C3

Looking at my grandfather's stooped body, I couldn't help but feel pain in my heart. I thought about how many times my grandfather had gone through these kinds of events, despite the fact that he had been here and there for so many years.

I sighed lightly, shaking my head to throw this thought out of my head and walked to the main hall. I saw that the woman was silently crying as she sat by the side. There were a few people by her side who were comforting her with low voices, or whose eyes were red and swollen like hers.

Thus, I walked over to her and told her about my grandfather's matter. After that, we returned to my grandfather's place, only to see that my grandfather was sitting by my side with his eyes closed. Although he looked better, the wrinkles on his face and the sweat drops on his forehead hinted that my grandfather had not recovered.

"Grandpa, the family has come," I whispered into his ear.

"Oh, he's here." When his grandfather heard this, he opened his eyes and swept away his exhausted expression. He then looked at the woman and said, "Your excellency (honorifics of the deceased), please leave."

After saying this, I instinctively looked at the portrait that he drew. It was only then did I realize that my grandfather had already finished framing it with a wooden frame, and was standing straight on top of the ice coffin.

The woman wiped her eyes and lightly nodded her head as she walked towards the portrait. However, at this moment, her grandfather added, "Do me a big favor!"

The woman stopped and knelt in front of the portrait without a sound. She respectfully kowtowed three times before standing up and reaching out with both hands to hold the portrait.

I found it strange when I looked at it. This portrait and the deceased were clearly the same, why didn't this woman notice it?

However, before it was my turn to be curious, I was awoken by a "Ya" sound. It turned out that when this woman was holding the portrait, she suddenly cried out, her face turned pale white, and at the same time, she retreated a few steps, pointing at the portrait as if she was electrocuted, unable to speak for a long time.

"He … "He …" The woman's chest heaved violently, as if she was unable to breathe.

"What's wrong?" It was only then that Grandpa stood up with my support and asked what was going on with the woman in a low voice.

The woman clutched at her chest for a long time before she finally started crying. As she cried, she said, "My husband, you died so unjustly!"

My face immediately darkened. Why is this woman howling in grief at this moment? You should know that we can't mourn before the portrait is released. Otherwise, the dead would not be able to leave peacefully.

"Stop, quickly stop, tell us what's going on." Grandfather immediately patted the woman's shoulder, hinting her to stop.

"He … "He just blinked," said the woman, pointing to the portrait in shock.

I almost laughed out loud when I heard this. I thought that I would be able to see a ghost in the blink of an eye. It was just a picture of a funeral, so I said it so mysteriously that I thought I was watching a cartoon.

However, to my surprise, my grandfather actually took it for real. He immediately walked towards the portrait, looked at it for a while, then opened the wooden box again and took out the wolf's hair. He said to me, "Quick, light five sticks of incense!"

He respectfully lit five pillars of green incense and handed it to his grandfather. Grandfather picked up the green incense and bowed three times, at the same time chanting, "The dead are gone, the living are at peace, souls return to the netherworld, spirits dissipate in heaven and earth. Since you are not a person of the mortal world, then you are the soul of the netherworld. Go wherever you should go!"

I was even more surprised when I saw it. Why did it seem like my grandpa was talking to a dead person?

However, since my family was still by the side, I had to take into account their feelings. I forcefully swallowed the words that were about to escape my mouth. I stood at the side with my hands behind my back as I watched my grandfather do all of this.

I thought that Grandpa would do whatever he did after he finished talking, but I didn't expect him to bow three times and say softly, "Old man Ma Hanlin pays his respect!"

After my grandfather finished speaking, he placed the five pillars of green incense above the head of the deceased Ice Coffin. Then, he placed the five pillars of green incense onto each of his hands. Like me, he stood there respectfully.

I really couldn't hold back my curiosity. I took advantage of the moment when the woman was crying to my grandfather to find a spot where I could see the situation clearly. I stood by his side and quietly looked at the green smoke that was swirling in the air.

However, after a long time had passed, there was not a single movement from the green fragrance. I couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed, and just as I was about to take action, a strange gust of wind suddenly blew by. I couldn't help but shiver.

The few inch long flame was like the tongue of a snake as it constantly extended and contracted, constantly lapping towards Qingxiang. With every lick, Qingxiang would shorten the incense stick by a large amount, and in a short period of time, three incense sticks had reached its roots and were about to burn it down. Although the other two incense sticks were also shorter, there was still more than half of them left.

I was immediately astonished. After taking a deep breath, I rubbed my eyes to confirm that I had not seen wrongly. Only then did I look towards Grandfather.

He sighed heavily before opening his mouth once again, "Sir, since you are no longer the spirit of the mortal world, please do not make things difficult for this old man. If you have any grievances, you can ask your loved ones to help you dream."

As soon as his grandfather finished speaking, the woman broke down in tears again and wailed, "Husband, if you have any unfulfilled wishes, just leave it to me."

Just as the woman finished speaking, an evil wind blew again, and at the same time, the portrait standing on top of the ice coffin actually fell with a "Pa" sound.

I was immediately shocked. This was truly strange!

It was only after a long time did he gently pick up the five incense sticks and examine them for a long time. Finally, he let out a heavy sigh, looked at me, and then stood back in front of the ice coffin once more, saying in a clear voice: "This old man's grandson, Ma Que, is only twenty-nine years old this year, and has not yet reached the mortal realm. I hope that you will not make things difficult for him."

When my grandfather said this, my heart skipped a beat. I was thinking about how to get involved with him. Although it wasn't a big deal to win the portrait, it was his son's matter. What does it have to do with me?

Even though I was silently cursing, under my grandfather's angry stare, I still walked forward unwillingly and stretched my hand out to hold the portrait.

"Wait!" Grandfather suddenly shouted. I immediately retracted my hand and looked at him in confusion.

"Show respect to the younger generation's descendants." His grandfather said, but his tone didn't leave any room for negotiation.

When I heard this, I immediately wanted to quit. Even when my father died, I didn't do this. Why is there such high treatment for such an unknown fellow?

"Faster!"

His grandfather's face darkened as he urged again.

I curled my lips, thinking that this old man was too generous with his money. I didn't mind calling the deceased 'father' as a loss, but I did suffer a huge loss. Not only did he die, I didn't even know his surname.

Under my grandfather's repeated insistence, I knelt down reluctantly, respectfully kowtowing three times in accordance to my son's etiquette. I thought to myself, Damn old man, if you really have a soul, then send me a beautiful daughter-in-law.

After knocking my head against the wall, I stood up and walked to the side of the portrait. Extremely respectful, I stretched out my hands to pick up the portrait.

My grandfather didn't say anything and just stood there respectfully, but his hand didn't stop moving. He pointed a finger towards the hall by the side, and only then did I come back to my senses and walk leisurely towards the hall. At this moment, the woman who was crying by the side finally stood up and walked alongside me.

However, after only two steps, I felt an itch in my hand, as if there was a bug crawling around. I knew that I couldn't do anything else, so I had no choice but to lower my head to see what it was.

However, just as I looked down at my hands, I suddenly realised that the corner of the figure's mouth actually curled up. This image, it seemed to be smiling at me!