Chapter 109: The Truth of What Happened Back Then

The girl rose from the coffin, moving freely without the slightest stiffness.

Su Zhenzhen breathed a sigh of relief; it was a success.

Many heretical practitioners always think of possessing corpses to make money, but it's all just a scam.

It is not that a soul and a corpse can be combined to bring the dead back to life.

We also need to see if the soul and body are compatible.

Otherwise, with so many corpses in the mass grave, some wandering souls could simply attach themselves to them and return to the human world using their bodies.

After Granny Ba died, she spent most of her time in the storage compartment. Having regained her physical body, she could use it flexibly without much adaptation.

Su Zhenzhen was racing against time, thinking of finishing all the "performance" she had accumulated as soon as possible, so she pulled her and rushed to the well.

Hensheng was very meticulous in his work; he had prepared all the offerings for the memorial service before even waking Su Zhenzhen.

Once Grandma Ba arrived there, she only needed to follow the instructions step by step.

"Grab a handful of rice first, then toss it into the sky."

During the soul-summoning ceremony, some wandering spirits may be attracted. Before the ceremony officially begins, a handful of rice is scattered to appease the surrounding ghosts and prevent them from causing trouble. This small amount of rice is essentially given to them for their enjoyment, and the remaining offerings afterwards also belong to them.

After Granny Ba finished scattering the rice, Su Zhenzhen continued to speak.

"Bowing towards the west."

According to some accounts, the souls of the dead wander westwards, so most of the ghosts who fail to be reincarnated remain stuck on the western road.

"Light incense."

The county had just finished building its infrastructure, so naturally they didn't have these incense sticks and paper offerings; they were thrown over by the Wang sisters in the live stream.

After lighting the incense, Granny Ba devoutly bowed in the four directions, praying to the gods of the four directions to clear the way and not to hinder the chaotic soul from returning to its loved ones.

Since there are no livestock, there is no need to invite the gods and spirits to offer incense.

After all, this is only one part of the whole ceremony; the most important thing is to express respect for heaven and earth. Since we don't have any offerings, we'll focus on sincerity.

After lighting the incense, Granny Ba immediately asked the name of the deceased, which is to call upon the spirit of the dead.

"Dear Second Daughter Huo, return home immediately!"

Su Zhenzhen called out, and then Granny Ba called out as well.

It was quite obvious that when the second sound came out, there was a slight tremor in the surrounding air.

Su Zhenzhen gestured for Granny Ba to continue calling.

"Dear Second Daughter Huo, return home immediately!"

"Dear Second Daughter Huo, return home immediately!"

He shouted three times in a row, and the feeling of the air shaking became stronger and stronger.

Countless streams of light came from all directions, converging in front of Granny Ba, and finally coalescing into a phantom image.

It was the female corpse, which resembled Huo Erniang.

"Mother?" Huo Erniang spoke softly. Perhaps because her soul had just taken shape, her voice was somewhat broken. The sound of this one word was as if it were twisted into several pieces. If you didn't listen carefully, you would think it was just the wind blowing.

The Eighth Granny, inside Huo Erniang's body, now had tears welling up in her eyes.

What child in the world doesn't recognize their mother? Even if they look different, their scent is unmistakable.

Huo Erniang was very excited, and the souls that had just been gathered together became somewhat loose.

"Snap—"

Su Zhenzhen snapped her fingers. "Look at me, don't get excited."

Huo Erniang turned her head. Ghosts have strong senses and could tell at a glance that the woman in front of her was extraordinary.

"Did you help me summon this?"

Su Zhenzhen nodded. "Time is of the essence, so I'll get to the point. I want to know why you went to Bianzhou back then, and why you perished in the well in this mountain county?"

Without hesitation, Huo Erniang immediately began to speak.

It turns out that back then, Lady Huo intervened and persuaded Emperor Chang to spare Huo Erniang in exchange for her permission to enter the palace.

Knowing that staying in the capital would only be a burden to her stepmother, Huo Erniang traveled north overnight to seek help from her brother in a border prefecture.

However, when passing through Shanxian County, Magistrate Chen secretly searched for beautiful women for Prince Lu. He did not charge any tolls to any single young women, but instead allowed them to serve Prince Lu for one night.

Fortunately, Huo Erniang disguised herself the whole way and managed to get through when she entered the city.

However, just as she was leaving the county, Huo Erniang accidentally collided with the carriage of Prince Lu, almost exposing her secret. Fortunately, Magistrate Chen helped cover it up in time.

Magistrate Chen frankly admitted that he was now subservient to others and that all he had done was out of desperation. He expressed his deep respect for General Huo and his unwillingness to see the women of the Huo family humiliated. He urged Huo Erniang to go to the front lines and join General Huo.

Huo Erniang was grateful to Magistrate Chen for his generosity and told him everything that had happened in the capital, promising to repay him handsomely in the future.

With the help of Magistrate Chen, Huo Erniang successfully evaded the eyes and ears of Prince Lu and traveled north alone.

It was the dead of winter, and there was nothing to eat along the way. The food that Huo Erniang had exchanged for her jewelry was all gone, so she had no choice but to pick up corpses along the road.

This is why the butcher's betrothal gifts included human flesh.

When Huo Erniang arrived at the front line, the battle was at a stalemate, and she had no chance to see General Huo.

Having nowhere to stay, she could only claim that she had fled from the south.

The matchmaker at the time had just received money from the butcher. Seeing that Huo Erniang was an orphan girl fleeing to this place, she decided to help her get married and kindly took Huo Erniang in.

Huo Erniang was under someone else's roof at the time, so she had to pretend to agree first. Then she tricked the matchmaker into revealing the butcher's family situation, and added the flesh of a dead man that hadn't been eaten on the way to the betrothal gifts.

With such a major mishap involving the betrothal gifts, the marriage should, in principle, fall through.

But then Huo Erniang overheard the matchmaker whispering to her family, wondering which other family in the village they should marry her off to? They were treating her like their own daughter.

After weighing the two options, Huo Erniang felt that marrying the butcher was safer. After all, the fact that he took in a complete stranger showed that he was kind-hearted. If he had married someone else, his character might be questionable.

So Huo Erniang got married, but on her wedding day, she suddenly came up with a plan.

If the butcher's apprentice and he have an ambiguous relationship, will this marriage ultimately just be a marriage in name only?

So, on her wedding night, Huo Erniang got the waiter, also known as the Big Knife Old Man, drunk and dragged him into the bridal chamber, creating the illusion that she had been humiliated.

Later, the butcher collapsed from anger, but in the end, he couldn't bring himself to throw the man he had raised like a son into the pond.

The butcher fell ill from anger and was unable to consummate their marriage. Huo Erniang's tense heart relaxed, and at the same time, she felt a pang of guilt. So she took the initiative to stay and take care of him until the butcher passed away.

Hearing this, Su Zhenzhen felt a little uncomfortable. From Huo Erniang's perspective, every step she took was for self-preservation.

But how cruel it must have been for the butcher and the old man with the big knife who was a young man at the time.

The butcher only wanted to get married to continue his family line, but he never expected the marriage to be so complicated. He even lost face on his wedding day and eventually fell ill from anger.

The old man with the big knife happily drank a few cups of wine at his master's wedding banquet, but was later accused of insulting his master's wife and had no choice but to leave for distant lands.