I wasn't the only one who thought it was strange. The fat man's father and Old He were both experienced and knowledgeable, so it was hard for them to understand the father and daughter's grave. The two of them walked around the gravestone, but they didn't say anything. They just frowned and thought about something.
I couldn't hold back my curiosity. I pointed at the gravestone and asked the fat man's father, "Uncle Lin, why are there two people buried in this grave?
Moreover, their seniority is different. Is there something wrong with the gravestone? "
Before the fat man's father could answer, Old He reached out and patted my arm.
"Kid, respect the dead. No matter if they're dead or alive, you have to respect them.
If you randomly point at people, you might get beaten up. If you randomly point at people's graves, you have to be careful of offending them. "
Old He's face was stiff as if he was scolding someone. I was so scared that I didn't dare to speak.
Then, he lifted his head and looked at the grave in front of us. He sighed and said, "There are two bursts of resentful energy above the grave. The two people buried here can't be bad. No wonder they gave birth to this flesh-eating baby. I wonder how many sins they committed when they were alive …"
The fat man's father took over and asked, "Uncle He, should we touch the grave today?"
Old He shook his head. "Although this flesh-eating baby was greatly damaged, the resentful energy gathered above the grave is something I've rarely seen in my life. We can't rashly touch it. We should seal the grave first. When we get back, we'll investigate the father and daughter, Li Anbang and Li Ying. We'll see if we can resolve the resentful energy first."
Then, Old He arranged for us to work together and clean the weeds on the grave.
When we pulled the weeds, I noticed that the leaves were green, but the roots and stems were black.
Old He also saw that. He shook his head and sighed. "The resentful energy is really high …"
After we finished cleaning the weeds, Old He took out a black line that looked like a carpenter's tool. He used his feet to step on the ground in a few spots. Then, he and the fat man's father worked together to trace the spots that they had stepped on. They created crisscrossing black lines on the grave mound.
However, the mound was pitch-black, so the lines weren't very obvious. Not to mention looking from afar, they couldn't be seen even if we got close.
After that, Old He was relieved. He clapped his hands and brought us back.
On the way back, Old He didn't call anyone to pick us up. Instead, he walked slowly along the road we had come from. When he saw people, he smiled and asked for water from them.
When he met older people, he would even brag about everything for a while.
I always thought he was a grumpy old man who always wore a stern face. I didn't expect him to have such a gentle side.
Then, I met an old woman who claimed that she had lived in this village for seventy or eighty years. Old He asked people about Li Anbang's name. That was when I understood that he had started to investigate that grave.
The old woman's teeth had all fallen out, but she was still peeling peanuts to eat. No one knew how she ate them.
Hearing Li Anbang's name, the old woman squinted her eyes and tried to recall for a long time before she asked with uncertainty, "Do you think this person is from a nearby village?
Everyone in this area has the surname Chen. Not far from here, half of the village has the surname Wang, and the other half has the surname Xie. There are a few families with the surname Li in Qiaotou Village, but I know all of them. I don't see anyone with the surname Anbang. "
Then, the old woman emphasized her authority. "My family is from Qiaotou Village. I'm sure it's him.
Brother, why do you want to know about this person? "
Old He wasn't in a hurry. He smiled casually and said, "I met a friend here a few years ago. I haven't seen him for twenty or thirty years, so I came back to look for him.
I thought he lived here, but it seems he's not from this area. Sorry to trouble you. "
I didn't know why the old woman sounded emotional. She pouted her lips and said, "If you have unfinished business, you should hurry up and do it when you're young. Don't regret it when it's done. Things will remain the same, but people will be different."
Old He sighed and agreed. The more they talked, the more they got along. In the end, the granny's family asked us to stay for dinner. However, Old He refused.
When we were about to leave, the old woman's son walked us to the door.
The old woman was at least seventy or eighty years old. Her son also had gray hair. He looked like he was over fifty years old.
After he walked us out, he hesitated and pulled Old He.
"Uncle, I seem to have some impression of the person you mentioned to my mother just now."
As soon as he said that, not only Old He, but me, the fat man, and my son also turned to look at him.
The old woman's son was startled by our gazes. His honest face became even more awkward. He explained with a guilty conscience, "I don't remember him clearly. I'm not sure if he's the person you're talking about."
