He remembered that Ren Miao lived in the courtyard next to his, and that person could be awakened by the slightest footstep. It didn’t make sense that they had been noisily preparing to leave, yet he hadn’t heard anything or shown his face.
Ren Miao had once saved his life, and Yan Xiaohan felt indebted. He should help him if possible.
As dusk fell and evening approached, sparse lights appeared in the village. Yan Xiaohan, using the twilight as cover, slipped into the village’s ancestral hall following the morning’s path.
The village chief and clan elders gathered outside the ancestral hall. In the courtyard, three decorated carts adorned with fresh flowers carried people in white mourning clothes. Yan Xiaohan couldn’t make out their faces or determine if they were alive or dead. He heard an elder say, “Everything is prepared. It’s time to set out.”
Several young men pushed the carts, carrying white paper lanterns, as they slowly walked out. The scene resembled a funeral procession and appeared eerily desolate in the fading twilight.
Yan Xiaohan wanted to follow them to investigate but noticed the mute child from earlier, silently mouthing words towards the eaves where he had hidden that morning.
Realizing the child was a mute, Yan Xiaohan saw him looking bewildered, repeatedly mouthing “Are you there?”
Perhaps his morning’s compassion had not entirely faded; Yan Xiaohan felt the child meant no harm. Stepping out from his hiding place, he asked, “Are you looking for me?”
The child turned, pale as a ghost. Seeing Yan Xiaohan, he urgently gestured for him to follow. They wound through several turns, arriving at a courtyard behind the ancestral hall.
The child led him to a house, pointing at the door, indicating Yan Xiaohan should enter. When asked if he would enter, the child shook his head, showing bruises on his arm and mimicking a beating gesture.
Yan Xiaohan understood this was likely a secret place in the village where ordinary people were forbidden entry, explaining the child’s bruises.
He nodded, saying, “Thank you.”
The child stepped back, and Yan Xiaohan gently pushed open the wooden door and entered.
