can see me! Old man, my heart is shivering! You are joking, right?”
Lord Jin could not be bothered to talk with this guy, but suddenly asked, “By the way, has Dazhe been visiting Sister Lin recently?”
Big Head quickly walked up to Lord Jin and said in a low voice, ” Sir, you should never have talked about this matter with Brother Zhe…Don’t tell him that I told you this matter!”
“Why? I have come forward to help him so that he will not collapse. I don’t have the right to know this?”
“I don’t mean that. Sir, you have more than the right!” Big Head quickly said. “At that time, Dazhe looked for me to help out with some matter. He wanted me to register with some cross society and asked me to deal with real estate… How am I supposed to do so? Huh?! If you ask about finding women and ammunition, I can get a dozen with ease, but for these matters, I don’t know the right way to do so! If it’s not for us seeking your assistance out of desperation and you willingly help us with these matters because of an old affection, how can I, Big Head do so many things at the time! But, it’s not like you don’t know how Brother Zhe is as a person. If it weren’t that he was unable to get real estate for Sister Lin, he would have never sought my help.”
“Alright, alright. I’m asking you whether Dazhe has been visiting for Sister Lin recently. What’s your purpose in telling me such a story?” Lord Jin gave Big Head an unhappy glare.
“He did. Just yesterday.” Big Head nodded and said. “But, speaking of which, this Sister Lin is pitiful. At the moment, she can’t remember that she had a son and a husband who abandoned her and ran away long ago. She thought that she was an unfortunate old lady who was blind with no relatives at all. She hasn’t reached her forties. Yet, she looked like she is a person who is in her fifties or sixties.”
“So, he did visit her…” Lord Jin nodded, and suddenly said, “Big Head, do you still have Sister Lin’s birthday details?”
“Huh? There is a photostatic copy of her ID card when we set up the real estate for her, but this is not considered the birthday character, right?” Big Head was surprised. “What did you need this for?”
“The ID card is fine. You can use the perpetual calendar to help me estimate the lunar period.” Lord Jin glared. “Don’t ask anything else. Do as I say! Besides, take this talisman. It’s for you!”
“What’s this? An amulet talisman?”
“Yes! There is a female ghost behind you who has taken a fancy to you, waiting to be romantic with you!”
” A female ghost!” Big Head’s eyes lit up. “This is good. I like it…”
Lord Jin rolled his eyes, took a porcelain bowl and ran out of the courtyard, saying that he would get some dew during the child time[1].
…
In front of the Buddhist hall, Dazhe was standing in front of Guanyin’s statue, closing his eyes and letting out his thoughts, as directed by Lord Jin.
The more he let out his thoughts, the more a particular sound became clearer.
The moment when he was still in prison.
“Dazhe… have you heard? That kid. He’s coming to me! Looking for me!!! Looking for me!!!”
“Brother Zhe, Brother Zhe… When I was sleeping in the cabin last night, I saw it… I saw it… Ah Long said that he came to us to claim our lives… He also saw it… when he was bathing… Water, water…”
“What do we do…what do we do…Xiao Hu…Xiao Hu hanged himself yesterday! While the guards were not paying attention… he hanged himself… It’s coming for me! The next one is me; it’s me… It’s me… It’s me…”
…
“My child!! My son… Give him back to me… Give him back to me!! God… Give him back to me! My son…”
…
“Dazhe… are you going to divorce me?”
…
“Help me……”
…
“Don’t come here! All of you don’t come over here!!!”
“Xiao Hu!! Don’t be impulsive!!”
…
“Brother Zhe, I heard that Ah Long died in it too. It was said that he died of illness… Ai, another one of our acquaintances has left.”
…
“Gan Jing, thank you. Let me make you something delicious… If I had a son like you, that would be nice. You are nice, a good boy.”
“Sister Lin, actually, I…”
“What’s wrong?”
“No, nothing…”
…
“A person like you, a policeman’s son. Won’t you have some prejudice towards prisoners like me?”
“But, aren’t you out of prison now?”
…
Dazhe opened his eyes suddenly. Before Guanyin, he knelt with a huff.
In front of the Buddha, the oil lamp was lit. Smoke from the burning incense was rising in spirals.
[1] Child time – 11pm to 1 am
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