Chapter Five: The Relic

Wang Erjun patted me on the shoulder, smiled at my father, then turned and left.

Aunt Hui took the damp towel hanging from her waist and gently wiped the slap mark from my face. Her tone was soft as she told me not to confront my father. She said she was willing to listen to me here—if Grandpa had done anything wrong, she would stand up and speak fairly.

My father glared at me again and said, “Don’t defend this useless brat, this short-lived wretch! Do you know what he said? He claimed he saw his grandfather dragging a corpse home at night, and that the village chief’s father was killed by his own hand! That we have that silver bowl at home!”

He jabbed his index finger hard against my head several times, scolding, “I told you, this isn’t something you can talk about. You dare tell Wang Erjun? If word gets out, you’ll doom us all! The village chief just gave us land—do you want him showing up with a knife?”

My forehead stung from his jabs, but inside I was anxious and afraid. I was just about to explain further when Aunt Hui’s face suddenly turned deathly pale. She gripped my wrist and asked, “Xie Yuan, tell auntie clearly—what exactly did you see?”

My father barked, “You women, always talking nonsense. The more you say, the more confused he gets.”

But Aunt Hui’s lips trembled as she said, “Xie Yuan wouldn’t say such things carelessly. If my father really did something like that, we can’t live with him anymore… Let Xie Yuan make it clear.”

Her words felt like a lifeline thrown to me. I never expected her to be more rational than my father.

I hid behind Aunt Hui and recounted everything I’d said that morning.

My father stamped his foot in rage beside me.

When Aunt Hui finished listening, she was silent for a long time. At last, she said, “Old Xie… What if Xie Yuan is telling the truth? Let’s go home and have a look—search carefully.”

My father’s face was clouded with anger, but he said nothing.

Aunt Hui turned to me again, her voice gentle, “Xie Yuan, if Grandpa really did something, I’ll make him move back into the old house. But this is hard to explain; the village chief’s father was already very old. And if this gets out, do you want your father to be able to live here anymore?”

I nodded, pale, accepting her words.

She forced a smile and said, “If we don’t find anything else, Xie Yuan, don’t hold anything against Grandpa, all right? Can you promise auntie?”

I nodded again.

My father lit a cigarette and said nothing.

Aunt Hui gathered the farm tools from the ground, and I helped her pick them up. Then we headed home.

The short walk through the village felt especially long.

I understood what Aunt Hui meant: if there really was something wrong with Bai Liu, she’d throw him out. Bai Liu wouldn’t be able to do anything to us anyway.

And what she said made sense—if we told the village chief that Bai Liu killed his father, my dad wouldn’t be able to stay in the village anymore.

The village chief’s father had already lived a full life, and their family had received plenty of money. There was no need to drag both families into trouble.

When we got home, Bai Liu was sitting in the yard, folding yellow paper into ingots.

He didn’t even look up when we came in.

He’d always been like this—rarely spoke to me or my father. I used to think all people who handled funerals were like that, disliking conversation with others. But now, I found it a little eerie.

“Dad, the village chief’s land seems off. Come look at it with me,” Aunt Hui said casually as she set down the tools. She gave me a meaningful glance at the same time.

My heart raced. If Aunt Hui got Bai Liu out, I could take my father into the room.

Only then did Bai Liu look up. In the sunlight, the corpse spots on his face glimmered with a pale light—I half expected a maggot to crawl out.

“What’s wrong with it?” His voice was dry as he stood up.

“It feels strange. Xie Yuan hurt his hand in there for no reason, and Old Xie twisted his back. Take a look—maybe it’s the feng shui?” Aunt Hui explained.

Bai Liu glanced at my hand. I tensed inside, surprised at how calmly Aunt Hui lied.

Bai Liu walked out of the yard. Aunt Hui followed closely behind.

Soon there was only my father and me left in the yard.

He glared at me and said, “Happy now? If you want to look, hurry up.”

I took a deep breath and hurried to open the door to Bai Liu’s room.

Behind the door, a bulging straw mat lay just as it had before.

I pointed at the mat. “It’s this.”

Frowning, my father reached out and pulled it open.

With a rustle, the mat was thrown aside. A pile of old, messy clothes spilled onto the floor.

Nothing but clothes.

I froze, my mouth twitching involuntarily.

“This is the corpse you said Grandpa brought back?” My father looked more impatient than ever. “Clean this up before Grandpa sees it! And later, apologize to your aunt!”

The clothes looked familiar. In the next moment, I realized they were the clothes the village chief’s father used to wear.

I told my father as much.

He grew even more impatient. “Don’t make a fuss. Every time Grandpa arranges a funeral, he brings back the old person’s leftover things. When I die, will you keep my things at home? No, you’ll throw them out—it’s considered unlucky, don’t you know?”

His words left me bewildered.

Especially since what I saw hadn’t been a corpse at all.

Had I really misunderstood everything?

My father didn’t scold me further. Instead, he started gathering the pile of clothes.

“Don’t go spouting nonsense to others. The village chief’s been good to us—if you stir up trouble, you’ll make things worse. People in the village are jealous of his luck with funeral money, all hoping for something to happen. If it weren’t for your aunt’s clear thinking, things would be much worse for us.”

After a while, my father finished tidying up the straw mat and dragged me out of Bai Liu’s room.

He told me to stay inside and find a chance to apologize to Aunt Hui.

I thought about showing him the pair of shoes, but it didn’t seem necessary anymore.

If Bai Liu really brought back the chief’s father’s belongings, it was normal for there to be a pair of funeral shoes among them.

In the countryside, elderly people often prepare their own coffins and paper offerings when they reach their sixties or seventies. Some keep coffins right outside their door, or even sleep on them—ready to lie down and be buried when the time comes.

I went into my room.

The pair of black shoes under the bed no longer seemed so frightening.

Had I just scared myself?

I picked up the funeral shoes and returned them to Bai Liu’s room.

All afternoon, Aunt Hui and Bai Liu did not return.

My father smoked several cigarettes in the yard, scolded me thoroughly, and threatened to beat me if Aunt Hui continued to fuss over this.

Then he left, telling me he was going to town to buy some seeds for the field.

It was late afternoon when Aunt Hui finally returned with Bai Liu.

Bai Liu didn’t even go into the house—he continued working on paper offerings in the yard.

Aunt Hui called me into the kitchen to help her.

Once I entered, she closed the door, her face full of questions as she asked where my father had gone.

I told her he’d gone to town for seeds.

Taking a deep breath, I apologized to her, saying that last night I was confused and hadn’t seen clearly—I shouldn’t have said such things.

Aunt Hui showed no sign of blame. Instead, she asked what I’d seen in Grandpa’s room.

I told her about the dead man’s clothes.

She just smiled, patted my head, and said, “It’s Grandpa’s habit. If the chief’s family just threw those clothes out, it would bring bad luck. No one wants to see funeral clothes lying around. Grandpa brings them back, and after a few days, he’ll burn them at the grave, sending them to the dead to use.”

I managed a weak smile, then a thought flashed through my mind…

Had I wrongly accused a good man?

Maybe Bai Liu had done nothing wrong at all, always helping others, and I’d just suspected him needlessly.

Aunt Hui’s calm made me see her in a new light.

I helped her cook in the kitchen. She told me to find Wang Erjun that night and explain everything, so rumors wouldn’t spread and bring calamity down on our family.