W Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Death

Chapter 3 Death

The noodles had just come out of the pot, steaming hot, and Ling Xing couldn’t even touch the outside of the pottery bowl because it was too hot.

Thinking about how Shen Hui had directly brought it over barehanded before, Ling Xing couldn’t help but marvel at how heat-resistant this person was.

After blowing on it for a while, Ling Xing finally put the noodles in his mouth.

It was still scalding hot, so he stirred the noodles around in his mouth before swallowing.

Although Ling Xing had transmigrated, after merging with the body, he could experience all the senses and perceptions.

Right now, he was really hungry, to the point where he couldn’t wait for the noodles to cool down any further.

The noodles were chewy and full of wheat flavor.

The broth wasn’t particularly outstanding, just seasoned with a little salt. But for someone who had been hungry for so long, it was already a rare delicacy.

Ling Xing slurped it down quickly, not even leaving a drop of the broth, finally feeling a little full.

After eating, he burrowed back into the quilt, otherwise he would freeze to death.

Especially his feet, which were wearing a pair of broken straw sandals. In this cold weather, they were not only not warm but also pricked and hurt his feet.

Fortunately, the noodles were warm, and he felt some heat in his stomach.

After Ling Xing’s hands and feet regained some feeling, Xu Youfang came in, followed by a thin young boy.

The boy’s eyebrows and eyes were full of rebelliousness, but his features were very delicate. A gray band was tied around his forehead, neatly holding back his hair.

When he saw Ling Xing, the boy’s watery eyes were filled with curiosity, staring at Ling Xing incessantly. Then he raised an eyebrow, “You’re my brother’s husband?”

Ling Xing sat up, accepting this new title in just a few seconds.

“Yes, are you Shen Lai?”

“You know me?” Shen Lai was a little surprised.

Ling Xing: “Your eldest brother told me about the people in the family.”

As soon as these words came out, not only Shen Lai but also Xu Youfang was a little surprised. They didn’t expect Shen Hai to tell Ling Xing these things.

They thought Shen Hai wouldn’t pay attention to Ling Xing.

When they first talked about marrying someone into the family for a “Wedding to Ward Off Evil”, Shen Hai was against it.

The child didn’t agree, so the matter was going to be put on hold. Who knew they would meet Ling Xing, who had fled from the disaster, wanting nothing but a meal and help in finding his younger brother.

The Shen family elders couldn’t resist, so they finally decided to marry someone into the family for a “Wedding to Ward Off Evil”.

In fact, they knew in their hearts that it wouldn’t work.

But if they didn’t do it, they would definitely regret it later. They would constantly think, what if they had tried the “Wedding to Ward Off Evil”? Maybe their eldest son would have lived.

Even if he didn’t live, at least he got married, didn’t he?

When he got down to the underworld, he wouldn’t be alone.

Xu Youfang felt that her eldest son should like the “Ge’er” (a third gender in the ancient society) she had found for him, otherwise he wouldn’t have told him about the people and things in the family when he was so ill that he couldn’t speak.

With this thought, Xu Youfang was also happy in her heart, and her love for Ling Xing deepened a little.

She hoped that Ling Xing would become her son’s attachment, because with attachment, people would want to live more.

Because Ling Xing was weak and Shen Hai’s body was even worse, Xu Youfang and Shen Lai didn’t stay long and left.

They didn’t even say a few words.

Perhaps the merging of the body and soul required energy because Ling Xing slept all day the next day.

During that time, Shen Lai ran over to test his breathing several times. Knowing that he was still breathing, the Shen family breathed a sigh of relief.

In the evening, Ling Xing was called up by Shen Hai to eat, still noodles.

This time, his head was dizzy, so he ate directly on the bed.

After eating, he fell asleep again.

On the third day, Ling Xing, who was sleeping soundly, seemed to sense something and suddenly opened his eyes.

He turned his head to look at Shen Hai, whose face was rosy, smiling at him.

