Chapter 64: Journey to Yunnan

I walked closer and saw the words, “Don’t miss me. I’ve gone to find Huang.”

I cursed inwardly—who would miss you? Your handwriting is ugly enough, and now you’re being narcissistic too. I wiped the words off the stone, took Little Rascal by the hand, and ran back to the village.

Village Chief Bai saw me return and hurried over, his legs moving surprisingly fast for someone who supposedly suffered from rheumatism. He asked, “How was the visit? Did you meet any relatives?”

I said, “Let me have some tea first, Uncle. Tell me honestly, where is Huang from?”

Bai Guangde glanced at Wu Zhen, looking a bit awkward. “She’s just a girl from Jiangxi. Not far from our Baishui Village—just a few dozen miles. Less than an hour by car.”

Wu Zhen grew impatient. “Is this related to Huang too?”

I glared at Bai Guangde. “Uncle, you’re not telling the truth, are you?”

Bai Guangde finally relented. “Since Officer Wu is here, I’ll be honest. Huang wasn’t local—she was bought from outside. I heard she was from Wenshan or somewhere in Yunnan. She was bought for 8,000 yuan, but the madman treated her well. She didn’t suffer.”

I hadn’t expected this twist.

But what the old village chief said was true. Across China, from north to south, east to west, it wasn’t uncommon for villages to buy wives. Some even had multiple brothers sharing one woman.

The old village chief only spoke up now because the people involved were already dead.

Wu Zhen naturally wouldn’t arrest anyone. He asked where Bai Jingren had gone.

I said, “Him? He said he was going to find Huang. He won’t be back.”

Wu Zhen and Bai Jingren exchanged bewildered looks, as if they’d never heard anything so bizarre. Their mouths hung open wide enough to fit two eggs or more…

Bai Jingren really had left—without bloodshed.

The ancestor had once said that some people who escaped from tombs quietly lived in the world, slowly turning into old corpses. At the time, I thought it was just a joke to lighten the mood.

Damn, looks like Bai Jingren was on his way to becoming an old corpse.

It occurred to me that if Huang really was from Yunnan, she might have instinctively returned home. And if Bai Jingren was heading to Yunnan to find her, running into him on the road might be an amusing twist.

Thinking of this, I couldn’t help but laugh.

Meeting an old acquaintance in a foreign land—perhaps it would bring tears to our eyes…

The old village chief arranged for everyone to rest for the night. He opened his son’s room for us to sleep in—clean, with tiled floors, just lacking the warmth of human presence since no one had lived there for a while.

Apart from Spring Festival, this newly built house had become a makeshift inn. Accustomed to city life, many had lost interest in rural living—too slow, too quiet, too dark at night.

I asked Ma Yan about Song Xiaoshuang from town. After a moment of thought, she told me, “I think she was transferred a few days ago—to the county women’s federation.”

If Bai Jingren was on the path to becoming an old corpse, then Song Xiaoshuang was walking the same road as Sun Junliu.

Everyone has their own fate—something called destiny.

I hadn’t believed it before, but I was starting to now.

The next day, the three of us drove away from Baishui Village. Ma Yan offered to treat me to a meal, but I politely declined. It was enough that she truly feared me now. Letting a woman like her get too close would be like dancing with death.

Back home, I called Liu Jianguo and arranged to meet in Kunming, Yunnan, in three days. I’d take the train from my hometown, while he’d leave from Jiangcheng.

At home, I chatted with my parents. My mother asked, “You’re not getting any younger. Shouldn’t you be dating? Or should I pick someone for you? There’s a college girl from Songxi Village—she works in Jiangcheng. I can get her number for you.”

I ignored her. “I’m busy making money right now. No time for dating.”

My mother realized she’d overstepped and laughed. “Alright, alright. Money is a man’s face. The more you earn, the easier it’ll be to find a wife.”

I chuckled carefreely.

My grandfather’s card still had some money left. I withdrew 10,000 yuan for my father and took 20,000 in cash for myself.

Then I boarded the train to Yunnan.

At the county station, I packed Little Rascal into a wooden box and grinned shamelessly at the ticket inspector to sneak him onboard.

