Burial

Though Hua Zi's family had been massacred, the five of them were too hungry, sleepy, and exhausted to worry about taboos. They carried the mattresses and pillows out of the bedrooms, laid them on the hall floor, and blocked all the doors and windows, preparing to spend the night together.

Pang Jun didn't care that he was as round as a ball; he insisted on squeezing into the middle. Officer Huang volunteered to take the outermost spot on the left. The bedding on the far right was the mandarin-duck quilt from the bridal room. Wang Zikai thought it was too girly and crawled under Officer Huang's quilt instead. From left to right, they lay in this order: Officer Huang, Wang Zikai, Pang Jun, Gaoyang, and Qingling.

Gaoyang had wanted to be a gentleman and sleep on the outside, but Qingling insisted on taking the far right-her right hand never let go of her saber.

Resting on a red pillow beneath the bright-red mandarin-duck quilt, Gaoyang turned to look at Qingling beside him. Her breathing was even, but her brows remained slightly furrowed. Clearly, she wasn't asleep; she was ready to fight at any moment.

A strange feeling suddenly came over Gaoyang, as though this were his wedding night, and his bride lay beside him with a long saber in hand, waiting for dawn so they could go out and fight side by side...

Smack! Pang Jun rolled over, slapping his fleshy palm across Gaoyang's face.

Gaoyang fought back the urge to kick him and moved his hand away.

In the latter half of the night, the five gradually fell asleep. Gaoyang had no idea how much time passed before, through the haze of sleep, he felt someone take his hand.

He startled slightly and woke at once.

Pang Jun's and Wang Zikai's snores rose and fell in the darkness. Gaoyang focused on his right hand. There was no mistake: a cold, smooth hand held it tightly. He turned slightly to look at Qingling beside him.

In the darkness, Qingling lay rigid, her eyes wide open and faintly gleaming.

"What's wrong?" Gaoyang asked softly.

"Nothing." Qingling tried to sound calm, but her voice trembled slightly.

Gaoyang understood at once. "Are you... Qingling?"

Qingling said nothing, tacitly confirming it.

For a moment, Gaoyang didn't know what to say. She had always hated men, yet she had taken his hand of her own accord. She must have been truly terrified.

"Why don't you... go back?" Gaoyang didn't know how to talk to Qingling's second personality. "This isn't a place you should be."

"I know. My sister told me everything that happened here," Qingling said. "Her eyes were closed, but she never slept. I want her to rest for a while..."

Gaoyang was puzzled. "Even if your sister's personality rests, isn't your body still awake?"

"Are you telling me what to do?"

"I wouldn't dare..."

"I know better than you, so I have to fall asleep for my sister now..." Qingling drew a deep breath and tightened her grip on Gaoyang's hand. "Don't mind me. I'll fall asleep any second."

"Okay."

A long while passed, but Gaoyang felt that Qingling still hadn't fallen asleep. He was no longer sleepy either, so he rolled over to face her.

"What are you trying to do?" Sure enough, Qingling's eyes snapped open in alarm. "I'm warning you, don't get any ideas, or I'll cripple you."

"You're overthinking it." Gaoyang felt awkward. He wasn't an animal, and besides, how could he be in the mood under these circumstances? "I don't know whether I'll get out of here alive. In case I never get another chance, I wanted to apologize to you about that."

"About Li Weiwei?"

"Yes."

"My sister killed her. It had nothing to do with you." Qingling wouldn't look at him.

"I know, but if it hadn't been for me..."

"Enough. Stop making it all about you."

Qingling shifted closer, resting her head on Gaoyang's pillow and curling up her long legs. Her entire back pressed against his chest, and he could smell the fresh fragrance of her hair. Still not satisfied, she took his arm and draped it over herself. At last, she felt a little more secure.

"Just like this. Don't move." Qingling drew a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"Don't you hate men?"

"I don't see you as a man."

