Chapter 16 (1/2)
Urban Tales of Demons and Spirits
Vol 1 Book of Thunder – Chapter 16 Funeral
Translator:MoMoePom
Editor: Draygan
Quality Checker: Tezuka
Special thanks to Kleepart and Sakhyu for helping with the poem o/
First Published on Chaleuria
Chapter 16 Funeral
That evening, shi+ Yitong and I changed clothes for the deceased old man and laid his body in the coffin Mr Wen stayed by the distraught Grandmother shi+'s side all this tiether
shi+ Yitong had been quiet the whole time, he neither spoke nor cried The fine Chinese cedar nested coffin unexpectedly suited grandfather well
”One, two, three!” The strong men counted in unison as they lifted the coffin up Actually, the coffin should not be very heavy for eight people to carry together, but even if so, they still wanted to do it for the sake of appearances
On the day of the funeral, all of us wore entirely black clothes, but Mr Wen was still in his black Daoist robe with its flowing sleeves fluttering in the wind A lot of villagers carandfather was quite fae
”What a er on the side say as he shook his head ”Old Grandfather shi+ has seen off numerous people in his life, but unexpectedly now it's our turn to see him off”
shi+ Yitong stood on one side of the coffin I didn't knohether it was some sort of a social custom at a funeral, but he just stood thereblankly at the nested coffin
Then Mr Wen walked up, clad in his black robe Facing thehall, he held a match in his hand and lit it with a 'swish' A a sedan chair h up in the air Grandmother shi+ tottered to the front of the coffin and lit up an oil larandfather's remains and another one above his head Then she offered a bowl of rice in front of the light and lit an incense stick
Mr Wen was ether
”The empty dream of life
What can you do with an empty dream?
In this world,
Youwith you
A pair of arms
Empty handed
And you see the face of Yama
Froo,
And waste not life anymore
Recite Buddha's name,
Cross that river of desire
This world has endless pains,
And saoes on forever
Toss you into the waves,
Trap you in cages,
Listen, wandering soul,
Why not turn back,
To leave is to return”
Mr Wen's voice was light yet powerful, speaking at a pace neither too fast nor too sloith each word reverberating inhall, and only the scripture Mr Wen recited echoed in the room
Grandfather shi+'s funeral lasted the entire day Afterwards, headed by the 'Eight I line of people attending the burial extended all the way to the entrance of the village shi+ Yitong and I didn't go, Grand us bad luck if us children followed the burial teah I really wanted to explain that both shi+ Yitong and I had reached the age of eighteen a long tio, I couldn't reject the special care and concern of this old woman
”Are you okay?” I asked
shi+ Yitong scratched his nose ”Well… This is the sort of thing we can't do anything about I'm sorry, I was too emotional yesterday and said some unreasonable words”
I shookthat I didn't mind It was hard for someone like 's feelings for his grandfather But even so, I still clearly knehat an i's life
Being separated by death from someone you love, that must be a pain that can tear you apart
”I always thought there was so slowly opened histhis and that, I didn't expect to be told in the end that this was fate, soeable”
I could only try and comfort him, ”Mortality is the fate of humankind Every one of us will eventually corandfather will do just fine on 'that side'”
shi+ Yitong sniffed a couple tiht”
The funeral ended that night shi+ Yitong's grandfather was buried in the village ce's horandfather whenever he wanted After a tiring day, everyone was exhausted and slept early, especially shi+ Yitong It seeht on his shoulders was finally lifted, as he snored loudly next to me, which actually left me unable to fall asleep
In theunder thetree in the yard
I threw a jacket over my shoulder and walked out As I expected, it was Mr Wen
Mr Wen had already taken off the Daoist robe he earing during the funeral and changed into a casual hoodie and jeans, instead of the dark robe he had on e first ainst the tree, his ar backward at the tree trunk — an action that made him seem like a little kid