Chapter 13: Burial

The owner of the carriage shop was somewhat acquainted with Wang Chu. Every now and then, Wang Chu would come here to rent a carriage.

Before today, Wang Chu had brought strange companions to the shop on several occasions, so over time, the owner had grown accustomed to it.

As for the peculiar man standing beside him, the shop owner only glanced at him briefly and paid no further attention.

“Hmm, I’ll take a horse-drawn carriage,” Wang Chu said straightforwardly, pulling out two mid-grade spirit stones and handing them to the owner.

The owner accepted the stones readily and replied cheerfully, “Alright, please wait a moment.”

With that, he went to prepare the carriage for Wang Chu.

Seeing this, the peculiar man finally relaxed his tense heart.

Soon, under the shop owner's guidance, Wang Chu and the peculiar man boarded the rented carriage.

Naturally, Wang Chu, who frequently rented horses, took the reins.

The peculiar man sat alone inside the carriage, somewhat uneasy and constrained.

The carriage moved at a decent pace. After a short journey, the two arrived at their destination.

Wang Chu was the first to disembark. Holding the reins, he stood at the fork leading to Liu Family Village, gazing down the narrow path.

After a moment, he spotted Liu Family Village at the end of the path.

Compared to the Ruined Wall Village, Liu Family Village appeared far livelier and more prosperous.

Simply by the number of houses gathered there, it was easily twice as many, and their quality was much better.

Wang Chu recalled that the last time he had come here was several years ago, delivering a coffin.

While Wang Chu observed Liu Family Village, the peculiar man, trembling, got down from the carriage and stood beside Wang Chu.

“My home is not far ahead. Please come with me,” he said.

Wang Chu patted the horse’s head. “Alright.”

Leading the horse, the two walked along the narrow path toward Liu Family Village, one following the other.

Since the peculiar man limped, their pace was slow.

Fortunately, as he had said, his home was close to the village entrance.

After a short while, the peculiar man stopped in front of a thatched cottage.

The door of the cottage was unlocked. He gently pushed it open without a word, inviting Wang Chu inside.

Suddenly, not far away, the childish sound of laughter rang out:

“Hahaha, the ugly monster is back!”

“Why is that ugly monster still here? Why doesn’t he freeze to death outside?”

“Ugly monster, get out of our village!”

“Why did the ugly monster bring a stranger? Wow, and even a horse carriage!”

“Quick, be careful not to be noticed by the ugly monster. My mother said if someone is targeted by the ugly monster, he’ll come to their house at night.”

...

Wang Chu looked toward the source of the voices and saw a group of children standing not far away, their eyes fixed intently on them.

Their gazes mixed curiosity, disgust, and judgment.

Their youthful faces twisted with cruel, mischievous grins.

“Heh, nowadays... kids... are quite naughty. Sorry to embarrass you,” the peculiar man scratched the back of his head awkwardly, trying to excuse the children.

Wang Chu turned away.

“Don’t you hate them?” he asked.

The peculiar man shook his head.

“They’re just children. There’s no need. Besides, in my current... this form, I’m truly an ugly monster.”

Wang Chu did not agree with this sentiment.

“They are indeed children, but they have become like this because their parents influenced them. If they continue like this now, they won’t change when they grow up.”

The peculiar man was slightly stunned, his expression stiffening. He awkwardly changed the subject.

“Please come in. My mother’s corpse is inside. Please help me put her into the coffin. I want her to rest in peace as soon as possible.”

Wang Chu stepped inside the peculiar man’s home and first saw two worn-out beds, each with thin blankets.

On one bed, a person lay motionless.

In a corner of the thatched cottage, snow was falling in.

Near the entrance stood a battered wooden cabinet and a rickety wooden table.

The phrase “utter poverty” barely described the scene.

Wang Chu did not feel disdain upon entering. He quickly moved to the bed where the deceased lay.

He was about to summon the coffin and place the corpse inside when he suddenly paused, frowning.

“This is clearly not something a normal child could do.”

The peculiar man looked puzzled.

“What’s wrong?”

Wang Chu pointed to the deceased’s face.

“See for yourself.”

The peculiar man limped over and looked closely at his late mother’s face.

He noticed for the first time that someone had scrawled indecent words on her face with charcoal:

“Hahaha, the ugly monster’s own mother!”

“Told you before with your eyes × to scare me. Now you’re dead, you worthless ×!”

“The ugly monster’s mother is so ugly too.”

...

“Mother... mother! Forgive me, child has failed you, it’s my fault!”

The peculiar man’s body trembled. Tears welled in his eyes, and saliva mingled with tears dripped down his cheeks.

“I will help you wash your face clean now!”

With that, he moved toward the cabinet.

Wang Chu called out to him.

“No need, let me do it.”

The peculiar man stopped, voice choked with sobs.

“No... no need, thank you. Besides, I don’t have any spirit stones left to give you.”

Wang Chu summoned a handkerchief and a bottle of medicine from his storage ring.

He opened the bottle’s stopper and moistened the cloth with the liquid inside.

“One high-grade spirit stone is enough.”

He began to wipe away the words on the deceased’s face.

Thanks to the handkerchief’s effect and the medicine, the filthy markings soon disappeared.

Wang Chu also took out a comb from his storage ring and tidied the deceased’s hair.

The peculiar man was deeply moved by the gesture.

Since he had become a monster and returned to the village, no one except his mother had treated him kindly.

Almost everyone else had been cruel, tearing apart his dignity, trampling his humanity, and seizing what he owned.

No one had ever respected or helped him like Wang Chu did, treating him as a person rather than a monster.

Though it was all because of the spirit stones.

“All right, that should do. Let’s carry your mother into the coffin together.”

Wang Chu patted his hands and said to the peculiar man.

He wiped his tears with his sleeve.

“Okay, thank you so much!”

Wang Chu and the peculiar man carefully lifted the elderly woman from the bed and placed her into the coffin.

Then Wang Chu stored the coffin back into his storage space.

Leaving the thatched cottage and closing the door, the peculiar man led Wang Chu back to the main road.

They walked about twenty or thirty meters to the right along the road.

Then he turned into a field beside the road and stopped beside a pit in the earth.

Next to the pit lay a hoe, almost hidden under the snow.

The peculiar man picked up the hoe and pointed to the pit.

“Boss, please put the coffin in this pit.”

Wang Chu nodded, took a few steps to the pit, and with a thought, placed the coffin from his storage ring into the earth.

The man then began to shovel dirt into the pit.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

The north wind howled through the fields. The winter sky shed no tears, only cold frost and snow, taking away fragile lives.

An abandoned grave, destined to be forgotten, was being covered with earth by a monster.

Wang Chu watched silently, seemingly lost in thought.

Perhaps the meaning of immortality lay here...

Suddenly, a clear voice rang out across the field, pulling Wang Chu’s drifting thoughts back.

“Brother Evergreen, when did you come back?”

He saw a village woman wearing a cotton jacket, carrying a bamboo basket, her cheeks red from the cold, appearing on the main road beside the field.

...