A Prophet - Chapter 25 (Part 1)

Chapter 1 - The Death of the Second Boss Leader

Prisons also have factions and cliques, with members of different secret societies sticking together. Just on the second day after entering, the men from the Jiangxiang Faction started a brawl with the men from the Shenwu Sect. Led by the Second Boss Leader, a dozen or so brothers from the Muzi Lotus faction beat the spiritual tricksters of the Shenwu Sect until their heads were blooming with injuries. Later on, everyone involved in this brawl was thrown into solitary confinement, and the Second Boss Leader was locked up for a full month. In that room of just a few square meters, he couldn't even stretch his legs or lie down flat, and the Second Boss Leader stubbornly endured it for a whole month.

After coming out, the Second Boss Leader had lost a tremendous amount of weight, his eyes were sunken, and his spirit was completely gone. Even later when everyone worked together in assembly, he kept dozing off. Since the quota was difficult to finish, the brothers simply sped up their own hands and helped him out. Back then, prison regulations mandated that every prisoner had to pack 3,000 boxes of matches every day. Packing matches was a very popular form of labor reform in prisons at the time; crates of matchsticks and matchboxes were initially separate, and only after being processed and boxed by prisoners did they become complete commodities circulated in the market. Later on, some confidential documents were also printed by prison inmates to ensure absolute secrecy of the information. Even after the reform and opening up, when the nation restored the college entrance examination, for a period of time the exam papers were printed right inside prisons.

The following year, an old friend arrived at the prison—Li Qiming. Back in the day, the Li and Zhang families held a long-standing grudge, plotting against each other. In the end, the "Immortal Hand" of the Jiangxiang Faction used eel blood to make fake handprints, and suggested that Grandfather execute the "Iron Casting Murder" method to trick Li Qiming. Ultimately, Li Qiming paid to build the ancestral hall for Zhang Ergou's family, while Zhang Ergou was also poisoned to death, leaving both the Zhang and Li families ruined. After the founding of the New China, seeing that the ancestral hall was unmanaged and covered in dust, the government planned to confiscate it. However, Li Qiming jumped out and said, "Though the ancestral hall belongs to the Zhang family, it was my Li family's money that built it. You can requisition it, but you have to pay some money."

Later, when negotiations broke down, Li Qiming secretly buried "scissor traps" and "weasel traps" in the ancestral hall—these were things used in the countryside to catch rabbits and weasels. A few militia members weren't paying attention, and with a few loud snaps, their ankles were clamped shut. Li Qiming suddenly became a counter-revolutionary.

As soon as Li Qiming walked in, he recognized the Second Boss Leader and pointed right at his nose: "You lot are just a bunch of swindlers!"

"Hehe. You guessed right. But it's too late. Didn't you get locked up here too?" The Second Boss Leader chuckled.

"You lot should all be shot dead just like that old bastard!"

"I'll fuck your mother! How dare you curse Grandfather!" The Second Boss Leader leaped up, raised his fist, and struck out.

A prison guard walked over and shouted sternly: "What are you doing? Behave yourselves! Want to go to solitary confinement again?"

The Second Boss Leader instantly softened up, turned his head, and put on a smiling face: "Officer, he was cursing me."

"Stop grinning, there are no officers here!" the prison guard said solemnly, then pointed at the group: "Listen up, all of you, don't cause trouble in here!"

Li Qiming really shouldn't have provoked the Second Boss Leader right as he came in. With his years of underworld prestige and fighting prowess, the Second Boss Leader was now the boss of the cell block.

That night, after the guards went to rest, at the Second Boss Leader's command, several cellmates swarmed forward, covered Li Qiming with a quilt, and gave him a severe beating. Covering someone with a quilt while beating them was a clever trick that left no marks on the skin surface, only internal injuries. The next day, when Li Qiming tearfully reported it, it didn't attract any attention. That night, everyone drove Li Qiming off the communal sleeping platform and forced him to sleep in the corner specifically used for urinating. After being tormented like this a few times, Li Qiming became completely docile.

If Li Qiming had remained this docile, he might have been able to return to the human world after a few years. Yet he was fundamentally a restless and unyielding person. Before a month had passed, he took advantage of yard time to hook up with the thugs of the Shenwu Sect. The Shenwu Sect members were plotting a prison break with a very meticulous plan, but unexpectedly, on the night before the operation, Li Qiming inexplicably started sleep-talking, which was overheard by the vigilant Second Boss Leader.

