Chapter 34: Knocking on the Door

2022-05-20

“Are we seeing ghosts or what?” I couldn’t help but mutter under my breath.

Even though Guan Zengbin looked scared out of his wits, he still insisted, “I’m a firm believer in science. There’s no such thing as ghosts. Sure, I don’t know how a dead person managed to open their mouth and sing, but we’ve got to get to the bottom of this.”

A corpse riding in a sedan chair—there was no doubt it was connected to a ghost marriage. That lined up perfectly with why we came here, so we needed to look into it. But barging in without a plan would definitely alert them. We’d need a cover, which was exactly why I’d insisted Wang Ergou come along. He could give us that cover.

Speaking of factions, there might be plenty of branches, but it really boils down to two main camps: north and south.

If you ever run into them, you can tell which is which just by how they operate.

The northern faction is all about brute force and nifty tools. For example, deciding where to dig—take the Luoyang spade, which was invented by a northern guy known as Li the Duck from Luoyang.

The southern faction favors clever techniques. They say there are four main skills: looking, smelling, questioning and feeling. They’re experts at finding tombs.

But honestly, that has a lot to do with how vast the land is.

Up north it’s dry, the soil is thick and sticky. Most graves don’t even have a single brick, just earth walls. One swing of the spade and you can tell exactly how deep the tomb is or where to drill. This is the art of force—you punch right through to the coffin lid, grab whatever treasure’s inside and get out.

Down south there’s a ton of rain. Dirt tombs crumble after years of water eating away at them, so southern graves are mostly built with blue bricks. Try using your Luoyang spade—you’ll just hit brick and that’s that. So down here, it’s all about skill, not the tools.

Wang Ergou was from the northern faction. But whether you were north or south, every group had its rules.

Every trade under the sun has its rules.

Since I was coming here disguised, I had to pay my respects—knock on the door, so to speak. First, to make my identity clear, and second, to show I’m just here to earn a little livelihood.

The sedan chair carrying the corpse was getting farther and farther, and in the blink of an eye it was already out of sight.

“Alright then.”

I sat at the side of the road, reached into my backpack and pulled out three tea bowls. There was nothing but tea leaves inside—no water.

I lined up the bowls in front of me.

“What are you doing?” Guan Zengbin looked at me, totally puzzled.

I glanced up and down the road—no one around right now.

“Don’t say a word when the time comes. Remember your role—try to act the part.” I whispered, “Got it?”

The midday sun baked us as we sat there. Guan Zengbin found a spot in the shade under a tree in the distance, dodging the heat. Wang Ergou sprawled next to me, tongue hanging out, panting.

Now and then someone would walk by, giving me a curious look. A few even took pictures with their phones.

I ignored them and just sat quietly.

As time went on, more and more people gathered. Before long, a small crowd had formed.

“Hey man, what’s all this about? You look kind of spooky.” Someone asked.

I didn’t answer.

Someone else piped up, “It’s probably performance art. Bet he’s from some big city.”

“What would someone from the city want in our little county anyway? He’s not here for a ghost marriage, is he?” One man speculated.

“Don’t say stuff like that.” Someone quickly cut him off.

I frowned.

At last, a middle-aged man squatted down in front of me.

“The tea’s nothing special, but the bowls are nice.” He didn’t look at me at all, just stared at the three tea bowls lined up in front of me.

Someone laughed, “How are those nice? The edges are all chipped!”

That middle-aged man was exactly the person I’d been waiting for.

I took a good look at him. He wore simple clothes and cloth shoes, with dark skin—clearly a man used to long days outside.

“Good bowls, good tea. Shame there’s no water.” I said quietly.

He nodded, then handed a nearby kid ten yuan. “Buy me a bottle of mineral water—keep the change.”

The boy happily took the money and soon the man had a bottle of water in his hand.

“Let me add some water then.” He said as he twisted the cap open and prepared to pour some into the leftmost bowl.

I reached out and held his hand, stopping him mid-pour. With my other hand, I flipped that leftmost bowl upside down on the ground. “I can’t afford to drink from that bowl. Better not pour there.”

His expression eased a little, and he smiled. “So you’d rather drink from the right-hand bowl? Go ahead, then.”

I shook my head and flipped the right bowl over, too.