Old Man He smiled reassuringly and patted him on the shoulder. "Tell me if it's right or not. I'll go ask again."
In the end, the old woman's son gave us an answer. He said that when he was still in school, the principal of the county's Second High School was called Li Anbang.
The county's Second High School was the school that the fat man and I were studying at. After listening to him, we were almost certain that it was him.
This strange thing happened in our school. If the old principal was called Li Anbang, then the person in the father and daughter's grave must be him.
After saying goodbye to the old woman's family, Old He didn't ask around anymore. He brought us back to the school.
On the way back, we were in a hurry. After a busy day, we should be very tired. However, Old He walked in the front as if nothing had happened. Young people like us couldn't keep up with him.
When we returned to the school, we told the principal. The principal was a little confused. He shook his head and said that he didn't know much about the old principal. He needed to investigate.
After the incident in the morning, the dean had already gone home to rest.
It wasn't good to let too many people know about this matter. In the end, the principal ran around and found a lot of dusty files.
According to the school's files, Li Anbang was indeed the old principal. In 1964, he had come to our small, backward county as an intellectual who had come to support the western region. At that time, he had been the only principal of the county's high school. His file had been recorded until July 1972. After that, there was nothing.
However, it was strange that there was no record of the next principal after 72 years. It wasn't until 76 years later that there was a new principal.
It had been a long time, and the teachers in the school had been replaced several times. The principal had been transferred from another place, so he didn't know much about the events that had happened that year.
Although it was almost night time, the principal hadn't found anyone who knew about the events that year. He had to let it go for now. Old He took us back to the dormitory. He said that he needed to clean the place first. After the blood baby left, as long as the Yin energy in the dormitory was expelled, it wouldn't harm the students anymore.
On the way to the dormitory, we met Auntie Chen, the administrator of the dormitory.
Old women liked to nag. When we first came here a few days ago, Auntie Chen didn't know what was going on. But these days, she noticed that we had been coming and going frequently. She felt that something was wrong, so she kept asking questions.
Of course, Old He and we didn't say anything about it. Only the principal kept talking to her.
Before we reached the dormitory, the principal casually asked about the old principal, Li Anbang. Auntie Chen halted, her face changing dramatically.
Old He was the first to notice her expression. He stopped and turned to ask her, "You know about Li Anbang?"
Auntie Chen's face paled. She didn't answer his question. "Is the school's case related to the old principal?"
"It's hard to say. We just want to investigate." Old He looked calm. He wasn't in a hurry.
Auntie Chen kept silent for a while. Eventually, she nodded.
We weren't in a hurry to clean the dormitory anymore. The principal asked Auntie Chen to open the door to a room. We went in and sat on the bed.
Auntie Chen started to talk about something that had happened in this school.
Our county's Second High School was still called County High School. It was the only high school in the county. It was established in 1964, and Li Anbang was the first principal.
He was from Jiangsu. He joined the army during the revolutionary era. After the revolution, he went to university and became an intellectual. In the sixties, he responded to the country's plan to support the western region. He brought his daughter from Shanghai and came to our small county.
At that time, people had a passion for revolution. Li Anbang lost his parents during the war, and his wife died when he was young. The fact that he could bring his daughter here proved that he had decided to take root in education in our poor mountainous area.
In fact, he did it. He founded the first high school in the county. He worked hard to bring in teachers and trained countless high school students for our county.
In this era, high school students weren't much. But at that time, the number of high school students was much smaller than today's university students. The knowledge they learned was more complex and comprehensive.
As long as they could graduate from high school and enter society, they could even become a civil servant.
What happened next was like many cliché stories. In that special era, a peaceful revolutionary movement broke out.
This movement started in Beijing and gradually spread to the rest of the country. The main force was the high school students.
The county's high school, which had only been established for a few years, also responded to this movement.
However, our county was remote. When this movement officially started, it was already in the seventies. At that time, there were two people who led this movement. One was Feng Qianjun, and the other was Chen Jianguo.
Both of them were in the third year of high school. They each formed two student organizations. One was called the "First Command," or "First Division." The other was called the "Proletariat Joint Action Committee," or "Linkage."
After these two student organizations were officially established, they started the movement of "Knock down all the evils and get rid of the Five Evils." The school also stopped classes.