The heavy rain finally poured down. Hundreds of people surrounded the flagpole, solemnly as if they were in the middle of a flag-raising ceremony.
No one dared to move, and no one dared to leave.
Only the old principal was still kowtowing. His speed was getting slower and slower. With every kowtow, he would ask, "Why?"
As if he was asking the heavens, but also as if he was asking himself.
The wound on his forehead, which had long been damaged, widened as it collided with the cement floor. Blood gushed out like a torrential downpour, mixing with the rain. Soon, a large patch of blood was dyed red as it floated in front of the crowd.
Finally, some people retreated. They did not dare to step on the old principal's blood.
The crowd retreated again and again until they finally stopped at the school gates.
The old principal finally stopped moving. His head was on the ground, and his face was buried deep in the pool of blood. It was as if he was too ashamed to face his daughter, who was currently hanging on the flagpole and bathing in the rain. It was as if he was hiding something.
There were only a few hundred students in the county high school, so the campus was naturally not big. At that moment, the old principal's blood mixed with the rain and floated to every corner of the campus.
Feng Qianjun, who had been hiding in the auditorium, appeared. He led a group of people, stepped on the old headmaster's blood, and rushed to the front of the flag platform. He extended his leg and kicked the old headmaster's ribs.
Li Anbang was kicked over, and he lay flat on the ground. He was long dead, but his eyes were wide open and bloodshot. It was as if the last bit of blood in his body had all surged into his eyes, and they were so red that they were almost black.
Feng Qianjun had already raised his leg again, but he could not bring it down no matter what. He ordered the others to collect the old principal and his daughter's corpses in a low voice before leaving in a hurry.
The old principal and his daughter were buried in a piece of barren land behind the school.
When the school was first built, the old principal had told others that when he passed away, he would be buried here. That way, he could lie in the ground and look at the school that he had poured his heart and soul into, as well as the children in the school.
Now, the old headmaster's wish had come true. However, at the time, he would never have imagined that he was not the only one buried in this wasteland. His daughter was also buried there.
At the end of the story, Auntie Chen's face was covered in tears. She choked and said, "Since that day, almost half of the students in the school dropped out, including me. I was in my second year of high school. After I dropped out, I stayed at home and worked as a farmer. At that time, I thought I would never be able to go to this school again. Who knew that after half my life had passed, I would come here again … Actually, since yesterday, I felt that it might have something to do with what happened back then, but I didn't dare to tell you, and I didn't dare to think about it …"
At this point, Auntie Chen almost broke down. She sobbed and continued, "I was in the auditorium that night. When Feng Qianjun asked us to leave, everyone knew what would happen, but no one stopped them, and no one reached out to help the girl. No one, not even me …"
The fatty and I were crying and clenching our fists. Our hearts were filled with hatred, but we didn't know how to vent it.
Fatty's father also took out the tobacco pot that he always carried with him and slowly filled it with smoke.
Only Old He was still calm. He sighed and waited for Auntie Chen to calm down. Then, he asked hesitantly, "After that day, nothing strange happened?"
Auntie Chen stopped crying. She had a strange expression on her face. There seemed to be a faint smile on her face, but her pupils shrunk. After a while, she let out a breath and said, "How could it not be?
What people do, the heavens are watching. Sooner or later, the heavens will still give retribution … "
"That rain lasted for seven days. It's been a few decades, and I've never seen such heavy rain again … On the seventh night, the water even washed away the old headmaster's grave. Both father and daughter's bodies were soaked, but their eyes were still wide open. No one in the school dared to go and fill the old headmaster's grave, no one even dared to walk in that direction …"
"It was also from that night onwards that the twenty or so bastards in the auditorium all started to have headaches. They screamed in pain, and even pulled out their hair. After pulling out their hair, they started to hit their heads against the wall. It was as if they didn't care about their lives, as if that would make them feel better … Those few days, the entire school was filled with their screams and banging against the wall. Everyone said that they were kowtowing to the old headmaster to apologize …"
"And in the end?"
"In the end, they all ended up like the old headmaster, hitting themselves to death. A total of twenty-eight people, not a single one was missing."
Hearing the final outcome, I didn't know why, but I felt a little relieved. These people weren't humans at all, they were just a bunch of demons. Perhaps death was the best ending for them.
For some reason, Old He's expression didn't relax at all. Instead, it became even more serious. He frowned and asked Auntie Chen, "At that time, didn't the people in the school find someone to take a look at this?"
"They did … Why didn't they find someone?
From the moment those people started to have headaches, everyone felt that something was wrong, and started to find people who knew about this.
But in that era, everyone talked about breaking the feudal superstition. Those who understood these things were tortured to the point of no longer being human. The things passed down by their ancestors were all gone, and no one dared to show them … In the end, they found a foreign doctor, which is what we call Western medicine now. After diagnosing them, they said that they were suffering from mania and even gave them medicine, but no one believed them. Even after taking the medicine, it didn't have any effect.
