Chapter Three: The Last Person
1273 Words
“Nine people went in and none of them came out?”
I asked my uncle.
Such a large mountain, filled with people, and not a single light was on. Their resource-saving philosophy is truly thorough.
My uncle slowly filled a large bamboo tube with tobacco, then lit it and started puffing away, without answering me.
To make sure he wasn't hard of hearing, I called him softly again, but saw my eldest uncle waving at me.
This uncle is the oldest person in the village, and also the most senior.
It seemed my eldest uncle meant I shouldn't rush, to take my time.
I nodded, thinking that my uncle was probably just getting old and slow-witted. I'll wait and see. After a while, my uncle finally stood up and tapped the large bamboo tube against a nearby stone.
I was almost asleep sitting next to him, but seeing that he had finished his pipe, I quickly perked up, intending to ask him again.
But to my surprise, he plopped down and started filling the tube with tobacco again.
"He's still a heavy smoker, isn't he?" I cursed inwardly.
I walked over and squatted down beside him, gently shaking the hand that held the bamboo tube, and asked, "Uncle, how come nine people went in back then?
Wasn't it just my father alone?"
My uncle looked up at me. In the dim light of the tungsten bulb, with its flickering flame, his eyes appeared completely black, with no whites visible.
I felt a little uneasy looking at him, instinctively wanting to avoid his eyes.
But thinking that he might know many things from back then, I reluctantly raised my head and met his gaze.
"Your father did go in alone," my uncle said.
"Then..."
I was about to ask when I saw my uncle wave his hand, signaling me to let my great-uncle continue.
"Your father didn't go in for long before he came out again."
He lit a match and lit his cigarette. "After he came out, your father personally selected ten men, and the next night he took them back in."
"Ten?
Didn't they say nineteen went in, and none of them came out?"
I was startled and asked.
My great-uncle exhaled a puff of smoke, glanced at my uncle and the others behind him, and said, "Your father took ten men in.
But a lot happened inside, and they all died one by one."
"You mean there's one person who survived?"
I asked hastily.
But as soon as I asked, I realized something.
So I asked, "Are you the only one of those ten who survived?"
"No," my great-uncle stood up, tapped his bamboo tube, and looked into the depths of the ancestral hall behind him.
After a long pause, he said, "Including your father, I'm the only one of the eleven who came out alive."
My heart skipped a beat. Although I had mentally prepared myself for my father's death in the ancestral hall, hearing my uncle's certain tone still left me speechless.
"But don't be sad," he said. "It's just my guess that your father died in there.
When I came out, he was still alive."
"Then why didn't my father come out with you?"
"We encountered too many things in there, and too many people died.
Your father didn't want me to die in there too, so he sent me out first."
Seeing my silence, my uncle continued, "Before he came out, your father told me to find you and bring you here."
"Bring me here?"
I instinctively looked deeper into the ancestral hall; it was pitch black, an unfathomable abyss.
"Alright, that's enough for now."
My uncle suddenly said, "Nephew, get some rest tonight. Tomorrow I'll bring some people in with you."
I was about to say something when I saw my uncle turn to the group behind him, call out a few names, and then wave them away.
On the way back from the ancestral hall, the group was deathly silent again, save for the rustling of footsteps.
I deliberately slowed my pace to follow my great-uncle.
At first, my uncle called out to me a few times, urging me to keep up, but after a few times, seeing I wasn't going to, he ignored me.
"Great-uncle," I whispered from behind.
My great-uncle was old and walked very slowly, especially on this mountain path.
The path wound its way up, and we had long since lost sight of those ahead.
"Great-uncle, what happened inside?
How could someone have died?"
"Do you even know what an ancestral hall is for?"
My great-uncle didn't turn to look at me, continuing on his way.
"Isn't it for enshrining ancestral tablets?"
"Yes.
But do you know what's inside the ancestral hall?"
I muttered to myself, thinking, how would I know if I'd never been inside?
So I asked, "Shouldn't there be memorial tablets inside too?"
My uncle suddenly stopped and turned to face me.
I had been following him closely, and his sudden stop almost caused me to bump into him.
"Inside are coffins, tombs."
I was taken aback, but then I understood.
The Wei Clan Ancestral Hall was located on a mountain; such a large space could easily hold the memorial tablets of an entire village, let alone a whole town.
"When your father led us in, we encountered a trap set up by the ancients."
My uncle finished speaking and turned to continue walking.
I didn't dare follow too closely, afraid he would suddenly stop again.
So I kept a step's distance from him.
"Uncle, I heard that my father went in to find the truth about my grandfather's death?"
After saying this, I saw my uncle's expression pause slightly, then return to normal.
"Your grandfather died protecting someone."
My uncle finally spoke after a long pause.
"?"
"What?"
I asked.
"I promised your grandfather I wouldn't tell anyone."
"But didn't my grandfather tell my father that if he wanted to know, he should go into the ancestral hall to find the answer?"
"So your father went in."
After a pause, my uncle added, "The same goes for you. If you want to know too, then go in."
I frowned and asked, "My father brought so many people in, and they all died. Wouldn't it be suicide for me to go in?"
"I'll go in with you tomorrow," my uncle said.
"Then can't you just tell me directly?"
"Some things you have to figure out yourself."
My uncle said, then looked up at the ferry dock not far away.
My uncle and the others were already waiting for us there.
"You don't need to ask anyone else what this is.
Besides your grandfather, only I know now."
After saying that, my uncle lowered his head and stopped talking.
We had already walked to the edge of the crowd, and I had no choice but to swallow the question I wanted to ask. I plan to find some time later to ask him more clearly.
After a tiring day, I didn't say anything after returning to my uncle's house. I quickly washed up and went to my room to go to bed.
But just as I was drifting off to sleep, I heard a faint sound outside the window, and a figure jumped in.
Damn, this is the second floor! How did they get in?
I sat up abruptly, ready to shout "Catch the child!"
But the figure flashed in front of me and grabbed my hand.
I tried to struggle, but then I heard the figure say in a low voice, "Don't panic, it's me, Ah Fa."
- Writer
