Chapter 359 The Joys of Being Human

On a dark and windy night, Song Chunxue and the Taoist priest walked back and forth along a long road.

The Taoist priest held an old, worn-out compass, searching for the location to bury the body.

After a while, he closed the compass. "Forget it, it's probably buried too deep to be used. I'll just use my eyes."

Song Chunxue felt a chill run down her spine instantly. She stood behind the Taoist priest, back to back.

"Senior brother, don't scare me, I'm easily frightened."

"Haven't you died once already? Are you still afraid of ghosts?" the Taoist priest asked emotionlessly. "Do you want to see?"

Song Chunxue shook her head like a rattle drum, "I won't look, I won't look."

"I have died before, but I'm also afraid of ghosts. You can't blame me for being a coward."

"Ghosts are just like people, they just can't be seen. They're not as threatening as living people, so what's there to be afraid of?"

As he spoke, the Taoist priest rummaged through his cloth bag and pulled out a small porcelain bottle. He poured something out of it and applied it to his eyes.

"What's this?"

"Ox tears".

With her back to him, Song Chunxue had a constant feeling that a ghost would tap her shoulder at any moment.

"Doesn't Senior Brother usually see those things?"

“I didn’t want to see this, so I came up with some ideas. Besides, this person has been dead for too long and is still trapped under the road. She’s a very weak ghost, so it’s hard for me to find her.”

As he spoke, the Taoist priest wiped the cow's tears onto his eyes.

"..." Song Chunxue held her breath and asked softly, "Did you see it?"

The Taoist priest turned around, and Song Chunxue grabbed him and stood behind him, her heart pounding uncontrollably.

“I see her, she… is so pitiful.” With that, the Taoist priest picked up a shovel. “Let’s go, let’s dig over there.”

In her nervousness, Song Chunxue failed to pick up the shovel several times.

"Don't be afraid, she's grateful to us and won't scare you." The Taoist priest placed his hand on her shoulder. "Aren't you less scared now?"

Song Chunxue felt a surge of warmth on her back, full of righteous energy.

"Yeah, I'm not afraid anymore." Song Chunxue gripped the shovel tightly. "Let's dig it out as soon as possible."

In fact, Song Chunxue knew about this person in her previous life. Their descendants came to their house twice in order to find her grave, wanting to know if Sanwa's father knew anything.

Unfortunately, despite their extensive search, no one knew where she was buried.

All they knew was to press it under the road; there was no other way.

Unexpectedly, given a second chance at life, she was able to dig her out herself.

The road was built a few years ago, and the soil was very thick. It took them half an hour to dig before they finally saw the bones.

There wasn't even a mat to wrap him up; his clothes had long since decomposed, and his bones were covered in dirt.

Song Chunxue was a little scared, and her mind went blank.

"Don't be afraid, there's a piece of cloth in my bag. Pick up the bones and put them in there."

Song Chunxue swallowed hard, her head feeling numb, and then took out a piece of cloth as tall as a person and spread it on the ground.

"Lend a hand?"

"Huh?" Song Chunxue almost cried, "Do I have to pick them up too?"

"Pick it up."

The Taoist priest's simple word was as powerful as an imperial edict.

Song Chunxue held her breath and pulled the bones out of the soil one by one.

At first she was quite scared, but then she only had one thought in her mind: to search carefully and not miss any small piece, otherwise her descendants would dream about it again.

"Pfft~"

An hour later, she squatted down, blew the dirt off the bones, wiped them with her hands, and carefully placed them on a cloth.

"We've found everything, let's go." The Taoist priest rolled up the cloth and carried it on his back.

They went to the river bend and washed their hands.

"Where to now?"

“Send them back to their families.”

"I'll go with my senior brother." She didn't dare go back to her fourth sister's house alone, so she could only go with her senior brother.

"Alright, stand firm." The Taoist priest conjured a long sword again and stood on it.

Song Chunxue asked curiously, "Where do you usually keep this sword?"

