Chapter Forty-One: Tears

After entering the main room, there was a small wooden door to the side.

Grandpa Wang pushed the door open and stepped in. Though well advanced in years, his back was straight, his voice strong and resonant, without the frailty or weariness typical of old age.

But Wang Erjun had said he’d been inside the old witch’s house, and that more than a decade ago, he’d been deathly ill.

So why did he appear so normal now, without a trace of sickness?

In the countryside, once the elderly fall ill, even if they recover, it’s rare for them to regain such robust health. After all, age spares no one; it’s nothing like one’s youth.

Behind the little wooden door was a small room, containing just a bed and a wooden shelf, the latter piled with old books.

By the head of the bed sat a small wooden board, upon which stood a kerosene lamp.

“Child, have a seat there.”

Grandpa Wang pointed to the edge of the bed.

I sat down, doing my best to suppress the unease growing within me.

“Look at this.”

From the pile of books on the shelf, Grandpa Wang fished out a small wooden box.

The surface of the box was covered in intricate patterns, clearly revealing its age, yet it was well preserved, with barely any signs of damage.

Still, there were blackish-red stains upon the box, as if blood had once marred its surface.

I accepted the box from him.

“Open it and see.”

Following his instructions, I opened the box. Inside lay a coil of hair.

Jet-black hair, now so desiccated from the passage of years that it seemed it would crumble at the slightest touch.

I couldn’t say why, but a wave of sorrow welled up in my chest, and inexplicably, my face grew hot and two streams of tears slid down my cheeks.

Stunned, I looked up.

Grandpa Wang’s expression trembled slightly, and he murmured, “Good child, close it now.”

Once the box was shut, the urge to weep disappeared.

I wiped my tears away, and Grandpa Wang put the box away. There was a trace of hesitation in his eyes as he asked, “Child, did anything come back to you just now?”

I shook my head, still bewildered.

He paused, then continued, “Have you ever paid your respects at your mother’s grave?”

My heart tightened. It had been many years since anyone had mentioned my mother to me.

She died when I was six. All I could remember was her gentleness.

A gentleness as soft as water.

She was always holding me in her arms, soothing me with a tender voice, keeping the household in impeccable order.

Back then, my paternal grandparents were still alive, and the family was harmonious.

After her death, my father became despondent, eventually marrying my stepmother, and my grandparents turned against him. From that moment on, my father never again visited my mother’s grave.

Nor did he permit me to go.

I shook my head, my face growing pale. In a low voice I replied, “I haven’t been in years—must be thirteen now.”

Taking a deep breath, I asked Grandpa Wang if he had known my mother, if he was familiar with my family’s affairs.

He nodded, then shook his head, saying, “I suppose I knew her, but she didn’t know me. Your mother was a woman of great bearing and spirit, capable and resolute.”

“She was… not an ordinary person.”

My heart gave a jolt, a wave of discomfort washing over me.

Not ordinary—but what did it matter now? She’d been dead so long, dredging up the past only stirs sorrow, serving no purpose.

“Ninth Grandpa, I’d rather not speak of my mother any more… Could you help with the Baifu Village matter?”

I exhaled as I spoke.

He smiled and said, “Child, I didn’t bring up your mother to distress you. It’s just that this matter requires her help.”

My expression shifted, unable to grasp his meaning.

“Ninth Grandpa… my mother is gone. How could she help? It’s been over ten years—she couldn’t still be lingering here, could she?”

He sighed. “That’s why I say, your mother was not an ordinary woman. She didn’t reincarnate. Though she died, she never became a ghost in the usual sense. To explain it fully is complicated, but simply put: she was immensely powerful. In these parts, any spirit or monster who saw her face or heard her name would flee in terror.”

“More than twenty years ago, the old witch of Wangjia Cliff worshipped ghosts, raising a monstrous female spirit of unmatched ferocity.”

“I was no match for that spirit and was wounded by her. That’s when Granny Li arrived, and though she managed to deal with the female ghost, she couldn’t fully subdue the witch. The two were evenly matched, and the witch’s ghost-worship kept Granny Li constantly occupied.”

