When I came out of Qianzi's house, I thought about the full coffin. Could it be that the full coffin in the ashes building was the one my father hid there? What did my father want this full coffin for? He and Qianzi's grandfather were good friends, so he shouldn't have done such a thing. This is something I couldn't understand. As for my father's character, I also knew that he would never do such a dirty thing. There must be some reason behind it.
I went to find Master Zhou. I still believe in him. But as for other people, I still have some distrust in me, including Yinyan. I don't know why I feel this way about Yinyan. I can't really explain it myself.
Master Zhou was at home alone while Zhang Xiaoxue went to work.
"Master Zhou, I came here today, but there is one thing I don't understand."
I told Master Zhou about the Qian family's affairs and my father's affairs. She didn't say anything for a long time. It was obvious that she knew something.
"I don't know much about this matter, but your father did put the full coffin on the first floor of the columbarium. No one used that room anymore. Some old people know this. That day your father pulled the full coffin into the courtyard and put it directly in that room. The full coffin was very beautiful and stunned many people because few people see coffins anymore. After cremation, coffins are basically not seen anymore."
"What else? Why did my father want that full coffin?"
"I really don't know about this, but there was a person who had an absolutely good relationship with your father. But I hope that after you know this, you won't blame your father. Your father was not wrong in this regard, because your father didn't get that kind of warmth at home, and he couldn't even be a man."
I was stunned by Master Zhou's words. Can't be a man? That means my father and mother are a couple in name only. Is that the case after I was born? I don't know.
"White bamboo."
I was stunned. I had never heard of this name. Who is Bai Zhu
"She is a makeup artist. You can go find her at 1 Zhanqian Road."
I left Master Zhou's home at No. 1, Zhanqian Road, which was originally a place where the Manchus lived. The old Manchu-style houses were not demolished, forming a Manchu-style residential area with an ancient style, which has become a tourist attraction.
I found No. 1, which was an old house. Looking at the gatehouse and brick carvings, I realized that there must have been someone in the family who was in the court in the past, otherwise ordinary people would not be able to use brick carvings.
I knocked on the copper ring outside the door and an old lady in her sixties opened the door. She was stunned when she saw me.
"Master Bai, I am Ke Zuo's son, Ke Mingzhe."
Bai Zhu looked at me for a long time before speaking.
"Come in quickly."
The yard is very clean, just sit in the yard.
"Is your mother all right?"
"Fortunately, she went back to her parents' home and never came back."
"Oh, that's right."
It seems that Master Zhou was right, my father and Bai Zhu have a special relationship.
"Master Bai, I have something I want to ask you today."
I told him about the full coffin and the Qian family.
"This is a very strange thing to say. Xiao Zuo brought back a full coffin and put it on the first floor of the crematorium's urn building. It was kept there for so many years, and it was never taken out until his death. But I do know one thing. The full coffin originally belonged to your Ke family. The full coffin was bestowed by the emperor. Your ancestors, that is, three generations from your father, were tomb keepers. You may not know this, so there is a full coffin. Your father's good relationship with the Qian family may be because of this full coffin."
I was stunned. Our ancestors were actually tomb keepers for three generations, but my father never mentioned it or spoke about it. So, is our family related to the Manchus
"Come into the house with me."
Bai Zhu and I entered the house. There were several photos hanging on the wall. One of them was of my father, standing next to Bai Zhu. I didn't recognize the others.
"This photo is of our family. When this photo was taken, your father and I were already engaged. However, your grandfather suddenly disagreed. Later we found out the reason. It was because the full coffin belonged to your family, but my father later bought it. However, his method seemed not very good. This incident caused a quarrel between our two families. My father was so angry that he gave the full coffin to the Qian family. We were very close to the Qian family at that time. I don't know how your father got the full coffin back, but he said that the full coffin contained our love. He called it the Coffin of Love."
I feel a little confused, my head is a little confused.
My father finally married my mother, and that was it. What was in that full coffin? I want to know.
"The coffin belongs to our Ke family, so I have the right to deal with it?"
"Yes, you can handle it anytime."
If that's the case, then there is no problem. I can take the coffin back and see what's inside. Maybe there's nothing inside, only love, the love between my father and Bai Zhu. But can I see that love
When I left, Bai Zhu told me to come and visit when she was free. Now she was the only one left at home. Master Zhou told me that Bai Zhu never got married because of my father.
I simply can’t imagine what kind of love it was back then.
The next time I went to the crematorium was after dark. Yinyan and I went there. She got the key from Master Li Li.
When I opened the door, the negative energy rushed out. I went in and closed the door. Under the dim light, the coffin was like a work of art, placed there. I walked around the coffin and said.
"I want to get it away."
“Is there a place to put it?”
This is a problem. If you can't put this thing in your home, what if the neighbors find out and don't call the police? It's a bit scary.
"Well, I have a classmate who lives in Wan Village. There is an unoccupied bungalow there. It is located halfway up the mountain, with a separate courtyard and a separate household. No one will notice it."
