Cui Family Granny

"Almost all dead?"

"Were most Reincarnators orphans?"

The last few words that Reincarnator had left Hu Ma inexplicably stunned.

When he wanted to ask more, she had already disconnected.

But this also sparked a lot of guesses in him. The first Reincarnator he had met had warned him how important it was to keep his secrets.

Now the second Reincarnator he had encountered had also revealed something about the trust—or lack thereof—between Reincarnators in this world, and their relationships with their "family" here.

Listening to them, he could always sense, in one way or another, the cruelty of this world. Even its outright brutality.

What kind of relationship did they have now, in the wider world?

In particular, he thought of some of the worlds this woman had mentioned, as well as what the first Reincarnator, codenamed Erguotou, had told him. Most of the others seemed to have been reborn directly into this world, which made it seem more like they had suddenly remembered their past lives.

Even in such a case, could their own fathers really crush them to death without mercy beneath a stone roller?

This world could even accept Old Woman Huai helping children who had died young to be reborn as human beings, yet it couldn't accept Reincarnators who had awakened memories of their past lives?

By contrast, he seemed more like someone who had taken over another person's body. Yet Old Woman had apparently accepted him...

It looked like the problem of Reincarnators was far more complicated than he had imagined.

Unfortunately, this mysterious Reincarnator seemed to have been struck by emotion and didn't want to talk much more with him.

"Let's head back first!"

Early the next morning, Second Master said to Hu Ma in a heavy voice.

He had also spoken with Old Shopkeeper, and was surprised to find that this group of Noble Lords from the city, though high and mighty, were actually quite reasonable.

As their guide, he hadn't found what they wanted. His work wasn't really finished—in fact, he had given up halfway and delayed their plans. Yet Old Shopkeeper had still given him the three silver taels he'd promised.

That meant they could end the trip early and help Hu Ma take Old Woman back to Great Sheep Village.

"Returning to one's roots is a big deal. Old Woman was such a good person and helped so many people in life. After her death, she ought to be buried in Old Fire Pit..."

As he helped Hu Ma prepare Old Woman's body, wrapping her layer upon layer in black cloth, Second Master's expression was grave.

Hu Ma knew where Old Woman was headed, but Second Master didn't. He was clearly truly heartbroken.

And since Old Woman had given those instructions, Hu Ma naturally didn't object. He only thought to himself in silence.

People in this world valued returning to one's roots. Second Master believed it was vitally important that Old Woman be laid to rest in Old Fire Pit.

But from what Old Woman had said, the Hu Family had originally come from somewhere else. She had even mentioned an "ancestral shrine." Could the Hu Family have something like Old Fire Pit back where they came from?

The background of this identity was far more complicated than he'd thought.

Still, there was no use dwelling on that now. He had to heal himself first.

Hu Ma and Second Master finished preparing Old Woman's body, thanked the group from the city, and set off home together.

Hu Ma had originally planned to carry Old Woman himself, but Second Master was worried he wouldn't manage. He cut vines into a rope, hoisted Old Woman onto his back, and sighed to Hu Ma, "Your Old Woman only wanted you to get your strength back, settle down, and make something of yourself. You'd better listen to her..."

"Now that the Evil Spirits sent by your family's enemies have been dealt with by Old Woman, you don't have to keep your stove sealed anymore..."

"How about coming with me to Blood Food Mine after we get back? We can earn some silver, and I'll see whose daughter might make a good wife for you."

"..."

Hu Ma felt a little helpless listening to him.

Second Master might have been a sixty-year-old virgin, but he sure was enthusiastic about these things...

There had been a lot of people on the way here, so the woods had seemed fairly normal.

On the way back, there were only two people, one corpse, and one ghost. The woods felt deep and eerie. Though Hu Ma was weighed down with grief, he could still hear rustling all around him, and the sounds made his skin crawl.

There seemed to be many things lurking in the depths of the woods, secretly watching him. Sometimes, when he turned around, he even saw a familiar-looking tree stump, sitting quietly behind a clump of trees. It seemed as if a figure in wide robes and sleeves were sitting on it, silently watching him.

He was already in a foul mood, and the ghostly presence only made him angrier. He drew the Mountain Cleaving blade strapped to his back.

On an ordinary day, he would have been afraid of the mysterious things in these deep mountains.

But now, if anything dared provoke him, he would stoke the fire in his stove and fight it out.

"Don't be afraid..."

But when Second Master saw him, he reached out and pressed a hand to Hu Ma's shoulder, speaking in a low voice. "Your Old Woman was a Ghost Walker."

"Ghost Walkers don't just help people. They help the Spirits and Monsters in these woods, too."

"Those things aren't here to harm you. They've come to see your Old Woman off."

"..."

