Chapter 163: Chapter 83: Playing Dead_2
At this point, still fixated on speaking for Lu Tong, Pei Yunmeng chuckled.
"Those slender arms and legs of yours couldn’t kill ten of you, let alone bury you where no one could find you."
Duan Xiaoyan was at a loss for words.
Pei Yunmeng hesitated briefly, then abruptly placed the paperweight down and stood up.
"You’re going out?"
"The three divisions must have already received the news by now," Pei Yunmeng said, picking up the silver knife on the table. "I’ll deal with it."
As he reached the doorway, he abruptly stopped and turned around, "Don’t go looking for Lu Tong."
"Huh?"
Pei Yunmeng smiled faintly, a trace of cold frost seeming to taint his dark pupils.
"That woman is a madman, stay away from her. Otherwise, if something happens, I can’t save you."
...
The morning mist gradually cleared.
The sun crept slowly up from the foot of Mount Wangchun, crossing over the river beneath Luoyue Bridge, and cast its golden light over the entire Shengjing City.
In the small courtyard behind the fish shop on West Street, where Scholar Wu resides, the mourning hall was packed with scholars sprawled out asleep.
Wu Youcai’s body was brought back home yesterday.
Headed by Official Hu, members of the poetry society pooled money to buy a coffin for Wu Youcai and set up a mourning hall in the Wu Family’s small courtyard, inviting Blind Man He, a diviner, to perform a ritual for him.
Blind Man He said that Wu Youcai had died by suicide, a sudden and grievous death filled with resentment. The wake had to last for seven days, and a propitious day had to be chosen for the burial to ease his vengeful spirit. Throughout these seven days, it was best to have several men keeping watch over the wake in the mourning hall to sustain an atmosphere of yang energy, which could suppress the yin and obscurity.
The young scholars thought Blind Man He was spewing nonsense, merely trying to swindle more silver by performing rituals. Official Hu, however, agreed without hesitation, declaring that he would cover all expenses during the days of the wake. Scholar Wu was an acquaintance of his, and he believed it was only right to give him a dignified send-off for this final Chapter on Earth.
Consequently, everyone brought blankets and thin clothes, informed their families the previous night, and gathered at the Wu Family’s home to keep a vigil for the deceased Scholar Wu.
Dew condensed beneath the eaves into droplets and suddenly fell on the face of a man leaning against the doorway. He sniffled and sneezed, then slowly opened his eyes.
Old Master Xun awoke.
He and Wu Youcai had known each other for some time. On the day of the tribute exam, Wu Youcai’s examination booth was next to his. Old Master Xun had seen Scholar Wu’s death with his own eyes, the way he had died with his eyes wide open, and had wept for Wu Youcai’s tragic end.
So, despite being old, he too brought his bedding to the Wu Family’s home to accompany Scholar Wu on his final journey.
The mourning hall was quiet, with the faint snoring of young scholars occasionally heard.
It was the first night of the wake, and Official Hu had set up a tent in the courtyard specially inviting a troupe to perform a play called "The Scholar Becomes a Top Scorer at Eighty" for Scholar Wu.
Amid the din of the performance, it was hard to say how others had felt, but Old Master Xun was moved to tears and snot throughout the entire show, so much so that when it ended and the performers had packed up and everyone else had fallen asleep, he remained teary-eyed, reliving the experience over and over.
Old Master Xun wiped his face, sat up straight, and while rubbing his old back, he looked around.
Official Hu was sprawled on the ground mat, hugging a thermal jug and sleeping soundly. The flower-patterned cloth strewn about on the ground was scattered with uneaten snacks from the previous night’s performance—pieces of almond tofu, red dates, and assorted candies.
In the center lay a lacquered black coffin. Scholar Wu’s death had been so sudden that there wasn’t much choice available in the coffin shop, so Official Hu took it upon himself to select the best-crafted one.
At this moment, that coffin sat still in the middle of the mourning hall, black and heavy. For some reason, Old Master Xun suddenly shivered.
He thought he was shivering from the cold due to his light clothing and turned around to look for a blanket; then, he heard a "rustle rustle" noise behind him.
Old Master Xun froze.
The sound was very faint, sharp and thin, like the noise of a mouse scratching at a wall.
But perhaps because the morning on West Street was too quiet, or perhaps because the wind in the mourning hall was too chilling, in that profound silence, the slight scratching seemed to claw directly onto Old Master Xun’s scalp, sending a sudden chill from head to toe.
No, that sound... how could it sound like it was coming from inside the coffin?
Old Master Xun stiffly turned around.
The scratching noise continued, and this time it was clear—it was indeed coming from inside the coffin.
In an instant, Old Master Xun broke out in a cold sweat.
The diviner Blind Man He had said Wu Youcai’s resentment was hard to dispel, and he might become a fierce ghost. Everyone had thought the blind man was merely concocting stories to extort money, but could it actually be true? After all, Scholar Wu’s death had been so unjust, how could his soul be willing to reincarnate? Perhaps consumed by resentment, his spirit wandered, threatening to turn the place into a cursed house.
Old Master Xun’s weathered face trembled uncontrollably, and with a shaky voice, he advised: