After burying the corpse, Liu Dashao drew several soul-guiding talismans and scattered them along the way until he reached the edge of the forest. When the sun set and the forest grew cold with yin energy, the woman’s soul should be able to follow these talismans and escape the maze.
Once they exited the woods, Fan Debiao was already impatiently waiting and immediately asked, “Everything taken care of?”
Liu Dashao smiled and said, “It’s done, and I even found some herbs!” With that, he crushed some plant stems into a pulp and applied it to Su Yougui’s hands.
Su Yougui mumbled in a daze, “Wow, it feels cool. The snake wasn’t roasted warm enough…”
Fan Debiao was so angry he nearly cried, “When we get back, I’ll cook two pumpkins and stuff you until you burst! See if you’ll still act like you’re starving all the time!”
After walking out of this Bodhisattva Mountain, they turned around and gazed back, feeling a rush of emotions.
Liu Dashao said, “Brother Fan, I think this might’ve gotten a bit out of hand. How do you think we should explain it to the superiors?”
Fan Debiao was struggling to catch his breath while carrying Su Yougui. Hearing Su keep muttering, “Not the snake’s head!” and “Is the middle part roasted yet?” he grew even more irritated. He replied, “Just report that this bastard was an enemy spy who poisoned and killed Huang Peng. And you all should say the same!” After saying that, he thought to himself that with a death involved, it probably wouldn’t be that simple to cover up. They discussed the details together until they all agreed on the same story, and then they headed back.
Liu Dashao was taken aback and asked, “What if the superiors don’t believe us? After all, Ge Shuangwa isn’t here—there’s a hole in our story!”
Fan Debiao glared and said, “If anyone doesn’t believe me, I’ll take them to that cave myself and show them everything inside. I’d like to see how they explain it then!”
By the time they reached noon, they finally arrived at the construction site. The workers, seeing them return, gathered around asking questions. When they saw Huang Peng’s blackened corpse, they all fled in fear. Fan Debiao asked, “Call the people from the engineering department. Are they all here?”
A worker replied, “We sent for them this morning, but they said they wouldn’t come until tonight.”
Fan Debiao thought for a moment, shook his head, and said, “No time to wait. Huang Shitou, you and I will pull a cart to the engineering department and explain everything. As Huang Peng’s younger brother, they’ll believe you more.” Huang Shitou nodded tearfully.
As they were talking, Wei Fuguo, the man who had brought Liu Dashao and the others here, suddenly said, “Master Liu, that educated youth from your home came looking for you early this morning. Said it was urgent!”
Hearing this, Liu Dashao broke into a cold sweat and hurriedly asked, “Did he say what it was about? Where is he now?”
Wei Fuguo replied, “He’s in the workers’ dormitory. Said he’d only speak to you!”
Liu Dashao turned anxiously to Fan Debiao, who nodded and said, “I’ll go back to the dormitory with you. I also need to arrange a vehicle to get Su Yougui to the hospital.” He quickly organized some tasks at the construction site and then left with Liu Dashao, Huang Shitou, and a few other workers.
Tian Guoqiang was already waiting anxiously at the dormitory entrance, pacing back and forth. When he saw Liu Dashao from afar, he immediately ran over, but upon seeing the blackened corpse, his face turned pale with fright. Liu Dashao had no idea what had happened at home and anxiously dragged Tian aside to ask. Tian winked at him and said, “Actually, it’s nothing too serious!”
Liu Dashao, his eyes bloodshot, snapped, “Nothing serious? Then why did you come running here so early? Oh, and you even brought a bicycle. Where did you get it?”
Back then, bicycles were extremely rare treasures. Several workers who weren’t on duty gathered around to examine the bike, touching it here and there like it was some alien artifact. People nowadays wouldn’t touch a Ferrari like that.
Tian Guoqiang smiled and said, “It’s Captain Fan’s, hehe!”
Liu Dashao said, “Hey, you’ve got a connection now. Hurry up and explain what’s going on!”
Tian Guoqiang replied, “It’s not our family’s issue—it’s Captain Yang’s. He lent me the bike.”
Liu Dashao was surprised and asked, “Why would he need me?”
