Chapter 6: The Miserable Funeral

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  Feng Ai Jun endured the pain and watched as his comrade crawled step by step towards the coffin. From the car to the loved one's coffin, there was a distance of fifty or sixty meters, with mud roads beneath their feet. This distance of fifty or sixty meters, wasn't it the road connecting the world of the living to the underworld? The farewell between loved ones was before his eyes, and from then on, life and death were two vast expanses. If it had been a normal death, no one would have said anything, but for a soul wronged by those in power, even if they ascended to heaven, what could be done about it?

  Ying Tianlong remained kneeling in front of the coffin, his head deeply bowed. He slowly began to kowtow, one after another, a total of eighteen loud knocks on the ground. His forehead was already bleeding, with bright red blood splattering onto the mud. The elderly person beside him couldn't bear to watch anymore and wanted to go over to help him up. Ying Tianlong refused. After finishing his eighteenth kowtow, Feng Aijun's eyes became moist.

  Ying Tianlong slowly stood up, holding the basin with both hands, raised it high above his head and slammed it down. As the basin shattered into pieces, someone in the crowd let out a mournful cry: "The coffin has been opened!"

  Four men carried a coffin, eight sturdy young men worked together to lift the coffin off the ground, and cries erupted instantly. A white cloth was draped over Ying Tianlong's body, holding in his hands a portrait of his father Ying Jicheng.

  The team walked towards the public cemetery of Longguan Village, with Feng Aijun holding a paper banner behind the wreath, occasionally throwing paper money into the air. The funeral procession, which stretched for hundreds of meters, followed closely behind, and since there were no relatives left, the women of Longguan Village came forward to mourn and weep over the coffin. The percussion team was at the very back, beating out a deafening rhythm - the entire funeral procession was a sea of white flowers, surging forward in waves. The sound of drums and music, the wailing of men, women, old and young, and the shouts of the pallbearers as they changed shifts blended together into a majestic funeral symphony, the most solemn and stirring in rural China!

  Upon arrival at the cemetery, the host shouted loudly, and all the filial sons and daughters knelt down to offer incense and wine. The entire cemetery was suddenly filled with wailing, and the gongs and drums were beaten fiercely once again - sending off the deceased to rest in peace.

  Ying Tianlong knelt in front of the coffin, stroking his father and sister's coffins with both hands. He stared at them without making a sound. The villagers from Longguan Village walked by one by one, some sending a white flower, others standing silently for a moment to pay their respects to the deceased. Some knelt down and kowtowed, while others stroked the coffin and wept. The grave had already been dug, and the tombstone was ready - all of this was arranged by the villagers of Longguan Village on their own initiative. The coffins were lifted up, and the burial began. The two graves were side by side, with the inscriptions "Tomb of Ying Jicheng" and "Tomb of Ying Fengju" on the tombstones. There were no other words.

  Two graves stood tall, with offerings placed in front of them and incense burning in the censers. Long-lasting candles were lit on either side of the censers. There was also wine and good tea that Feng Ai Jun had specially brought along. Ying Ji Cheng loved drinking tea every day, but he rarely drank alcohol.

  The funeral ceremony has come to an end, but the people have not shown any intention of dispersing, still surrounding the grave, their hearts are not at peace. How could a person die like this? The one who caused their death has not shown up, not even offering a word of comfort. Is the life of a peasant worth nothing more than a blade of grass? Should they have died in vain? Feng Aijun saw the unspoken questions deep within the angry eyes of the crowd, and this unanswerable question was about to erupt into a raging fire. The people's hearts are hard to calm, and once their anger bursts out, it will form a massive force that no one can stop.

  The situation has reached a critical point.

  A cloud of dust suddenly rose in the direction of Longguan Town, and a Jeep came over. Everyone recognized it as the town government's vehicle.

  The jeep drove up to the grave and stopped. The door opened, and Vice Mayor Wang, with a bandage wrapped around his head, got out, and people automatically made way for him.

  Feng Aijun walked up, although Feng Aijun was not clear what they came for, but he had a bad impression of the Longguan Town Government. However, before he could walk to the front, he stopped because he saw two people behind him carrying a large wreath with the words "Ying Jicheng, Ying Fengju Eternal" written on it.

  They didn't come to make trouble, they came to attend the funeral. Those who attend a funeral must be sincere and cannot have any personal motives or distractions.

