Chapter 40

Looking back slowly, to evenings that once belonged to us.You are still crimson, the dazzling sun in my heart.

As the song began, Secretary Jin's Cantonese pronunciation was standard, her singing quite professional, and her stage movements more natural. This was unlike Oriole, who, he remembered, used to mix Nantong dialect with Mandarin when speaking into the microphone. Yet, Li Chuiyuan still felt Oriole's singing was more beautiful. It was Oriole's song, years ago, that had led him down a path he had never imagined.

Of course, there was a pragmatic reason for this preference. Oriole had poured emotion into her singing, while Secretary Jin was merely focused on getting through the daytime ritual quickly so she could go dig up the grave that night.

Initially, the surface of the fish pond was calm. But when Secretary Jin sang: "Though thousands of songs may drift along my path in days to come; Though thousands of stars may shine brighter than tonight's moon..." Li Chuiyuan swayed slightly. A wave of drowsiness washed over him, and a familiar chill subtly emanated from his shoulders, much like an old knee injury predicting a change in weather. He knew Oriole was listening, and it seemed she was on the verge of losing control.

Li Chuiyuan took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay awake; he couldn't afford to "walk among the dead" at this moment.

"Screeeech!—" A harsh electronic feedback shrieked from the speakers. Everyone present covered their ears, children began to scream, and the performers on stage rushed to adjust the equipment. It was evident they were both familiar with and rusty in its use. They likely knew how to operate the equipment, but their daily usage was infrequent. The equipment was old, and the troupe feared losing work, so this situation shouldn't have happened.

Li Chuiyuan slowly pressed his hands down, quietly making a gesture for silence. He didn't know if Oriole could see him, or if she would understand his meaning. But emotional outbursts now would only alert the Water Monkeys prematurely, allowing them to prepare. Patience, he thought. They would deal with it properly tonight.

Soon, the feedback disappeared, and the equipment returned to normal. This was common at such performances; the villagers, who had previously covered their ears in discomfort, now continued chatting and laughing, no one leaving.

Secretary Jin held the microphone, repeatedly apologizing to everyone. Then the background music resumed, and she started singing "Thousands of Songs" again. Impatience showed in her eyes. If she had maintained some professional composure earlier, now she was simply going through the motions. During the chorus, she didn't even bother to sing, instead handing the microphone to the audience. In the first round of the chorus, some outgoing adults and boisterous children sang along in their various Cantonese accents, but when she offered the microphone for the second round, no one joined in, and the atmosphere became completely quiet.

"Sing! Sing!""Hurry up and sing, sing!" people below urged.

Secretary Jin maintained her professional smile, simply getting through the song, completely unfazed. When the song ended, Secretary Jin tossed the microphone to someone nearby, then walked to a corner and spoke with a few people. A person dressed flamboyantly took the stage and performed card tricks.

Li Chuiyuan followed a group of children, moving closer to the side of the stage, barely catching Secretary Jin and her group complaining about why the event hadn't ended yet. He had previously noticed that all ten members of the troupe spoke Mandarin with the same accent. As for the banquet, the cooks and those responsible for washing vegetables, dishes, and serving were all locals hired by the village head. This meant that the Water Monkeys were concentrated solely within this troupe. However, there was another point to note: were there any sentries positioned in the outer areas?

When the magic show ended, Li Chuiyuan applauded with the crowd while discreetly retreating, leaving the spectators. By the road near Old Beard's house, Run Sheng was already waiting on a tricycle. Li Chuiyuan got on. "Run Sheng, go down this small path to the village road, then keep riding straight, don't stop."

"Alright!" Run Sheng started pedaling, and from behind, Tan Wenbin's voice called out, "Wait for me! Wait for me!"

On the village road, the tricycle was in front, followed by a running young man. This scene was quite lively and helped avoid raising suspicion.

On a utility pole in the middle of the farmland west of Old Beard's house, an electrician in a grayish-white uniform was sitting. This would normally be a regular sight, but Li Chuiyuan was working backward from a conclusion to find evidence. He quickly noticed something unusual about this electrician: two bags hung from a shelf next to him, containing food and water. This wasn't a remote mountain range or a deserted area; he could easily come down for food and drink if needed, so there was no real reason to bring them up.

"Run Sheng, turn around, go in the other direction."

"Okay!" As the tricycle turned, Tan Wenbin finally scrambled onto the back. Panting, he said, "You... you didn't abandon me!"

"Binbin, we need you now."

"Really?"

When the tricycle reached the east side of Old Beard's house, another utility pole appeared in the distance.

"Binbin, get down and run after the bike."

"Huh?"

"Brother, hurry."

Seeing that Li Chuiyuan wasn't joking, Tan Wenbin immediately jumped off the tricycle, resuming his previous act, yelling "I haven't gotten on yet!" while comically waving his arms as he chased the vehicle.

