Chapter 40 Retirement

The two shaking flashlight beams in the dark couldn’t slow down my unstable heartbeat. When I approached the huge bronze door, the overwhelming luster gave off an ancient, deep feeling.

It took some time to cover the distance and get closer to the door. As it got bigger and bigger before my eyes, I started to get more out of breath.

Luckily, we left the ghost seal outside. Otherwise, the door would probably open when we reached it.

No one knew how exactly to use the ghost seal, but last time, Little Brother seemed to have just taken it and gone in.

“It’s not time yet. If you get to the door and it fucking opens, he’ll be super embarrassed since he’s not wearing any pants.” Fatty said.

“He has pants. I’m wearing them.” I pointed to my pants.

“Then it’s even more fucking embarrassing.” Fatty said.

“Do you think Little Brother is the kind of person who cares about saving face? If he could come out early, then it wouldn’t matter if he wasn’t wearing any pants. If I was locked up for ten years, I’d definitely be willing to come out without any pants on as long as I can come out a few days early.”

Fatty sniffed, “Have you ever seen Little Brother lose face?”

“I don’t think so.” I tried to remember.

“In other words, Little Brother is definitely the kind of person who really cares about saving face. Otherwise, ordinary people will definitely have experiences losing face. Moreover, if we open the door before the time comes, maybe there will be a chain reaction.” Fatty made a move like Little Brother snapping our necks.

I turned to look at the door and was surprised to find that even at such a short distance, the patterns on it were still very delicate, just like in my dream. I thought of everything that had happened in my dream just now and felt a little uncomfortable.

The two of us looked at the door for a long time without speaking.

“Do you think I’ll live forever if I lick it?” Fatty murmured.

I took a deep breath and told myself it wasn’t that simple or crude.

“Little Brother, Little Brother, we’re here. If you’re in there, give us a squeak.” Fatty shouted at the top of his voice.

We quieted down and listened, but didn’t hear a peep.

“The door’s too thick.” Fatty patted me.

“Don’t mess around, what did you find?” I was a little impatient as he took something out of his pocket and gave it to me. I found that it was a stone.

“This is?”

“A stone tower.” Fatty said. “Someone put a simple stone tower on the shrine. We only got here so quickly because we followed it. It seems to be a mark left by Little Brother.”

It looked like he had put guide markers on every path. I touched the stone and asked, “Then what?”

“Then, there’s generally only one way to go, right?”

I nodded, and Fatty said, “The path Little Brother showed us led to a fork in the road.”

I was silent for a moment and suddenly realized the reason why he had asked me to come over. I thought about it and quietly asked, “Did you go and check out the other path?”

“I was worried about your safety, so I came here first.” Fatty sat down in front of the bronze door. “Are you going to have a look?”

I also sat down and shook my head. Fatty showed a surprised expression and asked, “Oh, you’re not interested? Maybe Little Brother left something there that you’ll need to know.”

“True,” I said. “Maybe everything is in that place. But maybe, he’s just trying to test me. Maybe he’s worried I’m still someone who can’t see the truth clearly and can’t let it go.”

Fatty was silent and gave me a long look. I stared right back, and after a long time, he finally asked, “You really don’t want to see it?”

“I’m not interested at all.” I answered.

“The prodigal son can really turn around.” Fatty gave a thumbs up. “It’s not that you have a bad temper, but after going through so many experiences, you have to know when to stop. In that case, we’ll wait. What are you going to do when Little Brother comes out? Have you ever thought about it?”

I looked at the bronze door in front of me and said, “I once visited a mountain village in the south of Fujian. The feng shui of the village is very strange. It’s located on half the slope of a valley, and water from six waterfalls falls on the village all year round, as if it were raining. There was an old man in the village who said that monks had visited there before, and they wrote a poem saying that it hadn’t been dry for thousands of years.

“It’s beautiful there and the water is clean. There are a lot of big trees near the village, and the village itself is very simple. I’m going to stay there for a while. Little Brother will be free if he comes out, and I don’t know where he’ll go.”

“What about your business?”

“I’ll give it to Xiao Hua. I owe him. Whether he shuts it down or keeps it going, it’s up to him.”

“Damn it, I’ve been your brother for so many years, yet you’re giving it to Xiao Hua instead of me?”

I grabbed Fatty’s pig neck and said, “As your brother for many years, I’ll solemnly tell you that you should retire. Come to the village with me. The village secretary is perfect for you.”

Fatty smiled and suddenly pushed aside the stone in front of him, revealing the ghost seal and a bronze groove underneath.

“Xiao Hua said that if you chose to go to the fork in the road and have a look, your fate wouldn’t change and this thing should be buried here forever. If you give up, you deserve a future.”

I looked at him and asked, “What are you playing at?”

“He won’t come down.” Fatty replied.

I felt an ominous premonition in my heart, “What happened to Xiao Hua?”

“Don’t worry, he’s fine. He’s waiting for us up there.” Fatty shrugged and stood up. “This is the last time you’ve been deceived. We should all retire. It’s only when you really leave that you can—”

“End it.” I finished for him. “Become someone without a past or future. Someone who has nothing to do with this world.”

<Chapter 39> <Table of Contents><Chapter 41>