The Second Boss Leader secretly consulted me and the Fourth Boss Leader: "Should we run away with them?"

The Fourth Boss Leader and I shook our heads together: "Second Brother, we are all serving fixed-term sentences. Once we finish our sentences, we can start anew. Escaping is seeking our own doom."

The Second Boss Leader scratched his head: "You guys will get out in five or six years, but I have to stay for over a decade. By the time I get out, I'll be old too. I might as well make a desperate gamble!"

"Don't do anything stupid, Second Brother!" I said anxiously.

"I've got it!" the usually clever Fourth Boss Leader had a flash of inspiration and said, "Doesn't the government keep emphasizing making contributions to atone for crimes? Second Brother, you can inform on them. If you expose them all, it's a major contribution, and your sentence can be commuted."

The Second Boss Leader shook his head: "This doesn't conform to underworld code."

"Oh, Second Brother," the Fourth Boss Leader and I were almost laughing in exasperation, "What time is it, and you're still talking about underworld code. The code we followed for decades—didn't it still end up making us prisoners? We took the wrong path, turn back before it's too late. Informing on them is the real code. The Shenwu Sect members commit all sorts of crimes; once their prison break succeeds, they'll inevitably plague the world. Exposing them is acting on behalf of heaven."

The Second Boss Leader pondered for a moment, then nodded heavily.

Early the next morning, the Second Boss Leader requested an audience with the prison administration and secretly reported the matter. The prison smashed the prison-break plot in one fell swoop; several of the Shenwu Sect's leaders were executed by firing squad, Li Qiming's sentence was changed to life imprisonment, and the Second Boss Leader's sentence was reduced to under ten years due to major meritorious service.

Later, with the development of prison cultural construction, besides labor reform, we also organized study sessions at night to learn arithmetic, national language, political common sense, and read Up the Octagonal Building. Later still, the prison even started screening movies for us. The movie was called Advance, Masses!, and everyone watched it with burning enthusiasm. Afterwards, we watched The White-Haired Girl, and everyone was moved to tears.

Those years in prison were a major baptism of life for me. I finally understood why things like prisons exist in this world. What I saw here was not fear, nor sorrow, but cause and effect. So many once-arrogant people were tamed into absolute obedience. Whether they had committed heinous crimes or were just momentarily foolish, what goes around comes around in the underworld. At night, looking past the iron bars and gazing into the starry expanse, I often thought of Grandfather, of my deceased old mother, and of my younger sister far away. Sometimes I would also ponder my own future, a future where I knew not where to go. I especially couldn't understand why Grandfather had personally sent his brothers into prison, and I even occasionally hated him, hating him for leaving his brothers behind to fend for themselves while he journeyed alone to the netherworld.

Gradually, everyone grew accustomed to prison life and looked forward to the future after release.

In 1958, I finally finished my sentence and was released from prison, but the world outside had completely changed. People across the country were enthusiastically making steel in a massive frenzy, and the commune made a bold proclamation: catching up with Britain this year is not a problem!

Good heavens, my heart shook violently at the time, because I had no idea where Britain was, nor even why we needed to catch it. Walking down the streets, slogans were plastered everywhere, and there was a particularly interesting satirical verse: Grain stacks round and round, commune members step on them and reach the heavens; tear off a piece of white cloud to wipe away sweat, light a pouch of tobacco right on the sun.

I was completely dizzy. Grain stacks could reach the heavens? Clouds for wiping sweat? Lighting a cigarette on the sun? I could already feel the scorching passion of the "Great Leap Forward."

Before dying, Grandfather had entrusted his long-hidden wife and child to me, and this earth-shattering secret remained deeply buried in the bottom of my heart. I was brought up single-handedly by Grandfather, and I witnessed the final years of rise and fall of the Jiangxiang Faction. Grandfather had countless brothers and friends throughout his life, but in the end, he trusted only me.