The tricycle approached that utility pole, and there was another electrician on it. However, perhaps because the village road on the west side led to the main road, while this side was deep within the village, he appeared more relaxed, leaning against a crossbar with a cigarette in his hand.

"Run Sheng, go south, to Aunt Zhang's convenience store."

"Okay." On the way south, they saw another person, though this person had a somewhat worse setup: he had no utility pole, only a single electric pole, so he had to hang himself on it using tools. Out of caution, after passing him, Li Chuiyuan continued south to Aunt Zhang's convenience store and bought some things. Tan Wenbin asked for a pack of Xiao Su cigarettes. Of course, he paid for it himself. He skillfully tore open the packaging, then peeled back a corner of the cigarette box, inverted it into his palm, and tapped it, causing several cigarettes to fall out halfway.

"Run Sheng, want one?" Run Sheng glanced back, then refocused on pedaling. "No thanks."

"Xiaoyuan, how about you?" Li Chuiyuan shook his head.

Tan Wenbin had to bite one himself, took out a match, shielded it with his palm, and lit it.

"Hiss... *phew*... *cough, cough, cough*... *retch*!"

First, he choked and coughed repeatedly, then tears streamed, and finally, he dry-eaved. It was clear his technique was elaborate, probably practiced many times in his head, but he couldn't actually smoke. Tan Wenbin said somewhat embarrassed, "I'm a bit nervous, trying to relieve some stress." No one had told him what they were actually doing, and he himself didn't know what was happening, yet he managed to find a complete sense of involvement.

Going north was simpler because Li Sanjiang's house was already north of Old Beard's. Along the way, they passed another electric pole, and someone was hanging on that too. Li Chuiyuan was now certain that these four electricians were Water Monkeys in disguise. Even for rural power facility inspections, they wouldn't dispatch so many people and position them so densely. Usually, one electrician would inspect a large area by himself. But unless one was observant, most people wouldn't notice anything unusual. Villagers were already accustomed to occasionally seeing electricians on utility poles, and since they were rarely from the local village or town, few would initiate conversation.

Back home, in the workshop, Li Chuiyuan took out paper and pen and drew a rough sketch of the farmlands, river, and utility poles, centering it on Old Beard's house. Run Sheng and Tan Wenbin leaned in on either side, carefully studying the map. In this rural plain, all four high points were occupied, and these were just the known ones. There might be additional unspotted observation posts, or new ones added at night.

Originally, Li Chuiyuan had planned for him and Run Sheng to covertly infiltrate Old Beard's fish pond area with their equipment after dark. Now, it seemed impossible. During the day, the crowd provided cover, but at night, the village roads would be mostly empty, and the sentries outside would be even more alert when they began digging.

Li Chuiyuan said, "There are ten people in the troupe, and at least four more outside. Including Ding Dalin and the two in the hospital, this Water Monkey group is close to twenty."

"So many people?" Run Sheng scratched his head. "I thought this kind of work only needed one or two."

Li Chuiyuan smiled. Excavating water burials was inherently more difficult, and densely populated areas near waterways were uncommon. Therefore, Water Monkey groups were generally larger, focusing on quick excavation and departure.

"Run Sheng, the problem now is how we can sneak in tonight without being discovered. The methods we've prepared are meant to assist Oriole. If we can't observe from nearby, we won't know when to act. We can't have Oriole still waiting while Run Sheng starts fighting the Water Monkeys. If it came to that, we might as well call the police now."

"Um, Xiaoyuan, can we go this way?" Run Sheng pointed along the river on the map. The river was very close to Old Beard's house and the fish pond.

"Go through the river?"

"Yes, Xiaoyuan. We can walk underwater, then surface here and hide in the haystack. For breathing, we can each use a straw."

At first, Li Chuiyuan thought this suggestion was unreliable, but upon closer thought, it surprisingly seemed feasible. Run Sheng was strong and a good swimmer, and he had experience battling "dead bodies" underwater. The twelve array flags and the body-retrieval kit could provide him with enough ballast to walk underwater. Also, the haystack upon surfacing was indeed very close to the fish pond. The only drawback was that if Li Chuiyuan went along, he'd probably have to be tied to Run Sheng with a rope, which would look a bit awkward.

"Run Sheng, your suggestion is excellent. Let's tentatively go with that."

Upon receiving approval, a smile appeared on Run Sheng's face. He knew then that watching movies was useful.

"Good, that's a really good idea," Tan Wenbin nodded. "So, can you tell me what we're actually doing tonight?"

"Binbin, I'll tell you everything after the dinner banquet."

"Xiaoyuan, you won't lie to me?"

"No."

"Alright, I trust you."

