What do you mean by saying that the corpses I sew are all ominous creatures?

Salt can ward off evil spirits, and alcohol can ignite fire.

Gu worms are afraid of both fire and salt. Sprinkling salt around them can effectively prevent any fish that escaped being burned by fire from escaping.

After I finished doing all that, I picked up a handful of dry grass and lit it with a lighter.

Then, it was thrown into the woodpile.

"boom!"

Blue flames shot up more than two meters high in an instant, and a wave of heat swept over, illuminating the dim brick kiln.

"Dust to dust, ashes to ashes, life ends and death is bitter. Brother, may you rest in peace. If you ever see your aunt in the afterlife, don't tell her any of this... I will avenge you!"

In my next life... I don't want to be a member of the Chen family!

I stood by the fire, my eyes a little red.

To this day, I still can't imagine what my second uncle, Chen Qingguo, was thinking when he attacked my cousin.

My second aunt passed away early, and I have almost no memory of her.

It can be said that my cousin was raised by my second uncle from a young age.

However, nowadays...

The firelight reflected off my face, flickering on and off.

As I looked at the body bag that kept twisting and deforming, and at the Gu worms that tried to escape the sea of ​​fire but were burned to ashes, I felt no fear, only endless sorrow.

The fire burned for more than an hour.

Until the pile of firewood turned to ashes, until the body bag completely disappeared, until the last spark went out, leaving only a pile of black and white ashes and residue.

When the wind blows, the ashes are scattered among the weeds.

I stepped forward, poked at the ashes with a twig, and only after confirming that there were no remaining Gu worms did I let out a long sigh.

Then, I squatted down and used a folding knife to cut open the tops of the two empty barrels, making two simple urns.

Although it was rudimentary, there was no other way at the moment.

"Brother, let's make do for now and go home."

I picked up the still-warm ashes and carefully placed them into the bucket.

After packing them up, I sealed the cuts with tape, took off my coat, and wrapped the two buckets tightly in my arms.

By the time I walked out of the brick kiln, it was completely dark.

After walking to the city center, I waited for almost ten minutes before I could flag down a taxi with its "available" light on.

The driver, a bald man with a burly face, rolled down the window and eyed me warily: "Where to?"

"Huilongzhai".

"Huilongzhai? That place is deep in the mountains, the road is difficult to travel, and it's so late at night..." The driver frowned after hearing this, clearly not wanting to go.

I wasn't in the mood to say much, so I just pulled three red bills out of my pocket and handed them through the car window: "Driver, I'll pay extra."

The driver glanced at the money, his expression instantly changing. He took the money, stuffed it into his pocket, and tilted his head, saying, "Alright, get in!"

The car bumped along the potholed county road all the way.

I sat in the back row, without saying a word.

The driver glanced at me several times through the rearview mirror, probably thinking I was strangely gloomy, and didn't dare to say anything, but just turned up the radio in the car.

When we arrived at the entrance of Huilongzhai Village, I asked the driver to stop. Instead of going into the village, I took the small path next to the village and went up the back mountain.

When I arrived at my grandfather's grave, I took out the ashes from my arms and placed them in front of his tombstone.

I kowtowed three times to the tombstone.

"Grandpa, your grandson is unworthy..."

I had so much to say, but I held back.

I got up, turned around, and started down the mountain.

I need to go back to the old house to get some tools for digging a grave so I can bury my cousin.

According to our local customs, after the funeral or cremation, the deceased must be buried immediately, and they cannot even turn back on the way to the funeral procession.

This symbolizes the last journey the deceased took in the mortal world, a journey from which there is no turning back.

Not to mention bringing ashes or remains home, which is a major taboo.

That's why I came to the back mountain first to temporarily place my cousin's ashes here, and then went back to the old house to get my tools.

Upon arriving at the old house, I took a shovel, a hoe, a red cloth, and a black ceramic wine jar, washed them clean, and then went outside.

Carrying my tools, I returned to the back of the mountain and chose a spot in an open area not far from my grandfather's grave.

Then I picked up the hoe and started digging the hole.

An hour and a half later, a grave three feet deep and four feet long and wide was dug.

I put down the hoe, wiped the sweat from my brow, and then transferred my cousin's ashes, which had been in the wine barrel, into a jar.

After sealing the opening with red cloth and tying it tightly, I placed the urn into the grave and began filling it with soil.

With each shovelful of soil, the hole was quickly filled in, forming a small mound.

There was no tombstone, no offerings, and they didn't even have time to buy paper money.

I broke off a few tree branches from the roadside and stuck them on the grave as a marker.

"Brother, you rest here for a while."

I patted the dirt off my hands, looked at the lonely new grave, and a fierce glint flashed in my eyes. "After I kill that beast Chen Qingguo, I'll come back and erect a monument for you, and give you a grand funeral!"

The wind whistled through the woods, as if in response to my vow.

Back at the old house, I wearily pushed open the door, tossed aside the shovel and hoe in my hand, and slumped into the old wicker chair.

too tired.

So much has happened these past few days, so many things have happened in quick succession, like mountains pressing down on me and making it hard to breathe.

From returning home for a funeral, to my second uncle's betrayal, and then to personally seeing my cousin off, every single event was pushing my nerves to the limit.

My thoughts were too jumbled and chaotic, like a tangled ball of yarn with no end in sight. In the midst of this confusion, drowsiness crept in.

I slept very soundly, and when I woke up again, the sun had already climbed up to the window, and the golden sunlight shone on it, making it feel warm and cozy.

I endured the soreness in my body, yawned, washed up, and took a shower.

After drying my hair, I checked my phone and saw that it was already past noon.

After casually cooking and eating, I lay down in the wicker chair, my fingers tapping unconsciously on the armrest.

Although the murderous intent towards his second uncle surged within him, the clues had now been exhausted.

Second Uncle Chen Qingguo is ruthless.

He went to great lengths to poison his grandfather in order to take away the rattle drum, but what was he after by turning his own son into a poison master?

Moreover, after I severely injured him that night, he managed to turn his own son into that state in less than a day.

What kind of poison did he put in his cousin's body?

To make some kind of attempt, or... to recover from the injury quickly?

"Miao girl..." I squinted, the mysterious woman who appeared that night and the words she had spoken flashing through my mind again.

"They will definitely come to collect the rattle drum..."

Although I hold the rattle drum in my hand, I don't yet know what's hidden under Grandpa's curse, or what role the rattle drum plays in it.

Sitting idly by and waiting to die is not my style.

Moreover, the words of the enemy cannot be trusted.