Chapter 3: The Cycle of Death

  I walked to the hut where the fortune teller rested today, took out the iron box from the wardrobe, trying to get some clues. There was only a thin piece of paper in the envelope, which was very soft and seemed to have been written for some time.

  I took a glance at the signature, Sun Wu Yi, and it was actually my grandfather.

  Sun Yi

  I don't know when you will see this letter, maybe in a few months, or perhaps in a few years.

  As you can see, this is a will. I don't know how to describe the things I've seen and heard over the past twenty years, all I can say is that it's all fate. From my beginning, but I couldn't understand it myself. Now, my time has come, and what follows can only be left to you, you must remember what I'm about to say.

  Before I could react, Grandpa's next words left me even more bewildered.

  After I die, do not cremate my body. Find a golden nanmu wood coffin for me, and do not add a outer shell. Use plaster to seal the gaps in the coffin, and do not wear shoes. When sending off the funeral, find four people born in the year of the snake to carry the coffin. Finally, bury the coffin deep underground, the deeper the better.

  Although you don't understand why, just do as I say. Because of the specific situation, I also can't explain it clearly, all I can say is that we are cursed, and that reservoir is the source. I've worked hard for twenty years, but only managed to touch a corner of the iceberg. My time is up, now it's your turn to help me complete this task.

  This is a muddy water, from now on everything you see can't be explained by common sense. You may find it strange, but I have to tell you that the people in the village have long been non-existent, or what you are seeing now cannot be called human. They were trapped in a place where I still haven't found after searching for twenty years. The lives of hundreds of people in the village depend on you, if you succeed they will turn back into humans, otherwise they will become zombies at midnight.

  There's still something that can't be left unsaid, I discovered many abnormalities in this process, my abilities are not enough to unravel this doubt. In short, Mao Er Shan is not as simple as I imagined.

  The copper ball in the box, you must keep it well, that is the key to that world. I also got it unintentionally, but I didn't have the ability to reach the end.

  Child, you are my last hope now.

  This way, Ye Hua's matter can also be explained. The villagers have mutated into their current state for some reason. They are no different from ordinary people during the day, but at midnight they will show abnormalities. And the reason is very likely due to the reservoir at the foot of Maoer Mountain.

  My hand holding the letter was trembling, and a chill ran down my spine. Was everything I had seen for so many days not human, but that thing? How did they become that thing? The letter only left this sentence from Grandfather, but I became more and more curious about how many unimaginable things happened in these twenty years. And could I get the answer from Grandfather's diary?

  In the depths of a northeastern night, even in summer, it's cold enough to make one shiver. Not to mention it's deep autumn now. I knelt in the mourning hall, people around me hurriedly passing by, but I couldn't hear their voices. It seemed like there was a movie playing before my eyes. All memories from twenty years ago replayed before me, fragmented and blurry scenes pieced together, I tried to search for any clues. What exactly happened at the reservoir? And what did Grandfather's letter mean by "curse"? Was it related to those two accidents?

  I didn't plan on telling my parents about these things and just started preparing by myself.

  As early as 1997, the government explicitly stipulated cremation to save land. Grandpa's first request has got me stuck. Such a big commotion of lowering the coffin can't be hidden, the village is so small, unless we find a place a bit further away...

  I asked many people to find out about the places with good feng shui nearby, and finally chose a mountain not far from the village. According to Mr. Fengshui, the direction of that mountain is extremely smooth, and the overall terrain of the village is higher, so there's no need to worry about water accumulation. Just looking at the feng shui, this is an excellent location for a tomb.

  Due to the nature of my work, I have some understanding of Feng Shui. Choosing a burial site emphasizes hiding the wind and gathering water, so that the mountains and rivers can be used by me. It must be said that this is indeed a precious land.

  The address has been chosen, renting a car is a trivial matter, and the next step is to persuade my family members. At first, many people at home disagreed with burial in the ground, but later on, I had no choice but to make up a mysterious story. Most of my relatives back home are uncultured and easily fooled by feudal superstitions. In this way, the first task entrusted by my grandfather is considered accomplished.