"It's in the Qiankun Bag."

"So this thing really exists. I always thought it was just something writers wrote for fun. So, what realm are you at now, senior brother? When will you be able to ascend?"

The Taoist priest smiled mysteriously, "It's hard to say. It could take three to five years, or forty to fifty years, or even a lifetime without ascending to immortality, or just a few decades longer."

"Then can I live forever?" Song Chunxue suddenly changed her mind. "Pah, no, I don't want to live forever. I hope that when I die, my senior brother will still be here. Will he be willing to perform a ritual for me to pass on to the afterlife?"

"Pah, what nonsense are you spouting? If you want to live to be a hundred, keep cultivating yourself." The Taoist priest tapped her forehead with his whisk. "If you keep talking nonsense, I'll..."

Song Chunxue knew which word he was going to say, and pinched him hard. "Fine, fine, I'll die after my senior brother. I'll burn mountains of gold and silver for you before I die, and we'll spend them together."

"..." The Taoist priest rolled his eyes. "We've arrived."

He placed the bones on the ground, then grabbed Song Chunxue and took her to the coffin shop.

The coffin shop owner yawned, "They're over there, take your pick."

Song Chunxue spotted the coffin made of pine trees at a glance. "This is it. This should be the most expensive one in the store."

"Yes, the others are either willow or poplar. After all, they are poor people. Rich people would hire carpenters to make them at home. This one costs eight hundred coins."

Song Chunxue recalled that the last time she used pine wood, it was wood that her second son paid to buy when she was in her fifties. It had been stored for more than twenty years, and it was half-rotten when she died.

The eldest brother and Chen Feng even argued with the third child over the cost of transporting the coffin.

"I'll give you nine hundred coins. Please trouble the shopkeeper to deliver this coffin to the Jiang family in Yangjiagou tomorrow." Song Chunxue handed her the silver and gave her the detailed address.

"No problem, no problem," the shopkeeper said with a smile, taking the money. "Did someone just die in that family? Why would they need someone else to buy a coffin?"

“It’s an old man who has been dead for many years and doesn’t have a coffin. I’m afraid that even if I give them money, they won’t buy a proper coffin. I might as well just buy one and let them collect the body and bury it.”

The shopkeeper chimed in, "It's not surprising. I was worried that once the coffin was taken away, they wouldn't want to use it and would keep it for themselves, then just find a carpenter to make a new one out of willow wood."

"..." Song Chunxue hadn't thought of that. "Then I'll trouble you, shopkeeper, to tell him that this coffin must be used for the remains, otherwise the family will not have peace."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." The innkeeper closed the door. "I'll bring someone over first thing tomorrow morning. I wouldn't dare to fool the Taoist priest."

The Taoist priest nodded, "Thank you."

As I left the coffin shop, the eastern sky was beginning to lighten; dawn was approaching.

The air was fresh, the streets were deserted, and an occasional breeze blew by, making it slightly chilly.

"Senior brother, let's go back as soon as possible."

The Taoist priest walked leisurely. "Are you still going to your second sister's house?"

"Senior brother, do you want to go back today?" Song Chunxue pondered for a moment. "After we have breakfast, we'll go to Second Sister's house, have a meal, and then return to the city. What do you think?"

"Junior brother, there's no need to rush. I need to go back and take care of some things."

Song Chunxue nodded, "Alright, then Senior Brother, take me back to Fourth Sister's house first, and I'll head back slowly."

The Taoist priest hesitated, then ultimately said nothing more.

"Alright."

In the blink of an eye, Song Chunxue was placed in her fourth sister's courtyard.

"Junior brother, go back and rest for a while. I'll head back first. Can I borrow your donkey for a couple of days? Flying on a sword is fast, but it takes away the joy of being human."

Seeing his gentle smile, how could Song Chunxue possibly refuse?

"Senior brother, please use as you please. If you need more money..."

"That's enough, Junior Brother. Focus on your cultivation," he gently patted Song Chunxue's head. "Farewell."