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Chapter 91: Strange Happenings in the Village (1)
Seeing that Huang's mother could no longer suppress her concern for her son, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. It seems that the saying about the hearts of parents is true; very few parents truly blame their children, no matter how unfilial they may be. The reason I had previously scolded Mr. Huang was to achieve this effect.
Noticing Huang's mother still worried about her son, I began to persuade her: "Grandma, your son actually has this heart as well. You have always been on his mind. However, he is now a father and a husband, so in his heart, there is not only you but also his wife and children. To him, his wife and children are also family, so he cannot make one family member sad for the sake of another. Your son has his difficulties; I hope you can understand him."
Huang's mother gently stroked Mr. Huang, tears falling drop by drop. Finally, she bitterly said, "It's all this woman's fault. If it weren't for her, my son wouldn't be suffering like this."
I sighed, "Your son has grown up. Even without this woman, he would leave you and start a family with another woman. So try to understand; as long as your son still cares about you, that's enough, isn't it?"
Upon hearing this, Huang's mother looked at her son who was nodding continuously and could only show a face of helplessness.
Seeing that Huang's mother could accept my advice, I continued: "Now that your son has grown up, his wife holds the same position in his heart as you do; she is equally important. If you hurt your daughter-in-law, have you thought about how heartbroken your son would be? Now you know that your son actually cares about you and that he has filial piety. So let go; don't make things difficult for the younger generation. He really has it hard."
At this moment, Mr. Huang also knelt on the ground and cried out, "Mom, if you want to blame someone, blame me! I am the unfilial one; I have neglected you. Please let her go! If anything happens to her, what will happen to your little grandson? Will he live his whole life without a mother?"
Huang's mother glanced at her kneeling son and then looked at her frightened little grandson hiding behind Mr. Huang. She finally sighed helplessly and said, "Alright, alright. My son has really grown up; I can't control him anymore. Mom is leaving; you all take care!"
Although it was just a few words, I knew that Huang's mother still felt very unwilling in her heart. But she was a mother who couldn't bear to see her son sad and didn't want her little grandson to live a lonely life forever. So she let go—very reluctantly let go...
As I spoke these words, Mrs. Huang suddenly collapsed to the ground and lost consciousness. Seeing this, I knew that Grandma had left and would not return...
To be honest, I sympathized with Grandma's plight; she was a pitiful person—a rural woman who had worked hard all her life for her son and devoted everything to him. In the end, she could not enjoy the joy of being with her grandchildren, which made her very pitiful and even desolate. In my view, there are only unfilial children; there are no parents who do not love their children. Perhaps it truly reflects that saying: pity for the hearts of parents everywhere!
After the grandmother left, we helped Mrs. Huang up. Mr. Huang asked me if we should take her to the hospital, but I told him it wasn't necessary. Instead, I drew a talisman and made a potion to drive away evil spirits, which I gave to Mrs. Huang to drink.
The reason some people can wake up quickly after being possessed is that the dirty thing occupies their body for a short time and they have sufficient Yang Qi. However, Mrs. Huang was possessed for a long time by the grandmother, and she might have weak Yang Qi herself, which is why she remained unconscious for so long.
It wasn't until evening that Mrs. Huang finally woke up. Seeing us gathered around her and her husband with swollen eyes from crying, she asked in confusion what had happened.
Upon asking this question, Mr. Huang perhaps remembered his own unfilial behavior and couldn't finish his sentence before bursting into tears again. So, I told Mrs. Huang everything that had happened earlier because I felt it was necessary for her to hear about Huang Mother's experiences and understand the suffering she endured in her life since she was now also a mother.
After hearing about Huang Mother's life and her husband's helplessness in fulfilling his filial duties, Mrs. Huang shed tears as well. She got up to comfort Mr. Huang, beginning to realize that her love had been too selfish—selfish enough not to allow her husband to love another person, even if that person was family. She understood how much pain and helplessness her husband felt for her sake, and she had an epiphany.
It should be this way; love is home. If any family member lacks love, the home cannot be truly happy. Because it is home, everyone needs the care of family members; because everyone cares, that is what makes it home.
The next day, I accompanied Mr. Huang and his family back to his hometown. They had left Huang Mother alone in a haunted house in the mountains, so they didn't even know when she died. This trip back was mainly to handle Huang Mother's funeral affairs.
We placed Huang Mother's already decayed corpse into a coffin, and the couple knelt before the spirit for a long time in self-reproach; I believe their remorse was heartfelt.
Out of sympathy for Huang Mother, I specifically chose a very good resting place for her Yin Zhai. Although she suffered throughout her life, I hoped she could rest peacefully after death.
To ensure she would have a good life in the underworld, I also prepared paper figurines, paper horses, spirit houses, ghost sedan chairs, and a large amount of paper money so that she would have a place to live down there, someone to serve her, and a sedan chair to ride in when going out—no longer suffering.
After handling the funeral affairs, three days passed in the blink of an eye. Back at the shop, my feelings were mixed; filial piety is something everyone should fulfill, but achieving it is truly difficult.
In the following days, I returned to my previous routine of making paper offerings and divining fortunes with nothing much to do but wait for Brother Cao's return. Sometimes I couldn't help but think about going down to the underworld to find Lin Xiaoqi but hesitated because I feared seeing her without being able to save her.
Many days passed in the mundane routine, and one morning, as I opened the shop door, a crowd of people arrived. Yes, a crowd, and they looked like a group of farmers. Their faces were anxious and troubled as they paced back and forth in front of the shop, clearly having arrived early but waiting outside since I hadn't opened yet.
Seeing such a large group suddenly made me very curious. Why were so many people here so early? It seemed they had come specifically to see me. Had I offended someone, prompting them to bring a group to confront me?
Before I could say anything, someone from the crowd noticed that I had opened the door and rushed over, asking me, "Are you Master Ma?"
I was taken aback; I was only in my twenties, while Master Ma was in his sixties or seventies. Did we really look that similar? Was it that he looked too young or that I looked too old?
Of course, I realized that they probably had never seen Master Ma before and had only heard of his name, which is why they mistook me for him.
I replied, "Gentlemen, you came here early in the morning looking for Master Ma. Is there something you need?"
"You're not Master Ma?" They seemed puzzled and then glanced at my shop sign before saying, "This is the place; we didn't come to the wrong location!"
Clearly, they understood my words. I explained, "Gentlemen, this is Master Ma's shop, but he has already passed away. If you have something to discuss, feel free to tell me. As long as it's within my ability, I won't refuse."
It was evident that this group had traveled a long way based on someone's recommendation to seek help from Master Ma, so they must have an important matter at hand. Naturally, I couldn't let them leave without assistance.
I invited them into the shop and asked them to share their concerns directly with me. They exchanged glances, seemingly unsure if I could handle their troubles due to my youth. After some nodding among themselves with no objections, one person finally spoke up: "Sir, our Village has encountered a strange matter, and we would like to ask for your help."
"Our Village has encountered something strange? What kind of strange matter? Could you tell me more about it?" Upon hearing this, I was intrigued. A strange occurrence in their village that so many people couldn't resolve clearly indicated it was a serious issue. So, I waited for them to explain the details.
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