Chapter 1: The Coffin Awakens 1
◎ Should I repay a life-saving favor with my own body? ◎
"Crash"
“Crash——”
Under the night sky when the stars and the moon disappeared, the sky and the earth were pitch black.
There was no sound of insects or birds in the wilderness, only the creepy sound of iron chains coming from the dark fog.
Two passers-by on the hillside suddenly felt a chill rising from under their feet. They squatted behind the bushes, holding their breath and looking down.
The thick fog spread forward and formed a contour, and groups of dark shadows appeared.
"Wow! Hundreds of ghosts are dancing to clear the way, the Black and White Impermanence are carrying banners, and the Ox-Headed and Horse-Faced Ghosts are pulling the cart! Who is in that coffin? Why is there such a grand ceremony?"
"Look at your limited knowledge! Is that amazing? The one holding the coffin is the Six Cases Gongcao! Did you see that old woman? The old lady from the Samsara Division is the Meng Po in the eyes of the world!"
"Wow! Aren't the dozen or so people behind them even more powerful?"
"Of course not! The first ten are the legendary Ten Kings of Hell, and the last nine are the Five Ghost Emperors!"
"Why are there nine Five Ghost Emperors?"
"Except for the Ghost Emperor of the South, there are two Ghost Emperors in the East, West, North, and Center."
"Well! The big shots from the underworld have all gathered! Then the person in this coffin could be..."
Before he could finish his words, a huge force came crashing down like a mountain! In an instant, one of them turned into a carp, and the other turned into a fat porcupine. They lay dryly under the bushes, unable to move or make a sound.
The ling carp relied on its hard armor to withstand the pressure and turned its head with difficulty to look.
I don't know when the top of the mountain was filled with people. The man in the lead was wearing white clothes and white hair, and he seemed to have absorbed all the bright light under the night sky. He looked at the funeral procession, bowed and nodded slightly, and remained motionless for a long time, as if he was frozen in place.
Only after the funeral procession completely disappeared did those people stand up and leave.
As they left, the pressure on the carp and porcupine suddenly disappeared and they turned into human form again.
The porcupine clenched his huge fist and howled angrily: "Who is it? Get out of here..."
Lingli covered his mouth with his hand and scolded him in a low voice: "Shut your mouth! You don't want to live anymore, but I haven't lived enough!"
Seeing that his scales were about to explode with nervousness, the porcupine asked anxiously, "Then, who is it?"
Lingli glanced at the top of the mountain again, and confirmed that there was really no one there, then he whispered: "Who could just move his fingers and make my eight hundred years of cultivation powerless to resist? The king of the demon world!"
"Demon Lord Bai Chen?"
The porcupine was shocked and asked in confusion, "But aren't our demon king and the one from the underworld sworn enemies? Now that the Lord of the Underworld has passed away, why is he bringing all the demons to pay their respects and send him off?"
Dace was not sure either, so he shrugged and said, "Who knows! Did you kill for feelings?"
*
The round moon is like a disk, and the moonlight is like silver water, scattered in every corner of this small fishing village by the sea.
There are three blue brick houses in the simple fenced courtyard.
In the center of the main hall stood an eight-immortals low table, on which were placed several rough pottery bowls. The largest ceramic bowl in the middle contains steamed salted fish, and the bowls next to it contain fried whitebait with shredded mustard greens, pickled radish tops, and mixed radish strips.
The east wing was shorter than the main room, but the aroma of food still wafted through the half-open window and into Yan Yue's nose, waking her up from her sleep.
Since being rescued from the sea by this fisherman yesterday evening, she has been eating and sleeping, and sleeping and eating. Now that she had recovered most of her strength, she couldn't wait for someone to bring the meal to her, so she forced herself to climb out of bed.
Yan Yue guessed that she was sick.
I was so tired that I was sweating just after changing clothes in the morning. I slept for most of the day, but I was still very tired. But she felt that she should be more diligent so that she could shamelessly ask others to keep her for a few more days.
The west wing is even lower than the east wing. You can clearly see the smoke rising from the chimney. Before you reach the kitchen door, you can hear the crackling sound of firewood exploding inside.
Yan Yue couldn't help but curl the corners of her mouth. It seemed that Aunt Li had made a lot of delicious food!
She was a kind and welcoming woman. When she woke up in the morning, Aunt Li saw that she was not talkative, so she told her some rumors and anecdotes about the small fishing village.
After only one day in the small fishing village, Yan Yue knew which season was suitable for catching which kind of seafood; he also learned that this was the place closest to "the underworld" as rumored; he even ate the big melon that a fifty-year-old man named Zhao visited a widow's house at night and had a basin of urine poured on him by the widow!
However, before Yan Yue could fully smile, she heard Li's mother lower her voice again.
"Did you hear that? You must tell me later!"
"Mom, I'm still sick! If I bring it up now, it'll seem like I'm threatening me, and I'm sure I won't be happy!"
"You know nothing! You should tell her now while she's still not well! Women are the softest when they're sick. If you don't take this opportunity to marry her, when she's well and recovered, where can you find such a pretty wife?"
