Chapter 305: Three Funerals

Wu Xian was startled.

Since they had arrived at No-Burial Village, Old Tang had always avoided them, only appearing yesterday to explain the cause and effect to everyone after they killed the water ghost.

Now that he could take the initiative to come over and ask Wu Xian a question, it showed that the act of treating the elderly with kindness, which the Lotus Juanren had insisted on since arriving at the Fudi, had finally yielded a return.

Thus, Wu Xian nodded: "Yes."

Old Tang continued to ask: "Then you should hold the funerals, what are you still waiting for?"

"We don't know what a correct funeral looks like, so we need to bury the bodies to learn through trial and error..."

Old Tang looked over at Gao Fushuai, who was covered by a cloth.

"How many more are needed?"

Wu Xian's eyes were slightly puzzled; listening to Old Tang's meaning, could he solve the problem of the bodies for everyone?

"Two. Two bodies that died of old age and have no malice toward us."

Old Tang took a puff from his pipe, let out a long sigh, and turned his head elsewhere.

"Driver Lao Zhao, who lived in the same room as me, left this morning after eating. He left very peacefully without much pain. I nagged at him, but he didn't answer, and that's when I realized..."

"This old thing was carrying an illness; he hadn't been able to walk or sit up for days. We didn't have the ability to look after him. It was you who let him have a human appearance when he left; he won't hate you."

Old Tang's tone was very calm, but his voice sounded a bit shaky.

Back then, he had chosen to live in Driver Lao Zhao's room because he had a friendship with him. Old Tang was the one who felt the worst when Driver Lao Zhao died. Perhaps it was precisely because of Driver Lao Zhao's death that Old Tang was prompted to make the decision to actively help Wu Xian and the others.

"As for the second one... you all come with me."

Old Tang tapped out the ash from his pipe, stood up, and led everyone to a thatched cottage, where he knocked on the door.

"Sister He, I've come to see you."

There was no reply from inside.

Old Tang pushed the door open directly. On the wooden bed of this thatched cottage lay an old woman with white hair and beard.

The old woman was wearing silk clothes, the fabric high-quality and the patterns exquisite; one could tell at a glance she was an elder from a wealthy family. Even such an elder had actually been driven to No-Burial Village.

The old woman glared at Old Tang, clearly very dissatisfied with so many people entering.

"Sister He, haven't you always wanted to return to the He family?"

Hearing the two words "He family," the old woman suddenly became agitated.

"He family... yes, I want to go back. They will come to pick me up. I don't want to become a lonely ghost. Only by returning to the He family for burial can I survive..."

Wu Xian and Du E exchanged a glance.

The Undying City He family...

When they killed the water ghost, Wu Xian and the others had already determined that for this world to have become so bizarre, the He family must have played a role in it.

They hadn't expected this old lady to be a member of the He family.

This old lady was the oldest person in No-Burial Village and also the one whose condition looked the worst. On the first day, she had looked like she might breathe her last at any moment, yet she was still alive and well even now.

Old Tang chatted with Old Lady He for a couple of sentences, and suddenly his tone became serious.

"Sister He, you can't go back."

Old Lady He's expression suddenly turned ferocious, but Old Tang ignored her and continued speaking.

"You aren't senile; you should know that they won't come back to pick you up. But these young men can send your ashes back. That way, you can still be considered to have died in the He family..."

The old lady's ferocious expression returned to normal, and she asked Old Tang in a tone like a child's.

"Will they?"

"They don't belong to No-Burial Village; sooner or later, they have to go to the Undying City. Taking your ashes back is just on the way. If you don't believe me, ask him..."

Old Tang turned his head to look at Wu Xian. Wu Xian exchanged glances with the others for a moment before nodding.

"We can help with this favor!"

A flush of blood appeared on the old lady's withered yellow face, and she muttered excitedly.

"Good... good, I can finally return to the He family. I absolutely cannot die outside, cannot..." Her words came to an abrupt stop, and the hand by the side of the bed went limp.

Old Lady He.

Was dead.

Old Tang sighed.

"I probably haven't told you all."

"Everyone in the Undying City is driven out of the city when they are about to die, either to No-Burial Village or to other villages, but the He family is the only exception."

A light suddenly flashed in Wen Chao's eyes: "The He family isn't afraid of taboos?"

Old Tang shook his head.

"It is said that the head of the He family is blessed by the 'Three Immortals,' so after people of the He family die, they can have different treatment. I have lived for so long and have never seen a He family member die outside, but I have seen two in a row recently."

Du E spoke up: "One is that water ghost."

Old Tang nodded.

"The other is Sister He. She was originally a daughter of the He family who married out. When she got old, she should have returned to the He family, but her direct relatives were all gone. The He family didn't recognize her and drove her out..."

"Her body was actually failing long ago, but the obsession with returning to the He family had been supporting her, which is why she held on for so long..."

Wei Qinglan's eyes were mournful: "So because we promised to take her back to the He family, her obsession dissipated, and there was nothing left to support her in her struggle on the line between life and death..."

Old Tang stood up, leaned on his cane, walked out of the room, and looked at the sky in silence.

Wu Xian followed him out, wanting to ask him why he wanted to help, but Old Tang had no intention of communicating with Wu Xian anymore and instead wobbled toward his room.

This old man had originally been very healthy.

But in just this short while, Wu Xian felt he had aged several years.

Perhaps...

His own time was also running out.

With Old Tang's help.

Wu Xian and the others finally gathered three bodies.

Although being happy because of dead people was a bit immoral, gathering the bodies really made them feel much more relaxed, so they immediately started getting busy, holding simple funerals for these three.

Having had the previous experience.

This time, everyone was quite familiar with the process.

Since both Old Lady He and Gao Fushuai needed cremation, everyone discussed it and decided not to make any fuss about handling them separately; they would just cremate them all.

It sounded a bit hellish.

Because Gao Fushuai's body had been drained dry by the pale ghost shadow, cremating him saved a lot of firewood...

Soon, huge piles of wood were stacked up, and some simple burial goods were placed on top of the three bodies: clay figures, cloth money, flowers, ceramic bowls...

Although they didn't know if these burial goods were appropriate, at least it was better than having nothing.

When the pyres for the bodies were lit.

The elderly inside the thatched cottages all walked out one by one, some even crawling out.

They surrounded the pyres, silent and speechless. The firelight reflected on their faces, making them look uncertain. No one knew what they were thinking.

Wu Xian guessed.

They must be envious.

These elderly people must also be envious of a normal funeral.

It was just that the bizarre rules of this world gave them no chance to enjoy this treatment that should have belonged to them. Perhaps in their hearts, they were longing for the person lying on the pyre to be themselves...

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 306 =====