The story of Rose starts with being a brother

Chapter 536 Heavenly Palace on the Clouds (Part Two) Zhang Wei's Wedding (Part 2)
The death of that tuberculosis-ridden bastard from the Liu family caught my father and me completely off guard.

Actually, I think it's fine. His family is having his own funeral, and my family is having my own wedding. There's a term called "chong xi" (冲喜), which means to bring good luck to someone.
Someone died in the village, so my wedding can bring good luck to the village.

But my father frowned.

He walked around the yard a few times with his hands behind his back, then stubbed out the cigarette in his mouth and stepped out the door.

Watching his retreating figure, I guessed he was probably going to visit Liu Laohan's house.

After all, he's from the same village.

However, I had heard before that the relationship between Liu Laohan's family and my family was not particularly good. Apparently, Liu Laohan's wife had been gossiping a lot after something happened to my family.

Although things like what happened to my family back then would inevitably become gossip in the nearby villages, people usually only talked about it in private. But Liu Laohan's wife, like a gossipy old woman, kept talking about it at the village entrance.

The promotion of my father Zhang Laoshuan's name wouldn't have been possible without her help.

However, ever since Liu Laohan became a tuberculosis patient, his wife no longer had the energy to be a gossip, and she also got a taste of what it felt like to be talked about by others.

As far as I know, some people in the village are betting on when her tuberculosis-ridden son will die!

However, all of that is in the past. In rural areas, every family has its share of gossip. Now that Old Liu is dead, it's like a light going out. Even if my family wasn't particularly close to theirs, now that they've had a funeral, we should still go and see if there's anything we can do to help.

After all, there's a saying: "For weddings, people don't get invited; for funerals, people show up uninvited."

After hesitating for a while, I got up, went out the door, and headed towards the Liu family's house.

What I didn't expect was that before I even reached Liu Laohan's house at the west end of the village, I saw my father walking back with a long face.

"Dad, what's wrong?" I quickly went up to ask.

When my father saw me, he forced a smile on his weathered face and said, "It's nothing, I just went to Old Liu's house to see if we need any help."

"Really?" This sounded obviously unbelievable. "Why was I treated like I was kicked out when I went to help? Do our families have such a deep grudge?"

Hearing my words, my father was silent for a while, then took out a cigarette, lit it, took a puff, and sighed, "I just went to ask them when to bury Liu Laohan."

He paused, then looked at me and said, "Three days later."

I nodded. The funeral was held at the same time as my wedding. Although I felt a little uncomfortable, I didn't think it was a big deal.

"It's okay, he can do his thing, I'll do mine. What era are we living in? There's no need for so many formalities."

I offered a word of comfort, but my father's expression remained grim. He hesitated, but ultimately refrained from saying anything unpleasant.

He had just wanted to discuss with Liu Laohan's wife whether the burial could be postponed, but he was kicked out as soon as he said it.

He knew that the timing of these funerals was chosen by the master and couldn't be changed so easily. He just wanted to try, but it was no use.

"That's true, it's not like we haven't had weddings and funerals held together in the village before."

My father nodded and said no more.

……

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and soon it was the eighth day of the eighth lunar month.

It drizzled in the early morning, but stopped by dawn.

I got up early and, with the help of the makeup artist, got myself ready. I changed into a brand new suit, put a red flower on my chest, and led the wedding procession to pick up Jian Ning as soon as it was light.

But as soon as I stepped outside, I heard the sounds of funeral music and drumming from the west, and I couldn't help but frown.

These past three days, the village has been a mix of joy and sorrow. My neighborhood is filled with celebratory sounds, while the Liu family's side is filled with mourning, which is quite irritating.

But now I'm too lazy to care about these things anymore. Once I got in the wedding car, we set off to pick up the bride.

However, not long after the car set off, as it passed Aunt Chen's door, it saw the old lady move a chair and sit at the door.

It's a cloudy morning, and there's no sun at all. I don't understand what she's up to.

When my wedding car convoy arrived, Aunt Chen stared at me with those frightening eyes.

Even though I was sitting inside the car, I felt like the other person's gaze was constantly fixed on my face.

After hesitating for a moment, I signaled the driver to stop, then got out of the car and walked to Aunt Chen's side, smiling as I said, "Auntie, remember to come to my house for the feast later! It's a feast at Old Zhang's house!"

