The seven coffin nails were slowly wedged into the coffin board with a wooden mallet.
The whole coffin gradually became more and more perfect.
at the funeral,
If the deceased is a woman, this step of "lidding the coffin and grinding the nails" needs to be completed by her natal nephew or brother.
The nail grinder Cui Daren was looking for now looked slightly older than Cui Daren. He was indeed his mother's nephew from her natal family.
The man with gray hair was holding the coffin nails in place with one hand and waving a gavel with the other.
You kept chanting: "Hide from nails, hide from nails."
tuk tuk tuk,
The gavel fell once,
The coffin nails were wedged an inch into the coffin lid.
There are seven coffin nails, four of which go straight through the coffin and penetrate deep into the side of the coffin, which are the ‘longevity nails’.
The other three are one at the top of the front and are called ‘life nails’.
The other two are arranged either on the left side or on the right side, depending on men and women.
In the sound of suona,
The person who grinds nails dare not tremble in his arms at all,
The nail grinding ceremony was completed meticulously.
Cui Daren circled around his old mother's coffin and cried hard again. Then he stood up suddenly and bumped towards the coffin - the servant beside him immediately held him down.
Stop him from hitting the coffin headfirst.
"Mother, I wish I could go with you -" Cui Daren burst into tears.
Making the action of "butting the head against the coffin" is also a fixed step in the funeral ceremony.
The servant next to him pulled Cui Daren and began to persuade him in a decent manner. He also wiped the corners of his eyes and pretended to be touched by Cui Daren's "filial piety": "Master, you are gone.
Who should one rely on?
Grandma also hopes that you will take care of the family and make Lao Cui's family more prosperous.
Even if you want to follow her,
How can she, the old man, be willing?"
Cui Daren beat his chest and stamped his feet, howling endlessly.
But finally I didn’t bang my head against the coffin again.
The servant breathed a sigh of relief.
Just now, the old man exerted force violently. The always pampered old man, the force he exerted made him feel like he was pulling a wild boar - if it were not for the cooperation of his companion on the right, he would have
He may not be able to catch the other party!
It really makes me bump into the coffin and die.
That's a bad thing!
Thoughts were running through the servant's mind, and he raised his eyes to look at his companion opposite.
The servant opposite also had a frightened look on his face.
Cui Daren was held up by the two men, with his head lowered and weeping.
There was also a look of panic on his face covered with snot and tears - at that moment before, he felt as if someone pushed him hard from behind - even Cui Daren had the palm of that person's hand on his back.
concrete feeling,
That hand was extremely cold and the bones were very hard and painful!
"Master, I'm sorry...
Grandma will definitely not want to see you like this.
You need to cheer up,
It's better to give up the idea of going with her old man, don't let her down..." The servant on the right took advantage of the opportunity and also tried to comfort Cui Daren and earn more performance points in front of the elder.
Who knows,
As soon as he finished speaking,
The noisy sad music filling my ears suddenly fell silent,
A cold and old voice sounded: "I am willing, let him go with me..."
That voice flashed across in an instant,
Disappeared instantly without a trace!
The servant on the right looked stiff and looked around.
I didn’t see anyone approaching me at all!
He raised his eyes again and looked at the vermilion coffin in front of him, and deep fear had already gathered in his eyes!
The four corners of the black cloth that shielded the coffin from the sun were tied with ropes to four bamboo poles.
Bamboo poles stood in the courtyard, supporting a simple shed.
The coffin is parked in the shed.
Cui Daren knelt in front of the coffin and cried for a while. After all, he spent too much energy and his crying gradually became smaller.
The two white-haired old men had hidden themselves in the crowd since the funeral began.
at this time,
The two came out again,
Approaching Cui Daren, an old man said: "Daren, the time has come. It's time to ask Mr. Duan to inquire."
"Hey, okay." Cui Daren wiped his tears, nodded in agreement to the elder Cui family, waved to summon a few servants, and told them, "The sorrow and music can stop.
I would like to ask how the preparations for the banquet at the back are going?
Invite Wang Duangong over!"
"Yes, yes." The servants nodded and bowed for a while, then dispersed to do their work.
The musicians gathered by the courtyard wall stopped playing their wind instruments at the shouts of the servants, and each took their instruments and turned to the backyard.
The courtyard that originally seemed quite crowded,
However, most of it was vacated in just a moment.
Only a few servants and maids were left guarding the corner of the yard.
A vermilion coffin was parked in the middle of the courtyard.
The mournful music here stopped soon,
The musicians moved to the mourning hall outside and began to play music again. The sound of mourning music sounded faintly, but it could no longer affect the interaction between the distinguished guests in the main hall.
"Is there going to be a funeral?"
"It's probably a funeral. Is Cui Heizhu looking for his family to carry the coffin?"
"The banquet can be held as soon as you return from the funeral..."
The distinguished guests in the main hall were talking a lot.
Most of these guests are local gentry and wealthy people. Cui Dashan is just a small landowner who has just entered their class.
Therefore, when people mentioned Cui Daren, they spoke with little respect.
There are many people who call him by his former nickname.
The Zao team members were sitting near the door.
Listening to the conversation around him, Li Yueshan raised his eyes and looked at the maids guarding the main hall. When he didn't see them bringing bowls, chopsticks and other items, he immediately curled his lips and said, "If there is a funeral, it's time to hand out bowls and chopsticks.
It's a pity that there is no movement from them at the moment.
It’s still early for the banquet to begin.”
