Chapter 37: The Walking Corpse
I think it's best not to move at this moment, stay like this, and don't anger this half-human, half-ghost guy, otherwise something might happen.
The guy just stood there without saying anything or moving, which made me even more nervous.
"Who are you?"
I asked, just to make conversation. If you talk, I feel safer when he talks.
"I'm Liu Laosan."
"Who is Liu Laosan?"
"Liu Laosan from Liujiatun, am I dead?"
He asked me this question, "Do I know whether you are dead or not?" Now I can't even tell the difference between a human and a ghost.
Master Yun Zheng came in, but Zhao Tie refused to come in.
Master Yun Zheng came in and was also surprised to see this guy, then looked at me.
"Master, I don't know what's going on, this guy..."
The master was also very angry. This was the first time he had encountered such a thing.
"Come with me."
After the master said this, the guy actually followed the master and walked past me. I felt a chill and was so scared that I almost peed my pants. My crotch was wet.
I followed him out, and the master took the man out into the sun, stood there for a while, and then waved his hand for me to come over.
"Xiao Ke, take him to my office. I'll go find the director."
I took this guy to the master's office. When we entered the room, I asked him to sit down, so he sat down. After sitting down, he said.
"I'm hungry."
I was almost scared to death. The voice of "I'm hungry" was so old and helpless, almost like a ghost.
I was stunned for a long time, cold sweat breaking out. At this moment, I didn't like him talking anymore.
"Wait a moment, my master is here, everything will be fine."
I stood at the door, which was not closed, ready to run away at any time.
I never thought time would be like this, that time would last so long.
The master and the manager came in and sat down. This guy blurted out, "I'm hungry."
The master glanced at me.
"Go get something to eat, something soft."
I'm going out to get something to eat. I don't want to stay here another minute.
I came back with the food, and the master and the manager were still sitting there, smoking. I gave the food to the guy, and he started eating like crazy.
This guy was busy for a while and kept burping, so the master asked me to pour him a glass of water.
"Xiao Ke, go get a basin of water."
I brought back a basin of water and the master asked the guy to wash his face. After washing his face, I could see what he looked like.
"Xiao Ke, it's okay, it was an accident."
My master told me that ghosts can't see sunlight, but he can. I called Zhou Dabao, who received the body at the morgue, and found out that Zhou Dabao had placed the deceased in the freezer after receiving it, but forgot to turn it on. The deceased had suddenly fallen ill and was no longer breathing. We don't know why. When he was brought here, he unexpectedly came back to life. If he had turned on the switch, there would be no such show.
After hearing this, the guy immediately knelt down and howled loudly, which scared me so much that I trembled. His voice was so loud.
When the family members came, they hugged me and burst into tears, thanking me profusely. This was a result I did not expect.
I was so scared that day that I didn't see Zhao Tie at all. This guy must have been scared silly.
Master, I went to Zhao Tie's house in the evening and I knew what he meant.
I went to Zhao Tie's house, which was the place I least wanted to go to because of his unreasonable parents.
When I entered Zhao Tie's house, he was lying on the kang and shivering.
"Master Ke, we don't blame you for this. Zhao Tie won't go to the crematorium anymore. He won't work there anymore."
Zhao Tie's father said. I thought about it for a while and said.
"Okay, I'll go back and tell the director."
I really didn’t know what to say, so I sat for a while and then left.
I told my master the next day, and he said.
"That's normal. There aren't many people who can continue working here."
I understand, it's what he deserves. Zhao Tie always encounters such things, so maybe it's me who should encounter them. But it's not a very pleasant thing for this guy to be my apprentice.
I went to the dressing room to find Bai Jie, and Master Yi was not very happy.
"Don't come to the dressing room if you don't have anything to do. You're shouting outside . Did you open the door without permission?"
She said it so many times, but I didn't think it was a big deal.
Bai Jie came out, and I said I would pick her up in the evening and take her to the movies.
I went back and bought movie tickets. At that time, the only entertainment was movies, and a ticket cost only a few cents.
I went home and my father was writing something at home.
"Xiao Zuo, it's almost time to start preparing for your relationship with Bai Jie!"
