After the old man fell, he did not move again.
Perhaps he would not move again even before his cremation.
Before that, Zhang Rong and I had both thought he had undergone corpse reanimation because he had retained his seven souls, and that he harbored resentment and would hurt others.
He had indeed harbored resentment, but more than that, he had felt hurt and wronged.
After telling his mother about that hurt and sense of injustice, then hearing his son's apology, he had let it all go.
He had never hurt his unfilial son.
The only two living creatures he had hurt were his neighbor's chickens, which he had bitten to death because he had been desperately hungry before he died.
Seeing that the old man had stopped moving, Zhang Rong hurried forward and scattered another handful of Joss Paper to clear his way.
"Shen Gongquan, time to go home."
Shen Jun silently walked over then, wiped his tears, and took the initiative to carry the old man's body on his back.
Zhang Rong and I walked at the front and rear of the procession, scattering Joss Paper all the way to the door.
After returning to the Spirit Hall, we lifted the body into the coffin.
The old man probably would not undergo corpse reanimation again, but to be safe, we still had to wait until he was cremated before leaving.
During the day the next day, Shen Simian had a huge argument with his parents. Even sleeping in our room, Zhang Rong and I could hear him cursing them.
He cursed his parents and all his elder uncles.
That night, the final night, nothing strange happened in the Spirit Hall again.
The hearse arrived before dawn to take the old man to be cremated.
We went along too,