The "cracking" sound that night scared me so much that I was in a daze the whole night. Bai Jie should wake up in the morning.
Bai Jie woke up at night and found nothing was wrong. She hugged me and cried.
I took her home, thinking that I had escaped this danger. I must be careful next time. I am the master, and I failed to manage her well. It's a good thing that Master Yunzheng didn't beat me.
In the evening, Master Yunzheng came to my house. My father cooked dishes for him, and I went to call Bai Jie.
We wanted to thank Master Yunzheng in person, and I also wanted to ask what the "cracking" sound was. But I didn't ask, because if I asked too much, the master would be unhappy again.
That day, Master Yunzheng was drinking happily with my father. He said that my father was well-educated and was willing to teach him a friend, something like "reaching above one's reach".
I sent Bai Jie home, and she held my hand and wouldn't let go.
"Master, I'm scared."
"It's okay, it's okay, there's someone at home with you."
Bai Jie goes home, I go home, said my father.
"Take a rest tomorrow and go to your second brother's place. He has something to ask you."
There are three brothers in my family, the eldest brother, the second brother, and I am the youngest.
I was close to my second brother Ke You and had the best relationship with him. My relationship with my eldest brother was just average. However, because of the incident of me going to the crematorium, they didn't understand and rarely contacted me.
When I went to my second brother's house, my second sister-in-law didn't treat me like before. She even didn't pour me a glass of water. I knew she disliked me. My second brother also saw it and took me out for a drink.
My second brother, Ke You, didn’t like my father very much when he was alive. The only thing she liked was me. My mother was the same to everyone, cold. Anyway, my two older brothers left home early.
"Third son, don't let your second brother say that. You said that with your talent, you are better than both of us, so why did you go to the crematorium?"
"I am with my dad a lot, but have any of you ever been hugged by him? Have you ever been kissed by him? No, I haven't either, so I have to go there, because that's where my father's..."
I covered my face and cried. I didn’t know if my second brother could understand.
"San'er, my second brother understands you, but if you do this, Dad will definitely be happy."
My second brother held my hand. We both drank too much that day. My second brother understood me. He told me that day.
"Actually, it's nothing. It's just that my eldest brother is unhappy about you becoming a refiner. He says that it affects his family, and some people are unwilling..."
I know, shaking my head, that at this moment, I am facing more pressure.
The weather got warmer, so I changed into light clothes and went to the office. Bai Jie had already changed her clothes. The soy milk was there, always so hot, and I drank it until it burned my heart.
Bai Jie and I entered the refining room, which was always dark.
"Bai Jie, I think you should not work here."
"I like."
Bai Jie always says this, I don’t know what she really likes.
We turned on four furnaces, all of them on. There were many deaths today, so Bai Jie and I were busy.
Actually, it wasn't really busy. It took two hours to burn a corpse. I lit a cigarette and Bai Jie watched in front of the stove.
Suddenly, I heard a "cracking" sound. It was the sound of knocking something, like the sound of knocking bones. I heard it again. I looked at Bai Jie, and she turned around after a long time and said.
"Master, there is a sound."
I heard it, and there was rhythm.
"fine."
I still pretended to be fine, but I felt so mad at myself. In fact, I was scared to death.
We didn't finish the work until around two in the afternoon, and Bai Jie and I didn't have time to eat.
Bai Jie and I went home, and my father was waiting for me at home. When he saw Bai Jie coming, he was very enthusiastic and cooked two more dishes and drank some wine. My father asked me about Bai Jie and I at the table, and Bai Jie's face turned red.
"Dad, let's not talk about this for now. We'll talk about it later."
In fact, I have always been in a dilemma. Whether to leave or not, my eldest brother will be unhappy. Of course, my second brother will also be affected, but my father doesn't think so. Of course, he just doesn't say it. He is a cultured person, a writer, and has knowledge.
I sent Bai Jie home and she mentioned the voice again.
"fine."
I think I need to find a master.
After sending Bai Jie home, I went to the master's house. Yi He was drinking with the master. I went in and the master asked me to sit down and drink.
"Is Bai Jie okay?"
"fine."
Yi He was there, and I didn't mention that matter. I leaned against him, and he could see that something was wrong with me. Yi He left, the master said.
"Are you okay?"
I told him about that, and the master stared at me, his eyes almost popping out of his head. My heart was pounding. What did the master mean? The master drank a glass of white wine and spoke after a long while.
"That bone-crackling sound."
I thought it was drums.
"Not that voice?"
"Bone of bones."
The master's voice was very loud, and I understood that he was knocking the bones. I almost jumped up.
I looked at the master without saying anything.
"Ke Zuo, you are really not suitable to work here. You always get into trouble like this and you can't control it."
I also know that it cannot be suppressed. I have heard from the older generation that some people can suppress evil, just like living in a house, but some people cannot. I clearly remember that the family in the bungalow behind my house was like that. Something happened there, and everyone got up in the morning and slept outside. No matter what they did, it didn't work. In the end, they sold the house, and the family who moved in lived in peace. The owner of that house, the male owner, was a pig butcher and had an evil look.
