Rendezvous at the Funeral Hall

Wu Zhong came to the roadside, hid his weapons, and waved to flag down a car.

But seeing how miserable he looked, no one wanted anything to do with him.

Wu Zhong's clothes were tattered, there was blood on his body, and one arm was wrapped in cloth strips. He looked utterly wretched.

With no other choice, he walked along the highway while waving for cars.

Before he knew how much time had passed, the three wolfdogs caught up with him for the sixth time.

"I woof... woof... I can't woof anymore..."

Wu Zhong's throat felt like it was on fire. He forced himself to bark like a dog while waving his wooden stick, trying to drive the wolfdogs back.

But clearly, the three wolfdogs weren't afraid of him. The moment he stopped barking, they rushed at him.

Just as Wu Zhong was falling into despair, a car suddenly stopped beside him.

A long-haired man leaned out and roared, "Hey! Get lost! Scram!"

His voice was loud, but the wolfdogs weren't scared in the slightest. They bared their teeth and showed no intention of retreating.

"Get in, man!"

The long-haired man shouted as he opened the door.

Wu Zhong hurriedly slipped inside. The man didn't dare linger and tangle with the dogs either. He floored the accelerator and sped away.

The wolfdogs might have been fast, but they couldn't outrun a car.

Wu Zhong watched the dogs chasing after them grow farther and farther away until they vanished from sight. Only then did he relax.

"What happened to you, man?"

"I've got iodine, gauze, and bandages in the car. Help yourself."

The driver was warmhearted. Seeing Wu Zhong in such a miserable state, surrounded by three vicious dogs, he had stepped up and stopped to save him.

Wu Zhong hurriedly thanked him, then opened the first-aid kit in the car and disinfected and treated his wounds.

"Thank you, thank you!"

"Ah, it's a long story. This damn weather, the wind was too strong! I... accidentally rolled down a mountain and wandered around in the woods all afternoon."

"And then I ran into three wolfdogs that wouldn't stop chasing me!"

The kindhearted man said, "That unlucky? Yeah, this weather is brutal. There's a hurricane warning for the next few days..."

"Want me to take you to the hospital? Looking at you..."

Wu Zhong looked too miserable, but how could he possibly dare go to a hospital?

He quickly waved his hands. "No trouble, no trouble. If it's on the way, could you take me to Hejia Mountain?"

"Huh?" The kindhearted man froze when he heard that.

To locals, that basically meant, "Please take me to the crematorium"...

"Well... a relative of mine passed away. I need to go." Wu Zhong used the first-aid kit to clean his wounds again and carefully wrapped them in gauze.

The kindhearted man said, "Oh, you're still going even after getting hurt like this? Must have been someone very important to you. My condolences."

"Mm, thanks..." Wu Zhong answered vaguely.

The kindhearted man added, "Hejia Mountain is a little far, but it's fine. It's more or less on the way."

"Thank you so much! If it's really too much trouble, dropping me somewhere nearby is fine too." Wu Zhong was sincerely grateful. If this man hadn't helped him, he would have been done for, harassed by those dogs the whole time.

Forget meeting up with Endless Summer at Hejia Mountain—Unit 985 would probably have caught him again soon enough.

After all, those three wolfdogs had definitely been used to track him. If the dogs kept on him, Lu Guangqi and the others would certainly be able to locate him.

"Tsk." The kindhearted man laughed. "No need to be polite. I'll take you there since it's on the way."

After thanking him again, Wu Zhong was so exhausted that he began to nod off in the car.

But then he slapped himself, not daring to fall asleep.

First, if he fell asleep without enough commotion around him, he wouldn't wake up naturally. He was afraid of delaying important matters.

Second, he worried that this drowsiness was a sign that the zombie virus was about to take over his mind!

He was afraid that if he fell asleep, he would turn into a zombie!

"Huh?" The kindhearted man said in surprise. "Why are you hitting yourself? If you want to sleep, sleep. I'll wake you when we get there."

