Chapter 869: No Different from the Sky Falling

Sun Xiangwen's words spoke directly to everyone's hearts.

If Niu Qi had died in winter, the crowd might have stepped up without hesitation to help carry him down the mountain.

If Niu Qi's corpse hadn't rotted to its current state and wasn't crawling with so many maggots, the people wouldn't have felt such strong resistance.

One must understand that the reason they were so resistant wasn't just because they couldn't stand the maggots or the pungent stench.

Those things were only one part of it.

The primary reason was that people feared plagues!

As everyone knew, once any animal carcass began to rot, it inevitably bred a vast amount of bacteria and viruses.

The more severe the decay, the more bacteria and viruses would certainly proliferate.

In Niu Qi's case, the bacteria and viruses on his body were likely at their peak.

If a normal person came into contact with these things, it would inevitably affect their health.

At best, they might catch a minor illness or run a high fever; at worst, they could suffer a major illness that left lasting sequelae. In the most severe cases, they would simply kick the bucket and go report directly to the Buddha.

Regardless of the outcome, it was not something people could afford to risk.

And if their family members were dragged into it as a result, that would truly be a crime punishable by death, a tragedy beyond regret.

Therefore, the issue of recovering the body was essentially unsolvable.

In any case, aside from Niu Qi's own family, who likely wouldn't mind, no outsider was willing to lend a hand. No matter what anyone said, it was useless.

After Sun Xiangwen finished speaking, Sun Dafu said irritably

"Stop talking that useless crap. This place is far from the village; can a woman handle this job on her own? Won't it still depend on everyone here?"

Finally, someone couldn't hold back and spoke up

"If no one else is saying it, I will. This job isn't a matter of whether we *want* to help or not. Everyone knows that doing this kind of work makes it easy to get sick or attract bad luck. If you get caught up in something like this, you'll be stuck flat on your kang for half a year. Who isn't afraid of that?"

As soon as this person finished, another immediately chimed in

"Exactly! If we help carry him down the mountain only to end up sacrificing ourselves in the process, who would do it?"

With these two leading the way, it was like poking a hornet's nest; everyone's floodgates opened instantly.

The crowd began to chime in, one after another, echoing the sentiment.

Of course, among the clamoring crowd, there was one exception.

That exception was Li Biao, the big coward.

Because he had heard everyone saying that touching a rotting corpse made it easy to get sick or attract disaster, Li Biao was currently staring at his own hands, his face pale and his expression terrified.

It was as if his hands had already begun to attract disaster and make him sick.

It had to be said that humans are often like this: when they don't understand something, they are fearless, but once they understand, they can instantly plunge into terror and panic.

Thus, the saying "ignorance is bliss" truly held a lot of truth.

After noticing Li Biao's state, Wang An guessed in his heart that at the earliest tonight, or at the latest tomorrow, Li Biao would likely "fall ill."

However, this illness would most likely be one he scared into himself, probably having nothing to do with Niu Qi's corpse.

There was no helping it; this was a flaw in human thinking, a kind of psychological suggestion. Perhaps ninety-nine percent of people were like this.

Hearing the voices of opposition, Sun Dafu finally stopped insisting.

After all, if he continued, he might provoke the collective wrath of the crowd.

After pondering for a long while, Sun Dafu finally said

"It's getting late. Everyone pack up and head down the mountain. Once we're back, all of you surnamed Niu come with me to Niu Qi's house to ask his wife what she thinks."

Pausing for a moment, Sun Dafu continued

"If she agrees to bury him here, we'll come back tomorrow. If she doesn't, we'll explain the risks and consequences to her. Alright, down the mountain and home we go."

Having said that, Sun Dafu stood up and led the way down the mountain.

The others rose and followed behind. It had to be said that Sun Dafu, despite being an old man, was in quite good physical shape; his descent speed was not inferior to the group behind him.

Everyone was happy to go home, except for Li Biao, whose face didn't show a hint of a smile. Not only was there no smile, but he looked preoccupied and deeply worried.

Clearly, Li Biao was still thinking about whether he would get sick.

However, he could only keep this bottled up in his heart, waiting in anxious dread.

To be honest, this kind of waiting was an absolute torment.

While not as severe as waiting for death, the feeling wasn't far off.

And so, without further delay, the group returned to the village.

As soon as they descended, they saw Niu Qi's wife already waiting at the crossroads they had to pass.

Upon seeing them, Niu Qi's wife immediately rushed over, asking Sun Dafu with an anxious face

"Uncle Sun, where is my husband? Did you not find him? Will you go look again tomorrow?"

In truth, from the dodging gazes of the crowd, Niu Qi's wife had already guessed something. But that is how humans are; before receiving an answer they cannot accept, they will still cling to fantasies and imagination.

Hearing this question, Sun Dafu opened and closed his mouth several times, but no sound came out.

Clearly, Sun Dafu truly didn't know how to break the news.

Mainly because the answer to this question was just too damn cruel.

Finally, a villager surnamed Niu in the back couldn't help but shout

"Sister-in-law Qi, please accept our condolences."

The moment those words "accept our condolences" came out, Niu Qi's wife froze for a second, then shifted her gaze toward Sun Dafu.

Sun Dafu, who had been struggling, stopped hesitating and spoke

"Wife of Old Seven, Da Chui... he's gone."

Wang An never expected that Niu Qi's name was actually Niu Da Chui. Although the name sounded sturdy enough, the man himself had not been very sturdy.

Upon hearing this, Niu Qi's wife's body went limp like a noodle, and she collapsed directly onto the ground. Then, her wailing cries erupted

"Da Chui! How could you be so heartless? You left the three of us behind—what are we supposed to do?"

Looking at the woman crying and howling, Wang An suddenly felt a surge of heartache.

Of course, regardless of who saw this scene, it wouldn't be easy to bear.

One must realize that for a rural woman of this era, the death of her husband was no different from the sky falling.