Chapter 71
There is no dutiful son before a long-term illness.
At funerals, those who cry and cry in an exaggerated manner are often not the children who have been waiting for them all year round.
On the contrary, those who take care of, serve and send the elderly away day after day find it difficult to cry during funerals.
Anything that can be added with the suffix "value" is limited, such as emotions.
If it is consumed for a long time, it will naturally be exhausted.
Just like Yin Meng at this time, she smiled, not forcing a smile, but a kind of relief and happiness.
Her grandfather is trapped in a coffin, and she is trapped in a coffin shop.
Grandfather and grandson are both suffering.
Now, finally, both parties are relieved.
Fortunately, she survived until the end without showing any impatience or depression. She always used a positive and sunny attitude to help grandpa change his diapers and wipe his body every day, and she lay beside the coffin to talk to him.
She knew this was what she should do. After all, she was raised by her grandfather. She would feel self-disgusted by the numbness and disgust that suddenly rose in her heart at a certain moment, and then criticize and educate herself.
She was very afraid that she would not be able to hold on. She did not want to show a side that was not in line with the "good granddaughter" in front of her grandfather, even if it was just the slightest bit, she would never allow it.
Now, she wins.
Winning the rest of my life with a clear conscience.
Tan Wenbin was the first to step forward and said with the same smile: "The old man passed away peacefully. It was a joy to mourn."
Runsheng: "Let's have a funeral."
The funeral was very simple, because there were really no outsiders, so Yinmeng did not need to wear black gauze and white strings to kneel down to invite people.
Two white lanterns were hung on both sides of the shop sign.
There was a wreath at the door, and the names of the three people were left behind. The elegiac couplet was written by Li Zhuiyuan, because among the four, he was the only one who was good at calligraphy.
There was an old stereo in the shop, but now it was placed outside, playing sad music.
But this is Fengdu, it’s a ghost street, and the facade is still a coffin shop. Even if there are so many things arranged, people passing by will not think that it is a dead person, but will subconsciously think that it is an event to add to the atmosphere.
For a time, more customers came into the store than usual.
After changing the old man's shroud, Yinmeng put on mourning clothes and sat cross-legged in front of the mourning hall.
Tan Wenbin and Runsheng sat opposite each other and burned paper money.
Paper dust was floating around, and the room was a little stuffy.
It happened to be raining outside, so Li Zhuiyuan simply closed the family tree and moved a small bench to sit at the door of the store.
The rain brought fresh air and refreshed the pedestrians on the street.
Runsheng asked: "How do you arrange funerals here? How long will the funeral be suspended?"
Yinmeng: "I want to bury my grandpa tonight."
Runsheng reminded: "This is against the rules."
Unless the world is chaotic and things are urgent, I have never heard of anyone dying on the same day and being buried the same night.
Yin Meng: "It doesn't matter whether there are rules or not."
Tan Wenbin immediately echoed: "Those who have performed filial piety during their lifetime have the confidence to do so, and they really don't have to act anymore."
Runsheng asked: "Then let me push it over for you. Where is your ancestral grave?"
Yinmeng shook her head: "My family does not have an ancestral grave, and my family's tradition is water burial."
Runsheng: "Which body of water?"
Yin Meng shook her head again: "I don't know. Grandpa didn't tell me this in detail when he was here."
Li Zhuiyuan, who was sitting at the door of the shop with his back to everyone listening to the rain, said: "Jiuguai River."
Yinmeng asked curiously: "Xiaoyuan, how did you know?"
"It's written in your family tree."
"Is it written? I have read the genealogy, but I don't remember some of this."
"It's the note at the back. An ancestor of your family from the Ming Dynasty recorded the burial process of his father in great detail."
"Oh, no wonder, I didn't read those notes. There are too many and too dense, and the words are difficult to understand."
Li Zhuiyuan: "Your grandfather is indeed too careless."
Although he was already very old, he did not inform his granddaughter in advance of his posthumous arrangements.
Of course, it is also possible that the old man no longer values these rules. After all, he can even borrow genealogy trees at will.
His son "missed without news," and his only blood relative was his granddaughter. He himself was in poor health, so he should have been prepared to cut off the family inheritance, otherwise he wouldn't have taught Yin Meng the secret of walking in the dark.
"Then, can you help me arrange grandpa's burial, Xiaoyuan?"
Runsheng: "Call me brother."
Tan Wenbin said: "Brother Xiaoyuan, whatever you want to eat for lunch, I will buy it."
Yin Meng stood up and left the futon, walked to Li Zhuiyuan's side, and squatted down:
"Brother Xiaoyuan, help me."
