Chapter Thirty-Eight: A Battle of Wits

Yuan Xiaobai named the cat Ami. I never understood what that meant, but during the days when Cha Wenbin went missing, it became our greatest source of comfort.

Meanwhile, strange occurrences began to unfold in the village. First, the water levels in the once bottomless ponds began to drop precipitously, sinking by over ten meters each day. Second, every night around midnight, a flickering red light could be seen atop Western Hill, accompanied by the unmistakable sounds of drums and chanting. Third, in households with infants, the babies refused to sleep after nightfall, crying ceaselessly until dawn. Fourth, families with dogs found their pets eerily quiet all night, hiding in their kennels and unwilling to venture outside, though strange footsteps on the village roads could often be heard in the dead of night.

The elders whispered about a procession of the dead passing through, saying the sounds belonged to them. Someone, desperate to relieve himself one night, claimed to have seen a line of people in white funeral garments passing by his door, so frightened he wet his pants. During those days, everyone tacitly agreed: better to believe such things than dismiss them. Each night, doors were shut, lights extinguished, and families retreated early indoors. We were no exception.

Yuan Xiaobai, being a girl, moved into our room, separated by a curtain for privacy. By day, the three of us borrowed Miao Lan’s hunting dog and ventured into the mountains to search for Wenbin. Five days passed with no sign of him.

On the fifth evening as we prepared for sleep, a knock sounded at the door. The fat one, delighted, thought Wenbin had returned and ran to open it without dressing. Yet, it was only the old Party Secretary standing outside.

That sly old fox wouldn’t leave his den without the scent of chicken—his purpose was clearly the gold.

The ponds were nearly dry, and he feared someone else would discover what lay beneath. He wanted us to go first. In the end, men die for wealth, and birds for food. He figured that a calamity of this magnitude had left him untouched, proving his own resilience; why worry about talk of vengeful spirits?

Fatty was blunt, dismissing him: “We aren’t going. At least, not us. Find someone else. We’re heading into the mountains tomorrow, need our rest. Besides, things haven’t been peaceful around here lately.” He glanced out the window and whispered, “Ghosts...”

The old man was undeterred, turning obstinate. “Ghosts aren’t my concern. You brought this up, and now you want to back out? No way!”

I argued, “The pond business isn’t ours to handle either.”

“Not yours? Fine. Just spit out everything I gave you—the canned food, fruit, cakes. If you can return them in their original state, this has nothing to do with you.” He took a drag of his cigarette and eyed Xiaobai on the bed. “A bunch of little brats running to my place for food—bold, aren’t you? Let me tell you, I was a resistance fighter in the northeast. Seen every storm there is! If you won’t go, there are two paths.”

“First, my son was about to take a wife, and you swindled me out of the dowry. Now his match is ruined. Either give me the girl for my son, or I’ll report to the authorities, accuse you of arrogance and reactionary ideas—maybe even of collaborating with the enemy. Investigators are probing the death of the special envoy, and as far as I know, he was interrogating you that day!”

“You!” Furious, I couldn’t speak. I never imagined he'd set his sights on Xiaobai. “Don’t you dare accuse us! He died in the disaster, just like everyone else!”

“Who can prove it? Seems to me, during interrogation, you exposed yourselves and killed him to escape blame. Fine. Tomorrow I’ll have you sent to the county.”

He turned to leave, but Fatty grabbed his arm, plastering a smile on his face. “Oh, Secretary, we’re just kids—why take offense? It’s no big deal, just fishing for some yellow croaker. We’ll go, we’ll go! Tomorrow morning, you wait at home. Those big yellow fish are a treat, we’ll stick to the old rule—half for each. Rest assured.”

“Half?” The old man burst out laughing, then glared fiercely at us. “You eat and live in our village, and at this point you still want to haggle? Let me tell you: whatever comes up, bring it all to me. If even one croaker is missing, I’ll report you for murder and treason!”

“Deal, deal!” Fatty shook his hand, grinning. “You’re magnanimous, I’ll handle it. Not a word missing, you can hold me to it!”