The journey took nearly a full day and night. Keeping Little Rascal hidden in the box was tough on him—I only occasionally took him out to use the bathroom or eat.

He got motion sickness and barely touched the ham I gave him. I just hoped the trip would end soon.

The young man across from me, wearing thick glasses, was engrossed in a pirated copy of *Ghost Blows Out the Light*. By nightfall, as the train entered Guizhou, the lights in the sleeper car went out.

The bespectacled boy pulled out a flashlight and kept reading, his face tense. Suddenly, Little Rascal let out a whimper.

The boy jolted upright, looking around as if monsters from the book had come to life. Luckily, Little Rascal stayed quiet after that. The boy muttered, “How strange.”

The man in the upper bunk started grinding his teeth loudly—creak, creak.

The boy quickly turned off his flashlight, using the book as a pillow. He spent the night dreaming of crawling through ancient tombs, with Hu Bayi calling out, “Hey, buddy, let’s go dig up a grave!”

We finally arrived in Kunming the next afternoon.

The air in Kunming was humid. I took a deep breath and shouted inwardly, *I’m here.*

Little Rascal was half-dead from the trip. As soon as we got off the train, he started vomiting pitifully. I bought him some congee from a roadside stall, but he threw that up too.

The bespectacled boy gave me a look. “Hey, you were the one who brought the dog on the train, weren’t you? It barked last night—scared me half to death.”

I said, “Reading horror novels at night and you’re afraid of ghosts?”

The boy scoffed. “Who’s afraid? A real man doesn’t fear ghosts.”

Just then, someone waved at him. “Gotta go—my friend’s here. I’m traveling in Yunnan. Maybe we’ll meet again.”

I smiled. “Have a good trip.”

Little Rascal slowly recovered after some congee. Compared to the stifling heat of Jiangcheng, Kunming felt refreshingly cool.

Before leaving, I’d called Liu Jianguo, who had already set off and arrived in Kunming a few hours earlier.

I texted him after getting off the train. It took him a while to find me.

Liu Jianguo wore army boots and camouflage pants—a far cry from his leisurely days at the funeral shop. He looked tougher now, more like Jun-ge, with a soldier’s bearing.

He greeted me, “How was the trip? Yunnan’s different from the mainland—it’s technically a plateau, but not by much. A mix of ethnic groups, great climate. Only downside is the locals can be fierce, especially near the borders—lots of drug-related stuff.”

I was impressed by his detailed explanation. Walking alongside him, I said, “Helping you is like helping myself. So what if the locals are tough? My hometown once fought the Japanese with swords, butcher knives, and hoes. Everyone’s got fire in their blood.”

Liu Jianguo nodded. “Damn right. Everyone’s got fire in their blood.”

A military-green jeep with red license plates waited in the parking lot—unexpected, but I figured Liu Jianguo’s old army connections had come through.

Little Rascal, still half-dead from motion sickness, suddenly barked excitedly, straining toward the jeep. The door cracked open.

Little Rascal leaped from my arms as He Qingmeng jumped out of the car.

After traveling thousands of miles, we’d finally reunited.

Inside the car sat Xie Lingyu, dressed in white, her hair neatly tied back. She smiled softly. “Xiao Qi, I came to find you.”

Above us, white clouds drifted across the sky. Birds soared over the mountains, and wildflowers bloomed by the riverside.

Liu Jianguo clapped me on the shoulder. “What are you standing around for? Get in the car.”

Flowers of the underworld may bloom, but nothing compares to meeting in this life.

I quickly stepped forward, climbing into the car and staring at Xie Lingyu. My voice came out strained. “Why did you come find me?” My face burned red.

Xie Lingyu said, “I was worried no one would cook for you.”

Little Rascal and He Qingmeng sat between us, barking and meowing in turns. Despite his earlier misery, Little Rascal was now full of energy—ready to fight tigers or catch dragons.

The car stopped at a guarded gate, where soldiers on duty halted us. Liu Jianguo exchanged a few words before we were let through.

We parked in front of a courtyard, where a white-haired but vigorous old man in a clean military uniform and faded army shoes greeted us with firm strides.