Chapter 38: Return of the Soul

Some memories are always painful. You want to escape, but you can’t forget. This kind of memory is probably the thorn in a person’s soul.

That night of the crazy sacrifice was probably the thorn in Wei Jun’s soul, but for many people in the town, it was the first miracle!

“I think you saw it too, didn’t you? The phantom ship. You heard the joyful sound, didn’t you? That night was the first time those things appeared…” When he talked about this memory, Uncle Wei Jun’s expression became very painful, and my emotions also followed his pain, as if I had seen the picture of that night.

Among the kneeling crowd, the illusory ship appeared, and Wei Donglai, with a cruel smile, personally sent his three young children on the mysterious boat.

On the shore, the first person to be sacrificed was still hanging on the high platform, his chest cavity opened from the lower abdomen, his intestines exposed, and his blood still dripping as it had not yet completely cooled.

The one who was sacrificed was the one who was most against Wei Donglai’s ‘pretending to be a god and playing tricks’. In the narration of Wei Junshu, he was a stubborn man who always believed that Wei Donglai used some method to make all these seemingly ‘miraculous’ things happen. After uncovering the reason, it would be a sad hoax, and he was actually tied to the sacrificial altar by his own younger brother and the most familiar neighbors.

The worst side of human nature erupted at some point, and it was absolutely tragic.

“After that sacrifice, someone finally woke up. Maybe they were afraid that such a fate would befall them, or maybe they were afraid that such a fate would befall their loved ones, or maybe it was just the bloody scene that stimulated their conscience… I still remember that night, there was a conversation that I can never forget.” Uncle Wei continued to tell the story.

It was a conversation between Wei Donglai and his children when he was putting them on the boat. The oldest child, a nine-year-old girl, said to her father, “Dad, I’m scared. Can I not get on the boat?”

“…”

“Dad, after getting on that boat, can we never come back?”

“Why would you come back? Dad is sending you to a good place.”

“Dad, but won’t I ever see Grandma or Mom again?” At this point, Wei Donglai’s eldest daughter had already started to cry.

But Wei Donglai held his children’s hands tightly and signaled the other two people holding their children’s hands to speed up their pace. They silently ‘dragged’ the children onto the boat. Yes, they were already dragging them. The children refused to go. Starting with the eldest daughter, they cried and shouted for their relatives, for the familiar uncles and aunts, and for the neighbors, but no one came forward…

Liu Weijun really wanted to stand up at that time, but he was afraid. He was afraid that if he ruined the sacrifice, he would be “swamped” by the angry people around him. He didn’t have the courage to stand up.

“No one is a saint, and everyone has to painfully face their own cowardice, just to go with the flow. In a stream that is going in the wrong direction, those who can stand out are true heroes. If they can still insist on themselves, they can be saints, but most people can only pretend to go with the flow, and sadly find that they are just ordinary people. That was the first time I realized that I was just an ordinary person.” Uncle Weijun said with a self-deprecating smile.

“But now you are a hero, always standing with a group of people.” I looked at Uncle Wei Jun and said seriously.

“Now? It’s not that I’m the hero, but after my father came back, I realized that if I’m his son, I have to take on some responsibilities. Do you understand?” Uncle Weijun said to me seriously.

“Is Master Liu really back?” I looked at Uncle Weijun in surprise. I thought that Master Liu had never returned after that.

“Yes, he’s back,” Uncle Weijun said calmly.

After that night, the town was completely changed. Wei Donglai became the true ruler of the town, and the people of the town were numb to the idea of killing. Isn’t that a sacrifice to the gods? Even the government and various authorities in the town were the same… an inexplicable temptation that completely subverted the town.

Liu Weijun, however, was unable to sleep that night. He was with his mother, guarding the empty room, completely unable to sleep.

The screams of the man who was killed, the bloody gaping belly, made him feel dazed. He couldn’t even close his eyes, because if he did, he would see a bloody scene, and he would be pushed by the crowd onto the altar…

He could never forget that at the end of the sacrifice, Wei Donglai’s gaze seemed to fall on him, viciously, and he even smiled. The discovery made him tremble all over.

That night, he didn’t sleep, and the next day, Liu Weijun couldn’t close his eyes, even though the whole town was unusually quiet…

Because of Wei Donglai’s appearance, the entire town had been completely changed. People no longer worked hard, but became nervous and idle. Except for the necessary worship of the gods they believed in every day, they seemed to really have nothing to do.

