Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Mr. He felt a slight headache, finding it hard to accept that his eighteen-year-old son was considering postpartum recovery. Keeping a distance from the foul-smelling "snake-like granddaughter" in the swaddle, he said, "Our He Family has investments in the Shark Video Platform. I will contact Mr. Zhou from Shark Video Platform to get the contact information registered with the account."

Since Wu Heng's private messages remained unread, they had no choice but to use their connections to urgently locate him.

Wu Heng, who was being thought of by the entire He Family, suddenly sneezed loudly, instantly drawing the attention of the panicked crowd.

The Village Chief, with sharp eyes, immediately spotted him and shouted sternly, "Wu Heng? You little punk, what are you doing here?!"

What angered the Village Chief even more was that as soon as he spoke, a boy with a bowl haircut stood up from a nearby corner, stammering, "Grandpa, it was me who brought Wu Heng here."

The Village Chief glanced back at Wu Heng, who remained calm and unsurprised by Zhou Yi's appearance, and glared at Zhou Yi.

Village Chief Zhou Dagui guessed that Wu Heng, having just become normal, wouldn't know much. It must have been his rebellious grandson, who always wanted to defy his old mother, who brought Wu Heng here.

This kind of inauspicious funeral feast was no place for these two young boys.

"Don't drop the coffin! Hurry and find more men to help," Zhou Dagui shouted sternly, too preoccupied to deal with Zhou Yi and Wu Heng at the moment.

The scene was already chaotic, with some villagers having already fled. Some of the coffin bearers were exhausted, causing the black wooden coffin to tilt precariously, the remains inside hitting the coffin with dull thuds. Hearing the Village Chief's stern shout, the men quickly steadied themselves, gritting their teeth and using their shoulders to bear the weight of the dripping dragon pole.

The burly men, now shivering as if they had jumped into an icy river in the middle of winter, were freezing to the point of their lips turning blue, and the courtyard was soaked.

The coffin, continuously leaking water, was incredibly heavy!

And the white snake blocking the way showed no sign of leaving. This was the only road for the funeral procession. If it insisted on blocking the way, Lai Wazi wouldn't be able to leave tonight.

What to do next, Zhou Dagui had no idea, and he was so anxious that sweat poured down his forehead.

Old Lady Lai also looked grim. She decisively rushed back to the main hall, rummaged through some boxes, and pulled out some jingling artifacts to wear.

"Like a Christmas tree," Zhou Yi whispered as he sneaked up to Wu Heng, quietly mocking.

Wu Heng was still curious about what a Christmas tree looked like when he saw Old Lady Lai waving her stiff limbs in front of the white snake, resembling a giant black spider flailing in the air.

Wu Heng's mouth twitched slightly: "..."

What kind of dance is this?

Wu Heng shifted his gaze to Zhou Yi and asked, "Didn't you say you wouldn't freeload at a funeral?"

Although Zhou Yi was terrified, he felt a sense of righteousness emanating from Wu Heng. Sticking close to him, he became somewhat mesmerized by Old Lady Lai's performance. He snapped out of it, his face slightly red, and said, "I was afraid you'd really come... so I came to see..."

The little white snake's ruby-like eyes stared fixedly at Old Lady Lai, not leaving but instead hissing provocatively: "Sssss—"

"Old Lady Lai, hurry! We... we can't hold on much longer!" the coffin bearers cried out in despair.

The coffin was slipping from their shoulders, inching closer to the muddy ground.

Old Lady Lai, unable to explain, trembled, causing the jingling artifacts on her body to clatter, making her look somewhat ridiculous.

Wu Heng whispered to Zhou Yi, "We can't just freeload at a funeral."

Everyone attending the feast had helped with the funeral in some way. If they didn't contribute, they would be freeloaders. Wu Heng didn't mind, but Zhou Yi would surely fall ill for days after tonight.

As for Zhou Yi seeing Lai Wazi push him into a dry well, causing his forehead to bleed, it did happen, but there was more to it. Lai Wazi was a natural guide with a mission, and the details were something Wu Heng couldn't explain to Zhou Yi.

Seeing Zhou Yi looking at him blankly, Wu Heng gestured with his chin and said, "Go grab one of those roosters over there."

The shaman, who practices both sorcery and medicine, often resorts to sorcery when medical solutions fail to address evil spirits, and the results have always been quite effective.

A few fat chickens were still penned near the stove, waiting to be slaughtered.

Zhou Yi was thrown for a loop, pointing at himself with his index finger and asking, "Huh? Me?"

Seeing Wu Heng nod affirmatively, Zhou Yi thought again. Since chickens are part of a snake's diet, using a chicken to lure the little white snake away seemed like a logical approach.

Zhou Yi gave Wu Heng a covert thumbs-up, then quickly darted to the chicken coop, grabbing a large rooster that was clucking and struggling fiercely, emerging covered in dust and feathers.

"Xiao Heng, what's next? Do we feed it to the white snake?" Zhou Yi asked, shrinking back, his eyes fixed on the snake. The white snake was small, almost delicate, and oddly beautiful, but no one dared to approach it at that moment.

Wu Heng took the fat chicken, securing its wings with a firm grip, and the once proud rooster immediately calmed down like a little chick.

Wu Heng marched toward Lai Wazi's coffin, the rooster firmly in hand. Zhou Dagui instinctively moved to block him, but Wu Heng was quicker.

A few villagers caught sight of Wu Heng's actions and saw Zhou Yi not far away, muttering to themselves about how sharp the kids were. Zhou Yi, after all, was the village's top scholar, the most likely to succeed and leave the mountains.

