The first time such a strange thing happened in Gouhe Village was when a wedding was followed by a funeral only half a month later. It was something the villagers had never seen before.
There was a local custom here: the younger the deceased, the sooner they had to be buried. For someone who died at seventy or eighty years old, their funeral could be delayed for two or three days, and a large feast would be held so the villagers could share in the so-called good fortune of a peaceful death.
But Xie Hong was only twenty-five years old. Most people believed that those who died young carried strong resentment, bringing bad luck to others. Therefore, he had to be buried as soon as possible.
The coffin had originally been prepared by the old grandmother for herself. A decent coffin usually took several days to make, and Xie Hong’s sudden death left no time to prepare one. Since they could not borrow a coffin either, the old woman painfully gave up her own coffin for her grandson.
Everything went smoothly during the funeral preparations until early the next morning.
While sealing the coffin, the old craftsman accidentally slipped, and the coffin lid fell heavily to the ground.
The old grandmother immediately turned pale.
“Hong’er cannot rest in peace! He refuses to be buried!”
As for why he could not rest in peace, she once again pointed at Zhu Mingyue.
“My poor Hong’er was cursed to death right after getting married. Since they cannot be husband and wife in the living world, let him be buried alive with Hong’er. Then my grandson will have company on the road to the underworld.”
Zhu Mingyue was stunned.
This old woman just would not leave him alone!
If Xie Hong could not rest in peace, why should he be buried alive with him? If Zhu Mingyue died with resentment, who would accompany him? Could he come back and take revenge on her?
The old woman waved her hand.
“Dashuan! Ershuan! Tie him up quickly!”
As soon as she finished speaking—
Click.
The coffin lid was successfully closed this time.
The two uncles exchanged awkward glances.
So… were they still supposed to capture their newly married nephew-in-law?
Of course they were.
The old woman had never liked Zhu Mingyue. Now that her grandson was dead, keeping a male spouse in the Xie family only annoyed her.
As for letting Zhu Mingyue go, she had never considered it.
After all, he had been bought for four shi of rice. She could not let such an investment go to waste. If he was useless alive, then he could at least serve as a burial companion and provide some final value.
Zhu Mingyue gritted his teeth and glanced at the axe hanging behind Xie Pei’s waist.
He made up his mind.
If they attacked him, he would grab the axe and fight desperately, even if it meant dying together.
At that critical moment, Xie Pei finally spoke.
“This is the Xie family. You have gone too far.”
Hearing those words, Zhu Mingyue looked at him gratefully. No matter what Xie Pei had done before, he immediately moved behind him as if he had found a lifeline.
The old woman exploded with anger.
“I am Xie Hong’s grandmother! I am handling his funeral. An outsider like you has no right to interfere!”
“Outsider.”
The insult was obvious. She was mocking Xie Pei for not being related to Xie Hong by blood.
“Why are you standing there?” she shouted. “Put that cursed thing in a cage and drown him! Hong’er cannot wait any longer!”
Zhu Mingyue nearly cursed aloud.
Who exactly could not wait any longer?
If she wanted him dead, she should just say so instead of using the dead Xie Hong as an excuse.
Unable to do anything else, he hid behind Xie Pei and shot angry looks at her.
The two uncles hesitated but eventually stepped forward.
Reacting quickly, Zhu Mingyue pulled out Xie Pei’s axe and held it tightly in front of himself.
“Whoever touches me, I’ll chop them to death! Try me if you don’t believe it!”
Xie Pei raised an eyebrow.
His usually timid sister-in-law, who cried at the slightest provocation, was finally showing some courage.
The uncles immediately stopped, afraid of getting hurt.
The old woman was even more frightened. The moment she saw the axe, she hid behind a door.
“This is outrageous! Xie Pei, take the axe away from him!”
She did not dare approach herself and could only encourage others.
Xie Pei disliked this family and considered them almost enemies.
Why would he listen to her?
With a cold expression, he took the axe from Zhu Mingyue and threw it outside.
The axe flew past one uncle’s face before burying itself deeply into a wooden door.
The handle trembled slightly.
The old woman screamed and quickly pulled her hand away from the door, breaking into a cold sweat.
Xie Pei said coldly,
“You can deal with Xie Hong’s funeral however you want. I won’t interfere. But if you try to touch someone you shouldn’t, don’t blame me for turning against you.”
The old woman’s tone softened.
“But he’s Xie Hong’s husband. Why can’t I deal with him?”
“He belongs to the Xie family now. Since he is part of the Xie family, his life and death are not for the Xu family to decide.”
After saying that, Xie Pei remained silent but continued standing protectively in front of Zhu Mingyue.
The old woman gritted her teeth.
“Fine! Very fine!”
“Xie Hong has only just died, and you’re already acting like the head of the Xie family. You must have wished for his death all along!”
She pointed at Zhu Mingyue.
