Calamity Averted

"Let the child set off the firecrackers first and report the death." Wu Zhenghua nodded and sent someone to fetch the firecrackers, then walked inside and waved for everyone to move aside.

Even without him saying so, the relatives holding Old Zhao down already had legs trembling. Old Zhao was dead, and what was on him now was a vengeful ghost. Who would still dare hold him down?

That was only because Old Madam Wu was still there. Otherwise, everyone would have fled long ago.

After Old Zhao was released, he kept his head lowered and muttered under his breath. Then, to everyone's surprise, he lunged at Wu Zhenghua!

Wu Zhenghua remained unhurried and composed. He stepped forward, and the imposing air between his brows immediately returned. With a thunderous shout, he yelled, "Begone!"

Old Zhao toppled backward as if he had been struck by something!

"Such staunch yang energy!" someone suddenly cried out. The people nearby immediately understood, and their reverence for Master Wu Zhenghua surged.

I glanced at the blood-brown tortoiseshell he was fiddling with. I did not think much of this move of borrowing external power to shout down a vengeful ghost. Its success was probably all thanks to that thing.

Still, whether it was eye-catching or merely putting on a show, the vengeful ghost was indeed shouted out of Old Zhao's body. Wu Zhenghua seemed able to see it. He swept his hand through the air, and a strong gust carrying white mist flew out. The ghost vanished at once.

I frowned. For a moment, I could not see where the white thing had gone. Could Wu Zhenghua really possess some formidable spell that scattered ghosts with a shout and destroyed them with a wave?

"That's done. The ghost has been driven away." Wu Zhenghua spoke indifferently, then looked at me with a smile that carried the air of an elder looking at a junior.

I remained expressionless. Even if he were powerful enough to overturn the heavens, so long as he did not come looking for trouble with me, what did it have to do with me? Besides, the ghost had been destroyed without my needing to act, which was something I was happy to see.

"Brother Zhenghua, thank you so much. If only you had used this ghost-driving skill sooner." Old Madam Wu hurriedly thanked him, then had the relatives change Old Zhao's clothes and wipe down his body. She sent others to arrange for a coffin and the like.

"Mom, just leave these trivial matters to me. I'll handle everything properly. You should go rest first. You've been busy all day—you must be tired." Zhao Zhou immediately stepped forward and took everything upon himself.

Only then did Old Madam Zhao properly look at her second son. She nodded in relief. "Mm. Zhou, make sure you arrange everything carefully. Your father didn't leave peacefully, so have Master Wu handle things properly."

"Understood, Mom." Zhao Zhou's expression grew solemn. Yet Old Madam Zhao's intentions were obvious: he was the next head of the Zhao Family. After all, she had not instructed her eldest son, Zhao Xi, to do anything, while she did not even bother with her third daughter.

At some point, Zhao Yi had appeared outside. He had not gone to the hospital but was instead lively as could be, directing this and that outside as if afraid people might fail to notice him.

Seeing this, Old Madam Zhao felt even more comforted. "Zhou, your Ah Yi is quite sensible too. You raised him well. Before, I heard those people gossiping and saying the child was a fool, but isn't he actually quite good?"

"Mom, the boy is a little mischievous, but when trouble comes, he's just like me—solid and dependable." Seeing an opening, Zhao Zhou quickly helped his mother out of the main hall. When he passed me and Zhao Qian, he did not forget to glance at Zhao Qian. "Where's your brother?"

Under the mosquito net, the Zhao Family's relatives were changing Old Zhao's clothes and wiping his body. To avoid suspicion, Zhao Qian had stood at the doorway.

Her eyes were red, and she had shed no shortage of tears. She sobbed, "My brother went back to the county town."

"He went drinking again, didn't he? Just now, one of Zhao He's friends even called Ah Yi and asked him to go too, saying it was some friend's birthday. Hmph. At least Zhao Yi knows enough filial piety to refuse when he heard Grandpa was unwell. I told him to come back, but I heard your brother was unwilling." Zhao Zhou spoke coldly.

"Mm. That eldest son of yours is hopeless. He's still drinking at a time like this?" Old Madam Zhao glared at Zhao Qian. Unlike Old Zhao, she had never been particularly fond of Zhao Qian. Upon hearing that Zhao He was still drinking outside, she grew furious. "Xi! Aren't you going to call your son back? Do you want him drinking outside to celebrate your father's death?"

Zhao Xi had been directing things inside. When he heard his old mother call him, he ran out. After hearing everything, his face went pale. He pointed at Zhao Qian. "You! You! Aren't you going to call your brother and have him come back? He runs off drinking at a time like this—is he trying to infuriate me to death?! How can both of you be grown up and still so thoughtless?"

Tears rolled down Zhao Qian's face like beads as she nodded. I stood to one side without saying a word.

Wu Zhenghua came over at that moment and said to the old madam, "Sister, don't take Brother Zhao's affairs too much to heart. Birth, aging, illness, and death are simply the ordinary course of life. Now that Brother Zhao has passed, I'll feel reassured with Ah Zhou handling things here. That's why I've come to say goodbye. I'm returning to the city tonight—I still have some matters to attend to."

"So soon? I was hoping to have Ah Zhou keep you here for two more days." Old Madam Zhao spoke reluctantly and looked toward Zhao Zhou.

Zhao Zhou wore an embarrassed expression and said quietly, "Mom, you still don't know? If Eldest and Third hadn't meddled recklessly today, how could things have turned out like this? Do you know how difficult it was to invite Elder Wu? When I called him yesterday, he was holding a meeting in Qinghai. He flew here, and his superiors only gave him one day off. He was supposed to perform the ritual all day, but Eldest and Third disrupted everything. Now he has to hurry back to preside over Dad's funeral arrangements. With his status, do you think he'll stay?"

