He Jinfeng told Cha Wenbin that he couldn't mess with him!

  Who is the immortal looking for? It's naturally the land god. Some things, so-called "gods", can't be provoked either. He was born in the five elements but not within the three realms. No heaven above, no earth below. Why even Zhang Sanfeng, a great master, couldn't do anything about it, because all the talismans and Taoist methods are generated from the power of the natural five elements. It's about the way of mutual generation and restraint among all things, all things are born from yin and yang, yin and yang and the five elements are inseparable, but this immortal is outside the three realms.

  What lies beyond the Three Realms? Sorry, even gods don't know the answer to this question, because they are just one of the existences within the Three Realms.

  The undead are beings that exist outside of the three realms. This was the first time I had heard this term, and also the first time Wen Bin truly faced an unsolvable problem.

  A coffin in one mouth, and the scene still has the remnants of yesterday's digging, I thought to myself, how big is my life.

  "Have someone carry it down," said Cha Wenbin after a moment of contemplation. "Isn't there a charity house in the village? Put it there for now."

  "That? That's been abandoned for a long time. Since my great-grandfather's generation came to this village, that house hasn't been opened."

  There is an old house in Hong Village, which is not actually a house, and it's been many years since anyone has lived there. The white walls have almost turned black, located in a small valley at the very back of Hong Village. Outside the house stands a giant water pine tree that would take four men to encircle its trunk. Some people say that the age of the house can be determined by looking at how old the tree is at the entrance, using this method of calculation, it's estimated to be over a thousand years old.

  When great-grandfather first came, someone wanted to take over the house, after all, it was a masterless era, whoever occupied it would be its owner. The place was good except for being a bit dark and shaded, with only a three-meter-wide road separating it from the river, and the house was built against a mountain, with six large bays horizontally, two smaller ones on either side, and a courtyard in the middle, occupying several mu of land.

  When they arrived, the house had been abandoned for a long time. The weeds were all over the place outside the door. It was said that there were originally two pairs of stone beasts at the gate of the house, but later it was unknown where they went. Now, only the tightly closed big gate and the smooth steps can be seen. The house was renovated once in the early 20th century. At that time, my great-grandfather said that this house could not live with people, probably because it was a charity house before.

  Charity houses are not common, in the past when people died away from home, they wanted to return to their hometown. Chinese people emphasize "falling leaves returning to their roots". Before the coffin can be transported back to the old home, it is generally stored in a charity house. There are also cases where after death, due to various reasons such as not being able to enter the ancestral tomb, or not being suitable for burial, or having unresolved grievances, they will first be placed in a charity house until these matters are resolved before proceeding with the funeral, mainly to let people die without regret and enter the earth.

  Hongcun Village is located at the intersection of three counties in Zhejiang and Anhui provinces, with a recorded history dating back to the Qin Dynasty. At that time, it was already an important post station. In the days when transportation was not well developed, Hongcun was also a major thoroughfare. Many merchants traveled through here, making it a necessary route for entering southern Anhui from northwestern Zhejiang and the Yangtze River Delta region. The ancient road that remains today is still used by locals.

  The historical discontinuity of Hong Village occurred from the late Ming to the mid-Qing period. During this time, what happened here is unknown. Just like my great-grandfather's generation saw when they came over, there were empty houses and abandoned fields everywhere.

  When it first arrived, everyone was unstable, and there were many immigrants from all over the world. Some people just came to ask for food. At that time, the war was chaotic, and death was a common occurrence. Those who didn't care would simply dig a hole by the side of the road and bury the body. Those who cared would try to notify their relatives back home to come and take the body away. That's when the charity house was reopened and renovated that year.

  It is said that when it was opened in those years, there were not many coffins left in the charity house, only about ten or so, because they were ownerless, and were pulled out and buried. At that time, it was my great-grandfather who presided over it. After repairs, mainly replaced tiles and wooden strips, and made do with patching up, nearly twenty people entered in those years. There were refugees, there were deaths from illness, all of whom refused to be buried underground, and their descendants never came to take them away, actually nobody knew who was who, they had long been forgotten by people.

  After liberation, my father's generation planned to rebuild the ancestral hall as a collective warehouse for the commune. After all, it was a new era and they wanted to eliminate feudal backward thinking. The coffins inside were not destroyed, but someone went in and found that the place was too gloomy. They said that if grain was stored there, it would be afraid of getting moldy, so they gave up.

  During the Cultural Revolution, that house was naturally an object of elimination, and the Red Guards directly set it on fire. However, heaven seemed to be unwilling for the house to disappear like this. A heavy rain extinguished the flames, but those Red Guards were not willing to give up, so they set another fire. Just as expected, a heavy rain came again, and at that time, many people spread rumors that there was a divine spirit protecting the place, which made it untouchable. Our Red Guards were no better than those from Shanghai or Beijing; in fact, they were just a group of country bumpkins, descendants of peasants, who had some lingering fears in their hearts, so they simply let it go.

  That old house has gone through many hardships, and now it's lost its former glory. Only half of the building is left, but that big gate still closes tightly. When we were young, adults would warn us that this place was off-limits. They'd scare us by saying things like: "If you don't behave, I'll throw you into the temple, and it'll make you honest."

  This large temple is the Yizhuang, one of the forbidden places in Hongcun Village. Our village has many strange places, but this place is where I least want to go, because before you even arrive, you feel uncomfortable all over, and always think that if you take a few more steps forward, you will fall into an ice cellar.