Now only the middle bowl was left. But this time, the man didn’t move to add water.

“Ergou, tell him.” I said, gently patting Wang Ergou beside me.

Wang Ergou lay lazily on the ground and said, “Second in the Wang Mazi line, from Qingcheng.”

The man gave him a long look, then made up his mind. He poured water into my bowl, then picked it up and took a sip.

I grinned to myself.

He took a drink, then set the bowl upside down on the ground as well. “Good tea, very good. Looks like appearances can be deceiving. Since we’re both tea lovers, why don’t we find somewhere to chat properly?”

I stood up, called out to Guan Zengbin, and followed the middle-aged man down the road.

“Guess it really was some kind of art show. Did you see that guy? He looks just like a dog!” someone said behind us.

“Yeah, but they left the tea and bowls. What kind of tea was that anyway?” another wondered.

The truth was, this wasn’t some performance art. It was just the custom for knocking on the door.

I’d set out three bowls, all with tea but no water. That made my intentions clear: I’ve arrived today, heard someone else is here, so I’m paying my respects and don’t want to break the local rules.

The man recognized me the moment he saw the scene.

We were speaking in code.

“Tea’s not great, but the bowls are nice.”

The bowls stood for a job; the tea stood for me.

Basically, he was saying the job here was good, but I shouldn’t be here. The real meaning: I’m not exactly welcome.

“Good bowls, good tea, but no water.”

What I meant was, this is a good job and I’m a skilled hand, just new and unfamiliar with this place.

So the man fetched water, ready to pour it into one of my bowls.

Each bowl stood for something different.

The left bowl meant I was here to take over—everyone else better clear out or bow to me. If that bowl got filled, it’d mean trouble later and maybe even a corpse-fighting contest.

But I’d flipped it over to show that wasn’t my intent.

He relaxed a little and tried the right bowl.

The right bowl meant I was just passing through, wouldn’t bother the locals, and would soon be gone.

But I flipped that one too.

That left only the middle bowl, meaning I wanted some cooperation. I was down on my luck and hoping for help.

The man hesitated. If he poured water, that meant he’d help. If not, and he just walked away, I’d get nothing.

So I had Wang Ergou state our background, promising we’d repay the favor if we ever bounced back.

He poured the water—meaning he agreed to help.

We walked down a narrow path together.

The man glanced over. “Everyone calls me Brother Wei Two. If you don’t mind, just call me Second Brother.”

I nodded and replied, “Just call me Little Wu. This is my wife. The one crawling on the ground is Ergou.”

Brother Wei gave Ergou a curious look. “So what’s with this brother of yours? Why’s he crawling around like a dog?”

I smiled and explained. “He’s my junior brother. Got trapped for three days once, but a dog saved him. Ever since, he’s been like this. Our master said he was useless and kicked him out, but I couldn’t just leave him. Once I finished my apprenticeship, I’ve kept him with me ever since.”

“Don’t judge by his looks,” I added with a grin, lowering my voice. “He’s got a nose sharper than anyone’s. Master threw away a real gold mine. Isn’t that right, good boy?”

Wang Ergou nodded and said, “Yep, I’m the greatest dog in the world.”

Brother Wei let out a long sigh. “Didn’t expect you to be so loyal, Wu. I’ve heard of Wang Mazi from Qingcheng too, but I heard the old man passed away a while back.”

I nodded. “Yeah, after Old Wang died, I started working on my own.”

As Brother Wei led me onward, he asked, “So what’s brought you so low, Wu?”

I sighed, and after a while said, “It’s a long story. Basically, I lost my spade back in Qingcheng. I can’t go back yet. Old Zhang tipped me off that there might be someone here who could help, so I came.”

“Old Zhang?” Brother Wei paused and looked at me. “Zhang Xueyou?”

I nodded.

“How do you know Zhang Xueyou?” He led me into a narrow alleyway.

I looked around, then said, “We’re not close. Just got introduced a few times.”

Brother Wei nodded, and by then we’d arrived at a big iron gate.

Brother Wei knocked in a special rhythm—long, long, three short.

After a while, someone inside swung the gate open.

“Second Brother, you’re back?” a young guy called out.

“Yeah. Come on in.” Brother Wei glanced at the alley, then said, “Let me introduce Wu and his people.”