Six Ways of Fumo

Chapter 1 The Living Child in the Grave

Twelve years ago, in Lingshan County, Jiangnan, a shocking and strange thing happened in a village called "Mu Basin" downstream of the Crescent River.

Mu Basin is located in the lower reaches of the Crescent River. When the villagers looked up, half a mile due west was the high embankment of the Crescent River.

Almost all of the more than 100 households in the village have the surname Mu and share the same roots.

There is only one family with mixed surnames, which is the first family under Heti.The surname is Ding.

The head of the household, Ding Zhiming, is an honest man in his 30s, and the hostess, Mu Cuizhen, is from the same village.The couple raised two sons, the eldest son is ten years old and the younger son is seven years old.Ding Zhiming's father, the old man Ding Yougui, is still alive. He is 70 years old, neither deaf nor hunchbacked, and has a strong body.A life of abundance, family and beauty.

Even speaking of economic conditions, the Ding family can be regarded as the richest people in the village.At that time, four small buildings with one floor and one floor had been built.The white ceramic tiles on the exterior walls, the red glazed tiles on the roof, and the spacious cement floor in front of the door have attracted many envious eyes.

But when people sit at home, disaster comes from heaven.Just after the winter solstice, the youngest son of the Ding family, Ding Ermiao, died of illness!

Ding Ermiao is only seven years old and has not been in school for a semester.This child is beautiful, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, white teeth and red lips, and a pink little face with a pinched face.Compared with the dull eldest son, the smart and lively Ding Ermiao is obviously more likable.

Because the Ding family has been passed down for many generations, it finally blossomed in the hands of Ding Zhiming and had two sons.So the child was named Ermiao.This name also has the characteristics of a girl.If you are used to giving your baby a girl's name, it is said that it is easier to raise.

However, when Ding Ermiao was just one year old, a fortune teller who passed by showed Ding Ermiao his face.The fortune teller said that Ding Ermiao's appearance was very strange and he was plagued by hundreds of calamities.From now on, if you don’t practice Buddhism, you must practice in Taoism.Otherwise, you will definitely not survive as an adult.

These words made Ding Zhiming very unhappy and drove the fortune teller away without hesitation.But I didn't expect... In the end, Ding Ermiao's fate turned out to be like this!

On the evening of the second day after the winter solstice, Ding Ermiao had a bowl of rice in her hand. Before she started eating, there was a sudden clang and the rice bowl in her hand fell to the ground.Ding Zhiming turned around and saw Ding Ermiao rolled her eyes and fell to the ground motionless.

Ding Zhiming hurriedly sent the child to the town hospital. The doctor tested Ermiao's breath and pulse with his hands, and then shook his head slowly.

From throwing the bowl to death, it only took one or two hours.

This incident had a huge impact on the Ding family.Ding Zhiming took the child's body home and stayed beside him, squatting on the ground and crying all night.Not to mention Mu Cuizhen, she had already fainted from crying many times.

Only Mr. Ding, Ding Yougui, looked up to the sky and sighed: "God's will, God's will!"

The next morning, everyone surnamed Mu in the village came over to express their condolences.Everyone seemed to sympathize with the Ding family's grief, and every household sent a condolence payment of 200 yuan.

Ding Zhiming is not short of money and has an upright personality, so he doesn't want to accept condolence money from the folks.But the villagers were resolute and insisted on Ding Zhiming accepting it.

Both sides made excuses and reached a stalemate.

Mr. Ding called his son aside, sighed and said, "Take it. If we don't take the money, the entire Mu family in the village will not feel at ease."

"What, what does this... mean? Why do people feel uneasy?" Ding Zhiming frowned, not knowing what his father meant.

"Alas... I will tell you these things in a few days. In short, Ermiao's death is God's will and is destined." The old man sighed and continued: "God's will cannot be violated, the child... …Bury him.”

Ding Zhiming was a filial son. Although he felt sad, he did not inquire into the old man's words. Instead, he listened to the old man's words and accepted the condolence money from the villagers.

