CH 12.1

“Why do you say that?” said Tang Tian.

Every pair of eyes turned to look at her in surprise, as if they had only just become aware of her existence. 

They were not to blame, as Tang Tian had been rather quiet and reserved throughout the journey. With her pallid complexion and lack of presence, she may well have been a wandering ghost, unnoticed by anyone unless they looked carefully. 

Wang Laowu expounded, “Every year, at least two to three hundred corpses float along the river, all the way down, until they wash up by Dead Man’s Riverbend. Work it out for yourself, you’ll find it’s one or two bodies every three days or so. Whenever we spot a new body joining the pile of existing corpses, we fish it out to check for any identifying items, like a phone or ID, and contact their family if we find any. Nine out of ten times, those people choose to travel here to retrieve the body.  

While everyone else lowered their heads, contemplating his words, Tang Tian nodded understandingly, then answered without any hesitation, “You’re right. Let’s get the body out now.” 

She turned to Chen Yunzhi with a bright smile. “Boss Chen, I’m sure you’re as anxious as I am about this. We can’t prolong this any longer—we should put his body to rest, where he deserves to be, as soon as possible.”

By saying that, she gave Chen Yunzhi no choice but to go along with her. Otherwise, it would seem as if he was to blame for delaying the entire process. “Yes. Get the body out, now.”

“Alrighty!” Wang Laowu said gleefully as he crushed his cigarette under a boot. Turning towards his house, he yelled, “Shitou! We have a job to do! Get yourself out here now!”

A relatively youthful and energetic voice responded, “I’m coming, Dad!”

Wang Laowu sneered at the secretary. “From how prim and proper you people look, I’m not worried about payment. But rules are rules—once we go down into those waters, you owe us ten thousand.” 

The old man propped his long pipe against the wall and stood up as a man emerged from the house. He had the typical features of a northerner, tall and burly, likely in his thirties. He wore a navy-blue short-sleeved shirt, with a pair of casual black shorts, which showed off his well-built, muscular figure. As he walked out onto the dirt path, he carried a barrel filled with engine oil effortlessly in one hand while shouldering a large coil of thick rope with his other arm. Thus, he still had a free hand, with which he grasped a long metal pole that ended in a blunt hook on one end. 

Wang Laowu crossed his hands behind his back and trudged ahead. “Come along. We’re wasting daylight.”

“Do we need to go as well?” asked Chen Yunzhi.

Chen Peng was flabbergasted. “Aren’t you two responsible for retrieving the body and bringing it back here?”

Shitou shrugged nonchalantly and said in a gravelly voice, “Since the body’s been submerged in water for so long, it’s going to be extremely bloated. Same goes for his clothes, most of it’ll be decomposed, nothing but ragged pieces of cloth left here and there. If neither of you comes along to help identify the body, we could fish out the wrong one—waste of effort.”

“But—” Before Chen Peng could voice another complaint, Chen Yunzhi had gone ahead without another word, following the two body fishers. Tang Tian did the same, leaving Chen Peng and Lin Luoyan behind. 

The two of them exchanged a glance. They had done what was necessary to play their respective roles as a loving wife and a loyal, filial son, even coming all this way to accompany Chen Yunzhi on his wild goose chase—they couldn’t shoot themselves in the foot now, not when all of this was soon about to come to an end. They would have to do their part, one last time. 

In the end, they trudged forward, albeit reluctantly. 

To get to Dead Man’s Riverbend, they needed to trek up a long, meandering mountain trail, then make their way downhill. The heat of the mid-summer sun seeped through everything in sight and made their hike up the mountain a scorching-hot ordeal, but the sky gradually darkened as they reached the other side of the mountain. Ominous grey clouds obscured the sun from view, threatening to unleash a downpour at any time. 

“It looks like it might rain soon, doesn’t it?” Chen Shun, the secretary, peered worriedly at the sky. His abrupt question interrupted Wang Laowu’s cheerful humming. The latter was obviously displeased. 

“What rain? It’s always overcast on this side of the mountain, any time of year. It’s called Graveyard Mountain for a reason.” 

As he spoke, the party was strolling down a narrow path that cut through the woods, where the trees were skyscraper-tall. Upon hearing the name of the mountain they were on, shivers crept up their spines. 

“W-why is this place called Grave… Graveyard Mountain?” Chen Shun asked. “It sounds so…”

“Inauspicious?” Wang Laowu finished his sentence for him. “It was originally called the Wen Mountain, but look around you.” He lifted a finger and pointed towards the depths of the forest. The ground was not flat, but marked by numerous mounds everywhere, each crowned with a gravestone. Realisation dawned upon them, making their hairs stand on end—these were human graves! They were sure they had not noticed a single one throughout their uphill trek, and if Wang Laowu had not pointed it out, they might have been spared the chilling knowledge altogether. Too late.