I staggered back home, and from a distance, I could see white silk fluttering around the house. In our village, funerals are taken more seriously than weddings. While wedding invitations can be missed, people come to funerals without needing an invite—that’s how it works. As a result, there are usually more people at funerals than at weddings. However, from afar, Grandpa’s funeral seemed unusually sparse. After all, Grandpa never married and had no close family or relatives.

　　I was curious about who was handling Grandpa’s arrangements, so I hurried over.

　　“Village head?” I entered the yard and saw the village head, Wang Chunsheng, busy with a few villagers.

　　“Gouwa, you’re awake?” The village head came over, concerned for me.

　　“I was going to come find you, but it looks like I don’t need to now.” I glanced at the room where Grandpa’s coffin was placed.

　　I nodded softly and walked towards Grandpa’s coffin. Seeing Grandpa lying in the coffin, I suddenly recalled the image of him smiling and bidding me farewell in my dream, and a wave of emotion washed over me.

　　I was abandoned in a stinky ditch at birth and had been cursed as a disaster by others throughout my life. If it weren’t for Grandpa, I would have died long ago. I knelt in front of Grandpa’s coffin for a long time, my head feeling fuzzy, and I lost track of how much time had passed. My legs were numb from kneeling.As night fell, the sky was speckled with stars, and the moonlight, clear and serene, spread across the land.

　　“Gouwa!” The village head patted my shoulder.

　　I attempted to turn towards him, but my legs were numb, and I nearly toppled over. He quickly steadied me, and I looked at him, releasing his hand and bowing my head in respect.

　　“What are you doing, kid?” The village head hurried to help me up and guided me to sit aside.

　　“Village head, you should head back. I can manage on my own.”

　　“That’s not safe. It’s too risky for you to be alone.”

　　“It’s alright,” I said, glancing at Grandpa. “I believe Grandpa will keep me safe.”

　　The village head looked at Grandpa, then patted my shoulder and said, “The mourning clothes are ready. They’re in the room.”

　　I nodded without much expression. Once he left, I felt lost, sitting there for what felt like hours. By midnight, I went to the room, donned the mourning clothes, and sat by the bed, feeling the chill.

　　The room was small, with the earthen bed taking up half the space. I looked around—there was nothing and yet everything, as this was where Grandpa and I had slept. I could almost see him holding me as a toddler, me giggling happily in his arms.

　　Tears streamed down my face once more. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been found by Grandpa; then I wouldn’t have been labeled a disaster and wouldn’t have brought about his death.

　　I wiped away my tears and climbed onto the bed. There was a large wooden box there, containing some of our clothes and a few small toys Grandpa had made for me.Grandpa was someone who liked to keep things tidy. Although there were many items inside, he had arranged everything neatly. On the right side, clothes were folded and stacked individually, while on the left were some of my things.

　　I rummaged through them and found the toys Grandpa had made for me. There were slingshots, leather cows, and various paper toys like pinwheels, directions (north, south, east, west), paper toads, paper airplanes, and paper dragonflies.

　　My favorite was the paper toad. When placed on the ground and pressed on its rear, it would leap forward, just like a real toad. I used to have so much fun with these little toys.

　　Now, thinking back, I wonder if I enjoyed them because they were fun or because Grandpa was there with me. Maybe it was because I missed Grandpa so much; I found myself inexplicably drawn back to guard his coffin.

　　Before I knew it, it was late into the night, and I had fallen asleep leaning against the coffin. Despite being next to it, I slept soundly that night. It wasn’t until the next morning that the village head woke me up.

　　He seemed to know I hadn’t eaten, so he brought me two steamed corn buns. I took them but couldn’t bring myself to eat.

　　“Gouwa, we’ll be leaving soon.”

　　I glanced at Grandpa’s coffin and gave a slight nod. Just then, a few villagers arrived.

　　“Village head, it’s about time.”

　　Wang Chunsheng sighed, stood up, and, along with a few villagers, prepared to close the coffin. I held onto the coffin, standing on tiptoe to take one last look at Grandpa until the lid slowly came down. At that moment, I knew I would never see Grandpa again.

　　According to custom, the funeral procession needs to make a circle around the village first. This is to give the deceased one last look at the place they lived and to allow people to see the wreaths and mourning banners sent by the attendees and relatives. It’s somewhat similar to the ancient custom of drinking to celebrate weddings.

　　However, Grandpa’s funeral procession was quite sparse—just me, dressed in mourning clothes, the village head, and a few villagers carrying the coffin. It looked very lonely.

　　Despite this, many people lined the road, pointing and whispering about me. I felt a surge of anger for the first time as I looked at their malicious faces. I bowed my head, tightly clutching Grandpa’s portrait, and was overwhelmed with a sense of hatred.

　　Why were they treating me like this? Even if I am considered a disaster, today is Grandpa’s funeral! Don’t they have any sense?

　　“This scoundrel, he caused his grandfather’s death, he deserves to die!”

　　“Exactly, he should be the one dead, he really deserves it!”

　　I couldn’t stand their curses anymore and shouted back, “Stop cursing! It’s Grandpa’s funeral today, and you…”

　　“Drop dead!”

　　“Drop dead!”

　　Before I could finish, they shouted in unison for me to die.

　　Suddenly, a rumbling sound shook the ground, like an earthquake. Dust rose from the direction of Wuxian Mountain.

　　“What’s going on?”

　　“Strange, what’s that noise? It’s so loud!”

　　“It looks like something is coming this way.”

　　The villagers murmured among themselves, staring in the direction of the disturbance.After all, Wuxian Mountain had been peaceful for centuries; this kind of commotion was unprecedented.

　　In the blink of an eye, the cloud of dust had closed in. As everyone took a closer look, they gasped in shock. A group of animals, led by the legendary Five Immortals, came rushing toward us. These were the Fox Immortal (fox), Yellow Immortal (yellow weasel), White Immortal (hedgehog), Willow Immortal (snake), and Gray Immortal (rat).

　　The Five Immortals stopped in front of Wang Chunsheng and me, watching us quietly from just a few meters away. Wang Chunsheng, petrified, broke out in a cold sweat. These beings stood upright like humans, staring intently—not just at him, but more accurately, at me!

　　Yet, I felt no fear. Instead, I took a few steps forward. To my surprise, after a few meters, they bowed deeply, offering a profound bow.

　　I was stunned and didn’t understand why they were doing this. Behind them, the animals lined up on either side of the funeral procession, forming a neat line as if to escort Grandpa on his final journey.

　　I was utterly shocked, and the unbelievable sight made me take a step back. The crowd was silent, in awe.

　　“No!” Wang Chunsheng glanced at the bearers of the coffin and said, “Gouwa, keep moving. The coffin must not touch the ground!”

　　There’s an old saying: during a funeral, the coffin must not touch the ground! The belief is that if a coffin touches the ground, it symbolizes reluctance to leave, and if it’s a coffin for someone who met an untimely death, it could bring unrest to the family. In any case, it’s considered highly inauspicious.

　　I snapped back to reality, nodded at the village head, and continued forward. At this point, the villagers, who had been cursing earlier, were now so frightened by the divine procession that they didn’t dare utter a word, let alone continue their insults.