Chapter Seven Two Skulls

  I and Village Chief Zhang simultaneously asked them what they were doing, why didn't they just swim back. Wu Litao and the others were so scared after swimming ashore that their faces turned pale, saying it wasn't his mother or daughter, but a skull buried in the sand. His mother and daughter had jumped into the river just yesterday, it's impossible for them to become a skull today, there must be ghosts at the bottom of the river.

  I and Village Chief Zhang were both stunned, how could it be a skull? What's going on here, but I believe Tiantian, the sand pile must have buried Wu Litao's mother and daughter.

  They didn't believe me, even though I guaranteed that was it, but none of them were willing to get in the water again. Wu Litao said he wasn't afraid, but one person couldn't do anything about it!

  Look at their bear-like appearance, I helplessly said let me come anyway! Ye Fei hurriedly pulled me to one side and asked if my brain was broken. It wasn't your mom and daughter who drowned, why are you pretending to be a hero?

  I'm not trying to be a hero, because I have Tongtong with me and that's why I dare to do this, but Ye Fei doesn't know that I have a powerful little water ghost, so it's understandable that he's worried about me. Zhang Village Head also advised me not to be reckless, saying it's too dangerous for one person to go into the water alone, but I ignored him and started taking off my clothes while telling those three young men: "Your guts are all in your pants! Watch this!" And with that, I jumped into the water.

  Although it's almost Qingming Festival, the water temperature is still freezing. I'm not a good swimmer, but with Tiantian in the water, there's nothing to be afraid of. I swam to the middle of the river using the backstroke and softly called out to Tiantian for help. 30 seconds later, all that could be seen was a group of fish underwater.

  These fish are as thick as a thigh, with tens and twenties of them, and the smaller ones are as thick as an arm, weighing around two or three catties. There were hundreds of them. In the 1990s, the river was very clear, and even at a depth of two or three meters, you could see the sand on the bottom. I dove into the water and saw that these big and small fish were using their tails to sweep away the sand, and before long, a faint outline of a leg bone appeared.

  It was indeed a skull, and they hadn't mistaken it for something else. I occasionally dove to the bottom of the water and then floated back up, pretending to be digging in the sand. With the help of those fish, the sand pile was almost completely cleared away after about five minutes, revealing two human skeletons, one large and one small.

  I'm also shocked, how did the person who drowned yesterday become two skulls after just one night? Where's the flesh gone? If these two skeletons aren't that grandfather and grandson pair, then how come they're so coincidentally a large and small pair?

  I dived down to the river bottom and took a closer look, only to find two skulls with tendons and bones still connected, but except for the tendons, not a single piece of flesh was left. What kind of thing could have eaten away their flesh so thoroughly, as if it had been dissolved, without leaving any residue?

  It seems that I still have to ask Tiantian later, maybe she will know. I emerged from the water and called them to come down quickly to help me, take the fishing net for me, those young guys looked at each other, finally Wu Litao got into the water first and they followed suit.

  After bringing the fishing net rope, several people went into the water and put two skeletons into the net. Then they simply tied it with a rope and one person held the rope head and swam to the shore.

  After dragging the two skulls ashore, Village Chief Zhang shook his head and sighed. Wu Litao held back tears and asked me if this was really his mother and daughter. Before I could answer, a young man saw the small skull with copper coins tied to its feet with red strings and called out to Wu Litao. Upon seeing it, Wu Litao fainted on the spot.

  The village head, Zhang, told me that this was Wu Litao's mother and daughter. The copper coin was brought by his daughter Xiaomeng when she was one week old, with the words "peaceful and safe, growing up quickly". Now this little girl has drowned and become a skull, everyone is very sad, saying that Xiaomeng was so lovely, her grandmother was really cruel! She herself was an old bone who would die anyway, but she also dragged her granddaughter down.

  Wu Litao knew that his mother and daughter would definitely not survive, but after being pulled up, even the corpses could not be preserved and became two skulls. How could he withstand this blow, so he fainted without even putting on his clothes.

  Ye Fei asked the village chief how to deal with it, and the village chief said that taking it back would cause panic among the villagers, and it wouldn't be good if it spread to other villages. He told two young men to go home and bring back two quilts. Another young man helped Wu Litao put on his clothes after he fainted, then carried him back home. Only Village Chief Zhang, Ye Fei, and I were left on the riverbank.

  Village chief Zhang kept smoking, and I didn't say a word. Before long, the young man who had gone to fetch the quilts returned, each carrying one quilt. Village chief Zhang told the two men to spread out the quilts on the ground, then he picked up a skull and wrapped it in the quilt. The two young men were about to lift another smaller skull, but village chief Zhang said not to move it, saying that their wives at home were newly pregnant and it was unlucky to touch this thing.

  In this way, Zhang Village Chief alone put the two skulls into a quilt and tied them together with a rope, then carried them on his shoulder back to the village.

  On the way back to the village, many children stood at their own doorsteps watching, but were pulled back home by adults who twisted their ears. This is a taboo in rural areas and children are not allowed to see it.