“I’m really sorry for marrying you but not being able to fulfill my duties as a husband. Don’t take me to heart. If you meet someone you love in the future, go find your own destiny.”

As Shen Hai spoke, he stuffed something into Ling Xing’s hand, then leaned against the head of the bed and slowly closed his eyes.

Ling Xing was so frightened that he didn’t know where the strength came from. While still dazed, he scrambled up and tested Shen Hai’s breath.

Just then, Xu Youfang lifted the door curtain and came in to bring medicine. Seeing the scene on the bed, her eyes turned red in an instant.

“Son!”

The sound of the suona horn rose again.

Three days ago, it was joyous music; three days later, it was mournful music.

The weather was very cold, and the soil was frozen, making digging a grave a lot of work.

Fortunately, the Shen family had Shen Hui, who was incredibly strong and finally caught up with Shen Hai’s burial day after digging for several days.

Ling Xing passed out directly after Shen Hai’s death.

He couldn’t open his eyes, but he could hear the sounds outside.

Ling Xing knew that this was the final stage of body fusion. But others didn’t know and thought he was heartbroken by Shen Hai’s death.

The Shen family knew about Shen Hai’s body and had been prepared for this day.

They had done everything they could, but the heavens still wouldn’t let Shen Hai live. The Shen family accepted it.

But Ling Xing couldn’t have anything happen to him.

In his son’s last words, he said that they should treat Ling Xing well.

The Shen family was busy with Shen Hai’s funeral and also had to worry about Ling Xing’s body. They took the last of their copper coins and invited the barefoot doctor from the neighboring village.

The doctor couldn’t find anything wrong and only said that he was suffering from emotional distress and needed to rest well. He prescribed another dose of medicine, which exhausted the Shen family’s last copper coin.

Ling Xing was fed bitter Chinese medicine every day. No matter who fed him, all he heard was sighing and pleading for him to wake up quickly.

He also wanted to open his eyes, but he couldn’t.

He didn’t know how many times the medicine had been boiled repeatedly; in the following days, it had almost no medicinal taste.

Ling Xing felt that his tongue was saved.

The day after Shen Hai’s burial, Ling Xing finally woke up.

Besides Xu Youfang, there were also several aunts sitting in the room, all holding Xu Youfang’s hand, comforting her with their words.

“Old Shen’s wife, don’t worry too much. Your eldest son’s wife is in love with your eldest son, so he can’t stand the shock of his death and fell into this coma.”

“Yes, although he was married in for a “Wedding to Ward Off Evil”, who can say for sure about people’s feelings? This “Ge’er” is affectionate. Your eldest son in heaven will definitely bless him with peace.”

“That’s right. Didn’t you also say that your eldest son told you to take good care of his husband? Don’t worry, if this kid says that, he definitely won’t want anything to happen to his husband. Maybe he’ll wake up in a moment.”

After the aunt finished speaking, she glanced at the bed subconsciously and found that the person in a coma on the bed was slowly opening his eyes.

She slapped her thigh, her expression surprised, “Hey! The eldest son is showing his spirit! His husband is awake!”

This time when he woke up, Ling Xing could feel that his soul had completely merged with his body.

Because of Ling Xing’s awakening, the Shen family’s worries dissipated somewhat.

Xu Youfang sent the aunts away and went to the kitchen to make food for Ling Xing.

It was still noodles, and Ling Xing ate three bowls in one go before recovering.

“Is there still anything uncomfortable?” Xu Youfang asked him worriedly, holding Ling Xing’s empty bowl.

Ling Xing shook his head, “No, I made mother worry.”

Ling Xing called out “mother” without any pressure.

He had indeed entered the Shen family’s door and would live in the Shen family in the future. It would be inappropriate to call her anything else.

He couldn’t let a small title make life difficult in the future.

Xu Youfang secretly breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Ling Xing say that he wasn’t uncomfortable.

She was also happy in her heart because of that “mother”, which meant that this “Ge’er” was temporarily going to be a widow for her son.