“At that time, your mother came to Wangjia Cliff, already pregnant with you, yet she went alone into the witch’s house. When she emerged, she held a newborn child, and the witch was never seen in that courtyard again.”

“Your mother returned to Baifu Village and never again intervened with ghosts. At first, the villagers held her in awe, but as time passed, some grew resentful—without her, mischief-making spirits went unchecked. I myself was long wounded and powerless to help.”

Here, Grandpa Wang’s eyes filled with regret.

“I never expected that the last time I saw your mother, she was already on her deathbed. In her final hours, she told me that when she confronted the witch, she discovered the woman had two souls—one savage and violent, the other calm and cold. She subdued the vicious soul, sealing it within the corpse, and drove the other out.”

He sighed again. “Your mother paid a heavy price, gravely wounded and her pregnancy disturbed. She had no choice but to give birth to you in the witch’s house. After that, she was too weak to deal with spirits any longer, and her life soon ran out.”

“In her final moments, she used a special method to anchor her soul to her corpse. She said Baifu Village was fated for a calamity, and she couldn’t move on until it was averted. When the time came, her body must be exhumed—then she could help.”

Grandpa Wang’s words left me utterly dumbfounded.

So my mother was a spirit medium? More powerful even than Granny Li?

No one in the village had ever said so.

My father never mentioned it.

Did he mean I’d need to dig up my mother’s grave and let her soul emerge to help?

But what shook me most was the thought that my mother had waited in lonely silence for over twenty years, unable to reincarnate, simply waiting for this day?

“Child, I know this is a lot to take in. But trust me, your mother was extraordinary. Don’t you want to see her, to let her see the brave, resolute son you’ve become?”

He rested a trembling hand on my head.

His words eased much of the ache in my heart. I nodded heavily and managed to say, “Alright.”

Grandpa Wang nodded. “Granny Li came to me about all this last night. Let’s pack our things and make ready to return to Baifu Village.”

I drew a deep breath and agreed.

Leaving the house, I saw Granny Li nod to me as well.

But my mind kept turning over Grandpa Wang’s words.

The witch had two souls.

One savage and violent, the other calm and cold.

My mother sealed away the violent one, leaving the cold, detached soul.

Didn’t that match the changes in the witch’s house? Black bricks and tiles—violence. Blue bricks and tiles—coldness.

Was Changshu… the witch herself?

If so, wasn’t she indirectly responsible for my mother’s death?

My body began to tremble uncontrollably.

Just then, Granny Li entered the main room to speak with Grandpa Wang.

Wang Erjun, looking uneasy, grabbed my arm and pulled me out to the ancestral hall, his voice flustered. “Xie Yuan, have you noticed anything strange about Grandpa Wang?”

I frowned and shook my head. “Nothing seems off to me.”

He gritted his teeth. “But over ten years ago, he was on the verge of death. How did he recover so suddenly? And he’s been inside the witch’s house, did you know? After that, his demeanor changed completely, and no one has visited the Wang family’s ancestral hall since. How could someone become so healthy all at once? How could that be normal?”

I asked him if he was just jumpy because of the stolen lifespan incident with Liu, and all the recent troubles in the village.

Granny Li would never harm us.

And Grandpa Wang, surely, harbored no ulterior motives.

Wang Erjun glared at me, his voice anxious. “How can you be so sure?”

I drew a deep breath. “Because… he knew my mother. No one else has ever spoken a word to me about her.”

Wang Erjun was stunned, murmuring, “Not even your father? But what if he’s lying? I really think something’s wrong with Grandpa Wang…”

“Is it possible he, too, preserved his life by stealing years? Granny Li knew the undertaker Liu before—maybe Grandpa Wang did too?”

“Xie Yuan, I’ve never heard anything about your mother either… If he’s lying, how would you know?”

He fired off questions one after another.

I frowned. “But Granny Li led us to him for help, and he’s just told us how he plans to do it.”

“If he’s deceiving us, what could he possibly gain?”

I reassured Wang Erjun not to overthink it. There were many things I couldn’t discern, but as for Grandpa Wang, I was certain—there would be no mistake.