Wu Zhong waved his hand. "No, no. I'm fine."

He held on the whole way, merely resting while seated.

Night fell quickly, and the kindhearted man finally drove him near the funeral home.

"We're here, man. I've got something to get back home for. Otherwise, I'd definitely go in and light an incense stick," the kindhearted man said with a smile.

Wu Zhong repeatedly told him there was no need, thanked him again and again, and got out of the car.

The other man asked for nothing and drove away.

Wu Zhong reflected that there were still many good people in the world. Then he remembered he had forgotten to ask the man's name, so he hurriedly squinted and memorized the license plate number.

Afterward, he began wandering around the entrances of the various funeral halls, searching for "Sun Min."

But no one would write the deceased's name at the entrance of a funeral hall.

The main entrances only bore hall names like "Righteous Filial Hall," "Reverence Way Hall," and "Pure Virtue Hall."

He figured that since it was a base for Endless Summer's companions, it should be the largest hall.

So he entered Loyal Ritual Hall, the biggest one in the central position.

Looking as miserable as he did, he walked in and the entire family inside froze.

Where had this beggar come from?

Why was he covered in blood? Wrapped in bandages too... Had he just come off a battlefield?

All sorts of strange gazes fixed on him.

Wu Zhong was an introvert. He didn't know a single person here, and forcing his way into someone else's funeral hall was incredibly awkward.

But he could only brace himself and ask, "Um, is this Sun Min's funeral hall?"

"Yes, yes, it is." A fat middle-aged man, presumably one of the chief mourners, hurried over and shook his hand.

Wu Zhong's heart settled. He had found it.

"Um... what happened to you?" Seeing how hoarse his voice was, the fat man hurriedly handed him a bottle of water.

Wu Zhong didn't stand on ceremony and drained it in one go.

Then he gave them the same story about being blown into a ravine by the wind and then getting bitten by dogs after leaving the mountain.

The people present had no idea what was going on, but they were deeply shocked.

A woman studied him with a scrutinizing gaze and asked, "May I ask what your relationship with my father was...?"

Wu Zhong thought, I don't know this family at all.

And only now did he realize the deceased had been an elderly man, yet he had just called him by name.

Still, Wu Zhong forced himself to remain calm. "Well... the old man and I were friends despite the age gap. Back then... um, you definitely haven't seen me before, but my name is Endless Summer. Does that ring a bell?"

He thought that mentioning Endless Summer should let him make the connection.

Who would have thought that the grieving family looked completely bewildered? Several women looked at one another...

The meaning was obvious: Who was this? Did any of them know him? Which relative or friend had invited him?

For a moment, no one responded, and the atmosphere became extremely awkward.

Seeing this, Wu Zhong's heart skipped a beat.

Damn! Could it be that Endless Summer didn't know this family at all?

This wasn't some secret base, nor were they his own brothers. Had Endless Summer simply made up a name to fool him?

That makes no sense. He told me to meet him at this funeral hall and even knew the deceased's name, but this place has absolutely nothing to do with him?

Wu Zhong grew nervous as the atmosphere turned unbearably awkward.

He hurriedly said, "Um, can I light an incense stick first?"

Someone had come to offer incense and bow to the deceased. Though the mourners found his appearance strange, they naturally wouldn't refuse. So what if he really was a beggar?

They still warmly led him to the offering table, lit an incense stick, and handed it to him.

Wu Zhong knelt down, kowtowed three times to the deceased, and offered the incense.

Then, as he helped the kneeling chief mourner back up, he confirmed that the person in the coffin was Sun Min.

After all, the name was written on the memorial tablet.

He told me to wait in Sun Min's funeral hall. Would it be fine if I waited outside instead?

Maybe I should leave first and wait outside the funeral hall?

Thinking this, Wu Zhong wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

But the chief mourner grabbed his hand and wouldn't let him leave.

He pulled Wu Zhong into conversation, repeatedly asking who had invited him. Was he a distant relative? Or one of someone's coworkers?