"You might have the wrong idea about me..."

"Shut up. I'm resting for my sister."

"Oh."

Gaoyang held the rather uncomfortable position. At first, he couldn't sleep at all, but eventually, exhaustion won out, and he drifted off before he knew it.

Gaoyang didn't know how long he had slept. When he woke, light was filtering through the gaps around the doors and windows. He was still holding Qingling, his entire arm stiff and numb. At some point, she had turned over to face him.

He was just about to lift his arm away when Qingling... no, her older sister opened her eyes.

Their faces were barely a fist's width apart. Their gazes met, their breaths mingled, and Gaoyang's hand was still wrapped around her soft waist.

The silence was terrifying.

"Don't cut me yet. I can explain..." Gaoyang's survival instincts went into overdrive.

"No need. I can guess what happened." Qingling moved his aching, numb arm aside and sat up. She swept her long black hair behind her head with both hands and deftly tied it into a ponytail.

She stood and stretched. It seemed she had gotten some rest last night. Glancing at Gaoyang, who was still lying on the mattress, she said, "Thanks for last night."

"No problem..."

"Holy shit!" Wang Zikai had just woken up in time to witness the exchange. He sprang to his feet. "You two can't be serious! In this place? Under these conditions? You still had the energy to give each other a workout? I think the real sufferers were the rest of us, stuck being third wheels!"

Gaoyang rolled over and sat up, deliberately taunting Wang Zikai. "Getting worked up, virgin?"

He had hit him where it hurt. Sure enough, Wang Zikai bristled. "Huh? Me, a virgin? I had a girlfriend when I was three! When I was picking up girls, you were still playing with toy race cars..."

Gaoyang breathed a sigh of relief. Good. Successfully changed the subject.

Early that morning, the five left Hua Zi's house. The funeral hall on the hill in Gu Family Village was bustling. Gongs and drums clattered, firecrackers thundered, and exaggerated wails of mourning rang out without pause.

"Are they going to bury them now?" Pang Jun asked.

"That's how it works in the countryside." Gaoyang nodded. "The funeral lasts two days, and the burial is on the third morning."

As they spoke, seven or eight young and middle-aged men emerged from the shed carrying a somewhat old black wooden coffin. A man dressed as a Taoist priest walked ahead of it, holding a peachwood sword and a bell. He performed rites as he led the way, mumbling indistinct chants.

Several women in mourning sackcloth followed the pallbearers, supporting one another and putting on exaggerated displays of grief. A few men, also dressed in mourning sackcloth, walked on either side of the coffin with baskets of spirit money, scattering it along the road. The other villagers wore black and followed in groups to see the dead off.

Before long, the funeral procession reached the village entrance and passed the five of them.

Fourth Master Gu, whom they had met yesterday, brought up the rear. Spotting Officer Huang, he stepped over to greet him. "Officer Huang, you're here so early today."

Officer Huang nodded. "Yes. I can't sleep while the case remains unsolved."

"Make sure you get some rest. These youngsters with you don't look too well either."

Gaoyang grumbled inwardly. Nearly thirty hours without food or water-how well could we possibly look? If I weren't an Awakened, with all my stats considerably boosted, I probably would have passed out from low blood sugar already.

"Sir, one coffin for all five family members?" Officer Huang asked.

"Yes." Fourth Master Gu sighed repeatedly. "Hua Zi's family wasn't well-off. They finally saved up a little, only to spend it all on getting him married. Then this happened just after the bride moved in... Even this coffin was bought with money the villagers pooled together. Five coffins wouldn't come cheap. We can't afford that, and we didn't think it was necessary either... You know how it is. Not one of Hua Zi's family was left in one piece. With everything all mixed up like that, it seemed better to put them together..."

Fourth Master Gu said no more. He shook his head and followed the procession.

"Shall we follow them and take a look?" Officer Huang asked the others.

"Sure." Gaoyang had already been thinking the same thing.