What is the Dao, and what is righteousness? I did not know. I only knew that when entrusted with matters of life and death, one must pledge one's life in return. I promised Grandfather that I would keep this secret forever, allowing Grandfather's wife and son to permanently freeze her husband and his father in the image of an antique dealer. That mother and child were innocent and should not be dragged into the grievances and entanglements of the underworld. I had to take care of them, and even more so, protect them.

Therefore, the first thing I wanted to do after getting out of prison was to take a trip to Shandong to check on the mother and child. But I was penniless at the time. With the government's assistance, I entered a public-private joint supply and marketing cooperative to do odd jobs. By the spring of the following year, once I had saved enough travel expenses and bought some candy, I finally boarded the train bound for Shandong.

I cannot describe the feelings I had when I saw that woman, especially when the child beside her crisply called her "Mother." I knew this was Grandfather's flesh and blood, and I could no longer control myself. I pulled the little child into my arms, and tears rolled down.

The woman had no idea that behind my weeping lay an unspeakable Jiangxiang heartache. She still lived in a dream, living in the lies woven by Grandfather and me. She only knew that her husband was a businessman who had caught a chill in 1952 and could not be saved.

When I saw the two of them living in such poverty, I wanted nothing more than to hand over the box of items Grandfather left behind right away. But I also soberly realized that this was absolutely out of the question. Grandfather had instructed that if those things were not handled properly, not only would they fail to rescue poverty, but they would also invite disaster. Under a planned economy, who would dare flaunt gold and silver everywhere, especially since these were stolen goods of the Jiangxiang Faction?

I could only work my fingers to the bone—by day at the supply and marketing cooperative, by night at the threshing floor—trying my best to earn more work points and exchange them for more money and ration tickets. Aside from feeding myself, the rest was prepared to be delivered to Grandfather's widow every few days.

Grandfather's wife was named Guan Jingxiang, a renowned traditional Chinese medicine doctor in Cao County, Shandong. Her father had been executed by the Japanese back then because he refused to treat a puppet army leader. When Grandfather met her, she was only eighteen years old, but she had inherited her father's medical skills exceptionally well. The two fell in love at first sight, and the young woman pledged her body to him. Grandfather sowed the seed, and later their son was born on the night of a full moon. Grandfather named him "Shangguan Yue." Although Grandfather repeatedly concealed his identity, he used his true surname when naming his son; Grandfather's clan consciousness was still quite strong.

Later, the country entered the Three Years of Famine, when even tree bark was gnawed clean, and I no longer had the ability to take care of the mother and child.

A few years later, the Seventh Boss Leader Wang Jiaxian and the Fourth Boss Leader Zhang Zizhan were released from prison, and the economic situation began to improve. Two years after that, the Second Boss Leader also came out.

Of the former core members of the Muzi Lotus faction, only the four of us remained. On the day the Second Boss Leader was released from prison, the three of us personally went to the prison gates to pick him up. Afterward, we went to Old Fourth's home. Old Fourth brought out a bottle of sorghum liquor he had treasured for two years, Wang Jiaxian brought out a small piece of cured pork he had salted for half a year and couldn't bear to eat, and I brought four steamed corn bread rolls. Everyone washed a large pile of water radishes to dip in bean paste, and thus we sat down.

Pouring the liquor and raising our cups, all four of us fell silent. For so many years, such an occasion felt unfamiliar. Past events were like smoke, and we sat holding our cups in a daze for a long while.

"Let's toast to Grandfather first," I said.

"Right! Toast to Grandfather first!" the four Boss Leaders said in unison, and then the four of us drained our cups in one gulp.

Following that, everyone picked up the water radishes, dipped them in bean paste, and crunched away. Until the liquor was almost finished, no one could bring themselves to touch the few chopped pieces of meat. We had all suffered from hunger, we had all endured hardships, and we had even enjoyed good times, but at that moment, everyone lost the impulse to fight and grab like back in the day. Had we grown old, had our hearts grown quiet, or was it that the vicissitudes of human inconstancy made us unable to pick up these chopsticks that opened and closed?

"Old Fifth, you were the first to get out. Have there been any developments outside these years?" The Second Boss Leader chewed a piece of water radish with a loud crunch.

I was startled: "Developments? Being able to stay alive is already pretty good."

The Second Boss Leader let out a bitter laugh and said, "Inside, I often thought of the days of the past, of Grandfather, of the brothers. What are the plans of my brothers for the future?"