  Next is the golden nanmu, which was not affordable for ordinary people in ancient times, but it was not extremely rare either. The golden nanmu halls in the Forbidden City have pillars as thick as two or three of me. Golden nanmu does not rot for a thousand years and has an amazing insect-repelling effect, making it China's unique and precious timber. Nowadays, there are many fake ones on the market, and it takes great effort to buy authentic golden nanmu that can be used to make coffins.

  There's only one day left before Grandpa's burial, and I still haven't found the golden nanmu wood. I called my colleagues in Beijing, but all the sellers they contacted were thousands of miles away, and it was impossible for them to mail it over within a few days. I was holding my phone, at a loss for what to do, when my father came out from the backyard, muttering to himself. "That thick log is just sitting there, and several people can't even lift it, how are we supposed to clean up the things inside?" he said impatiently.

  "Wood?" I looked at the backyard and thought of Old Master's letter, suddenly having an idea.

  "Dad, where's the wood? Take me to see it quickly!" My father was startled by my sudden alarm.

  My father took me to the backyard, where a piece of wood as thick as several men's arms was placed in the warehouse, with a lot of dust on it. I touched it and found that it was indeed golden nanmu wood. It turned out that my grandfather had prepared everything long ago, but I didn't know where the golden nanmu wood came from. What happened during these twenty years when we were not around became even more intriguing to me.

  The tasks entrusted by Grandfather were all completed before the burial, and the day of the burial was very quiet, because it couldn't be let more people know that Grandfather wasn't cremated. The mourners deliberately drove around a big circle in front of the crematorium before turning to the previously selected cemetery.

  It's easy to fool outsiders, but it's a difficult pass to explain to my parents. I pretended to be mysterious and said that Grandpa had given me a dream the day before his burial, saying that he had chosen his own grave site when he was alive and must be buried there. I promised to take care of everything, and my parents had no choice but to stop intervening.

  The day of the funeral, Mingming had no cloud, but the sky was overcast with a large piece.

  The grave had been prepared several days ago, and all that was left was to lower the coffin. As soon as the coffin was placed on the ground, I heard the pallbearers whispering to each other, "Why is there a sound of water in this coffin?"

  "Not just that, I also heard it. Not only the sound of water, but I think this coffin is unusually heavy." Another person said in a low voice, rubbing his shoulders.

  I stood by and listened, also muttering to myself in my heart, but still pretending to be calm on the surface. 'Hurry up, after the coffin is lowered, I'll settle the wages for everyone.'

  After hearing what I said, the people chatting quickly got up and stopped lingering. I deliberately approached the coffin to listen to the sound of water flowing that they were talking about.

  Although the sound was very faint, I did hear a sound similar to that inside a conch shell, like running water and also like ocean waves.

  I touched the outside of the coffin and found it to be damp, I don't know if it was due to the humid weather or something else. The golden nanmu wood coffin was actually a bit damp. Afraid that others would become suspicious, I hurriedly urged them to lower the coffin into the ground.

  I watched as my grandfather's coffin slowly sank, and I couldn't express what I was feeling. The weight of the coffin seemed to be pressing down on my shoulders without a sound. From now on, I would have to carry something with me in life, although I wasn't yet clear what it was. Ye Hua, the fortune teller, the strange letter - they all seemed unrelated, but they had all caused me to collapse. The problem now lay with that notebook; hopefully, I could really find some answers within its pages.

  I opened the diary that recorded Grandfather's experiences. Most of the stories seemed like fiction to me, but after being written down by Grandfather's pen, they had a power that made me believe them. From this moment on, my worldview was completely destroyed and rebuilt.

  From this moment on, I was also drawn into this whirlpool just like Grandpa.

  The story begins with the three months when Grandpa suddenly disappeared that year.

  The strange things that had been happening in the village made it impossible for Grandpa to consider them as coincidences. After many days of investigation, Grandpa finally learned about the news of that monk.

