Volume Two: Secret Burial in the Cliff Valley—Chapter 113: The Bone Picker

"Today is the seventh day of the ninth lunar month. Are you saying that the ghosts I saw were preparing to head to the mountain peak to merge and then undergo cliff burial?" I asked.

Old Tan Tou nodded. "Exactly. And let me tell you, these two days every year belong to the spirits; the living must give way. Those who know the truth would never dare appear in the village on these two days. Otherwise..."

"Otherwise what?"

"Otherwise, if a living person encounters the cliff burial procession, they will be lured by the soul-guiding banner to the cliff designated for the burial, and they will be buried right along with the corpses. That is why I found it so strange that you encountered the procession and were not taken away. Now it seems this copper coin you are wearing saved you; otherwise, you would certainly have followed those ghosts already. You entered the village earlier, didn't you? Did you see any living people there?"

Hearing Old Tan Tou’s question, my previous doubts were finally resolved. We had been wondering why all the household items and tools in the village were arranged so neatly, as if the place weren't abandoned, yet there wasn't a single person to be found.

It turned out they all knew that today was the day of the cliff burial and had deliberately stayed away.

I felt a surge of irritation after hearing this and remarked, "Uncle Tan, why don't you put up a notice or something for these cliff burial days? What if someone wanders in by mistake like we did? Isn't that just setting a trap for people?"

Old Tan Tou glanced at me. "Nonsense. Who said we don't have warnings? Did you see the donkey at the village entrance?"

I nodded and said I had.

Old Tan Tou continued, "That is the warning. On the day of the cliff burial, the appearance of so many corpses in the village attracts wandering ghosts from outside who want to enter and possess the flesh. We place a donkey at the entrance as a sacrificial offering to those spirits. Once they get what they want, they retreat. It also serves as a warning to anyone wanting to enter the village that it is not the time to do so. Who knew you few fools would ignore it and charge into the village anyway?"

"We are outsiders; how were we supposed to know all this?" I complained with a bitter face. I looked at Old Tan Tou and asked in surprise, "Wait, that’s not right, Uncle Tan. Aren't you a resident of this village? Everyone else hid away, so why didn't you? Are you just making all this up to fool me?"

*Pfft...* Old Tan Tou suddenly puffed a cloud of pipe smoke directly into my face.

The smell was so pungent that it sent me into a fit of coughing.

Old Tan Tou grumbled, "I’m old enough, and I’ve never lied to anyone in my life. Believe it or leave it, kid. You can still catch up with that procession; go take off that copper coin and try it yourself, and you'll find out if what I said is true."

I was coughing until tears streamed down my face, so I waved my hands hurriedly. "I’m sorry, Uncle Tan, I didn't mean that. I just don't understand why you didn't hide."

Old Tan Tou leaned close to my face and asked ominously, "Do you want to know why I know such details and why I didn't hide?"

"W-why?"

Old Tan Tou pointed to his own nose. "Because I am the bone picker."

"What? You are the bone picker?"

"None other. In these past dozen years, I’ve picked, if not thousands, at least hundreds of skeletons."

As he spoke, Old Tan Tou revealed those black, withered hands of his again. They looked as if they were coated in grease, and they were so gaunt they were practically just skin and bone. His nails were long and looked sharp, much like an eagle's talons.

Looking at his hands, I glanced down at the piece of pancake I hadn't finished eating yet.

I froze for a good ten seconds, then could no longer hold it back. I threw the pancake away, scrambled out the door, and began to retch violently.

Old Tan Tou ignored me, while I stood there vomiting until I saw stars, feeling as though I were purging my very soul.

When I leaned on my knees and walked back inside, Old Tan Tou was still puffing on his pipe, looking as if nothing had happened.

I said with a grimace, "You said you were a pancake vendor! How did you suddenly turn into a bone picker?"

Old Tan Tou replied, "I said I used to sell pancakes in my younger years. Who in the area didn't know me back then? Folks from ten miles around came to buy my pancakes. It’s just that business went downhill, and I was too lazy to set up the stall every day, so I switched to picking bones. You didn't listen clearly, and now you’re blaming me."

I waved my hand. "Fine, fine. I won't argue with you; let's just say I didn't hear you correctly..."

Old Tan Tou kicked the pancake I had thrown on the floor. "Great, just a little bit of food, and you’ve gone and wasted it. There’s no more, so don't blame this old man for being a poor host. Just get some sleep here; everything will be fine once the sun rises tomorrow."

After all that, even though I was starving, I didn't want to touch his pancakes again. However, a thought suddenly struck me.

I had been separated from Third Uncle, Ma Su, and Liang Yue in the fog of Nanliu Village. According to Old Tan Tou, I was only spared because I had the copper coin and happened to run into him.

If Third Uncle and the others encountered the procession, could they have been lured away by the soul-guiding banner, just as he said?

A cold sweat broke out all over my body at the thought.

I stepped forward, grabbed Old Tan Tou’s arm, and asked urgently, "Uncle Tan, I have other companions. We got separated in that fog. Do you know where they are now?"

Old Tan Tou sneered. "Need you ask? In that ghostly fog, without a guide, there is no way they could have walked out. And the probability of them running into that ghostly procession is two hundred percent. If things go as planned, in two hours, their flesh and bones will arrive at the cliff valley."

"What?" I shuddered in terror and pleaded, "You have to save them... they are living people; how can they just be taken for a cliff burial?"

Old Tan Tou looked at me as if I were a stranger, then curled his lip. "You make it sound so easy. Why should I save them? I don't even know them."

"Uncle, do you want money? Just tell me how much, and I will pay you."

Old Tan Tou waved his hand. "This isn't about money. I am a bone picker. On the night of the cliff burial, I only attend to my own duties. Everything else has nothing to do with me."

My head buzzed, and I nearly collapsed. I was ready to kneel before the old man, begging, "Uncle, you can't just stand by and watch them die. They are my family. Just tell me, I’ll agree to any condition if you can just save them."

Old Tan Tou casually dug out another pouch of tobacco and filled his pipe. He used his pinky nail to stir the tobacco inside the bowl, flicked away the stray bits of leaf, and let out a yawn.

My heart was in a state of chaos, but I didn't dare say another word, forced to watch him perform these slow, deliberate motions.

"To save them... it's not impossible..."

Old Tan Tou finally said, very slowly.