Chapter 68: Rolling and Crawling

The village head and elders also thought Old Man Qian was acting foolishly; just as they were about to speak, Pan Yun returned after completing the formation, chanting a spell and sending spiritual energy into each array.

A sudden wind arose in the mortuary; a cool breeze swept through, and everyone felt as if the sunlight outside the door had been veiled by gauze—their vision blurred, and when they looked up, they saw Old Man Sun sitting cross-legged atop the coffin lid, his legs dangling in midair.

The village head’s legs went weak; he slid off his chair onto the ground, trembling fingers pointing, “Th-this-this…”

The elders’ legs trembled too; Second Uncle Sun and Third Uncle Sun both dropped to their knees, but they fared slightly better—after all, he was their own elder brother—so they hesitantly called out, “Brother?”

Sun Dachang had been kneeling facing away from Old Man Qian and hadn’t seen the coffin behind him; noticing the villagers’ strange reactions, he stiffly turned his neck to look back.

First he saw a pair of dangling feet, tapping rhythmically against the coffin lid; following the feet upward, he saw his father seated atop the coffin lid, gazing at him with a half-smile.

Sun Dachang rolled his eyes back and collapsed with a thud, fainting dead away.

The other two brothers also turned stiffly, saw their father sitting atop the coffin, and were so terrified they screamed, scrambled on all fours to Old Man Qian’s back, and clung to his thighs, “Ah, Uncle! Uncle, save me, Uncle—”

“You brats, let go of me!” Old Man Qian tried to pull his legs free, but after two tugs, he couldn’t budge them—Second Sun had already crawled over, and now Third Sun joined him, gripping his legs too.

Unable to free himself, Old Man Qian, enraged, clenched his fists and punched them twice. “Now you’re scared? Where was your fear when you were angering your father?”

Fourth Sun rolled and crawled to his mother’s feet, hiding beside her, shrieking, “Mother! Mother—”

The two daughters also squeezed close to their mother, but their faces showed little fear—mostly curiosity and excitement as they stared at their father.

Old Man Sun had died suddenly; Sun Huiniang and Sun Xianniang hadn’t made it back in time to see him one last time. They arrived yesterday evening, only to find their father already laid out.

The old lady was stunned, twisting half her body to look at the old man seated atop the coffin.

“L-Lord?” the old lady called uncertainly.

Old Man Sun nodded at her.

The old lady burst into tears, kicked away her fourth son clinging to her leg, took her daughters’ hands, rose, and rushed forward.

Her hands passed through his legs, touching only the coffin lid.

The old lady didn’t care; she pounded the coffin lid and wailed, “My lord! How could you leave so suddenly, abandoning me alone—”

Unable to hold back her resentment, she muttered, “I told you to divide the family estate early, but you refused, saying you’d live longer. Whenever I mentioned it, you accused me of cursing you to death. So I stopped speaking of it—and now you leave me this mess—”

The old lady wept bitterly, “Open your eyes and look at these ungrateful descendants—what have you turned them into? Even after your death, your two daughters come home to pay respects and must endure their looks. They scold them for drinking even one extra sip of water—”

Sun Huiniang and Sun Xianniang, hearing this, felt their hearts break; they covered their faces with handkerchiefs and knelt, wailing, “Father—”

Old Man Sun looked embarrassed.

In other families, if children were unfilial, the husband could blame the wife—after all, it was her duty to assist her husband and raise the children.

But in the Sun family… it didn’t work that way.

Because the late Mrs. Sun had been domineering, while the old lady was as pliable as dough, the children were raised by Mrs. Sun from birth, and once old enough, sent to the front courtyard to be personally trained by Old Man Sun.

The old lady had tried several times to join in their upbringing, but Old Man Sun had firmly rejected her every time.

Thus, all five Sun children feared Old Man Sun—even feared Uncle Qian—but never feared their mother.

After his initial terror, Sun Wuyi regained his senses, scrambled forward, and joined his mother in hugging the coffin and wailing, “Father—” The mortuary erupted into chaos: those who fainted lay sprawled, others knelt, and everyone wailed—loud, disorderly, and frantic.

Wang Feiyin and Huiyuan quietly turned to look at Pan Yun.

Pan Yun spread her hands, shifting blame: “It was Old Man Qian’s idea.”

Old Man Qian was trapped by Second and Third Sun, with no chance to sort things out; it was Qian Dahong who pushed himself up from the pillar, steadied his trembling knees, and hurried over to bow to Pan Yun and the others. “Three masters, Immortal Master, please help examine my eldest cousin.”

If someone died of fright, wouldn’t his father bear primary responsibility?

Wang Feiyin stepped forward, flipped the thoroughly unconscious Sun Dachang onto his back, tapped his body a few times, then gripped his tiger’s mouth and squeezed hard.

Sun Dachang kicked his legs in midair, gasped sharply, and opened his eyes, mumbling, “I—I had a dream…”

Pan Yun leaned down, looking down at him, lowering her voice: “Nope. Turn your head and look over there.”

Wang Feiyin pushed her little head aside, helped Sun Dachang sit up, and blocked the coffin with his body. “Don’t worry, Master Sun. Your father is a spirit, not a malevolent ghost. Folklore says spirits return within seven days. Your father simply hasn’t gone to the netherworld yet—he’s returned early, and stayed longer than usual. No problem.”

Seeing Sun Dachang seemed to accept this, Wang Feiyin stood and stepped aside, letting him face Old Man Sun again.

Sun Dachang rolled his eyes back, about to faint again—until Pan Yun swiftly slapped his forehead.

!

He instantly felt refreshed, no longer able to faint—but his fear hadn’t lessened at all. The next instant, everyone smelled something foul.

Pan Yun glanced at the spot where he’d been sitting, then stepped away quickly.

Old Man Sun’s face turned green; he glared fiercely at Sun Dachang, thinking his son had brought him great shame.

In the mortuary, only Fifth Sun and the two daughters weren’t shaming him; all the other sons had. He roared, “Stop crying!”

The old lady’s wailing stopped. Everyone else’s cries ceased instantly; all looked at Old Man Sun in fear.

He was far more imposing now than he’d been on his sickbed yesterday.

Old Man Sun straightened up, floated off the coffin lid, and stood above it, his face cold as he glared at Sun Dachang: “What are you standing there for? You have half a quarter-hour to change into clean clothes. You’re an old man—aren’t you ashamed?”

No one dared defy Old Man Sun—especially not now that he was a ghost.

Half a quarter-hour later, Sun Dachang led his four brothers and two sisters in kneeling before the coffin; the village head and elders stood in a row, heads bowed, watching from afar as if all were confessing their sins to Old Man Sun.

Old Man Qian stood beside his sister, while Qian Dahong squeezed in with Pan Yun and the others.

Old Man Sun never imagined that after death, he’d have this day.

He walked up to Sun Dachang and slapped him. “I told you not to anger me, I told you not to anger me—”

But his palm struck nothing, offering no harm—only a breeze brushing Sun Dachang’s face.

Pan Yun explained from the side: “Unless it’s a vengeful spirit, a deceased soul cannot harm the living.”

At this, everyone exhaled in relief; the village head finally raised his head, offering a faint smile: “Old Man Sun, I never thought I’d see you one last time.”

The lucky number for this chapter is any number ending in 1; screenshot as proof.

(End of Chapter)