Li Zhuiyuan nodded.
Yinmeng breathed a sigh of relief, turned to Tan Wenbin and shouted: "Go to Madam Wang's Braised Vegetable Restaurant over there, I want to eat pig's trotters."
Tan Wenbin opened his umbrella and walked into the rain.
Not long after, he came back with a big bag of food.
No wine, but good meat and dishes.
The four of them sat in a circle, and the plastic bags were lifted up and placed on the ground.
The rice was from home, Runsheng cooked it himself, and Yinmeng didn't dare to interfere.
A large bowl of rice was brought up. Li Zhuiyuan and Yin Meng each had half a bowl, and the rest of the bowl, which was barely reduced, was given to Runsheng and Tan Wenbin.
During the meal, Tan Wenbin asked: "What are you going to do next? Will you continue to open this coffin shop?"
Yinmeng stopped chewing the pig's trotters, glanced at Li Zhuiyuan secretly, and whispered: "I call you brother."
"What do you mean?" Tan Wenbin didn't understand for a moment.
Runsheng: "I rely on it."
Yinmeng stretched out her legs and kicked Runsheng.
Tan Wenbin was a little surprised and said: "What do you think, you want to come with us? This place is quite far from Nantong."
Yin Meng said indifferently: "Anyway, I don't have any relatives now. If one person has enough food and the whole family is not hungry, we can go anywhere. I don't have many friends, just the three of you."
Tan Wenbin was a little confused: "But I am already the only breadwinner in Uncle Li's family."
Yinmeng: "I can do some work, help with cooking and so on."
Runsheng: "..."
Tan Wenbin: "..."
Li Zhuiyuan had to say: "After you come home with us, you can do nothing, but don't cook when your hands are itchy."
Even Tan Wenbin's iron stomach couldn't bear it. He was afraid that if Yinmeng came home to cook a meal, he and his grandfather would be sent away directly.
"Do you agree?" Yinmeng asked happily, "Then I will go to Nantong with you."
"Well, okay."
Old man, your granddaughter is actually much smarter than you think.
After the meal, the mournful music continued to play from the speakers outside the door, while everyone sat in front of the mourning hall and played cards.
At first, they played a four-player battle against the landlords. After fighting for a while, the three of them tacitly eliminated Li Zhuiyuan and started playing a three-player battle against the landlords.
By the afternoon, the three of them had left.
The things in the shop need to be disposed of. Those handicrafts are not worth a lot of money and can be given away. The real value in the shop is the coffins. The old man has used one and there are four left.
Fortunately, coffins are hard currency these days.
There are old people in every family, and the old people will prepare longevity materials for themselves before they die.
In order to take action as soon as possible, Yinmeng directly discounted the price by 50%, and the four coffins were quickly sold for cash.
Runsheng and Tan Wenbin pushed the carts and delivered the four coffins to the shop. Yes, they were bought by other merchants before they even left the ghost street.
They are not afraid that the temporary coffin placed outside the store will affect business. Here, it is as ordinary as placing a lucky cat.
Yinmeng sat there and counted the money: "Fortunately, the rent hasn't been paid next month. By then, all the remaining stuff in the house will be left to the landlord."
Runsheng threw away all the cooked vegetables left over from lunch and cooked a large pot of chowder porridge.
After eating and drinking, it was dark outside.
Yin Fuhai's coffin was placed on the cart. Runsheng pushed the cart alone, Tan Wenbin pushed it behind, Yin Meng followed the cart, and Li Zhuiyuan sat on the coffin lid, holding an umbrella in his hand.
It's not that the boy was deliberately lazy, but that the road to burial was not easy to walk, and he needed to sit high and look far ahead to plan.
Burying at night is still in a ghost street. If you bump around, God knows what you will encounter.
He was about to return tomorrow, and Li Zhuiyuan didn't want to encounter any unexpected events tonight.
After leaving the street, leaving the county, and passing through the village, the coffin was transported to the river beach. The journey was safe and smooth.
In front is Jiuguaitou, also called Jiulongguai by the locals. As the name suggests, the river section meanders here with many extreme turns.
After passing the Jiulong Turn, the rest of the river is straight and can merge directly into the Yangtze River.
From the perspective of Feng Shui, this place is ready to build a fortress and wash away the silt.
Water burial here means that the deceased cleanses away the dust of his life and washes away all cause and effect.
After seeing the real scene, Li Zhuiyuan felt a little strange. Because logically speaking, this is not a good location for water burial.
In the eyes of normal people, the deceased should rest in peace, but here, they are traveling lightly.
It would be more appropriate to choose this place as a place for newborns to receive baptism and blessing and for adult ceremonies to be held.
