"Apologize."
I strained to control my anger, maintaining composure.
"What did you say?" Wang Binyear widened his eyes, turned slightly to face me, and dug his little finger in twice.
"I said, apologize and clean the coffin with your face!"
"No blood at a funeral! I spare you a life!"
I'm on the verge of losing control, my voice is particularly hoarse.
"HAHAHAHAHAS! Luo Xian God, you must be mad that your head is going crazy at home. Let the son of a bitch apologize?"
Wang Binian burst out laughing.
The others couldn't help but laugh.
I stopped talking, suddenly reached out my hand to grab Wang Binyear's wrist.
Wang Binyear lifted a foot and kicked me in the abdomen with great force!
"Not even seeing blood at a funeral, people are dying and you still have so many bad habits!" he cursed.
My hand shrank instantly, grabbed Wang Binyear's leg, and in one fluid motion, pushed him, gripping his kneecap tightly!
Suddenly exerting force, a crisp click entered the ear.
He let out a piercing scream!
I swung my hand again, striking Wang Binyear's right shoulder, and his body twisted abruptly, facing directly towards Lao Qin's coffin.
Another kick, I stomped hard on the kneecap of his other leg.
"Bang!" He fell to the ground heavily, followed by a howl of agony, sounding like a pig being slaughtered!
"You like burying people, right? Call out one more time, and I'll bury you," my voice was cold, my gaze as if looking at a corpse.
Wang Binyear was extremely terrified, his mouth tightly shut, sweat beads forming on his forehead!
Those who had previously laughed at me were all shocked, and some of them were slipping out the door.
"Whoever dares to flee, I'll bury their entire family!"
I swept my cold gaze across the courtyard.
The few people all stood still, their legs trembling like chaff.
"Go on, use your face to clean the coffin." I looked at Wang Binyear with a cold glance.
Wang Binyear quickly dragged his legs to the front of the coffin, pressed his face against it, and wiped it vigorously.
The reason he couldn't stand up was simple; I had broken one kneecap and then crushed the other while he was kneeling.
Not seeing blood at a funeral doesn't mean I won't vent my anger on Lao Qin's head!
The others finally realized what had happened and quickly went to pick up the items on the ground.
About fifteen minutes later, the ancestral hall returned to its original state.
I had those few people carry Wang Binyear to the back mountain and discard him, and I decided to let this matter drop.
Wang Binyear hung his head, striving to suppress the hate in his eyes.
The few people let out a sigh of relief, lifting Wang Binyear and running away in a hurry.
……
The courtyard was quieter now, with only Yu Xiu and me remaining.
Earlier, Yu Xiu had gotten up silently to help, tidying up the ancestral hall together.
At this moment, she was kneeling by the incense paper basket, burning paper one by one.
All I knew was that one day, Yu Xiu suddenly appeared in our village and then became the guardian of the village.
Old Qinhead told me not to interact too much with Yu Xiu, saying that she was a widow and very strange!
The incense paper was burning fiercely, with bright flames reflecting off Yu Xiu's slender, jade-like fingers, which were long and attractive.
Why did she only have four fingers?
I had a slight sweat on my forehead, and a bit of unease in my heart.
I went back to my room, found a set of clothes from a few years ago, mainly because they were clean and small, and Yu Xiu should be able to wear them.
Returning to the courtyard, I handed her the clothes and said, "Go back, change your clothes, and everything is okay now."
Yu Xiu stunned and looked up.
She was born with a standard appearance, a round face with a bit of square on the sides, fair skin, almond eyes, and quite attractive to look at, but her eyes looked very empty.
Her eyes looked like those of a fool, likely stagnant.
Yu Xiu's empty gaze was like that of a dead person with dilated pupils...
I shivered in coldness.
Old Qinhead was right, Yu Xiu was truly strange. I shivered at her gaze, and my hands and feet were cold.
"Thank you." Yu Xiu's voice was also hollow.
She took the clothes and walked out.
As I approached the incense paper basket, the warmth of the fire made my hands feel less cold.
I glanced out of the corner of my eye, and Yu Xiu had already left the courtyard. I patted my chest, making sure that everything given by Old Qinhead was kept close to me.
A thought suddenly occurred to me without my conscious control.
Could that finger have belonged to Yu Xiu?
Then, I shook my head and thought to myself, "That's impossible."
Yu Xiu, even if she was a strange widow, was at most destined to be strange. That was much worse than my plague god fate.
