Yellow Spring Road, Naihe Bridge, River of Forgetfulness, Stone of Longing, Meng Po Broth...

  These nouns have been passed down through thousands of years in Chinese folklore, and if you ask whether they exist or not, the people who could answer you are all dead. Only after a person dies can they go prove whether those things that are often called "superstitions" are real or not, but by then its already meaningless. Knowing is useless, not knowing is useless, if they really exist, then everyone will have to go through it anyway, and if they dont exist, then just consider them an excuse for a deceased person to be remembered.

  For a Taoist like Cha Wenbin, he believes that the afterlife exists and can communicate with the living. On the road to the underworld, there is only white light all around, but when you arrive at the river of forgetfulness, you see the colorful and dazzling flowers on the other side, which means that from then on, the world of the dead and the world of the living are separated.

  The peony blooms on the other shore, its flowers unseen by its leaves, its leaves unseen by its flowers. Just like this life and death are two mysteries, once parted is parted, once gone is gone.

  Crossing the immortal bridge is a very particular funeral ritual in the northwest of Zhejiang, at least it was so in my time.

  Whenever a villager with some reputation has someone pass away, they will invite a Taoist priest to perform a ritual. They need to prepare many things: incense, candles, paper money, vegetarian and non-vegetarian wine and meat, as well as several large stools that can seat two or three people around an octagonal table. The so-called "Immortal Bridge" is also known as the "Naihe Bridge", which is said to be the last leg of the journey for the deceased. Once they cross the bridge, its forever, and its also considered the last journey for those who accompany the deceased.

  Some people have ideas before they die and dont want to go, but when they are summoned by the underworld, they will choose to jump off a bridge. Others, without being escorted by the underworld, rely on themselves to report to the bridge, but not wanting to go, run back and forth again. This run will cause trouble, because he brings the breath of the underworld directly back to the world, and whoever he meets on the way back will have an accident.

  On the way to my uncles house, I asked: "After a person dies, can they still come back from the underworld? Dont they all go down to hell and not be allowed to run away?"

  "When returning from the underworld, either reincarnation is required, passing through the tunnel of rebirth to wash away the aura of the underworld; or there is another way, which is to return after circling around the Ghost Gate. This kind of person will have two results: If the physical body is still good, then its a resurrection; if the physical body has already been buried, either become a ghost or possess a corpse, the latter being extremely rare."

  "Is it true that you can borrow a corpse to return a soul?"

  "Of course!" Cha Wenbin thought for a moment and said: "Actually, I havent seen it either, just heard Master say there is."

  "Were here, its that house up ahead." I pointed to my cousins new mansion and said, "See? Theyre even sending wreaths inside. I heard when my cousin passed away last year, it wasnt this lively."

  I hadnt even approached yet, but I caught a whiff of the unique smell of incense, which I wasnt used to. Cha Wenbin, on the other hand, seemed to find it very familiar. As we were walking in, someone had already recognized him and was pointing at him, saying: "Isnt that Ma Daoshis little apprentice? Ah, look, Xia Laolius good-for-nothing son is here! They say hes the one who cursed him to death. Hes not even afraid of being beaten to death!"

  The fatty glared at the gossiping woman and said, "Our little Yi has a very sharp tongue. Whoever she says will die wont live to see dawn. Are you two feeling a bit idle? Why dont I let Little Yi scold you guys a few times?"

  As soon as this was said, the two women suddenly dropped the chickens and ducks in their hands and ran away like flying, and I and Fatty burst out laughing.

  Its still the first month, but their familys matter is too big, and many villagers have come, after all, they are all here, and its good to save face. However, most people just linger at the door, who wants to go in and touch the unlucky head? I saw someone constantly distributing cigarettes and saying good things among the crowd, originally wanting to find someone to help with the funeral.

  This job of encoffining is usually taken by someone in ordinary times because it comes with some extra money, the host has to give an extra red envelope. But today is different, who would be willing to come and haggle with a dead person for money during this first month of the lunar year when everyone gives out red envelopes? The person in charge looked around but no one was willing to help, at this time Zha Wenbin stepped forward and said: "Uncle, Ill do it?"

  That person took a look and saw that he was just a young boy, and suddenly felt amused: "Go, go, go, which familys naughty kid came here to have fun? This is a dead body, not a bride."

  "Let me try, my master is Ma Suifeng." As soon as he finished speaking, the man was taken aback.

  Who doesnt know about Ma Suifeng? The old generations sayings about him are almost universally known, and theyre passed down in a mysterious way. Some people say he was a disciple of Zhang Daoling, while others claim he was a descendant of the True Lord of Mao Mountain. In short, he was a living god. People say that Ma Suifeng could close his eyes, listen to the sound of your voice, and tell which direction your home is in, how many people are in your household, which direction your front door faces, and even how many piglets your familys sow has given birth to.

