"As for subject four, anyone can pass it. You are so smart, do you still take it seriously?"
Tieshan said it simply, and I couldn't refute it, so I could only bite the bullet and reply: "Okay, I'll try not to embarrass you and the master."
Twenty minutes later, we arrived at Yuanyang Driving School.
After signing up for a VIP business class worth 5,400 yuan, Tieshan drove to the home of He Qing, the death watcher.
He Qing's family lives in a dilapidated alley in Beimen. Ding Changyou did not specify which household.
I asked Tieshan to park the car on the side of the road and wait for me, and I went alone to inquire.
"Uncle, let me ask you something. Do you know which household Master He belongs to?" I handed out cigarettes to the two uncles who were playing chess in the alley and asked politely.
One of the uncles held up a chess piece and recalled: "Master He? What is your real name?"
"He Qing." I said.
The uncle thought for a while, then looked at the other uncle and said, "Lao Hu, is there such a person in our area?"
The old man opposite was holding a teapot and holding the cigarette I gave him, and asked: "I don't have much impression, young man, what does He Qing do?"
"The Death Observer, who used to open a shop in Zhongzhou, helped people to take care of the dead," I described.
The two uncles looked at each other and said in unison: "He, here, walk along the alley, the house on the right is at the very end."
"Thank you, uncle." I said excitedly.
I hadn't walked a few steps when I heard two uncles whispering: "Are young people so superstitious now? Isn't it a joke that you should seek out a death watcher at such a young age?"
"No, this thing is just deceiving people. Only fools believe it."
"Ignore him, let's continue playing chess."
"Who has to go?"
"Hey, General..."
It sounded funny to me, and I thought that I was not looking for He Qing to inquire about the dead person, but to ask for something.
Following the instructions of the two uncles, I came to a courtyard with a locked door.
I made sure, um, the one on the right at the far end of the alley, that's right.
"Is anyone there?" I picked up the door bolt and knocked gently.
No one responded in the yard for a long time.
I knocked again without giving up.
There was also no movement at all.
Just when I thought I had found the wrong place, or that the He Qing family no longer lived here, a coughing and old voice suddenly came from inside: "Who is it?"
"I'm here to see Master He Qinghe." I shouted through the crack in the door.
A minute later, the wooden door was opened from the inside.
An old man wrapped in cotton-padded clothes, with gray hair and a shaky walk, looked at me and said, "Are you looking for He Qing?"
"Yes, is Master He here?" I asked.
The old man waved and motioned for me to come in.
After that, he bolted the wooden door from the inside, sat on the lounge chair under the eaves and said, "What do you want from He Qing?"
I can't figure out the identity of the old man, but since he lives in He Qing's house and knows He Qing, he is obviously a relative or friend.
I said honestly: "I asked Master He to observe death and obtain a ray of pure energy."
The old man tremblingly took out the homemade cigarette from his bag, took out the lighter and lit it. He was choking and coughing continuously, and he was out of breath.
I looked uncomfortable, so I went up and patted him a few times, and suggested: "Uncle, this kind of tobacco rolled by yourself has a strong taste. As you get older, you still need to smoke filtered tobacco."
"Hey, I'm not used to that kind of smoking." The old man held a cigarette between his arms and said, covered in smoke: "Young man, He Qing no longer helps people watch the death. You have come to the wrong place."
I was disappointed and said: "He washed his hands in the golden basin?"
The old man said with a dull expression: "I'm about to die."
"What?" I asked in surprise: "So you are hospitalized?"
The old man glanced at me and puffed on his cigarette: "The hospital can't save him."
I was confused by the old man and said speechlessly: "Then where is he?"
"In..." the old man said seriously to me: "In front of you, I am He Qing."
