Records of the Halls of Ten Thousand Affairs: Chapter 15: The Invisible Friend (Part 7)

Records of the Halls of Ten Thousand Affairs: Chapter 15: The Invisible Friend (Part 7)

After Sun Yang’s health began to improve, Sun Bo reached out to Zhao Lan on his own initiative. When she heard that things had taken a positive turn, Zhao Lan decided she would bring Lin Xiao Fei along as well, to offer a proper apology to Jiang Hao’s parents. As for the others, they had already been notified privately whether they came or not was up to their own conscience.

In the days that followed, Sun Bo came by every single day to check on the progress, terrified that a single misstep might make Jiang Hao’s family feel they weren’t being taken seriously. Sun Yang was frequently “dropped off” at Wanshi Zhai, because something about the atmosphere there made him feel safe. He spent most of his time sitting in near-total silence scrolling on his phone, watching television, reading barely making his presence felt. On the days Su Xiaoyu came by, she would settle at the small side table and do her homework. Chen Jiu divided her time between fielding occult consultations online and researching the fugitive Kong Xiang.

On Kong Xiang, there was almost nothing of substance to be found not in web searches, not in physical texts. The only reason Chen Jiu had been able to identify it on sight was because of oral teachings passed down through her sect, and she had always been the one among all her fellow disciples with the sharpest memory and the most natural talent.

That day, Sun Bo dropped Sun Yang off for his usual “daycare session” and had barely stepped out the door when a couple came in together, leaning on each other for support.

The two of them were still in poor shape visibly anxious, pushing through bodies that had little left to give, having forced themselves to make the trip for one reason only: to see their son.

Chen Jiu poured them each a cup of tea. “The time isn’t right yet. Wait until dark before we go.”

“All right.” The woman nodded. She was considerably less unhinged than she had been when they first met she even reached into her pocket and produced a red envelope, presenting it to Chen Jiu with both hands. “Master, we were out of line with you before. Please forgive us. This is just a small token of our gratitude.”

Chen Jiu accepted it without a trace of hesitation, gave it a discreet squeeze, and estimated somewhere around two or three thousand yuan.

“It’s the least you can do,” she said, her smile becoming just slightly more genuine.

Sun Yang, who had been doing his best to be invisible in the corner, heard voices and glanced over and locked eyes with the man.

The man stopped short, then crossed the room in quick strides. “Sun Yang what are you doing here? You…”

He worked it out. That night, Sun Yang had been the first one nearly killed by one wrong decision. Only Chen Jiu’s timely arrival had saved his life which was why he was sitting here, whole and alive.

Sun Yang, now face to face with Jiang Hao’s parents again, wanted nothing more than to flee. Unfortunately, his body was still too weak to carry that plan out.

“Uncle Jiang…” Sun Yang lowered his head, the words stumbling out of him. “I… I…”

The man’s feelings were in turmoil. During all those weeks of worshipping Kong Xiang, the hatred he and his wife had nursed had grown thicker by the day, until it had become something like boiling poison. Every time they performed a ritual, he had called these children every vile name that came to mind and had forgotten that not so long ago, when they used to come over to the house, they had called him and his wife uncle and auntie with easy warmth.

Did these children really deserve to die for his son?

Sun Yang clenched his jaw. His eyes burned. With tremendous effort, he slid from the wheelchair and fell to his knees on the floor in front of the man. He bowed his head all the way to the ground.

“I’m sorry…” His voice broke, thick with remorse and tears. “I’m truly sorry…”

The man didn’t move. The war inside him was still raging. He had thought he hated these heartless little creatures to his core that seeing this moment would feel like some kind of satisfaction. So why was there still that small, stubborn flicker of something he couldn’t call anything but pity?

Sun Yang sobbed, his words coming in fragments: “I was wrong… I was wrong… he didn’t have to die…”

At that, the woman stood frozen for a long moment then she flung herself at Sun Yang in a frenzy, hitting and striking him, screaming: “Why didn’t you save him?! Why didn’t you save him?! Did you think his life was worth nothing?! You heartless little monster!”

Sun Yang’s face went scarlet as she shook him; he could barely breathe. The man pulled her back and held her fast so she couldn’t move, his own voice breaking: “Enough! Let him finish! Let him say it all let him explain everything and then he’ll go and beg our son’s forgiveness!”

The door chimed. Su Xiaoyu came in with her school bag, and her eyes went wide. She hurried forward and helped Sun Yang back into his wheelchair. She eased it back a little, quietly putting some distance between him and the woman, terrified she might fly into another rage and beat Sun Yang to death on the spot and then who would be left to apologize to Jiang Hao?

Chen Jiu stayed at the counter with her accounts ledger, with no intention of stepping in. As long as no one died on her premises, she was prepared to stay out of it.

It turned out the one who came to Sun Yang’s aid was Su Xiaoyu. He looked at her with something like surprise and mouthed a silent thank you.

Su Xiaoyu looked from Sun Yang to Jiang Hao’s parents and said: “I wasn’t making things up. I really have been seeing Jiang Hao come to school. It’s true. But no one would believe me, so I had to find the Boss to help.”