"Dad, it'll take a while. I haven't thought about it yet."
My father was stunned. The change at this moment surprised him. In fact, what Liu Xiaojing's master Zheng Qing said to me really touched my heart. If this is the case, if it is really like this, then I really can't be with Bai Jie.
I was watching a movie with Bai Jie in the evening and I wanted to talk about this, but I didn’t know how to say it, so I didn’t say it.
"Looks like you're worried?"
Bai Jie asked me, and I shook my head. If I told her, what would Bai Jie think? I don't know.
When I go to work again, I will be alone. Zhao Tie really doesn't come to work. At this moment, I am scared when I see the door of the morgue, fearing that another person will come out from there .
That day, when I was almost done with my work, something happened.
After I dealt with the last deceased, when I was about to leave the refining room, I noticed a shadow on the wall, constantly making various poses, like a person dancing. I was completely confused and couldn't find the source of the shadow. Under the dim light, the shadow kept changing.
I hurried out of the refining room, already covered in cold sweat. After taking a shower and changing my clothes, I went out and walked to the street. Looking at the pedestrians, I felt relieved, as if I had escaped from a ghost town.
I thought, maybe Master Zheng Qing is right. I really am a very yin person, and I will cause endless trouble. Is it a mistake for me to come to the cremation? I don't know.
My master once said that if you end up in the crematorium, that's your fate. You can't fight it, you can't get rid of it, and there's nothing you can do about it. Perhaps this is my fate.
I thought about it over and over again, and I decided that I had to tell my master about this. Unexpectedly, I ran into Liu Xiaojing. She ran over.
"Xiao Zuo, what are you doing?"
"Nothing, just hanging out."
"My master's birthday is today, do you want to go?"
When I heard this, I thought maybe I could ask Master Zheng Qing about this matter and he might be able to find a solution, so I agreed.
Liu Xiaojing and I bought some things and went over. Chef Zheng Qing was very happy. Since everyone was there, he cooked a table full of dishes.
I regretted it as soon as I came here. Isn’t it a bit inappropriate to talk about that matter at this time? Unexpectedly, Master Zheng Qing asked me while we were drinking tea.
"You seem to be in trouble."
I hesitated for a moment and then said it. After listening to it, Zheng Qing chuckled a little, not knowing what it meant.
"What I said is true. You have to believe it. You and Bai Jie can't be together. You can think about it yourself. I said that the shadow you saw was dancing as you described it. It was indeed dancing. It was a ghost dance. They say ghosts don't have shadows. Ghosts can't see the sun, so they don't have shadows. But there are shadows under the light, but you can't see the ghost's existence. The shadow is telling you that it exists. The ghost dance is an evil dance. Something will happen to those who see it. As for what happens, it depends on the situation."
I started sweating. It seemed that Master Zheng Qing was right. I was an extremely yin person, and I would have endless troubles in the crematorium.
"Is there any way?"
"You'll see it again. Remember those ghost dance steps. If anything happens, tell me immediately and I'll help you."
I nodded. At this moment, I knew that I couldn't escape and had to face it.
That day I sent Liu Xiaojing home, and as soon as I got home, Bai Jie came.
"Ke Zuo, I have something to tell you."
I was a little surprised that Bai Jie called my name directly.
Let’s go to the yard, said Bai Jie.
"What's going on between you and Liu Xiaojing?"
I was stunned.
"It's okay. It was her master's birthday, so I went over."
Bai Jie was unhappy, looked at me for a long time, and then left. I was stunned, Bai Jie was angry, I had always wanted to say what I said to Bai Jie and Zheng Qing, but I really couldn't say it out loud, I wanted to wait and see what else would happen between me and Bai Jie?
When I go to work, change my clothes, and enter the refining room, I feel nervous and scared, and I keep glancing at the wall from time to time.
Until it was almost over, the ghost dance really appeared. I watched and remembered, and thought, I must remember what kind of situation will appear in this ghost dance?
Maybe, this has no meaning at all, just like people seeing shadows, it is just a way of life for ghosts that I can see.