Wu Zhong had no way to answer. He didn't know this family at all.

So he said, "Ah, the old man and I were friends across generations. Back then... well, let me offer my condolences first."

Wu Zhong went over to the condolence gift table. Seeing the whole family gathered around him, he knew it wouldn't be easy to leave.

He couldn't keep making things up, so he could only plan to give some condolence money.

But he was in too miserable a state. His stomach growled from hunger, his injuries were untreated, and his clothes and pants were in tatters... He had escaped from the base, and before that, he had stored away his phone and other belongings. He hadn't taken anything with him at all.

Right now, Wu Zhong was completely penniless!

All he had was a gun, a grenade, and a knife hidden in his pant leg.

He couldn't exactly give them a gun as a condolence gift, could he?

So he gritted his teeth. "Everyone, you can see it yourselves. I rolled down a mountain and lost my phone."

"I don't have any cash on me either. Could someone lend me a phone to make a call?"

Hearing that he wanted to offer condolence money, although everyone was suspicious, one woman still lent him her phone.

Wu Zhong stared blankly at the phone. He was actually very rich right now. As long as he switched accounts and logged into his Spending Treasure account, there was still more than eight hundred thousand inside.

But he didn't dare log in.

The whole point of meeting at this funeral hall was secrecy. If he logged in and used money from before, who knew whether Endless Summer or Unit 985 would arrive first?

He could treat that money as gone. It wasn't like he felt it truly belonged to him anyway.

At this point, he could only borrow some money from someone. He was about to starve to death.

After thinking it over, he had no relatives, and he definitely didn't dare contact his former coworkers.

As for classmates, his family had been poor, and he had often kept to himself at school instead of going out to play with others. His relationships with his classmates had been average too.

It was truly sad. His only way of making friends had been the internet. Only there could people with shared interests gather and chat nonsense together. Who cared about your family background? Only then did he feel at ease.

So he made a call he had thought he would never make again in his life.

Purple Dust Wanderer was an online handle. He had met him in a reader group years ago, though they weren't as close as he was with Against the Light.

Apparently, he was the son of a somewhat wealthy family, though Wu Zhong wasn't sure. Once, Purple Dust had come to Mount Lu for a trip and met up with him, a local online friend, for a meal.

Later, he had even invited Wu Zhong to stay on Mount Lu for a month and have some fun, but Wu Zhong had declined because he had to work.

So Purple Dust had left him a phone number before departing. Later, he posted a bunch of scenic photos in the group. That was the extent of their interaction.

"This is the right one, isn't it? 187... 6116... 8118..." Wu Zhong had never called it before, but the number was easy to remember.

He walked to one side, and the call was quickly answered.

"Hello? Who is this?" A familiar lazy voice came through.

Wu Zhong moved farther away and said, "Brother Chen, it's me, Endless Hatred."

"Oh, oh, Endless. You actually called me? I haven't been online in ages. What, did something happen in the group?" Purple Dust asked curiously.

Wu Zhong said awkwardly, "Not the group. Something happened to me..."

Purple Dust said, "Huh? What happened to you?"

How could Wu Zhong tell him? He only said, "It's just... some huge changes. I can't explain it well. Anyway, I'm completely out of options right now. I've truly reached the end of the road."

"You know I don't have friends in real life. I originally wanted to ask Against the Light for help, but he can barely protect himself right now, so I can only come to you. You know I would never normally ask for this. This time, I really have no choice."

By the end, his voice was almost breaking down.

Purple Dust fell silent and didn't respond.

Seeing that, Wu Zhong lowered his voice even further. "It's just... I need emergency help from you."

"If it's convenient, could you lend me a little..."

Purple Dust gave a dry laugh, his tone irritated. "No, why is everyone asking me to borrow money lately? I just lent money to someone last week. And last year there were two assholes who never paid me back... and the year before that..."

Wu Zhong's heart sank. Listening to the other man complain, he knew there was no hope.

