I stood in front of my adoptive father and nodded my head indifferently. After being abused for so many years, only coldness and hatred remained in my heart. I didn't know what I should say to this man.
From dressing the dead to entering the coffin and stuffing the nails, all the Funerary Slave had to participate in the whole process. After all, being a slave meant being accompanied by someone and being served by someone.
Following behind the pallbearer, I sobbed, in the rhythm of a mourner who has never been sad for the dead, but for himself, more sad than the dead.
In the evening, I sat in front of the grave, a cool breeze blowing through my bones. The people around me had all left, leaving me alone.
This was a huge graveyard, after staying here for so many years, my courage grew. On my face, there were dense symbols drawn with dog blood by my foster father. They emitted a fishy smell, and the sound of owls and bugs came from the surroundings.
The wind rustled the leaves, and all of a sudden, I heard a series of crackling sounds, as if someone was digging with a shovel …
My heart palpitated. Could it be a grave robber? Slightly frowning, I looked around me. In our small mountain village which is a remote cemetery, there shouldn't be anything valuable to accompany the burial. How could there be a tomb robber?
Then, in the distance, I heard a series of moans. Incomparable familiarity …
At the same time, I saw a figure moving on top of a grave. After so many years in the grave, I could almost recognize whose grave it was.
I will never forget this grave. This is … The Aunt Zhang's tomb!
Then, I suddenly recalled that today is not only my birthday, but also the day that I broke the secret of my adoptive father and Aunt Zhang …
According to what we are saying, because the Funerary Lady is contaminated with the grievances of too many people who have died in vain, it is inherently unlucky, and it is even more impossible for it to be respected like the others, who live in vain or are Mr. Yin and Yang.
Second Uncle Li died miserably. It was his mule that suddenly went crazy, trampling on Second Uncle Li's body and trampling him to death.
Originally, the talk of ghosts and monsters in the countryside, to be trampled to death by mules while alive, became even more sensational in the village. At this moment, I suddenly heard the sound of someone digging with a shovel and couldn't help but feel my hair stand on end.
Looking at the figure on top of Aunt Zhang's grave, my head buzzed and I felt a chill coming from my back. The myriad of ghost talk that I had heard since I was young continuously echoed in my mind.
Having been a Funerary Slave for two years, was he really going to meet a ghost this time?
The village graveyard is on top of the mountain, my first thought is to hurry down the mountain, but … If he really left the grave, it would be against the rules of the Funerary Slave.
His foster father had said that if Funerary Slave broke the rules, he might lose his temper and attract misfortune.
Even if I don't talk about these ghosts and gods, if my foster father found out that I didn't complete Funerary Slave's mission, this beating would definitely be unavoidable.
"Hehehe …" "Hehehe …"
At this moment, I heard a strange laughter coming from that figure. It sounded as though the person had gone mad and no emotions could be discerned from the laughter. It was a mechanical laughter … Yet, they were incomparably familiar …
I curled up next to Second Uncle Li's tombstone. Suddenly, the clouds in the sky slowly moved and the moonlight gradually fell on that figure. At this moment, I slowly saw that figure's true appearance.
Foster father! It turned out to be an adopted father! At this moment, his foster father was actually using all of his might to dig the hole. His eyes were also tightly staring at the huge hole he had dug, and he let out a wave of strange laughter.
I could barely suppress the fear in my heart. My whole body was shaking. Why was this man here?
Today, Second Uncle Li's family had just given him money. Shouldn't he be drinking at home? Why did he come out in the middle of the night to dig a grave? Furthermore … Or the woman's grave?
While I was staring at my foster father, his movements also stopped as he slowly approached me.
The foster father was very strong. Although he had been drinking for many years, his body had never been drunk to the point of collapse. Because I was malnourished, I looked extremely thin and weak.
"Father …" "Father …"
I fearfully called out for my foster father, but my foster father seemed to have gone stupid. He stared at me as he raised the shovel high up in the air and stared blankly at Second Uncle Li's grave.
"This isn't the end."
With that, he didn't care about the tears in my eyes. A shovel smashed into my head, and I felt my head buzz. Then my vision slowly turned black, and I lost consciousness.
What woke me up was an intense pain. When I opened my eyes, a face filled with anger appeared in front of me, causing my heart to tighten.
It was the owner of this face that kicked me hard in the stomach when I fainted, causing my sweat and tears to flow out from me the moment I woke up.
He was a very sturdy man, the villagers all called him Da Xiong, he could be considered one of the more famous villains in the village. With his good physique, he often acted tyrannically in the village.
Behind him stood many villagers, all glaring at me as if I had done something extremely wrong.
His already frightened heart became even more frightened. He subconsciously shrunk his neck and sat up without caring about the dizziness in his head.
The pain I've endured over the years, the cruel scenes I've witnessed, have made me unfriendly. My heart was filled with darkness, and I had an instinctive fear and rejection of living things.
However, Da Xiong naturally did not care about my fearful gaze. He immediately grabbed me by the collar and lifted me up as he coldly said:
"Little girl, I didn't expect you to be so bold. To think that I helped you beg for mercy when your damn dad hit you. Who knew that this despicable girl was also despicable!"
Your father stole a living person, but you stole a dead person.
As I spoke, the strength in Da Xiong's hands became even more intense. I felt my collar being tightly squeezed, and I felt a kind of suffocating feeling …
"This little girl must have an accomplice. She's even skinnier than a chick, how can she dig all the graves in the village in one night?"
"This wild girl learned from her abnormal father. She definitely won't be able to learn anything good. Maybe she started stealing from men since she was young, so this matter might be done by this little bitch and some random man."
The surrounding men and women were discussing animatedly. Under the scorching gazes of the crowd and the dirty words they spoke, I felt the final bit of my dignity being stepped heavily on …
"For example, stealing a man to sleep with my adoptive father since young, words like 'stealing his man', and so on and so forth continued unceasingly. My tears seemed to have almost dried up as I looked at these faces apathetically …"
I've never done anything bad, so why do I have to suffer this kind of torture? Could it be … Was this the retribution of the Funerary Lady?
From the discussions of the villagers, I learnt that the graves in the village last night were all thrown aside. Those coffins that could still be considered intact were all opened, and their corpses were exposed outside.
Uncle Zhang and Yue Yang who had died a few years ago had their corpses stolen, and they had lost track of the location.
After learning about this, I was also shocked. Last night, I clearly saw my adoptive father. Could it be that all of this was done by him? Why did he do that? You don't have the money to buy wine, so you stole a tomb?
"It's not me …" Not Me... My father did it! I saw my father come to the cemetery last night! "
I have nothing but hatred for my adoptive father now, so I don't mind ripping off his ugly face in front of the whole village.
Unexpectedly, as soon as I said that, Da Xiong suddenly slapped my face hard, and then pinched my chin, pushing my head up high.
Facing Da Xiong, I had no power to resist at all. I had suffered too much humiliation and was gradually becoming numb. My tears were still flowing, and they were no longer something I could control myself …
I didn't understand why Da Xiong hit me, but stared at him in astonishment. At this time, Da Xiong came closer to me, and said in a low voice:
"I forgot to tell you, your bastard dad hanged himself last night.