Tian Guoqiang said, “He wants you to go back home.” Liu Dashao was immediately alarmed and asked, “Is that old dog going to target me again?”
Tian hurriedly said, “No, he wrote a letter addressed to the construction site leadership.” He then pulled out a letter stamped with the commune’s official seal from his chest pocket. Liu Dashao took it and saw that it was a formal leave request for him to return home to handle some urgent family matters.
Fan Debiao took the letter and glanced through it. Not knowing exactly what it was about, but seeing how urgently Tian had come all the way on his bike, he said to Liu Dashao, “You go back first. I’ll handle the formalities tonight. Just go back now!” Liu Dashao thanked him repeatedly and left with Tian Guoqiang, pushing the bicycle toward the embankment.
When they reached the foot of the hill, Tian Guoqiang said, “Master Liu, I’ll give you a ride!” Liu Dashao was envious beyond words, his eyes sparkling with excitement, “You can ride a bicycle now? That’s really impressive!”
The moment he got on the bike, he felt so comfortable he nearly cried. This high-end contraption was so smooth to ride! He couldn’t help but wonder when he’d ever own one himself. After staying up all night the previous day, he now felt so relaxed that he was almost dozing off.
Tian Guoqiang pulled two things from his pocket and handed them back to Liu Dashao. Liu took them and was shocked to see they were salted duck eggs! These were delicacies usually reserved only for those seriously ill. Liu’s eyes lit up with hunger. Without even properly peeling the shells, he shoved them into his mouth while saying, “Did Swallow give these to you? Did you eat any? If not, take one for yourself!”
Tian Guoqiang smiled and said, “They were given by Captain Yang Baosan!”
Liu Dashao, still chewing, nearly choked, “What? He gave them? …Oh my god, I still don’t know what’s going on at home! You haven’t told me yet!”
Tian Guoqiang chuckled and said, “Captain Yang is in trouble. There’s been a lot of commotion at his house these past few days!”
Liu Dashao was puzzled and asked, “What kind of commotion?”
Tian lowered his voice and whispered mysteriously, “They say… his house is haunted!”
Liu Dashao perked up his ears and said, “What? He’s smashed every mountain god and Bodhisattva temple within hundreds of miles. Such a guy, more ruthless than any deity—how could ghosts dare haunt his house?”
Tian sighed, “Master Liu, you weren’t here. These past few nights, the whole brigade has been filled with eerie vibes. It’s so cold outside at night that people jump with fear. Even dogs won’t go out of their houses!”
Liu Dashao was stunned and said, “I’ve only been away for a few weeks, and there’s already such a big commotion at home. Could it be that my presence was keeping those evil spirits at bay?”
When they arrived home, Liu Dashao asked his mother, Wang Chunhua, and indeed, the production brigade had been in chaos for the past few days, with many people too scared to leave their homes. Wang Chunhua smiled and said, “That Captain Yang was so scared he came to our house and took seven eggs!”
Liu Dashao exclaimed happily, “Seven? That’s quite a lot! We usually only eat three in a month!”
Wang Chunhua said, “I boiled them. Your father and I each ate one, I sent two to Xiaoyan, and I asked Guoqiang to bring three to you at the construction site. I hope they didn’t make you too full!”
Liu Dashao suddenly perked up and asked, “How many did you say?”
Wang Chunhua replied, “Three!”
Liu Dashao flew into a rage and shouted at the top of his voice, “Tian Guoqiang, you little brat, come here!”
Liu Dashao had been exhausted from the previous day’s work and hadn’t seen Yang Baosan yet. He went to Ma Xiaoyan’s house for a chat, then washed up and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. He had no idea what time it was when his mother, Wang Chunhua, came to wake him up. He opened his eyes and saw it was already dark outside.
“That Captain Yang came looking for you,” Wang Chunhua said. “He waited in the main room for a while.”
Upon hearing this, Liu Dashao hurriedly put on his clothes and rushed out. He really didn’t dare to keep an official waiting.
“Oh, Captain Yang,” Liu Dashao said with a beaming smile, “I’m such a heavy sleeper. I really didn’t expect you to come so early!” In his heart, he was secretly delighted, thinking, “So there’s actually a time when you need me! My master’s teachings really do come in handy after all!”
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