Yan Yue: Who? ? ? Me? ? ?
"But you have also seen her clothes. Such thin and smooth material is something I have never seen in my life! In my opinion, even the clothes of our county magistrate are not as good as hers! Miss Yan must be the daughter of a wealthy family, maybe even a royal relative! How could anyone like me when our family is so poor?"
"So what if she's poor? How can a girl like her from a wealthy family understand these things at such a young age? You can just say some sweet and cloying words to make her happy, and then everything will be fine!"
"If she doesn't respond..."
Mother Li lowered her voice even lower and continued: "Just take her while she's sick!"
"Ah? How can that be possible? If she reports it to the police, it will be over!"
"No! She is alone and her origin is unknown. She doesn't even have a badge or a letter. How can she report to the authorities? Besides, this woman's body is yours, so her heart is naturally yours too!"
Li Tiezhu's voice was a little hesitant: "Is this possible..."
Mother Li said firmly, "Just believe me! You are her savior now. It's all said in the book that the life-saving grace should be repaid with one's life. You should do me a favor! I picked the biggest salted fish to steam today, and I also have this pot of shepherd's purse dumplings. Don't waste my preparations for you!"
"Hey! I'll listen to my mother!" Li Tiezhu's voice was filled with uncontrollable joy.
Only then was Li's mother satisfied. She reminded him again, "You should go to the county government office frequently to inquire about the news in the near future. Who knows, her family might come to find you in a few days. By then, you two will have made a fait accompli. Her family will have to recognize you even if they don't want to! Then, I will live a luxurious life with you..."
The sky is falling!
Just came back to life and fell into the tiger's hole!
Yan Yue was wailing in her heart, the smile on her face had already collapsed. When she heard someone inside say "it's time to uncover the pot", she quickly retreated back into the house.
A moment later, Li's mother knocked on her door, "Miss Yan, are you awake?"
Yan Yue adjusted her expression and replied anxiously, "Wake up, wake up."
Mother Li pushed the door open and came in, saying in a very intimate way, "Hey, why are you sitting up?"
Yan Yue pretended to be embarrassed and said, "Auntie Li, I was thinking about bothering you these past two days and I should help you with some chores. But my body is not doing well..."
"Oh! Don't be so polite, just treat yourself like you're at home!"
Mother Li helped her up and asked kindly, "Are you hungry? My husband Zhuzi asked me to make you some good food to nourish your body, so I went to dig up some wild vegetables. I wasted time without paying attention..."
As she spoke, she stepped out of the room and winked at Li Tiezhu: "Zhuzi, come here quickly and help Miss Yan! Mother will bring out the wild vegetable soup!"
Li Tiezhu hurried over to Yan Yue and clumsily took Yan Yue from her mother's hands, "Miss Yan, let me help you."
Yan Yue forced a smile, his mind racing as he pondered over a countermeasure.
Mother Li walked out of the kitchen carrying wild vegetable soup and smiled exaggeratedly at the two of them: "Oh my! Look! The coarse cloth clothes I wore when I was young look so good on you! You look so handsome, and you are a perfect match for my Zhuzi! If you don't know, you two would think you are a newlywed couple!"
Yan Yue glanced at the thin Li Tiezhu beside her. He was not even as tall as her and had shiny dark skin. She thought to herself: ...Am I that bad?
But she didn't dare say it out loud and just put on a shy smile.
Yan Yue sat down, and Li's mother picked up a vegetable dumpling for her and said, "Try it! It's in season now, and the shepherd's purse is very fresh! I also added some lard residue, it's so fragrant!"
Yan Yue bit open the corn husk of the vegetable dumpling, and the aroma of corn was immediately replaced by the fragrance of shepherd's purse. The shepherd's purse absorbed the oil residue, and the fragrance was oily, it was so fragrant!
Her eyes rolled and she had an idea in her mind: let them let down their guard first, take care of their health, and it will not be too late to escape later!
"This is so delicious! Auntie, your cooking skills are amazing! I think you can just open a restaurant, it will definitely squeeze out other restaurants!"
Aunt Li was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling: "How can you talk nonsense, kid? I'm just an old woman, trying to make a living for my family. How can I be as capable as the chef in the restaurant?"
As she spoke, she picked up another piece of salted fish with chopsticks and handed it to Yan Yue, "This salted fish was specially selected by Zhuzi, the meat is very thick! Try the fish belly meat, it's so fat!"
Sure enough, it tasted slightly salty at first, and then the unique aroma of sea fish overflowed. It was so delicious that Yan Yue squinted her eyes.
"Brother Zhuzi, you are so kind to me..."
Li Tiezhu scratched his head and smiled: "You, don't be polite to me..."
Yan Yue said apologetically, "I'm so sorry to have made you spend so much money..."
Li's mother winked at him frantically. Li Tiezhu understood what his mother meant and asked hesitantly, "Well, I wonder if you are married, young lady?"
Mother Li was so angry that her throat was choked with anger. She hated her son for being so stupid to ask the question directly!