  The Qingfeng Temple in the north of the city was built at the end of the Ming Dynasty. Due to its remote location and lack of legendary stories, the temple has never been very prosperous. The severe drought ten years ago caused the monks in the temple to leave the mountain to seek a way out. Grandfather vaguely remembers that a monk who came to beg for alms ten years ago said that if he had any troubles in the future, he could come to Qingfeng Temple to find him. Grandfather also held the idea of treating a dead horse as if it were alive and decided to give it a try.

  After inquiring for several days, Grandfather finally found out the whereabouts of that monk. Fortunately, after wandering outside for a period of time, the monk had returned to the temple. Grandfather pushed open the dusty temple door and saw someone sitting in the center of the room. He glanced at the little monk beside him, and the little monk nodded, confirming that the person inside was indeed Yuan Hui, the monk from back then.

  After the guide closed the door and left, only Grandfather and the monk were left in the house. After a period of silence, the monk spoke first.

  "What is it that you want?"

  Grandfather hung his head in shame 'for past sins'

  The monk slowly opened his eyes and turned to face the old man, "What sin has the donor committed?"

  Grandfather immediately knelt down in front of the monk, "Master, I deeply know that I was extremely foolish back then and didn't listen to advice, causing a great disaster. But since my original intention was good, please tell me the way to resolve this, so I can wash away my sins." After that, Grandfather told the monk about all the strange things that had happened in the village over the past few years.

  The monk sighed after hearing this and said, 'Forget it, forget it. This matter can't be blamed on you. Even if someone else were in your position, they might not have believed what I said back then. Since you are kind-hearted and care for the people, I won't make things difficult for you. Actually, today's outcome was already within my expectations; all of this had been predetermined.'

  The monk led Grandfather into the inner hall, poured tea, and in the rising smoke of the incense burner, told him the whole story.

  It all started with a legend.

  It is said that the dragon has nine sons, among which the eldest son is Bixi, who is good at carrying heavy loads and likes water. He was born with divine power. Now it can be seen under various ancient tombstones, symbolizing longevity and auspiciousness.

  According to legend, in the ancient times, Xi Wang often carried the Three Mountains and Five Peaks in rivers, lakes and seas, stirring up winds and waves. Later, when Da Yu controlled the waters, he subdued it, and under Da Yu's orders, it pushed mountains and dug canals, dredging river channels and making contributions to water control. Da Yu feared that Xi Wang would relapse into its old ways, so he moved a gigantic stone monument that could prop up the sky and stand on the earth, placing it on Xi Wang's back, preventing it from moving freely.

  The vengeful spirit was born, carrying the stone tablet to secretly enter the depths of the ocean, never to reappear. After leaving, the vengeful spirit attached itself to each of its split bodies. That is, on top of every stone tablet deeply buried in the grave, it would stir up waves when encountering water and create ripples when encountering people. Ma'ershan is a treasure land, perhaps not for the living, but as a burial ground, it's absolutely perfect in terms of Feng Shui. Ma'ershan itself doesn't accumulate water, with the melting snow on the mountain flowing down to the surrounding areas. The surrounding hundred miles don't have any large bodies of water either, making it even easier to preserve the tomb. As for what lies beneath this mountain, I suppose you wouldn't know either?

  The monk finished speaking and saw the old man's puzzled expression, so he asked, "What? Even now you don't believe?" The old man hastily shook his head, "No, no, I just thought of when we were leveling the graves that year, the hundred green snakes dug up from under Maotou Mountain. I wonder if it has anything to do with this?" The monk didn't speak, he just nodded, "It's indeed related, but what you saw back then wasn't green snakes, but an illusion."

  "What's an illusion?" Grandpa didn't quite understand.

  "Do you still remember the first shovel that went down and the green smoke rising from the ground?" Grandfather nodded. "That was an illusion," the monk continued to say. The Green Snake was originally a phantom, its purpose was not to let people reach Pingmao Mountain.