  Zhang Village Head returned to Wu Litao's home, where no one was present. Originally a family of four, his mother and daughter had passed away, and his wife had fainted from grief the previous day and was still hospitalized in town. Wu Litao had spent the entire previous day searching for bodies and was physically exhausted, having cried all night without sleep, and his body couldn't take it anymore. Having just seen his mother and daughter reduced to skeletons, an ordinary person's mind and body could not withstand such multiple blows, truly pitiful.

  Fortunately, there were fellow villagers who helped bring the body back. Some went to town to buy funeral supplies, while others borrowed a coffin from a neighboring village. Village Chief Zhang thanked me and Ye Fei Jiao, saying we were benefactors of their village and that there was no way to repay us, so he could only wish us a peaceful life.

  Village Chief Zhang said my car had returned early, and it was really embarrassing to have delayed us for a night. Now there's no time to invite you to eat before leaving, hope you can understand. Ye Fei waved his hand and said it didn't matter, while I told Village Chief Zhang that we weren't in a hurry to leave, I wanted to figure out how this grandfather and grandson had turned into skeletons overnight, what kind of terrifying thing existed in this river.

  Ye Fei tugged at my sleeve, hinting that I shouldn't interfere anymore, and besides, we still have to find my sister! I ignored her.

  Village chief Zhang said he had already informed the police station and they would come over to confirm later, also to cancel the household registration. I asked Village Chief Zhang if there was money for the funeral? Village Chief Zhang shook his head and said that each family could only borrow a little to give to him. As soon as I heard the village chief say this, I took out 500 yuan without hesitation and said use it first!

  The village head Zhang also didn't stand on ceremony, and after accepting it, he even said that I was really a good person.

  To make it clear, if I want to get this money back in the future, I won't look for him, but Wu Litao.

  I smiled and said it was nothing, just consider it a free donation. At this time, I also thought in my heart that the money was also a windfall, so what's the big deal about being generous? Besides, the gold bars and jade carvings hidden in the cave were worth who knows how much money, not to mention the dozens of bundles of 100-yuan bills! What's 500 yuan compared to that?

  But this is 500 yuan, which is not a lot compared to today! In rural areas, families who live relatively well-off have an annual income of around this amount. Because farming does not generate income, relying on raising pigs requires two or three large fat pigs, which is also a significant amount of money. So when we see rich people buying cars worth hundreds of millions or tens of millions, it's unbelievable to us, but in their eyes, it's like us spending a few hundred yuan to buy a bicycle.

  Ye Fei Jie saw me casually opening my mouth to say that I would give someone 500 yuan for free, and she couldn't help but open her mouth wide. She pulled me aside and asked if I was Wu Li Tao's long-lost biological younger brother.

  I laughed and said how could that be, she said if it's not then why did you casually give so much money to someone, saying I'm truly rich but foolish, being so generous to a stranger. Ye Fei strongly demanded that I give her a raise, only 7 yuan per day, she was very wronged! I couldn't outdo her, so I gave in and added 3 yuan, making it 10 yuan per day. However, if you can help me find my sister, then I'll reward you with an additional 15 yuan, and if you help me find my sister, I'll give you a 500-yuan bonus. And she didn't forget to say that from last night at 8 o'clock until this morning at 9 o'clock, it's been 13 hours, don't forget the overtime pay of 13 yuan.

  Ye Fei Ji this big sister is really greedy! I don't know how to refuse her, so I just told her to let me think about it and I'll give her an answer tomorrow.

  By the afternoon, everything was almost ready. We invited a Taoist priest to perform rituals and bought a basket of firecrackers, paper money, candles, etc. At Wu Litao's gate, there was only one coffin placed. I asked the village chief why there was only one coffin? What about the child? The village chief said that since the child died young, he couldn't be buried in the ancestral tomb, so no coffin was needed for him.

  I thought of the children in my hometown who died young and didn't even have a coffin, maybe it's a folk custom! But thinking about it also made me feel pitiful, so I suggested buying new cotton bedding to wrap them up for burial, and the village chief took my suggestion.

  In the evening, two police officers came to confirm the cancellation of the case and the household registration. At least they knew it was a real suicide, otherwise, two lives would be a big case. If it's a suicide, there won't be so many twists and turns.

  The funeral was only attended by relatives and neighbors of the deceased, so Ye Fei and I, being outsiders, were asked to return to Zhang's home to rest first. Just then, someone shouted that San Shu Gong had arrived.

  I and Ye Fei twisted our heads to see an old blind man living in the corner of the wall with a crutch, it was San Shu Gong from yesterday. I asked Village Chief who San Shu Gong is? How did his eyes become blind?

  The village chief said that San Shu Gong was born with a ghost eye, and he is 81 years old this year. At the age of 16, he saw something he shouldn't have seen on a mountain ridge, and he blinded his own eyes to save his life. As for what he saw, he never dared to say it, only saying that if he said it, he would not live, and also told the villagers not to go to that mountain ridge at night.

  The village head finished speaking and ran over to support the blind old man. I looked at his eyes, which had been blind for 65 years, and felt a chill all over my body. I don't know what he saw on that mountain ridge back then, why he had to poke out his own eyes to survive.