Exorcising the Undead
My second brother and I knelt in front of my father's body and cried loudly. The Empress also rushed over after hearing the news. When she saw everything in front of her, her legs went weak and she fainted on the ground. We hurriedly turned around and hugged Mother, shouting.
After the Empress woke up, she appeared unusually calm. With tears in her eyes, she said to Shunde,"Shunde, quickly inform Uncle Guo An and ask him to send someone to inform Grandpa. You must bring two sets of dragon bars and the people carrying the funeral to Keli tonight.”
She turned around and said to me,"Hurry up and inform Uncle Wenbin. Ask him to send someone to your aunt's family to report the funeral. You have to go and come back quickly…"
I ran outside and returned quickly after reporting the letter. As soon as he entered the house, he saw Elder Jiang, who specialized in handling funerals, and his mute disciple walk in. The master and disciple quickly cleaned the bodies of their father and Dia Dia, changed their faces, put on their burial clothes and hats, and moved the two bodies to the ground in the middle of the mourning hall with a white shroud.
The mourning hall was located in the second hall. The rooms on both sides were opened, and people began to wear white cloth and elegiac couplets. With the crackling of firecrackers, two black coffins, one new and one old, were carried in and placed on the left and right sides of the mourning hall.
There were two tables in the middle of the hall, and in the middle of the table was a memorial tablet, an incense burner, fresh flowers, fruit offerings, and a portrait. The coquettish portrait was already prepared. Dad's portrait was drawn by an artist at the last minute.
Coincidentally, Second Brother also ran back. We knelt down in front of the spirit and cried loudly. The skinny neighbor, Huang Yurong, hurriedly helped us put on linen mourning clothes. The kind-looking neighbor, Yan Qiao, accompanied the Empress, who had already put on linen mourning clothes, to guard the mourning hall. She asked Second Brother and me to stand in front of the mourning hall and kneel and kowtow to the guests who came to mourn.
Soon, Uncle Guo An rushed over with his aunt and cousin Liping. When the two families met, they wept sadly. Just as the crying stopped, Uncle Wenbin also rushed in with Youngest Aunt and Cousin Lifen, and it was inevitable that there was another whimper.
The Empress wiped away her tears and said," Just now, the head of Baojia came. Please let Guo 'an be the head of the internal affairs for me. Wen Bin is in charge of the field work. Yanzi and Qiaoyun, help me entertain the guests, accept the funeral offerings, and register the gifts. In the future, I will have to repay them.”
She choked and said," In order to avoid any accidents, everything should be done as quickly as possible. The funeral will be held early tomorrow night. The general principle is to let everyone eat well. The two of you should quickly go and discuss it with Head Guard Ma."”
The deceased believed in the Roman religion. Father John Zhou of Xiangchun Alley's cathedral rushed over with his assistants and members of the church. On the wall in the middle of the mourning hall, he hung a portrait of Jesus with a cross on his back. He recited the gospel around the body as a memorial mass, sang the " Spirit Enhancement Prayer," and put the body into the coffin.
In the afternoon, someone invited the monks from Kaifu Temple. They wore kasayas and played the wooden fish and the unique bell and drum instruments in the temple. Just as the dozen monks entered the mourning hall, the dozen Taoist priests from East Peak Palace, who were wearing pure Yang headscarves and purple Daoist robes, followed closely behind.
In any case, the filial piety family is rich, people die rice steamer open do not invite themselves. The family members of the deceased were heartbroken. They only asked for the grander and livelier the better. At any rate, they would knock on the door and pay homage for the night.
At this time, Father John Zhou had already finished his homework. Seeing so many monks and Taoists, he brought his assistants and church members to exchange greetings and comfort with the Empress before getting up to leave.
The coquettish coffin was placed on the right side of the mourning hall. The monks hung the statues of the Three Saints of the West on the wall of the right wing room and began to chant scriptures and perform rituals.
Father's coffin was placed on the left side of the mourning hall. The Taoist priests hung the portraits of the Three Treasures of the Three Realms of the Void Nature Great Luo on the wall of the left wing room. They beat the drums and gongs to invite the saints. They held the banner and built a Taoist temple in a circle.
In an instant, firecrackers and drums began to sing as they ferried the souls of the dead. The monks and Taoist priests would circle around the center of the mourning hall from time to time. Fortunately, they did not interfere with each other and cooperated well.