  According to the temple's records, there was a tomb of the State of Yan from the Eastern Zhou period underground at Maoer Mountain. The owner of the tomb was not an official or a noble before his death, but he came from a family of scholars. By reason, he should have died a natural death and had no grievances in life, so there shouldn't be any evil spirits in the tomb after his death. But the mistake lies in the placement of the stone stele in this tomb. We all know that most ancient stone steles unearthed have a base with something like a turtle to hold up the stele, which is called a bixi. The placement of the stele and its base has certain rules in the tomb. Generally, it's placed at the foot of the coffin, left for males and right for females. It's unknown whether the owner of the tomb offended a feng shui master before his death, but this tomb at the foot of Maoer Mountain placed the stele at the head of the coffin, one on each side. This turned an excellent feng shui burial site into a piece of unlucky land.

  The tombstone under the Baoding, accepted the grievances, and because of the wrong placement, it was made into a yin-yang reversal. As a result, the killing energy became even heavier. The Baoding likes water, when it encounters water, it makes waves and winds, making the yin energy on Maoer Mountain extremely heavy. When the reservoir at the foot of the mountain was built, it gave the Baoding an excellent opportunity to make waves and winds.

  Grandfather was stunned, for a moment he didn't know how to react. This exceeded his understanding and was completely beyond his acceptance. But now that things have come to this point, he had no choice but to believe.

  "The master passed by my house that year and said I shouldn't be associated with water in this life. What did he mean by those words?"

  "This humble monk was just passing by the village to collect alms, and happened to see on the temple's records that there is a malignant grave at the foot of the mountain, which should be avoided near water. As the master of this place, you should take action, so I'm reminding you. Moreover, since ancient times, people with a red mole between their eyebrows are said to have an 'absolute water fate', although I don't know why, but there is such a legend."

  It's all because of my stubbornness, the villagers have ended up in this state. The lives of dozens of people in this village are indeed a testament to what the master said years ago - creating evil, creating evil. But I don't know if there is still a way to resolve this?

  The monk sighed, shook his head and said 'This is a cycle, can't escape'; Grandfather's teacup fell to the ground 'Can it be that no one in the village can be spared?'

  "This thing is not easy to say, although it's a divine beast, but the resentment is too heavy. The Hat Mountain was originally a place of misfortune, and coincidentally, a reservoir was built at the foot of the mountain, which gave it more opportunities to stir up trouble. The villagers are its victims of evil deeds."

  Grandfather sniffled, burying his face in his palm. "Is it really hopeless? Rather than watching the evil I've created with my own eyes, I'd rather die first. I'm really at a loss."

  The monk walked to the window and looked out, saying "the people in the village haven't died, they're just trapped"

  Grandfather lifted his head, as if he had heard a glimmer of hope.

  "The villagers were swept away by the reservoir and trapped in the Gate of Rebirth. In other words, the Gate of Rebirth is a parallel time-space. Those people live in this parallel time-space without emotions, without memories, just simply living."

  Grandfather stood up excitedly and said 'So as long as I can bring them out from there, they will come back to life'

  "I'm also unsure, but now we've made it clear that the key to everything is in the tomb on Mao'er Mountain. If there's a way in, there must be a way out, and the answer must be inside the tomb. It's just that I still don't know what to do," said the monk.

  "It doesn't matter, as long as there is a glimmer of hope I will give it a try"

  "Right, do you still remember I once said that your grandson's fate is different from ordinary people?" Grandfather nodded. "That child belongs to the earth element in the five elements, and the earth element in his fate is thicker than others, so his fate is stable. People with this kind of fate not only have a stable life themselves but can also keep their family safe. This child can keep your whole family safe, but it's still best to let the people at home leave this place of trouble as soon as possible."

  Grandfather thanked the monk and then returned home, telling my parents to hurry up and take me away from the village.

  I finally found the intersection of memories and this diary, a scene from twenty years ago began to flash before my eyes. My father and mother took me and hastily left the village. Grandfather didn't say a word, nor did he entrust anything, only telling us not to come back until he passed away.

  Now, I'm back. He was lying there stiffly, without even giving me a chance to ask why, leaving behind a note that I couldn't understand, a copper ball, and a notebook. Suddenly, I had to carry something on my shoulders to live, Grandfather clearly told me that it's responsibility. For his sake or for mine, once started, there's no turning back.