Normally, he would have immediately said forget it. But now he truly had no options, so he forced himself to say, "It really is an emergency, Purple Dust. Just lend me anything. I'll definitely pay you back. Please."

Purple Dust took two deep breaths and said, "It's rare for you to ask me like this. What else can I say... Tell me how much you need first."

Wu Zhong said quietly, "Four hundred."

"How much?" Purple Dust cried out.

Wu Zhong hurriedly said, "Or two hundred... Actually, one hundred would be fine. I just want to eat a meal."

"No... you need to borrow such a tiny amount?" Purple Dust sounded utterly shocked.

"You went in circles and laid all that groundwork, talking about some huge change. I fucking thought you were going to borrow several million from me!"

Wu Zhong breathed a sigh of relief. "No, no. How could I borrow that much? One hundred is enough."

Purple Dust continued asking, "Are you sure it's one hundred, not one hundred W?"

Wu Zhong hurriedly said, "How could it be? I just need to eat, and I'm injured too. I want to buy some medicine..."

Purple Dust was nearly speechless. "My god, you should've said so earlier. Fuck, why the hell were you even asking about a few hundred? Just ask me directly."

"You're injured too? What happened? Were you in a car accident?"

Warmth filled Wu Zhong's heart, and the taut string inside him finally loosened.

"It's not a serious injury. I just rolled down a mountain and got bitten by dogs. Now I'm completely broke."

Purple Dust also relaxed, then froze. "Damn, you've had quite the adventure. Fine, I'll transfer the money to your Green Bubble right now."

"Don't send it to Green Bubble..." Wu Zhong hurriedly stopped him.

"I lost my phone too. I borrowed this one from someone. Add this Green Bubble account instead."

He used the account on this phone to add Purple Dust.

Purple Dust complained, "What a tacky profile picture... The name is tacky too... Just some random person, right? I'm not transferring money to this person. Find a store's QR code and send it to me."

Wu Zhong did not understand what he meant. Glancing over, he saw a QR code on the table where condolence money was being collected, so he snapped a picture and sent it to him.

"Alright, I transferred the money. It'll arrive soon—ten thousand yuan. Once it's in, ask the shop to refund you first. You can pay me back slowly later," Zi Chen said.

"Huh? Ten thousand? That's too much, you..." Wu Zhong had not expected him to give so much outright. Moved, he said, "Alright, thank you, thank you, brother. I'll definitely pay you back someday."

Zi Chen chuckled. "It's nothing. Alright, if there's nothing else, I'm hanging up."

"Wait..." Wu Zhong reminded him, "Um, my group account and WeChat were both stolen. Don't send me messages."

Zi Chen was taken aback. After a moment of silence, he suddenly said, "Huh? That's not right. I can't contact you through either account?"

"Wait, are you Wu Zhong? The voice sounds right, but technology is so advanced these days... Holy shit, you're not a scammer, are you?"

Wu Zhong's mouth twitched. This guy really did lend money far too easily.

He hurriedly recounted what they had talked about while eating at a farmhouse at the foot of Mount Lu. Only then did he dispel the other man's suspicions.

"You scared the hell out of me. I thought I'd gotten scammed out of money again!" Zi Chen let out a breath.

Wu Zhong curled his lip. "Again? In the future, you need to verify whether it's really the person through every possible channel before giving anyone money."

"Alright, alright, got it. I'm downloading an anti-fraud app right now."

After the two hung up, Wu Zhong walked back to the front desk.

With a splash of notification sounds, ten thousand yuan had just arrived in the account collecting condolence money. Everyone present was dumbfounded.

At once, the way they looked at Wu Zhong changed completely.

"Oh, brother, that's too much, too much."

"Have a cigarette, have a cigarette."

The filial son was all smiles as he hurriedly handed him a cigarette and personally lit it for him.

The dutiful grandson brought over a chair and invited him to sit, then poured him a cup of tea.