There was a specialist who instructed Second Brother and I to follow behind them, kneeling and kowtowing from time to time. There were also people who set off firecrackers to burn money paper. The sound of firecrackers rose and fell, and the people outside the mourning hall were crowded.
Relatives and friends who lived in the provincial capital, the head of the Jiangsu Guild Hall, and fellow countrymen rushed over one after another with a heavy heart. With a serious expression, they walked into the memorial hall to mourn. We hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed.
The two sisters, Yanzi and Qiaoyun, were busy receiving the memorial ceremony and registering the gifts. Li Wenbin had booked a restaurant nearby to have a banquet. Everyone could go there to eat at any time.
In the evening, Aunt Yao Xu rushed into the house with her daughter, Sister Feng E, crying loudly. They knelt in front of the spirit and wailed loudly. Huang Yiran quickly brought two sets of linen mourning clothes for the mother and daughter to wear.
Along with Aunt were her elder brother, younger brother, and two nephews. Before they entered the mourning hall, they first lit up a string of ten thousand whips, carried two stacks of elegiac couplets and a few plates of firecrackers into the mourning hall, and knelt in front of the spirit in a row to offer incense and kowtow three times.
Second Brother and I hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed. After the condolences, Uncle Wen Bin came forward to shake hands with them one by one, offering cigarettes and betel nuts, and invited them to dinner.
Second Brother and I had just stood up when we heard the sound of firecrackers. Grandpa came in with three uncles. A large group of people wearing straw sandals and carrying poles swarmed in. They had rushed over from Yuanjia Lake, which was more than twenty miles away.
With so many people coming into the mourning hall, it turned out that a coffin needed sixteen people to carry it, and eight people had to change the armrests and shoulders. Therefore, Grandpa brought forty-eight strong farmers, almost calling all the laborers in the village. Most of these people were stubborn and had relatives.
Second Brother and I quickly went forward to kneel, but Grandpa stopped us and said,"Your feet are swollen and injured from kneeling. We're all on the same side, so don't kneel.”He turned to his second and third uncle and said,"Each of you take a cushion and be responsible for watching over Shunde and Shunru. Don't let them kneel on the hard ground."”
After dinner, the second group of people who were doing the soul ferrying took a short break. Some people ran to the backyard to look for a poop pit. Their relatives and friends gathered in the room and discussed,
Today was really a disaster. Fortunately, the gods blessed him and allowed Shunru to escape. Otherwise, what would happen to the three generations of grandfather and grandson! The Japanese were too cruel!
The Empress walked in with Aunt Niang. The Empress said,"Let's discuss the funeral tomorrow morning. I was in a daze at that time and didn't know what to do. There was no one to discuss it with. I hastily decided not to inform or wait for Big Brother. The funeral will be held early tomorrow. It seems that there is something wrong. I heard some discussions. Someone reminded me to temporarily store the coffin in Kaifu Temple and wait for 49 days before burying it. At that time, maybe big brother would be able to rush back.”
Aunt moved her fat body and said sadly,"My family is unfortunate, especially when Sister Xiulan (My mother's name is Yuan Xiulan) suffered such a heavy blow. I can't be there. My heart really hurts…"
She sobbed and said," Sister-in-law's arrangements are very thorough…You shoulder a heavy burden on your shoulders…You didn't inform Runcai. I should be grateful to you." It would be better if he didn't inform Run... There are wars everywhere, and the water and land transportation has been cut off... He can't go back even if he wants to. He's doomed on the way..."
Grandpa was in high spirits. After listening to everyone, he said,"Xiulan, don't listen to other people's chatter. Cook a bowl of rice yourself. If you decide to be buried, don't change it. It couldn't be compared to the peaceful years, where at least three days and three nights of training were needed before the funeral. The Japanese are about to attack. If you park the father and son in Kaifu Temple, it will only make them unable to rest in peace. It's better to bury them.”
Grandpa hesitated for a moment and stroked his beard." However, I have to remind you that I've checked the imperial calendar at home. Today is August 17th. If you don't count from today, it will hit seven. If you count from tomorrow, it will hit seven. This is unlucky."”
Everyone was shocked when they heard this. Some of them began to count on their fingers. According to custom, after a person died, the filial piety family would hold a "Seven Seven Sacrifice" for the deceased."If the dead don't hit seven, their descendants will be able to eat.”