The evening banquet started early. Guests were called to their seats at five o'clock, and dishes were served quickly. Li Chuiyuan again found Li Sanjiang, bringing Tan Wenbin along, and they sat down to eat. The flush from Li Sanjiang's midday drinking hadn't faded. He patted his stomach, not feeling very hungry, and asked Ding Dalin, who sat beside him, "Why is the banquet starting so early?"

"Ah, Sanjiang Hou, you know, I'm from abroad, I have jet lag."

"Oh, I see." This was a poor excuse, but with the dishes already being served, there was no need to say more. Moreover, the kitchen served hot dishes one after another very quickly in the evening. Li Chuiyuan knew this was all to dismiss the banquet early, to buy more time for grave digging at night.

During the meal, Secretary Jin whispered a few words to Ding Dalin. Ding Dalin then looked at Li Sanjiang. "Sanjiang Hou, do you have any lanterns at home?"

"Lanterns? Yes, I do." Li Sanjiang's family kept some basic items for red and white events, available for rent. These weren't paper lanterns, but reusable ones.

"It's a special custom where I'm from. On a housewarming night, red and white strings of lanterns must be hung on the roof. Unfortunately, the lanterns we ordered were delayed and won't arrive tonight."

"That's no problem," Li Sanjiang said, looking at Li Chuiyuan. "Xiaoyuan, go home, tell Run Sheng to bring the lanterns, and help them hang them up while you're at it."

"Okay, I'll go now."

"Eat first, no rush."

"Not hungry, Grand-uncle."

Li Chuiyuan left the table, and Tan Wenbin, grabbing a chicken drumstick, quickly followed. He had run in the afternoon, so his digestion was quicker. When Brother Liang Liang had told him about his experience in Baijia Town last time, he mentioned the two strings of lanterns hanging on the town's memorial archway. This actually held symbolic meaning: red represented human affairs, white represented ghostly talk. Red and white lanterns hung high meant a separation, keeping the living and the dead apart. Baijia Town had them due to its unique nature, as the Baijia Maidens were in a half-human, half-ghost state. The Water Monkeys performing this ritual was also one of their traditions, to ensure smooth progress and peace for the living, undisturbed by the underworld. This, however, gave Li Chuiyuan a new idea.

Back home, Run Sheng had already packed the array flags and body-retrieval equipment in white plastic sheeting, and he had a strap slung across his upper body. Li Chuiyuan knew this was for tying himself up when they went into the water.

"Run Sheng, the plan has changed. I've found a better way to get in."

"Huh, Xiaoyuan, what are you going to do?"

"The most dangerous place is the safest place. Since there are sentries at high points all around, we shouldn't even think about leaving and then trying to get back in."

"I still don't understand," Run Sheng shook his head.

"I understood a little, but I want to hear more," Tan Wenbin propped his chin, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Li Chuiyuan tilted his head towards him, a gesture Run Sheng understood. He immediately picked up Tan Wenbin, forcibly took him to the workshop behind the house, then took a rope and tied his hands and feet.

"No, no, you can't do this! Xiaoyuan, you promised to tell me everything!"

"Yes, I'm telling you now." Li Chuiyuan crouched in front of Tan Wenbin and recounted everything about the Water Monkeys and the main burial site.

After listening, Tan Wenbin's face showed intense excitement. "How thrilling!" Then he wiggled his tied hands and feet. "But what are you two doing?"

"Binbin, what does your grandfather do?"

"A police officer! My maternal grandfather is also a police officer."

"Then what do you plan to do in the future?"

"Anything but a police officer!"

"Don't say angry words. What you say during your rebellious phase doesn't count. You'll definitely be a police officer in the future."

"I don't want to be a—"

"Gag him."

"Mmmph! Mmmph!" Run Sheng efficiently gagged Tan Wenbin.

"Run Sheng, what did Binbin just say?"

"He said he didn't want to..."

"He said that in the future, he would definitely become a police officer."

"Oh, right, yes, that's correct."

"A family of police officers, then." Li Chuiyuan leaned forward and put his arm around Tan Wenbin. There was no time to go to the police station for a plaque, so hugging him was just as good for good luck. When Li Chuiyuan stood up, Run Sheng also leaned in and gave Tan Wenbin a strong hug, making him roll his eyes from the squeeze.

"Binbin, we're doing this for your safety. Next time, if we encounter a more amiable 'dead body,' we'll take you to see it."

"Exactly," Run Sheng chimed in. "Humans are far more dangerous than 'dead bodies.'"

Next, Li Chuiyuan and Run Sheng put their items inside the lantern covers, then carried them to Old Beard's house.

At this point, the first round of guests had finished, and the second was eating. Li Sanjiang and Ding Dalin hadn't sat down but were still drinking. Seeing Run Sheng arrive, Li Sanjiang waved and urged, "Hurry up and help them hang these!"

"Alright, Grandpa!" Run Sheng and Li Chuiyuan went up to the second floor, where there was an open hatch with