Chapter Thirteen: The Death Divination

I did not know who this Zhao Shuihe from Huainan was, nor did I know anything about her family background.

But judging from my own guess, she was probably a descendant of one of the Zhao family’s collateral lines who had gone out from this Zhao House, and very likely had been urged by Lei Ren to come to my old squad leader’s funeral.

To put it bluntly, she was nothing more than a self-important stepping stone.

And yet this stepping stone was extremely devoted to her role.

After she had looked her fill at me, Zhao Shuihe suddenly said, “So you’re Zhao Haipeng’s disciple, are you? Come on, give Grand Aunt a proper kowtow!”

What she said was not astonishing; it was pure nonsense.

Me, kowtow to her? Was she out of her mind? I hadn’t even managed to bow my head for real while the old squad leader was still alive, so who did she think she was?

Even if she were senior to me by generations, I still had no obligation to kowtow to her. And after only eighteen years of age, did she not fear shortening her own life by receiving such a bow?

Angry as I was, there was no way I could agree to such a demand. Any lingering sympathy I had felt for this little girl vanished at once.

If she did not know how to accept a favor, that was her business.

My face darkened, and I simply stopped dealing with her. I went back, steadied Zhao Haikun’s wheelchair, and said, “Brother Kun, let’s head back. I’m not talking with these lunatics anymore.”

“Who are you calling a lunatic?” Zhao Shuihe shouted at Zhao Haikun in great dissatisfaction. “Is this how your Lunan Zhao family teaches its disciples? Do you still respect the rules of the family shrine?”

Zhao Haikun was clearly far more gracious than I was. He half turned and gave Zhao Shuihe a gentle smile. “Shuihe, come inside and have some water. You don’t know about the matter between the Zhao family and Lei Ren. I’ll tell you slowly later.”

His words were calm, but carried two meanings at once. He soothed Zhao Shuihe while also indirectly refusing a visit from Lei Ren and his nephew. It was a very tactful refusal.

But this stepping stone of a girl simply would not listen.

In her embarrassment, Zhao Shuihe felt she had lost all face. Her nose suddenly reddened, and she actually burst into tears. She bent forward and launched her emotional assault on the two of us.

The three of us stared at one another in dismay as she first wailed at us for a long while, then accused Zhao Haikun of being heartless and unfilial, saying that among the Zhao family, only their two branches still had any connection at all, and yet he would not even acknowledge her as an elder. That, she said, was the very picture of ingratitude.

Through her tears, Zhao Shuihe pointed at the red-brick gate of the Zhao family and said, “I came to burn incense for Haipeng. When someone is dead, that should be the end of it. Can’t you let me see him once more? At the very least, he once held me when I was a child. I ate his food for so many years!”

Every word she spoke struck the heart. It almost seemed that if we did not let her in today, heaven itself would not tolerate it.

Ah, she had cried to this point; I did not know whether Zhao Haikun’s heart was soft or not, but I had had enough.

So I once again extended a bit of goodwill and advised Zhao Haikun, “The dead should be shown respect. Why not let them burn a stick of incense... and then leave?”

My words immediately drew agreement from those present, especially the old fox Lei Ren. He was the sort who always seized an inch when granted a foot, and he was determined to make the most of this rare opportunity.

So he promptly rode the momentum, and with feigned grief said to Zhao Haikun, “Brother Ahkun! I was in the wrong back then. In my foolishness, I offended your late father. But today I only want to offer a stick of incense to Haipeng. You can’t refuse me! Even if you won’t grant me face, you should grant face to the Huainan Zhao family, shouldn’t you? The elder brother of that little auntie is still...”

“Get lost!” Zhao Haikun cut him off crudely. He extended one trembling hand and, forcing back his rage, said, “Shuihe! If you want to burn incense, I will not stop you. But if that man with the surname Lei wants to step through the Zhao family gate, he can over my dead body!”

Those words were absolute.

No one could really argue with them, because the Zhao family head’s stance could not have been clearer.

Just like that, Zhao Shuihe was coldly turned away by Zhao Haikun. Perhaps the blow was too much for her; she sat down on the ground in a daze, her tear-streaked eyes staring blankly as she failed to react at all.

Her expression was bleak and sorrowful, moving everyone who saw it.

Even little Fourth could not help sighing, “Ah! Since ancient times, beauties have often met unhappy fates. Better study law than fight. Girl, forget it. It isn’t worth it...”

“Get lost, you hairless monkey!” Zhao Shuihe spat viciously at Little Fourth. Then she got to her feet and prepared to leave. Before going, she said to me and Zhao Haikun, “I’ve remembered both of you! Don’t let me catch you in my hands, or I’ll make sure you die horribly!”

That was a naked threat, and a very clumsy one at that.

Who would ever end up in her hands? Just thinking about it was laughable.

So I did not take it seriously. After we exchanged glares, I pushed Zhao Haikun and turned back, already knowing that Lei Ren and his son’s clever little plan to use one thing to flatter another had come to nothing.

But at that very moment, something else happened at the Zhao family!

Just as the two groups were parting and going their separate ways, we suddenly heard a long, heart-rending cry from inside the Zhao compound, from my sister-in-law Gui Yuxiu!

The sound was like blood being wept out of the body, as though she had encountered something utterly unimaginable and terrifying.

After that long cry, all of us stood frozen in place. The shriek was so sharp and ghastly that everyone felt their scalps tingle and their hearts seize up.

This Zhao family truly had terrible luck. How had every strange thing in the world landed on them today?

Hearing Gui Yuxiu’s scream, the first thing that came to my mind was that damned Duan Tianshi... could he be taking the chance to bully someone?

That was not impossible. In fact, it was quite likely.

Although Sister-in-law Yuxiu was not gifted by nature, she was still a woman. And that fraud Duan Tianshi had no humanity at all. In my eyes, there was nothing he would not do.

Of course, there was another possibility I did not dare consider: could it be that my old squad leader really had become a vengeful ghost, just as Duan Tianshi had claimed?

It seemed possible.

With that thought, cold sweat broke out on my face. I leaned toward Zhao Haikun, whose expression was full of shock, and said quietly, “Brother Kun, something’s happened at home...”

“What more is there to say?” Zhao Haikun cut me off in urgency. “Take me in there quickly! What sin has my Zhao family committed!!!”

As soon as he finished speaking, all of us rushed inside. Lei Ren and his son, experts at seizing every opening, followed silently into the Zhao family compound with Zhao Shuihe in tow.

With the situation so chaotic, no one had time to care about them.

I pushed Zhao Haikun’s wheelchair and hurried back to the Zhao family mourning hall. There I immediately saw my sister-in-law Gui Yuxiu collapsed beneath the old squad leader’s memorial table, staring in terror at his coffin, continuously retreating backward.

In the sudden turn of events, all of us naturally followed her gaze toward the old squad leader’s coffin.

Only then did everyone suddenly notice that something had appeared atop the memorial platform, which had originally been motionless.

Looking at the “thing” that had appeared there, Lei Ren was instantly delighted. He walked over, slapped Zhao Haikun on the shoulder, and said, “Brother Ahkun, good thing I was here! Otherwise no one would understand the principle of ‘Five Sons Move the Mountain’ in this death hexagram.”

“Five Sons Move the Mountain?” I exclaimed in shock.

Could it be that in this Five Ridges Temple, there was still someone capable of using that “Five Sons Move the Mountain” method to cast a death hexagram for the dead?