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Living Funeral
"I bought a cheap coffin, and I got it from your shop!" Gao Ling exclaimed. "As long as you have business, you won't be at a loss."
The shopkeeper replied, "You bought that coffin to bury someone unrelated, but I think you should buy one for yourself."
Upon hearing this, Gao Ling was ready to curse him out again, but the shopkeeper quickly explained, "I absolutely didn't mean to curse you! What I meant is that if you bring a coffin home and keep it there, it can serve as a substitute for your life."
"A substitute for my life?" Gao Ling asked.
"Yes, I guarantee I'm not lying to you," the shopkeeper insisted.
"Since you're so kind, why don't you just give me one?" Gao Ling suggested.
The shopkeeper responded, "If you don't want to buy it, then fine. If you don't believe me, even if I gave you ten coffins, it wouldn't matter."
Gao Ling retorted, "If you're not going to give it to me, then stop with the nonsense. Buying a coffin shouldn't come with your ramblings."
The shopkeeper sighed and said, "Alright, I won't say anything more."
Gao Ling instructed him to hurry up and deliver the coffin. After leaving his address, they departed from the shop. On the way, Gao Ling muttered angrily about how that scoundrel of a shopkeeper was trying to swindle him; it certainly sounded like he was trying to trick people out of their money.
I told Gao Ling not to take it to heart.
"How can I not take it to heart?" Gao Ling replied. "It's clear that I'm being cursed."
I said, "If curses could actually kill people, then who knows how many would be dead by now? I've cursed others before, wishing them a bad death. But did they die? They're still alive and kicking, some even nearing a hundred!"
Gao Ling fell silent after hearing my words.
When we returned home, the coffin was delivered at night. The boss said it was unlucky to give away a coffin for free, and it was also bad to have too many people see it. This is what they call "the people do not see the officials (coffin)."
Gao Ling remarked, "Where do all these sayings come from?"
Making a coffin, buying one, and selling one—there's a whole set of knowledge behind it. This guy was getting a bit talkative again. At that moment, Zhang Xun urged us to hurry up and not waste any time.
Tonight was the seventh day of the seventh month, and the air felt heavier with an ominous atmosphere. After the coffin was unloaded, Gao Ling instructed the boss to place it in the corner and cover it with a rain tarp from the vehicle.
Once the boss left, Gao Ling said, "That boss just keeps chattering; it's really eerie."
With the coffin properly placed, Zhang Xun told us, "Let’s go upstairs. The Yin Qi is heavy tonight; it's easy to encounter trouble."
Gao Ling and I nodded in agreement and headed upstairs. We had no plans to go out tonight, so we settled in at home to watch TV.
It seemed that none of us were expecting any ancestors to visit. I was sure someone in my family would be waiting for them, and Gao Ling likely had someone too. As for Zhang Xun, I couldn't tell; he seemed completely indifferent.
I used to believe that when people died, they turned to dust, but now I was starting to doubt that.
At this moment, I felt a sense of confusion about who I really was. Many people called me Aged now; I wondered if I was Chen Fei or Aged.
Sighing at my thoughts, I pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
Gao Ling lit one as well. After taking a few puffs, Zhang Xun's expression changed slightly, but he didn’t say anything. Noticing this, I extinguished my cigarette and suggested that Gao Ling stop smoking too. Perhaps we were just too bored. Gao Ling then suggested we find something to light up while we were here.
I asked Gao Ling, "What should we order?"
Gao Ling replied, "I'll give you my father. He is quite a legendary figure."
I had heard about Gao Ling's father once before, during my visit to Huang Kai's house. When Zhao Fan brought Gao Ling over, Huang Kai immediately believed that Gao Ling was the son of Gao Yao.
So, the Father of Gao Ling must indeed have some significance.
Zhang Xun was staring at the television, seemingly lost in thought.
I showed Gao Ling something, and he quickly spoke up, "My father was born weak and sickly, nearly dying several times. So my grandfather found him a godfather, but this godfather was a bit unusual—he wasn't a living person but a ghost."
"A ghost?"
