Chapter 1

The geese in the south of the Yangtze River return to the mountains, with beautiful scenery and unparalleled beauty, and are praised by countless literati and poets.

But outsiders only see their shapes, but not their depths. There are many beasts in the mountains. Only the local people around the mountain dare to enter and exit.

At this time, a group of herb collectors were going down the mountain.

It is hot summer and there are frequent sudden rains in the mountains.

Just as they were about to walk out of the mountain, a sudden heavy rain made them have to hide in the broken Taoist temple on the side of the mountain to shelter from the rain.

The Dao Temple is worthy of its name - the courtyard walls all collapsed, and the house that housed the Sanqing statue collapsed halfway. If they wanted to hide from the rain, they could only squeeze in a cramped corner. The entire Taoist temple was a ruin.

Fortunately, the rain came and went quickly, but it stopped in a while.

"Let's go, it's getting dark, you have to hurry up." The mountains after dark are much more dangerous than now.

The group of people carried medicine baskets and were about to leave.

At this time, a honest man in the crowd took out a pancake from his arms and placed it on the altar in front of the Sanqing statue.

The bread was only half the size of a fist, and it was obvious that it was the dry food made by the farmer.

The man's move was seen, and someone smiled and said, "Fang Er, this mud statue is hard to protect itself. What's the use of you offering them?"

The man called Fang Er said, "We borrowed other people's land to hide from the rain, so it is also worth offering it."

This sentence blocked all the words back.

It was getting late, and everyone left the Taoist temple in groups.

After they left, the light in the dilapidated Taoist temple dimmed little by little, as if entering the night early, and the silent darkness swallowed up the dry food on the altar little by little...

...

After the herb collectors went down the mountain and returned to their homes, Fang Er also carried the medicine basket back to his home.

When he entered the door, he saw his wife who was rinsing herbs. He felt warm and took out a packet of fruit from the medicine basket. He was about to wash it and give it to his family to taste it.

Zhang Liuniang's surname is Zhang, Xingliu, and was named Liuniang. When she saw this, she saw that she didn't recognize the fruit, so she hurriedly stopped him, "You can't eat anything picked on the mountain. What should I do if I turn around and eat it badly?"

"I smell it very fragrant, I should be able to eat it." Fang Er said, not sure how much more it was in his tone.

Zhang Liuniang glanced at her husband, went to collect the fruits in person, and then took the medicine basket to the back of the house, preparing to clean it. "Tomorrow, when you come to the city to deliver herbs, you will bring some salt and vinegar back. The salt at home is almost used up."

"Okay." Fang Er wrote down these and thought that the herbs sold to the clinic tomorrow should be worth 200 yuan, and he could buy some meat to satisfy his wife and daughter.

The couple worked hard until midnight, and then they finished baking all the herbs collected during the day.

He squinted his eyes and took a nap for an hour or two. When the rooster crowed, Fang Er packed up his things and went out on the streets every night.

"Come back early." Zhang Liuniang reminded her as usual when she sent her husband out.

"I can." Fang Er replied with a smile.

The village is a bit far from the county town, but he is going to deliver herbs and will not delay too long in the city. He will probably come back in about half an afternoon.

However, Fang Er would not have thought that he had made a mistake this time.

...

In the afternoon, Zhang Liuniang, who was still working in the farmland, was told by a neighbor who rushed over: "What happened to Fang Er!"

Zhang Liuniang's heart broke out, and a bad premonition arose in her heart, "What's wrong with him?"

Seeing her like this, the neighbors flashed in their eyes, "You will know when you go back and see."

Zhang Liuniang endured the fear in her heart and ran home all the way. Before she could enter the door, she saw many people surrounding her house. She went up to push the crowd away and saw that she suddenly turned black and fell into trouble. In front of her, her husband was lying on the straw mat, her eyes were closed, her face pale, and lifeless.

When Zhang Liuniang woke up, it was already night, and there were many people coming from the room outside, and it was in chaos.

"... On the way back, someone accidentally fell down the slope and his head hit the stone. So that's gone... The silver is all there, and there is some meat and candy in the basket... Who would have thought that such a thing would happen..."

"Fang Er is also pitiful. Even if he is gone, he will not have a son to be a filial son." Fang Er had only three daughters and no son.

"I heard that his brothers were discussing and planning to adopt a son for him." Someone lowered his voice.

"Entermination? Fang Da and his friends, the youngest son is five years old, so I can remember it. I saw adoption to think of Fang Er's acres of good land." Another person said sarcastically.

The Fang family's house was not big at all, and these gossips were inevitably heard clearly by Zhang Liuniang on the bed.

Her heart was ashamed and her mind was messy. She thought that she might as well go with her husband and she would be over. But then she thought of her three daughters below, and she couldn't stop crying.

At this time, someone walked in and saw that she woke up. While comforting her, he said, "The mourning hall outside has been set up. I know you feel sad, but it is not a solution for you to avoid it."

