(Note: The name "Xiao Heshang" literally means "Xiao the Monk" — "Heshang" means "monk," so he is a Taoist whose name literally includes "Monk")
When we returned to Grandpa's house, four tables were already set, but no one had started eating yet. It seemed they were waiting for me and Director Sun Fatty to arrive. However, the village chief and Third Uncle were not present. According to my father, they were still comforting the father whose son had drowned in the cesspit.
Seeing me and Director Sun arrive, Grandpa greeted us cheerfully and invited us to sit at his main table. He kept boasting to the people around, "This is my eldest grandson, and that's my grandson's good friend, Sun Desheng, Director Sun. He's now a director at the Ministry of Public Security. Yes, my grandson is the one who served in the military years ago. Not to brag, but the Shen family of our old Shen clan always produces outstanding people wherever we go..."
Just as Grandpa was enthusiastically speaking, spitting a little as he talked, someone entered from outside and picked up where Grandpa left off: "That's right, the old Shen family is a major clan in Qinghe County, always producing talents. Not to mention recent times, even back during the land reform, there was Shen the township chief…"
"Old Taoist Xiao! If there's wine, drink it. Why bring up old grudges? What's the point of dredging up decades-old matters?" Grandpa shouted loudly at the newcomer.
The man was none other than Xiao the Taoist, who had disappeared after the opera ended. He referred to the first official our old Shen family produced, the deputy township chief during the land reform who was removed for personal misconduct. That scandal had hung over our Shen family for decades, and only when Third Uncle became a captain in the armed police did it finally get buried.
Xiao the Taoist strolled over to the main table. One of my paternal cousins stood up hurriedly and offered him a seat. Xiao the Taoist didn't hesitate and plopped down, tearing off a chicken drumstick and eating it shamelessly, ignoring that no one else had started eating.
With his old friend stirring trouble in front of outsiders, Grandpa's face flushed red and pale in turn. Thankfully, the troupe leader was a seasoned social player—he raised a glass to Grandpa, and after they toasted, the meal officially began.
Though this was technically a late-night snack, the dishes on the table were quite plentiful. Because the actors had to perform that night, they couldn't eat too much earlier; this meal was the real dinner.
After drinking for a while, the scene got chaotic. People draped their arms around each other, hopping between tables to challenge others to drink—all sorts of antics began. Rural drinking was like this: it started well but after a few rounds, the alcohol masked faces and old quarrels lost importance.
Still, with my police uniform on, no one dared bring a bottle to challenge me or Director Sun. Watching a few people at the tables already swaying drunk made me chuckle. I wasn't idle either—I picked a tendon from the plate and chewed on it slowly.
Before I could swallow, Sun Fatty suddenly nudged me with his elbow. When I looked at him, he raised his chin, staring at Grandpa and Xiao the Taoist across the table. Xiao the Taoist had quietly taken a seat next to Grandpa. The old pals were whispering quietly, a stark contrast to their earlier near-quarrel.
"Xiao the Taoist just mentioned the river incident," Sun Fatty whispered low. I nodded subtly, pretending to reach for some food, and stood to pick a dish while straining to overhear their conversation.
"Old Shen, don't hesitate. If we wait, more people will die tomorrow…"
"Are you sure? I have no confidence."
"Don't worry. Once the ghost opera starts…"
Judging by the tone, Grandpa was convinced by Xiao the Taoist. After scanning around a few tables, he said loudly to my flushed, drunken father at a neighboring table, "Oldest son, go bring back Third Uncle." Ever since Third Uncle became a deputy battalion commander and returned home in glory, Grandpa always consulted him when big matters arose.
My father was enjoying his drink and reluctant to leave the table. Not wanting to offend his father, he muttered, "It's late at night. Why bother waking him? Maybe Third Uncle's already asleep." Seeing his eldest son hesitating, Grandpa slammed the table with a loud bang and roared, "You little bastard, are you going or not?"
Just as my father took a sip, Grandpa's slap startled him so much that he spat out the drink he'd just swallowed. "I'm going, I'm going—cough cough."
