Chapter 24 Sewing Corpses

"Wooah, wooah..."

Inside the mass grave, crows were circling overhead, shouting hoarsely. A woman covered in blood was talking to herself, trembling as she sewed up the corpse in front of her.

Chen Shiyi found that there was not enough thread, so she loosened her bun, pulled out a few strands of hair from it and continued sewing.

After finishing, she wiped Nanzhi's cheeks with a white cloth, tidied her hair, and put the rose handkerchief back into her palm.

She found a wider tree trunk nearby, dug up the soil bit by bit, and slowly dug out a big hole.

Her palms were already red and swollen, but she still gritted her teeth and endured the burning pain, thinking that it would be more spacious if Nanzhi lay inside.

By the time the pit had grown very large, the sun was setting.

"Nanzhi, let's wait for him for half an hour and see him for the last time, okay?"

She smiled to herself.

"Nanzhi, you don't know my name yet, I'm Chen Shiyi. We only met briefly, but we have such a deep bond. I don't know what to say. Shiyi hopes that you can be reborn into a good family and enjoy wealth in the world, so that you don't have to live such a hard life in your next life."

Half an hour had passed, and Chen Shiyi looked around for a long time but still didn't see anyone.

"Nanzhi, can I see you off alone?"

She covered Nanzhi with a white cloth, held her body in the pit, and covered her with handfuls of soil.

She kowtowed three times towards Nanzhi's grave, then turned and left.

She returned home in a daze. The house was very quiet. Usually at this time, the meal should be ready.

"Eleven, what happened to you? Why are you covered in blood?"

Wen Zhirou looked at her awkwardly and was extremely scared.

Mrs. Wen and the Second Young Lady also came out of the room and were shocked to see Chen Shiyi's miserable appearance.

Chen Shiyi's eyes lost focus and he asked in a low voice.

"Is the meal ready?"

Mrs. Wen explained quickly.

"Without a bucket, there is no way to fetch water, and no way to cook."

The second young lady also continued.

"I wanted to fetch water to wash clothes, but the bucket was too heavy to lift, and it floated away in the stream."

Chen Shiyi murmured woodenly.

"You didn't wash your clothes?"

No one dared to say a word when seeing this, even Rui'er, who always pestered Chen Shiyi, did not dare to say a word.

Chen Shiyi suddenly felt a strong sense of powerlessness all over her body, and the despair, sadness and fear gripped her tightly.

So tired!

She squatted down and buried her head in her arms, feeling helpless and exhausted.

She didn't know how to vent her sadness and grief.

There were footsteps in the yard again.

Wen Zhiheng saw the fear on the faces of the people in front of him, and also saw Chen Shiyi squatting on the ground in pain. He felt sour in his heart and felt very uncomfortable.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

Mrs. Wen glanced at Wen Zhiheng and spoke softly.

"In the morning, Eleven told us to cook for ourselves, but we lost the bucket and didn't make it."

Wen Zhiheng breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, I'll do it. I'll do it right away."

Upon seeing this, Wen Zhiyuan immediately left the hospital.

"I'll go get some water."

Wen Zhiheng placed the clay pot on the stove. Chen Shiyi had already entered the kitchen and was preparing to cut vegetables and cook.

A fire started in the stove. Wen Zhiheng squatted beside the stove and added firewood one by one.

This was one of the most skillful things he did after being exiled to Fangling.

He stayed in the kitchen, trying to find a chance to talk to Eleven, but Eleven didn't want to pay attention to him.

She is always busy.

When he woke up in the morning, he could no longer see her, leaving only a warm breakfast. When he returned home in the evening, she had already eaten in the kitchen and went to tend the vegetable garden next door with a hoe on her back. He wanted to help her, but she threw the hoe to him and went back to sleep.

At this moment, she was wearing a blood-stained dress, her khaki face was tinged with sickly paleness, and her almond-shaped eyes were filled with fear and panic, but she was forcibly suppressing it.

He wanted to ask her what was wrong, even though she didn't want to talk to him.

Fresh shepherd's purse was neatly placed on the bamboo chopping board. Usually, she would cut it neatly, but now, she chopped the chopping board with one hand, making a banging sound. The chopping board bounced violently on the table, as if whoever tried to talk to her would be chopped on the head by the sharp knife the next moment.

Wen Zhiheng's eyelids twitched several times at the sound of the chopping board. He lowered his head in front of the stove and dared not say a word.

No one spoke during the meal. Maybe it was because of his upbringing, or maybe it was because of Chen Shiyi's expression. No one wanted to touch Chen Shiyi's face at this time.

After everyone finished eating, Chen Shiyi quietly cleared the dishes on the table.

This dining table was made by Wen Zhiyuan after he came back from mining. He made it with a lot of clumsiness and effort. It can be considered a dining table for now.

"Let me do it."

Wen Zhiheng hurriedly stood up and packed up. Seeing this, Chen Shiyi dropped the bowl in his hand, picked up the clothes in the basket next to the woodshed, walked out of the yard, and went to wash clothes.

Wen Zhiheng sighed, alas, it's like this again.

Chen Shiyi squatted by the stream, tapping his clothes, and Wen Zhiheng came over and squatted beside him.

"Eleven, let's talk."

Chen Shiyi replied without raising his head.

"In no mood."

"But…"

"If it's because I did something wrong as a maid, just give me instructions. If it's something else, there's nothing to say between us. Please don't block my light, young master."

Looking at her determined expression, the words she spoke softly made people feel heartbroken.

He knew that today was not a good time to talk.

He stopped talking and silently took the clothes from the basket and started washing them, imitating Chen Shiyi's movements.

She returned to the yard and hung the clothes on the bamboo poles. The door of the closet opened and Wen Zhirou called her.

She held the new gray clothes in her hand and handed it to Chen Shiyi.

"Hurry up and change your bloody clothes."

"Thank you."

Chen Shiyi took the clothes and placed them on the bed in the woodshed.

Yes, Nanzhi's blood is still on her body.

The moonlight hid in the clouds, flickering, and the water in the stream was very cold. She stepped into the water, and the biting shock reminded her of the pain she had experienced today.

She stood in the stream, the water flowing over half of her body, unraveling her hair, which spread out strand by strand. Under the dim moonlight, she vaguely looked like a thin and sickly spirit.

The pain spreading through every part of my body and the exhaustion from waking up turned into low sobs and trembling shoulders as the stream washed over me.

Wen Zhiheng stood quietly in the dark not far from her, listening to her soft crying. The willow tree by the stream was swaying with its branches, which made him feel upset.

One moon, one cloud, one water, one willow, and she, and him.

Water and moon have no intersection, clouds and willows do not depend on each other.