That's what I thought, but of course, Master Zheng Qing said that wasn't the case. I was using my mind to avoid it all.
That day, when I got home, I drew these dance steps with a pen. They were very strange steps, and I couldn't understand what they meant at all. After I finished drawing, I imitated and learned. Every step was connected, and I could dance naturally.
Just like that, for a month, I could see the ghost dance every time I went to work. When the ghost dance was repeated, I knew that I had learned it. I couldn't control myself and danced it every day, from beginning to end, just like I had smoked opium. I knew something bad was going to happen.
I went to see Master Zheng Qing and showed him the drawing.
Master Zheng Qing frowned and looked at it for a long time.
"I can dance."
Zheng Qing was stunned and suddenly got angry.
"Who told you to learn this?"
I was stunned.
“I want to jump, and then I can.”
"You're done."
I thought, I'm really finished, it seems there's no hope.
"What should I do? I'm not..."
"Okay, stop talking. I think you'll dance with ghosts."
"Why is this happening? Why?"
"I am an extremely yin person, I attract ghosts and yin energy. You actually learned it. This will cause a lot of trouble. But remember, you can't jump again. Tomorrow you go to work, and I will go with you to the refining room."
I wondered if Master Zheng Qing could help me resolve this matter, and what would ultimately happen. These were all unknowns.
The next day at work, Master Zheng Qing had already arrived and we entered the refining room.
"You do your job."
While I was working, Master Zheng Qing sat on the side watching. There was no ghost shadow on the wall until we came out. It was really strange.
"It seems this matter is not that simple."
Zheng Qing shook his head, and I knew that something had gone wrong.
I told Bai Jie about it, and she looked at me without saying anything for a long time.
I think this matter is out of control.
Bai Jie took me to Master Yi's house. After hearing about this, Master Yi glared at me.
"Tomorrow you and Bai Jie will go to Xinbin County, and we'll still be looking for Uncle San."
I don't know if the wizard, Uncle San, can help me settle the matter.
The next day , I, Bai Jie, went to Xinbin County and found the third uncle. When the third uncle saw me, he was a little unhappy.
"You're here again?"
"Master Yi asked me to come find you."
"Sit down and tell me what's going on."
After I told him about that incident, the busy uncle stopped, looked back at me, and spoke for a long time.
"Dance for me."
I danced, and after I finished, the third uncle lit a cigarette and started smoking. The old dry tobacco was choking, and Bai Jie kept coughing. The third uncle acted as if he didn't hear anything, as if he was thinking about something.
Suddenly, the third uncle stood up. He was so fast that my Bai Jie was startled. His yin-yang eyes looked so weird.
"Ke Zuo, you're in big trouble."
I almost cried after hearing that.
"Uncle, don't scare me."
"I have time?"
This little guy has a really bad temper. Bai Jie and I were dumbfounded, watching the third uncle walking around the room.
"You know I'm a wizard, a great wizard. In this county, or even in China, no one can compare to me. I can help you solve this problem, but I have a condition."
As long as it can be solved, no matter what the conditions are.
"You say."
"Get me a bicycle, permanently."
Oh my god, in that era, a Forever bicycle was almost as expensive as a car. I glanced at Bai Jie.
"no problem."
"Okay, I'll come find you in three days. I want to see the bike."
Bai Jie and I came out and I took a look at Bai Jie.
"He actually wants a bicycle, what does that mean?"
"I see someone in his family is getting married. Didn't you see all the red paper on the table?"
I remembered that Master Yi said that the third uncle had a son who had never been married. It seemed that the betrothal gift he asked for was really quite a lot.
A car cost more than 200 yuan to drive. At that time, more than 200 yuan was equivalent to more than 20,000 yuan now.
I have some, but that was also what I saved up to marry Bai Jie.
"I have some here."
"No."
We went back and asked someone to buy a bicycle for us. In those days, even if you had money, you might not be able to buy one. I asked my master, and the next day he told me to go to the People's Shopping Mall to pick up the bicycle.
I pushed it home and my father was stunned.
"What kind of betrothal gift does Bai Jie want?"
I shook my head and told my father what happened. My father was stunned.