As I was speaking, I grabbed a bag of wedding candy and placed it in her hand.

Although I didn't have a good impression of her, I could tell that she was respected in the village, and I also wanted to prove to her that what she said when she came to my house before was all a lie.

When Aunt Chen heard my invitation, she forced a smile like a snake opening its mouth, just like before, but then shook her head and said, "I can't walk anymore, I can't walk anymore."

Then she took out a plastic bag from her pocket, opened it, and handed me a red envelope.

"No, no, Auntie, it should be me giving you the red envelope!"

While I was declining, I took out a red envelope that I had prepared in advance and stuffed it into his hand.

To my surprise, this eighty-year-old woman was incredibly nimble. After brushing aside my hand that was offering her a red envelope, she slipped the envelope she had prepared into the breast pocket of my suit jacket.

“Take good care of him, he only has one son.”

After putting the red envelope away, Aunt Chen said something strange to me.

However, I was still in shock at the moment when the other person pushed my hand away. When I came to my senses, I saw that Aunt Chen had already picked up the chair and returned to the yard, and then closed the door.

I never imagined that this eighty-year-old woman with a face full of wrinkles would have such a smooth hand when she brushed it away from mine, and her hand was so cold, it felt like a snake slipping through my hand.

The thought sent a chill down my spine.

But the shouts of the wedding procession behind me quickly dispelled that feeling, and I realized I was just scaring myself.

After getting back into the car, the convoy continued on its way. I sat in the passenger seat, took out the red envelope from my chest, squeezed it, and found it to be quite thin, probably containing only a hundred or two hundred yuan.

This is a normal amount for social obligations in the countryside nowadays, but I was quite touched that Aunt Chen, an elderly woman living alone, gave me such a red envelope.

After thinking for a while, I didn't open the red envelope and put it back in my breast pocket.

If Aunt Chen can't make it when the banquet starts, I'll pack up some extra food and send it to her.

The sky remained overcast, but the convoy proceeded in an orderly fashion.

However, when they got to the middle of the mountain road, they ran into trouble. There was no cement road built on the mountain yet. The road was usually fairly smooth enough for one car to pass, but after last night's rain, it became muddy and the car couldn't get through.

Sigh, wedding dates are set well in advance, and nobody knows what the weather will be like on the day.

Finally, having no other choice, I called my father-in-law's family to discuss the matter, and then I had to get out of the car and walk with the wedding procession.

Fortunately, this mountain road is not long, and once it's past this section, you'll reach Jian Ning's village.

Most of the wedding party members were relatives and friends from the village, and the musicians they hired were quite professional. The procession proceeded in a cheerful and lively manner.

The mountain road is bordered by a mountain on one side and a cliff on the other, but it looks quite wide because of the lush vegetation along the roadside.

The terrain of Northeast China is characterized by mountains on three sides and plains in the middle, but the main population activity is concentrated on the plains, while my hometown and the surrounding villages are basically located in mountainous areas.

The mountains here belong to the Changbai Mountains, but they are not part of the core tourist area. They are just an extension of the mountain range, and can only be considered relatively high hills.

The saying goes, "Those who live near the mountains live off the mountains, and those who live near the water live off the water." I heard my father say that in the past, when the economy was difficult, the villagers survived by relying on the mountains for sustenance.

So the mountain we are walking on now is of great significance to us and even to several nearby villages. Moreover, my father told me that there is an ancient general's tomb in this mountain. Back when the country was still under construction, some tomb raiders would sneak over there.

However, most of those people returned empty-handed, and only a few won the prize—they died in the mountains.

After all, the further you go in, the more snakes and insects you'll find, and there are even rumors that there are tigers and bears.

That's just something to scare those disobedient kids. Although we live in a mountainous area, it's not some deep, remote forest. Wild animals would probably starve to death here.

Moreover, the people here have lived here for so long, they know better than anyone whether there are tigers or bears, at most wild boars.

The road beneath my feet has been walked on countless times, and it is said that it will soon be renovated into a cement road.

Rural infrastructure is also constantly improving.

However, I don't know if it's because of the rain, but the mountains are a bit foggy today. It's not yet the time for frost and fog in August.

But in the atmosphere of the wedding procession, the strange feelings that had just surfaced in my mind were quickly dispelled, and all I wanted to do was to pick up Jian Ning as soon as possible.

