“This lake can allow the dead to rest in peace? Hey, it can’t be that you guys have buried all the dead in this lake, right?” Lu Xiufeng asked.

  “It is true,” Miao Qingfeng said after a moment of silence, but the smile on his face was gone. Instead, a serious expression replaced the smile.

  “I remember seeing quite a few tombs on the mountain,” Yang Guanfeng said as he pointed to the peak of the mountain on the opposite side. He had seen it the last time when he had gone up his time, as well as this time. Miao Qingfeng had also said that it was the place to bury the dead from the village.

  “Well, it depends on the wishes of the deceased and the person’s identity.”


  “It depends on the deceased’s identity? How does that work?”


  “Most of the women are buried in the lake, and most of the men are in the mountains,” Miao Qingfeng replied.

  “What kind of burial?”


  “We make a bamboo raft, let the dead lie on it, and let it float quietly on the surface of the lake.”


  “After that, don’t you care about it anymore?”


  “No.”


  “Well, not to say something disrespectful about the dead, but did their bodies all end up in the stomachs of the fishes in the end?” Lu Xiufeng asked.

  After he had asked that, the corners of Yang Guanfeng’s mouth twitched a little.

  “You really do say all sorts of things!”


  “Ha-ha, there’s nothing wrong with that understanding,” Miao Qingfeng said. “This method is just like that in Tibet. Do they not hold celestial burials as well? Those bodies are left for the eagles to be taken care of too, isn’t that the case? Besides, this custom has been abolished unless someone asks for it. Otherwise, we just bury all of them.”


  “Is that so?”


  “Yes.”


  “Oh, who was the last person to be buried in the lake, and when was it?”


  “If I remember correctly, it was an old man from the stockade about four months ago,” Miao Qingfeng replied.

  “Well, alright, thank you,” Lu Xiufeng said.

  “No problem.”


  Bloop…… Bloop…… Bloop…… Bloop…… The fishing bobber moved a little.

  “The fish is hooked!” Lu Xiufeng happily shouted. With a lift of his fishing pole, he brought up a fish that was more than a foot long. Under the sunlight, its scales were glistening.

  “Well, not bad, not bad,” he said with a smile.

  “Oh, what was the age of the old man when he died?”


  “102.”


  “Wow, he lived to a ripe old age!” Lu Xiufeng exclaimed. “Are there many such old people in your stockade?”


  “There are,” Miao Qingfeng said. “Our village has a good environment and a slow pace of life. Basically, every family knows some medical skills and pays attention to taking care of their health. Therefore, many people live a long life. Although we have not taken any statistics, I think the average life expectancy of people in our village is estimated to be more than 90 years old. That old man was actually not considered as living to a ripe old age at all.”


  “Goddamn. How are you guys so awesome? Is there any unique secret to it? Ah, could it be that you have that kind of immortal medicinal herbs, such as Millennium ginseng and the Ganoderma lucidum, in the deep mountains and forests?”


  Miao Qingfeng was stunned after hearing his question.

  “Ah, I think that you have seen too many and movies and read to many fantasy books, Captain Lu. How could there be such a thing?”


  “There isn’t?”


  “I don’t know if there are any of those things in other places, but we don’t have any in our stockade,” Miao Qingfeng said. “Polygonum multiflorum, a 100-year-old ginseng, is considered a rare and miraculous medicinal herb, let alone a 1,000-year-old ginseng. They can be defined as the treasures of heaven and Earth.”


  “Ah, are there any elixir pills or something of that sort in this place that can prolong one’s life after eating and allows one to be immune to all kinds of diseases?”


  “A magical pill? Ha-ha!” Miao Qingfeng heartily laughed.

  “How could there possibly be such a thing? If there was, I’d be the first to find a way to get it.”


  “Gee, to be honest, I’m under a lot of pressure at work,” Lu Xiufeng said. “I think my health is getting worse. I think I can forget about living to 100 years old. I would be lucky if I could even live to 80 years old.”


  “Captain Lu, from your facial features, I can see you will be a long-lived man,” Miao Qingfeng said.

  “Is that so? Do you know how to read a person’s life from their features?”


  “I have a little understanding. I studied it myself.”


  “Take a look at him.” Lu Xiufeng pointed to Yang Guanfeng.

  “Captain Yang is also a long-lived man,” Miao Qingfeng said with a smile.

  Yang Guanfeng just smiled. He did not take it seriously.

  “Oh, another fish has bitten the bait.” As soon as Lu Xiufeng raised his fishing rod, he got another big fish.

  “Hey, what a lucky day!”


  “Ah, is the fish delicious?”


  “It is delicious, be it steamed, fried, or boiled,” Miao Qingfeng said with a smile. “It is all very delicious. This is the fish we have had for the past few times.”


  “That’s good. I shall let you guys have a taste of my cooking skills today.”


  “Captain Lu, are you a highly skilled cook as well?”


  “I’m barely a highly skilled cook, but I do have skills when it comes to preparing fish,” Lu Xiufeng said. “I’ll treat you guys at noon. No, I borrow this fish to prepare it as a gift for you.”


  “I hope Mr. Miao will grace us with your presence.”