Sure enough, Yan Yue’s happy expression collapsed in an instant and she fell silent.
Li's mother was thinking about how to help her son, but she heard Yan Yue speak again, her voice was sad and cold.
"If you want to talk about marriage, then it does exist."
"But it's a ghost marriage."
Li's mother swallowed back the words that were about to come out of her mouth. Li Tiezhu was even more confused: "Ghost, ghost marriage?"
Yan Yue stared at the white fish eyes in the ceramic bowl, feeling equally gloomy.
"In order to help my brother find a wife, my parents promised me to a young man from a wealthy family who had just passed away. I woke up in a coffin, and I jumped into the water to escape by clinging to the coffin lid, and was then saved by Brother Zhuzi..."
Mother Li glanced at her son with a serious expression, and muttered in a low voice: "No wonder a girl wears a black dress..."
Seeing the two hesitate, Yan Yue grabbed Li Tiezhu's wrist and begged, "Brother Zhuzi, please don't send me back. I can wash clothes, cook, chop wood and feed pigs. I can also learn fishing from you! I can do everything. Please, brother Zhuzi and aunt, keep me!"
Li Tiezhu blushed, patted her hands and said, "Don't be afraid, just stay here peacefully."
Mother Li was a little hesitant: "Even if it is a ghost marriage, I think the gift must have been given. What if the other party comes to visit us later?"
Li Tiezhu was a little anxious: "Mom! She will die if she goes back this time!"
"Okay!" Li's mother saw her son's anxiety and had to give in: "Let Miss Yan live here in peace and take care of herself first."
Yan Yue took a bite of the vegetable dumpling gratefully, then picked up a piece of salted fish and said vaguely: "Thank you, Auntie, thank you, Brother Zhuzi! Sorry to have caused you trouble..."
Seeing Yan Yue holding vegetable dumplings in his left hand and salted fish, stewed fish, and radish slices in his right hand, and clearing out all the "sumptuous" dishes on the table, Li's mother was stunned and felt a dull pain in her heart.
After Yan Yue had eaten and drunk her fill, Li Tiezhu considerately helped her back to the east wing and said, "Your appetite has recovered today. I think you'll be well again in a few days..."
When Li Tiezhu came out of the room, his mother was banging the bowls in the wooden basin to express her dissatisfaction.
"Oh, mom! Please be gentle, the bowl is about to break!" Li Tiezhu hurriedly took it over without noticing his mother's emotions at all.
Mother Li poked her son's forehead with her wet fingers and said angrily, "Are you out of your mind? She's been betrothed to someone else, so she has someone else! Why are you still worshipping her like this?"
Li Tiezhu retorted: "It was a ghost marriage! The other party is dead, how can it be considered as having an owner?"
Li's mother said angrily, "The ghost marriage also counts! If someone comes to her house, she has to go with him obediently! She can't choose not to go, and you can't let her go!"
Li Tiezhu refused: "Mom, I just want her! If she is caught, she will die. You are so capable, please help her!"
Mother Li wiped the dirty water off her hands with a sackcloth, raised her eyelids and warned Li Tiezhu: "Mom can help you, but remember, from now on, I am the one who has the final say in this family! Don't even think about her waiting for the meal to be ready and eating directly, wiping her mouth and leaving after finishing her meal like she did today!"
Li Tiezhu smiled smugly and defended Yan Yue in a weak voice: "She hasn't recovered yet! When she is well again in two days, you won't have to worry about her anymore! In the future, we will do our best to honor you and let you enjoy happiness!"
Li's mother's expression finally eased, and Li Tiezhu asked, "Mom, what solution have you come up with?"
Mother Li said with some pride: "This may seem difficult, but it is actually simple. As long as she doesn't dare to run away, we can tell others that she is my distant relative and came to us because her family died. You two can just stay at home and raise children. No one can interfere! After a few years, when the storm has passed, we can get her a citizenship!"
Li Tiezhu's eyes lit up: "Yes! Mother still has a way! We are in a remote fishing village, they may not be able to find her even if they look for her. We can hide her at home, no one will know!"
Mother Li nodded with satisfaction: "Before, I was worried that she would be unhappy and would think of running away. Now she is afraid that we should send her back, which makes us worry less!"
Li Tiezhu held his mother in his arms and said, "Isn't it? If we go back, we'll die! You're really smart, mother!"
"Stop coaxing me!"
Li's mother glared at her son again and said bluntly, "Pay attention to yourself! Don't be fooled by her good looks. You believe everything she says! She even washes clothes and cooks. Look at her hands. They are white and delicate without any calluses. How can she look like a worker?"
"She is desperate now, but she may not really like you! You have to teach her a lesson so that she will be completely devoted to you and dare not have any other thoughts!"
"Yes, yes, mother is right..."
"If you dare to marry a wife and forget about me, I will tell the head of the village and have the government arrest her and send her back!"
"Look at what you said. How dare my son..."
【Author’s words】
Yan Yue: I just survived and fell into the tiger's mouth. I will really be grateful [cracked]
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