Flowers of the Departed Souls - Chapter 31

Ever since Luo Yifu heard her younger brother Luo Xiaojie’s voice that day and was almost entangled by the Departed Soul Flowers, her expression had been somewhat dazed. Those flowers, those flowers—she truly felt she had seen them somewhere before, but the impression was blurry.

The start of school was approaching, and she really hadn’t adjusted her emotions well enough to go back. Once there, it would be at least several months again. Or, perhaps leaving this village was the best choice; she could escape all her worries.

Her heart had been tormented by an unspeakable emotion. She wanted to tell her mother that her brother was still alive, but she was afraid her mother couldn’t handle the shock. Her brother’s disappearance had been the heaviest blow to her mother, who had consequently fallen seriously ill. Moreover, she hadn’t actually seen Luo Xiaojie herself, so how could she be certain he was truly alive? Therefore, in front of their mother, they no longer dared to mention Luo Xiaojie’s name, fearing it would trigger her sorrow again.

She wanted to call her father, but would her father believe her? Her father’s whereabouts were always unpredictable. Although he called every week, she felt he was already very, very distant from them. She could no longer recall the scene of their family of four celebrating holidays together. Back then, there was Xiaojie, and their parents, sunbathing by the sea, building sandcastles. How happy they were! But that happiness seemed to have been swept away by the waves, and she couldn’t remember when her father became obsessed with ancient ruins, obsessed with a wandering life.

But her father always sent her unique items from different countries: a Bolivian Mother Earth figurine, a Spanish handmade coarse linen belt, an Indian silver necklace, and various small porcelain dolls. Her room was overflowing. But he didn’t know that her heart was actually as empty as a desolate city. Why didn’t Father understand? In fact, what she wanted wasn’t gifts, but the joy of their family being together.

At this moment, she looked at an unopened package. It had been several days, and she hadn’t had the inclination to open it. If curiosity could age, Luo Yifu felt truly ancient.

She stared at the package for a full two minutes, then picked up the scissors nearby and opened it. It was probably some strange foreign trinket again. If she didn’t like it, she would just throw it away.

She opened it with utter disinterest, but when she cut the seal of the box, her fingers paused, and her heart trembled inexplicably. The faces of the tragically dead guests at the inn suddenly flashed in her mind: severed fingers? eyeballs? heads?

God, why am I thinking that way? How could I have such terrifying thoughts? She took a deep breath, shook her head, and tried to calm herself. She slowly opened the box, but a blood-red monster suddenly sprang out from inside. It had a wolf’s face, a head but no body, with many strange patterns on its face, round, bulging eyes, and a large mouth. It pounced directly onto Luo Yifu’s face. For a moment, Luo Yifu’s mind went blank.

After a long while, she regained her senses and found that the monster hadn’t actually pounced on her, and she wasn’t hurt. It was still in the box. She reached out and moved it; it had no reaction. She moved it again and realized it was just a monster made of stone. But she had never seen such a crimson stone, and it looked warm and lustrous, vibrant like a cockscomb. If it wasn’t carved into such an ugly monster, it should be a good stone. Could it be jade?

She checked the bottom of the box. There was a spring. She let out a long sigh of relief. It was just a toy. But her father had always been a serious person; why would he buy her something like this? Why would he be so mischievous?

What exactly was this thing?

She picked up a slip of paper from underneath. On it was written:

Taotie: Shan Hai Jing: Bei Shan Jing (Classic of Mountains and Seas: Classic of the Northern Mountains) states: “On Mount Gouwu, there is much jade above and much copper below. There is a beast there, whose shape is like a sheep’s body and a human face, its eyes are under its armpits, tiger teeth and human claws, its sound is like that of an infant, its name is Paoxiao, and it eats people.”

Could this ugly monster be the Taotie? Why would Father send this to me? As she was thinking, the phone rang. It was her father. “Honey, is that you?”

“Dad, it’s me.”

“I imagine you’re probably still pondering that monster, aren’t you?”

Luo Yifu’s heart tightened, but she had to admire her father’s foresight. “Yes, Dad. Why did you send me something so ugly, and it popped out and scared me to death.”

Luo Jialiang laughed loudly. “Daughter, this is no ordinary thing. It’s carved from a rare red jade. This kind of red jade is almost extinct, priceless, even rarer and more valuable than mutton-fat jade. This thing is actually our family’s mascot, passed down through generations. I’ve always kept it with me, and now I’ve sent it to you. This thing can keep you safe. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Luo Yifu thought for a moment and then asked the question she most wanted to ask, the one that had been weighing on her heart the longest: “Dad, so many terrible things have happened at the inn. Aren’t you going to come and take a look?”

