Three o’clock in the afternoon.
Ye Qiu and Master Longbrow arrived in Badong County.
Badong County was surrounded by great mountains, adjacent to the Yangtze River, with scenery so beautiful it resembled a paradise.
Old Xiang’s hometown was a village under Badong County’s jurisdiction, called Xiangshui Village.
Ye Qiu and Master Longbrow took a bus for over an hour from the county town to Xiangshui Village. After some inquiries, they found Old Xiang’s home.
Old Xiang’s home was a tiled house nestled among green hills, tranquil and serene.
From a distance, Ye Qiu and Master Longbrow saw a white paper elegiac couplet with black characters hanging at the entrance of the tiled house.
It was very conspicuous.
Ye Qiu and Master Longbrow entered the courtyard and found no one except an old man guarding the gate. The place was eerily quiet.
“Hello, does Old Xiang live here?” Ye Qiu asked.
The old man looked up, saw two strangers, and asked warily, “Who are you?”
“We are Old Xiang’s colleagues,” Ye Qiu said. “The hospital heard that Old Xiang’s father passed away, so they sent me to offer condolences.”
The old man’s wariness faded, and he stood up eagerly, saying, “Oh, his colleagues. Sorry for being rude.”
Ye Qiu asked, “Where is Old Xiang?”
“Ugh, don’t ask,” the old man sighed. “They went to the cemetery. That bunch of scoundrels dug up Old Xiang’s father’s coffin from the grave.”
Ye Qiu frowned and asked, “Sir, what’s going on?”
The old man explained, “Last year, our town started promoting new customs, encouraging cremation after death. They spent millions building a crematorium.”
“But people here believe in burial for peace, as it’s been for thousands of years, so the crematorium’s business was poor.”
“At the start of the year, a local thug took over the crematorium.”
“Since then, our town has been in chaos because of him.”
The old man, now angry, continued, “After this thug took over the crematorium, he gathered a group of lackeys. Whenever someone died, they’d cause trouble.”
“If the family sent the body for cremation, they’d sell wreaths and paper money at high prices. Less than twenty thousand, and you wouldn’t get the ashes. But if a family refused cremation, they’d harass them endlessly, extorting money or even beating people.”
“Some families who refused cremation and wouldn’t pay were beaten and disabled.”
Ye Qiu asked, “Doesn’t anyone do anything about it?”
“Do something?” The old man sighed. “At first, people tried, but as it happened more, no one bothered. Sometimes, officials came and said cremation was policy, urging families to comply.”
“I heard this thug has connections, even in the county. The town doesn’t dare cross him.”
“When Old Xiang’s father passed away, this thug and his lackeys came, demanding Old Xiang send his father to the crematorium.”
“Old Xiang’s father had said he wanted to be buried with his wife. Old Xiang, being a filial son, couldn’t go against his father’s wishes.”
“To settle things, Old Xiang gave the thug five thousand yuan yesterday, hoping they’d let it go.”
“But the thug thought it wasn’t enough and demanded fifty thousand.”
“Old Xiang refused and argued with him. The thug slapped Old Xiang in front of everyone and said if Old Xiang didn’t send his father for cremation, he’d dig up the grave.”
“And sure enough, Old Xiang’s father was buried at noon, but the thug brought people with an excavator, and now they’re at the cemetery.”
The old man, furious, cursed, “Old Xiang’s father fought in wars when he was young, killed enemy soldiers by the Yalu River, a true war hero. To think he’d suffer this after death.”
“Those scoundrels will get what’s coming to them.”
Ye Qiu quickly asked, “Sir, where’s the cemetery? We want to go see.”
The old man pointed to the road in front of the house. “Follow this road east for one li.”
“Thank you,” Ye Qiu said, leading Master Longbrow to the cemetery.
A few minutes later, they arrived.
The cemetery was at the foot of a mountain, where over a hundred villagers had gathered.
Ye Qiu scanned the scene and saw a new grave already dug up by an excavator, exposing a pitch-black coffin.
Old Xiang was lying on the coffin, his face covered in blood.
Next to Old Xiang, a man with a buzz cut, wearing a floral shirt, stood with several burly men, shouting loudly.
“Xiang, I gave you a chance yesterday to take this old man to the crematorium. You brought this on yourself.”
“I’m telling you, cremation doesn’t take up farmland or pollute the environment. It’s national policy, and I’m just following it.”
“Get out of the way, or I’ll make you regret it.”
The buzz-cut man held a steel rod. After speaking, he struck the coffin hard a few times, then arrogantly addressed the watching villagers, “And all of you, remember this.”
“From now on, when someone dies, they must be sent to my crematorium. Anyone who buries privately will face my wrath.”
“Xiang here is your warning.”
With that, the buzz-cut man raised his steel rod and swung it fiercely at Old Xiang.
But at that moment—
“Ah!”
The buzz-cut man cried out in pain, dropping the steel rod.
The onlookers were bewildered.
“Brother Jun, what’s wrong?” a burly man beside him asked.
The buzz-cut man looked down and saw a long golden needle piercing his wrist, blood seeping from both ends.
“Brother Jun, you’re hurt?” the same burly man shouted. “Who the hell ambushed my Brother Jun? Step forward if you’ve got the guts!”
Ye Qiu and Master Longbrow walked over.
Soon, everyone’s eyes fell on Ye Qiu and Master Longbrow.
They were unfamiliar faces.
“Director!” Old Xiang saw Ye Qiu, stunned at first, then overjoyed. He quickly stood up and said, “Director, why are you here?”
“I heard your father passed away, so I came to see you,” Ye Qiu said.
His gaze fell on the buzz-cut man, and he said coldly, “In broad daylight, you dig up someone’s grave. Has your conscience been eaten by dogs?”
Slap!
Ye Qiu struck the buzz-cut man across the face.
