After the two finished their rituals and rose, they prepared to put the four little ones into the baby carriage.
Hua Hua, cradled in Lu Ye’s arms, her big, clear eyes fixed on the corpse covered by the white cloth, still tilted her head even after Lu Ye placed her in the baby carriage, straining to look in the direction of the body. Her little arms even lifted, pointing towards it, babbling “Ah-oh” incessantly.
Lu Ye and Bai Sheng felt a jolt of astonishment.
The little ones were barely a month old, yet they seemed to understand everything? This was both incredibly magical and a little unsettling.
Bai Sheng and Lu Ye steadied their nerves, trying to decipher Hua Hua’s meaning.
Hua Hua’s gaze remained fixed on the stone bed.
Did she want them to look at their parents beneath the white cloth?
But the little ones were so young; would seeing their grandparents’ corpses frighten them?
Lu Ye pushed the baby carriage a little further away, then walked with Bai Sheng to the side of his parents’ bodies.
“Husband, let’s look at Father and Mother. Hua Hua’s behavior must be for a reason,” Bai Sheng said gently to Lu Ye.
“En!” Lu Ye nodded, his slightly trembling hands reaching out to lift the white cloth.
Bai Sheng’s eyes widened too. She still remembered her in-laws’ desiccated, corpse-like appearance when they passed away; it was a little horrifying.
As the white cloth was lifted, both of them froze on the spot.
On the stone bed before them lay two incredibly fresh, plump, and moist corpses, side by side!
The skin and flesh of their entire bodies were full and smooth. Though somewhat pale, there were no corpse spots or dry wrinkles. Aside from their inability to breathe and lack of heartbeat, they looked like sleeping living people. Their hair was glossy black, spread across the head of the bed and spilling down to the floor.
Lu Ye’s mother, Madam An, her beauty was completely restored. Her eyebrows were like distant mountains, her phoenix eyes slightly raised, her nose like white jade—truly a stunning beauty. Lu Ye resembled his mother greatly.
Lu Ye’s father also had handsome features, unlike his other two sons with Old Madam Chen.
Their appearance was completely different from when they had died.
How could this be?!
They clearly remembered that after their parents died, they had shriveled and thinned, like dried jerky, their skin sallow and covered in corpse spots…
No wonder Hua Hua insisted they look; the little girl must have sensed something.
“Husband, do you think it’s because the moisture in the spatial dimension is abundant, with spiritual spring mist permeating everywhere? That’s why Father and Mother’s bodies have been stored here, not only preserved but also gradually regaining their original flesh and muscle texture?” Bai Sheng could only tentatively guess.
Lu Ye nodded dazedly, “It’s very likely.”
Bai Sheng exclaimed joyfully, “If that’s the case, it’s wonderful! This spatial dimension is truly mysterious and unfathomable. Hmph, that fool probably can’t comprehend it thoroughly.”
Far away in the capital, Hmph Hmph let out a series of pig-like sneezes.
It knew that its master and everything else in the spatial dimension were thinking of it intensely.
Lu Ye pondered for a long time, then suddenly looked up at Bai Sheng, his expression wistful, and said, “My dear, if Father and Mother were kept in the spatial dimension, could they… come back to life?”
Bai Sheng also looked a little lost, “This… it’s probably not very likely. If it were truly possible, wouldn’t that disrupt the cycle of heaven and reincarnation, if there is such a thing?
However, Husband, we can try. But if Father and Mother really can’t be resurrected, you… must not be too sad.” Bai Sheng feared that the greater Lu Ye’s hope, the greater his disappointment.
Lu Ye nodded heavily, “My dear, I want to try. Do you mind?”
Bai Sheng shook her head, “Of course not. I also really hope Father and Mother can come back to life,” though she feared it would ultimately be an unrealistic dream.
“Thank you, my dear.” Lu Ye excitedly hugged Bai Sheng and kissed her. “I’ll build a tomb for Father and Mother in a remote part of the spatial dimension first.” The spatial dimension was now large enough, and Lu Ye planned to build the tomb a few miles away, to minimize any disruption to my dear’s life within the dimension.
After they had discussed it, as Lu Ye was about to cover his parents with the white cloth again, Bai Sheng suddenly exclaimed, “Husband, wait!”
Lu Ye stopped.
“Husband, look!” Bai Sheng pointed at the mouth of the beautiful mother-in-law.
Lu Ye followed Bai Sheng’s gaze and saw something seemingly wriggling inside his mother’s mouth.
“A worm?!” Lu Ye was greatly alarmed. If his parents’ bodies had worms, wouldn’t resurrection be hopeless?
Bai Sheng quickly used her mind to retrieve a small clay pot from the warehouse, then asked Lu Ye to gently open his mother’s mouth.
A fat, white worm with black eyes, about two inches long, slowly wriggled out of his mother’s mouth.
The scene was truly ghastly.
Bai Sheng rejoiced, “This… this might be a Living Corpse Worm!”
“Living Corpse Worm?” Lu Ye frowned. “Is it the kind of worm that can heal Tian Ya?”
Bai Sheng smiled and nodded, “Exactly. The appearance of a Living Corpse Worm indicates that Mother’s body is very fresh, as Living Corpse Worms only appear on exceptionally fresh corpses. They also require some time to grow, but ordinary corpses are difficult to keep fresh for long. This contradiction makes Living Corpse Worms extremely rare and very expensive.”
Lu Ye was also delighted, “Does that mean Tian Ya can be saved?”
“En,” Bai Sheng nodded with a smile. “Living Corpse Worms have the function of regenerating muscle and bone. If the host of the corpse worm is a blood relative of the patient, the effect will be even better.
Husband, our little Tian Ya is saved! Husband, quickly, help me get the worm into the pot. Absolutely do not touch it with your hands; a living person’s touch will affect its medicinal efficacy.”
Bai Sheng opened the lid of the pot, aiming its mouth at the Living Corpse Worm. Lu Ye used an extremely thin wooden stick to gently nudge it into the pot.
“Living Corpse Worms can live for at most three days outside the corpse, so we must hurry to treat Tian Ya!” Bai Sheng urged.
For such a long time, she had been researching a treatment plan for Tian Ya, and she never expected to find a Living Corpse Worm tonight, and from her mother-in-law’s body at that.
Her precious daughter, Xiao Hua Hua, was definitely a little fairy; she would have to kiss her properly later.
Lu Ye said, “Alright, we’ll start tomorrow. Please tell me what other medicinal herbs are needed, my dear, and I’ll prepare them as soon as possible.”
“Tomorrow I’ll ask my master and discuss the treatment methods with him,” Bai Sheng said excitedly. “If Mother’s body contains a Living Corpse Worm, Father’s body surely does too. Let’s let it stay there for now; it can be of great use later. As long as it doesn’t leave the corpse, Living Corpse Worms have a long lifespan.”
After saying that, Bai Sheng suddenly felt a little embarrassed. Was she treating her father-in-law as a container for corpse worms?
Fortunately, Lu Ye, who doted on her, didn’t seem to think she had said anything wrong.
“Good, we’ll do as you say, my dear!”
When the two returned to the wooden house, the four little ones were still not sleepy. One would “Ah-oh,” and another would “Ah-oh,” as if they were heatedly discussing something.
Bai Sheng picked up Hua Hua and kissed her little face several times.
Hua Hua smiled sweetly.