By the time I got back to my grandmother's house, it was almost dawn. Xiang Fei went home by himself, too exhausted to stay, and fell asleep as soon as he lay down on the bed.
Two days later, I had the deceased's family take the body back and then cremate it. Of course, cremation here is very simple and direct: just put the body in the fire and burn it, then collect a few bones and bury them. I then performed a ritual and returned home in the afternoon.
As soon as I got home, my aunt and uncle called me over. It turned out that my great-grandmother was dying and wanted me to go see her one last time. I was so anxious when I heard that that I rushed over immediately.
My great-grandfather is almost ninety years old this year. Speaking of which, my great-grandfather had a very hard life. He had no children and lived a lonely life. The reason for all this was that he was a member of the National Revolutionary Army and participated in the War of Resistance against Japan and the Civil War.
Our great-grandfather had always been supported by our entire family and lived in the family's old house. When I visited, he was already lying in bed, seemingly in his final moments of lucidity.
I remember when I was a child, he often told me stories, the most frequent one being how he killed Japanese devils back then. To this day, he still keeps the broadsword he used to fight against the Japanese.
He was holding the large sword in his arms, like it was his longtime companion. When he saw me, his cloudy eyes lit up.
"Zhiwa, you've come! I thought I wouldn't see you one last time," the old ancestor said, her voice already very weak.
I choked up and didn't know what to say.
"Grandpa, don't worry, nothing will happen."
"Don't try to make me happy. I know myself very well. I'm nearing death, my life force is almost gone. But I won't be able to see our country take down Japan before I die. I won't be able to rest in peace," the old ancestor sighed.
"The crimes committed by the Japanese against China are countless. If we do not avenge this, we will be ashamed before our Chinese ancestors. Back then, our Sichuan Army sent a million troops out of Sichuan to fight against the Japanese. How glorious that was! But most of them did not come back. A dozen or so people from our village went, but I was the only one who survived. If we do not destroy the Japanese, they will not rest in peace in the afterlife."
Then the old ancestor slowly closed his eyes and passed away peacefully. I stood there, stunned, for a long, long time...
This was just the last wish of an ordinary old man. The hatred was as deep as the sea and irreconcilable. How could the national hatred be forgotten? However, such a patriotic old man ended up like this, spending most of his life in suffering. It is truly heartbreaking.
"The sword remains, but the man is gone. The sun sets at dusk, a hero grows old!" I sighed softly, putting away the greatsword.
Our entire family will naturally be responsible for our ancestor's funeral arrangements. I will be in charge of the Taoist rituals, and the burial site has already been found. Since he lived a solitary life, our family will keep the funeral arrangements simple.
Sanxingdui
After burying my ancestors, I rested for a day and then prepared to go to town to do business. I haven't been able to do business properly this year. As soon as I got to the shop, the old blind man came over and said that Uncle Liu from Hunan and his gang had gone in again, bringing several more people with them. Judging from their demeanor, they were going to pull off a big heist.
In addition, the group from Guangdong also came out, but only the leader came out, which was within our expectations.
After the old blind man left, I started doing business. I hadn't been back for a while, and many people were looking for me. It took me several days to finish. One day, while I was cleaning the shop, I suddenly heard a noisy commotion outside, like a fight.
Out of curiosity, I went out to take a look and saw a group of children chasing and hitting a beggar around the street corner. The beggar didn't fight back and just ran around with his head in his hands.
Upon closer inspection, wasn't this the Monkey King?
I quickly shooed the children away. The Monkey King was sitting there, chuckling to himself. He smelled terrible, and flies were buzzing all over him. I led him into the shop, bought him a basket of steamed buns, and poured him a glass of water. He immediately started wolfing them down, grinning at me as he ate.
Looking at his ancient Shu clothing, I could guess that during the ten years he disappeared, he must have lived in a Shu tomb. As for which Shu tomb he lived in, I had no idea. I also wondered how he lived and what he ate.
"Hehe," the Monkey King grinned at me, "You're Third Brother's son, I recognize you."
When I heard this, I was somewhat surprised. "Could it be that he isn't completely insane?"
"Your old man invited me to come and have some fun just a few days ago," the Monkey King said next, which almost made me collapse. He wasn't crazy, but rather mentally deranged, in a state of being half-mad and half-foolish.
He finished a basket of xiaolongbao in just a few minutes. I could tell he wasn't full yet, so he ordered a bowl of noodles and a braised chicken, which he also ate without leaving a single bite.
After he finished eating, he just sat there grinning foolishly without saying a word. I was too lazy to pay attention to him and started tidying up my things. I took out the 'Immortal Ascension Picture' and prepared to take it home later. Although it wasn't the original, it was still a rubbing, and its value was immeasurable.
Suddenly, the Monkey King, who had been sitting there grinning foolishly, stood up and snatched the 'Immortal Ascension Chart' from my hand with lightning speed. His eyes flashed with a chilling light as he stared at the pattern on it and said, "This is it. The root of everything is here. You must keep it safe and never let the demons know." After saying that, the Monkey King shoved the 'Immortal Ascension Chart' back into my hand and ran off with a silly grin.
I was taken aback for a moment, then shook my head. Whatever, it's better to know less about this. I don't want to get involved anymore.
I had nothing to do in the afternoon, so I played some games. I was just about to close up and go to the old blind man's place when Wang Ling arrived, bringing her two sisters or rather, her best friends.
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