  Vice Mayor Wang stopped in front of the grave, all eyes were on him, and everyone was guessing his intention, good or evil. Because in Longguan Town Government, the two Li surname town mayors, one chief and one deputy, had never attended any ordinary people's funeral, they knew better than anyone where there was a banquet, where there were beautiful women, their hearts had everything, except for the common people.

  Wang, the deputy mayor, stood for a while, then a shocking move appeared. He slowly knelt down on both knees in front of Ying Jicheng's grave, and his head slowly bowed down to knock three loud heads.

  One, two, three, someone is really counting. A deputy mayor kneeling and kowtowing in front of a commoner's grave is already big news because no one has ever done it before and no one will do it again.

  Feng Ai Jun recalled German Chancellor's one knee.

  December 7, 1970, was a cold winter day, with a fine rain drifting across the sky of the Polish People's Republic. Accompanied by many people, West German Chancellor Brandt came to the Warsaw Jewish Martyrs Memorial and laid a wreath. In the solemn atmosphere, Chancellor Brandt knelt down, and the dignified knees of a head of state were thus on the wet, icy stone slabs in front of the memorial...

  Those present were visibly moved by the sight of the German Chancellor making a sincere apology and expressing remorse on behalf of his country, with many in tears.

  Naturally, these two kneels are fundamentally incomparable, but they have achieved the same effect and gained understanding from the surrounding crowd.

  This kneeling also proved to the people around that Ying Ji Cheng died unjustly and Ying Feng Jue died with integrity.

  Li Nan's reign of terror in Longguan Town has finally come to an end, and he got what was coming to him. Feng Aijun felt a great sense of relief in her heart, at least Tianlong's life had been saved.

  Deputy Mayor Wang stood up and walked to the side of Ying Tianlong, who did not look at him. Ying Tianlong's gaze was fixed on the two tombstones, his mind highly tense, without blinking an eye.

  Wang, the deputy mayor, did not speak but instead bowed his head and gave him three deep bows.

  This time, no one counted again. The original anger gradually subsided, the originally angry face also gradually calmed down, and the volcano that was about to erupt was extinguished. The fire extinguisher didn't care what kind of mood he was in, anyway his goal was achieved.

  Feng Ai Jun thought to himself, this was probably the most perfect ending.

  A helicopter landed in the threshing ground of Longguan Village, and five or six fully armed soldiers jumped out, surrounding Ying Tianlong. They were from the military court, one of whom appeared to be the leader of the team, standing at attention and saluting Feng Aijun: "Colonel Feng, I am Liu Xiaofeng, a soldier of the T Field Army Military Tribunal, ordered to arrest Ying Tianlong and escort you back to the troops."

  "What's the hurry? The other party is now in a state of family breakdown and their loved ones have just been laid to rest. Is it reasonable to take someone away at this time, considering both emotions and reason?"

  Liu Xiaofeng didn't show weakness either, and replied that they were here on orders, only responsible for escorting the people, and nothing else was their concern.

  Feng Ai Jun's face suddenly turned bright red, and he shouted loudly: "You son of a bitch, do you still have any humanity? Was it the military commander who told you to say this, or was it your own initiative?"

  Liu Xiaofeng didn't make a sound anymore, still unwilling to admit defeat.

  "General, don't waste your breath on them, I have nothing to regret," said the Dragon as he walked towards the plane. Just as he was about to board, Liu Xiaofeng blocked his way. The Dragon's mouth curled up, and a soldier stepped forward with handcuffs at the ready.

  A hand reached out and snatched the shiny handcuffs, throwing them to the ground. Feng Aijun said "You dare".

  The warrior didn't dare move again.

  Liu Xiaofeng said: "You are disobeying orders, you will be responsible for the consequences."

  Feng Aijun walked over, lifted his leg and pushed forward with one hand. Liu Xiaofeng fell to the ground with a thud, his face red and neck thick as he shouted: "Feng Aijun you bastard, do you want to turn the sky upside down?"

  "Feng Ai Jun glared at him: 'What kind of thing are you, not worthy of speaking with me? Pick up the phone and report to Military Court's President Jiang, I'll wait for your handling on the side.'"

  Ying Tianlong blocked the way of Feng Ai's army, bent down to pick up the handcuffs and put them on himself. He bowed to the villagers who came to see him off and said: "It's hard to say whether I can come out this time when I go back. If I don't come back, please take care of my father's and sister's graves for me, sweep the tombs during Qingming Festival and burn incense sticks. Ying Tianlong thanks you."

  He walked into the cockpit without looking back.

  The rotor spun faster and faster, the helicopter suddenly took off from the ground, circled around Longguan Village, rose up, and flew away into the distance.