That was also good; otherwise, her son would be too miserable if his husband became someone else’s as soon as he left.

“Eldest son left some things for you, mother put it under the pillow.”

After Xu Youfang said that, she left the room.

Borrowing the dim candlelight, Ling Xing took out a few things from under the pillow.

A polished and carved wooden bracelet, a slightly worn brocade hairband, and a hollow silver hairpin.

The hairpin was very light; most likely, the outside was just a layer of silver plating, not worth much money.

This was the best that Shen Hai could leave for Ling Xing.

When he was in a coma, Ling Xing heard the Shen family mention the contents of Shen Hai’s last words.

There wasn’t anything special, just Shen Hai’s deep guilt towards his family and entrusting his family to take care of him.

What a gentle and kind person.

Ling Xing put away the things, feeling a little melancholy in his heart.

If Shen Hai’s body was in good health, he would definitely be a gentle and refined gentleman.

In the middle of the night, Ling Xing was awakened by the sound of crying outside.

The large leather coat that Shen Hai had been covered with was now on him. It must be that there was no charcoal basin in the room, and the Shen family saw that he was asleep and was afraid that he would be cold, so they brought it in to cover him.

The weather was really cold, and Ling Xing didn’t feel anything about the coat having been worn by a dead person; warmth was the most important thing now.

He put on the large coat, wrapping himself tightly, and went to find the source of the crying.

Groping his way to the door curtain, he stopped, and a lowered voice came from outside.

“Mother, I’m hungry.”

Shen Lai said with a sob, crying to his mother.

Xu Youfang sighed, “Mother will boil some hot water for you.”

“I don’t want to drink hot water, I want to eat noodles, sob sob sob sob.”

Shen Lai wiped away his tears, crying heartbrokenly, “Mother, you said that those noodles were saved for me to make longevity noodles for my birthday. I went to look today, and there’s nothing left in the jar.”

When Xu Youfang heard her child’s words, her heart also ached.

This child wasn’t like the others, who had enjoyed some blessings. Only he was born in Xiao Liucun, when the family was already struggling to make ends meet, splitting a penny into several pieces to spend.

The only thing they could give him was a bowl of longevity noodles made with finely ground noodles every year for his birthday.

But this year was really special. Eldest son’s husband went through the gates of hell, and it was hard for him to wake up. They couldn’t have him eating wheat bran with him.

That stuff scratched your throat and was hard to swallow, and eating too much of it wasn’t good for your body.

Those who were weak shouldn’t eat these things. After thinking about what the family could eat, it was just that little bit of finely ground flour.

She was also afraid, afraid that her eldest son’s husband would follow her son’s path.

The family didn’t have anything else to nourish him, so this was the only thing that could nourish his body. How could she not take it?

After all, it was their Shen family who wanted someone to come for a “Wedding to Ward Off Evil”. They couldn’t marry someone into the door and then not care about their life or death.

“When spring comes, mother will take on more embroidery work, and I’ll buy you malt sugar to eat, okay?”

Xu Youfang had no way to conjure up flour, so she could only negotiate with Shen Lai.

Shen Lai also knew that the flour was for nourishing his eldest brother’s husband. He didn’t want to make a fuss either, but he was really too hungry.

When he was hungry, his head became uncontrollable, and he just wanted to cry and wanted to eat.

Hearing that he could have malt sugar to eat when spring came, Shen Lai could only pout and nod. He was hungry, but he wanted to eat sugar.

“Okay, then mother can’t lie to me again.”

Shen Lai said aggrievedly, and Xu Youfang swore to the heavens that she wouldn’t.

Hearing this, Ling Xing, behind the door curtain, felt bad because he had eaten all the flour that was supposed to be eaten during the child’s birthday, but the crying outside hadn’t completely stopped.

Shen Lai said softly at the end, “Mother, I miss eldest brother.”

Those soft words brought tears to Xu Youfang’s face.