That morning, with the help of the villagers, a small coffin was carried out.Three miles away from the village, there is a small earthen grave on the slope.This earthen grave is like a round full stop, ending Ding Ermiao's short life.

After burying the second seedling, Ding Zhiming stood in front of his house, staring at the southern hillside in a daze.At this time yesterday, Ermiao was still alive and kicking, but in the blink of an eye, she was already separated from yin and yang!

Behind him, his wife Mu Cuizhen came over with red and swollen eyes, and said in a hoarse voice: "Father, look at the sky is getting dark, you..., you can give the child a lamp. Nanshanpo is all There were pine trees and weeds, and the child just passed by... It was dark at night, he, he must be scared."

Before she finished speaking, Mu Cuizhen burst into tears again.

Ding Zhiming also had tears in his eyes and said with choked sobs: "I know, I know. I will make a lamp for Ermiao and send it to him right away..."

There is such a custom in the mountains in this area.For those who have just been buried, on the first night, relatives will send a lamp and put it on the grave. This is the guiding light on Huangquan Road.

This kind of guiding light is made of thin bamboo poles.The bamboo pole, about one foot long, was broken from the front end, opening a circle as big as the mouth of a bowl.Then light candles in the circle and paste it with red paper to make a trumpet-shaped lamp.

Ding Zhiming completed the guide lights, and it was already evening.He held the lamp in his hand and walked towards the south hillside with tears in his eyes.

When he arrived at Er Miao's grave, Ding Zhiming burned a few pieces of paper, inserted a bamboo pole lamp on Er Miao's grave, and cried for a long time, filled with sorrow.

The sky was already dark, and because it was the first half of the moon, the half-moon passed over the treetops and hung in the sky.The moonlight shone through the gaps between the leaves, illuminating the ground with mottled spots.

The evening wind blew, making the leaves whine.In the distance, there are even old owls singing at night, and their quacking sound only makes people feel frightened.

Such a scene made Ding Zhiming feel a little nervous.In the wilderness, he was also worried that a ghost would suddenly pop up.Taking one last look at Ermiao's grave, Ding Zhiming wiped away his tears and turned around to leave.

But at this moment, a low cry suddenly came from behind: "Stop...!"

Ding Zhiming was so frightened that his legs trembled and he hurriedly turned around to take a look.I saw a man emerging from the dwarf pine forest a few steps away.

The person who came was about 70 years old, lean, with a mustache on his cheeks, a backpack on his shoulders, wearing a set of bright yellow Taoist robes, and a yellow Taoist hat on his head. On the Taoist hat, there are Bagua Yin and Yang. Fish pattern.

"You, you... are you a human or a ghost?" Ding Zhiming's voice was trembling.He has lived for more than 30 years, but he has never seen anyone dressed like this.Although judging from his clothes, the man in front of him looked exactly like the Taoist priest on TV, there were no Taoist temples in the Mu Basin area.Ding Zhiming didn't know where this man came from.

The Taoist stepped forward under the moonlight, stood two feet away in front of Ding Zhiming, stared at Ding Zhiming and asked, "Do you think I look like a ghost?"

As soon as the Taoist opened his mouth, Ding Zhiming could smell the smoke in his mouth.He immediately understood that this was not a ghost, but a living person.

"Are you a Taoist priest?" Ding Zhiming asked hesitantly.

"My surname is Qiu, and my given name is Qiu Sanpong. You can call me Taoist Priest Sanpong." The Taoist nodded, walked around Ding Zhiming, and finally pointed to Ding Ermiao's grave and asked, "What's inside this tomb?" , who are you buried in?"

"It's my son Ding Ermiao. He was only seven years old. He... fell ill and died."

"Nonsense!" Taoist Priest Sanpian was furious. He turned around and shouted: "You buried your son before he died? What a cruel father!"

Ding Zhiming's body was shocked, as if he had been struck by lightning.

(End of this chapter)