“Hmph, smart move!” As he walked away, I shut the door and shoved Fatty, knocking him into the table. I yelled, “Are you insane? You agreed to that? He’s blatantly setting us up! Old Qiu didn’t die for nothing, and you think Wenbin was joking?”

Fatty snapped back, pointing out the window, “Why don’t you yell at him instead?”

I turned, snorting coldly. “At least I don’t act like a servant, letting him push me around!”

“Enough, stop fighting!” Yuan Xiaobai pleaded. “This isn’t the time for infighting. Fatty, we can’t agree to this. We didn’t kill anyone. So many villagers died; are we responsible for all of them? We’re innocent—how can he slander us?”

I chimed in, “Exactly!”

Fatty sneered, “Innocent? In this world, who cares about innocence? Xiaoyi, was your father really a counterrevolutionary? Xiaobai, your father was a respectable businessman—still branded a capitalist! Mine got punished just for defending a wronged comrade. What crime did he commit? Innocence! You’re too naïve. If he says you’re guilty, you’re guilty. When under someone else’s roof, you have to bow your head.”

His words left Xiaobai and me speechless. How had we forgotten why we ended up in this remote village?

I protested, “So we just let him control us?”

“Bah, let him dream on! Watch me teach him a lesson. Xiaoyi, tomorrow you come with me. We’ll drag our feet, trick him into the hole, and then cut the ladder.”

“What are you planning, murder?”

“Murder? I’m not breaking the law. Just a lesson. Xiaobai, pack your things. Tomorrow evening, we’ll meet at the village entrance. We can’t stay here—time to run.”

According to Fatty’s plan, I would go down first, then Fatty would join the Secretary half an hour later, claiming to have found treasure and needing his help. That greedy old fox would surely be lured in. Once he was down, Fatty and I would slip into the cave we’d found before and cut the ladder.

Early next morning, as arranged, I descended into the second pond—the one I’d drained. Half an hour later, Fatty trotted over to the Secretary’s house and whispered in his ear. The old man fell for it.

Foxes are always cunning. He paced above, unwilling to descend. At my signal, I flashed my flashlight three times. Once certain someone was below, he told Fatty, “You go first, I’ll follow!”

“Alright, Uncle, take it slow. We found a treasure trove down here—a golden Buddha statue! Xiaoyi and I couldn’t move it ourselves. We’re going to be rich!”

Hearing this, the old man grinned from ear to ear, climbing down as he said, “Heh heh, don’t worry, Uncle won’t shortchange you! Slow down, slow down!”

Fatty, naturally faster, soon vanished from the Secretary’s sight. But with only one ladder, and Fatty already below, what could the old man do? We were all tied to the same rope—no one could escape!

When Fatty appeared before me, I grabbed his ankle, startling him so much he nearly lost his grip and fell.

“Here, here—come in!”

I pulled him inside, barely giving him space to squeeze through. Once in, he whispered, “My dear Xiaoye, don’t grab like a zombie—this darkness is terrifying!”

“Did he come down yet?”

“Shh, listen. He should be close!”

Sure enough, soon I heard the old man’s heavy breathing, his headlamp sweeping past me. But all his focus was on his footing, so he didn’t notice us. After another four or five minutes, I heard him call out, “Where are you two brats?”

Peering out, I saw him shining his light around below. This time, he’d really fallen into our trap!

Without hesitation, I drew the machete from my waist and hacked through the rope ladder. It dropped to the ground with a slap. The old man looked up, and I shone my lamp straight into his face. “You old bastard, trying to frame us? Now you can rot down here!”

To my surprise, the old man didn’t get angry. He burst out laughing, “Brats, you’re still too green to play with me!”

“Fine, keep bluffing. We’re not sticking around—goodbye!” I reached for the outside ladder but found nothing. Feeling around, I couldn’t find it. Something was wrong—I remembered cutting it right at the entrance. Where was the ladder?

“You really think I didn’t see through your little tricks? Truth is, I expected you to plot against me. My two sons are up there—they’ve already pulled the ladder up. I can’t get out, but neither can you! Think you’re clever? Wait until I get out—see how I deal with you all, including that little girl. None of you are leaving; you’re all going to the county!”