"Wu Heng, hurry, toss the chicken to the snake!"

Nan Nuo Village was steeped in a rich tradition of sacrificial rituals, often offering sacrifices to deities during festivals, so making offerings was a common practice.

As the saying goes, if you take something from someone, you should do something for them. Once it ate the chicken, the snake ought to slither away.

All the villagers present believed that the water seeping from the coffin was definitely the work of the white snake blocking the path.

Wu Heng did not do as everyone expected. Instead, he lifted the rooster and placed it on the black wooden coffin!

The move left everyone in stunned silence.

"This is an affront to the dead! Who let that fool from the Wu family in here?"

"Dr. Wu hasn't returned from the mountains yet, no one can control him. If Wu Heng were my kid, I'd tan his hide."

"What kind of event is this? Is this a place for fools? Did Zhou Yi bring him? The village's brightest kid running around with a fool, don't let him drag you down and fail to get into college."

"Who's gonna shoo that chicken away? It's bad juju! I wouldn't dare."

"..."

The whispers around them grew louder. Zhou Yi, catching his grandfather's fiery gaze, felt even more desperate. He had no idea Wu Heng would place the chicken on Lai Wazi's coffin. Meanwhile, old lady Lai appeared lost in contemplation as she watched Wu Heng.

"Why isn't the rooster bolting?" Zhou Yi avoided Zhou Dagui's furious gaze and quickly noticed something unusual.

When he went to catch the chicken earlier, the roosters were fiercely aggressive, and he had never done such a thing before, even getting pecked several times.

Now, with no restraints, the rooster stood firmly on the coffin without immediately running away?

Wu Heng glanced at the young boy in black mourning clothes inside the coffin, picked up a feather, lightly dipped it in the sticky water seeping from the coffin, and then stuck the feather on the rooster's comb.

He looked at the coffin and said only one word: "Come."

Old lady Lai was suddenly shaken!

The temperature around had already dropped to freezing, and a gust of wind made everyone wish they could put on a down jacket immediately.

No one dared to approach, but they all felt that the rooster's gaze had changed.

Wu Heng looked at the little white snake still blocking the path and said to the rooster, "Kowtow."

Some villagers whispered, demanding that someone drag Wu Heng, the disruptive idiot, away.

The rooster lowered its majestic, dazzling crest, its head gradually drooping until it bumped against the coffin, forcefully bowing to the little white snake.

A rooster bowing—now that’s something you don’t see every day.

The little white snake stared for a few seconds, seemingly satisfied, then slithered away and disappeared down the long path.

Wu Heng plucked a feather from the rooster’s crest, stuck it onto the coffin lid, then picked up the rooster and quietly stepped back.

The seven or eight strong men carrying the coffin poles suddenly felt the weight on their shoulders lighten. The leaking coffin stopped abruptly, as if a faucet had been turned off. The chill they felt lingered but gradually faded, and the noisy chirping of summer insects finally returned to their ears.

Everyone stared at Wu Heng in shock. It was likely the first time Wu Heng had ever been shown such deep respect.

Old lady Lai gave Wu Heng a deep look and called out loudly, "Let's go!"

The Lai family immediately broke into the sounds of gongs and drums. Someone led the way holding wreaths and memorial tablets, scattering paper money. The strong men carried the coffin out, leaving only some elderly and women in the courtyard, still murmuring and occasionally glancing at Wu Heng.

From afar, the funeral procession swayed under the flickering glow of dim lanterns.

Zhou Yi walked up to Wu Heng and said, "I’ve never seen a rooster bow before."

The rooster, with its beautiful crest, strutted proudly around the courtyard, as if it were the master of the house.

Wu Heng said, "It was Lai Wazi bowing to the white snake."

Zhou Yi frowned, confused.

Wasn’t it the rooster?

Was it... possession?

Zhou Yi’s eyes widened in shock.

Wu Heng added, "Lai Wazi must have owed a favor to that water snake. How could he be buried without repaying it?"

As for what favor Lai Wazi owed, Wu Heng had no interest in finding out.

Zhou Yi couldn’t help but ask curiously, "Xiao Heng, how did you know it was a water snake?"

Wu Heng mysteriously replied, "I guessed."

Wu Heng cast a longing glance at the stove. The food here was amazing. Without the food, this place had nothing to offer him. He gave Zhou Yi’s shoulder a pat and asked, "Want to head back?"

Zhou Yi, having just experienced something so supernatural for the first time, was too scared to go back alone. His grandfather, Zhou Dagui, had joined the funeral procession, and it was unclear when he’d be back. Hearing Wu Heng's question, he quickly said, "Yes, let's go back."

The two of them left the Lai family, walking under the clear, cool moonlight as they headed home.

Fortunately, the Wu and Zhou families were close, only a few dozen meters apart.

Zhou Yi kept glancing at Wu Heng, wanting to ask something but unsure how, so he just scratched his head in frustration.

Just then, a playful ringtone chimed.

"...If you really love me, praise praise praise praise praise me. If you really love me, hug me." [Note]

Wu Heng took out his phone from his pocket, chuckling at the nursery rhyme playing. He figured Eugene must have set it, since everyone treated him like a little kid.

Looking at the caller ID, it was an unfamiliar number from the capital city.

Wu Heng stared at the number, a faint smile tugging at his lips, and answered the call.

Before he could speak, a familiar yet urgent middle-aged woman's voice came through, "Are you Dr. Wu Heng from Chengde Medical Hall? I am... I am..."

Mrs. He's mind went blank, and she said in despair, "...the snake fetus’s grandmother."