The journey was uneventful. After crossing the mountain road, we soon arrived at Jian Ning's village, where they were also decorated with lanterns and firecrackers. Finally, we arrived at Jian Ning's house.

After a while of commotion over there, and once most of the red envelopes and wedding candies had been distributed, I finally got to meet the bride.

Although people around the world are now more integrated, in terms of weddings, apart from brides in cities wearing white wedding dresses, brides in the countryside still mainly wear red wedding gowns.

After all, in our country, red is the color for celebrations.

Jian Ning had also finished her makeup, her hair was styled in a bun with an exquisite hairpin, and her red Xiuhe wedding dress made her look dignified, elegant, and beautiful.

But there was a problem on the way back. Our cars were parked on the other side of the mountain, and we couldn't get across the muddy mountain road, so we couldn't pick up the bride directly.

In our area, there's a wedding custom that the bride's feet shouldn't touch the ground on the way to the groom's house, so as not to take away the good fortune of her family.

As for these folk customs, well... I won't argue with the older generation about this on such a joyous occasion.

But the wedding car can't get through now, so even if I carry Jian Ning on my back, I can't carry her that far!

Fortunately, my father-in-law's family had already made preparations when I called to explain the situation. They brought in a batch of red carpets to lay on the road. If there weren't enough red carpets, they used red cloth. If that wasn't enough, they moved the red carpets that had been walked on from behind to the front and laid them under Jian Ning's feet.

Although it was a bit complicated, we eventually made our way out of the village and onto the mountain road.

It's impractical to lay out a red carpet at this point; the ground is muddy and the road conditions are poor, so a red carpet can't be laid out.

So now it's time for me to show my manly prowess. I'm going to carry Jian Ning across this mountain path.

Jian Ning is slender and not heavy. Although I am a lawyer who writes, I am still a young man in my twenties, and I have the strength and confidence to do so.

Besides, I was carrying Jian Ning on my back. Her body was fragrant and soft, and leaning against my back made me feel like I was on steroids, full of energy.

"Honey, you can do it! Honey, you can do it..."

"..."

What else is there to say?

Just memorize it!

Hearing Jian Ning's encouraging voice in my ear, I wished I could just carry her all the way home! So, amidst the music and cheers of the wedding procession, I carried my bride Jian Ning up the mountain path.

To be honest, amidst this lively atmosphere and Jian Ning's encouraging words, I didn't feel tired at all.

However, just as they reached the narrowest section of the mountain path, clinging to the edge of a cliff, a sound of wind and percussion drifted from the other side of the mountain, shrouded in a light mist.

It wasn't the joyous sound of the suona, but rather the mournful sounds of the suona and gongs, along with heart-wrenching wails.

A funeral procession appeared.

Everyone was dressed in white, wearing mourning caps, scattering paper money and holding wreaths. In the middle of the procession, eight guardian deities carried a black coffin.

Amidst the flying paper money, the funeral procession was heading straight towards my wedding procession.

Upon seeing this scene, both sides were stunned. The joyous and mournful music came to an abrupt halt, and only the intermittent sobs from the funeral procession remained on the entire mountain road.

I recognized Liu Laohan's funeral procession at a glance from the group of people attending the funeral across the street.

To be honest, although I was born here, I've never seen anything like this since I grew up in the city. The dark coffin in front of me was quite a shock to me.

And I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but it seems like the thin mist in the mountains has become thicker and the temperature has dropped a bit.

In August, it gets light early, so it should be bright by now. Even if it's cloudy, it shouldn't be cold.

At the same time, I don't know if it's just my imagination, but that feeling of unease from before seems to have intensified.

"It's nothing, just a coffin. I've seen plenty of them when I'm doing archaeology. It's no big deal." At that moment, Jian Ning's voice rang in my ears, and I felt much more at ease.

You're just scaring yourself!
But the two teams, one in red and one in white, are currently locked in a stalemate on this mountain road on the edge of a cliff. They need to find a solution.

In Chinese customs, when a wedding and a funeral coincide, although there are differences from place to place, the funeral usually gives way to the wedding.

Although it is said that "the deceased are the greatest," there is a saying that "the living do not rush to cross the Bridge of Helplessness, and the deceased do not contend for the Yangguan Pass." Moreover, traditionally, although the deceased are of great importance, there is an even greater concept that "of the three unfilial acts, the greatest is having no descendants." Weddings are considered major events for adding children to the family line, and are therefore more important than funerals.