I let out a long sigh: "Plans? Be a good person and repay our great leader Chairman Mao."

The Second Boss Leader smiled and said, "Really?"

I said, "Sweet sugar is not as good as honey, warm bedding is not as good as skin, the grace of parents is heavy, but it cannot compare to Chairman Mao. Didn't you learn that inside?"

The Second Boss Leader quickly said, "Learned it, learned it!" After a long silence, the Second Boss Leader suddenly said, "Old Fifth, before Grandfather died, didn't he leave any verbal instructions? I remember a few times after hall meetings he kept you behind alone."

At his words, the Fourth Boss Leader and the Seventh Boss Leader both cast their gazes upon me.

I said, "There were no verbal instructions. He was just worried about the brothers' futures and hoped everyone would wash their hands of the underworld."

The Second Boss Leader let out a sigh: "Given Grandfather's style of doing things, he always left a backup plan for everything. Did he really not leave any words behind?"

"None." I silently shook my head.

The Second Boss Leader finally couldn't hold it in anymore and said, "Brothers, have you ever thought about rebuilding our faction?"

I couldn't help but gasp: "What era is this, and you're still thinking about rebuilding a faction? Anyway, I've spent enough time inside; I never want to go back in."

The Fourth Boss Leader also said, "I'll never play flying paper divination again in this lifetime!"

The Seventh Boss Leader nodded: "Second Brother, the times are different. Just live a good life."

The Second Boss Leader said, "Live a good life? Hoodlums like us don't know how to do anything else, how are we supposed to survive?"

I smiled: "People all over the country are building socialism in full swing; whether poor or rich, they live like this. Why can't we?"

The Second Boss Leader said, "There has to be a way to make money."

I glanced at him: "Textile mills, steel mills, tractor factories. If worst comes to worst, you can join a commune—farming, working the threshing floor, picking up manure, all of those work."

The Second Boss Leader laughed: "The wheel of fortune really does turn. I never imagined that Second Master here would be reduced to picking up manure." After falling silent for a moment, he suddenly said to everyone, "Haven't you guys found a woman all these years?"

That sentence hit right at the painful spot for the Fourth Boss Leader and me. I was inherently an ugly mug plus a scholarly pauper; besides a big head, I had no prominent features. Let alone having served time in a massive prison, even with a spotless record, which girl would ever fancy me? The Fourth Boss Leader was slightly better off than me—he looked better than me and was even educated, except his mind had suffered trauma, and sometimes he acted too silent. Girls all said he had mental issues and stayed far away from him.

Old Seven, Wang Jiaxian, was the truly capable one. He was naturally endowed with a scholar's appearance and an optimistic personality. After getting out of prison, he entered a textile mill specifically to deliver water to the workers. Later, when the unit leaders learned he had good handwriting, they had him write slogans for the factory. Just like that, a young maiden took a fancy to him. I figured that with his glib tongue, he must have described his past as utterly tragic and miserable while also demonstrating a clear conscience and the determination to turn over a new leaf. Who doesn't make mistakes in life? Once corrected, you're a good comrade. Just like that, Wang Jiaxian got married in the second year after his release from prison.

Hearing this, the Second Boss Leader laughed again: "Old Fifth, do you still remember the first time you went to a brothel with me? As soon as we stepped through the door, the madam would lead a group of girls following behind like ducklings. Ah, things have changed, it's all over."

"Oh, Second Brother knows how to use phrases like 'things have changed' now?" I said with a smile.

"I'm also someone who has read books inside," the Second Boss Leader said smugly, then abruptly changed the subject: "Did Grandfather really leave nothing behind, no path pointed out for the brothers?" The Second Boss Leader asked again.

"No," I said. "Grandfather had no choice either. He only said that if there's a chance, everyone should wash their hands and do something else."

"Do something else?" The Second Boss Leader snorted. "Grandfather was the one who led me down this path. Now that he's dead, he wants us to do something else?"

"Grandfather did it for everyone's good," I said.

The Second Boss Leader shook his head and said, "We can't do anything else. I'm too used to swindling; I'll take it to the grave, it won't change."

"Times have changed," I said. "You'd better do some honest work first. Come with me to do odd jobs at the machinery plant."

