Funeral Rites

Half a year passed; summer faded and winter arrived.

Cold winds carried drizzling rain, forcing every student to put on thick winter uniforms.

The first semester of senior year had come to a complete end.

The students each held up umbrellas and jogged out of the campus.

Luo Di was still the same, leaving school almost exactly on time. He had never been in the habit of carrying an umbrella, merely pulling up the hood that came with his uniform to cover his head as he became the last person to leave beneath the security guard's gaze.

Some time had passed since school let out, yet the School Gate, which should have been quiet, was filled with a familiar voice.

"Luo Di, hey!"

He looked up.

The class monitor, with half her face buried in her scarf, stood at the curb and waved rapidly.

Seeing Luo Di still moving at his usual leisurely pace, she took the initiative to walk over with her umbrella. It was just large enough to cover both of them.

Luo Di said quietly, "No one came to pick you up?"

"The driver's got something going on at home today and took leave, so I'll take a taxi back myself. But we got out an hour early today, so I can go home a little later. My house seems to be pretty much on the way to yours anyway, so why not wait and go together? I haven't ridden a bus in ages, so this is a good chance to experience it."

"You really do sound like some young miss."

"Hehe~ At least it gets you to say a few more words."

There were half as many people on the winter bus. Luo Di still habitually sat in the window seat at the very back, except this time, the space beside him felt somewhat crowded.

"How's that knife working out for you?"

"Fine. Sometimes I hear zombies grinding their teeth, but the Research Bureau's monthly inspections haven't found any problems."

"That's good. There are only six months left until the entrance exams. I can already imagine how shocked everyone in school will be when you show that thing off during the physical assessment. You might even take first place in the entire school."

"Whatever. As long as I can get a normal job at a company, that's enough."

Luo Di stared out the window, seeming to recall something, but a light jab of an elbow quickly pulled him back.

"Do you have any plans for winter break? My family can probably give me three free days. Want to organize something and go somewhere with everyone?"

"No." Luo Di refused decisively. He had already planned out thirty days of movie-watching and did not want that disrupted.

"Ehh~ If Xiao Gao invited you, would you go? Lately, I see you two doing push-ups together every day. You can even keep chatting all the way back to the classroom after meals."

"Still no."

"Fine."

The conversation seemed to have died, and the entire back row fell silent.

The class monitor followed Luo Di's gaze out the window. Though she had no idea what there was to see, her heart gradually calmed down.

"Residential Zone 13 has arrived. The doors will close in ten seconds."

"I'm getting off."

Luo Di squeezed past the class monitor's legs and skillfully circled the pole to get off the bus.

Strangely enough, as he stepped off, Luo Di felt something he had never felt before. That casual winter-break farewell seemed somehow inappropriate.

So he turned back toward the rear window of the bus, intending to give the class monitor a more proper goodbye.

Before he could even raise his hand, however, he discovered that the class monitor had gotten off with him and was standing behind him.

"Why did you get off?"

"Huh? Didn't I say before that I could go home later? Besides, you don't seem to have an umbrella. I can walk you back."

"You should go home first. I don't need an umbrella."

"No." Wu Wen chose to refuse as well this time, her eyes full of seriousness.

"Only to the building."

"Yay!" The serious class monitor immediately returned to normal and walked ahead with light steps.

They had not gone far into the residential zone when they heard the sound of mourners wailing. At the same time, yellow funeral paper drifted toward them.

Looking ahead,

a funeral was being held beneath the Residential building next to Luo Di's home.

The two stopped talking and passed by as quietly as possible.

It seemed to have happened only recently. One by one, the relatives dressed in black were weeping their eyes out.

As Luo Di passed the mourning hall, he pressed his palms together and lowered his head in respect. The class monitor beside him copied his gesture.

Just as they both lowered their heads,

whoosh~

a gust of sinister wind brushed past them. Enhanced by the winter cold, it seemed to seep through their skin and brush against their bones.

The chill forced them to quicken their pace through the funeral area. Ahead stood the building at the very back of the residential zone, where Luo Di lived.

The class monitor had no intention of pushing her luck, and she stopped walking.

The two stood beneath the umbrella, their arms pressed together.

The class monitor reached up and pulled down her scarf, bringing her damp lips as close as possible, nearly touching Luo Di's ear, and whispered softly,

"Hey~ Did you see that just now? The portrait hanging in the mourning hall seemed to be of a young girl."

"I saw it. Don't talk about funerals."

"Ooh~" The class monitor hurriedly covered her mouth, then immediately said in a low voice, "What do I do~ I'm a little scared now. How about you walk me back to the bus stop?"

"Your courage should be greater than mine, shouldn't it?"

"Tsk~ I just wanted to talk with you a little longer. For the next month, I'll only be stuck with my tutor. It'll be so boring! Oh, right, I have three free days during winter break. Can I come over to your place and do homework with you? That shouldn't get in the way of anything, right?"

"No."

"Ah... bye. See you next semester."

The class monitor stopped insisting and pulled her scarf back up. As she turned to leave, her eyes seemed to lose a little of their light.

Not long after she left, an unclear voice came from behind her.

"If it's just homework... we can meet at a fast-food place that's not too far away. My house isn't very convenient."

"Okay."

The class monitor merely replied quietly without turning around.

As she walked back toward the bus stop alone, the class monitor passed the mourning hall again. The cold felt even more intense, as if something were urging her to leave.

Meanwhile, Luo Di had already reached the top floor.

"Dad, Mom, Sis, I'm back."

"How'd you do on the exams?" his father's voice came from the kitchen.

"The usual."

"Come eat. We've been waiting for you."

"I'll go wash my hands."

As Luo Di went to the bathroom to wash his hands, he also looked outside through its window. His gaze landed on the bus stop beyond the residential zone. After spotting that familiar figure and the color of her umbrella, he turned and left.

He returned to the dining table and sat with his family.

"Little bro, we're going out for vacation. Want to come?"

"No."

"Great! Then the important task of guarding the house is yours."

"Got it. Be careful on the road."

Living alone was Luo Di's favorite thing. He had even begun imagining the bliss of watching movies, lifting dumbbells, and eating homemade flatbread all at once.

The tenth day of the first lunar month.

There were only ten days left before winter break ended.

His family had set off on their trip yesterday, and Luo Di had officially begun his happy time alone.

Early that morning, he was cleaning while chewing on a steamed bun. Just as he finished everything and was about to do his homework,

Knock knock!

A series of heavy knocks suddenly came from the door.

Luo Di looked at the time on his wristband: 08:40. The community office did not start work until nine, so they would never come knocking at this hour.

He looked outside through the peephole, but there was no one there.

"Did I hear wrong?"

Just as Luo Di turned away, preparing to go back and continue his homework,

Knock knock!

The knocking came again.

Luo Di hurried back into his bedroom and pulled out the Machete wrapped in a burial shroud from beneath his bed.

There was still no one visible through the peephole.

This time, however, Luo Di did not leave. He gripped the Door handle with one hand and waited quietly.

Knock knock!

When the third round of knocking came, he abruptly threw open the door and swung the white cloth-wrapped blade along with it.

His movement stopped in midair. A female high school student was crouching at the doorway, already holding her hands up in surrender.

"Luo Di, do you have to be this cautious... You scared me to death."

"Class monitor!?"

Luo Di instinctively pulled the door back, blocking her view of the inside.

"Don't worry~ I won't go in without your permission. Didn't you say before that we could meet at a fast-food place to do homework? I figured you'd definitely refuse if I called, so I came directly. Want to go? It's fine if you don't. I can ask Anna instead."

"I'll go. Wait a moment."