Chapter 306: Discussion

Two weeks later, Poker-face was discharged from the hospital, and I went to Beijing to meet up with them and discuss what to do next.

After I got back, the most troublesome issue was how to deal with the mess Third Uncle had left behind. Everything I'd been through this past year, though earth-shattering, had all happened under the radar. My family had no idea about the dramatic changes going on with me. Third Uncle was now truly missing, possibly never to reappear, and explaining that was one thing.

On the other side, there was Poker-face. Now he really had become a drag. As his consciousness recovered, I had to face the problem of how to get to know him all over again.

He had no family, was utterly alone in the world, and no one even knew where his old hideout was. I'd asked plenty of people, but got no information at all. Just as he himself had said, he had almost no connection to this world. All his belongings had been left behind in the basin; he had no money and no ID. If I let him fend for himself now, he'd probably end up as a vagrant on the street.

Fatty was doing pretty well for himself; he'd even set up a shop in Liulichang. We met at his new place. A few months hadn't seen each other, and Poker-face had already regained his old complexion. Except for the unfamiliarity with the world in his expression, everything else felt familiar to me, which put my mind somewhat at ease. When I saw him, he was leaning by the window, not looking at me. His gaze was like a mirror, even more indifferent than before, as if his mind had already left this world behind.

I started with some pleasantries, but he didn't react at all. So I asked Fatty how he was doing and what the doctor had said.

Fatty shook his head. "Just that, supposedly. They say he's recalled some fragments. The doctor says he suffered a severe shock; only some kind of emotional stimulation might make him better. Other than that, stewing pig brains every day won't do any good."

I sighed. I had no idea what had really happened inside that meteorite at the final moment, what could have turned him into this.

"Got any plans?" After a few boring remarks, Fatty asked me, "I've only got about forty square meters here, it's really cramped. If you want him to stay here, I can't even bring a girlfriend around. If someone sees me hiding a pretty boy, they'll think your Uncle Fatty is a queer."

"You're so ungrateful. He's saved our lives more than once. Why are you worrying about something so trivial?" I said irritably.

"He's not staying at your place, so it's easy for you to talk. If you want me to chip in for a place for the kid, that's one thing—I'll even get him a courtyard house if that's what it takes. But living with me? No way. That has nothing to do with saving lives," Fatty said. "How about this: I'll pay the rent, you hire a nanny, we'll settle him nearby, give him good food and drink, and visit him on weekends."

"You're making it sound like keeping a concubine," I said. "He's not an idiot. You should ask him what he thinks."

So Fatty turned to Poker-face. "Kid, what do you say? Any plans for the future?"

Poker-face closed his eyes, as if thinking. After a long pause, he said, "I want to travel around."

I said, "Travel around? Where? Any destination?"

He said calmly, "I don't know. To those places you mentioned—Changsha, Hangzhou, Shandong. See if I can remember something."

My heart sank. This was the last thing I wanted to hear—him wanting to remember something. Right now, his mind was basically a blank slate. His past was a huge mystery, but the bigger the mystery, the less it tormented him. But if during his travels his memories started to revive, the emotional fragments surfacing in his mind would be incredibly tempting for someone so empty. Even the slightest hint would turn into all kinds of threads, tormenting him endlessly.

I understood. For someone who had lost their memory, the whole purpose of life was probably to reclaim their past. There was no way to avoid that. But I really didn't want him to walk down that old road again.

Fatty saw my expression change and knew I had a knot in my heart. He patted me, reminding me, "Let it be. Didn't we agree? It's not realistic to try and keep him stuck here."

I sighed. If that was the case, we had to go with the second plan: work through this with him, keep an eye on him. After all, we'd been through it before. We could keep him from going to extremes.

I'd thought about his idea too. I'd once planned to take him to Changsha and let other people see him, but the situation there was chaotic now. I didn't even know who to contact. Then something suddenly occurred to me, and I asked Fatty, "Didn't you say last time you had a way to find out about this kid's background? How come I never heard anything more about it?"

"Don't even mention it. That whole thing is disgusting," Fatty said. "Your Uncle Fatty's plan was to ask those 'clamping the lama' brokers. Those middlemen have wide connections. Since the kid was reached through your Third Uncle, he must have left some info with the brokers. We could've worked through that."

I thought that was a great idea. Why was it disgusting? Fatty went on, "Turns out every single one of them shook their heads and said they couldn't talk about it. I mean, those guys usually make a living as pimps, and now they're acting like sages and gentlemen."

I said, "Oh, I see. Every trade has its rules. Can't really blame them." Those people probably depended on that information for their livelihood. If they leaked it, they might not just lose their business—they might get killed.

"Those guys are stubborn as hell. That road's a dead end," Fatty said. "What about your end?"

