Chapter 144
Chapter 144
The next morning.
We found Huang Haiquan’s older brother, Huang Jianhua, and spoke to him about Huang Haiquan’s request.
Huang Jianhua flatly refused his brother’s demand, refusing to agree to have his son given for Adoption to his brother under any circumstances.
In reality, this Adoption was just a formality. Since the man was already dead, it was impossible for Huang Jianhua’s son to actually treat Huang Haiquan as his biological father; at most, he would just go and burn some joss paper on the anniversaries of his birth and death.
Formalities are often things that can be dispensed with, having no practical significance, but at other times, they serve a great purpose.
For instance, right now, only by completing this Adoption process-this mere formality-could Huang Haiquan let go of his obsession and go where he was meant to go.
Not to mention, Huang Haiquan was Huang Jianhua’s own flesh and blood. How could he let his own relative remain a Ghost, unable to find peace?
However, Huang Jianhua had likely backed himself into a mental corner. He simply felt it wasn’t right and thought it was bad luck, but when asked why he felt that way, he couldn’t put it into words.
Finally, after much persuasion and negotiation, we agreed that if he consented to the Adoption, our agency would give him an additional one thousand yuan from our commission on top of the three hundred thousand from the house sale.
This man was truly blinded by greed. He had been refusing everything, but as soon as that extra thousand was offered, he pondered for a few seconds and said, “Well, alright then. My brother had a hard life. We’re all family, after all; a little formality is no big deal.”
I thought to myself that he was quite the piece of work as an older brother.
But since he was a client, I couldn’t openly despise him.
Huang Jianhua had agreed, but then another problem arose. He had two sons; the eldest was in university and was quite the scholar.
This eldest son was highly educated and naturally didn’t believe in ghosts or gods, dismissing it all as superstition. He thought we were scammers and nearly called the police to have us arrested.
In the end, we could only place our hopes on Huang Jianhua’s younger son.
This younger son was only eleven years old, still just a child. Children are naturally easier to manage because they listen to what adults tell them.
But truth be told, this kid was actually very decent. Although he didn’t understand much, as soon as he heard it was for his second uncle’s sake, he nodded in agreement without any resistance. He said he just wanted his second uncle to rest in peace.
Hearing those words from a child made the three of us feel a bit sentimental.
A child who knew nothing-the phrase ‘rest in peace’ was probably something he’d learned from TV-yet he showed more humanity than the adults.
The boy told us that Huang Haiquan had been very good to him when he was alive, treating him like his own son. After Huang Haiquan died, the boy had cried for several days.
We took Huang Jianhua and the boy back to the Stigmatized Property, preparing to complete the Adoption process and then send Huang Haiquan off.
The process wasn’t complicated. It required writing a Funerary Script-essentially drawing up a contract-to give the child for Adoption to Huang Haiquan as his descendant. From then on, during the Qingming and Chongyang festivals, as well as the anniversaries of his birth and death, the boy would burn paper for him just as he would for his own father.
What is a Funerary Script? It is essentially writing meant for the dead. These characters are somewhat like pictographs. We certainly didn’t know how to write them, but Old Zhao Seven did.
Once he finished writing the Funerary Script, he burned it in the Fire Basin.
Next, the child had to call out “Dad” and then perform the Funeral Wailing, mourning in the capacity of a son.
Most people wouldn’t be able to force out tears, but this child’s Funeral Wailing was sincere and heartfelt.
I could tell he was truly grieving. Seeing his heartbroken expression as he cried nearly brought tears to my own eyes.
What is the point of a person’s life?
Huang Haiquan spent the better part of his life working for his wife, his child, and his family, but in the end, no one stood up for him. At the very close of his story, it was a young child who did this final kindness for him.
After the ritual ended, Huang Jianhua spoke a few words to Huang Haiquan’s portrait, mostly urging him to leave the house.
“Haiquan, you’ve worked hard for most of your life. It’s time to go.”
“There’s no point in staying here anymore. Xiao Wen has been given to you through Adoption now, so what else is there to worry about?”
“I have to sell this house, brother. You know my family’s situation isn’t great, and I still have to pay for Xiao Wen’s schooling. Selling this house is for your son’s education. Just go, alright?”
As soon as Huang Jianhua finished speaking, the candle flames in the room instantly returned to their normal color.
“Is he gone?” Huang Jianhua asked, suddenly excited.
I nodded and told him that he had indeed left for the place where he belonged.
This Stigmatized Property was now a normal house again, fit for people to live in.
Huang Jianhua was so thrilled that he immediately took out his phone to call his wife. He told her that Huang Haiquan was gone and the house could be sold; they would soon have three hundred thousand yuan.
The child, Xiao Wen, was still there crying, his sobs growing more heartbroken by the second.
Perhaps some children are naturally intuitive. Even though they don’t understand much, they seem to sense when someone is truly gone-and that being gone means never seeing them again.
Just like my father and my grandfather; I would never see them again either.
Old Zhao Seven walked over to comfort Xiao Wen. He handed him a Peace Talisman and said, “This was left for you by your second uncle. He told me to tell you that he’s just gone to another place. Everyone will go there eventually, but he just went a little earlier. You’ll see each other again in the future.”
It was a lie, a white lie.
The Peace Talisman, of course, hadn’t been left by Huang Haiquan.
But the child believed it. He stopped crying and looked at Old Zhao Seven. “Is it true, Grandpa?”
Old Zhao Seven nodded. “It’s true. He wants you to study hard. Will you do that?”
“I’ll study hard. I’ve always listened to Second Uncle.”
“That’s good. Your second uncle didn’t dote on you for nothing.”
With the matter resolved, Huang Jianhua kept asking us when the house would be sold.
He even tried to haggle with us, wanting to push the price of the house a bit higher.
I thought to myself that we had already raised the price by two hundred thousand, but that money wasn’t for him.
Some families of the deceased deserve sympathy, but others don’t deserve a shred of it.
This man had no heart at all.
Huang Jianhua left first with the child, while we stayed behind for a moment.
Although the Ghost was gone, the yin energy was still very heavy. If the yin energy didn’t dissipate completely, people living here for a long time would easily fall ill.
Old Zhao Seven placed a Talisman in every room and hung a mirror at the top of the balcony. He said that once these were removed before the client moved in, the yin energy would be mostly gone.
The house had good lighting; with plenty of sunlight, the yin energy would dissipate quickly.
However, after Old Zhao Seven finished setting everything up, the yin energy didn’t weaken. Instead, I felt the temperature in the room dropping lower and lower.
I wasn’t the only one who felt it; Meng Yifan and Song Xiaotian were both shivering from the cold.
“Seventh Master, why is the yin energy getting heavier instead of scattering…”
“Could it be that Huang Haiquan hasn’t left…”
No.
Huang Haiquan had already left just now. There was no way he could have doubled back.
“It’s not Huang Haiquan.”
Old Zhao Seven also frowned, pointing toward a corner of the room.
We hurriedly looked over and saw a shadow suddenly appear in the corner. Moreover, that shadow was extremely familiar.
It was Du Yuwei, wearing the Red Wedding Dress!