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 and chanted a spell, sending spiritual energy into each array.

A wind sprang up out of nowhere inside the mortuary; a cool breeze swept through, making everyone feel as if the sunlight outside the door had been veiled by gauze—everything blurred for a moment, 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 finger pointing, "Th-this this this…"

The elders' knees shook as well; Pan Ershu and Sun Sanshu also dropped to their knees, but they fared slightly better—after all, he was their own elder brother—so they hesitantly called out, "Brother?"

Sun Da Chang had been kneeling facing away from Old Man Qian and hadn't seen the coffin behind him; noticing the village head and elders' strange reactions, he stiffly turned his neck to look back.

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

Sun Da Chang's eyes rolled back, and with a clean, decisive thud, he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Pan Ershu and the others also turned stiffly, saw their father sitting atop the coffin lid, and were terrified out of their wits; they screamed and scrambled on all fours to hide behind Old Man Qian, clutching 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—not only Pan Ershu, but Sun Sanshu had also crawled over and was now hugging his legs too.

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

Sun Siyi rolled and tumbled all the way to Old Lady Sun's feet, hiding beside her, shrieking nonstop, "Mother! Mother—"

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

Old Man Sun had passed 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 for burial.

Old Lady Sun was stunned, twisting half her body to look at the old man sitting atop the coffin lid.

"L-Lord?" Old Lady Sun called uncertainly.

Old Man Sun nodded at her.

Old Lady Sun burst into loud sobs, kicked away her fourth son clinging to her leg, and, leaning on her daughters' arms, rose and rushed forward.

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

But Old Lady Sun didn't care; she pounded the coffin lid and wept bitterly, "My lord! How could you leave so suddenly, abandoning me alone—"

Unable to hold back her resentment, Old Lady Sun 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—I stopped bringing it up, and now you leave me this mess—"

Old Lady Sun wept, "Open your eyes and look at these ungrateful descendants—what have you turned them into? When his two sisters came home to mourn you, they had to endure their looks, and even drinking one extra sip of water drew their complaints—"

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 everything on the wife—after all, "helping the husband and raising children" was the woman's duty, and raising children was her main task.

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

Because the late Mrs. Sun had been domineering, while Old Lady Sun was as soft as dough, their children were raised by Mrs. Sun from birth, and once they grew a bit older, they were sent to the front courtyard to be personally trained by Old Man Sun.

Old Lady Sun had tried several times to join in their education, but Old Man Sun had firmly refused each time.

Thus, all five Sun children feared Old Man Sun—even feared Uncle Qian—but none of them feared their mother.

After his initial terror, Sun Wuyi finally regained his wits; he scrambled forward on all fours and joined his mother in hugging the coffin, wailing, "Father—" The mortuary erupted into chaos—those who fainted lay sprawled, others knelt weeping, the noise loud and disorderly.

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 Pan Ershu and Sun Sanshu, unable to attend to anything else; 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 Masters, please help examine my eldest cousin."

If someone died from fright, wouldn't his father bear primary responsibility?

Wang Feiyin stepped forward, flipped the thoroughly unconscious Sun Da Chang onto his back, tapped a few spots on his body, then gripped his Hukou and squeezed hard.

Sun Da Chang 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: "No, you didn't. Turn your head and look over there."

Wang Feiyin pushed her little head aside, helped Sun Da Chang sit up, and blocked the coffin with his body, soothing him first: "Master Sun, don't worry—your father is a spirit, not a malevolent one. Folklore says spirits return seven days after death; your father simply hasn't gone to the netherworld yet, and his return has lasted longer than usual—no real problem."

Seeing Sun Da Chang seemed to have understood, Wang Feiyin stood and stepped aside, letting him face Old Man Sun again.

Sun Da Chang's eyes rolled back—he was about to faint again—when 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 Da Chang, thinking his son had brought him great shame.

In the mortuary, except for Wuyi and the two daughters, all his sons had shamed him; he roared, "Stop crying!"

Old Lady Sun's weeping halted; the others' sobs stopped instantly too. Everyone stared at Old Man Sun in fear.

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

Old Man Sun straightened up, floated off the coffin lid, and stood atop it, his face cold as he glared at Sun Da Chang: "What are you waiting for? You have half a watch 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 watch later, Sun Da Chang led his four younger 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 Da Chang and slapped him, "I told you not to anger me, I told you not to anger me—"

But his palm struck with no effect, merely fanning Sun Da Chang like a breeze.

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

At these words, everyone exhaled in relief; the village head finally raised his head, offering a faint smile: "Master 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)