C7 Before Death

Thinking about it, I moved closer to the cabinet at the end of the bed, wanting to take the box Grandfather had mentioned.

Unexpectedly, Grandfather suddenly stopped me. His voice was a bit louder than before, and he said anxiously, "Changsheng, go out!"

Grandfather's words made me freeze. I stopped and turned my head to look at him in disbelief. I was his only family member right now, yet he told me to go out when he was about to die. What did Grandfather mean by this?

Grandfather didn't seem to want me to open the box. I looked at him and didn't move for a while.

It seemed that Grandfather had used up a lot of strength in that shout just now. He only spoke softly after a long while, "Changsheng, go out. I have something to tell Poison Elder."

At this critical moment, I was unwilling to leave Grandfather. Firstly, Grandfather had finally woken up. I wanted to look after him by his side. Secondly, I was curious about the box that Grandfather had been thinking about the moment he opened his eyes. I wanted to see what kind of box it was. What was inside it?

Furthermore, Grandfather's behavior was too strange. He actually wanted to explain things to Poison Elder. This was beyond my expectations.

All this time, Grandfather did not like Poison Elder. Since young, he had told me more than once to stay away from Poison Elder, saying that he was not a good person. However, I was too eager to have someone to accompany me, so every time, I would secretly run to Poison Elder's house without telling Grandfather. Poison Elder never came to my house. It seemed that something had happened between the two of them, causing their relationship to not be harmonious. But now, Grandfather asked me to go out and explain things to him. What did he want to explain to me, his own grandson, but he wanted to explain it to a person that he said was not a good person?

I was full of curiosity, but under the circumstances of Grandfather being so weak, I could not provoke him. I could only listen to his words and reluctantly walked out of the room.

The weak Grandfather did not forget to remind me to close the door when I opened the door.

I closed the door, but I did not leave. Since young, I had always been a person with a strong curiosity and desire to know. The more mysterious things were, the more curious I became. Grandfather's appearance made me realize that he must have something to hide from me, not wanting me to know. This aroused my interest, so I quietly stood outside the door, thinking about eavesdropping on the movements in the room.

First, I heard a heavy sigh from Poison Elder. Then, I heard him say, "Old Jiang, you're leaving too. What else do you have to leave behind? Tell me, if I can do it for you, I'll do my best."

Hearing old bald man's words, I frowned. Under normal circumstances, shouldn't Poison Elder say "You're leaving"? But he said "You're leaving" with the word "also". It felt like they had a group of people who had died one after another, and now it was Grandfather's turn.

Old bald man's words reminded me of his relationship with his grandfather. What exactly happened between them?

Grandfather did not say anything. After a while, I heard the sound of something being rummaged through. It must be Poison Elder rummaging through our box to find the box that Grandfather wanted.

After a while, the rustling stopped. I heard Grandfather say softly, "Open it."

Then, I heard Poison Elder gasping. He stuttered, "This ~ This …"

He was stunned for a long time, but he didn't say anything. It seemed that after he opened the box, he saw something that surprised him greatly.

Then, I heard my grandfather's voice, "Don't make a big deal out of it. Let Changsheng hear it."

Grandfather has brought me up since I was young, so he naturally understands me. He probably guessed that I was most likely eavesdropping.

Then, their voices lowered and became inaudible. I could only hear them saying "Huaili" and "Huaiyu".

Jiang Huaili was my father's name, and Jiang Huaili was my second uncle. They were talking about my father's relationship with my second uncle, and occasionally, they would mention my name. My grandfather even mentioned the word "Twenty years ago".

The voices inside the door were intermittent, and I was burning with anxiety. I really wanted to push open the door and hear what they were talking about. In these years, Grandfather had never mentioned anything about what happened back then. Sometimes, when I asked about it intentionally or unintentionally, Grandfather would scold me. What happened twenty years ago, my father and my second uncle, were both Grandfather's taboo. It was forbidden for outsiders to talk about it, and it was also forbidden for them to ask about it. Unexpectedly, when Grandfather was about to die, he actually talked about them with Poison Elder, and even purposely separated me from them, not letting me hear what they were talking about. What were they talking about? Why did they hide it from me?

Later on, their voices became lower and lower. Even though I put my ear against the wall, I still couldn't hear anything.

They were intentionally not letting me hear them. If I continued listening, I wouldn't be able to hear anything. I just sat outside the room and waited.

Not long after, the door opened and Poison Elder came out with a black box about twenty centimeters in size.

I was already waiting anxiously. When I saw him come out, I immediately stood up and rushed forward to welcome him. I wanted to take the box from his hands and see what was inside. Grandfather was always nagging me not to take the box, so what was inside? I had already thought about it. Grandfather's body was already weak, so I didn't dare to disobey him. I couldn't provoke him, so I could only follow him. However, when I turned around, I could ask Poison Elder about what they were talking about. Poison Elder had always been good to me since I was young, so he would definitely tell me.

Poison Elder stood at the door of the room and looked at me with a heavy expression. He said, "Changsheng, your grandfather has gone."

When I heard his words, my heart skipped a beat. Then, I didn't care about anything else and rushed into the room, running to the bedside.

Grandfather had really passed away. He lay on the bed with his eyes closed and his face serene.

"Grandfather…" I called him. "Grandfather, wake up. You haven't told me anything…" Tears flowed out of my eyes…

I knew that life was full of sickness and death. Grandfather had persisted for so many days before he passed away, and I had already prepared myself for his departure. However, when I truly faced the departure of my family, not many people could remain calm.

I endured the grief in my heart and took care of Grandfather's funeral.

There was a tradition in our village. After a person died, they had to be buried for three days before they were allowed to be buried. This was known as the 'Laying of the Spirit'. During these three days, the children had to watch over the spirit day and night. If a relative came to pay their respects, the guardian would have to kowtow to the relative. The relative would have to cry, and the guardian would have to cry as well.

Our village was not big. Normally, when a family had a happy occasion, everyone in the village would come and join in the fun. However, after Grandfather passed away, not a single person came to pay their respects.