Golden Coffin

After a while, King Ginseng looked around at everyone and asked: "Why are so many of you here? Leanne, Sheldon, you're here too? And who are these two?"

Aurora quickly summarized the events, and King Ginseng nodded: "The soup you made was delicious, and for the young lad, considering you helped me up, I'll tell you about that snake."

Dominic beamed: "Thank you, King Ginseng."

"Do you know the legend of the three-legged toad?"

Dominic eagerly replied: "Yes, it's the spirit Lotus Shoes, originally it had four legs but because it caused trouble in the world, Ricardo cut off one leg to subdue it. Since then, it has only three legs and spits out money and treasures to help mankind, spreading wealth."

"Do you know why it started to spit out treasures only after losing a leg?"

Upon hearing this, everyone was at a loss; no one could answer.

King Ginseng waited a moment and then continued: "The reason is that its four legs are respectively named Argy Wormwood, Golden Iron, Venom Stride, and Precious Feather. It caused trouble in the human world primarily because of Venom Stride, which also suppressed the other three legs. Ricardo realized the source of the problem came from that leg, so he cut off Venom Stride, and since then, Golden Zen ceased its disturbances, while Precious Feather and Golden Iron began to find their voices, allowing Golden Zen to spew jewels and pearls."

Dominic pondered and then speculated: "Do you mean, that snake didn't have an extra leg, but originally had four, and someone cut one off, leaving it with three?"

King Ginseng nodded: "Yes, more than three hundred years ago, it was just a normal water dragon during a time when demons roamed everywhere. One of the Three Great Demons of that era, Allison, fought Aubrey several times but usually lost. In their final battle, Aubrey had to ride the water dragon to match Allison, but sadly, in the end, Aubrey died after Allison plucked out his heart, and that dragon lost one of its legs to Allison.

Though it didn't die, it lingered around the place where Aubrey's sword was buried, keeping company with Aubrey's spirit within the sword.

When Aubrey was reincarnated, it also reincarnated. Thanks to the karma it had accumulated, it could have reincarnated as a human to reunite and become close friends with Aubrey again. However, due to its silly and naive nature, it hastily jumped into the cycle of animal reincarnation, ending up as a snake. Yet, with its past life as a dragon and the karma it had, it became a king among snakes.

When it cultivated to the point of being able to transform into a human, its third leg grew back on its body, impossible to remove, just like strange marks on a human body are the imprints of a past life meant to convey some meaning, that leg was the same, simply a trace to find its close friend Aubrey from the past. Once found, all it takes is for Aubrey's current incarnation to swing a sword, and that third leg would naturally be erased."

Upon hearing this, Dominic exclaimed: "Is it that simple?"

"Simple? Where is that snake going to find Aubrey's current incarnation and you call that simple? Unless…" King Ginseng turned to look at Dominic, noticing the long, fabric-wrapped item in his hand, somewhat surprised: "Could it be that thing in your hand is…"

Dominic said nothing, just nodded slightly.

King Ginseng stroked his beard, which was made of long tree roots, and laughed heartily: "Fate brings those together who are meant to meet, indeed it does!"

Then he looked up at the sky: "It's just half past midnight. Go find that snake now, good things shouldn't be delayed, and don't come looking for me again, I don't like to be disturbed."

Dominic bowed: "Thank you, King Ginseng."

As everyone was leaving, King Ginseng called out to Aurora: "That girl, the soup you cooked was delicious. Come by occasionally to cook some for me."

Aurora obediently nodded: "Certainly, King Ginseng."

As the three reached the edge of the mountain, Dominic and Aurora turned around to see Leanne still tagging along behind them all the way to this place.

Dominic asked in surprise: "Where are you going?"

Leanne answered shyly: "Let me join you, I want to see what happens with that snake."

Dominic turned to Aurora, seeking her opinion. Seeing Aurora nod, he said to Leanne: "That's fine."

Aurora then took out two eagle-shaped dolls, painted eyes and spells on them, transforming them into large eagles. Dominic rode one, while Aurora and Leanne shared the other.

Descending to the mountain's base, Aurora used the elephant dolls as she did when they arrived, asking Dominic where to find the three-legged snake. He replied that he met that Lotus guy in the Forest Crowing Roosters area, so the three of them rode the elephants in that direction.

Along the way, Aurora asked Dominic about the connection between Lotus and Aubrey's current life. He briefly recounted the story of Confluence Village for the two women. After hearing it, Leanne wondered: "So, you are Aubrey's reincarnation?"

Dominic nodded: "Yes, my master Gregory said so."

"Where is he now?" Aurora asked.

"I don't know. He left me on my own when I was eighteen."

"That's sad for you, to wander alone at such a young age." Leanne sympathized with him.

Dominic gave a wry smile; Leanne's comment didn't quite hit the mark, but he didn't bother to correct her.

"What do you do for a living?" Aurora asked next.

Dominic shrugged: "Somehow my master had a lot of money. I've never had to worry about making a living despite being alone."

"That's unexpected. You look like you come from a wealthy family!" Leanne exclaimed.

Before long, they reached the edge of the sparse forest. Aurora asked: "How do we find Lotus now?"

Before Dominic could respond, they heard the sound of drums and flutes from a distance, faint due to the distance but clear in the quiet night. He turned to the women: "Do you hear that?"

Aurora looked up at the sky and nodded: "It's nearly the end of the third watch; why would there be drumming? Could it be the spirit chickens dancing?"

Dominic doubted: "No, this drumming is different from that of the chickens. Their rhythm is lively, making you want to dance, but this sound is mournful, like someone is grieving."

Feeling the drumming was peculiar, the trio dismounted from the elephants. Aurora collected the dolls, and they cautiously made their way towards the drumming.

Leanne held Aurora's hand tightly, trembling slightly. Aurora asked softly: "Why are your hands shaking? Are you cold?"

Leanne whispered: "No, I'm scared."

Dominic was surprised, even though his expression couldn't be seen in the dark: "You're a flower spirit and you're scared?"

Leanne replied in a low voice, slightly indignant: "Why not? I'm also a girl; is it wrong to be scared of ghosts?"

Sweat dripped from Dominic's forehead, his words stuck, unable to think of a response.

Carefully moving through the forest, they maneuvered around trees and bushes until they finally reached a clearing with flickering firelight. The drumming was very close now, interspersed with the wailing sound of flutes carrying a mournful melody.

They saw a procession moving in a single file, all dressed in white, with a person leading, holding two torches to light the way for everyone. Following were two people carrying two white streamers, the tails of which fluttered with each step of the bearers. Next came one playing the drum, another blowing a horn, the sound of the drum followed by a punctuating blast from the horn.

Trailing the noisiest pair in the group were two individuals carrying a basket of paper money and gold, scattering the money all around as they walked. Lastly, four strong men carried a coffin, of the traditional type often referred to as "golden coffin." because of its round curved sides and a top that arches downwards like a bar of gold. The person lying in the coffin, no matter how hard their life had been, would in death reside in a house of wealth.

The craft of making coffins is indeed meticulous, involving over a hundred types of wood, but ultimately, they can be divided into four different grades.

The lowest grade is made of cheap wood that, if buried in damp ground, would rot in just a few months, and if in dry soil, would deteriorate in just over a year, easily allowing creatures like snakes and burrowing fish to penetrate the coffin and feast on the corpse inside. This rotten flesh nourishes them until they are plump and full. Not infrequently, when excavating such graves, one might find a swarm of fat fish swimming around or a few plump earth snakes coiled up waiting, as if asking if more food has arrived.