On the beach, Tan Wenbin set up the offering table.
Li Zhuiyuan looked at Yin Meng: "Can you read a eulogy?"
Yinmeng spread her hands. She was used to this kind of response today: "No, I don't understand."
Li Zhuiyuan suddenly felt that he was at a bit of a disadvantage, because he was equivalent to fasting for the old man.
But this item is not included in the transaction.
Li Zhuiyuan walked to the altar table, pointed to his side, and said to Yin Meng: "Kneel here while holding the incense."
"Hey, okay."
Yin Meng was very obedient. After lighting the incense, she knelt down and held the incense in both hands, above her head.
Li Zhuiyuan made a gesture to Runsheng, and Runsheng pushed the coffin on the shore into the water.
However, the coffin was not washed down by the current, but continued to stay on the shore.
Li Zhuiyuan lit the yellow paper with a candle, and with a wave, scattered the burning yellow paper into the air in batches, dropped it on the ground, and threw it into the river.
With the help of the light that had not yet been extinguished, Li Zhuiyuan supported the altar table with both hands, his eyes slightly lowered, his body slightly swayed, and he recited a eulogy.
The first half of the eulogy was devoted to praising Yin Changsheng, the so-called Emperor Fengdu.
Li Zhuiyuan completely recited the records in the note, and there was nothing that needed to be revised.
In the second half, you need to tell about his life, which cannot be copied. It must be based on the specific circumstances of the "dead person".
However, the old man really has nothing to brag about. Not only did he fail to carry forward the family inheritance, but it was almost cut off in his hands.
If the one-eyed woman hadn't poisoned the person first, the old man would have been implicated in the family's destruction. As for the reason for your difficulties, God doesn't care.
Since there were no achievements or highlights in his life, the only thing Li Zhuiyuan could boast about was his "conscientiousness".
In order to gather the content of the eulogy, Li Zhuiyuan repeatedly described this point from multiple aspects and angles.
After he felt that it was almost done, Li Zhuiyuan began to finish. This was also the most critical step.
The boy first took a deep breath, then leaned forward and entered a semi-yin state;
His voice no longer only exists in reality, but also conveys another invisible and intangible "world".
"Li Zhuiyuan's filial son is cute,
Kowtow to Emperor Fengdu to fix the Yellow Spring, suppress the Yin Division, and open the Yin Gate.
Pick up,
Yin Fuhai, a descendant of the Yin family,
Return to Fengdu, step into rebirth, and enter bliss. ”
Li Zhuiyuan raised his neck, finished walking around, and then said to Yin Meng beside him: "Kowtow."
Yinmeng immediately kowtowed to the river and saluted.
The ceremony is over.
When the wind blows on the riverbank, even ordinary people can detect the coldness and strangeness of the wind.
The next moment, the coffin, which seemed to still be attached to the underworld, finally broke away from the shore and floated deeper into the river.
Tan Wenbin looked carefully, as if he had discovered something. He covered his mouth with one hand to prevent him from screaming, and beat Runsheng's arm hard with the other hand.
Runsheng understood what Binbin meant, and he also saw four shadows appearing in the water below the coffin.
The shadow became more and more solid, and the coffin gradually broke away from the water. The shadow below turned into four ghostly entities. They carried the coffin and continued to move forward in the river.
Runsheng sniffed, there was such a strong smell of corpse water.
The four coffin bearers seemed to have fallen dead.
Li Zhuiyuan also looked at this scene. He actually saw more than Runsheng. For example, the four people carrying the coffin should have been the corpses of people who drowned in the river area in an unknown year. They were not washed away by the current. , but buried deep under the sediment of the river bottom.
At this moment, they all "recovered", as if they had been temporarily conscripted into corvee service and acted as coffin bearers.
This once again proved Li Zhuiyuan's previous guess that this Fengdu ghost town did have something special that was unique to it.
At the same time, it also indirectly confirms another speculation that Yin Changsheng "became an immortal" by swallowing corpse pills. This "immortal" should be the opposite of its literal meaning.
As for what Yin Changsheng said, the dozens of Taoist friends he saw after becoming an immortal who did not like to go out and lived in seclusion were most likely not immortals, but tyrannical and terrifying deaths.
I just don’t know if they have communicated in private...and whether I will have the opportunity to contact them in the future.
"Kekeke!~~~"
It was obviously still early before dawn, but the high-pitched rooster crow came from somewhere nearby.
The sun was not called out, but a strange red appeared on the clouds above our heads, making the river beach and the surface of the river look extremely gloomy and depressing.
