C37 Extortion

Two months and twenty days ago.

The thunder of spring and summer rumbled in the surroundings. It was still noon, and the sky was actually as dark as night. Bright lightning occasionally streaked across the sky, causing people's eyes to turn white. The wind blew the makeshift shack from side to side, and the white curtains that hung from the roof flapped in the wind, as if the spirits of the dead hovered in the air and refused to leave. The rain in the shack had already turned into a river, and all the tables and chairs, as well as the pots and pans, and the pots and pans for the tofu rice that was prepared for the funeral of the Jiang and Zhe provinces, were immersed in the water.

The mourners were clearly well-prepared. They took out their shoes and put them on. I helplessly looked at Martin's short boots being soaked in water. The originally dark red skin slowly turned into a grayish black after being soaked by the water.

Through the curtain of rain, I saw that the mourning hall was full of people. In the middle was a big black "Li" word, on both sides were a pair of couplets, "The end of life is in sight, the body doesn't have a face left", and in the middle was a black and white photo of the dead person. In the picture was a middle-aged man with an unassuming appearance, he was smiling foolishly at the camera, I couldn't associate this smiling face with that hideous face that would bite even if it had a broken neck.

The Taoist went and scooped another bowl of tofu soup. He brought it over with both hands and sat down next to me. He started to eat loudly while sucking on it.

"Don't even mention it, the tofu cooking is so delicious now. Before, there weren't that many ingredients, just a bit of soy sauce on the tofu cooking and it would be done. Look at this, there are bamboo shoots, mushrooms, water chestnuts …" There was even chicken meat here, no wonder it was so fresh. I say, you should eat some too, it's rare to have something to eat … "Besides, we bought the wreaths and gave red packets. It would be too much of a loss to come back without eating …"

At this time, the mourning hall suddenly burst into a chaotic uproar, and a Taoist priest dressed in flowery gossip came out first, followed by a group of filial children dressed in plain clothes. Behind them was a small chair, and inside it, there were eight strong men carrying the ashes of the deceased, although it was very light, it was a burial custom, and in the past when they carried the coffin, they had to gather all eight of their relatives, commonly known as the "Eight Immortals", although they were buried in small and light bone urns, the "Eight Immortals" were still preserved.

The Daoist priest led the crowd into the shack. He knelt on one knee, took out a scroll, and placed it on his left forearm.

Suddenly, the Daoist Priest shouted loudly and started to chant, "There are gossip in the open sky, and gossip in the open ground; there are spirits and souls in the open land; there is light coming from the open sky, and there is light coming from every direction! There is light coming from every direction, metal, wood, water, fire, earth, cleaning the front of the hall, metal, furnace, three sticks of incense, three sticks of incense, three sticks of incense, three sticks of incense, and three sticks of incense. Three for the Jade Emperor, four for the four great heavenly kings, five for the five great factions, six for the family of the Xiao family, seven for the seven fairies and sisters, eight for the vajra, nine for the celestial maiden, ten for the emperor of hell … "

The chant had a strong native accent that made it hard for me to hear clearly. At this moment, the thunder in the sky had already disappeared, leaving behind only the muffled rumbling of thunder. The lightning still flashed from time to time, and the Daoist priest's face would occasionally turn dark, his bell would ring faster and faster, his chant becoming more and more urgent. In the end, he suddenly gave a long whistle, and at the same time, the four large gongs on all sides simultaneously rang. Then the Taoist rose and went first with the bell, followed by the gong, followed by the children and their grandchildren, and then the urns and the wreaths, followed by the rest of us.

When we returned from the funeral, the banquet had already been set up in the shack. The group of people sat down to eat and drink. The Taoist priest and I sat at a table in the corner, claiming to be distant relatives of Zhou Lingwen.

Almost everyone at our table was a stranger, we were all so formal that we were eating alone. Next to me was a villager from Zhou's village, and he was in charge of serving drinks and inviting people to eat and drink, so I started chatting with him.

"You said that Old Zhou was fine and alone, how did he get hit by a car and die?" I asked.

"Hai, it's all life!" The man popped open a bottle of beer and offered it to me, but I blocked him off and said I had to drive and couldn't drink, so he didn't insist. He just gave in a few times and then stepped past me to pour the wine for the Taoist, one by one, and poured it for everyone at the table.

"This is very strange …" The man finished pouring the wine and then, after a few more pleasantries, began to talk to me.

"Not even a corpse …" He could lower his voice, but he could control it well enough to let everyone at the table hear, "When their family gets to the traffic police team, all they'll be left with is ashes …"

"Moreover …" "I heard someone say …" This person lowered his voice even more and looked around, as if there was something invisible eavesdropping him, causing everyone at the table to stretch their heads out to listen …

"My one brother is on the traffic police team. He told me that Zhou Lingwen... "I've faked a corpse!"

"What?" The Daoist cried out in surprise. A piece of the sliced belly on his chopsticks fell into his beer glass with a plop. The beer splashed all over his face.

"A corpse?" the Taoist asked as he wiped his face roughly with his sleeve.

The man nodded his head with a hint of satisfaction, as if he was very satisfied with the terrifying effect he had created. He reached out his hand to pour a long wine cup on the ground, poured him another glass, and then said in a low voice, "Isn't it so? My brother said that Zhou Lingwen's neck was broken from the impact, and the medical examiner is currently examining his corpse. He suddenly sat up …"

"Wow …" A three or four year old child at the dinner table cried out in fear. The child's mother consoled him as she carried the child to the side to pee.

That person awkwardly touched his forehead and leaned back in his chair. He switched back to his normal voice and somewhat sourly continued speaking …

"Sometimes it's not a good thing to earn too much money …" It can't be carried in eight characters, can it? "Their family was so rich, but in the end, something happened to both brothers …"

I immediately asked, "His brother? What happened now? "

"Aren't you relatives of his?" the man asked curiously.

"Oh …" Oh... I've been working in the field and I don't know much about their family... " I quickly covered my mouth.

"No wonder!" The man had no doubts, and continued: It's Zhou Lingwen's brother, Zhou Lingwu. Didn't Zhou Lingwu get on that plane, and even now we still can't find him … "

"Ah?" "Which plane?" I asked.

"MH370!"

"Pfft!" The Taoist spat out a mouthful of beer.