Dust returns to dust, earth returns to earth.

  The Second Master was tired, so he made a cup of tea and sat down in a chair on the side to rest his eyes. After all, he's an older man. Meanwhile, Zhu Zi Ge and Pang Dou Zi were chatting with me about the scenery outside the mountain, their words filled with envy. With their non-stop chatter, I didn't feel bored at this moment, and my courage seemed to have increased a lot. Maybe it was because I had drunk some wine.

  Not long after, the two sons of Old Yang's family hurried over. Yang Ersheng was the eldest and Yang Chuanming was the second. Both were wearing mourning clothes, which were actually just white cloth, tied at the waist with a white cloth strip. I heard that this method of tying has its own rules, and it is different for sons and grandsons, and of course the eldest son is also different from other sons, but I couldn't tell the difference. They still wore mourning hats on their heads, and their pant legs were tied up with white cloth strips. Yang Ersheng was holding a package in his hand, while Yang Chuanming held a package of incense paper.

  Seeing the two sons of Old Yang's family had arrived, Second Master opened his eyes and looked at the package in Yang Ersheng's hand. He said in a deep voice, "Ersheng, have you prepared everything I asked you to? Not one item can be missing."

  Yang Ersheng hastily nodded vigorously, and it didn't seem like he was particularly heartbroken. On the other hand, Yang Chuanming standing beside him looked as if he had been crying. As I was lost in thought, I heard Yang Ersheng say in a low voice: "Second Uncle, don't worry, I've prepared everything you asked me to - copper coins, hemp rope, hush money, and the few things my mother liked most before she passed away..."

  As he spoke, Yang Ersheng handed the package to my Second Grandfather's hand. My Second Grandfather took it over, opened it and looked at it with a satisfied smile. It has to be said that Yang Ersheng handled things quite efficiently, so he didn't say anything more. He beckoned me over: "Haizi, come here. Today I'll teach you some old-fashioned etiquette. In the future, when I'm dead, I'll be counting on you."

  The Second Master had no children, so it was only natural for me to take care of him in his old age and send him off at the end. However, when I was forced by Fat Dogzi to face that terrifying corpse, I was still reluctant. As soon as I reached the Second Master's side, I heard Fat Dogzi and Zhuangziguo snickering behind me. Those two knew I was afraid of dead people, so they did this under the guise of "practicing bravery" for me. Screw them! Why didn't they come over to practice their own bravery? It's not like they're braver than me or anything.

  Not to mention my wild thoughts, the second master had already started dealing with the body, turning the old lady's hands over forcefully, palms up, and then put a copper coin in them, before closing her hands again. He said in a low voice: "Haizi, putting money in one's hand is a matter of great importance. As the saying goes, 'money can make ghosts push mills', this is the money for the dead to buy their way, so that their relatives won't be bullied by small ghosts on the Yellow Spring Road. In order to have a peaceful journey and be reincarnated as soon as possible, even in the underworld, they will suffer less torture."

  Seeing me still standing there, Second Master grunted and handed over a copper coin: "Don't be silly, hurry up and help me out. You don't even consider my old arms and legs, quickly put the other one in place."

  I let out a sigh, and with a gloomy face, I reluctantly walked to the other side of the old lady. Then, taking a deep breath, I mustered up my courage and grabbed the old lady's hand, forcefully turning it upwards with her palm facing up. It was only then that I realized the hands of the deceased were indeed very cold and stiff, making it difficult to turn them over. No wonder Second Master had used so much force earlier; it wasn't just an act for the benefit of the deceased's family members. I didn't blame Second Master for pulling me into this either - after all, at his age, doing these things was indeed physically demanding. However, what I couldn't understand was why they had to make the deceased's hands face upwards. Wouldn't it be enough to just put the copper coins in? With that question on my mind, I asked directly: "Second Master, why do you have to use so much force turning her hand over and making sure her palm is facing up? Can't we just put the money in?"

  The Second Master gave me a mysterious smile, looked at the Yang brothers kneeling in front of the coffin burning paper, and then leaned his head close to me and said in a low voice: "This question is not something that can be asked casually. Do you know what the dead are most afraid of? I'll tell you, it's resurrection. When there's resurrection, the corpse has to use its hands to prop up its body, so it needs to have its palms facing upwards. This way, the corpse won't be able to prop up its body."

  I raised an eyebrow, looking unconvinced. So many people had died, but I'd never seen a zombie before. Second Master was just trying to scare me again. From childhood to adulthood, I'd heard countless ghost stories from him, but despite all the tales, I'd never encountered anything supernatural. However, this wasn't the time to argue with Second Master, so I made an effort to turn the old lady's palm upwards and stuffed the copper coins into her hand, then struggled to close her fingers around them to prevent the coins from falling out.

  Look, I've done it. The second master nodded in satisfaction and walked to the old lady's feet. He lifted up the white cloth, revealing the old lady's feet. As is well known, the shoes worn by female corpses are usually traditional embroidered shoes, and women's feet are generally small. But I don't know what the second master was doing looking at the old lady's feet - what special rule is this?