  “Yes, for sure, for sure,” Miao Qingfeng said with a smile.

  Throughout the morning, the three of them chatted and laughed gaily. They did not ask much about the case, but they chatted about many other topics.

  “Brother Miao, I did not expect that you would have such a broad range of views and experiences. You must have been to many places before, right?” It had just been one morning, but the appellation given to Miao Qingfeng had changed due to their in-depth and heart-to-heart conversations. They had started calling him ‘Brother.’


  “I’m flattered, Brother.”


  “Looking at your broad base of knowledge, you must have been to many places, right?”


  “Yes, I actually go out a few times every year,” Miao Qingfeng replied.

  “Oh! So, does that mean that this stockade does communicate with the outside world but the communication is limited?”


  “Yes, in today’s society, it’s impossible to be completely isolated from the world. We are not the Peach Blossom Land written by Tao Yuanming,” Miao Qingfeng said with a smile.

  “Yes, if such a good place was to be totally isolated from the world and didn’t communicate with others at all, it would be such a pity. Hey, since you have such beautiful scenery here, why don’t you guys start a tourism and holiday project? It is very popular now. There are plenty of rich people out there. An unpolluted place like this is akin to paradise and poses a very strong attraction for them.”


  “Brother Lu, we just want to continue to live a peaceful life,” Miao Qingfeng said. “We do not want to be disturbed by outsiders. In fact, this is a living habit passed down from generation to generation. It has been integrated into our bones. I’ve been to the outside world and exposed to the rich and colorful cities. In the beginning, I thought it was fresh and exciting, and that it was better than life in the stockade. After a long time, I still think that the kind of life that we’re leading in the stockade is good. We are self-sufficient. We grow our own food and breed our own livestock. When we are sick, we can make our own diagnosis and treatment. The environment here is good, and the interpersonal relationship in the stockade is good. It is very harmonious here. It is not as cold as the outside world. What else would we go to the outside world for? What would we need to earn much money?”


  “Doesn’t anyone want to go out?” Yang Guanfeng suddenly asked.

  “There are some,” Miao Qingfeng said. “How could there not be? Everyone has their own thoughts. Some people have gone out, but there are regulations in our village. It is fine to go out and come back to visit parents. However, they are not allowed to bring people from the outside back. Those who have gone out cannot marry the girls in the village or the men in the village unless both of them went out and get rid of their names from the family tree.”


  “Is…… isn’t that a little too much?” Lu Xiufeng asked.

  “No it isn’t,” Miao Qingfeng seriously said.

  “In the past few years that I have been outside, I have explored a lot of places,” he said. “Those once pure lands have become secular since the commercialized operation. They have lost their original peace and simplicity. Most of the people who originally lived there have also changed. In fact, they are not so happy with their lives. I have talked with them. They want to go back to the past state, but they can no longer go back. This is just like the situation where you have a very clean tank of water and put in a few drops of ink. It’s easy to put them in. If you want to separate them and restore them to the original cleanliness, it will be very difficult. It’s basically impossible.”


  “I love this stockade very much. It is my hometown. I hope it can maintain this simple and rustic feeling and not be influenced by the material desire outside.” When he said these words, he was very serious and grim.

  “Well, I can understand your thoughts.” Lu Xiufeng patted him on the shoulder.

  He had also been to quite a few places, such as Shangri La and the ancient city of Phoenix. What had they all turned into? How many things of the past were left? Some things could not be measured with money. Once these things were lost, they could never be made up again.

  “Is that what Chief Miao thinks too?” Lu Xiufeng asked.

  “Yes, that’s what the chief thinks and does,” Miao Qingfeng replied. “He is a firm executor and defender of the old rules.”


  “Sometimes, it’s not even humane.”


  “Is that so? Wouldn’t you guys hate him if he was inhumane?”


  “How could we?” Miao Qingfeng asked. “To be honest, some people in the village left because of the chief. He will never be accommodating on some issues.”


  “Ah, is it that he never shrinks from the problems or questions regarding principles?”


  “Yes.”


  “It’s very rare to find people who stick to principles anywhere in the world,” Lu Xiufeng said.

  “That’s right!”


  “Alright, let’s end it here this morning. Thank you.”


  “You’re welcome.”


  “Don’t forget to come over for fish at noon,” Lu Xiufeng said. “It would be better if you could bring two bottles of wine over.”


  “Sure.”


  The two of them were carrying a bamboo basket, which contained the fish they had caught in the morning. When they got back to their residence, Lu Xiufeng got busy cleaning up the fish and preparing for lunch.

  “You are something else to treat them to fish from here,” Yang Guanfeng said.

  “What else can I do?” Lu Xiufeng asked. “I can’t possibly invite them out for lunch, can I? It has to be at least five hours to the nearest restaurant from here, right?”


  “Five and a half.”


  “That’s right. I can take their fish and prepare a gift for them. Besides, my way of preparation is different from theirs. You can take a look!”


  Lu Xiufeng busied himself among the clanging pots and pans.

  At noon, Miao Qingfeng came to their house with a bottle of wine. There were several dishes on the table, two of which were fish. One was braised, and the other was boiled. They gave off an enticing fragrance. The other two dishes were stir-fried vegetables.