Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
I only heard Uncle Tiger say that planting a locust tree in front of the door either nurtures corpses or ghosts. "Uncle, did you plant this locust tree yourself?" Grandfather's expression suddenly changed upon hearing this. He insisted it wasn't him; it had grown on its own after he moved in. Uncle Tiger quickly had Grandfather cut it down, and at that moment, Grandfather went ahead and chopped the tree.
Strangely enough, after the locust tree was cut down, I slept a bit more soundly that night. The next evening, Uncle Tiger came to visit and told Grandfather he needed to take me out for a while. Grandfather, now trusting Uncle Tiger, immediately agreed.
That night, I followed Uncle Tiger as we walked for a while. He turned to me and asked, "Wang Niu, do you want to learn some skills from me?" Hearing this made me recall the scene of Uncle Tiger going to the Yellow River that night; his abilities seemed almost divine in the eyes of a child. I quickly replied, "Uncle, I want to learn!"
Uncle Tiger laughed heartily and said, "Wait until you grow a bit more, then you can follow me to learn." We arrived at Uncle Tiger's place, which was located by the Yellow River. It wasn't a bustling area, but people from ten miles around would come to him for clothes; he had quite a reputation. Once inside his shop, Uncle Tiger handed me a yellow shroud and told me to wear it for three days without taking it off.
To be honest, wearing clothes meant for the dead made me feel quite uneasy. It was around eight in the evening when Uncle Tiger asked if I was hungry. Just as I was about to say no, my stomach growled loudly. Uncle Tiger told me to wait while he went to get something to eat. Feeling a bit bored, I wandered around his house and noticed a crack in the door of an inner room.
Out of curiosity, I pushed the door open. As soon as I did, I was startled by what I saw inside. A snake as thick as my wrist suddenly slithered out from within, and my heart raced into my throat. It flicked its tongue at me, and I turned to run just as I bumped into Uncle Tiger. He looked at me and said, "Don't be afraid." Then he stepped forward and spoke a few words to the snake. It seemed to understand him and slithered back into the room as he closed the door behind it.
I suppressed my fear and asked Uncle Tiger, "Can it understand what you say?" Uncle Tiger replied that it was close enough and urged me to come eat noodles. After he set down the noodles, I began eating heartily when suddenly I heard crying from outside. The sound grew closer until I saw a young woman in her twenties walking toward us.
She was sobbing uncontrollably and could barely speak a complete sentence. I recognized her; she was Liu Ying from the neighboring village. Uncle Tiger comforted her, saying, "Don't rush; take your time." After a moment of sniffling, she managed to say, "Uncle Tiger, my father has died. Please make him a set of clothes."
Uncle Tiger sighed upon hearing this and said, "Wait here; I'll prepare and go with you." Liu Ying cried out in agreement while wiping her tears. Soon after, Uncle Tiger gathered his tools and grabbed a black bag before saying to Liu Ying, "Let's go."
Seeing that Uncle Tiger was leaving and that only I and the snake remained in the house made me feel uneasy. So I said to Uncle Tiger, "Uncle, I'll go with you." He paused for a few seconds before agreeing with a simple "Okay," and we headed toward Liu Ying's home.
On the way there, Uncle Tiger asked Liu Ying how her father could have died so suddenly at just around fifty years old when he should have been strong. Liu Ying replied that her father had fallen from a mountain while working and died from the fall. Uncle Tiger remarked that death is part of life and advised her to take care of herself.
When we arrived at Liu Ying's house, we found her father's body lying there; his face was pale with blood on his forehead. What intrigued me was that there seemed to be an expression of fear frozen on his face. As I stared in fascination, Uncle Tiger suddenly called out to me and asked what I was looking at.
Just as I was about to explain what I'd seen, Uncle Tiger shook his head as if knowing what I would say. He took out a measuring tape from his black bag and began measuring Liu Ying's father’s dimensions. After finishing up, he said he would bring the clothes over first thing in the morning.
Liu Ying thanked him through her tears. As they were leaving, Uncle Tiger asked her if her father had had any recent conflicts with anyone. Liu Ying looked confused and replied that her father had always been known for his good temper; he was well-liked in the village.
Uncle Tiger didn’t press further but called for me as we headed back home. Once we were back at Uncle Tiger's place, I told him about seeing fear on Liu Ying's father's face earlier. He asked what else I'd seen. I shook my head; there wasn’t anything else.
Uncle Tiger then said thoughtfully that Liu Ying's father might not have died from falling but rather from being scared to death. Scared to death? My mind raced at this revelation—what could have frightened him so much? Reflecting on my own experience with Uncle Tiger at the Yellow River’s center—it had been terrifying yet I hadn’t been scared to death like Liu Ying’s father apparently had been.
I asked Uncle Tiger what had frightened him so badly. In an ethereal tone, he replied: "Wang Niu, this world is far more complex than it appears on the surface. In this vast world exist many species beyond just humans—there are snakes, tigers, and naturally ghosts and monsters too." As he spoke these words while looking directly at me, he continued: "Wang Niu, remember as you grow up to always keep your wits about you when facing things."
At that young age, I didn’t fully grasp what Uncle Tiger meant but simply nodded in acknowledgment that I understood.
Later at his home, Uncle Tiger asked if I wanted to go back home. I replied that I wouldn’t be going back tonight. He agreed and used a landline phone to call my grandfather; it must have been around 2006 since my grandfather also had one of those little communicators.
After making the call successfully, Uncle Tiger told me to rest early while he went into another room because Liu Ying's father's sudden death meant he needed to work through the night on preparations for burial clothes. Lying on the bed made it hard for me to sleep; perhaps it was because it wasn’t my own bed—I tossed and turned without finding rest.
I got up from bed and called out for Uncle Tiger; he asked why I still wasn’t asleep. When I said I couldn’t sleep, I walked over to see him making shrouds. As I watched closely, fatigue overcame me and I fell asleep resting against something.
When I opened my eyes again, Uncle Tiger was nowhere in sight; calling out for him yielded no response until my gaze fell upon a pair of black scissors on the table.
I picked them up—these were scissors that Uncle Tiger usually used for making shrouds—and noticed intricate patterns etched into them. When I flipped them over to examine further detail on their back side, there was an engraving depicting a person facing off against an enormous python.
As I stared intently at this image lost in thought when suddenly someone called out my name—it was Uncle Tiger! He approached me saying: “What’s wrong? Are you interested in those scissors?”
I set them down and asked if what was depicted on them was a snake or a dragon. His expression shifted slightly as he replied: “What do you think it looks like?”
To me it looked like a dragon! He chuckled lightly saying: “You see a dragon; I see a snake.” Quickly agreeing with him seemed prudent so I said: “Then you must be right.”
Uncle Tiger didn’t elaborate further but sat down holding those scissors saying: “When you truly become my apprentice one day in the future—I’ll pass these onto you.”
Excitedly asking if that were true made me eager: “Then can we start learning now?”
Uncle Tiger tapped my head lightly saying: “The time isn’t right yet; no need to rush.”
Just then Liu Ying rushed back in looking anxious: “Uncle Tiger! The clothes you made don’t fit my father!”
Upon hearing this news caused an immediate change in Uncle Tiger’s demeanor: “What happened?”
Liu Ying explained: “Uncle! Did you make them too small? My father can’t wear them!”
Shaking his head firmly yet calmly stated: “Let’s go check.” Despite being renowned for his craftsmanship throughout many villages—he’d never made such mistakes before! On our way there though—Uncle Tiger suddenly posed another question: “Is it that your father can’t wear them or is it that he refuses?”
Comment 0 Comment Count