  The old man took out a red rope from his bag, threaded it through the shoelaces of each foot, and then tied a knot to secure it tightly. Only then did he mutter to me: "This red rope is called a 'Fengliu Rope', used to tie up the feet of the dead, just in case they come back to life. When they do, they run with their feet, very fast, and few people can escape from under the feet of a corpse. So as long as you use the Fengliu Rope to tie them up, even if they do come back to life, they won't be able to run, only jump, which is much slower, giving people a chance to escape."

  It seems like everyone is afraid of zombies, and I don't know what the second master is thinking. He speaks as if he has really seen a zombie before. I secretly spat and said in a low voice: "Second Master, what you're saying sounds like it's true, have you actually seen a zombie?"

  The old man smiled, shook his head gently, and covered his feet with a white cloth: "Fool, I've never seen a fake corpse. This is all just what the older generation of morticians call it, just to be on the safe side. However, I heard an old man say that when he was doing this line of work, he really did see a fake corpse. The corpse jumped up and chased after a living person, finally pinning him against a large tree, and even snapped the thick trunk in two with its arms around it, tsk tsk..."

  I don't know if it's true or false, anyway I just took it as a story to listen to. As the second master walked to the old lady's side, looking at the old lady's terrifying face, I felt a bit intimidated, but I wouldn't be afraid of what she would do next. To be honest, this old lady died too miserably, even after being repaired, her head was still somewhat deformed, and her eyes were wide open, refusing to close. I suppose it's the legendary "dead not closing one's eyes". But I don't know why, I seemed to vaguely see a ball of fire burning in the old lady's eyes.

  The Second Master took out a copper coin from his bag and weighed it in his hand, then stretched out his hand and pressed the old lady's ear root with great force. The old lady suddenly opened her mouth wide, and a faint white gas was seen coming out of her mouth, but when I blinked my eyes to take another look, there was nothing. The Second Master took advantage of the old lady's open mouth and quickly put the copper coin into her mouth, then helped close her mouth. He turned his head to look at me, and before he could speak, I preempted him by saying: "I understand this, isn't it the legendary 'money for silencing the dead'?"

  He nodded, and the second master actually smiled: "You little devil, this hush money is not what you think it is. It's not a fee to silence the dead, but to block the yang energy of the living from colliding with the yin energy of the dead. That's why we use copper coins to separate yin and yang. Did you see that white gas just now? That was the last breath of yang energy swallowed by the deceased."

  This is quite fresh, I really haven't heard of it before, only knowing about the funeral money, because when my grandfather died, I saw with my own eyes that the second uncle also put in the funeral money, at that time I was still young, although I remember what it's called, but I don't remember what it's all about. Thinking of my grandfather, I find it a bit strange, so I pulled the second uncle's arm and whispered: "Second uncle, I remember when my grandparents passed away, they didn't turn their hands over or tie up their feet?"

  As soon as the words fell, Second Master's face changed, and he secretly glanced at the Yang brothers who were still burning paper. He then lowered his voice and said: "What nonsense are you talking about? Your grandfather and grandmother both died of natural causes, so there's no need to do those things. You're watching over Old Lady Yang, but she died a violent death. When I arrived, it was all bloody and messy. According to what the eldest son of the Yang family said, the old lady fell from the mountain and hit her head on a rock, smashing it open. Haven't you seen that this is a case of dying with one's eyes open? Doing these things is just in case, only those who die a violent death will pretend to be alive."

  The village in my hometown is actually built on the middle of a mountain, and this place is a relatively flat open space, so more than 100 households are surrounded by the village. If someone rolls down from the mountain, it's impossible to leave even a complete corpse. The old Yang family was really at the westernmost end of the village, and from his courtyard wall, it was a steep slope. I reckon that's where the old lady fell from.

  Looking at the old lady's wide eyes and somewhat deformed head, I didn't say a word. Following Second Master, we placed the things that the old lady liked most before her death beside her: a pear-wood comb, a jade bangle that was part of her dowry, a wooden box with a copper lid, and a mirror. The old lady's life was just like this when she was alive - it could be seen that she wasn't very comfortable, otherwise she wouldn't have had only these few things. Fortunately, she had her dowry; if not, she would have been truly poor and without anything.

  These things are placed here so that the old lady can leave without any worries, lest she die and still be attached to something and come back home to bother people. The living cannot bear this, so they put the things the old lady liked most in her lifetime by her side, and when it's time for cremation, they burn them together, completely cutting off any lingering thoughts. This is the custom of our hometown, I understand.

  The bag is almost empty, the second master threw the bag aside, let out a light sigh, stretched out his hand to wipe away the old lady's tears, and softly muttered: "The bridge returns to the bridge, the road returns to the road, life is short, death is liberation, dust returns to dust, earth returns to earth, elder sister, may you have a good journey, let the living remember the affairs of the living, don't be tied down anymore."