Chapter 24: The Funeral

I was taken aback and used Elemental Vision again.

I saw that a grandmother Kate, composed of points of light, floated up from the recliner.

It's like the autumn leaves leaving the branches and turning upside down, and the elemental light points of "Grandma Kate" float close to the ceiling.

That's, Grandma Kate's...... Soul!

I raised my head and grew my mouth long.

Grandma Kate's soul bowed her head and seemed to say something.

Grandpa also looked up, and then nodded, as if he heard the words of Grandma Kate's soul.

At this moment, the people around me also felt something, and they all looked nervously at my grandfather and me, and then looked up at the ceiling.

Of course, they can't see anything.

Grandma Kate's soul suddenly floated down and flew to Kate's side.

Kate was unconscious, still looking up at the ceiling.

I turned my head to look at him, and he looked at me strangely.

Grandma Kate's soul reached out and touched his head.

Grandpa suddenly turned around and said, "It's time, sister-in-law!" Children and grandchildren will always grow up, and we will eventually return to the arms of the mother goddess, so you can go with confidence! ”

Kate's mother was taken aback and kept Kate tightly.

Kate was looking around.

Grandma Kate's soul turned around, looked at her grandfather, nodded as well, and reluctantly took her hand away.

Grandpa seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and said, "It's soon, I'm fast too, sister-in-law, in a few years, we'll meet again, right?" When the time comes, you and your eldest brother must have a good chat with me! ”

At this moment, Kate finally understood something, and cried "wow": "Grandma! Grandmother! You don't go! ”

Grandma Kate's soul eventually left.

The dots of light that made up the body slowly dispersed, and at last only the largest one was left floating above Grandma Kate's forehead on the chaise longue.

It was a green ball of light, very similar to the night Leo appeared—but much smaller.

Then, Grandpa leaned deep into his own wooden staff and lightly touched the ball of light.

The ball of light shattered once more, and the fragments scattered through Grandma Kate's body, falling to the ground, and finally vanishing.

Grandma Kate, she has returned to the embrace of Mother Earth Goddess.

Leo sighed and said, "Is this the end of life?" Doesn't it say that there is heaven and hell, bull-headed and horse-faced? ”

Although he spoke the unintelligible dialect of his hometown as always, I could tell that he did not gloat at the slightest bit about Grandma Kate's death.

On the contrary, he seemed to be a little sad.

I put away the elemental vision, and the room was so quiet that only Kate's sobs remained.

Grandpa sat down on the floor next to the chaise longue and said, "Bihon, go home and bring the requiem spell." ”

I nodded, and an old woman next to me gave me a torch.

When I got home, my mother and sister were looking anxiously.

I said, "Grandma Kate, it's gone......"

Mom sighed, and my sister said, "Is Grandpa still there?" ”

I said, "I'm going back too, and tonight, I'm not going back." ”

With that, I went to my grandfather's house and found the shoulder blade of the Kodomon engraved with the requiem spell.

There are more than a dozen such shoulder blades, and there are four requiem spells, and I can already recognize all the words on them.

On the way back to Kate's house, there was another light rain in the sky.

Walking into Kate's house again, the furnishings of the house have changed.

The tables, chairs and stools that had been scattered had been moved out, and Grandma Kate's body had been laid on a makeshift wooden bed.

Kate was no longer there, and Kate's mother sat with a couple of grandparents and didn't speak.

Grandpa still sat on the floor and didn't move.

The staff was placed horizontally in front of him.

I handed the spell to my grandfather and sat down next to him.

This is the first time I have attended the funeral of an elderly man at such a close distance.

To be precise, to preside over the funeral.

This means that from now on, I will have to preside over the funeral with my grandfather.

And, if grandpa dies, I will take over his job.

This is one of the reasons why I used to dislike being a shaman.

After all, guarding the dead is always a little scary.

But now, Grandma Kate lay quietly in front of her, covered with an old but clean hide, as if she were asleep.

As for the hard to learn spells or something, it doesn't matter anymore......

But, most importantly, I will leave the village in the future.

It's a conundrum.

But now, I can't do so much, and I have to continue to learn to officiate the funeral.

