The Immortal Maiden has always been highly regarded in the village; she has saved many people.

Including my dad.

When my dad was still alive, there was one time he went out drinking and encountered something filthy. He was jumping around at home, and it was the Immortal Maiden who came to our house to calm him. Though I was young at the time, I still remember it.

Since then, my mom started to believe in her a lot.

Besides calming the living, the Immortal Maiden could also help the dead.

That is, she could inspect burial grounds.

Whenever someone needed to move a grave or choose a burial site, they would seek her out.

So it was her idea to bury that mother and daughter separately.

The Immortal Maiden entered the house wearing a mask. Even so, she almost threw up because I had already been dead for four days. My mom had put a lot of ice in the jar, but it couldn't stop my rapid decomposition.

The Immortal Maiden looked at my corpse and then flipped over the prepared minced meat. It was already half-dry and half-wet. My mom had carefully divided it into portions with pieces of paper—enough for a complete treatment course.

It was already evening, and the sky was about to turn dark.

The Immortal Maiden burned some yellow talisman paper, made it into water, and then cut her finger to let two drops of blood drip into it. She had my mom feed it to my brother.

She then couldn't bear it anymore and opened the window.

A stench immediately wafted out of the window.

Luckily, in our mountain village, houses are far apart from one another; otherwise, someone would have soon come to investigate the smell.

The Immortal Maiden used a red string to tie yellow talisman paper over my eyes.

I heard my mom ask, "Do we really have to bury her? Tong Tong is a good child; she won't cause any trouble at home."

The Immortal Maiden snorted coldly through her nose. "Her eyes have changed color; she has already become a ghost. If you keep her at home, sooner or later you'll be possessed, and your son is bound to have trouble as well."

Upon hearing this, my mom fell silent.

My brother was the priority.

Even if I were alive, if it came down to choosing between the two of us, my mom would probably still choose my brother.

No one knew about my death except for my mom and the Immortal Maiden. Mainly because no one else cared.

Except for Zhang Xin and Xu Shuo; they had come to my house twice already, seemingly just to have a look at me.

They almost found my corpse.

But if I'm buried today, my death would also become a secret.

Moreover, I have no idea where they'll bury me—probably some remote place.

It's said that after people die and become ghosts, they're not as clear-headed as when they were alive. They can't even find their way home.

Just like that mother and daughter in the mountains, they probably never found each other, which is why they keep appearing.

I wanted to ask my mom what she was thinking.

After my death, she planned to use my flesh to treat my brother's illness.

Had she never once remembered that I was also her child?

After Dad died, she placed all her hopes on my brother. What about me? Was I worthless just because I died?

My corpse slipped from my mom's hands, and at that moment, her eyes turned red.

In the night sky, the Immortal Maiden let out a scream.

Who knew that the all-powerful Immortal Maiden could also be afraid?

I saw her head split in two, her always eloquent mouth wide open but unable to utter a word.

It was late, and I returned to the room.

I lay beside my mom.

Her hands trembled as she hugged me.