Chapter 750 - 386: Do Ghosts Exist?

Chapter 750: Chapter 386: Do Ghosts Exist?

Liu Yunlan couldn’t help but smile, thinking Juhua was scared because of the coffin in the front room. She comforted her, "There’s nothing to be afraid of. The people holding the wake are still there. Besides, Great-Aunt doted on us the most. She would never try to scare us."

Juhua didn’t dare tell her what had happened earlier, afraid it would scare her so much she couldn’t sleep either. She only asked whether people really had spirits after they died.

Hearing her question, Liu Yunlan simply turned over to lie on her back. She sighed. "Of course there are. When a person dies, their soul doesn’t wander far for the first few days. It just circles their own house. When my grandmother died..."

Juhua had only asked casually, not expecting to prompt such a story. It sounded like Liu Yunlan’s grandmother had also appeared as a spirit. She quickly cut her off, "Sister Yunlan, please don’t say any more. Let’s talk about it tomorrow on the way home. It’s pitch black tonight, and I’ll be too scared if I listen. I’m already having trouble sleeping. If I get even more frightened, I’ll never be able to fall asleep, will I?"

Under the covers, Pu Pao nodded vigorously, not stopping to think that no one could see her.

So Liu Yunlan stopped talking and had Juhua and Pu Pao huddle closer. Pressed tightly together and listening to the muffled sounds from outside, they finally, with great difficulty, fell asleep.

At daybreak, she opened her eyes to a room flooded with light. Everything from the previous night felt like a dream, and her fear seemed ridiculous. Even the thought of the mourning hall up front no longer made her feel uneasy.

Pu Pao got up with a cheerful grin, peeked outside, and then ran back in to tell them, "Young Madam, there’s a stove out here too. I’ll just heat some water for us. We can wash up before heading to the front."

Seeing her so full of life, Juhua held back a smile. "Not scared anymore?"

Pu Pao smiled sheepishly. "It’s broad daylight, what is there to be scared of? The sun is already out, big and red."

Liu Yunlan teased, "I wonder who it was last night, burying her head under the covers and not minding how stuffy it was. If my Hulu had passed gas, you would’ve had to eat it."

Flustered, Pu Pao stomped her foot, spun around, and ran outside.

The day was indeed bright and sunny. Though a chill still lingered in the air, you could feel the hint of spring under the warm sun. The morning was chaotic, and the Yu Family courtyard only fell silent after eight sturdy men carried the coffin up the mountain, followed by a long procession of mourners dressed in white.

Once the Great-Aunt was laid to rest on the mountain, the funeral was mostly over. A few close relatives stayed behind to take care of the remaining details, while the others began to take their leave.

Seeing that there wasn’t much left to do, Juhua and Liu Yunlan told Matriarch Yang they wanted to head back early. Matriarch Yang, also worried that Hulu would get fussy from being away from home for too long, decided to let Qingmu, Huai Zi, and the others go back as well.

They ate a hasty lunch, said their goodbyes to their various aunts, but were called back before they could even leave the courtyard. It was Little Chuntao, who said her eldest uncle was looking for "Sister Juhua" and had something to ask.

’It’s most likely about the Great-Aunt’s spirit,’ Juhua thought. Noticing Huai Zi looking at her with concern, she gave him a reassuring nod. "It’s fine. I’ll be right back. Just wait here."

The uncles and aunts were all gathered in the room where the wake had been held. Some were sitting, others standing. Zheng Changhe was there too. When Juhua entered, a farmer in his fifties with a kindly face smiled at her. "You must be Juhua. The last time your Great-Uncle saw you was years ago, and now you’re already married with a child. Hehe..."

Mindful of the long journey ahead, Juhua quickly greeted everyone in the room before turning apologetically to the man. "Great-Uncle, I still have to get back, and it’s a long way. Whatever you wanted to ask, please go ahead."

The Great-Uncle gave an awkward laugh. "Well, it’s like this... Ahem! Juhua, what exactly did your great-aunt say to you yesterday? And how did you see her?"

All eyes were on her, including Zheng Changhe’s.

Juhua winced inwardly. ’I didn’t actually see her,’ she thought. ’If I really had, who knows what would have happened to me!’

She deliberately feigned confusion and said to the crowd, "I don’t really know myself. I was in a daze and just wandered into the mourning hall. At the time, that young man was asleep—" she pointed to the youth who had been dozing by the coffin the day before—"and I just heard Great-Aunt scolding, ’You worthless fools, squabbling over such trivial things! I already explained how to divide everything, yet you’re still so muddle-headed. Completely useless, not one of you can take charge. Can’t you see that people are provoking you brothers to fight? What sins did I commit in a past life... I’m not even buried yet, and you’ve already started fighting...’"

As she spun her tale, she desperately tried to figure out what to say next.

Everyone in the room flushed red with shame, so much so that they failed to notice she was speaking in fits and starts. Juhua had a way out, though. She said in a downcast voice, "It’s strange... I remembered so much of it clearly yesterday, but now I’ve forgotten almost everything."

The Great-Uncle quickly interjected, "Of course... of course that’s how it would be! You must have felt like you were in a dream. If you’d been wide awake, you would have fainted from fright." The others all nodded in agreement.

Juhua gave a shiver and deliberately glanced around the room before saying in a frightened tone, "Uncle, please, let’s not talk about it. It was strange for me, too. I wasn’t scared at all at the time. Even when Great-Aunt knocked over the lamp and plunged the room into darkness, and all of you were terrified, I wasn’t. But guess what? The moment I tried to go to sleep, I suddenly felt petrified."

The crowd exchanged looks of understanding, all agreeing that of course she would be scared now that she had come back to her senses.

However, the Great-Uncle still had more to ask. He soothed her, "Your great-aunt was fondest of you, so don’t be afraid. Juhua, um... your great-aunt also had some private savings. We didn’t notice it at first, but we found it while packing her things—there are seventy or eighty taels of silver. Hehe! I know that more than half of that is from what your father gave her over the years. By rights, it should be returned to your father..."

Zheng Changhe quickly waved his hands in protest. "What I gave to my aunt was a token of my filial piety. It became her own money. How could I possibly take it back? Juhua, did your great-aunt say how this silver is to be divided?"

It suddenly dawned on Juhua. ’So *this* is why they called me back!’ (To be continued. If you like this work, please consider supporting it with recommendation votes and monthly passes at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)