爷爷是赶尸匠？

陈先生的眼睛里仿佛散发着一种难以描述的光芒，他十分笃定的说道：“廷公的坟下面，还有一座坟！”

Mr. Chen's eyes seemed to emit an indescribable glow as he confidently said, "Under the grave of Lord Ting, there is another grave!"

我大伯听到这话一下子就炸毛了。摆手直说，不可能，不可能，啷个可能会发生这种事情？那块地都是做道场的先生看过的，要是真的下面还有座坟，他不可能不给我们讲。

My uncle exploded at these words, waving his hands and insisting that it was impossible, impossible—how could something like that happen? That piece of land had been inspected by the master of the Daoist temple; if there really were another grave underneath, he would definitely have told us.

陈先生听到我大伯的话后竟然嗤笑一声，讲，要是你讲的那个道场先生看得到地下还有座坟的话，你爹老子也就不是你爹老子咯。

Upon hearing my uncle's words, Mr. Chen actually scoffed and replied, "If the Daoist master you mentioned could see that there’s another grave underground, then your father wouldn't be your father anymore."

这一下，我和我二伯也被陈先生的话给弄懵了。我二伯开口问，老同学，你莫卖关子咯，直接讲。

At this, my younger uncle and I were stunned by Mr. Chen's words. My younger uncle asked, "Old classmate, stop teasing us and just tell us directly."

陈先生吸了一口烟，没有急着回答我二伯的话，而是指着灵堂里的棺材，转过头来问我，小阳，你晓得他是做么子的不？

Mr. Chen took a puff from his cigarette, not rushing to answer my younger uncle but instead pointed at the coffin in the mourning hall and turned to me, asking, "Xiao Yang, do you know what he used to do?"

我点头，讲，泥匠。

I nodded and said, "He was a mud mason."

陈先生又问我，那你晓得我是做么子的不？

Mr. Chen then asked me, "Do you know what I do?"

我本来很想说道士之类的，但是想想，陈先生的做派好像和道士并没有多大的关系，虽然他身上也带着铜钱和符，可我还是没办法把他和道士联系起来。所以我摇摇头说不知道。

I initially wanted to say something like "a Daoist," but thinking about it, Mr. Chen's demeanor didn't seem to align with that of a Daoist. Although he carried copper coins and talismans, I still couldn't connect him to Daoism. So I shook my head and said I didn't know.

陈先生自己回答他自己，讲，我是一个孩匠（鞋匠）。

Mr. Chen answered himself, saying, "I am a shoemaker (a child shoemaker)."

他说完这话，我突然想到他之前让我给我爸换鞋的时候说过的话，鞋分左右，路有阴阳，阴人走阴间路，阳人走阳间路，要是迷了路，赶紧快回头！

After he said this, I suddenly recalled what he had previously told me when I was asked to change shoes for my dad: shoes come in left and right, paths have yin and yang, with yin people walking the path of the underworld, and yang people walking the path of the living. If they get lost, they should quickly turn back!

我大伯有些搞不懂了，忙问道，陈先生不是风水先生？

My uncle was somewhat confused and quickly asked, "Isn’t Mr. Chen a feng shui master?"

陈先生摇头讲，我只是一个孩匠，一辈子最大的本事就是给人做孩子（鞋子）。做活人给阳孩，给死人做阴孩，一做就做了三十多年咯。

Mr. Chen shook his head and replied, "I'm just a shoemaker. The greatest skill in my life is making shoes for children. I make shoes for the living for yang children and shoes for the dead for yin children; I've been doing this for over thirty years."

我们三个都安静的听着陈先生讲，没有打断他。

The three of us quietly listened to Mr. Chen without interrupting him.

陈先生继续往下讲，小阳，你还记得到你爹从棺材里出来的时候脚下穿的那只黑色布孩不？阴人有阴人的路，阳人有阳人的路，穿么子样的孩子，走么子样的路。你爹就是被那只孩子带错了路，进了你爷爷的棺材。还好他只穿上一只阴孩，要是两只脚都穿上了，那就麻烦咯。

Mr. Chen continued, "Xiao Yang, do you still remember the pair of black cloth shoes your dad was wearing when he came out of the coffin? Yin people have their own paths, and yang people have their own paths—shoes of a certain kind lead to a certain path. Your father was misled by those shoes and ended up in your grandfather's coffin. Thankfully, he only wore one yin shoe; if he had worn both, it would have been trouble."

我爸经此一劫，我到现在都还心有余悸，心想到底是哪个王八蛋给我爸穿的阴孩？这么想着，我就把这个问题问了出来。

Having gone through this ordeal, I still felt uneasy, wondering who the hell had put those yin shoes on my dad. With that thought in mind, I asked Mr. Chen this very question.

陈先生伸手指指了指地下，压了压嗓子讲，被你爷爷坟压着的地下那位。

Mr. Chen pointed down and lowered his voice, saying, "The one under your grandfather's grave."