The scrutinizing, suspicious, and disdainful expressions on the women's faces vanished entirely. They hastily brought over pastries.

Seeing them so attentive, Wu Zhong felt a little awkward, because he needed to ask for the condolence money back...

"Um... this money was sent by my friend for me to buy medicine. Look at the state I'm in. This condolence money, I..."

Before Wu Zhong could finish—

The woman who had lent him her phone said with a pained expression, "Oh my, this terrible weather has caused so many accidents!"

"You've really had it rough! You came all this way for my family's old man, and ended up falling into such a state..."

"Look at you, bruised black and blue all over."

"Your arm's bleeding too? Quick, go get the first-aid kit."

A whole group of aunts brought over a first-aid kit and redressed Wu Zhong's wounds, doing a better job than he had himself.

Seeing his ragged clothes, the dutiful grandson said, "I've got an old set of clothes in my car, but they're clean. Would you like to change into them first?"

His father immediately shoved him. "What are you saying, you brat? Old clothes? Go buy him a new set!"

The dutiful grandson was baffled. "Huh? Where around here sells clothes?"

This was a cemetery. At most, there were shops nearby selling burial clothes.

His father snapped, "Don't you know how to drive somewhere to buy them? Hurry up, you little bastard! No manners at all."

The young man, who was about Wu Zhong's age, immediately drove off to buy clothes without another word.

Wu Zhong did not stop him. He could not exactly keep wearing these tattered clothes.

He had not borrowed all that money solely as condolence money. Most of it was for buying himself clothes and medicine.

Yet they had been so perceptive that they had blocked off his reason for asking for the condolence money back.

Wu Zhong opened his mouth. "Um, I haven't eaten in a long time. This condolence money, I..."

The filial son immediately said, "Are you hinting at me? How could there possibly not be a place for you at tonight's banquet?"

"You absolutely can't leave during these three days of meals. On the day of the funeral procession, you'll stand behind me..."

"..." Wu Zhong was speechless.

As people fussed over him, he smoked, drank tea, and had pastries brought to him.

Then he said, "Um, I can't stay for three days. I only came by today to take a look. I'll be leaving soon, so..."

"Oh my!" The filial son's eyes widened.

"Are you scolding me? It's enough that you came to offer incense. We're the ones who failed to host you properly, who have no manners."

"We didn't even recognize Father's old friend. Um... you must be one of the old man's mahjong buddies, right?"

Seeing Wu Zhong nod vaguely.

The woman beside him nodded. "Wu... Wu Jinxia? Right, right, I remember now. The old man mentioned you often."

"Did he?" The filial son froze. "Yes, I remember too."

"The old man did mention you. It's my terrible memory. We haven't treated you properly, not properly at all."

The whole family surrounded him and chatted. Wu Zhong was not particularly outgoing, responding only here and there while they did most of the talking.

This family was also skilled at conversation and impeccable in their manners. They kept the conversation going without ever letting it turn awkward.

Seeing that Wu Zhong did not want to say much about his relationship with the old man, they did not press the matter and instead shifted to talking about the weather.

There was another round of sighing and cursing at the awful weather that had left Wu Zhong in such a state.

As for Wu Zhong's relationship with the old man, it no longer mattered in the slightest. No one cared anymore.

He had come in, kowtowed, offered incense, and given ten thousand yuan in condolence money. At that point, who he really was was no longer important. His manners had already been beyond reproach.

The woman did not even ask for her phone back. Knowing Wu Zhong no longer had one, she directly gave him a half-used phone.

Even without a SIM card, having Wi-Fi was still useful in modern society.

"Don't be polite, don't be polite. We're all family. I still have another old phone, so just take it and use it."

"When you're away from home, you can't get anywhere without a phone."

Everyone happily ate sunflower seeds and chatted.

"Um, actually, this condolence money was transferred by mistake!" Wu Zhong finally forced himself to say it.

For a moment, the atmosphere went somewhat dead.