The Second Boss Leader silently nodded.

When I saw Grandfather's widow again, it was already the mid-1960s. Time spares no one, and the woman had aged a lot. Shangguan Yue had also grown into an adult and enlisted in the army. I felt incomparable relief; if Grandfather had spirit in the netherworld, he could finally rest in peace. When I shoved the money and ration tickets I had saved up over the years into Guan Jingxiang's hands, she adamantly refused to take them, saying, "Everyone's life is hard. As long as you keep your master in your heart, that's enough." Later, I simply exchanged the money for rice and flour, directly tossing it into her room so she had no way to return it.

After returning home, I sneaked over to Yuejia Ridge once more to measure the spot where the box was buried.

That night, I began to ponder how to deliver the treasures in the box to Guan Jingxiang, various methods flashing through my mind: carry them over on my back, take them one by one?

Just as I was mulling this over, I suddenly heard someone knocking on the door. Opening it, I saw it was the Second Boss Leader. As soon as he entered, his eyes stared straight at me with a weird smile at the corner of his mouth.

"Second Brother, what is it?" I asked.

He kept staring at me, acting all strange. Once we sat down inside the room, he said, "Old Fifth, how has I, the Second Boss Leader, treated you all these years?"

"Extremely well, no complaints at all."

He scratched his scalp and said, "Then why did you keep something from me?"

My heart shook: "Keep what?"

"Hehe," he laughed, "Caojia Village, Cao County, Shandong."

I was deeply shocked: "You tailed me!"

He said, "Don't panic, don't panic. A hoodlum must keep his cool. Don't forget, you were brought up by me."

"What do you want?" I stared at him dead-eyed.

He shook his head and said, "Grandfather, oh Grandfather, you truly are a veteran of our Jiangxiang Faction. You swindled and swindled until you even swindled your own brothers." A trace of desolate sadness appeared in the Second Boss Leader's words.

"Grandfather had his own hidden difficulties."

"Right. Grandfather had it hard, Grandfather wasn't an easy man. Grandfather suffered his whole life for the Jiangxiang Faction, but were the brothers' lives easy? We were loyal, followed him everywhere, blocked swords and took bullets because in our hearts, we all had a Grandfather who stuck to the gang rules and committed all evils just like us. Normally, if any brother dared to fool around outside, Grandfather would definitely execute him without mercy, and the brothers would applaud because the boss of the branch led by example. I just don't understand, Grandfather wanted to leave an heir, which brother wouldn't want to leave an heir?"

As the Second Boss Leader spoke, he actually started crying.

"Second Brother," I cried too. "This was my thought: Grandfather knew himself to be the leader of a faction who had committed heinous crimes, and he couldn't escape death, which is why he resorted to this desperate measure. The brothers' crimes didn't warrant death, and we still had a chance to turn things around..."

"Hearing you say this makes me feel a bit better. Second Master here isn't one to be overly sentimental, our heartbreak stems from the fact that Grandfather never mentioned this to us while he was alive. Big Brother and I were the earliest ones with Grandfather, how could Grandfather trust me so little!"

"It's not a matter of trust. Second Brother, you act too impulsively. After Big Brother and Grandfather died, you became the leader of the branch, and various factions watched you the closest. If wind of this leaked out, it would bring disaster upon Grandfather's wife and child."

The Second Boss Leader nodded and scratched his head: "Old Fifth, let's stop beating around the bush. Since Grandfather has an heir, he must have left things behind..."

Before he could finish speaking, I hastily interrupted: "Grandfather's home was raided before he died, you saw it yourself, nothing was left."

The Second Boss Leader lowered his head, then raised it again and sighed: "In the end, Grandfather took you in as a fool for an apprentice, and now I finally understand—Grandfather made the right choice. You truly are a good brother of our Jiangxiang Faction; if I were you, I wouldn't have said it either."

"You... you..."

"Still, like I said, Old Fifth, you were brought up by me, you can't hide it from me. There's cargo on Yuejia Ridge."

"You..."

"Rest assured, I won't say a word, nor will I touch it. Before Grandfather died, we protected Grandfather; after Grandfather died, we protect his family. You're a good brother of the branch, and so am I."

"Second Brother..." I burst into tears.