The man’s expression shifted. “So it was you who brought Master Chen into this.”

The woman’s storm had quieted somewhat. She was leaning against her husband, crying. She dried her eyes and looked at Su Xiaoyu. “Auntie believes you. Auntie knows you were Haohao’s best friend. He was a good boy and you must be a good child too.”

Su Xiaoyu nodded hard. Then she looked over at Sun Yang. “Sun Yang, I know you’re not a coward anymore. Because you apologized to uncle and auntie.”

Sun Yang’s breath hitched. His shoulders shook. He broke into open, heaving sobs.

And through those broken, halting tears, everyone in the room finally learned what had really happened.

As it turned out, the first child to get into trouble that day had not been Jiang Hao at all it had been another boy. Jiang Hao was the first one to jump into the water to help.

He had spent every ounce of strength pushing the other boy to safety. By the time he managed it, he was already exhausted. His calf cramped. He began to sink. In the ensuing chaos, the boy he had just saved accidentally stepped on his head on the way up and that was the blow that caused Jiang Hao to truly drown.

By the time the others realized what was happening and hauled Jiang Hao to shore in a relay, he was already unconscious.

What followed was a massive fracture within the group. They were all around ten years old, and the one among them with the most mature mind was the boy lying unresponsive on the ground. They had lost their leader.

The most timid and obedient of them, Lin Xiao Fei, was the first to say they should go find a teacher or their parents. The other boys shut him down in unison.

Boys that age can be extraordinarily reckless and extraordinarily concerned with pride in the same breath. Every one of them silently held to the pact they had made at the beginning: nothing was to be told to any adult not teachers, not family, not anyone.

Lin Xiao Fei became the first dissenter.

“What, you want to rat on us?” Sun Yang said.

“Lin Xiao Fei, if you go tell on us, you’re a traitor!”

“Doesn’t anyone remember first aid? I think if you press on his stomach — or somewhere — he coughs out the water and wakes up.”

“I… I can try.”

Lin Xiao Fei wavered. He didn’t want to be a traitor. But he didn’t want anything to happen to Jiang Hao either.

In the frantic confusion that followed, they not only missed the window for a real rescue they also failed to perform the compressions correctly. And Jiang Hao stopped breathing.

He died.

The first child to realize that Jiang Hao showed no signs of life was Sun Yang. When he said it aloud, every child present was so terrified they nearly lost control of themselves.

“…We can’t let the adults find out.” No one could remember afterward who said it first.

All of them went along with it. This was simply something the adults could not know. The mistake was too enormous. The fear of punishment was too great. They couldn’t face it, couldn’t process it all they could do was run from it.

Jiang Hao was dead. That was already a fact. Lin Xiao Fei didn’t want to be caught between two sides, so he told himself it was about loyalty. They all had to tell the same story if even one of them cracked, everyone else would face consequences, be destroyed. If everyone agreed, then he should too. He had always been that kind of person, the kind who went with the current.

So they went home. Each one of them carried the secret in silence, until a fisherman discovered the body and the truth began to surface. When the parents demanded answers, they recited the story they had rehearsed together: they had all gone their separate ways after the fun was over; Jiang Hao must have drowned on his own; they hadn’t known anything about it; please stop asking, they were scared too.

At this point, the woman erupted from the floor and lunged at Sun Yang, seizing him by the throat. “How could you?! How could you?! He jumped in to save you and you just let him die! He didn’t have to die!”

Su Xiaoyu stood completely stunned. She stared at Sun Yang as though he had become a stranger to her.

How could anyone watch their friend die because they were afraid of being scolded?

The man still had just enough reason left in him. He pried her fingers open with force, his own voice shaking. “Listen to me, listen he deserves it, all of them deserve it, but we can’t do this ourselves. We’ve already made one mistake, we can’t make another. Please calm down please…”

He was not without grief. He simply understood that things had reached a point where no further damage could be allowed. He had to protect what he had left.

His son had had a chance to live. He had had a genuine chance to be saved. And it had come to nothing because of these children who hadn’t yet learned what it meant to be human.

He wished his son could have been a little more selfish a little more self-preserving instead of giving his life for a group of people who didn’t deserve it. That was their fault, he thought. They had raised their son to be too kind.

Outside, the sky had darkened again. This time of year, Qiu City was rarely dry, and before long the rain began to fall in its soft, persistent way.

Lin Xiao Fei stood just outside the shop door, holding Zhao Lan’s hand, unable to make himself go in.

The woman wept until she was nearly senseless. Sun Yang, having spoken aloud the words he had buried for so long, went limp in his wheelchair, motionless.

Chen Jiu finally rose from where she had been sitting. She walked over and held a cup of water to the woman’s lips.

In a quiet voice, she said: “Take care of yourself. Tonight, you still have to walk your son home one last time. You won’t make it through without the strength.”

“I… I understand.” The woman’s voice trembled. “Thank you, Master. Thank you.”