The drinkers, confused by the commotion, all paused mid-action with chopsticks in the air. Grandpa awkwardly said, "Eat, eat! Second son, don't just stand there—go with your uncle. Little Lazi, Director Sun, you two eat too…"
About twenty minutes later, my father returned with Third Uncle. Third Uncle looked exhausted, his eyes bloodshot. It was clear he was deeply saddened by his friend's tragedy.
Grandpa called Third Uncle aside, lowering his voice, "Old Third, come with me to the inner room. We need to discuss something." Then Grandpa got up and left the table. Xiao the Taoist cleared his throat, and Grandpa glanced at him helplessly before turning to me: "Little Lazi, you come along too."
Sun Fatty was smiling with narrowed eyes as he looked at me, and I guessed what he was thinking. I said, "Director Sun, had a good meal and drink? Time to get up and move around." Seeing me pull at Sun Fatty, Grandpa was momentarily stunned, then immediately looked toward Xiao Heshang. Xiao Heshang slightly nodded, and Grandpa gave a dry chuckle, saying, "If young Director Sun doesn't mind an old man like me nagging, then come sit with me in the inner room."
The inner room was Grandpa's bedroom. After entering, Grandpa invited us onto the kang (heated brick bed), then personally locked the door.
Grandpa said to Xiao Heshang, "Better you explain, I can't make sense of what's going on with your matter."
Xiao Heshang didn't hold back: "I'll be brief. You all witnessed it — the big play went on for three days, and three people died. But I can tell you, it's not over yet. There are still seven days left to the show, and if it continues, more people will die. This is a ghost's jealousy. If more die, it won't be just one person a day. When the ten-day show ends, if half your village is left alive, consider yourselves lucky."
Hearing this, Third Uncle's face turned grim. Grandpa, having heard this many times before, was prepared and not very surprised. The rest of us, Sun Fatty and I, had different reactions — one stared wide-eyed, the other grinned and said, "You call that brief? Three words would do — it's haunted."
Fearing Sun Fatty might blurt something out, I quickly interrupted and asked Xiao Heshang, "So you mean the show should stop?"
Xiao Heshang said, "It's too late. Stop the show now. Even if your county head disagrees, not even the grudging ghosts in the river will allow it."
Grandpa sighed and said, "Enough beating around the bush. Just say what you mean."
Xiao Heshang said, "I have a plan to calm the ghost's jealousy. Tomorrow night, after the show ends, we'll perform a ghost play."
I understood Xiao Heshang's meaning. Our Xiao Qinghe village had always been peaceful with no major incidents. The deaths in the last few days were all caused by this ten-day river boat play.
Boat plays have their own rules. But this kind of play had disappeared from our village for too long. To recreate a hundred-day boat play from centuries ago was already very difficult. Most of the original rules were forgotten.
According to Xiao Heshang, just performing the play shouldn't cause trouble. But the time and place of the performance were problematic. The boat play starts at dusk with lantern lighting and runs until after midnight — meaning the living (yang) were occupying the time of the dead (yin).
Moreover, the play took place on the river surface, and the water is yin. During yin time in a yin place, yang people performing causes ghost jealousy. This time the chosen time for the play was especially bad — the first day's start coincided with yin time. Once the boat play began, it was like a magnet, drawing all the yin energy within a hundred miles here. Ghosts follow the yin energy, so the boat was surrounded by abundant yin energy and naturally attracted ghosts. The dark mist we saw was the condensation of yin energy. The moving shadows inside, according to Xiao Heshang, were ghosts watching the play in the living world.
Sun Fatty didn't believe it and said, "You say the root of the trouble is the boat play, but I've heard this isn't the first time it's been performed. Didn't they do it hundreds of years ago? That one lasted a whole hundred days, and no trouble was heard then."
Xiao Heshang smiled slightly at Sun Fatty, "Because that time the person in charge knew the rules. Before the boat play officially started, they set up a sacrificial offering by the river and burned paper and incense to borrow time and passage from the underworld. That's not all — every 24 days of the play, they would pause to perform a ghost play for the dead. They said it lasted a hundred days, but actually only ninety-six were for the living."