"Yes, a ghost—a thousand-year-old ghost. My father still carries that Spirit Tablet with him every day; he has to worship it and offer incense. It's quite eerie! After my father started worshiping this ghost as his godfather, his health improved significantly, and his cultivation speed increased greatly. He became quite skilled at exorcising spirits. Later on, he married my mother, and she gave birth to me. I admired my father greatly. However, ever since I was five years old and a fortune teller told him something about me, he has never treated me well again. After my sister Gao Qing was born, my father kept her by his side and taught her everything."
As Gao Ling spoke, his tone turned a bit melancholic. I said to him, "But you're doing well now, aren't you?"
Gao Ling replied, "Yeah! It's not bad; I can barely get by."
Suddenly curious, I asked Gao Ling, "What is your father doing now?"
Gao Ling shrugged. "I don't know; he's probably out making money."
He continued, "Honestly, if I hadn't met you, I would have found life pretty dull. Doing business with you is much better; otherwise, I would have lost a lot working with that dog Zhao Fan."
At that moment, I thought about how Gao Ling had a dead person residing within him, and his father had taken a ghost as a godfather. Could there be a connection between the two?
Moreover, Zhao Fan was still around; the fortune teller who came to read Gao Ling's fate that year was actually Jiang Changsheng. Did Jiang Changsheng also get involved in this matter?
I suddenly felt that the secrets hidden within Gao Ling were shrouded in mystery.
I remembered how anxious Gao Qing looked when we were searching for that corpse in Snake Skin Gully. The body seemed to be very important to Gao Ling... My mind began to piece these bits of information together.
On the surface, Gao Qing looked down on Gao Ling, but the reality was that he was always helping him. So, Gao Qing was actually quite good to Gao Ling; last time, he nearly risked his life to help bring back the corpse for him.
The members of the Gao Family had been away for years. Were they perhaps searching for something to revive Gao Ling? The more I thought about it, the more uneasy I became.
Jiang Changsheng was also involved in this matter.
The Taoist priest was competing with Gao Ling for a corpse; if I hadn't been there at that time, the priest might not have been able to obtain it.
Looking back, I still felt that the situation had been truly dangerous. At that moment, Zhang Xun stood up and walked toward the window. He glanced outside and prepared to open the door and head downstairs.
I called out to Zhang Xun, asking, "Where are you going?"
Gao Ling had stopped speaking at this point. Zhang Xun replied, "I'm going down to check things out. Just stay put."
I said, "Alright."
Seeing Zhang Xun leave, Gao Ling turned to me and said, "Fei, I really think your brother has some skills. When I had the Ghost Curse inside me, he spotted it immediately. If only I could have his abilities, my father would definitely think highly of me."
I said to Gao Ling, "Maybe your father has always been the best to you."
Gao Ling told me not to joke around, saying that if my father had treated me well, he wouldn't have left me here.
I replied that it was precisely because he cared for her that he left her alone in this place. Gao Ling didn't understand what I meant and stared blankly, asking why.
I didn't explain everything, why all the dangerous tasks were assigned to Gao Qing instead of Gao Ling. That was a way of being good to Gao Ling; her father must have had good intentions.
At that moment, I stood up and walked to the window. Zhang Xun had just glanced out before heading down. He must have seen something.
I looked down from the window and indeed saw the figure in black from before burning Ghost Money below. It was eerie. I wondered if Zhang Xun was going to confront that ghost, but I felt a bit worried about him.
Last time at the massage parlor, Zhang Xun had suffered a loss; would he face trouble again this time?
I kept my eyes on the ghost below, and Zhang Xun still hadn't shown himself. I thought about whether I should go down to help, but remembering Zhang Xun's warning for me not to go down, I held back.
Before long, I saw Zhang Xun approach the ghost, but surprisingly, the ghost didn't flee. Instead, it stood up and faced Zhang Xun.
Then I saw them start talking. Although I couldn't hear what they were saying, after about five minutes, the ghost left. However, just before departing, it looked up at me with a gaze that sent chills down my spine.
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