"Then what should I do?"
"We'll talk about this tomorrow."
I left my master's house in the middle of the night, and I always felt that someone was following me, and I heard footsteps. I always felt that something was wrong, so I looked back and saw nothing. But when I stood down, I could no longer hear any footsteps.
I left my master's house in the middle of the night. When I got home, my father had already prepared dinner. I was stunned.
"What time is it to cook?"
"It's almost dawn."
I was stunned. I looked at the clock and it was almost five in the morning. It only took me half an hour to walk back from my master's house. How could it take so long? I was completely stunned. It was impossible. I just walked.
I stood there in a daze. My father called me to eat, so I ate and then went to sleep. I couldn't sleep. After my father left for work, I sat up, in a daze, unable to figure it out.
It was past nine o'clock when I went to the crematorium. Today was the shift of Master and Yi He.
I entered the refining room and saw the master sitting there smoking. Yi He was busy. I saw the master holding a watch in his hand and I knew what was going on. The master never avoided me about this.
"Wait until I'm done."
He handed me the watch.
"For Bai Jie, from Shanghai Meihua."
It took me a long time to press it. Bai Jie and I never do this. We are afraid. Moreover, the master also told me that I must not do this. I don't understand why he can do it.
I went back to Baifa's office to wait for my master. I didn't like this two-story building. It felt weird, although at that time, it might have been just one of the few buildings in the city.
I was sitting there and I heard the "cracking" sound again, the sound of bones knocking. I listened carefully to see where it came from.
I still couldn't hear what direction the sound was coming from. It was coming from all directions. This made me feel helpless and panicked.
I was stunned. I walked out of the office and outside. I could hear the crying of the family members outside. It was earth-shaking. The woman had a loud voice. I walked out of the crematorium, sat down on the side of the road and lit a cigarette. I learned to smoke from my master. The fee charged at the crematorium was four times more than that of my father, so smoking a cigarette was nothing.
I glanced at the watch and it was almost time, so I went to the refining room and the master came out just in time.
"Push my car to the door and wait for me."
I pushed my master's car out and went outside to polish it. My master always asked me to do this job.
The master came out, I got on the bike and he sat in the second class.
My master and I went to a restaurant, a state-owned one. It was the only state-owned one at that time. Because my master was always there, the waiters were very enthusiastic and we didn't have to serve the dishes ourselves.
My master and I were drinking, said the master.
"I'll help you settle this matter, but after that, if there's any more trouble, you'll have to leave the crematorium. Otherwise, you'll have to settle it yourself. You can't control yourself, there's nothing I can do."
"Master, what's going on?"
"Knocking bones and stirring hearts."
I didn't understand.
"Master, can you explain it more clearly?"
The master looked around and said in a low voice.
"You've run into a ghost."
Regarding encountering ghosts, I always heard from the older generation that when a person is unlucky, they say he has encountered a ghost, but it is nothing and it will be fine after a while.
"I've heard of it, but it will be fine after a while."
"It's different here than you've heard."
I looked at the master and I didn't know how to be different.
"Knocking bones, you can hear it, Bai Jie can hear it, but maybe I can't hear it, think about it yourself."
This is strange. The sound we can hear is not heard by the master, and no one else can hear it. I am sweating.
"Don't worry, I have my own way. Of course, it may not work."
"Master, what do you mean?"
"I haven't encountered this before, but I will find a way."
The master didn't mention this matter again and talked about Bai Jie's marriage. I had no plans for this, but since the master mentioned it, I had to consider it.
I calculated the bill that day, and it was the first time that the master asked me to pay the bill, and it cost four dollars and eighty-three cents.
My master asked me to go to the crematorium after midnight.
I went back and went to Bai Jie's house, called Bai Jie out, and gave her the watch. She looked at it for a long time but didn't reach out for it.
"My master gave it to you."
Bai Jie looked at me.
"Take it, it's okay."
"Master, this..."
"My master said it's okay, so it's okay."
Bai Jie took it.
I went home and my father wrote the materials.
"You're back so late?"
"I went to drink with the master."
I was asleep, and in the middle of the night I quietly got up and went out, walking towards the crematorium. When I was almost to the crematorium, I started to feel scared, really scared.
I walked into the 1,000-meter-long cremation road, which was called the Ghost Road by the common people. People with poor health dared not come here at night, for fear that the little ghosts under the lacquer would wrap around their legs and make them sick. Halfway through my walk, I felt my legs tripped by something. I felt tired and walked slowly. Then I heard a car bell from behind, it was the bus driver's bell, clear and crisp. My panic disappeared, and the bus driver came over and slowed down, so I jumped into the second class.
"You must be tired from walking, right?"
I understood what the master meant. It seemed that what the common people said about the little devil wrapped around the legs under the lacquer was true. I didn't ask any more questions. I just figured it out myself, and that was it.
The master parked the car in front of the door and knocked. The gatekeeper greeted the master and opened the door. The master and I went in. It was pitch black. The master walked forward and I followed. I was stunned. I was just stunned. I always felt like someone was following me. (To be continued)