Chapter 237: Funeral Rites

Chapter 237 Sending Off

Gazing at the hanging ghost mere inches away, Li Huowang almost instinctively reached to draw his sword.

At the very moment he was about to exert force, he forcibly halted himself.

For Li Huowang sensed that this thing was not looking at him; it was a dead object! Rope Son was not it!

Li Huowang shifted his gaze slightly upward, towards a very blurry patch above his head, something possessing only a rough outline.

Recalling the trembling sound from before, he murmured inwardly: "This hanging ghost is merely a part of it! Perhaps just a single finger! The giant creature in the darkness is Rope Son!"

From the fact that it did not attack them immediately, it was clear the Daoist's spell had taken effect; once he understood this, Li Huowang held his breath and focused, examining the female corpse before him anew.

The clothes on the female corpse before him were red, which in this pitch-black environment turned into an eerie black-red hue.

Judging from the wrinkles that nearly covered her facial features, and her speckled white hair, one could determine she was an old woman.

This old woman hung suspended in mid-air, staring motionlessly at Li Huowang with those waxy, shriveled eyes.

Soon half an incense stick's worth of time passed; Li Huowang guessed correctly, for when he stopped moving, the female corpse made no move either, hanging there like a puppet.

In the darkness, everyone present froze in place; if not for the faint white vapor proving they were alive, everyone at this moment resembled stone statues.

At this moment, Li Huowang experienced the feeling of days dragging like years for the first time; his limbs were sore and numb.

In this state, unknown how much time passed; accompanied by the creaking sound of rope sinking into flesh, the hanging ghost slowly floated upward, gradually leaving Li Huowang's sight.

Li Huowang's gaze followed it slowly departing, watching it finally merge with that extremely blurry giant thing in the darkness.

Li Huowang still did not know what this female corpse meant to Rope Son, whether it was part of its body or merely decoration. "Rope Son? Why is this thing named Rope Son?"

The trembling sound from before moved again, only this time it was not approaching but gradually receding.

Time passed bit by bit; as the trembling sound faded into the distance, that oppressive feeling finally vanished.

"Whoosh~" Firelight illuminated the pale faces of Li Huowang and the others. It was a yellow talisman ignited by flame, the lower end of the talisman clamped between two fingers of the previous Daoist.

He first glanced at the exposed ribs on Li Huowang's chest, then smiled cheerfully saying, "This cultivator, Rope Son has gone, we are safe."

When the light of the fluorescent stones illuminated the faces of the others, everyone collectively let out a sigh of relief.

Others looked at that Daoist, their expressions appearing somewhat more relaxed than before; the shared hardship just now had drawn their relationships much closer.

When seeing the other party surprised by their strange appearances, Li Huowang was about to explain.

"Hehe, no trouble, no trouble, disciple of the Luo Sect, Han Fu, meeting you cultivator." That emaciated Daoist performed a Daoist salute towards Li Huowang, revealing that mouth of rotten teeth once again.

Yellow and black rotten teeth grew wildly in all directions, the roots tightly wrapped by yellow paste-like tartar, the thick stench wafting from those gaps causing others to quietly retreat a few steps.

This man's breath was foul, not just ordinary foulness, simply fouler than a latrine.

Although this man appeared lacking in hygiene, having passed through An Ci Nunnery previously, Li Huowang felt no aversion towards this man's rotten teeth.

Regarding whether his teeth smelled foul or fragrant, Li Huowang cared more now about the identity he had just declared.

"Luo Sect? What sect is this again? A branch of the Taoist religion?"

Li Huowang did not directly ask this question that easily revealed his ignorance, but instead performed a Daoist salute towards that person as well. "Qingfeng Guan Xuan Yang, pleased to meet you."

Since the other party could communicate, and appeared to hold no malice, perhaps he could find a way out from him.

"Oh? You are also a disciple of the Mystic Gate? Rare indeed, looking at your skin peeled thus, I thought you were a cultivator of the Fire Worship Sect." Han Fu appeared exceptionally talkative.

"I was indeed a disciple of the Fire Worship Sect in the past, only recently left due to circumstances." After making up a reason casually, Li Huowang thought while looking at Han Fu before him.

"Where is the person who spoke with him just now? Taken away by Rope Son? Yet why does he show not a trace of sorrow? No, I cannot ask him directly, otherwise he would surely know I was eavesdropping on their conversation just now."

Li Huowang was too lazy to worry about another stranger; he pointed with his finger behind him at the Black Tai Sui wrapped in his own skin.

"Master sent us several brothers to this place to seek medicinal ingredients, resulting in getting lost by chance, coincidentally meeting fellow Daoists. Also our fortune, hoping Senior Brother Han, trouble you to lead us out of this territory."

Li Huowang's words not only confessed his purpose, but also implicitly stated he had backing, telling the other not to scheme against them.

While Li Huowang sized up Han Fu, Han Fu was similarly sizing up Li Huowang, from top to bottom, then from bottom to top.

Finally pausing momentarily on the copper coin mask on Li Huowang's face, he smiled and said, "Fine, why be polite, all practicing the Dao, then let's go, I'll take you out. One cannot wander randomly here, beware lest walking along, the physical body is gone."

Lifting his foot to follow Han Fu into the darkness, Li Huowang pondered a moment then asked, "Fellow Daoist Han, what kind of evil spirit was that thing just now? Never seen it in the past."

Having finally encountered someone knowledgeable, Li Huowang naturally had to seize the opportunity to understand as much as possible. With no master to teach, he could only rely on such methods.

Han Fu appeared quite carefree; Li Huowang asked, and he immediately began to answer.

"That is Rope Son; some people grow old, without children to care for them, or children are unfilial, so they say one can find it, let it help you raise old age and send off death."

Hearing this, Li Huowang immediately associated it with that female corpse from before, speaking with some surprise: "That thing truly helps people raise old age and send off death?"

"Hey, do you think others are fools? This is all self-deception; anyone with eyes not blind can see, such things cannot help people raise old age."

"But old people~ anyway useless, cannot do work, cannot plow fields, just wasting grain, so when the time is right, neighbors pick an auspicious day, beating gongs and drums carrying a sedan chair, sending that old person to Rope Son."

"As for the house and assets left by the old person~ hehe, of course that is divided among everyone together."

At this time, Dog Wa beside interjected, "I know this, in our village this is called eating the extinct household."

"Yes yes yes! This is eating the extinct household, but eating the extinct household sounds so ugly, sending to Rope Son to raise old age and send off death, isn't that much nicer sounding."

Han Fu's words full of sarcasm made Li Huowang's heart flare with anger, a lump of air stuck in his chest, wanting to vent but not knowing how to vent.

(End of Chapter)