In our area, when a wedding and a funeral occur, the funeral must give way to the wedding.

But seeing that the funeral procession on the other side hadn't moved for a long time, I had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, just as a fellow villager walked out of the wedding procession and was about to ask the other party to make way, Liu Laohan's wife suddenly started crying and scared him back.

Not only that, Liu Laohan's wife immediately started the funeral procession to play music and wailing again.

On this quiet mountain, such a funeral procession is quite eerie.

The person who was frightened back, along with some other members of the wedding procession, got angry. I was quite angry too. How could I lose face on such a joyous occasion? So I told my people to keep playing music and dancing.

Then, in the valley, funeral music was played on one side and joyful music on the other, which looked very eerie.

I don't know when, but a wind started blowing in the mountains, making the paper money on the ground flutter and scatter in all directions, some of it even landing on me and Jian Ning.

Seeing that the two sides were about to reach a stalemate, Jian Ning quickly whispered in my ear, "Stop arguing about this. Dad and the relatives are waiting at home."

I calmed down as soon as I heard that. Actually, I also felt that we couldn't delay any longer. That feeling of unease kept rising in my heart. I had been holding my breath and arguing with the other party.

Now that we've calmed down, we plan to have a proper discussion.

Meanwhile, in the opposite group, some people were also trying to persuade Liu Laohan's wife. After all, not only is it important to have an auspicious time for a wedding, but there are also time restrictions for their burial. Besides, they were carrying a coffin, which was much heavier than my bride.

Moreover, many of the people on both sides are from the village, and they all know each other and see each other all the time. They can't let this little thing cause a real conflict.

So I was the first to stop the wedding procession's joyful music, and Liu Laohan's wife, after her outburst, also came to her senses and stopped the funeral music.

Then the two sides began to negotiate what to do.

Although the mountain path is not very long, people on both sides had to walk quite a distance to get here. Moreover, the road conditions are not good now, and it would be troublesome to turn back.

We are going back to the village, while they are going to cross this section of the road and then go up the mountain to bury the dead.

After several minutes of negotiation, the two sides finally reached an agreement. Since their side was carrying a heavy coffin and it was difficult to turn around or pass through us, they were allowed to move to the side a little bit, while we would pass through one by one along the mountain wall.

Once the decision was made, the wedding procession formed a long line and passed by the funeral procession one after another.

Looking at that pitch-black coffin, I wasn't the only one who felt panicked; some people in the group felt the same way, especially the bridesmaids from Jian Ning's family. Their faces turned pale with fright, and their legs were trembling.

As I walked in the middle of the wedding procession, my unease grew stronger.

However, what you fear most is what happens. When a bridesmaid passed by the coffin, whether she was frightened or slippery on the muddy road, she stumbled and bumped into the coffin.

Fortunately, the eight pallbearers only swayed for a moment before regaining their balance. Before Liu Laohan's wife could start cursing, the bridesmaid kept apologizing, her voice almost trembling with tears.

Carrying a coffin is tiring enough, but walking on this muddy mountain road is even more exhausting. The eight strongmen were all flushed with exertion. The coffin couldn't be put down halfway, and they wanted to finish quickly, so they hurriedly waved for people to pass.

However, at that moment, the wind on the mountain suddenly picked up considerably, and the fog became even thicker, to the point that I couldn't even see the end of the wedding procession behind me when I turned around.

I suppressed the panic in my heart and carried Jian Ning over.

I forced myself not to look at the coffin, but the road was so narrow that I couldn't walk with my eyes closed.

The cold mountain mist inhaled into my nose, and I felt a chill run down my spine.

And Jian Ning on my back, I could feel that her hand resting on my neck was also a little cold.

Just as I passed the coffin, a strange wind blew by, and the white paper money on the coffin suddenly floated towards me.

I was startled, but before I could get away, one of the paper money was placed on my face. I quickly used one hand to try to remove the paper money that was blocking my view, but the wind was strong and the paper money stuck tightly to my face. In addition, I also had to use one hand to support Jian Ning on my back. In my panic, I lost my balance and stumbled into the coffin.

"Boom!"