“With a long life, can’t everything be put off indefinitely? Or maybe it’s like this! You see the town today, people are not productive, but they can still live, because there is inexplicable money to support them. I feel like they are being kept in captivity, but it makes the people here even more believe in the so-called gods.” Uncle Weijun explained to me.

“Money that comes out of nowhere?” I raised my eyebrows in confusion.

“Yes, in addition to taking people away, the messenger occasionally appears and sends a large amount of money. These people are the real ‘high-level’ people in the town, and the people in the town are supported by this money. They go to eat regularly every day, and after each sacrifice, they can eat and drink as they like, and even receive a certain amount of money for entertainment. So, there is the carnival night you see.” Uncle Wei Jun’s tone was very flat, but it sounded like a fairy tale to me.

What kind of existence is behind this? There is even money to ‘keep’ the people of a town? The mystery is getting deeper and deeper. I need an answer, and will the return of Liu Er bring an answer? I continued to listen to Uncle Wei Jun.

One night and one day of insomnia had left Liu Weijun in a state of complete mental collapse, and the extreme panic that tormented him at all times had made him forget that today was the day his father and Uncle Lin were supposed to return.

Because he had forgotten, he had no hope, but in the middle of the night, in the midst of his insomnia, he heard a noise in the courtyard.

“Who?” Almost at the same time, he and his mother heard the noise outside the courtyard and then shouted.

“It’s me,” Liu Er’s voice came into Liu Weijun’s ears, full of fatigue and depression.

However, even this voice brought an inexplicable peace to Liu Weijun’s heart. He rushed out of the house and saw the person standing in the courtyard. Who else could it be but his own father?

“Dad…” Liu Weijun shouted excitedly, about to walk over.

But unexpectedly, Liu Er-ye took a step back and said to Liu Weijun and his wife, who had rushed out, in a distressed voice, “Don’t come near me.”

At this time, Liu Weijun’s mother turned on the lights in the courtyard and saw Liu Ershu standing in the courtyard, covered in dust, as if he had rolled around in the mudflats of the Yellow River. His eyes and eyebrows were filled with exhaustion and sadness, and he kept a certain distance from them, standing far away and watching them.

“Why can’t I get close to you?” Liu Weijun asked in a puzzled tone. Because he had been unable to sleep for a day and night, his temper was not very good, and his words were full of anger.

As if to vent his anger, he took two steps forward, determined to stand face to face with Liu Er.

These days he is so helpless. It is hard for him to have his father back, but for some reason he is not allowed to get close to him. What is the reason for this?

But as expected, Liu Erni took two more steps back and said to Liu Weijun in a more painful voice, “Am I going to harm you? If you don’t want to get close, then don’t get close! If you still want to talk to me, then you really shouldn’t get close to me.”

Master Liu was so distressed and helpless that his emotions were already evident in his tone without even needing to be explained.

After all, father and son are connected at heart. Liu Weijun’s heart ached a little, and he finally stood still. With tears in his eyes, he looked at his father blankly. Behind him, his mother inexplicably began to cry. At first, her voice was very small, but then it became a loud cry. But in order not to let the neighbors hear, his mother covered her mouth with her sleeve and just cried in a repressed manner, filling the courtyard with a sad atmosphere.

“Weijun, the town is counting on you. Everyone in this town has been poisoned, and none of them can escape. But you must guard the town, understand? Guard it as the last line of defense, otherwise this poison will spread and destroy many people. By then, not only our town will face such a fate, but many places will be the same! This place cannot become a living hell.” Looking at his son, Master Liu said these words word by word.

However, Liu Weijun could not understand at all what he meant.

“There is a letter. This is my explanation to you. Read it carefully.” As he spoke, Liu Er laid a letter on the ground.

Liu Weijun was sad and upset. He had no mood to read the letter, but after placing the letter on the ground, Liu Erji left without looking back.

“Dad…” Liu Weijun chased after him for a few steps, but then he heard his mother burst into tears.

“Mom, why are you crying if you’re not going after Dad?”

“Silly son, can’t you see? Your father is dead. The one who just came back is his soul!”

“What?”

“When I turned on the light, I saw that your father had no shadow!”