“You protect this disaster star so much. Be careful he doesn’t just kill Hong’er. One day he’ll curse you to death too.”
Xie Pei did not care.
He had never believed in such superstitions.
“That is the Xie family’s business. From now on, you have no living relatives here.”
At that point, the old woman had nothing left to say.
She knew she had no legal or moral standing. If she forced her way through Xie Pei and punished Zhu Mingyue, people would say she was interfering in another family’s affairs, damaging both her reputation and her family’s future marriage prospects.
In the end, she gave up.
“Hurry up and carry the coffin.”
After Xie Hong was buried, the old woman and her relatives left Gouhe Village in defeat. Before leaving, they took the Xie family’s last bag of grain and some preserved meat, claiming the family owed it to them.
As soon as they left, news of Xie Hong’s death spread throughout the village.
On the village paths, men, women, and children gathered in small groups to gossip.
“Have you heard? Xie Hong is dead! Really dead!”
“Who doesn’t know? The Xu family arrived yesterday, and he was buried this morning.”
“I saw the coffin pass my house. My child saw it too. Such bad luck.”
“You’re lucky. I live only a few meters away from the Xie family.”
“Doesn’t that mean you’ll keep running into that disaster star?”
“I don’t know what Xie Hong was thinking when he married him. It cost him his life, and now the whole village has to suffer.”
“What can we do?”
“Maybe ask the village chief to drive him out?”
“That’s right! Let’s go find the village chief and kick that disaster star out!”
“Yes! Keeping him here is harmful to the village.”
A large group marched to the village chief’s home.
The chief’s daughter-in-law was frightened when she opened the door. She thought her troublesome husband had caused problems again.
The villagers surrounded the village chief and explained their demands.
The chief fell into deep thought.
He knew about the rumors that Zhu Mingyue was a disaster star.
However, since arriving in the village, Zhu Mingyue had not caused any trouble.
Without a proper reason, he could not simply drive someone away.
If Zhu Mingyue reported him to the county office, his reputation would suffer.
His youngest son worked there, and he did not want to cause problems for him.
Of course, he did not tell the villagers about his personal concerns.
Since the villagers were emotional and demanding an answer, he decided to send them away for now.
As for Zhu Mingyue, he planned to find a reasonable excuse later to remove him from the village.
What he did not realize was that this response only added fuel to the fire.
The villagers became even angrier.
Some even accused him of valuing a disaster star over the lives of the entire village.
At that moment, Wang Dezi stepped forward from the crowd.
“If no one else is willing to do what’s necessary, then we must do it ourselves for the safety of our families. And if we’re going to do it, we must do it thoroughly. Simply driving him away isn’t enough.”
Wang Dezi looked ordinary, but his family had an impressive background.
His father was a respected fortune teller, and several generations earlier, the family had produced Taoist priests from Qingyun Temple.
Although both the temple and the family had declined over the years, their inherited reputation remained strong.
When Wang Dezi spoke, the villagers trusted him even more.
“So what should we do?”
“Drive him farther away?”
Wang Dezi stroked his sparse beard and shook his head.
“No.”
He slowly explained,
“You’ve all seen it. Xie Hong was cursed to death in less than half a month. That shows how powerful this disaster is. In fact, all of you have already been affected by it.”
His words shocked the crowd.
One woman immediately burst into tears.
“I knew it! My son has been getting hurt every time he goes out lately. So this is why!”
Wang Dezi nodded seriously.
“Right now it’s only minor injuries. If the disaster isn’t removed, the consequences will become much worse.”
“Exactly! Ever since that disaster star arrived, my husband has been coughing more and more.”
“What should we do? I don’t want to die!”
“Don’t worry,” Wang Dezi reassured them. “I have a solution.”
“It’s just that the method requires a lot of effort…”
“Just tell us what to do. I’ll pay if necessary. Money doesn’t matter if it saves our lives!”
Someone shouted from the crowd.
Many others immediately agreed.
“We’re all villagers. I won’t cheat you. One hundred coins per family, and I’ll ensure your safety.”
That day, Wang Dezi collected money until his hands were sore.
He was overjoyed.
He had always believed his father was too honest. Wandering around with a fortune-telling banner only earned respect, not real wealth.
Unlike his father, he considered himself clever.
With a few lies, fools willingly handed over their money.
Still, he intended to provide some kind of result.
His solution was simple:
Burn down the Xie family home.
Fire could drive away evil and disasters. Whether human or ghost, everything could be reduced to ashes.
As for Zhu Mingyue—the supposed source of all misfortune—he planned to tie him to a wooden frame surrounded by firewood and burn him from dawn until noon.
Whether he survived or not, Wang Dezi claimed the disaster would be completely destroyed.
Having paid their money, the villagers believed him without question.
Without hesitation, they immediately surrounded the Xie family home.