Comprehension Ability: I Forge a Villainous Longevity Family

Chapter 254: Chapter 239: Death is Not Losing Life, but Stepping Out of Time (Life and Death Illusion Realm·Middle)

[The sky remained gloomy, but the pouring rain had stopped at some point.]

[You trudged along the muddy mountain path, your thoughts complex and tangled.]

[In the past, you thought death was a lively affair.]

[Because as long as someone died, it meant more business for your family, and the money-making father would take you to town to buy candied haws.]

[Besides that, the funeral itself was bustling, with gongs and drums, and at midnight, there were specialized masters who prepared a few bowls of hot tofu noodles, which was your favorite.]

[Therefore, you never regarded death as something bad.]

[Until today, when your heart was heavy and your nose tingled, you finally understood that death is truly a sad thing.]

[At that moment, you wanted to explore the true meaning of death.]

[You asked the elderly coffin carrier beside you, what is death?]

[The elder, puffing on his peeled and worn-out pipe, shook his tobacco pouch, took a few deep puffs of smoke, then said with a smile: ’Xingyazi? Why ask such a thing? Dead is dead, what else could it be?’]

[Hearing this, you rubbed your forehead and asked another elder, what is death?]

[This elder was momentarily stunned, then revealed a yellow-toothed grin: ’Dead means gone, everything’s gone?’]

[After saying this, he glanced at you, noticing your dissatisfaction with the answer, scratched his head and said: ’Look, isn’t this rain quite heavy? By tomorrow, when the sun rises, this rain, along with the droplets on the ground, will be completely gone, leaving no trace of the rain. Isn’t this just like death?’]

[Hearing this, you were slightly taken aback.]

[Death, is it like a rain? When the rain stops and the clouds clear, and the raindrops disappear, is that death?]

[You didn’t know if this explanation was correct, but you kept it in your heart.]

[After returning home, you asked your father, what is death?]

[Your father was taken aback, looking at you surprisingly, wondering why someone your age would ask such a question.]

[He didn’t rush to answer, but after pondering, he said:

”Xingyazi, in fact, there’s never a single right answer to what death is; it is whatever you think it is.

Over the years, I’ve traveled far and organized many funerals, and everyone behaves differently at the end of their life.

Some people are terrified of death. I once saw a prisoner weeping and screaming, begging not to die when he realized death was near in the courthouse of Huangqiao Town.

I’ve also seen people who are extraordinarily calm and free in the face of death. For them, death is just a journey home, a new beginning from a different endpoint.

I’ve seen people face death with a smile. I remember one person telling me, death is not losing life but stepping out of time.”

...

...

In this moment.

Chen Zhixing, who had been lost in chaos, suddenly became briefly lucid.

”Death...”

”...is not the loss of life, but stepping out of time?” Chen Zhixing murmured to himself, pondering.

Vaguely, he seemed to grasp something.

The next moment.

His thoughts fell back into chaos, merging with the imagery once again.

...

...

[Hearing your father’s words, you couldn’t help but feel a bit lost.]

[You never thought that your father, who couldn’t even read, would say something so profound.]

[Then, your father looked towards the sky, sighed deeply, and continued:

”Death is never scary; on the bright side, it is like a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly, becoming part of the vast sky; it is like snow melting into water, becoming part of the earth; it is like a drop of water sinking into rivers and becoming one with the ocean and the world.

In life, people are burdened with loss and pain, but once they die, they lose nothing more, and that is quite good.”]

[After your father finished speaking, you nodded, somewhat understanding.]

[Spring passed, fall came, time flew like a fleeting horse.]

[In the blink of an eye, years went by.]

[Over the years, you matured from a hot-blooded young man into someone stable and composed, contentedly working as a coffin carrier.]

[Throughout these years, you took on many responsibilities for your father.]

[In those years, you sent off many people.]

[There were young boys and girls in the prime of their youth, just embarking on their journeys of life, elderly who peacefully passed after a lifetime of toil, and wealthy or powerful individuals—all too many.]