There was a long silence on the other end. “It’s not that Dad doesn’t want to come back; it’s that Dad can’t help himself, child. This world isn’t as simple as you think. Actually, I truly want to fly to your side right now, and for us, a family of three, to live a good life, but—” Luo Jialiang seemed to want to say something but couldn’t. “Child, I can only try my best to get away and come back early. And how is your mom doing now?”

“She’s fine now, and her health is good. She spends her days reciting the Diamond Sutra.”

“Sigh, that puts my mind at ease. And remember, wear that Taotie red jade around your neck. Don’t let anyone know about it, and don’t let anyone take it. Although it’s a bit ugly, don’t underestimate it. It once took a bullet for me from a grave robber. If it weren’t for it, I might not be talking to you right now. Also, it’s not as simple as it looks on the surface. I won’t say anything else; you’ll discover it slowly. Child, don’t look for me; you won’t find me. I’ll still call once a week. Oh, and one more important thing: you’re going to school soon. Study hard, get ready. You’ll go to school tomorrow, and I’ll send someone to pick you up.”

“No, Dad, I’ll go myself. I’ll definitely go tomorrow, okay?”

There was a long silence on the other end. “Alright, you never lie to Dad, do you?”

“Of course not.”

“Good then. Be careful on your way, and stay safe. I’m hanging up.”

“Dad…” Luo Yifu still had a lot she wanted to say to her father, and there were too many doubts in her heart that needed to be resolved. But the phone was already beeping with a disconnected signal. For a moment, Luo Yifu’s heart was filled with loneliness. This loneliness instantly swept over her soul like a tide. She had never felt so alone, so sad, so helpless, making her suddenly want to cry. This world was completely different from what she imagined, making her feel an boundless despair.

She looked at the Taotie, then suddenly grabbed the entire box fiercely, threw it to the ground, and then frantically stomped on it again and again. That furious emotion made it difficult for her to calm down for a long time. She wondered if she had truly gone mad. That feeling that had been suppressed in her heart for too long was truly driving her crazy.

Her brother’s disappearance, the bloodthirst of the Departed Soul Flowers, the horrifying deaths at the inn, and the sound of her brother crying for her to leave at the scene—she vaguely felt that all of this had some connection to her father, but she never knew how to talk to him about it. But now she realized that her father didn’t even give her a chance to express her doubts. In his heart, he still regarded her as a child, a child who shouldn’t be exposed to the adult world, a child who shouldn’t know too much.

But at this moment, she saw the Taotie suddenly light up, emitting a faint, blood-red glow. That light was intense, like the angry eyes of a wolf, flashing suddenly and then vanishing just as suddenly. For a moment, Luo Yifu wondered if she was hallucinating. Only someone who was utterly insane would have such a delusion.

She slowly approached the Taotie. It still lay on the ground, so lonely. At this moment, it looked so ugly, yet so innocent and pitiful, with no light at all. Was it really her own hallucination just now? Looking at its innocent appearance, devoid of any life, she suddenly felt that, at one point, it seemed to understand her feelings. And at this moment, it looked so much like her, like an abandoned, forgotten little dog.

She squatted down, picked it up, and after hesitating for a long time, put it around her neck. She suddenly had a strange feeling. It wasn’t that it had become a part of her body; rather, she herself seemed to have become a part of this monster’s body, as if completing the greatest flaw of this large-headed, bodiless monster. And this Taotie therefore became complete, no longer appearing so hideous.

Just then, she heard a knock on the door and her mother’s voice. “Yifu, it’s late. Go to bed early. Did your father call just now?”

“Oh, he called. He’s doing well there. I thought you were asleep just now, so…”

“That’s good. Go to sleep.”

Her mother’s voice sounded incredibly tired and aged, and her almost doting tolerance for her father. Luo Yifu felt a pang in her heart. “Mom, I’m turning off the lights and going to sleep. You should go to bed early too.”

Luo Yifu lay down, touching the Taotie jade pendant around her neck, but she couldn’t sleep at all. Was this thing really a family heirloom? Oh, right, if it was a family heirloom, Mother might not know, but Grandma would definitely know. Although there was some tension between Mother and Grandma, privately, Luo Yifu was still very close to Grandma.

Besides wanting to know if this Taotie was truly a family heirloom, she also wanted to know what was special about it, what special story it held. She knew she couldn’t get any more details about it from her father, but she always felt it wasn’t a simple object, because even though it was ugly, it was very strange and mysterious.

Anyway, it would be best to ask Grandma about this scary thing first.