I sighed and said if my Third Uncle were still around, maybe he could dig up something. But the people I had access to now lacked the experience. Those old chiefs had quirky temperaments, and they were all watching my situation closely. If I went out of my way to approach them, they'd eat me alive. That wasn't something a guy like me could handle.

"Then stop overthinking it. I think we should do what the kid says. Let's sign him up for a tour group, give him some money, and let him travel on his own," Fatty said. "Or better yet, let's just find him a wife—pawn him off on some rich woman. With the kid's looks, we might even make a profit. Then let them sort out their own life. What do you think?"

That was nonsense, I thought. I shook my head without replying, mulling over what Fatty had just said. I still felt it was a good approach; he just hadn't hit the nail on the head. Then I thought of someone. "Wait. That idea of yours about asking the brokers—maybe it's not a dead end after all." "How so?"

"Those middlemen won't talk, either because they're afraid of offending someone, or they don't know and are afraid of showing ignorance. But there's one person who doesn't have that worry. Maybe we can work through him."

"Who?" Fatty asked. Poker-face also turned his head.

"On that trip to Changbai Mountain, the guy who acted as the broker for my Third Uncle was a man named Brother Chu. Remember?"

"You mean that bald guy?"

I nodded. Brother Chu, aka Baldy Chu, was an underground money-lending boss that Third Uncle worked with. After being bribed by Chenpi A'si, he got caught by the cops. I had no idea where he was serving his time now. He had been the one to contact Poker-face and Fatty, so he definitely knew their info. And since he was behind bars, he had no real worries. The only trouble was finding him and getting him to talk. After all, while he had nothing to lose by talking, he also had nothing to lose by keeping quiet.

Fatty clapped his hands. "Aiya, right!" He nodded, understanding my idea, and said, "That I didn't think of. But if we go find him, what if he rats us out?"

"Guys like him are shrewd. He's got a lot of info. If he wanted to spill it, half of Changsha would be in trouble. He kept his mouth shut because he knew silence was in his best interest," I said. "He's down on his luck now, and he'll need favors. I think it won't be hard to get him to talk." As I said this, I already knew what to do. I couldn't bother Panzi with other stuff, but this wasn't too sensitive. I could ask him to check it out.

So we decided to go ahead and investigate for Poker-face. Better for us to get involved than for him to run around aimlessly. But I couldn't do this alone. I was swamped, and the situation was chaotic. Having Poker-face tag along with me everywhere was definitely not going to work. I couldn't control someone like him. If he suddenly remembered something and slipped away again, I wouldn't even know where to bang my head against a wall. I'd have to drag Fatty into it.

I discussed it with Fatty, and he had to agree. He said, "Not to mention anything else, the best thing would be to find where the kid used to live. That would save us a lot of effort."

So that was the plan. I'd get Panzi to handle it. Poker-face would stay with Fatty for now. Once we had a lead, we'd discuss the next steps together. Anyway, with the three of us as close as we were, there was no way to weasel out of this. We might as well treat it as our own business, a way to repay Poker-face for his help.

As the saying goes, "Good advice won't save a doomed man." The moment we made that decision, trouble came knocking.

After I got back to Hangzhou, I called Panzi and told him the whole story. Panzi was a man of honor, and he agreed right away. He was very efficient; three days later, I got his call.

I thought I had some leads, and asked him how things were going.

He sighed and said to me, "It's troublesome. I did find him and asked him. He does know the things you want to know, but he won't tell for nothing — he has conditions."

"What conditions?" I asked. This was expected; I would also put forward conditions if I were in his situation.

"He wants a hundred thousand yuan, and he wants you to go see him. He wants to tell you in person."

"See me?" I was stunned for a moment, a bit surprised. I thought to myself: The money is easy enough, but why does he want to see me? It sounded a bit off.

"Could it be that he wants to lure me out to atone for his crimes by performing a meritorious service?" I said with a chill, and heard the sound of iron chains by my ears.

"I think that's possible too." Panzi clicked his tongue. "But he asked me to bring you something. He said once you see it, you will definitely go to meet him."

"What is it?" I asked curiously.

"It's an old photograph." Panzi paused. "A very old photo — the kind of black-and-white photos from when people of my generation were young."

I suddenly got goosebumps all over. My first reaction was to think of the group photo taken before Third Uncle set out to sea at Xisha. That damn photo had wasted so much of my time. I thought to myself: Could it be that Brother Chu also knows the inside story of this matter? But for him to use this to negotiate conditions now is a bit too late.

Thinking, I asked, "What does it show?"

Panzi hummed and hawed for a long time, then said, "I'm not sure. It feels like what's in the photo should be a 'ghost'."