"That's right, that's right." The old Taoist nodded repeatedly and looked at several servants outside the door, surrounded by an old man wearing colorful clothes, smeared with makeup, and wearing a strange crown, approaching the courtyard along the main gate.
After a few servants,
Someone else walked into the courtyard carrying an iron pot filled with charcoal.
Those people connected the iron pots in a line in front of the coffin, all the way to the mourning hall outside.
Subsequently,
Light the charcoal in an iron pot one by one,
A line of iron pots will soon turn into a 'fire road' of connected flames!
The discussion in the main hall suddenly subsided a lot!
A distinguished guest could not hide his surprise,
He also lowered his voice and asked his companions, as if speaking loudly at this time would disturb some extraordinary being to look at him: "Cui Heizhu actually invited Mr. Duan to come - this is to 'refining the dead'."
'?!"
“I’ve never heard of a local official in our area...
Looking at the posture of this sea of fire, this Duke Duan should not be able to fake it.
Cui Daren has a filial heart, a filial heart!"
The contempt for Cui Daren in the words of the distinguished guests suddenly disappeared a lot.
Because ‘Duan Gong’ is indeed rare,
It’s not easy to invite.
He can invite ‘Duan Gong’ to perform ‘Dead Man’s Refining’ for his old mother.
Cui Daren needs to invest a lot of money, which actually shows that he has considerable financial resources.
People around were talking a lot.
Li Yueshan also looked surprised: "You actually invited Duan Gong to send his own mother's soul to salvation? Tsk, tsk, how much money does this cost?"
He turned to look at Su Wu,
Said: "Ah Wu, haven't you always been curious about what happened to Duan Gong?
The old man wearing colorful clothes and a miter in the courtyard is a good gentleman!"
"I see."
Su Wu turned to look outside the door, her nose twitching.
Ever since the short 'Duan Gong' walked into the courtyard,
He smelled a strong smell mixed with incense and pig odor. This smell filled his nostrils, making him almost unable to smell other smells!
Is this the smell of Duan Gong?
Su Wu thought secretly in his heart.
At this time, the old Taoist priest chuckled and quietly handed over a small wooden box as big as a thumb from under the table.
He calmly opened the wooden box under the table,
I saw a round, shiny black pill inside, as big as a peanut.
Su Wu looked at the old Taoist priest in confusion,
The old Taoist priest reached out and wiped it in front of his nose.
Can this pill remove the smell from Duan Gong?
Looking at the small black wooden box, Su Wu was hesitating whether to take the pill when a stronger smell rushed into his nostrils - outside the yard, he saw four heads wrapped in red cloth, their wrists and ankles,
A young man with a red cloth wrapped around his waist came in.
Standing behind Duan Gong.
"Tellingtale!"
"The horse's feet are here too!"
"Cui Heizhu is so willing to spend money - I wonder how much he spent on his mother when she was alive? It would seem filial to him to die!"
"Just one question and I'll be all mad, tsk tsk tsk..."
The discussion in the main hall suddenly became intense,
The smell filling Su Wu's nose made her stomach churn!
He looked at the people around him,
except him,
Most people around seemed not to notice the strong smell.
Master You was explaining his knowledge of the world to the disciples: "There are several types of Duan Gong, such as the one with the big dharma crown on his head, who is called Duan Gong, and those young men who are called 'horse feet' - please give me a gift from God."
God cannot do without them,
...I just haven’t seen their temple altar nearby.
Where should we pick up God and send God away?
Except for Duan Gong and Ma Jiao,
There is also psychosis.
That’s the Goddess, the Godly Man,
Those old women and old men who are talking about five things and three ways, stay away from them if you see them!"
Su Wu listened to Master's words,
He looked at Li Zhuer beside him.
Pearl's face turned red,
His brows furrowed slightly.
He looked like he was enduring something.
Are you enduring the vomiting sensation?
Su Wu handed the wooden box to Zhu'er, then quietly reached out and wiped it between his nose.
The other party immediately understood,
I took the pill without leaving any trace.
He turned his head and looked at Lao Dao.
The old Taoist glared at him very dissatisfiedly,
However, he still handed him another pill from under the table.
After swallowing the elixir,
The strong smell suddenly became very light,
Su Wu immediately felt much more relaxed.
Zhu'er also looked at Su Wu gratefully, her eyes watery.
An incense altar was set up in front of the coffin outside the hall.
All items are ready.
There is a roaring fire in the iron pot, making this cold early spring warm.
Cui Daren was in the courtyard,
Listening to the uncontrollable discussion behind me,
A smile couldn't be suppressed on his face.
He worked tirelessly,
Much preparation,
Isn’t it just for this moment of ‘appearing as a saint in front of people’?
I showed my strength today,
Who would dare to call themselves ‘Cui Heizhu’ in the future?!
Cui Heizhu was thinking about it,
At this time, Duke Duan came over holding a strange-shaped magic weapon - the magic weapon in his hand was a dagger made of pure copper, with a ring as big as a human head connected to the end of the dagger handle.
There are eight smaller rings on the ring,
The six stars of the Southern Dipper are engraved on the sword face.
The Big Dipper is engraved in reverse.
Duan Gong walked up to Cui Daren and said in a hoarse voice: "You said that your mother was attacked and killed by Li Gui, so I came to help your mother die.
I won’t say much else,
When I go through the sea of fire later,
You must remember,
Cry, cry loudly.
Your relatives who are standing on both sides of the sea of fire in front of the mourning hall should also cry together!