"Also, you shouldn't run off to Yuejia Ridge so frequently, doing that will expose you sooner or later. Besides, next time you go to Shandong, I'll go with you. Grandfather is gone, aside from visiting his grave, all we can do is go check on his family."

"Alright, but you must keep this a strict secret!" I urged.

"Rest assured! I won't tell Old Fourth or Old Seven. The fewer people who know about this kind of thing, the better."

Soon, the fierce and tumultuous Cultural Revolution broke out.

We were all slapped with the labels of the "Five Black Categories." Especially the Second Boss Leader—the punks who had once begged for mercy on the ground after being beaten by him in prison teamed up to subject him to struggle sessions, parading him through the streets for criticism day and night.

At night, Old Fourth, Old Seven, and I quietly came to the Second Boss Leader's home. Calling it a home was a stretch; it was actually just four walls and a single room, with nothing inside except a tattered bed. He never had a family to begin with; he followed Grandfather at age fifteen and knocked about in the branch for over twenty years. After getting out of prison, he was assigned by the commune to live in an uninhabited old courtyard, and with the onset of the Cultural Revolution, this courtyard also became a notorious struggle venue in town.

I boiled a pot of hot water for the Second Boss Leader so he could wash his face and soak his feet; his feet were completely ulcerated. Old Fourth brought him a piece of roasted sweet potato, which he tremblingly held in his hands and slowly gnawed on.

All four of us sat in silence, not knowing what to say, nor wanting to say anything at all.

After a very long time, I recalled something from the past: "Second Brother, do you remember? When I first entered the trade, you and Grandfather tested my courage."

The Second Boss Leader nodded, a trace of exhausted a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.

That had been the first month after I entered the trade. Grandfather tested my courage, saying there was an old mansion on South Street which was a haunted house. It used to be inhabited by an antique dealer whose entire family was murdered inside the old mansion due to a business dispute, and the antique dealer's body was even hacked to pieces. Ever since then, ghosts frequently haunted the place at night, and neighboring residents often heard people crying inside the old mansion in the middle of the night, while others saw ghosts poking their heads out. Grandfather said: "Go take a look there at midnight tonight and see if that's really how it is."

I knew Grandfather was testing me. With no other choice, a hoodlum had to be bold, so I bit the bullet and went that night.

The wind was exceptionally strong that night, and the moon was very bright. I walked alone in front of the old mansion and listened closely—there was no sound at all. Moonlight spilled over the blue brick tiles, and everything was dead quiet except for the sound of the wind rustling the elm trees; nothing else.

I breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to turn back. At that moment, a soft weeping suddenly came from inside the old mansion, sounding like a woman, yet also like a man. My heart skipped a beat, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up straight, and my legs felt numb. Gathering my courage, I pressed my ear against the pitch-black gates to listen closely.

As a result, the sound vanished again. Thinking I was hallucinating, I touched my forehead and wondered what to do next, when suddenly the dry grass on top of the wall made a rustling sound, as if something had run from the wall onto the roof.

I retreated a few steps and looked up at the roof of the old mansion. A white shadow poked its head out from behind the chimney, darted with a swoosh onto the large elm tree in the courtyard, and made a cooing sound—resembling a human, yet also a ghost. Under the moonlight, it was all ghastly white. I felt a warmth in my lower belly and involuntarily peed myself.

I ran back as fast as I could, even losing my shoes, and finally came to see Grandfather barefoot. Upon seeing this, Grandfather laughed: "Was a ghost chasing you?"

Panting heavily, I said, "I saw a ghost, it was all ghastly white..."

Grandfather said, "That ghost followed you here, it's right behind you."

I whipped my head around, and something covered in blood with white fur all over its body was standing right in front of me. I involuntarily leaned backward, my foot slipped, and I crashed to the ground.

"Haha," Grandfather laughed, and the "ghost" laughed too.

The "ghost" removed its mask, and I saw it was the Second Boss Leader. Looking closer at the white fur on his body, it turned out to be one of those thick old sheepskin cotton coats worn inside out with the wool exposed on the outside—scaring the life out of me.

The Second Boss Leader said that back when he was feeding the "dead man" in the old temple and the "dead man" opened its mouth, he hadn't peed himself, mocking me for being too cowardly.