I think this is fine. This full coffin cannot always be kept here. One day the leader might get unhappy and take it down.
The next day, I hired people at the labor market. When they heard that no one was willing to carry coffins, I raised the price to five hundred per person and required four people, and only then did four people reluctantly agree.
That day, the full coffin was brought into the bungalow in Wan Village. It was a very nice bungalow. The full coffin was placed under a shed in the yard. When I looked at the full coffin, I could never imagine the meaning of my father bringing this full coffin back.
"Open."
After I said that, I looked at Yinyan, wanting to hear what she meant.
"Then open it."
I looked at the full coffin, which was not nailed or buckled. I pushed hard and the coffin lid moved open a gap. I pushed it a little wider and looked inside. I jumped up and screamed. Yinyan shivered and ran to the door.
Li Li said that it was okay to be curious, but she should not open the full coffin. But why didn't Li Li tell me that the coffin belonged to my father Ke Zuo? Maybe she didn't know either. After all, after so many years, no one in the crematorium wanted to find out more.
The crematorium has been renovated several times and several new buildings have been built, but this columbarium has never been demolished and is still in use. This is also a very strange thing. Maybe it’s because of the full coffins, or there are other things.
The small building behind the crematorium has not been demolished. I heard that when they were about to demolish it, there were always sounds of crying ghosts, so it has never been moved. I have never heard about the situation of this columbarium.
I jumped up and burst into tears. I had never expected that there was a person lying in the coffin, or rather a corpse, but the corpse was wearing my father's clothes. I knew the clothes, they were familiar to me, and my father's hat, he liked to wear hats. I was completely stunned. This was something I had never expected. Yinyan looked at me, motionless.
"What?"
I didn't say anything. Tears started to flow as I thought of my father. I thought that must be my father's body. His body had not been cremated, so the ashes in the urn were not his. That must be the case.
Seeing that I didn't say anything, Yinyan slowly approached the full coffin. She screamed and sat down on the ground. She was also very scared. In the exhibition room of the crematorium, there were photos of every staff member, starting from the first batch of crematorium workers. My father's photo was ranked third, and he was photographed wearing this outfit.
Yinyan climbed up, her legs trembling.
I pushed the coffin lid closed, found a black cloth to cover the coffin, and left Wan Village. I couldn't figure this out.
"Let's go to my master's house."
Li Li was sitting on the sofa drinking beer. The house was still a mess. This might not be changed in this lifetime. It was like this every time I came. It had never been clean.
"Swallow, is there something wrong?"
Li Li also noticed that Yinyan's expression was not right.
Yinyan told Li Li about the full coffin. Li Li jumped up and then sat down again.
"Who told you to move that full coffin?"
The tone was very angry.
"That's my father's coffin. I don't want him to stay there all the time. I don't want him to stay there all his life in the crematorium and still stay there after he dies. I think it's unfilial."
"You little brat, you don't understand anything. Even if you move, tell me."
“Why wasn’t my father cremated?”
I looked at Li Li and wondered what she should be.
"I don't know. The coffin has been moved. Something will happen to you. Go find Bai Zhu about this."
Li Li mentioned Bai Zhu, so it seemed that we had no choice but to go find her. Yinyan and I went to Bai Zhu's house. She was sitting in the yard drinking tea. There was a book on the stone table. The book seemed to be handwritten. When she saw us coming, she covered the book with newspaper, obviously not wanting us to see it.
"Xiaozhe, come and sit down, is this your partner?"
I nodded.
"Master Bai, I carried my father's coffin out of the crematorium and put it in Wan Village, but, but..."
I told Bai Zhu what I saw.
"Xiao Zuo, oh, that's your father's half body. The lower half was cremated and is in the urn."
I shuddered and started sweating.
"Why do you do this?"
"You don't need to know this now, you will slowly learn it in the future."
Bai Zhu didn't tell me.
"Don't worry. I think you can't leave a full coffin like that forever. Choose a place to bury it. Dig out your father's urn and put it in the coffin and bury them together. Your father's favorite piece of land is Yuanbao Mountain in Huiyuan Township. There is a river in front and another Yuanbao Mountain. Bury him there and go find this person."
Bai Zhu wrote a name and handed it to me.
Yinyan and I went to Huiyuan Township and found this person, who was the township chief. He looked at the words on the note and said.
"Then you can choose any place on the mountain."
The next day, Yinyan and I dug out my father's urn, put it in the coffin, then asked someone to dig a grave, chose a place, and buried my father. I wanted to tell my mother, but when I thought about how coldly she treated my father throughout her life, I gave up. I really didn't want to see my father, and he probably didn't want to see her either.
After finishing all this, it was already dark. Yinyan and I went home. I didn't say a word that day. Why did my father leave half of his body? There must be something behind. Baizhu didn't tell me. I think maybe he didn't want me to know. In this case, there is no need to say too much, and there is no need to ask too much. You will know it naturally when you know it. (To be continued)