陈先生讲，它不甘心被你爷爷的坟压着，但是它又对你爷爷无可奈何，就只好对你们这些后人下手。你本来是它的目标，但是你爷爷爬出来守到你床边，它莫得办法，就只好对你爹下手。

Mr. Chen explained that it was unwilling to be suppressed by your grandfather's grave, yet powerless against him, so it had to target you descendants. You were originally its target, but when your grandfather climbed out to guard your bedside, it had no choice but to go after your father.

直到这时，我们才知道，原来我爷爷爬出老屋，并不是他故意作怪要来害我们家，而是他就算是死了，也要跑回来守护着他的孙子。

Only then did we realize that my grandfather's emergence from the old house was not out of malice toward our family, but rather to protect his grandson even in death.

如果真是这样，那么一切也就讲得通了。为么子爷爷回来后会躺在我身边而不是我大伯二伯之类，又为麼子爷爷会在我晕倒后就站到我身边，他做的这一切，原来都是为了保护我。

If that were the case, then everything made sense. Why would grandfather lie next to me instead of with my uncles? And why did he stand by my side after I fainted? Everything he did was to protect me.

亏我之前还那么埋怨他，怪他不好好入土为安，没想到他……我真是想找个洞钻进去算了。

I had previously resented him, blaming him for not resting peacefully in the earth, not realizing that he... I just wanted to find a hole to hide in.

“那陈泥匠他是啷个回事？”我二伯毕竟是警察出生，心里头一直惦记着这件事。他虽然给乡亲们讲陈泥匠是心脏病死的，但是其实他自己都是不相信的。之前乡亲们虽然没说，但是大家都心知肚明，他们是把陈泥匠的死因归咎于我爷爷，我二伯想还我爷爷一个清白。

"So what's up with that Xiaodi fellow?" My younger uncle, being from the police, had this matter on his mind. Although he had told the villagers that Chen Xiaodi died of a heart attack, he himself did not believe it. The villagers may not have spoken openly, but they all knew Chen Xiaodi's cause of death was blamed on my grandfather, and my younger uncle wanted to clear my grandfather’s name.

陈先生看了一眼陈泥匠的灵堂，这才继续讲，他是一个泥匠。为活人修阳宅，给死人修阴宅。只不过最近几年来，他都是修阴宅，染了一身阴气，想不死都难。

Mr. Chen glanced at Chen Xiaodi’s mourning hall before continuing, "He was a mud mason. He repaired yang houses for the living and yin houses for the dead. However, in recent years, he had only been fixing yin houses, which filled him with yin energy, making it hard not to die."

更何况，他还得罪了地下的那位，要不是有廷公护到起的，他第一次进坟给廷公修老屋的时候就死咯。

Moreover, he had offended the one underground; without Lord Ting's protection, he would have died the first time he went to the grave to repair your grandfather's old house.

我就问陈先生，我爷爷的坟下面到底是谁？

I asked Mr. Chen, "Who is under my grandfather's grave?"

陈先生摇头讲，我也不晓得。不过，地底下的那位，起码都有两百年咯。你还记得到挖你爷爷坟之前我拋铜钱不？那是“投石问路”，问的是能不能挖坟。我前后问了十次，才得到下面那位的同意，一般来讲，我是个孩匠，阴阳两路不会让我啷个为难，再厉害的家伙，我问个三四次也就差不多了，那个家伙硬生生让我问了十次，而且最后一次哈是你爷爷帮了忙滴。你们自己讲，这么厉害的一个家伙，你们请的那个道场先生看得出来？老实给你们讲，要不是廷公选了这个坟，就连我，也不晓得地下还埋了这么个家伙。

Mr. Chen shook his head and said, "I don’t know either. However, the one underneath has been there for at least two hundred years. Do you remember when I threw the copper coins before we dug your grandfather's grave? That was 'casting stones to ask for directions,' to see if we could dig the grave. I asked that presence ten times before I got permission. Generally speaking, as a shoemaker, the spiritual paths wouldn’t make it hard for me. Even for the most formidable presence, I would usually just need to ask three or four times. That presence, however, made me ask ten times, and the last time was thanks to your grandfather assisting. You tell me, with such a powerful presence, do you think the Daoist master you invited can see it? Honestly, if Lord Ting hadn’t chosen this grave, even I wouldn’t have known there was something buried beneath it."

说到这里，我已经明白了，不是那个道场先生不给我们说爷爷的坟下面还有一座坟，而是他自己都不知道在这座坟的下面，竟然会还有一座坟！

At this point, I understood that it wasn't that the Daoist master didn’t inform us about another grave beneath my grandfather's; instead, it was that he didn’t even know that there was another grave below!

我已经不敢相信爷爷的坟下面到底埋着什么东西了，在我看来，陈先生已经是顶尖厉害的角色了，可是他都说，要不是因为有爷爷选的坟在上面，他也不会知道在这座坟下面，还有一座坟。

I could hardly believe what might be buried beneath my grandfather's grave. To me, Mr. Chen seemed like an exceptionally powerful figure, yet he said that if it weren't for the grave chosen by my grandfather on top, he wouldn’t even have known about the grave beneath it.