This phenomenon is fleeting, so fast that you may mistake it for a momentary dazzle.
Then, the coffin that was still in sight even though it was "drifting far away" also disappeared.
Tan Wenbin held Runsheng's shoulders and jumped several times:
"Hey, why did it suddenly disappear? Did it sink?"
Runsheng: "I was picked up."
Li Zhuiyuan held the altar table with his hands, his forehead was covered with sweat, and he kept taking deep breaths.
Yinmeng got up from the ground and asked with concern: "Xiaoyuan...Brother, are you okay?"
She felt quite guilty, thinking that the boy had overdrafted because he helped her with her funeral.
But in fact, after learning the twelve techniques of the Yin family and making up for the most basic shortcomings, Li Zhuiyuan is no longer as prone to nosebleeds as before.
In his current situation, he was extremely frightened.
Because just now, no matter how short the time was, he had time to step out of the shadows and run to the front to "take a look."
As soon as this thought came up, he felt a huge sense of crisis.
It seems that as long as you do this, you will see real horror.
After so many years, the death of the Yin family can still attract the "four ghosts carrying the coffin", which proves that the logic of its operation has not collapsed.
Does this also mean that Yin Changsheng, Emperor Fengdu... is still there?
He closed his eyes and swallowed hard. When he opened his eyes again, Li Zhuiyuan's breathing could calm down.
He turned around and faced the direction of Fengdu Ghost Street, the shock in his eyes was replaced by a touch of excitement:
It's great that you're still here.
This world is really getting more and more interesting.
The boy was relieved because he was sure that he would not be bored even when he grew up.
After packing their things, the four returned to the coffin shop on Ghost Street.
After the clearance sale, the shop was very empty. Everyone could only make do with the floor for one night. After the coffin was gone, they missed it very much.
The next morning, the four of them took their luggage and boarded the boat at Ghost Street Pier.
There is no need to go to Wanzhou anymore, now we have to go straight to the mountain city.
Yin Meng stood on the bow of the boat, watching the river below her feet being cut open.
Standing at the stern of the boat somewhat reluctantly was Li Zhuiyuan.
It's like a famous dish. You can taste it briefly, and you will have endless aftertaste, but you still retain huge expectations.
Although he knows that this is a kind of suicide, he believes that when he grows up and the time is right, he will return to this ghost town again to try to discover the secrets at its core.
The pier is getting further away, the streets are getting further away, and the mountains are getting further away, but the future is getting closer step by step.
After returning to the mountain city, Li Zhuiyuan called Xue Liangliang.
Xue Liangliang told the boy that the restoration of the bamboo slips would take a long time. When he finished the project and returned to Jinling, he would bring the restored bamboo slips back and hand them over to the boy in Nantong himself.
Without spending too much time in the mountain city, the four of them went to the train station and bought tickets for their return trip.
However, this time without Xue Liangliang's channel relationship, the four of them only bought hard sleeper tickets, six people in one room, and none of them were undercover.
Even though Li Zhuiyuan was still young, he still felt cramped lying on the hard sleeper.
The other three were even worse. They could only lie down on the bunks but not sit on them. It was very painful to get up and down.
Therefore, except for sleeping at night, the three of them like to be active in the corridor outside.
Tan Wenbin specifically told Yinmeng several times not to give food and drinks on the train and not to have too much contact with any strangers.
In fact, the little girl in red last time left such a deep shadow on everyone, and I really don’t want to be looked down upon again.
It was already late at night when we arrived at the Nantong station. The few taxis and black cars outside the station all chose to refuse to take us after hearing that we were going to the countryside.
Later, when there was really nothing he could do, Tan Wenbin went to the phone booth and called Tan Yunlong.
The four of them sat on the side of the road and waited for a while, when a pickup truck with a strong smell of seafood stopped in front of them.
Tan Yunlong threw the cigarette butt out of the car window and urged: "Get in the car quickly. I have to hurry up and return the car. I need to use this car to purchase goods in the morning."
It was already dawn when the pickup truck arrived at Siyuan Village.
When the car stopped, Tan Yunlong looked at his son and asked, "Follow me home. Your mother misses you."
"It's okay. I'll go back tomorrow and let my mother enjoy one more day of happiness looking forward to the reunion of mother and son."
After saying that, Tan Wenbin got out of the car first without waiting for him to curse.
While others were still picking up their luggage, he waved his arms and ran home excitedly, shouting as he ran:
"Uncle Li, Uncle Li!"
Li Sanjiang’s laughter and scolding came from Bazi:
"I said, who is it this morning?"
"It's Zhuangzhuang, Zhuangzhuang is back!"
(End of chapter)