Chapter 197: The Holy Image in the Coffin

"Ji Ruo, who is this?"

Liang Shixian asked hesitantly.

Gu Shaoxuan’s outfit is really weird... Who would come to school carrying a coffin so early in the morning?

Although this school is a bit shabby...

Liang Shixian looked at the low fences around the school and the only classroom that was half open to the sky. After a moment's thought, he asked in a low voice, "Ji Ruo, is this a special custom here?"

Ji Ruo was a little confused: "What kind of custom requires carrying a coffin?"

"For example, observing mourning..."

"???"

Because of Ji Ruo's train of thought, he was unable to react immediately.

You call it mourning to carry the body of your ancestors with you? That's too filial!

Ji Ruo stared at Liang Shixian blankly: "So you, class monitor, studied brain circuits when you were in college, right?"

Liang Shixian scratched his head. After he finished speaking, he also felt that something was wrong.

If this was really a local custom, these children shouldn't have been so scared.

The two spoke in low voices, but Gu Shaoxuan was not an ordinary person, and he heard everything they said.

He smiled and said, "What this friend said is actually true. I am indeed in mourning... By the way, do you need to take care of the funeral arrangements? It is better to handle such matters while one is still alive. After all, no one knows which will come first, tomorrow or an accident, right?

Make an appointment in advance so that you won’t be buried in a foreign land when the time comes.

Let me tell you, on the border of Great Xia, my funeral business is absolutely the best. No other funeral home can compare with mine!

To be honest, Ji Ruo and I have become sworn brothers. You are Ji Ruo's friends, which means you are also my friends. If you make a reservation now, I can give you a 40% discount and give you a coffin as a gift... By the way, my friend, do you prefer burial or cremation?"

As for the so-called "no one can compare with it", it is probably the only one in the entire Border Online... I have never heard of any funeral business in Border Online!

Liang Shixian stayed up all night to make courseware, and his mental state was not very good. Hearing this, he subconsciously replied: "If I can choose, I still want to be sanctified, thank you..."

"Hey! What's so good about sanctification? Burying the dead in peace has been a tradition of our Great Xia since ancient times. Sanctification is really against the rules..."

Before Gu Shaoxuan could finish his words, he was interrupted by Ji Ruo. The young man said angrily, "To be honest, I didn't agree to become sworn brothers with you yesterday!"

…

Ji Ruo pulled Gu Shaoxuan aside and asked in a low voice, "What are you doing here?"

Although I am not very familiar with Gu Shaoxuan, based on what I know about him so far, this funeral shop owner named Gu Shaoxuan may have some problems with his brain.

Gu Shaoxuan couldn't help but complain: "What do you mean I'm just joining in the fun? I really want to help you teach your children!"

Ji Ruo patiently said: "Look, it's like this, we are no longer short of teachers, all subjects have dedicated substitute teachers in charge..."

"Nonsense, you clearly still have a class that has no one teaching it."

"What class?"

"The Classical Funeral Culture of Daxia!"

"?"

Ji Ruo's face turned black. This is a lesson you are teaching yourself!

Ji Ruo said tactfully: "Do you think it is appropriate to tell your children this?"

"What's inappropriate about this? Isn't this knowledge?"

"But this knowledge is not suitable for teaching in the classroom..."

This time it was Gu Shaoxuan's turn to interrupt.

He looked at Ji Ruo and asked seriously, "Is there a distinction between noble and humble knowledge? What knowledge is not knowledge?

These things are indeed passed down from our ancestors, right? We can’t stop passing them down just because everyone is yearning for sanctification, right? "

Ji Ruo was surprised. He didn't expect Gu Shaoxuan to say such a thing.

Is there no distinction between noble and humble knowledge?

Ji seemed to be thinking about something.

Because of the stereotype of Gu Shaoxuan, I have a preconceived notion that Gu Shaoxuan is not a serious person, but...

Gu Shaoxuan looked at Ji Ruo and said sincerely, "You also saw what the first reaction of those children was when they saw me. They were afraid.

People should have a reverent attitude towards death and the dead, but they should not be afraid of the dead.

Is this right? I don’t think it’s right, so I want to do something about it. Please, let me be a teacher.”

Ji Ruo hesitated for a moment.

"Answer me a question first."

"Please go ahead."

"Is this coffin you are carrying used for storage, or is it..."

"Ah, this." Gu Shaoxuan smiled and said, "Didn't I tell you that I'm in mourning?"

He took down the coffin behind him and carefully opened the coffin lid in front of Ji Ruo.

A glimmer of golden light entered the eyes.

"This is..."

Gu Shaoxuan shrugged: "As you can see, a holy statue."

"The icon..."

Ji Ruo opened his mouth in surprise.

The statue in the coffin was emaciated and twisted, lacking the majesty of other statues, and was only one-third the size of a normal statue.

His expression was extremely ferocious, and there seemed to be some remnant of fear.

It was as if something horrible happened to him when he died.

"This is my brother." Gu Shaoxuan looked at the statue in the coffin, and his tone suddenly became unusually gentle: "He, obviously not very courageous, but he insisted on learning the bravery of others. Back then..."

Gu Shaoxuan's eyes showed reminiscence, but he did not continue to talk. Instead, he smiled and shook his head, saying: "Forget it, it's all old stories, so I won't tell you anymore."

After thinking for a while, Ji Ruo asked, "Why do you always bring him with you?"

Gu Shaoxuan was silent for a moment, then said, "Before he died, he told me to live well. He said that it was a pity that he had not had the chance to see the beautiful mountains and rivers of Daxia. He asked me to live so that I could see them for him... How could I see so many beautiful scenes by myself? So I took him with me. If he wanted to see them, he could go and see them by himself, even though he can't see them now."

Ji Ruo looked down at the emaciated golden statue in the coffin and suddenly asked, "Have you prepared your lessons?"

"Um?"

Ji Ruo looked at Gu Shaoxuan and said seriously, "How are you going to attend the class without any preparation? We don't have any textbooks for this subject."

Gu Shaoxuan was stunned for a moment, then he was overjoyed: "You agreed?"

"That's right. I'm just a substitute teacher. What's the use of my agreement? I'm not the principal." Ji Ruo rolled his eyes and said, "You can go to class if you want, but I have to tell you in advance that you are not allowed to tell horror stories to the children during class! They are still young and horror stories can easily scare them."

"Haha, don't worry!" Gu Shaoxuan put the coffin on his back again and said, "I knew you would agree to me, because we are the same kind of people."

Ji Ruo was puzzled: "I am the same person as you? How did you know?"

Gu Shaoxuan smiled mysteriously and said, "Well, you also believe that the world after death exists, right? The dead soul steps into the underworld, walks across the Naihe Bridge, drinks Mengpo soup, and reincarnates again..."

Ji Ruo frowned: "Isn't that feudal superstition?"

Gu Shaoxuan Chongji Ruo squeezed his eyes and said, "Superstition? Who knows? Just treat it as superstition, haha."

Afterwards, Gu Shaoxuan turned around, waved his hand, and said, "Then I'll go prepare for class. See you later."

Ji Ruo stood there in a daze for a while, and suddenly muttered unhappily: "Why does everyone like to play riddles with me now?"

…