Chapter 142 Room for Remediation

Xiuying had cried until her tears ran dry. With a vacant look in her eyes, she was led out by Bao'er. Bao'er stood in front of me and asked, "Big Brother, what's wrong with Mommy? Why isn't she saying anything?"

I bent down, looked at Bao'er's chubby face, stroked his head, and said, "Because Mommy is tired, Bao'er. Go play for a bit; I need to talk to your mommy."

Bao'er nodded. I patted his head again and told him to go. Bao'er turned and ran straight into the mourning hall. Watching his retreating figure, I then turned my attention back to Xiuying and Village Chief Pan. At that moment, another person walked over. Village Chief Pan briefly introduced him, saying this was Dongzi's younger brother, Xiaobei, who looked to be around twenty-five years old. After a brief moment of thought, I concisely explained the situation and said, "The three of you, let's go somewhere else to talk."

Village Chief Pan and Xiaobei nodded. Xiuying said nothing and made no move, yet she still followed us outside. We came to a secluded and quiet spot, where I leaned against a pillar and let out a long sigh. Village Chief Pan looked at me quizzically and said, "Little brother, just say what's on your mind. It's fine."

I raised my head, looked at the two men in front of me, nodded, and said, "I want to tell you something. You might find what I'm about to say hard to accept, but since a human life is at stake, I have to speak up."

Village Chief Pan was taken aback and asked, "Little brother, what is it? What happened that concerns a human life?"

I glanced toward the mourning hall and said, "Dongzi might not be dead!"

As soon as those words left my mouth, Village Chief Pan froze in place, and Xiuying abruptly lifted her head to stare at me. I looked back at them expressionlessly. Village Chief Pan said incredulously, "Little brother, this is not something to joke about."

"I am not joking," I replied flatly.

Hearing this, Xiuying reacted as if she had lost her mind. She grabbed my hand and demanded, "What did you say? What did you just say? Dongzi isn't dead?"

I nodded without speaking. Village Chief Pan recovered his wits, frowned, and said, "Little brother, are you serious? This isn't a child's game."

"I am entirely serious."

With that, Village Chief Pan was momentarily left speechless, yet he still looked at me with disbelief. Xiaobei, who had remained silent until now, stepped forward and said, "Kid, I don't know where you came from, but my brother was placed into his coffin with my own hands. Why are you claiming he isn't dead? Just based on your word alone?"

I nodded, showing I understood their perspective, and said, "I know you won't believe me. Let's do this instead—I'll put it simply and clearly: your brother, your husband, your fellow villager, Dongzi! There is a high probability that he has simply lost his soul, not his life. If you don't believe me, you can open the coffin and check for yourselves. If I'm not mistaken, once midnight arrives, Dongzi might never be able to come back. If you wish to waste any more time, I'm sorry, but I won't be able to save him either."

Having said that, I fell silent and crossed my arms over my chest. Xiaobei sneered with utter contempt and said, "Little brat, have you watched too many ghost movies? Losing his soul, my foot! And you expect us to open a coffin in front of all those people? That would turn us into a laughingstock. Did you do this on purpose? Stop messing around and get lost!"

Hearing this, I smiled faintly and said nothing, turning instead to Village Chief Pan. "Village Chief, what do you think?"

Village Chief Pan hesitated, frowning as he looked at me. Clearly harboring his own doubts, he remained silent. I nodded and said, "I understand. And you, Auntie, what are your thoughts?"

Xiuying raised her head to look at me, but she too said nothing. I sighed and asked, "What time is it now?"

Village Chief Pan checked his watch and replied, "Almost eight, going on nine. Why do you ask?"

I nodded with a sigh. "Since none of you are willing to even take a chance, there is nothing more I can do. I can tell you with absolute certainty that Dongzi is currently alive and well, but his soul has strayed. Either you waste the precious time we have to save him, or Dongzi will simply suffocate to death inside that coffin. Since it's come to this, I wash my hands of it. Handle it however you see fit."

With that, I walked past the three of them and headed straight back. Even though this was an illusion, I had no desire to let someone perish for no reason. This was undoubtedly the work of Wei Wujiang. My first instinct told me that Dongzi had to be saved, and I also needed to escape the illusion unscathed. The three of them neither spoke nor called out to make me stay. Sighing to myself, I muttered, "Ignorant."