It didn't take long for the other old men in the village, the apprentice warrior brothers, and the one-armed Uncle Yanggovo to arrive.

Grandpa arranged for them to do things in a calm tone: "The woman prepares the firewood, the young man, see if you can find the hunting party, tell them to come back quickly, old fellows, go to the altar and set up a shed......"

No one said anything superfluous, and they all went out quietly.

Next, Grandpa began to recite the incantation in a deep voice.

I sat next to him and listened quietly.

Kate's mother sat on her knees all the time and didn't speak, just silently with tears in her eyes.

Until dawn, no one bothered me again.

The light rain outside, but it has not stopped.

Breaking the tranquility, Uncle Yanggovo retrieves the hunting party that had camped in the wilderness.

Uncle Sanji rushed in crying and knelt in front of the bed.

Then, the people of the hunting party, including dad and brother, stood at the door.

Grandpa read for a night, his voice was hoarse, his eyes were red, and he swayed slowly.

I quickly helped him up and went to the next room to rest.

He said: "I'm old, I can't bear it, and before I changed it, I could survive without sleeping for three days......

I hurriedly said, "Next, I'll keep it." ”

Then, he walked out.

Speaking of which, I didn't sleep all night, but I didn't feel sleepy at all.

Leo suddenly said, "After you left, won't there be no one in the village to preside?" ”

I was stunned for a moment and said, "Not necessarily, there are no shamanic villages, and there are elders in charge of presiding over them, but in this way, it is uncertain whether the deceased can return to the arms of Mother Earth Goddess and rest in peace......

Leo said, "So, it's not completely impossible for you to leave?" ”

I said, "It's not because of you!" ”

When I said this, I should have had a deep hatred, but I found that in my heart, I didn't seem to hate it so much......

That's not a good thing.

Leo said, "If I'm not mistaken, Kate's grandmother should be less than fifty years old. ”

I said, "This is the normal lifespan of a minotaur." ”

Kate said: "I don't think she would have lived so short if she had lived on Earth......

I said, "What are you thinking about?" ”

Leo began to talk nonsense again: "Backward and wild civilizations, villages that are seriously lacking in medicine and science, just like the earth once was...... I originally thought that this was just something in a book, but I didn't expect that after seeing it with my own eyes, I realized that it was the experience of many people's lives, passed down from generation to generation...... Of course, there is supernatural energy here, and this primitive witchcraft is also magical! ”

I said, "I don't understand what you're saying, but you'd better not do anything!" ”

Leo said, "Seriously, if I take possession of your body, I must transform this place to be like the earth...... Remember? What I told you, the sight of the earth......"

I said, "You're not talking about earth, you're talking about heaven!" It is the palace of Mother Earth and the gods! ”

Leo said, "That's true! Forget it, I know that you little stubborn cow is in a bad mood, and I don't bother to explain it to you, you just need to remember that I really am not a demon...... By the way, go comfort your little friend! ”

I looked up in surprise and saw Kate standing outside.

Kate's eyes were also red, as if they hadn't stopped last night.

Speaking of which, Grandma Kate is very good to him, and she is very good.

Kate is the only child in the Sanji family, and Grandma Kate is reluctant to finish any delicious food herself, so she always keeps it for him secretly.

Sometimes, we laugh at Kate because Grandma Kate always calls him "Kate Baby".

Now, Kate looked at me with red and swollen eyes.

I went up and patted him on the shoulder, not knowing what to say.

He took my hand and didn't speak.

I led him back to the main hall, where Mother Kate and Uncle Sange were both kneeling in front of the bed.

When they saw me, they all got out of the way.

Kate's mother hurriedly pulled Kate and whispered, "What are you doing here, go back to the room!" ”

Kate said in a hoarse voice, "I'm going to accompany my grandmother ......"

Leo suddenly sighed.

After that, until noon, no one came.

Then, at noon, a large number of people suddenly came, including relatives from neighboring villages.

The funeral was held in an open field in front of the altar, and the grandfather got up at noon to preside over the rest of the ceremony.

I followed him all the time.

In the afternoon, Grandma Kate was buried in the cemetery at the back of the village.