In the end, Grandfather patted my shoulder and said, "Big Head, ghosts aren't scary; people are."

Listening to me recount this past event, the Second Boss Leader smiled, tears welling in his eyes.

"Second Brother, don't think too much, this will pass eventually," we comforted the Second Boss Leader.

The Second Boss Leader remained silent throughout, and finally lying on the bed, he weakly uttered a single sentence: "Is this considered retribution?"

The Second Boss Leader, who spent his whole life playing gods and swindling people, ultimately breathed his last amidst the struggle campaign to "Sweep away all cow ghosts and snake spirits."

The next day, when people swarmed into the Second Boss Leader's courtyard once again, he had already passed away. I didn't know when he had hidden so much cinnabar, but he had used the last kettle of boiling water I boiled for him to mix with a massive amount of cinnabar and drank it down.

I do not know what kind of agonizing pain he endured before dying. He never let out a single cry, instead using his cinnabar-stained hand to trace two characters on the wall: Grandfather.

Seeing that scene, the hearts of the Boss Leaders were shattered, but we dared not cry. At night, covering my head with a quilt, I let out a heart-wrenching cry in the dark: Grandfather, if you have a spirit in heaven, take a look!

Later, the Fourth Boss Leader, the Seventh Boss Leader, and I were also subjected to struggle sessions, though ours were relatively mild. I caught a few slaps to the face from the young revolutionary fighters and that was the end of it. The Fourth Boss Leader was even blessed with misfortune; this guy who had gone mad ever since Huang Farong's "death" suddenly snapped back to his senses. At the struggle rally, he made a profound self-criticism, recovering his past intelligence, quick wits, and eloquence, tearfully denouncing the various crimes of the reactionary secret societies. The vocabulary and phrasing he used were things the Cultural Revolution propaganda team had never even heard before. Given how successfully he had accepted socialist indoctrination, the propaganda team recruited him.

The power of love is great. The reason the Fourth Boss Leader shook off his madness was because he had fallen in love with an educated youth who looked strikingly like Huang Farong. Of course, this was just what he claimed; the Seventh Boss Leader and I felt there was a slight resemblance, mainly in the eyes, but to say she looked particularly like her was an absolute stretch.

Yet that sliver of resemblance was enough. The Fourth Boss Leader had waited thirty years for his Huang Farong, and his soul finally had something to anchor upon.

That educated youth was named Meng Fanhong, a top-tier literature major and brilliant student from Beijing. She was someone who had responded to Chairman Mao's call that "the countryside is a vast world where much can be accomplished" by voluntarily going down to the countryside before the Cultural Revolution, working as a Chinese literature teacher at an elementary school in our town. Later, when the Cultural Revolution erupted and classes were suspended, Meng Fanhong was assigned to the propaganda team.

When the Fourth Boss Leader was subjected to his first struggle session, he caught a glimpse of Meng Fanhong among the crowd. At that moment, the Fourth Boss Leader's soul returned to his body. Perhaps among all the people being persecuted across the country, he was the only one who felt that the moment of struggle was a moment of happiness.

The Fourth Boss Leader woke up. The former literary talent of Jianghuai awoke, and he shone brilliantly in the propaganda team. The sketches and skits he wrote were rumored to reach the level of Mr. Guo Moruo.

Meng Fanhong had never seen someone who had served time in prison be so talented. He could recite the essays in Ancient Prose Anthology backward and forward, and he also understood world literature, capable of critiquing Shakespeare, Hegel, Plato, and others. Most importantly, he even understood physics and chemistry—how could she possibly know that this man had once been the technical strategist of the Jiangxiang Faction? Meng Fanhong was finally moved by the Fourth Boss Leader, and in the late stages of the Cultural Revolution, they got married.

This was probably the power of knowledge; a person with five cartloads of learning, even through the six paths of reincarnation and ups and downs, will ultimately return to unity.

I was happy for the Fourth Boss Leader, and he was happy for me. We both got married during the Cultural Revolution. I had a pair of fraternal twins, and he had two sons. He said he wanted to betroth our families in marriage, and I asked him which son he would make my son-in-law. He replied that whichever one turned out better looking would be the one.

Just like that, we walked together through the years of the Cultural Revolution, and the 1980s arrived.