Chapter 448

Perhaps it was a fortunate coincidence, or perhaps the Thousand-Faced Fiend intentionally wanted to punish Liu Guozhong; in any case, Liu Guozhong indeed, under the influence of ghosts and gods, lightly licked the crow droppings that had fallen from the sky.

Of course, this scene did not lead Liu Guozhong to seek the cause from his intelligence. On the contrary, Liu Guozhong, like everyone else, blamed this scene on the Thousand Corpse Fiend.

Ghosts and gods are, after all, ghosts and gods; even if they agree to you, they are not so easy to deal with. Even if they cannot do anything to you, they still must play a trick on you to show their dignity.

Although they were played a trick on, Liu Guozhong and everyone felt quite happy; at least, the Thousand Corpse Fiend agreed to their request, willing to go to the netherworld to be reborn, so from then on the villagers of the twelve villages of the three townships no longer had to worry about ghosts hooking souls.

Of course, the reason is not that the Thousand Corpse Fiend truly feared Liu Guozhong. Martial practitioners, although they have heavier yang and their three fires are more vigorous than ordinary people, yet this Thousand Corpse Fiend is not a vegetarian; having lingered in the human world for several decades, having harmed countless people, the resentment on its body and its cultivation are such that not to mention ordinary martial warriors, even two or three Daoists could not handle it.

Most importantly, it was actually that sentence Liu Guozhong said after turning around.

"Let's bury these corpses and bones! Leaving them exposed to the sun in the wilderness makes us uneasy!"

This sentence, on one hand, highlights Liu Guozhong's good heart; on the other hand, it also aptly hits the Thousand-Faced Fiend's heart.

The aforementioned fiend's heart, you can describe it in four words—burial brings peace.

People say 'return to the earth after falling,' ghosts say 'burial brings peace.' In the teachings of the older generations, the netherworld and the human world are the same, also discussing household registration. Either you have descendants making offerings, or you have a burial place; otherwise you are a homeless wild ghost without registration or origin.

After the Thousand-Faced Fiend was killed by the principal wife and thrown into Ku Jing, besides suffering the agony of having its face peeled and disfigured, its soul and body are soaked in water every day, and it also endures the bone-piercing cold.

Perhaps the Thousand Corpse Fiend harbors resentment, but after so many years, the resentment in his heart should have dissipated. The reason he remains in the human world committing evil might be because the corpses are trapped below the well, unable to be buried in peace. She can only hook souls and take lives to alleviate her own suffering.

Therefore, it is not that Liu Guozhong's aura is strong, but that his sentence happened to be just right. Likewise, as worldly affairs are impermanent, having an absolute advantage does not guarantee success in some things; the key is whether your method is aptly applied to the point.

Perhaps it was heaven's favor; Liu Guozhong succeeded. After the crow flew away, Liu Guozhong and his brothers dug several pits, burying these corpses separately. The Thousand-Faced Fiend's remains were buried elsewhere, and moreover, Liu Guozhong carved the name he heard from the old village secretary onto a wooden board, erecting a stele for this Thousand-Faced Fiend.

All of this was done flawlessly and seamlessly. As long as the few brothers accompanying him do not speak of it, everything will be concealed with the passage of time, and it will be even less likely to be discovered by superiors.

However, besides heaven knowing, earth knowing, and Liu Guozhong's party knowing, there was still one person who personally witnessed the entire process.

After Liu Guozhong's party quietly left Ku Jing, a graceful figure lightly stepped out from deep within Zhu Lin.

With a hint of shyness, she looked at Liu Guozhong's retreating back, then knelt down and similarly kowtowed several times at the grave of the Thousand-Faced Fiend.

This figure was none other than Aunt Wang, whom Liu Guozhong had rescued and who thereafter cared for him day and night without rest.

It turned out that this morning, Aunt Wang was working in the production team. As for someone who has fallen in love, naturally they constantly think of seeing and missing the one they love. This is a naive affection, no one can be sure. But even if it is a secret crush, this affection will continue to take root deeply in each other's hearts.

In traditional Chinese medicine, this condition is called lovesickness. In modern science…… it cannot be cured by medicine.

In short, Aunt Wang, unable to see Liu Guozhong, was naturally very anxious. During her rest, she again inferred from the old village secretary's fragmentary words that Liu Guozhong was going to that Ku Jing.

Worried, she put down her farm work and quietly ran up to Zhu Lin.

Not long nor short, when Aunt Wang arrived at Zhu Lin, it happened to be the moment Liu Guozhong was pulling out the corpses and kneeling before them. However, upon seeing Liu Guozhong daring to verbally threaten the Thousand-Faced Fiend, Aunt Wang's heart inevitably gave a great start; for a moment she could not recover and stood there stunned.

