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The next morning, Li Nan, dressed in white cloth, stepped out of his room. Meanwhile, outside the Small Buildings, a group of men in white cloth had already gathered to send Brother Three off on his final journey.
Li Nan took three burning incense sticks from someone nearby, knelt slightly before Brother Three's door, and silently recited, "Today, Li Nan comes to invite Brother Three, to respectfully send Brother Three's soul back home and let his spirit ascend to the Nine Heavens!"
After bowing three times, Li Nan stood up and said, "Open the door, please let Brother Three out!"
At his command, Lin Hai and A Fei, who were standing by the door, entered and bowed three times before Brother Three's body, then quietly murmured, "Brother Three, may you rest well!"
Inside the room, Mo Xiaohui and several women had already washed Brother Three's body and dressed him in a new outfit. They then told Lin Hai and A Fei, "Everything is ready!"
Lin Hai nodded and signaled for the men behind them to bring in a half-open coffin.
Finding this coffin was not easy; fortunately, there was a carpenter in the camp with good skills. Li Nan had ordered him to work through the night to make a coffin for Brother Three.
The coffin was slightly wider than the doorway, so the four men carrying it could not fit it into the room.
Seeing this situation, Li Nan immediately shouted, "Take down the doorframe! We must ensure Brother Three has a proper send-off today!"
Lin Hai complied and quickly went to find a large hammer. In no time at all, he widened the doorway by double its size, allowing the coffin to be brought inside.
The coffin was gently placed on the ground beside the bed. The four men lowered it carefully and softly called out, "Welcome Brother Three!"
With Mo Xiaohui and the other women assisting, Brother Three's body was finally laid peacefully in the coffin.
Li Nan held up the incense in his hand and bowed three more times before calling out, "The friendship of Brother Three is something I cannot repay. Let me personally see him off today!"
Li Nan handed the incense to Mo Xiaohui beside him and then crouched down to lift one end of the coffin with his shoulder. He shouted, "Send off Brother Three!"
The original four men who were carrying the coffin had already been called away. Now it was Li Nan, Lin Hai, and A Fei taking their place. However, they were still one short at the corners of the coffin.
At that moment, Bitter Melon rushed over and exclaimed, "I'll help!"
The four of them bent down together and lifted their voices in unison before rising again. The coffin containing Brother Three was steadily raised and carried downstairs.
Before he could descend the stairs, Bitter Melon let out a low grunt, clearly still in pain from his rib injury and unable to exert himself.
Seeing Bitter Melon's pained expression, Li Nan immediately called out softly, "Get someone else to replace Bitter Melon!"
Normally, carrying a coffin is not an easy task, and according to tradition, it should be done by the deceased's offspring or family members; it is absolutely unacceptable to lose face in such matters. Who could possibly take Bitter Melon's place?
Brother Three was considered a hero, and there were probably not many who could carry the coffin for him. At that moment, it seemed that no one around could substitute for Bitter Melon.
Noticing that no one stepped forward, Li Nan urged, "Hurry up, someone come forward! Don't let Brother Three leave in discomfort!"
Bitter Melon clearly lacked strength; his body leaned slightly as the black wooden coffin he was carrying began to tilt to the left.
Just then, a sudden force lifted the horizontal beam at Bitter Melon's position, followed by a muffled voice saying, "I'll do it!"
Bitter Melon looked up and recognized Fatty.
Bitter Melon silently scolded him, "Where have you been? Today is Brother Three's big day. I searched for you everywhere and thought you had taken the easy way out!"
Fatty kicked Bitter Melon lightly and then took over the left horizontal beam with one hand. He bent down and quickly balanced both sides, stabilizing Brother Three who lay in the coffin.
Li Nan turned to see Fatty and said, "Thanks, brother!"
Fatty looked straight ahead and replied, "I'm here to send off Brother Three. If Brother Three doesn't leave well, how can I leave well?"
"Are you still planning to go?" Li Nan asked. Fatty shrugged it off, "Why not? Who knows when I might end up dead at your hands, just like that Long-Haired Dog!"
Li Nan stepped forward and said, "Heaven and earth are indifferent, treating all things as straw dogs. In this apocalypse, we are all straw dogs; must we distinguish right from wrong?"
Fatty waved his hand dismissively. "Too profound; I don't understand!"
Seeing Fatty's demeanor, Li Nan straightened his gaze and sincerely paid his respects to Brother Three.
Exiting the Small Buildings, more than a dozen sturdy men stood in two rows, all dressed in gray-white mourning clothes and holding hunting rifles.
At the same time, a man stepped out of the crowd, holding a half-meter-long high-pitched suona with both arms. His cheeks puffed up as he let out a thunderous sound, rising to a high note, which then transitioned into a mournful low tone. The fluctuations between high and low notes inevitably moved the dozen or so men present.
The one playing the suona was a middle-aged man with graying hair, but he had plenty of muscle on his body and appeared vigorous, clearly a skilled craftsman who was physically active.
As the mournful melody of the suona began to play from the old man with graying hair, a row of men outside Small Buildings fired their long-barreled shotguns simultaneously. The deafening sounds echoed through the sky, and the barrels of those shotguns released puffs of black smoke that rose into the air.
Li Nan lowered himself to lift the coffin, while four burly men walked forward step by step, their figures as solid as mountains, showing no signs of trembling.
With gunfire ringing in the air and the suona's sound lingering, the group of men sending off Brother Three were all emotionally stirred, seemingly still unwilling to believe the tragic news about Brother Three.
Li Nan raised his head and looked at the gunfire on both sides, involuntarily shouting loudly, "The road to heaven is nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine..."