  Zha Wenbin decided to take the coffin there, but what about Gao Cheng? He was already a day late for the burial, what on earth was Zha Wenbin thinking?

  Back at the Gao family home, Cha Wenbin's words caused a commotion on the scene. He suggested that Gao Cheng not be buried and instead move to the Yi Zhuang Temple first!

  Although Gao Jia has lost a Gaicheng, it doesn't mean that the Gao family has no men or no one to speak for them. The Gao family also has four brothers, who are farmers but united, and they will not let their brothers be bullied in that place!

  What kind of person is Zha Wenbin? At that time, Zha Wenbin was as old as me, just a young boy. Although his master was indeed an extraordinary figure in the eyes of the older generation, after all, you are just a small Daoist who walks on the side path. You repeatedly point fingers and draw pictures, who would be happy about it?

  The people at the scene immediately turned against us, if I hadn't quickly pulled Zhang Wenbin to run away first, who knows if we would have been beaten down by the Gao family at that time.

  Back home, I panted and persuaded Zha Wenbin: "There's no way, good or bad, your trick is definitely not working. It's already the fourth day and they still won't let us bury him. People have been tolerant of us for a long time. Let them go, don't get involved."

  Cha Wenbin said anxiously: "Something's going to happen! He can't be buried like that!"

  "You can't bury! Go tell that group of people what nonsense, saying that if they die and are buried in their family's high city, they'll become ghosts. I'm telling you, Wen Bin, if you dare to say this, they'll dare to break your legs. Do you think they all hang out with me every day like you do? How many of those people will believe what you're saying?"

  "That can't be helped!" Zhang Wenbin was a straightforward person, his words were always what he thought in his heart. However, this couldn't stop the fact from happening. As for burying him under the high wall, I had no choice but to accept it.

  I suggested: "First get that coffin back and put it there, it's not a big deal."

  Let's find someone, but now we're in trouble again. Those who played well with me are all lying in the hospital now. If Shi Tou were here, it would be great, he alone could carry us back.

  "Who would be willing to give you a coffin for nothing? I reckon even if you paid someone, they wouldn't dare do it. I heard that He Jin Feng and He Xian Gu are still at home in a daze, the news has already spread."

  As I was speaking, coincidentally my old man came back home. I rolled my eyes and fawned on him: "Dad, didn't play mahjong?"

  "We didn't fight, we just had a meeting in the village." The old man said and was about to walk into the house when I grabbed his clothes and asked: "Help me out?"

  The old man looked at me with an air of discontent and said, "What's the hurry?"

  "Find two people, strong and brave, to help us move some things." I saw his gloomy face and quickly added: "No free labor, how about 100 yuan per person?"

  At that time, 100 yuan was still a lot of money. In rural areas, people who worked as farmers from morning till night only earned about 20 yuan. I basically paid them one week's worth of wages.

  "What's with you? You're looking for trouble?"

  "Heh heh." I smiled and handed him a cigarette, saying: "Get a coffin ready and put it in the big temple, then carry it down from the back mountain of Cao Cao Wan and bring it in on a flatbed cart."

  If I hadn't dodged quickly, the lit cigarette butt my father was holding would have been pressed against my face. Seeing me dodge, he picked up the hoe at home and swung it at me. At that moment, I had nowhere to hide and could only dodge behind Cha Wenbin's back.

  "Get out, you scoundrel! What are you doing? I'll beat you to death!" My dad was furious. Luckily, Cha Wenbin intervened and after a good scolding, the old man temporarily calmed down. He responded with a firm "No way!"

  The news of the incident at Mao Cao Bay had spread to all eight villages within a radius of ten miles, and my father had also heard about it. However, he didn't expect that his own son was involved in it. In those days, in rural areas, running around playing with coffins for no reason was considered unlucky and taboo, and could have led to the loss of many lives. My father was no exception.

  "Say it properly..." I said with a wronged expression: "It's all for the good of our fellow villagers, if that thing is left there, it will cause big trouble!"

  "What's going on?" My dad's eyes rolled and he said, "What could be going on? The sky is clear and the sun is shining brightly. If you don't go bother others, why would they come looking for you? I've never believed in evil spirits or ghosts coming to find me my whole life. You're not learning from your mistakes, learn from your grandfather!"

  "Right, Dad, you never believe in that stuff anyway?" I thought for a moment and came up with a sentence: "Well, since you don't believe in that sort of thing, just bring it back and consider it as fetching firewood."

  "Get out of my sight!"

  I muttered: "I think Dad also heard some rumors outside and is a bit scared."

  "Bullshit! You little rabbit, what's your dad afraid of?"

  "I deliberately provoked him: 'Fine! Then pull it back for me!'"

  "You dare to provoke me, you little scoundrel!" My dad naturally understood that I was provoking him, but he had been put in a difficult position and couldn't back down now. He picked up the teapot and took two big gulps before saying: "Alright, I'll let it go this time, but one of you has to promise me something later."

  "What's up?" I asked.

  "Your aunt has already told you about a potential match, the daughter of Old Wang from Longmen Village, Wang Ximei. Later, you'll go with me to meet her family, your aunt has already made inquiries on your behalf, she's two years younger than you." Before I could react, he glared at me and said: "I'm telling you, if you don't go, don't say I didn't warn you!"

  "I gritted my teeth and said: 'Alright, you win. Go ahead and go. But first, let's get one thing straight - you're going to take care of this matter for me!'"

  "Let's go, remember to bring a pack of cigarettes first, I'll take you to see your uncle in Donghai."