They walked in the front, with the villagers trailing behind sparsely.
When they arrived at Grandpa Wang's house, they saw a man lying on the ground, covered with a white cloth beneath him and his hands folded on his abdomen.
Getting closer, they could see that the man's face was deathly pale, and even his lips had lost all color. He looked as if he had just died not long ago.
Beside the body sat a middle - aged woman wailing loudly. At first glance, she seemed deeply sorrowful, but in fact, she hardly shed any tears.
Seeing this scene, some people behind them couldn't help but sigh.
However, Xia Sanghuan wasn't going to be fooled. Without any hesitation, she stepped forward and squatted beside Grandpa Wang.
The middle - aged woman who had been wailing there all along saw her reaching for the body and immediately slapped her hand away with a "pop".
"Who gave you permission to touch him! You were the one who brought bad luck to my father - in - law. Do you want him to have no peace even after death?"
"Little bitch, stay away from my father - in - law!"
Xia Sanghuan's eyes darkened, and she stared silently at the middle - aged woman.
The woman felt a chill run down her spine under Xia Sanghuan's gaze, and her aggressive demeanor faded away.
The middle - aged woman looked up hesitantly in the direction of Granny Ma.
Granny Ma nodded at her.
Gritting her teeth, the woman stood up from the ground and pushed Xia Sanghuan hard.
Before Xia Sanghuan could react, she was pushed to the ground. Dust flew up, blinding her eyes and making her cough.
These series of actions made Xia Sanghuan more certain of her initial suspicion.
There was something wrong with this body.
If Grandpa Wang had really died, they wouldn't have gone to such great lengths to prevent her from getting close.
Rather, letting her examine the body would have been more convincing.
Moreover, her previous speculation might have been too simplistic. No matter whether she chose to leave or stay, Granny Ma had a backup plan to deal with her.
This was going to be a tough situation.
Seeing her fall, the villagers started to talk louder. Their gloating laughter was like the chirping of mice.
How annoying!
Her current situation was like being forced onto the guillotine. No matter what happened, she was doomed.
She stood up and calmly dusted off the dirt on her clothes, trying to look less disheveled.
She suddenly understood why Uncle Xia had told her to stay in the house properly.
A person values their reputation just as a tree values its bark. Those who have no shame are invincible.
Apparently, Granny Ma was such a person.
Moreover, this was her territory. Xia Sanghuan was alone, and Granny Ma had plenty of ways to deal with her.
She didn't pay much attention to the others but stared intently at Grandpa Wang's body.
His hair was completely white, and he looked quite old.
He had deep nasolabial folds, and his eyebrows seemed to be naturally wrinkled together. Just looking at his face, one could tell he was a strict old man.
She always felt that this face was familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere before.
Before she could figure it out, Granny Ma started her ritual behind her.
Her youngest son popped up out of nowhere, holding a plate with the props she usually used.
Granny Ma put on the mourning clothes, picked up the props, and started dancing around Xia Sanghuan and the lying Grandpa Wang.
The middle - aged woman had already slipped back into the crowd while Xia Sanghuan was observing the body.
Every time someone died in the village, Granny Ma would perform this dance for the body.
It was euphemistically called "raising the spirit".
But the timing of this "raising the spirit" was obviously wrong.
Normally, the body should be parked at home for three days before being buried in the coffin.
Although Xia Sanghuan didn't know much about these things, she had participated in Uncle Xia's funeral and knew a bit.
Now, not only was there no body - parking, but Grandpa Wang hadn't even been put into the coffin.
Anyway, it was obvious that she had fallen into Granny Ma's trap.
After Granny Ma finished the "raising the spirit" ceremony, she called a few young men to carry Grandpa Wang's body.
"Stop right there!"
Xia Sanghuan suddenly shouted.
"Carrying him away like this is a great disrespect to the deceased, isn't it?"
She turned to look at the middle - aged woman who had been crying so hard just now.
"Didn't you stop me from touching your father - in - law's body before? Why are you allowing others to touch him now?"
"And if you don't park your father - in - law's body, won't your husband have any objections when he finds out?"
Her few words left the woman speechless. The villagers also sensed something was wrong and changed the topic of their discussion.
They involuntarily took a few steps back, exposing the middle - aged woman from the crowd.
"Sister - in - law Li, although your husband has been dead for so many years, treating your father - in - law like this isn't very appropriate, is it?"
An old woman standing beside them said sarcastically.
Immediately afterwards, a few women standing with her also joined in, one after another, sarcasming the woman called "Sister - in - law Li" until her face turned as red as a pig's liver.
At this time, someone whispered, "Isn't Granny Ma afraid that Old Wang will come back to take revenge if she just has him carried away like this?"
This sentence was like a bomb to these superstitious villagers.
The originally quiet villagers suddenly started to talk loudly after hearing this.
Their attention shifted from Xia Sanghuan to Granny Ma. They looked at her with fear, resentment, or anger, afraid that she would really bring back the soul of the dead and cause trouble for the whole village.
Some brave ones even started to object loudly.
Xia Sanghuan's few words instantly turned the situation around.
The few young men who were going to carry Grandpa Wang were also frozen in place, not knowing whether they should continue following Granny Ma's orders.
The once - confident Granny Ma was suddenly at a loss for words. Her tongue, which was so good at deceiving people, seemed to be tied in a knot.
"The Wang family... doesn't have enough space, so I planned to move him to my place for a few days. Little bitch, don't slander me!"
Seeing that the villagers' opinions were almost one - sided against her, she quickly argued.
"Oh, really?"
"If you're just moving the body to another place, why did you perform the 'raising the spirit' ceremony?"
Xia Sanghuan showed a mysterious smile, which seemed as if she had discovered some truth.
In fact, she was just bluffing. Her questions to Sister - in - law Li were just a last - minute idea to buy some time.
She originally thought that the connection between this old hag and the villagers was unbreakable, but it turned out to be as fragile as a piece of paper, easily torn apart.
Just then, she remembered something she had occasionally heard from Uncle Xia when she was a child.
The Ma family and the Wang family were actually true allies.
After Granny Ma was elected as the witch, the two families secretly joined hands and began to gradually encroach on Qingshanpo.