Chapter 312

Shizi Ling, Zhang Family Village, at the doorway of Zhang Deben's family home.

"Mother, my younger aunt's whole family has arrived!"

Zhang Chengze, leading the Wang family members with lanterns, walked the night road. After a long, uneventful trek over mountains and ridges, it took a great deal of time before they finally reached the doorstep.

"Guihua, you're here!"

As the Wang party stepped into the main hall, they were greeted by a group of elderly elders inside—all Zhang family elders—who, upon hearing of Zhang Deben's passing, had rushed over from their homes.

Zhang Family Village, unlike Hutou Gou, consists of people sharing a single ancestor. After many years of development, although most have branched into five lineages, the surname and bloodline remain, and whenever a household needs assistance, they lend a hand.

Compared with Hutou Gou, Zhang Family Village truly qualifies as a remote, impoverished mountain hollow; it lies within a mountain gorge, seldom sees major events, and officials never come there. The arable land they can cultivate is scant.

Most survive by hunting!

Zhang Guihua responded to the greetings in a dazed manner, following her nephew back to her maternal home. Though she is gradually accepting the reality that her older brother has truly gone, a reality she stubbornly refuses to believe,

yet, for some unknown reason, without having seen her brother's final moments, a faint hope still rises in her heart.

Even this hope, she herself knows, is merely a fantasy.

But because she cares so deeply for her brother, how can she accept the news that he left before her?

"Guihua, you still know how to come back, do you still have a conscience? All these years, you never came back to see your brother even once."

"Now you won't even come to see your brother's final moments. Do you know that he was still murmuring your name as he neared death!"

An elderly woman, many years older than Zhang Guihua, stepped out of a bedroom and, upon seeing the Wang party, spoke harshly:

"Is it because your son has become successful that you look down on your poor relative, your older brother? Don't forget how your brother has always been good to you!"

"Cao Shen, my older brother, has he really gone?"

Zhang Guihua trembled uncontrollably; if Wang Lin hadn't been the first to react and support her, she might have collapsed like a puddle of mud.

Even though she saw the hall of her brother filled with so many brothers and uncles, and women bustling about, she still hadn't truly seen her brother's final moments.

She...

still refuses to believe the news that her older brother has passed away!

"Cao Nainai, you misunderstand. All these years my younger aunt never came to our house even once. Even now that my father has passed, she didn't come to see his final moments—not because of my aunt, but because it was my father's instruction!"

Zhang Chengze hurriedly stepped forward; seeing that both Cao Nainai and the uncles and elders in the hall clearly held grievances against his younger aunt, he realized they had misunderstood and explained:

"What kind of person is my father? Cao Nainai, you know full well he has always been a strong‑willed man. Now he lies paralyzed in bed, needing care; if my mother hadn't constantly urged me, my father would have ended his own life long ago."

"According to my father, in my younger aunt's view he is a first‑rate hero. He doesn't want his current destitute appearance seen by her, fearing it would damage his standing in her eyes, so for years whenever she wished to visit, I have found excuses to stop her."

Even this time, even now that he's on his deathbed, I prepared to bring my younger aunt so she could see his final moments, but he refused!

"And don't even mention De Ben; that fellow has had this temperament since youth—a top‑class stubborn type. This is something only he could do!"

A Zhang family member interjected.

"Guihua, my fault, I misunderstood!"

Cao Nainai looked at Zhang Guihua with deep regret and hurriedly said, "Guihua, go quickly and see your brother. He was still muttering your name until death. He has only been gone a short while; his wandering soul may not have reached Yama King yet, perhaps you can still see him one last time!" Zhang Guihua nodded, tried to rise and head toward her brother's bedroom, but for some reason, the once vigorous her now could not muster any strength.

She didn't know whether the long mountain trek had drained her completely, or whether she couldn't cross the mental threshold, unable to accept reality.

Zhang Guihua could only look at Wang Lin.

The old husband and old wife.

How could Wang Lin possibly not understand Zhang Guihua's meaning? He quickly supported her and walked toward the bedroom.

After Zhang Guihua left, Cao Nainai couldn't help whispering an insult to Zhang Chengze:

"You little brute, don't you know who your father is? He has always dote【d】 on Guihua since she was a child. Now that he's paralyzed in bed, he's most likely to see Guihua first; otherwise he wouldn't be muttering her name even at death."

"How can you be so inflexible, sneaking your younger aunt over, and after all these years your father hasn't even seen your younger aunt once, not even a final meeting!"

"Are you afraid of being beaten by your father or what?"

Zhang Chengze bowed his head in silence.

Cao Nainai grew even angrier and said, "I'm asking you a question!"

This novel you

"Cao Nainai, you think I haven't thought about this? Doesn't anyone in our family know that my father cares most about my younger aunt?" Zhang Chengze said with a wry smile.

"All these years every family member has wanted to bring my younger aunt over, but my father said that if we brought her, she would see his half‑human, ghost‑like appearance and ruin his image in her eyes."

"He would starve himself to death; even after dying, he would never forgive our whole family!"

Cao Nainai muttered, "What a stubborn sort!"

"Guihua, younger aunt; Wang Lin, uncle; Dongzhu, you have arrived!"

In the bedroom, by the bedside, two women of different ages—Zhang Guihua's elder sister‑in‑law and her niece‑in‑law—saw the Wang party enter. They tried to greet warmly, but their pallid faces bore smiles uglier than tears.

"Elder sister, Lancui!"

Zhang Guihua replied like a walking corpse, her gaze immediately landing on the person on the wooden bed as if she had discovered something, and she exclaimed, "This isn't my brother, elder sister—where have you hidden my brother?"

"What's going on?"

The sudden voice startled the Zhang family members outside; those near the door hurried inside. Zhang Guihua, as if seeing a savior, said, "Uncle, this person isn't my brother; where on earth has my brother gone?"

"Guihua, this is your brother..."

Before Uncle could finish, Zhang Guihua cut him off, "Uncle, you're lying. My brother is a fierce, terrifying, first‑class towering man; how could he possibly be so frail?"

The person lying on the bed, covered by a quilt, concealed the body, yet the exposed cheek was terribly emaciated, clearly not the towering man.

"Guihua, look closely; this is your brother!"

Zhang Guihua's uncle shouted loudly, his voice thundering, startling Zhang Guihua awake.

(End of chapter)