The four fingers were just a coincidence. She was absolutely not a means of Old Qinhead's!
......
After burning some paper for a while, my thoughts finally calmed down.
Finally, it was dark.
Mrs. Liu brought a group of women in their twenties and thirties, with graceful figures and brightly colored clothes.
She also brought along a small speaker, playing mourning music.
In many places, singing while sending off the deceased is also a custom.
The courtyard was filled with chirping and fluttering.
Outside the courtyard, many villagers were looking on, creating quite a lively scene.
After the singing and dancing, I gave Mrs. Liu a large red envelope as well.
She happily led the others away with a smile.
After all the villagers had left, I carried the paper figures placed under the eaves to the side of the coffin.
The paper figures appeared stiff and empty.
The breeze blew, producing a faint rustling sound.
I bit my index finger and gave the paper figures a "life" point.
Paper figures are usually not pointed at their eyes.
After being pointed at, the paper figures would be like empty corpses without souls, attracting small ghosts!
That's why knowledgeable masters, when making paper effigies, would accompany the person along with the paper figures, and only point at the eyes of the paper figures at critical moments.
The rustling sound disappeared, and the eyes of the eight paper figures were blood red, exuding a chilling atmosphere, as if they were eight standing corpses!
"Pious son with etiquette, please start the eight immortals!"
My voice was sharper as well!
The eight paper figures instantly pressed close to the coffin.
A muffled thud, the heavy coffin was lifted by being squeezed.
The paper figures rose and fell, slowly drifting out of the courtyard.
I followed to the door, and my hand instinctively gripped the doorframe.
A few years ago when I was making a combined life wooden coffin and making paper figures, Old Qinhead said that when he died, he would know where to be buried.
Pointing the eyes of the paper figures would cause him to return his soul.
As for finding his grave in the future, I naturally knew in my heart.
Now I really understand.
Only when the ghost of the sun comes out and truly inherits his mantle, can he be able to tell fortunes and can he find his tomb.
Otherwise, our fate, will be up to here.
As the paper figures and coffin moved away, I kneeled to the ground and bowed three times.
After I stood up, the village road was empty, with the paper figures and coffin long gone.
The road at night was shrouded in thick white mist, with a dense aura of yin.
I closed the courtyard door and returned to my room to pack all of my belongings into a suitcase, but I couldn't fit everything in, so I had to add an extra backpack.
I checked Old Qinhead's room again and took all the things related to fortune-telling.
Finally, I forcefully held back the bitterness in my heart, locked the courtyard door, and walked towards the village entrance.
Over the years, Old Qinhead's instructions to me were very strict.
The first thing is to listen!
Last night he just died, and I was too upset, so I cried all night. It took me until today to handle the funeral affairs.
I cannot stay in the village tonight.
Otherwise, if his body is not in the courtyard, I will definitely have something happen to me!
The mist on the village road is even thicker than before.
The temperature is low and the humidity is high. I didn't take a few steps, and my eyelashes were already wet.
I could vaguely hear someone calling me.
Listen carefully, it sounds like Old Qinhead.
My back instantly felt cold.
How could it be him? It was eight ghosts who carried the coffin and took away Old Qinhead, not him.
Drove away the distractions, and I walked ahead with determination!
"Tap, tap..." and there were even footsteps behind me...
The sound was too close, almost right behind my back.
I quickened my pace!
This "thing" came so quickly, just as Old Qinhead was about to leave!
About fifteen minutes later, I quickly walked to the village entrance and stepped out from the stone tablet at the village head.
The full moon hung high in the sky, illuminating the village road in a white glow.
The mist, surprisingly, vanished in an instant... as if it was only in the village!
Behind me, the silence became extreme. The footsteps that had followed me along the way also disappeared.
That thing didn't follow?
I held my breath and suddenly turned around.
Behind the stone tablet at the village entrance, a woman barefoot stood in the mist.
Her feet were incredibly small, causing people to be unable to help but gaze at them!
Jade feet were exquisite, and long legs attracted attention.
She was dressed too lightly, with a crimson bodice just covering the key points, and her milky white arms crossed in front of her.
This figure could make any man's blood boil and any woman feel ashamed of her own.
But if you look up higher, my clothes are all wet...
It was sweating that made them wet!
Because, she had no head!
The mist enveloped her rapidly, even thicker than before, leaving only a blurred figure visible.
Old Qinhead's voice followed.
"God of appearance, in the middle of the night, where are you going?"