Only then did Hu Ma sheepishly put away the Mountain Cleaving blade. After walking a few more steps, he understood.

He turned around and slowly bowed toward the tree stump, which had begun to fade from sight.

The trees and wild grass around them suddenly rustled. Faint, shifting silhouettes appeared, bowing with their hands clasped as if returning his salute with heartfelt sympathy.

On this return journey, Hu Ma saw—or rather, sensed—more Evil Spirits and uncanny things than he had encountered since coming to this world. Yet the journey was unusually smooth.

He and Second Master spent a day and a half making their way back to Great Sheep Village.

The people in the village hadn't heard the news. Old Clan Leader had just returned from the fields, leading a donkey and carrying two large baskets of yams.

From a distance, he spotted two figures, one tall and one short, and was startled. He hurried forward, leading the donkey.

"What are you doing back?"

"Didn't I tell you to take good care of the Noble Lords from the city? Did you offend them and get sent back?"

"..."

"The Noble Lords weren't dissatisfied, and they paid me, too."

Second Master looked at Old Clan Leader. As soon as he opened his mouth, his voice choked up. "Big Brother, I found Old Woman, too."

"She's gone."

"..."

"What?"

Old Clan Leader had still looked displeased a moment ago, but now he was utterly shocked. He stared blankly at the black-cloth-wrapped figure behind Second Master.

After a long moment, his legs went weak. He trembled as he stepped forward. "Poor, poor Old Woman..."

His anguished cry immediately rang through the whole village. People nearby hurried over. When they heard that Old Woman had passed away, they all wept in sorrow and helped carry her back to the main room of Hu Ma's home. They brought white cloth and hemp rope and draped them over Hu Ma.

Second Master told Hu Ma to keep vigil for Old Woman in the main room, then asked Old Clan Leader to take charge there. He took a sickle and rope and went out.

He was going to cut Yin Wood for Old Woman's cremation.

The village custom was not to place the dead in coffins, except when certain special circumstances arose.

Ordinary families prepared special cremation wood, which those bound to the deceased by blood or grievance carried into Old Fire Pit themselves. The wood was the most important part of the cremation.

The better the family, the better—and greater—the quantity of the cremation wood, and the more dignified the funeral.

Hu Ma hadn't expected that not long after Second Master left, the neighbors who had heard the sad news would come by, too.

They had always been afraid of his family. They wouldn't even speak to him, and they avoided Old Woman whenever they saw her. Yet now they all came over.

Some pitched in to help, while others joined the wailing. A few even carried over bundles of dry firewood, one stick at a time. It was the same as the custom Second Master had gone out to fulfill: the most dignified funeral in Great Sheep Village was one where the family didn't have to prepare the cremation wood themselves, because every neighbor contributed a stick.

It showed that the deceased had been respected.

"Old Woman, I was foolish back then. I've come to apologize to you, an old woman to an old woman..."

To Hu Ma's surprise, not only the neighbors had come. The Cui Family's granny had brought her family along, too.

Hu Ma didn't know the Cui Family, but he spotted Cui Xie'er behind the crowd and understood. As soon as the Cui Family granny entered the main room, she began sobbing uncontrollably. In front of everyone, she scolded her children and grandchildren for their foolishness back then.

Old Clan Leader came over to console her. The Cui Family granny promptly stopped crying and went to sit beneath the awning outside, where she drank tea with the others.

The Cui Family's eldest son, a weather-beaten man already past fifty, also brought his brothers to kneel and kowtow before Old Woman's body.

"Our family was foolish back then. Please don't hold it against us, Old Woman. We've come to see you off today."

"..."

Only after they had finished crying did they rise and chat with the villagers around them. Glancing toward the mourning hall, they saw a pile of solid firewood stacked before the spirit tablet. A man in his forties beside Oldest Brother Cui frowned and said, "What are you doing? The proper thing is to prepare the very best coffin for Old Woman!"

In an instant, the whole mourning hall fell silent. Everyone looked up in alarm at Second Brother Cui.

"Cui Lao'er, what are you talking about?"

Old Clan Leader had heard him from outside. His expression changed drastically, and he strode into the hall, scolding him.

"Old Woman worked for Great Sheep Village her whole life. Doesn't she deserve to enter Old Fire Pit?"

"..."

Second Brother Cui frowned and waved his hand. Oldest Brother Cui hurried to stop Old Clan Leader and smiled. "Uncle, please don't get angry yet."

"Come on, let's talk outside."

"..."

Frowning, Old Clan Leader was escorted out of the mourning hall by the Cui brothers. Several elders from the house followed them.

Hu Ma didn't say a word, but he saw everything. Anger surged inside him.

He glanced up at Xiao Hong Tang on the beam and signaled for her to go listen to what they were saying outside.