Chapter 5, The Hunchbacked Father

I have always been grateful for having a loving father, who has compensated for the maternal love I lacked since childhood, allowing me to grow up without regrets. I have always held him in sincere respect and affection.

Several years later, Wu Zitan gradually began to feel unwell. Upon examination, hook-shaped spirilla were found in his blood, which was caused by accidentally drinking stream water contaminated with the urine of a mountain rat from the primitive forests of Laos

This so-called true body petrification fetus, the bare body is icy cold, its eyes faintly reflecting the moonlight, the expressionless face is exceptionally cold and stern, the small right hand, the sixth finger is exactly like mine, also growing at the edge of the little finger

Hunchback... Since I began to keep a journal, my father has always been a hunchback

After receiving ineffective treatment at several large hospitals, he returned to his hometown by the banks of the You River in Xiangxi, where he eventually retired due to illness. Years later, his condition worsened, and he gradually became completely paralyzed.

In that era, it was absolutely forbidden for Chinese road construction personnel to engage in romantic relationships with Laotian women, and such actions were considered a serious violation of foreign affairs discipline, resulting in disciplinary action. Huangfu Zheren was a fellow villager from Xiangxi, and if this matter were reported, the young man's future would be completely ruined. However, if it were concealed, he would also be implicated. Just as Wu Zitan was in a dilemma, an unexpected event changed the entire situation.

The night in the mountains is eerily quiet, occasionally interrupted by the hooting of an owl, which I surmise must have caught its prey

In July 1971, the Indochina War was still ongoing, and the northern region of Laos, particularly the Luang Prabang mountainous area, was in the midst of the rainy season, with continuous rain for several days. The road construction project had been completely halted. A geological exploration team was stationed by the Mekong River in a place called Mengwu, consisting of only a little over ten members, with Wu Zitan as the team leader

The photograph of my father, his name, and his six fingers are all correct. If Huangfu Zheren has indeed passed away, then after more than thirty years, it is likely that his remains have long since vanished.

Wu Zitan caught sight of a robust kapok tree, behind which a girl from the Lahu ethnic group named Zhanbahua was crying in anguish, with Pasum, a witch from the Mengwu village, standing beside her

Consider that all these changes began with the purchase of that naked baby statue. I took the statue out of my pocket, held it in my palm, and examined it carefully under the moonlight

The young surveyor Huangfu Zheren in the team is a fellow from Xiangxi, with a cheerful personality and handsome appearance. The work of a surveyor requires climbing mountains and wading through waters, and he often interacts with the local Liao ethnic mountain people. The intelligent and eager-to-learn Huangfu Zheren has even learned some simple Liao language, making general conversations no problem. Therefore, Wu Zitan often assigns him to liaise and communicate with the mountain villages.

"Huangfu Zheren was buried by my husband with his own hands; he has indeed been dead for over thirty years." After finishing the story about my father, the old woman looked at me calmly and said

The rainy season in Indochina is permeated with miasma in the primeval jungle. The so-called miasma is actually a type of malignant malaria transmitted by mosquitoes. An unfortunate event occurred; Huangfu Zheren contracted a terrifying form of hemorrhagic malaria, which is an incurable disease

So who is the person at home now

Of course, I think it was later that my father's back became hunched

Then, what about that father at home, with the same face, the same six fingers, who has painstakingly raised me? This person has always been a vibrant presence in my life as Huangfu Xiaoming

"Grandma, have you ever heard your husband mention whether Huangfu Zheren is hunchbacked?" I asked

Something seems to be amiss, I racked my brain in thought, yet drowsiness overcame me, and I gradually drifted into slumber

Despite Wu Zitan using all the few boxes of the most advanced anti-malarial drug available in the country at that time—"Zongkui"—on him, several days later, the malaria parasites still erupted in Huangfu Zheren's blood, causing bleeding from all seven orifices, and even the capillaries throughout his body began to ooze blood, leading to Huangfu Zheren's painful death

Gazing out at the moonlight, which is as serene as water, I find myself unable to sleep for a long time

The cool moonlight streamed in through the window, the clouds in the sky were faint and sparse, and a shooting star streaked across the dark night sky, vanishing in an instant

I raised my eyes and carefully examined that faded photograph again, my young father, his innocent smile, his upright posture

Wu Zitan later learned that the daughter of the chief of Mengwu Mountain, Zhan Bahua, had fallen in love with Huangfu Zheren, and the two often secretly met in the mountains.

Pasum ... ? ... Wu Zitan only mentioned the Laotian witch in the photo, why is that? This dying old man must know something, I must find a way to ask him clearly tomorrow

Wu Zitan and his colleagues personally buried him in the Martyrs' Cemetery of the Chinese Road Construction Team in Mengsa Province. On the day of the burial, amidst the continuous drizzle, Wu Zitan carefully wiped the dried blood from the deceased's face and placed him in the grave.

Grandma removed the winnowing basket filled with sweet potatoes and brought a basin of clean water from the kitchen, urging me to wash my face and rest early

"Does your father have a twin brother?" the old lady suddenly asked

Yet everything has quietly changed tonight, and I cannot pretend not to see. I must understand who he is. What is the truth? Otherwise, my life will never return to what it once was, and shadows will forever loom in the depths of my heart

I stared at the old woman, remaining silent for a long while. What reason could she and her dying husband have to lie to me? Could it be that my father had already died over thirty years ago?

***

Having traveled such a long mountain path, I felt fatigued, so I simply wiped my face and then lay down in the east room. The bedding on the bed seemed to have not been aired for a long time, and it was quite damp. Alas, being away from home, having a place to sleep is already quite good

I was taken aback for a moment, then shook my head and replied: "The Huangfu family has always followed a single line of inheritance; my father has no siblings."

From then on, Wu Zitan always kept that black-and-white photograph of himself with Huangfu Zheren, which is now hanging on the wall

"Hunchback? No, my husband says Huangfu is a strong and handsome young man," the old woman recalled.