After the Funeral

Zheng Ziyi knelt stiffly on the floor in front of the small wooden tablet with her husband's name, wearing a white mourning band around her forehead and the coarse mourning robes.

They had buried Zheng Haoran as quickly as possible--even in the cold weather, a body so badly mangled would not last long. It was a relief to wrap it in a shroud and close it up inside the hastily constructed coffin, to give some peace and order to one who had died such a violent death. They had not even taken Xuxian's cloak off, but only pulled back a corner to let Madame Zheng catch a last glimpse of his face. Better that such a horrible sight was not seen again by anyone, let alone his wife who was still in shock.

The other village women watched her out of the corners of their eyes, with awkward concern, as they sat with her out of respect. The atmosphere was uncomfortable; usually they would have offered the usual condolences, commemorating the dead one's virtues. But looking at Zheng Ziyi's set face and tightly lined lips, it felt strange to try and comfort her, yet it was impossible to congratulate her either. How could one do something so taboo at a funeral?

"He was always one of the liveliest at any festivals," offered Huajun timidly, and there was a hasty murmur of agreement as the others jumped at this, grateful for something which at least vaguely resembled a normal funeral.

"And he was a great drinker," added SunYi hopefully. Granny Hong shook her head and nudged her sharply, and the fishwife coloured.

Zheng Ziyi said nothing.

"He would help me sometimes to carry things, and once he helped me fix my fence," Granny Hong said at last, after another excruciatingly awkward silence, and the other women nodded so eagerly that their heads bobbed like puppets.

Suzhen, who had never been to a funeral before, frowned. She did not understand why they had to sit here so awkwardly, feebly trying to praise the dead man, when clearly he had been unkind to the woman sitting in front of them.

She stood up and went over to Zheng Ziyi. Taking off her cloak, she folded it into a small neat pad and offered it to her. "Kneel on this. Your knees will be bruised otherwise." she said quietly.

When Zheng Ziyi stared listlessly at it Suzhen took hold of her shoulder, gently but firmly pulling her up enough to slide the pad under her knees.

She glanced at the other woman's face, and felt a stab of pity for the strain she saw there.

"He was unkind to you, and beat you. It is good that he is dead. You should live happily now." she said simply.

There was a gasp of scandalized horror as her words sank in and the other women grabbed each other's arms with wide eyes, trying to confirm that their ears had not heard wrong.

Zheng Ziyi turned to look at her, startled out of her trance, and Suzhen looked back steadily at her, unaware of the sensation going on behind her.

Granny Hong got to her feet hastily and went over, catching her by the arm. "Susu, my dear, you can't say things like that," she said with a nervous laugh, pulling Suzhen up with more energy than would have been expected. "Come along, come with me, my child, come--"

She dragged Suzhen forcefully out, and the women heaved a collective sigh of relief.

"Madame Xu seems so fine nowadays, I almost forgot how strange she used to be. I'm reminded now," remarked Madame Liang wryly.

"Exactly. What a shocking thing to say at a funeral," Sunyi said in a hushed voice.

"One has to pity Zheng Haoran, having died in such a gruesome way," Huajun said solemnly. "Did you hear what the men said? They saw the body before Physician Xu covered it with his cloak. They said it was a horrible sight. Ah Jiang vomited when he saw it, and he's still having nightmares. What is worse, the holy man didn't bat an eye--he said it was clearly a demon's work, apparently."

The women leaned in closer to hear. Huajun continued, half thrilled at having such interesting news to spread, half in genuine fear herself, "He says it proves there's a demon around here, and we need to be careful!"

"A demon!" they gasped, shuddering. "How awful--he's going to help us get rid of it, isn't he?" demanded one, with trembling lips.

Madame Liang looked thoughtful. "That would explain why he came and stopped by our village for so long. He's a travelling monk, after all. Maybe he already sensed the demon's presence, but didn't want to alarm us yet."

They nodded, somberly. The fear was palpable in the brief silence.

"It's all right," Huajun said at last, as cheerfully as she could. "The holy man is with us after all, isn't he? He will know how to find the demon and get rid of it. We'll be safe as long as we follow his instructions. We'll just have to be careful." She shivered.

Sunyi shook her head. "I'm not going to the mountains alone anymore," she said darkly. "Who knows what you'll meet? The demons are hiding in the mountains, aren't they--isn't that how Zheng Haoran met his death?"

Huajun shook her head significantly. "From what I overheard, that isn't necessarily the case. He told Physician Xu that the demon could very well be hiding among us, disguised in its human form!"

More horrified gasps. A few faces paled. Madame Liang swallowed. Huajun watched their reactions gloatingly, afraid herself, yet unable to resist enjoying the sensation she was making.

"Hiding among us," echoed Sunyi unsteadily. "That's--that's frightening. How--how would we know? How would we be able to tell them apart if they look just like us?" Her voice rose louder and louder, a faintly hysterical note in it.

Madame Liang put her hand firmly on her. "Don't lose your head, Sunyi. The monk will know, won't he? He's had so much experience dealing with demons. He'll know. We'll just need to follow his lead. We'll be all right." She drew a deep breath and repeated it as if to herself, "We'll be all right."

Zheng Ziyi turned her head slightly towards them, listening intently as if fascinated.