In the end, someone who knew about this came to find them, but by then, those twenty or so people had already died. "
Old He stood up and walked slowly in circles along the corridor in the dormitory. His frown deepened, as though he was thinking about a difficult problem.
In the middle of this, the headmaster interrupted and asked him what we should do next.
Old He raised his hand to interrupt him, but he didn't answer and continued to pace around.
After a long time, he stopped and asked Auntie Chen, "What about the old headmaster's grave?
Did the person who came last arrange for it to be moved away? "
Auntie Chen narrowed her eyes and thought for a while. She nodded and said, "I heard that it was arranged by that person.
That person was also very capable. After the old headmaster's grave was moved away, the school settled down, and nothing strange happened all these years, until now … "
Old He nodded and asked again, "What about the other twenty-eight people who died?"
Auntie Chen was stunned, and she said uncertainly, "I've never heard of that. They should have been taken away by their families to be buried."
"Then do you still remember what that expert looked like and where he was from?" Old He asked more urgently this time.
Auntie Chen shook her head and said, "I have a vague impression of his face, but he wasn't from around here. I've never seen him before. After that incident, I haven't seen him again. I'm sure he wasn't from around here."
Old He nodded and didn't ask Auntie Chen anymore. Instead, he told the headmaster to bring us to the dormitory and clean it up as soon as possible so that the students would have a place to stay at night.
Then, Old He brought Fatty's father to our dormitory. Fatty and I wanted to follow them, but Old He stopped us. "The Yin energy in the dormitory is thick, and it's not good for us to go in."
I felt regretful, but they didn't close the door after they entered the dormitory. I stood outside, and I could still see the situation inside.
Old He didn't do anything. He only took out something that looked like a mugwort leaf and instructed Fatty's father to use it to sweep the dormitory wall. Then he took out a yellowish vertical strip of paper and pasted it on the wall above the dormitory door. Then he specially asked the principal to find a wooden plank and nail and pass it in. He and Fatty's father busied themselves for half a day before nailing the wooden plank onto the yellow paper. That was it.
After we left, Old He told the headmaster that the dormitory would be empty for one more day. The students would be able to come back tomorrow. Also, we had to stick the yellow paper on the wall. We couldn't let the students touch it.
The matter with the dormitory was settled. Next, Old He brought Fatty's father to the old principal's grave.
I thought that Old He would let Fatty and I go back to class. Who knew that Old He would ask us to take the two of us with him before he left.
As soon as he said that, the two of us eagerly followed him.
When they came out of the dormitory, they bumped into Auntie Chen again. Auntie Chen said hesitantly to Old He, "Uncle, I know the perpetrator this time is the old principal … But the old principal suffered too much when he was alive. If it's possible, can you give the old principal a better ending?
I know you're a capable man … "
Old He nodded. "Of course, I understand."
Then, he sighed. "However, the old headmaster wasn't the one who did this."
I didn't understand. The blood baby ran to the old headmaster's grave. If it wasn't the old headmaster who did this, who else could it be?
Old He didn't want to talk more. He took the lead and left the dormitory building.
When we left the school, the headmaster gave Old He a stack of money. It was all one-hundred-renminbi bills.
My eyes widened. This stack of money was at least three or four thousand. Back then, our annual school fees were only a hundred something. We had never seen so much money before.
I couldn't help but look at Old He in a different light. He was able to gather so much money in just two days. No wonder he always used the Santana to travel.
Old He didn't stand on ceremony and took the money. But after he took it, he handed it to Fatty's father and asked him to accept it.
Fatty's father chuckled. "Our family worships the God of Death. You're going to harm me by giving me this money."
Old He then stopped and took the money. Then, he brought us to the father and daughter's grave.
This time, we didn't have to run anymore. Old He drove the Santana and brought us to the place in no time.
The last time I came, I felt terrified when I saw the grave and the blood baby. But this time, I felt sad when I saw the old headmaster's grave.
Even if there was a demon buried in the grave, it was forced by someone else.
This time, Old He didn't study anything else. He said, "Open the grave." Then, he got to work.
The middle-aged driver took the tools from the car and started to dig the grave. Fatty's father worked with him. Even Old He, who was old, joined in.
But when Fatty and I wanted to help, they wouldn't let us.
Old He's body was sturdier than a young man's, and the middle-aged man was also very strong.
Not long after the three of them dug, the grave was opened. There was a coffin inside, but it was already rotten. When we poked it, the bones inside were revealed.
The blood baby that I had imagined didn't appear.
Soon, they cleared the bones. Before Old He could say anything, Fatty's father realized something was wrong. He said, "Why is there only one person's skeleton?"
Old He's face darkened. He shook his head. "This isn't the old headmaster's grave."
Not the old headmaster's grave?
Then why are there memorial tablets for the father and daughter?