可是，这个东西既然这么厉害，我爷爷都能够镇得住他，那我爷爷该是怎样的一个狠角色？我很想问陈先生这个问题，但是却被二伯打断了。

However, if something so powerful could be subdued by my grandfather, then what kind of formidable person was my grandfather? I really wanted to ask Mr. Chen this question, but I was interrupted by my younger uncle.

“老同学，你喊我们不要找我爹老子的尸体了，现在能讲为么子了不？”我二伯把话题转到之前的那里。

"Old classmate, you told us not to look for my dad's corpse, so can you tell us why now?" My younger uncle shifted the topic back to where we started.

陈先生还是和之前一样，没有急着回答，而是先问我大伯，你晓得你爹老子以前是搞么子的不？

Mr. Chen, as before, didn’t rush to answer. Instead, he first asked my uncle, "Do you know what your dad used to do?"

大伯讲，听说他打过鬼子，回村后就一直搞农民嘛。

My uncle replied, "I heard he fought against the Japanese and then worked as a farmer after returning to the village."

“你呢？”陈先生又问我二伯。二伯的回答和大伯一样。

"And you?" Mr. Chen asked my younger uncle. His answer was the same as my uncle's.

“所以说，你们一点都不了解你们的爹老子。”陈先生叹息一声，继续讲，“你晓得我以前为么子从来不到你们村子来不？”

"That’s why you don't know anything about your father." Mr. Chen sighed and continued, "Do you know why I never came to your village before?"

这件事是实情，大伯和二伯知道，村里子的人也都知道，以前陈先生从来不来我们村子，就算是来了，也是不进村，只在村口站着。所以二伯这次在去请陈先生来之前，也很不确定能不能请到他。

This was an established fact; my uncle and younger uncle knew well that Mr. Chen had never come to our village, and even when he did, he only stayed at the village entrance. So my younger uncle was unsure if he could invite him this time.

“那是因为我的道行在你们爹老子面前，连入门都不算。有那么一位前辈在你们村子镇着，你讲，我敢进村不？”陈先生不仅没有丝毫的不好意思，相反的还有些骄傲。

"That's because my abilities were nothing compared to your father's. With a senior standing guard in your village, do you think I dared to enter?" Mr. Chen was not only unashamed but rather proud of it.

大伯和二伯对看了一眼，显然都从对方的眼里看到了迷惑。二伯问，难道我爹老子也是孩匠？

My uncle and younger uncle exchanged glances, clearly puzzled by each other's expressions. My younger uncle asked, "Is it possible that my dad is also a shoemaker?"

“不是，”陈先生讲，“我具体也不好讲你爹老子是做哪一门手艺滴，好像他哪门子都会。如果真的要讲他是搞么子的，我想，他应该是个赶尸匠！”

"Not quite," Mr. Chen said. "I can't precisely say what your dad’s craft was, but it seems he had some knowledge of them all. If I had to say what he did, I think he should be a corpse driver!"

赶尸匠？我在心里回味着这个词。

Corpse driver? I pondered that term in my heart.

这不是流传在湖南湘西一带的传说么？难道是真的？

Wasn’t that a legend circulating in the Xiangxi area of Hunan? Could it be true?

这里要介绍一下我老家的地理位置，地处湘西边缘，和重庆仅仅只隔了一条河，和贵州也接近。所以讲话的方言和重庆那边很接近，和贵州的一些话也差不多。但是，我还是没能想到我那个平日里只会挖土栽树，犁田栽秧的庄稼汉是个赶尸匠！

Here, I must introduce the geographic location of my hometown—it lies on the edge of Xiangxi, separated from Chongqing by only a river and quite close to Guizhou. Therefore, the dialect spoken is quite similar to that of Chongqing and somewhat resembles certain words from Guizhou. However, I could not imagine that my typically soil-digging, tree-planting, and farm-working father was a corpse driver!

我大伯也表达了自己的怀疑，他讲，不可能，我从来没听我爹老子提到过，也从来没看到过他赶尸。

My uncle also expressed his skepticism, saying, "Impossible, I’ve never heard my dad mention it, nor have I ever seen him performing this work."

陈先生点头讲，这就是廷公厉害的地方咯，隐忍了五六十年，都没被人发现。要不是我看到他这一手“偷天换日”，我也不敢讲他是个赶尸匠。再说咯，现在交通那么发达，哪里还需要赶尸？

Mr. Chen nodded and replied, "That’s just how remarkable Lord Ting is; he endured for five to six decades without being discovered. If I hadn’t witnessed his ability to 'steal heaven and exchange the sun,' I wouldn’t dare claim he was a corpse driver. Moreover, now with such advanced transportation, who would still need a corpse driver?"

这一小段对话又让我们听得一头雾水，之前陈先生讲“投石问路”，我还能理解，那这个“偷天换日”又是个么子概念？

This short dialogue left us all in confusion. I could understand Mr. Chen's earlier mention of "casting stones to ask for directions," but what exactly did "steal heaven and exchange the sun" mean?