Chapter Fifty-Two: Fire

"It's not too late! Nothing is too late!" I broke free from his grip and stood up. I took out my phone and dialed my big brother's number. When the call connected, I was nearly crying as I roared, "Sun Zhongmou, I don't care what you're planning, I don't care what arrangements you've made—Uncle Zhuzi cannot die! If you still consider me your brother, save him!"

I didn't give him a chance to respond, hanging up immediately. I couldn't explain why I was suddenly so terrified; after all, Uncle Zhuzi was right in front of me. But the moment I saw the memorial portrait he'd set up for himself, the feeling was overwhelming and real.

Memories flashed before my eyes.

This man who played the part of a father in my life—how could I possibly bear to let him die?

He had warned me repeatedly to stop, but I didn't listen. His death, wouldn't it all be my doing?

Uncle Zhuzi's voice trembled with tears as he wiped them away and said, "Yezi, don't make things harder for him. Zhongmou is brilliant, but he can't save someone who's destined to die."

"No, he can do it. The stone coffin is so powerful, yet he handled it easily. Isn't Fatty formidable, too? But he's afraid of him, isn't he? Wait, Fatty!" I grabbed my phone and dialed Fatty, saying, "Fatty, find Chen Qingshan, come to Uncle Zhuzi's house, and save him."

"You silly child, enough, hurry up, I don't have much time," Uncle Zhuzi stopped his tears and looked at me sternly.

I covered my ears and shouted, "I don't want to listen, not a single word! If I don't listen, you won't die. Uncle, I was wrong, I'm leaving Fudigou now and never coming back!"

Uncle Zhuzi walked over and slapped me to the ground, but then, with a look of pain, picked me up, holding me as he used to when I was a child. He said, "Foolish child, actually, it's my fault. Once this began, it's not something we can end just by saying so. I promised your Third Grandfather I'd keep his secret, swore a poisonous oath to protect him, but he still died. Now that he's gone, those people won't spare me, either."

"Now, let me tell you, the one who killed your father wasn't the corpse king in the stone coffin, but—" Suddenly, Uncle Zhuzi threw me aside.

I fell to the ground and looked back at him.

I saw, with my own eyes, his pupils dilate, and then, from within those eyes, two tongues of flame burst forth.

Those flames grew before my eyes, instantly becoming a blaze that engulfed Uncle Zhuzi entirely.

He looked at me one last time, his gaze as gentle as always. He reached out his hand; I screamed, feeling my heart torn to pieces, rushing toward him to pull him from the fire. But he waved me away, his expression identical to that of Sha Zi before his death.

In his eyes, there were only two words: don't.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside. A figure dashed into the room, bare-chested and muscular.

"Big brother! Save him!" I cried.

Without hesitation, my brother took out a dagger, slashed his palm, and rushed to Uncle Zhuzi, letting his blood pour over him. I could hear the sound of the flames being extinguished by the blood.

The pain was unbearable for Uncle Zhuzi. He grabbed my brother and, with a hoarse cry, shouted, "Light the soul lamp!"

With those words, Uncle Zhuzi collapsed stiffly to the ground.

Though the flames were out, black smoke still billowed from his body. At that moment, Fatty and Chen Qingshan burst into the room. Fatty cursed loudly at the sight, then charged at my brother, thinking he was the murderer.

As Fatty approached, my brother swung his arm, sending Fatty's massive frame flying. I didn't want them to fight, so I shouted, "Fatty, stop! It's not what you think!"

My brother stood up, came over, and helped me up. He looked at me, and for the first time, I saw apology in his eyes. He said softly, "I'm sorry. I was a step too late."

"No, that's impossible! How could someone suddenly catch fire?" I couldn't believe it.

"It's white phosphorus—ghost fire," my brother replied quietly.

Fatty hurried to Uncle Zhuzi, checked under his nose, and said, "Yezi! Stop crying, he's still breathing, not dead!"

He frantically took out talismans, drew and stuck them on Uncle Zhuzi, then burned one and shouted to Chen Qingshan, "Bring water, quick!"

Chen Qingshan, stunned by the scene, quickly fetched a bowl of water. Fatty mixed the ashes from the last talisman into the water, pried open Uncle Zhuzi's mouth, and poured it in, sweating profusely. He said to me, "I've used a soul-calming talisman to keep his soul from leaving his body. Call an ambulance, quick! Damn, we're out of time, get a car!"

I called emergency services, and Chen Qingshan drove the village's only van, carrying Uncle Zhuzi, now burned black, out of the village. Even so, it was two hours before Uncle Zhuzi reached the hospital, and by then his breathing was barely perceptible.

I sat outside the emergency room in a daze. My brother hadn't come with us. Fatty sat beside me, patted my shoulder, and said, "Don't worry too much. If he makes it through tonight, he'll be fine."

I nodded, unsure if Fatty was telling the truth or just comforting me. When the doctors saw Uncle Zhuzi earlier, they told us to prepare for the worst, so things weren't hopeful.

Fatty asked, "What happened? How did he suddenly catch fire?"

I explained everything to Fatty. He was stunned, but as I calmed down, I said, "It seems the master in the village Uncle Zhuzi spoke of is Third Grandfather. He was the one who set the sky lantern for Uncle Zhuzi's first wife, and the one who gave him a protective talisman when he was dredging corpses. I used to think the secret person Uncle Zhuzi wouldn't reveal was my father's killer, but now it looks like he kept the secret to protect Third Grandfather."

After saying that, my head spun. As Fatty said before, this tiny Fudigou is far more complicated than anyone could imagine.

When Uncle Zhuzi was brought out from the emergency room hours later, he was wrapped head to toe in thick bandages. The doctor said his life was barely saved, but his condition remained critical. We could only glimpse him from afar as he was taken to intensive care.

"Trust me, Yezi, I'm not lying. If he survives tonight, he won't die," Fatty said.

I could only nod. I had no appetite for the food Chen Qingshan brought later. In one day, both Third Grandfather and Uncle Zhuzi had met disaster. If not for my brother and Fatty, Uncle Zhuzi would surely have died. I was terrified. Thinking back on Uncle Zhuzi's warnings and advice, my heart was a jumble of emotions. I didn't even know if I should continue.

Though I'd only known Fatty for a short time, he understood me well. Seeing my lost expression, he dragged me outside the hospital, handed me a cigarette, and said, "Yezi, I won't bother comforting you—you already know. One dead, one critically wounded, that's serious. But to me, it's actually good news. Know why? It means we're getting closer to the truth, so close someone is panicking enough to kill to silence us. So your Uncle Zhuzi, don't worry, I won't let him die. He knows too much."

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