  But these are all things that happened twenty years ago when we were in the collective, and only people of that generation know about it. Later on, Ma Su became basically crazy every day, getting drunk from morning till night, and no one could get anything done by asking him questions.

  That person took a look at Cha Wenbin, and on his originally immature face, there was already a maturity and stability that shouldnt belong to someone of his age. Looking again, he really seemed like a man with substance.

  "I heard Old Ma has taken on an apprentice, and its you?"

  Cha Wenbin nodded slightly in agreement, and the man looked very pleased, pulling him aside to ask in a low voice: "How much do you want? Give me a number, Ill go talk to the boss."

  "Its free." Zhang Wenbin pointed at me and said to him: "Help those two friends of mine, this is his uncles house."

  "Hey, dont pay, you wait for me to go in and talk." The man quickly ran in, I went up to Cha Wenbin and reminded him: "Youre a good person, he must be going in to be a middleman. Dont take that red envelope, the red envelope will naturally go into his pocket."

  "Dead peoples money, I wont take it," said Cha Wenbin with a shrug. "This kind of money is unlucky to take and scary to spend."

  In less than the time it takes to smoke a cigarette, I saw that man come out with a red face and a cigarette in his mouth. As soon as he saw Cha Wenbin, he rubbed his hands together and said: "Thats it, little master, this person is now handed over to you. Hes still lying in the room inside, but Xia Gongzi shouldnt go in, Im afraid of causing trouble."

  I laughed and said: "Dont make a fuss, whats the point of making a fuss? After all, were relatives, and youre my elder. I should go in and burn incense anyway."

  "That person looked embarrassed and said: Lets just forget it, you know your aunts and sisters are notorious for being fierce and overbearing..."

  Cha Wenbin took out the compass in his hand and spun it around, then looked up and said: "Then you tell them, if they dont go in, before this funeral is over, theyll probably have to pay with a few more lives!"

  "Really? Dont talk nonsense, Little Master, its still the first month of the year."

  Zha Wenbin pointed at the compass and said to that person: "Seventh calamity, next reincarnation, grave upon grave, human after human. You go in and tell them, before the 15th of the first month, this house will not only be devoid of humans, but even chickens, ducks, dogs, and pigs will all die out without a single one left."

  That man touched his forehead and sighed: "Hey, youre really right. His family had a dog die this morning, saying it ate rat poison. What do you say to seeing a ghost?"

  "I said irritably: Whats the point of still talking about this? Do you think I want to enter his house through that door?!"

  It was another flash of smoke, and the man came out, smiling at me: "Come on in, but dont take it to heart if I tease you a bit. Women are like that, their mouths are rotten. Youre someone whos seen the world, dont be so narrow-minded."

  As I entered, the house was in a state of complete disarray. The moment I stepped inside, I heard my aunt wailing and several women shouting angrily. All I caught were a few phrases: "Why didnt you die together with him? Youre good for nothing!"

  The courtyard is empty, according to our customs, this white matter is not eaten in the house. The rural house has a structure with a hall and a main room, the front door opens and its a place for receiving guests. When theres a funeral, this place is used to put the coffin, so naturally the banquet has to be set up outside, in the open courtyard, a shed needs to be built, but now not even a shed has been set up, Im afraid no one is willing to help anymore.

  "Is anyone home?"

  In an instant, a cloth shoe stuck to the scalp flew out. Before I could react, my big aunt Zhang was already pouncing on me with her teeth and claws: "You little scoundrel dare to enter the door? Ill tear your mouth off! Ill beat you to death!"

  What a pity, her fist had not yet landed on my head when the fatty grabbed her wrist and with just a slight twist, the woman was in pain and fell to the ground, then cried out: "Ah, murder! Save me!"

  She made such a fuss that the people who were originally watching the excitement outside suddenly rushed in, and now I was really overwhelmed. The woman on the ground was kicking her legs and pounding her chest, crying out loud while hugging the corpse of her already dead husband.

  At this time, my aunt limped out and pulled me to one side, saying: "Dont mind her, how is this your fault?"

  I saw a red mark on her face and her lips were a bit swollen, so I asked: "Grandma, what happened to your face?"

  As soon as I asked the old man, he began to cry and said in a low voice: "The big daughter-in-law beat me up, asking me to take out money for the funeral. Where do I have the money? She beats me when I dont have it..."

  Fatso flared up as soon as he heard it, and secretly cursed: "Bastard!" He strode back into the house, grabbed the womans collar on the ground with one hand, and lifted her up. Then he swung his palm-like fan, "slap slap" left and right on her face, I only heard that the surroundings were silent in an instant, all the onlookers were stunned by Fatsos actions...