After Xiao Heshang finished, no one spoke. Sun Fatty shook his big head, apparently wanting to say more but couldn't argue against Xiao Heshang's words.
For a while, the room was silent. Third Uncle suddenly remembered something, saying only, "I…" and stopped. Grandpa glanced at him and asked, "Old Third, what do you want to say?" Third Uncle shook his head and glanced meaningfully at Sun Fatty before saying, "I haven't thought it through. I'll say it when I do."
Third Uncle's words were unfinished, but I remembered something and said, "Old Xiao, you said the boat play's rules were lost. So how do you know them?"
Xiao Heshang didn't answer directly but pulled out an old thread-bound book, "I knew someone would ask. I brought this for you to read yourselves."
It was obvious the book was old, the paper yellowed and brittle. Xiao Heshang had a way to preserve it — each page was laminated before rebinding.
The cover bore four large characters in small script — "Lingyun Guan Zhi" (Records of Lingyun Temple). Xiao Heshang flipped to a page and said, "Read it yourselves." Grandpa seemed to have read it before and handed the book to Third Uncle, who sighed after a while and passed it to me. Sun Fatty leaned in, his four eyes all fixed on the open page.
Contrary to my expectation, the book was written in vernacular Chinese. It was the record of an unknown generation of Lingyun Temple's abbot (nowadays the temple had become Lingyun Temple Film and Entertainment Group) describing Prince Yishen's hundred-day grand play. The depiction of rituals before and after the play to honor ghosts and gods was very clear, matching Xiao Heshang's account.
Grandpa looked at Third Uncle, then at me, and asked, "You two are the most successful of the old Shen family now. Let's discuss what to do."
Third Uncle looked up and said to Grandpa, "Dad, you know I believe in ghosts and spirits too. Since Uncle Xiao says so, let's follow his advice."
Grandpa turned to me, "Xiao Lazi, your opinion?"
I said, "Performing a ghost play is okay, but there's one thing — it sounds good here, but what about the troupe? It's for the ghosts. Will they dare?"
Xiao Heshang chuckled, "No need to worry. They came all this way to perform. Why? For money. As long as the price is right, don't mention a ghost play — even singing and dancing with ghosts wouldn't be a problem."
"The ghost play arrangement is my responsibility. I'll talk to the troupe boss," Xiao Heshang said enthusiastically.
Grandpa asked worriedly, "What about the money…" Before Grandpa finished, Xiao Heshang cut him off, "Saving lives is more important. At this point, money doesn't matter. What's money worth?"
"Do what you think best," Grandpa said, no more words. Watching Xiao Heshang eagerly take the initiative to negotiate with the troupe boss, looking almost hyped, I was a bit puzzled — why was this his business?
After we left the inner room, Xiao Heshang found the troupe boss and pulled him inside. They talked for over half an hour. Though I didn't know the details, when they came out, the boss's face was flushed with excitement, patting Xiao Heshang's shoulder and laughing, "This is nothing. Leave it to me — just add a night show. Even if you don't pay, our relationship means I can perform for free. But, Master Taoist (Xiao Heshang still wore Taoist robes), you know my family's a big one — food and horses to feed…"
Xiao Heshang smiled widely, "Who works for free? I've never done that in all my years! But brother, the night show's your responsibility. You've been in this business long enough to know — no delays."
The troupe boss nodded, "Got it, brother." Then he shouted to his performers, "Boss orders extra show and food! Double pay for tomorrow night's night show!" Then he bowed to Grandpa's seat, "Thank you, old sir, for the meal!" The performers who were eating and chatting all stood and bowed in unison, "Thank you, old sir, for the meal!" It sounded rehearsed.
Grandpa stood and returned the bow. The troupe boss said to Xiao Heshang, "Night show tomorrow. We must prepare before dawn. By tradition, the family must send someone to accompany us." His eyes glanced at Grandpa.
"Old Third, you go and keep watch. Don't move around or break the boss's rules," Grandpa said to Third Uncle.