With a loud crash, the already strained Eight Vajras could not withstand my impact. The front corner of the coffin slammed heavily to the ground, and then the entire coffin fell to the ground.

"Ouch!"

"The coffin fell down!"

"What a heavy fog!"

"Red and white clash, it's inauspicious!"

"..."

In an instant, the two teams, one red and one white, were thrown into chaos, with shouts, cries, and screams rising and falling.

However, I was still a bit breathless from the impact and didn't react in time because I was only focused on the pain.

"There's a huge tomb in Changbai Mountain, I'm going to go down into it for archaeological work!"

Just then, I suddenly heard Jian Ning's soft and somewhat stiff voice. If it hadn't been right next to me, I probably wouldn't have heard it clearly.

But I was completely baffled by what he said. Why would someone be researching ancient things when they're getting married?

The chaotic noise around me brought me back to my senses, but when I looked up, the thick fog made it impossible for me to see anyone else.

"Jian Ning, are you alright? Let's go quickly."

I quickly stood up. The impact had made me fall flat on my backside into the mud, and Jian Ning behind me also landed on the ground.

But I couldn't care less about that at that moment. I got up, carried Jian Ning on my back, and prepared to leave.

But when I placed my hand on Jian Ning's leg, I suddenly realized something was wrong.

The trouser legs are too loose! My legs are so thin! As thin as bamboo poles!
I looked down sharply and was shocked to find that what I was holding in my hands was not Jian Ning's legs in a red wedding dress, but two thin, withered legs in black linen pants, and the shoes on their feet were also a pair of black cloth shoes.

Just then, I looked down and saw the coffin lying on the ground beside me. The unsealed coffin lid had slid open because of the sound of the coffin hitting the ground, revealing a large opening.

When I saw what was inside the coffin, my mind went blank, and I froze on the spot.

The black coffin lid slid open, revealing the blood-red inner walls of the coffin, and... Jian Ning, dressed in a red wedding gown.

Her face was ashen, her eyes staring straight at me, devoid of any light, only a deathly emptiness, while a strange, stiff smile clung to the corners of her mouth.

Jian Ning!
I screamed inwardly, but no sound came out of my throat. A suffocating feeling, like being choked, appeared, and all I could manage to make was a "hoarse" sound.

If someone could see me at this moment, they would notice that my neck is bright red with bulging veins, but my face is deathly pale, and my eyes are bulging out as if they are about to jump out of their sockets.

But I was so focused on Jian Ning in the coffin that I wanted to reach out and pull her out, but my body was frozen in place and wouldn't obey me at all.

It was at this moment that I realized Jian Ning's eyes weren't fixed on me...

"Giggle...giggle..."

A sound that seemed to be both crying and laughing came from the coffin, or perhaps it was right next to my ear, but its source was indistinguishable in the wind.

Something flashed through my mind briefly, and I couldn't help but try my best to turn my stiff neck.

If Jian Ning is lying in the coffin, then what I'm carrying on my back is...

The hand pressed against my neck was icy cold. As I stiffly and slowly turned my head, the feeling of suffocation intensified until I could barely breathe and then I could barely see what was on my back.

Liu Laohan!

"hiss!"

A sharp burning sensation appeared in my chest, followed by a feeling of lightness on my back, and at the same time I realized that the suffocating feeling had disappeared.

Before I could catch my breath, I quickly pulled the hot object out of my chest and discovered it was the red envelope Aunt Chen had given me earlier.

Upon opening it, it turned out not to contain banknotes at all, but rather... a talisman!
After I took out the talisman, the mist surrounding me suddenly dispersed, as if it was fleeing something. When I looked back, Liu Laohan had already disappeared.

I am still on this muddy mountain road. The wedding party and the funeral procession are all gone. All that's left is me and the coffin in front of me.

Jian Ning was lying in the coffin. I hurriedly tried to pull her out, but as soon as I reached out, the coffin lid, which had been slid open, suddenly slid back in, completely covering the coffin and sealing Jian Ning inside.

"Jian Ning!"

"Giggle...hoho..."

I screamed in terror, but all I heard were two eerie laughs coming from inside the coffin, and then... the coffin tumbled off the cliff!

"Jian Ning!"

Terrified, I collapsed to the ground, clutching the talisman and crying out Jian Ning's name. My voice echoed endlessly in the tranquil mountain.
"Jian Ning!"

(End of this chapter)