Later, Aunt Wang's mood could be described as fluctuating like waves, from surprise to joy, from joy to annoyance. The surprise was seeing the Thousand-Faced Fiend's remains fall out; the joy was that the Thousand-Faced Fiend actually agreed to Liu Guozhong's request; the annoyance…… was that the man she fancied was so foolish, not even looking, he stuffed crow droppings into his mouth.

Only after Liu Guozhong's party walked far away did Aunt Wang sneak out from Zhu Lin.

After finishing her kowtows, Aunt Wang did not linger even a moment, taking small hurried steps and quietly running out of Zhu Lin.

Within Zhu Lin lay several dry graves and a Ku Jing, standing side by side in silent stillness. After everyone had left, Zhu Lin was suddenly swept by a faintly cool wind; as leaves fluttered, a wailing sound spread through Zhu Lin. It was as if the wind were weeping, or as if a woman wronged for many years were lamenting the resentment and pain she had endured over those years.

……………………

Time quietly passed, and under the deliberate concealment of the old village secretary and Liu Guozhong et al., this matter gradually faded from people's memories, as if it had never happened.

On the contrary, the feelings of the two protagonists in the story deepened further.

Liu Guozhong, this honest fellow, besides doing farm work during the day, also taught the villagers Liu family boxing in his leisure time. However, this fellow is naturally clumsy; regarding emotional matters, he is indifferent, not even knowing where to start. In modern terms, such a person is naturally low in emotional intelligence.

On the contrary, Aunt Wang, taking advantage of her leisure time, sometimes brought food to Liu Guozhong, sometimes mended his clothes; although she had no title, she actually resembled a daughter-in-law of the Liu family.

However, their communication had always stopped at the merest hint. Aside from spiritual elevation, there was no further physical contact; indeed, they had never even held hands. Without external factors, perhaps these two would remain this way for their entire lives.

Coincidentally, perhaps heaven wanted to foster this affinity; at this moment, a well-meaning person appeared—Liu elder lady from the same village.

In the old society of that time, northern and southern cultures had considerable differences. In the north, 'elder lady' might merely be a term of address, a respectful way to refer to elders. But in the southern countryside, elders are generally called 'aunt', 'auntie', or 'grandma'. For those with blood relations, we address them according to seniority; for those without, we generally give different titles based on age. For those with little age difference, we call them 'older sister'; for slightly greater differences, we call them 'auntie', 'elder lady',

Those who can bear the character 'daughter' are only four kinds: biological mother, wet nurse, bride, and the matchmaker who ties the red thread for others.

Liu elder lady, whose single given name is 'Mei', is a well-known matchmaker in the twelve villages of the three townships, specializing in uniting fated couples and collecting a large matchmaker's red envelope.

In that old society, marriages were generally blind and mute. After meeting once and finding the other party acceptable, one would give the betrothal gifts, choose an auspicious day, and bring the bride home.

Of course, you might say this is the old society's marriage method, utterly irrational and antiquated.

Then, how about compared to today's society?

As society developed, people learned many things and also changed many. Besides learning to pursue true love, they also became more pragmatic; while constantly choosing partners and enduring countless emotional ups and downs, when finally entering the marriage hall, many do so simply because they are older and have the idea of starting a family, not worrying about details—in short, as long as they can get by, it's fine.

Finally, it is possible…… that the person who spends a lifetime with you is merely someone whose love stems from family responsibility, lacking any emotional foundation, and breaks at the slightest touch.

Furthermore, as a certain beloved literary figure** said, on this journey of life, from childhood to adulthood, whether because of a momentary brilliance or because of feelings, you will have liked countless people, and countless people have once liked you. However, it is possible that in one's lifetime, the one who can make you heartbroken,

Perhaps the existence of matchmakers also has…… but nowadays people who seek matchmakers also do so with considerable thought: either they seek the relatives of their superiors, or they seek those helpful to their careers, not forgetting to mix in some social tricks even in a marriage.

Two eras, two differences; the latter seems more preferable. Yet oddly, even though marriages in the old society were blind and mute, many people seemingly walked hand in hand to the end. Whereas in today's society, splitting and reuniting repeatedly, it truly vexes the heart and torments many fated couples.

In those distant ages of old, people could not even fill their stomachs, and few had the leisure to pursue true love.

Therefore, being a matchmaker is a technical job and also a money-making job; the gift money earned from uniting a couple is better than others' months of hard labor.

Liu elder lady, in the matchmaker trade, possesses top-notch skills and connections; with her involvement, those originally single men and women who had feelings for each other mostly hit it off at once.

However, when encountering Aunt Wang and Liu Guozhong…… this invincible Liu elder lady, nevertheless, got stuck on the point (encountered difficulties).

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