"You're right. It's all your brother and sister's fault! Sigh. Then personally see Elder Wu to the county town. We'll find another better master." Old Madam Zhao thought it over and found the argument reasonable. With Elder Wu's status, asking him to preside over a funeral was like using a butcher's cleaver to kill a chicken—it would only make outsiders laugh. Forcing Wu Zhenghua, a grand master of the Daoist arts, to stay would indeed be rather tactless.

And so, Zhao Zhou escorted Wu Zhenghua away.

Old Madam Zhao looked at Zhao Xi's deathly pale face, then at Zhao Yuan standing nearby with a deeply troubled expression. She sighed heavily and had no choice but to make the decision herself. "Your father has passed away, yet you still can't let me grieve in peace. You can't even manage the affairs of the household. Just look at what you did today. Sigh. If the two of you combined were even half as sensible as Ah Zhou, it would be fine. Now discuss which master from the county town we should invite to handle the funeral. I'm tired."

Zhao Xi glanced at Zhao Yuan. Zhao Yuan looked back at her eldest brother. She lived in the city and knew nothing about these matters. No longer daring to act high and mighty, she said, "Whatever Brother says is fine. How could I dare have another opinion?"

With one sentence, Zhao Yuan washed her hands completely of the matter.

"Mom, how about inviting Master Wang Heng from the county town? He's a successor of the Wang Family, so he should be pretty good." Zhao Xi was the eldest brother, after all. No matter how unhappy he was, he could only swallow it. Besides, the Wang Family and Zhao Family had a fairly normal relationship, and they were also one of the county's four great Arcane Sect families. Inviting someone from the Wang Family was a decent choice.

"Handle it as you see fit. Just don't let anything go wrong again." Old Madam Zhao thought it over, found she had no better idea, and nodded.

"Fine. I'll invite him right away." Zhao Xi picked up the phone and called his good friend Wang Heng. Old Madam Zhao also left with Zhao Yuan supporting her.

After finishing the call, Zhao Xi turned back to Zhao Qian. "I'll personally go pick up your Uncle Wang Heng. Don't just stand there—go call your brother back and have him put on mourning clothes!"

"I already called Brother. He's on his way back." Zhao Qian spoke through her tears.

"Good-for-nothing!" Zhao Xi let out a heavy sigh. Everything had gone wrong for him that day. Even the position of Family Head had been snatched away by Zhao Zhou, and he had left such a terrible impression before his mother. Though his father had been in charge of the family in the past, his old mother usually had even more authority than his father. Once his father was gone, naturally, what she said went.

Half of the Zhao Family's assets were also in his mother's name. Zhao Zhou was now the favored one in her eyes, and his father's share of the assets would probably be transferred to Zhao Zhou. He himself would likely receive only scraps. Even the mildest temper could not withstand that.

After three firecrackers were set off in front of the house to report the death, the Zhao Family's relatives neatly laid out the mourning clothes and all sorts of other items they had prepared.

Zhao He arrived in a taxi in a great hurry, still shaken. Zhao Xi had driven off to pick up the master; otherwise, he probably would have suffered more than a few slaps from his father.

"Qian... Grandpa has passed away... Sob..." When Zhao Qian saw Zhao He arrive, she immediately began to cry pitifully.

"Qian, it's all my fault. If I'd known, I would have stayed here too." Zhao He regretted it deeply. He did not even know what to say now.

When Zhao Qian saw Zhao He, all the strength seemed to leave her body. She was about to kneel at the doorway and cry when I saw how pitiful she looked and went over to support her. Limp as a rag, she immediately wiped her tears and snot all over my clothes.

"Brother Tian, what should we do?" Zhao Qian raised her head and asked through her tears. She had completely lost her bearings.

"The dead cannot return to life. Try to restrain your grief. Your grandpa treated you well when he was alive. Whatever you say or do, he'll bless you. Later, just follow the master handling the ritual and proceed according to the steps." I could only comfort her. The death of an elderly person from a four-generation household was probably different from my own experience. I had not shed tears when my grandmother died, though perhaps that was because I had not seen her remains.

"Brother Tian, sigh... While I was away, it was all thanks to you taking care of Qian. Otherwise... If you ever need anything, just let me know. I, Zhao He, will go through fire and water for you. Brother Tian, you've been busy all day too. Why don't you go home and rest first? It's almost midnight." Zhao He shook his head and sighed, then grasped my hand as he spoke emotionally.

I smelled alcohol on him and knew he had been drinking, though he still seemed fairly sober. Seeing more and more cars arriving from outside, I felt somewhat reassured.

Thinking of Yu Xiaoxue living alone at home, I said, "All right. Things have already come to this, so don't think too much about it. Call me if anything happens. I'll come back tomorrow morning."

Zhao Qian nodded through her pearly tears and wiped at her eyes, then stuffed the house keys and car keys into my hands.

I did not stay much longer. After offering a stick of incense to Old Zhao, I checked the incense before leaving. It was burning fairly smoothly—one long and two even sticks. This was an Incense of Calamity Averted: calamities dispelled, difficulties filled, and every blessing arising together. It seemed Old Zhao had been a decent man in life, only to have some filthy thing enter his body earlier. After tonight, the Zhao Family would probably be fine.

Besides, Wu Zhenghua and Zhao Zhou had also returned to the county town. The incident where someone had tripped up Zhao Qian on the national highway today probably would not happen again.

On top of that, Old Zhao was something of a celebrity in the county. There would be no shortage of people keeping vigil. The more people there were, the stronger the yang energy, and no filthy thing would dare take advantage of the opportunity to come.

However, I had no idea that once I left, the matter would slip beyond my control.