To his left, Fatty chimed in singing, "Sister, boldly move forward, move forward, do not look back!"
Tears welled up in Li Nan's eyes as he looked up at the sky and sorrowfully said, "Brother Three, safe travels!"
Fatty also shouted, "Brother Three, safe travels!"
"Safe travels, Brother Three!" everyone behind them shouted in unison. The old man with graying hair continued to blow the suona while also singing loudly, "Sister, boldly move forward; sister, boldly move forward! Move forward and do not look back; the road to heaven is nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine! Sister, boldly move forward; move forward and do not look back..."
The old man was likely from Shaanxi, as his voice was filled with a strong local accent. His rough voice combined with the coarse yet resonant sound of the suona had already heightened the atmosphere to its peak!
With tears in his eyes, Li Nan walked about ten meters before seeing a large open space piled high with firewood. The destination for Brother Three was atop that pile of firewood.
Once Brother Three's coffin was placed down steadily, Li Nan took an oil drum from someone nearby and poured it over the firewood. He then pulled out a lighter and pressed it down; immediately, flames erupted.
"Brother Three, oh Brother Three, one of the most regrettable things in this world is that heroes meet an untimely end. Despite your righteous spirit, you have to bow down to Liu Long and Gao Hu! From today onward, I Li Nan will take over your legacy to fulfill your wishes and ensure peace in this camp. Please believe me; as long as I Li Nan am here for a day, no one will dare cause any trouble here!"
After finishing his words, Li Nan dropped the lighter into the gasoline-soaked pile of firewood. Suddenly, a roaring flame surged up and engulfed Brother Three's coffin!
Just as Li Nan was about to turn around, a sudden sound of footsteps came from outside the crowd.
Looking over, Li Nan saw it was Liu Long and Gao Hu.
Liu Long looked around and whispered, "Third Brother, thank you for your efforts in this funeral!"
Li Nan lowered his head and said nothing, only turning to the body of Brother Three, which was engulfed in flames, and called out, "Brother Three, look who has come to see you—it's Big Brother and Second Brother!"
The sarcasm in Li Nan's words was evident, and Second Brother Gao Hu's face turned sour at once. He shouted, "How come we haven't even seen Brother Three yet, and you've already cremated him?"
"If both of you want to see Brother Three one last time, you can do so now. Just go home and cut your veins; I guarantee you'll meet him on the road to the underworld!" Fatty immediately turned his face away, showing no kindness.
Li Nan waved his hand at Fatty and said, "Who gave you the authority to joke around at a time like this?"
Fatty swayed slightly and moved closer to the pile of burning wood beneath Brother Three's body. The flickering flames cast a red glow on his face!
Although Li Nan had never held a good opinion of Liu Long and Gao Hu, he did not tear their faces apart at this moment. His earlier sarcastic remark was more about the two sides competing subtly rather than being as blatant as Fatty.
Liu Long chuckled upon seeing that Third Brother had indeed been cremated. He nodded in agreement and then called out to Mighty Bull and Scarface behind him, "Let's send Third Brother off; I won't let anyone mock me for lacking generosity!"
Behind Liu Long stood more than a dozen men who all bowed their heads and shouted, "Send Brother Three off well!"
Li Nan shook his head and said, "I thank Dragon Boss on behalf of Brother Three!"
Seeing this, Good Tiger didn't want to fall behind others either. He waved to his followers, "Send Third Brother off well!"
After two rounds of half-hearted shouts, Li Nan waved his hand and said, "Brother Three has already been cremated; the two big brothers can go back now!"
Liu Long and Gao Hu exchanged glances in silence. If they stayed here any longer, it would truly be embarrassing for them. So they each brushed off their clothes and turned to leave!
Li Nan's lips twitched slightly before he turned to the people beside him and said, "Everyone disperse; Brother Three's journey has ended. The rest is up to us!"
The crowd did not catch the deeper meaning in Li Nan's words; they merely thought that since Brother Three's body had been cremated, there was nothing left to mourn over. They all began to leave. Bitter Melon looked exhausted as if his three ribs were still hurting badly!
Li Nan turned around and patted Bitter Melon on the shoulder, saying, "Go home and recuperate; life must go on. Without good health, you won't accomplish anything significant!"
Bitter Melon nodded, knowing that his injuries were not healed yet. Carrying Brother Three's coffin had already been strenuous for him, so he didn't hesitate and immediately stepped back.
The Long-Faced Man, A Fei, Lin Hai, and the others were sent away by Li Nan, while the Fatty was squatting down, seemingly drawing something on the ground.
Without needing to look, Li Nan knew what the Fatty was doing; he was collecting Brother Three's ashes!
He saw the Fatty holding a grayish-white porcelain jar, carefully gathering the ashes from the burnt firewood. It didn’t matter whether it was Brother Three's remains or wood shavings; he stuffed everything into that porcelain jar and then held it carefully, looking quite pained.
When the Fatty turned around and saw Li Nan, he explained, "I want to keep a memento!"
Li Nan was taken aback and asked, "Are you planning to leave or stay?"
The Fatty stared at the porcelain jar in his hands, looking a bit dazed.
Li Nan continued, "Why not stay here with Brother Three's ashes? After all, you were one of Brother Three's people!" Li Nan worried that the Fatty wouldn’t buy this reasoning, so he added, "I’m not comfortable with Brother Three's ashes being taken out of this camp, so..."
The Fatty replied quietly, "Alright then, for Brother Three's ashes, I’ll stay!"
Li Nan nodded in agreement and then glanced over to see the half-old man who had been playing the suona and singing Qin opera earlier. He walked over to greet him.
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