Otherworldly Merchant

After the cheers ended, they tied the python on a bamboo pole and prepared to return to the village and put it on display. 

Fourth Uncle picked up the wooden fish, claiming it as his.

Worried, I told him, “This wooden fish isn’t something ordinary. It could be an otherworldly item. You should just burn it to prevent any trouble to the villagers later.”

Fourth Uncle wasn’t pleased. “This wooden fish has been inside that python’s stomach for an unknown period of time. I’m sure its medicinal value isn’t less than ginseng or Ganoderma.”

I tried to talk him out of it again and again but he wasn’t listening to what I had to say. So I thought it was best not to try anymore, I knew he would regret it eventually. 

When the massive python was brought to the village, it stirred up the entire place; everybody came to see it. Fourth Uncle said that they would have a bonfire party that night to celebrate.

The bonfire party was a huge success. The crowd surrounded and admired the python. Later on, they burned it, leaving just the skeleton as a decoration. They even hung fresh flowers on the skeleton, which beautified it.

Fourth Uncle kept the wooden fish as a treasure in his house. Yin Xinyue noticed my glum face throughout it all. “What happened to you?” 

I then explained my worries to Yin Xinyue. She said, “You shouldn’t overthink, it shouldn’t be so complicated. It’s just a big python. It didn’t want to hurt the villagers before it died, so I don’t think it would want to hurt them after its death?” 

I sighed. “You’d better be right.”

However, it was hard to predict things and soon, disaster occurred…At night, while I was sleeping, I was awakened by the sound of someone knocking on a wooden fish. 

At first, I thought that it was just stress and that I must’ve misheard it. However, when I listened carefully, the sound became clearer. It came in waves, giving me a splitting headache.

I woke Li Mazi up. “Did you hear someone knocking the wooden fish?”

Li Mazi shook his head. “Are you out of your mind? It’s midnight. Who’s so bored to knock on wooden fish now?”

Then, he turned to his side, falling back asleep. 

It was strange. Why could I hear it clearly when he didn’t hear a thing? It was definitely abnormal. I decided to go to Fourth Uncle’s to check. I had to be ready if it was caused by some otherworldly item.

However, the moment I left my room, the knocking sound stopped. I sighed in relief. Perhaps I was just overthinking. 

The next day, Yin Xinyue brought us on a sightseeing tour around the village. However, I wasn’t really in the mood as the knocking sound was still on my mind. 

When night fell, I heard the knocking sound again. Under such torment, I considered going to check on Fourth Uncle. 

After making up my mind, I put on my clothes and headed towards Fourth Uncle’s house. 

The night was dark and quiet. Stars twinkled in the sky, but stingily; there were no lights to illuminate the village. The flashlight in my hand was weak and I couldn’t see far away. When a cold wind blew, it gave me a chill that made me shudder. 

When I walked past the python’s skeleton, I heard the wind whistling through the ribs and making sounds as if someone was sobbing. I pointed my flashlight at the skeleton. 

It had been hung down from the trees, and whenever there was a breeze, it would gently sway and the flowers on it would softly fall. 

The white bones, the fierce python skull, the moving body, all looked terrifying. I couldn’t help but pace up. 

Soon, I came to Fourth Uncle’s house. 

Fourth Uncle’s house was closed. When I was there, I was sensitive enough to notice that the knocking sound came from his room. I jumped over his wall and crept towards his room. I pushed open a slit on his window. As soon as I saw the scene inside, I was speechless. 

I would have never expected it to be Fourth Uncle knocking on the wooden fish!

His eyes were closed but every knock he made on the wooden fish was precise. His face was stiff and his moves were steady as if he had parasomnia.

What is going on?

All of a sudden, Fourth Uncle stopped moving. Carefully, he held up the wooden fish and aimed at the slit in the middle, blowing his breath into the fish. 

He had blown like that for quite a long time, and he didn’t stop to take  more breaths. 

Eventually, when his face reddened, he opened his eyes. His eyes were now congested and horribly bulging. 

I was indeed worried that he could hold and send his breath like that and cause death to himself. I was about to storm in and snatch the wooden fish from him. However, around half a minute of blowing his breath, Fourth Uncle finally took a deep breath and placed the wooden fish back on the table and resumed his knocking rhythm. 

For the whole night, he repeated the two actions as if they were a repeating loop. 

And the strange thing was, despite sleeping in the same room as his wife, Fourth Uncle didn’t wake her up. Sometimes, his wife mumbled something in her sleep, but that was it. 

The other villagers didn’t hear the knocking noise either. It was really strange since I could hear the noise from a far distance, yet they couldn’t hear it at all. Why was that? I vaguely felt that this wooden fish wasn’t something ordinary. I was sure it was an otherworldly item. 

At this moment, I couldn’t disturb Fourth Uncle. I heard that if we woke up people from their parasomnia, we might cause some damage to their brain. 

That was why I had stayed outside his house and watched until the roosters from the village began to crow at the break of dawn. Then, Fourth Uncle stopped hitting his wooden fish and went to bed. 

In the morning, I sneakily told Li Mazi my findings. 

Li Mazi was initially frightened but it quickly became excitement. “That wooden fish’s a treasure. I’m sure it’s been left by that road-blocking ghost. I wonder how much it’s worth?”

I drew a cigarette, forcing myself to calm down. I told Li Mazi, “Although it may be a treasure, we can’t take it. I have never heard about such an otherworldly item before. If we take it, I’m afraid we could take calamity with us!”

My only thought now was to burn that wooden fish. Perhaps, the spirit inside would rest after the wooden fish has been destroyed. 

Li Mazi was a little disappointed. “What is the alternative?”

Shaking my head, I told him, “For the time being, I don’t have any better solution…” 

And now, what I was worried about was how to explain it all to Fourth Uncle. If I told him something was wrong with the wooden fish, he probably would not believe me. I couldn’t just force him to give me the wooden fish. 

After thinking about it for quite a long time, I decided to go and see Yin Xinyue. She grew up here. Perhaps she could persuade Fourth Uncle!