There was a song called "Hit Seven Brothers" that sang,"The first seven hit seven, the dead were beaten until they split open, the second seven hit seven, the funeral bed was next door, the third seven hit seven, the filial piety family prospered, the fourth seven hit seven, the wall collapsed, the fifth seven hit seven, the descendants had food, the sixth seven hit seven, the children prospered, the seventh seven hit seven, the eyes cried and fell."”It was very unlucky for a dead person to have no way to run into him. He had to ask the master to resolve it.
The Empress said,"Don't stray too far away. We believe in God and have long since stopped believing in the word of God." It was better to estimate when the funeral would be held.”
His grandfather was almost sixty years old and was once a well-educated private school teacher. He was very honest in dealing with people. He said slowly,"It's more than ten miles to the Yao family's graveyard, and it'll take more than an hour to walk. It would take two hours to dig a well in the mountains, and it would take more than an hour to start the ceremony and burial, so it would take five hours. The funeral was at five in the morning, and the burial would only be completed at ten, so it was better to be early than late.”
His uncle, Yuan Guorong, asked honestly,"Have you prepared everything to enter the mountain?”
"I've prepared two sets of incense, paper money, and rooster offerings. I bought two hundred pairs of straw sandals, two hundred towels, four hundred buns, and cigarettes, betel nut, and white wine.”Li Wenbin was a shop assistant. He was not tall and was shrewd.
Yuan Guo 'an pushed his glasses up his nose bridge and added,""Everyone who carries the funeral will be given two towels, two pairs of straw sandals, two packs of cigarettes, two packs of betel nuts, and one yuan. We've booked twenty-eight tables of meat rice for tomorrow.”The people here were used to calling funeral banquets eating buns of meat.
"Enough, enough." Second Uncle Guo Hua said shyly. His third uncle, Guoxing, was still a 14-year-old teenager who only cared about chewing the betel nut in his mouth.
"I think we should go back directly after the burial and not go back to the city. We should find a hotel nearby to eat so that we don't bump into the Japanese plane.”Guorong said softly.
The Empress said,"It's a good reminder for you. Please contact Wenbin." The specific time of the funeral has to be decided."
Grandpa said,"The year of the ugly is the ox, the year of the Yin is the tiger, and the year of the Mao is the rabbit. It is set to be at the beginning of the Yin when the sacrifice is held. The tiger is powerful and is not afraid of any evil."”
Guo An pushed up his glasses again and said,"When we reach Wenchang Pavilion, only two Taoist priests and a set of gongs and drums will be left to send to the mountains." Except for Shun De and Shun Ru who have to go up the mountain with the memorial tablets, Brother Wen Bin and I also have to go up the mountain. I don't think the womenfolk should go up the mountain. All the mourners have to be sent to Wenchang Pavilion.”He was a primary school teacher and was very considerate.
"I want to send Uncle Dia Dia into the mountains." Tears hung from Feng Er's red and swollen eyes on her delicate face. Her loose sackcloth mourning clothes covered her beautiful young girl figure.
"Feng 'Er should send her Dia Dia and Uncle, my second brother, fourth brother, and two nephews should be sent into the mountains and take care of the three of them.”
Guo An added," After the funeral, Mr. Ma will arrange for people to evacuate the mourning hall. He will ask Feng 'e's two uncles, as well as my guests and Wen Bin's guests, to be responsible for cleaning up the things in the hall. If Feng Er wanted to go, she would ask her two cousins to take care of the three siblings.”
The matter of the funeral was settled. It was a sleepless night. The sound of firecrackers came from the hall, and the horn sounded. The filial sons hurriedly returned to the mourning hall.
The monks began to beat the drums and gongs to release flames. The four Taoist masters waved their mahogany swords and began to break the hell. In the middle of the night, the people of the second class of Buddhism and Taoism played their best skills and sang until the end of the night. Then, the drum music suddenly stopped.
I felt dizzy and there was a buzzing in my ears. The bright moon hung high in the sky, shining the moonlight into the courtyard and onto the four tables of the banquet.
I vaguely saw my father standing on the top of the courtyard with a coquettish voice, smiling as he watched the monks and Taoists gobble down the night feast.
She reached out her long hand and stroked my head."Aren't you going to have something to eat?" I suddenly woke up and saw Uncle Guorong standing beside me saying,"You're standing in the middle of the night.”
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]