Zhang Liuniang knew what she meant, wiped the tears from her face, gritted her teeth and put on her coat, and left the room.

Relatives who were closer to each other outside came, including several brothers from her parents' home. When they saw her coming, they came over to comfort her and told her not to be sad.

"I heard that the Fang family wants to adopt a son for you?" The person who asked her this was her elder brother Zhang Da, "What do you think?"

Zhang Liuniang shook her head, she didn't want to say anything now.

Seeing her like this, Zhang Da didn't force her, just said, "Anyway, if you don't agree with this, we won't let you force you. There are many Fang family members, and there are many Zhang family members. If you have any problems in the future, you can come to us."

Seeing that the sister's tears came out again, the Zhang family brothers felt uncomfortable, but they could do nothing.

A woman without a husband and a child is destined to be miserable in the future.

But no matter what, you must be buried smoothly now.

Just as the Fang family was discussing how to do the funeral well, a person came from the darkness outside the door.

The man was black and white, and his whole body was miserable, including her face, with no blood, which made people feel shivered in their hearts.

As soon as she appeared, everyone inside and outside the house couldn't help but look at her.

"Who are you looking for?" The brave man asked in the crowd, but he did not receive a response.

The woman in white ignored everyone and walked straight to the outside of the Fang family gate. She stood still. Her eyes looked around her with a bit dull look, and finally her eyes fell on Zhang Liuniang next to Shoucai.

"Your husband is still saved." She seemed to have not used her tongue for a long time, her tone was very awkward and her tone did not fluctuate. "At midnight, I was sent to the Guanwen area before, and there would be rescue."

After the woman in white said that, she turned around and left.

Her steps were obviously unfast, but when everyone came to their senses and went out to ask her what she meant, she saw that there was no trace of her in the night.

But her words exploded everyone.

Is there any rescue?

To be disrespectful, Fang Er, who was lying in Shoucai, was already dead and could not die anymore. How could he be saved?

Just as everyone was talking, the eldest brother of the Fang family frowned and scolded: "No, no, no, this person cannot be resurrected. It's already so late now. The Taoist temple closest to us is thirty miles away. How can we get through it? That woman is obviously a nonsense."

"Brother said it's right." The third brother of the Fang family echoed and looked at his second sister-in-law and said, "I think it's better not to bother my second brother's spirit of heaven, let him walk more peacefully."

When the Zhang brothers next to him heard this, they always felt a little uncomfortable, "You can't say that, what if?"

"What if? Do you want to make my brother feel uneasy when he is a ghost for this reason?" The eldest brother of the Fang family raised his voice.

"What are you saying? That's my brother-in-law. Of course I hope he will live well."

"Don't we want it?"

"This is not necessarily the case." Someone from the Zhang family said quickly, and the atmosphere around them instantly condensed.

As if he was humiliated, the eldest brother of the Fang family sneered: "Then if you want to give it, we don't care about this."

As he said that, he was about to sway his sleeves and leave.

Seeing this, the others hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed him, asking them not to hurt the harmony and to regard the dead as the most important thing.

After such a fuss, the man was not able to send him to the temple as the woman in white said. Even Zhang Liuniang poured a cup of tea to comfort the elder brother of the Fang family, so that they would not be angry with their brother.

Seeing her like this, everyone actually knew it.

Without her husband, there is no son under her. In the future, her widow wants to live, it depends on her uncle's expression. The woman in white said inexplicably, and it is not wise to offend her uncle's family for these few words.

Alas, it's a poor person.

After about half an hour, the night gradually became deeper and the others dispersed. Left beside the Zhang family brothers helped to watch the night.

Because of the previous dirty tricks, the two families looked at each other and saw the Zhang brothers sitting next to Shoucai, the Fang family sat outside the house.

There were calamus repellent mosquitoes planted outside the house. There were not many mosquitoes. In addition, the summer wind was gentle, and everyone was used to sleeping when it was dark. Soon, the sleepy feeling came. They forced themselves to the end. The Fang brothers and the others snored one after another on the table.

Everything is as quiet as ever.

In the middle of the night, the third brother of the Fang family woke up by the urination. He went to pee in a daze and glanced into the house, but saw that the Zhang brothers next to Shoucai were not there.

He rubbed his eyes, muttering "lazy" in his mouth. When he walked in, he almost felt scared away - the body of his second brother Shoucai was gone!

He hurriedly woke up his elder brother and others, and looked around inside and outside the Fang family house, and found that not only the Zhang brothers had left, but his second sister-in-law was not there.

As for why they are not here, the answer is self-evident.

"Brother, this..." They actually believed the woman's words, "Are we going to chase?"

This matter must be spread, no matter what the result is, the brothers will be stabbed by others.

The eldest brother of the Fang family was also very angry, "Of course he has to bring the person back."

"But Huayun Temple has to walk thirty miles lately, why do they have to do this?" the third brother complained.
To be continued...