Wu Zhong also felt embarrassed, because it was rather disrespectful to the deceased.

"The clothes are here!" At that moment, the dutiful grandson drove back. He had bought two sets of clothes, complete from top to bottom, including shoes.

Perhaps his father had called to emphasize the matter, because neither outfit was cheap. Wu Zhong estimated that together they cost six or seven thousand yuan. The shoes alone were over two thousand; he recognized the brand.

"This..." They had actually used this method to give back more than half the money.

Now it was even harder for Wu Zhong to ask for the condolence money back... He realized they were not truly greedy. They knew the money had been transferred by mistake, but custom dictated that they could not directly give money back from the condolence gifts. If they wanted to return it, it had to be done another way.

"Oh, oh... sorry, my friend transferred the wrong amount for the condolence money. But this gift is my token of respect for the old man. No matter the amount, it's the thought that counts. Please make sure to accept it," Wu Zhong understood and smoothly changed his tune.

The atmosphere became harmonious again.

Wu Zhong had never worn such fine clothes in his life, so he immediately went inside and changed into one set.

Time passed second by second.

Two hours went by, and they brought out another lavish late-night meal. The filial son directly opened two bottles of fine liquor.

Wu Zhong was starving, so he ate heartily without ceremony, though he only took a small sip of the alcohol.

They toasted him frequently, but he did not dare drink much, afraid of getting drunk.

As he ate, he watched the window. Endless Summer still had not come.

As time passed, Wu Zhong began to worry.

On one hand, he worried about the other man's safety. He isn't dead, is he? If he is, wouldn't I be finished too?

On the other hand, he worried that 985 might have some special method to find this place.

Maybe they were already on the way. The thought made Wu Zhong increasingly anxious.

But anxiety was useless. Other than waiting here stubbornly for Endless Summer, he had no other option.

He had originally thought this place was some sort of base, that Endless Summer had companions here to receive him and arrange somewhere for him to hide.

Instead, it had turned into this kind of situation. It was truly nerve-racking.

"Mr. Wu, are you planning to stay tonight? Honey, go get the mahjong tiles and play a few rounds with Mr. Wu."

Seeing that Wu Zhong had no intention of leaving, the filial son immediately arranged a mahjong game.

Wu Zhong had wanted to refuse, but he was bored from waiting. Besides, these people took him for one of the old man's mahjong friends, so he had no choice but to play.

He knew how, but he rarely played. On top of that, his attention was not on the table at all, his eyes fixed outside the whole time, so he lost badly.

Of course, the stakes were small, and even the chips had been given to him by the family.

They had actually wanted to use the mahjong table to give him back some more money. Yet two hours passed, and he did not win a single hand!

The family was utterly bewildered. They had already been going easy on him, but Wu Zhong would not even wait for a winning tile.

They thought: No wonder he was the old man's mahjong friend. His mahjong skills are just as kind-hearted and gentle as the old man's.

Of course, they would not say that aloud. Instead, they said, "No wonder Mr. Wu makes money. You leave room for others at the table, so your career is bound to flourish."

Wu Zhong gave an embarrassed smile, casually drew a tile, and kept glancing outside.

"Hey, do you even know how to play mahjong? If you called that meld, you'd be waiting to win. Why didn't you call it?"

Just as Wu Zhong was completely lost from all his losing, a familiar voice came from behind him.

He abruptly turned around and saw Endless Summer standing behind him, watching the game.

Wu Zhong sprang to his feet, scattering the tiles in his hand all over the table.

"You came! You finally came!"

Endless Summer was dressed in a crisp suit, his hair neatly combed, carrying a faint fragrance. He had clearly just washed up.

With one hand propping up an umbrella and the other holding half a cigarette, he said, "Yeah. I've been here for a while."

Wu Zhong blinked. He had been watching the entrance the entire time. There was only one door to the mourning hall, and in the middle of the night, he had not seen Endless Summer enter at all.

And there was not even a trace of rain on Endless Summer's body.