Chapter 1

At midnight, I slipped out to meet my boyfriend—and heard the Bodhisattva statue in our house speak.

“Oh dear. The daughter of this family is going to have her first time tonight.”

I was stunned and mortified. Then the Bodhisattva spoke again, saying it was such a shame.

A shame? Why?

“Because the man she'll be with in a moment... isn't her boyfriend.”

1

My scalp prickled.

Who was talking in the middle of the night?

The voice came from the left-hand corner of the living room. Along with a pile of odds and ends, there was a Bodhisattva statue there. I had no idea where it had come from.

“They may be poor, but the God of Wealth is in the northwest corner of this house. Such a shame.”

The voice sounded at once distant and perfectly clear.

I stood rigid in the dark and secretly pinched my thigh, hard.

It hurt.

I wasn't imagining things.

Then a child's voice asked curiously, “Why is it a shame? Are they moving away?”

The Bodhisattva sounded sorrowful.

“Because all six members of this family are going to die tonight.”

2

I could barely breathe.

The Child of Wealth gave a puzzled little cry.

“Why has she stopped moving? Can she hear us?”

The Bodhisattva hushed him.

“She has burned incense and made offerings to us since she was little. Perhaps our spiritual influence has awakened her perception. Come. We should go.”

The voices vanished.

I was suddenly wide awake.

Cold sweat covered me. I couldn't have cared less where the God of Wealth was.

Why had the Bodhisattva said all six of us would die tonight?

I wanted to tell my parents, but what if they didn't believe me? They'd say I was letting my imagination run wild.

While I hesitated, a faint rustling came from the balcony.

I held my breath and crouched.

The living room was pitch-black. In the weak light filtering in from the streetlamps, I could still make out a dark figure climbing over the outer wall and slipping inside.

A burglar!

The Bodhisattva had been right.

I flattened myself against the wall, afraid even to breathe.

Ours was an old, three-story house built by the family. My room was on the ground floor. My parents, older brother, sister-in-law and one-year-old niece slept on the two floors above.

How could I warn them?

The man moved farther into the house, a knife in his hand.

Sweating with fear, I crept along the wall toward the stairs. I'd only climbed a few steps when my foot struck something.

Clack.

My niece's toy car.

3

It clattered down the stairs.

“Hel—”

I tried to run up, but a hand clamped over my mouth from behind.

The man grabbed my hair and dragged me back down.

“Shut your fucking mouth!”

He pinned me to the floor. My nightdress was pulled out of place as I struggled, and his intentions changed. He leaned over me, trying to assault me.

Just as I was giving up hope, a figure darted behind him.

My brother!

Before the man could react, my brother brought a hammer down hard.

The man struggled to rise. Another blow from behind knocked him flat.

“You bastard! Breaking into my house!”

My brother snatched up a vase and smashed it against the back of his head.

Once.

Twice.

He didn't stop until the man lay facedown, motionless.

Dad hurried downstairs in his nightclothes and fumbled to turn him over.

“Him?”

It was Wang Gui, from the demolition team.

Our house stood on land earmarked for the city's expansion. A property developer had come to negotiate several times, but Wang Gui kept forcing the compensation down, relying on the thugs backing him.

He'd thrown firecrackers into our kitchen. Tortured our old dog to death.

He'd even sent his men to block my way and harass me more than once.

Dad held a shaking hand under Wang Gui's nose. His face went white.

“This is bad... I don't think he's breathing. He's dead!”

My first thought was to call the police.

“No!” my brother said at once.

“I've only just passed the civil-service exam. My appointment's still open for public review. If we call the police and I get a criminal record, my life is over!”

They sat in the living room, arguing over what to do.

My mind was a tangled mess.

Then I heard the voices again.

The Child of Wealth said, “Well! They've escaped disaster. All six are alive. Ox-Head and Horse-Face have made a wasted trip tonight. I don't understand. They only need to call the police. What's taking them so long?”

“What do you think they'll do?”

“Mortals have laws. They'll call, surely. That man broke in with a knife.”

“I keep telling you to study, but you won't. Leaving out the baby, there are five of them and only one of him. There's such a thing in their law as excessive self-defense. Someone will have to answer for it.”

“Just look at their faces.”

“The mother's cheekbones spread wide, and the space between her brows is narrow. Selfish. Thinks only of herself.”

“The father has a weak constitution. Killing stars dominate his chart, and his wealth stars contend to join his day master. Spineless and indecisive. He's never had the courage to take responsibility.”

I edged toward the doorway.

I could faintly hear my sister-in-law crying, saying something about how she couldn't...

The Child of Wealth suddenly understood.

“I see.”

“They're looking for someone to take the fall.”

The voices vanished once more.

I bit my lip.

My brother was the family's precious treasure. Of course he was.

For years, he'd stayed home without a job, doing nothing but studying for his exams. Everyone treated him as something fragile to be protected. I even had to use a toilet elsewhere, in case the sound of flushing disturbed him.

Before long, my parents came into the room.

Thud.

As if they'd rehearsed it, they dropped heavily to their knees in front of me.

“Xiao Yun, please save your brother!”

“We're begging you!”

4

It was so absurd I could hardly take it in.

The sound of their foreheads striking the floor rang painfully through the room.

I forced the question out.

“Mom. Dad. You want me to confess to what he did?”

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