Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Master’s body had been lying in state for three days, and he was to be officially cremated the next day.

Kong Yi and I kept the final night’s vigil in the funeral hall.

Master had passed away in a car accident, and his body was in poor condition. Because of this, we didn’t use a transparent casket, so I didn’t even get to see him one last time.

During that night, as dawn approached, I fell into a hazy dream.

In the dream, I was driving a heavy truck down a road. Outside, it was pitch black.

Suddenly, I heard someone calling my name.

I had experienced something like this once before.

Back then, Master told me that if you’re driving at night and someone outside the truck calls your full name, you must never respond. It’s best not to even look.

But this time, I found it harder and harder to stay still in my dream.

Because the voice calling my name from outside the window was too familiar. It was Master.

I reached for the truck window, thinking that even a single glance would be enough.

Suddenly, someone slapped me from behind!

I jerked awake. Outside, the sky was just beginning to brighten.

I was sitting on the steps in front of Master’s casket.

Kong Yi was curled up in a chair, seemingly dreaming as well.

I looked back at Master’s coffin and wiped my face; it was wet with tears.

At nine in the morning, Master’s old colleagues began arriving one after another.

These were men who had spent half their lives on the road. Hearing the news of Master’s passing, they couldn’t help but sigh with sorrow.

Halfway through the funeral, Kong Liang finally showed up.

He stood in the crowd with a reckless, defiant air. Some of the relatives wanted to give him a piece of their mind, but out of respect for the funeral, they held back.

After the cremation was over, Old Chen, who had been closest to Master, pulled me aside.

“Changdong! I heard your Master died on a Chongsha Road. Is that true?”

I nodded. “Master did it to help Kong Liang pay off his debts.”

“Sigh, then this is going to be difficult!” Old Chen sighed.

“In our line of work, if someone dies on the road, then during the Third Seventh, we have to drive out to the road for the Calling Back the Spirit ritual. The soul has to be called back before the burial can proceed properly.

“But your Master died on a Chongsha Road. The Chongsha wasn’t finished. Who would dare go there for the Calling Back the Spirit?”

“I’ll go!”

Without a second thought, I said firmly, “I will definitely bring Master back.”

“You going alone isn’t enough. Kong Liang has to go too. He’s the eldest son; his Calling Back the Spirit will be the most effective,” added Old Li, who had been listening nearby.

“Hey, where’s Liang?”

Everyone wanted to call Kong Liang over to give him instructions, but when they looked around, he had vanished again.

Just then, Kong Yi’s voice suddenly rang out from the outer room: “Brother, what are you doing? Are you even human? You can’t take this money!”

Hearing this, I rushed outside and saw Kong Liang stuffing a stack of cash into his bag.

That money consisted of the bereavement gifts left by everyone who had come to the funeral.

Kong Yi had been recording the names in the ledger, never expecting that Kong Liang had wandered over specifically to target the gift money.