I flicked my wrist, and the black and white twin fish emerged, hovering above my head. The three behind me were utterly stunned at the sight of the supernatural manifestation. Even the previously arrogant Xiaobei was struck dumb. Village Chief Pan was the first to regain his senses, and just as he tried to call out to me, I vanished from the spot. This fresh display of sorcery shocked them to the core once more. Looking around in disbelief, Village Chief Pan couldn't help cursing under his breath and shouting, "Holy crap, what is going on here? How does someone just vanish into thin air? We're done for, we're totally done for! That young man must have been an immortal descending to the mortal realm, and we just offended him! It seems Dongzi really might not be dead after all. Oh, Xiaobei, why did you have to be so harsh with your words? Tsk!"

Village Chief Pan heaved an annoyed sigh. Xiaobei stood there with his jaw hanging open, utterly unable to refute the village chief's reprimand. Xiuying snapped out of her daze, looked toward the mourning hall, and ran back in a panic. Village Chief Pan glanced at Xiaobei and scolded, "And you! Good for nothing all day long except throwing your weight around. How old are you, anyway? Look at this mess now. I don't even know what to say to you. Sigh!"

With that, Village Chief Pan hurried back to the mourning hall as well, leaving Xiaobei standing alone in a daze. Coming to his senses, Xiaobei looked at the retreating figures of Xiuying and the village chief, and shouted angrily in frustration, "Whom did I offend? Why is everyone chewing me out alone?"

In a fit of anger, Xiaobei kicked the pillar before running back after them. Upon returning, Village Chief Pan grabbed the nearest person and asked anxiously, "Hey, Xiaobin, did you see that young fellow who came here at noon?"

Xiaobin shook his head and looked at the village chief in confusion. Village Chief Pan turned to ask the others, but everyone claimed they hadn't seen him either. Looking utterly defeated, Village Chief Pan sat down and muttered, "We're in trouble. We've offended an immortal. Our village is finished for good. Sigh!"

The villagers stared at him in bewilderment. The man named Xiaobin asked, "Village Chief, what on earth is going on? What immortal?"

Hanging his head, Village Chief Pan waved a hand and said nothing. In truth, I had been watching from nearby the entire time without actually leaving. Both Xiuying and Xiaobei were searching everywhere for me. A faint smile touched my lips as I muttered to myself, "You people really won't believe anything unless I show you some genuine proof."

With that, I stepped out into the open. Village Chief Pan was still sitting with his head lowered in despair. When I stood before him, he sensed my presence and instinctively looked up. At the sight of me, he sprang to his feet with a bitter expression and stammered, "Ah, I thought you had left! Great Immortal, I was blind earlier, please forgive my offense. Please be generous and don't hold it against a petty person like me."

Hearing Village Chief Pan use such respectful honorifics, I waved a hand and said, "I am no immortal, and you don't need to be so formal. Just call me Xiaoxuan. Now, regarding what I said earlier, what have you decided? Time waits for no one."

Village Chief Pan looked at me, then glanced at Xiuying and Xiaobei, who had hurried over upon hearing the commotion. Acting as if she had finally caught hold of a life-saving straw, Xiuying rushed over, grabbed my hands, and dropped to her knees. I quickly caught her by the arms and said softly, "Please don't do this. Let's go somewhere private to talk."

Wiping away her tears, Xiuying nodded and led me into a side parlor within the inner rooms. Once we were inside and the door was shut, Xiuying dropped to her knees with a loud thud, weeping bitterly as she pleaded, "Great Immortal, I beg you to save my husband! Please! I was blind just now, I... I kowtow to you, please save my husband!"

Frowning, I tried to pull Xiuying back up, but she remained stubbornly on her knees, refusing to budge. I glanced at the village chief and Xiaobei, who stepped forward to help me lift her to her feet. Sighing, I said, "You don't need to do this. I will save him. Since you all agree, we should call off the funeral arrangements immediately. Scatter the crowd first; with too many people around, things will get complicated."

Village Chief Pan nodded, turned to Xiaobei, and snapped, "What are you standing there for? Go on!"

Xiaobei nodded, pushed open the door, and went out to disperse the people.