“Son-in-law, do you smoke?” Fourth grandfather asked cheerfully, baring his yellow teeth.

“Fourth grandfather, he is not…” Shen Xingyue wanted to help Li Mu clarify his identity. From the moment she got off the bus, Li Mu had been called as son-in-law by villagers. They had been calling him that for a whole day now. She was worried that Li Mu would get upset at this.

Li Mu stopped her and responded with a smile, “Of course, I do. Fourth grandfather, I have cigarettes in my car. I'll go get them!”

“There’s no need for you to do so. I have some with me!” Fourth grandfather hurriedly pulled out a pack of cigarettes and passed one to Li Mu, Senior Village Chief, and Sixth grandfather respectively.

“Son-in-law, where do you work? Do you work together with Yueni?” The Senior Village Chief asked.

“Pretty much. We work in the same industry. And the nature of our work is pretty akin!”

“Akin?” Fourth grandfather murmured to himself.

Sixth grandfather hurriedly explained to him, “It means that their work is pretty much the same!”

“Oh. Son-in-law, don't laugh at us. Not many of us from the older generation have studied. We aren’t too familiar with a lot of words!” Fourth grandfather said with a smile as wrinkles piled up on his sincere face.

“How did you meet each other?” Senior Village Chief continued to ask questions. It was obvious that he was very concerned about Li Mu's identity and was very concerned about this so-called grandson-in-law.

“We went to college together and have known each other for a long time!” Li Mu answered truthfully.

“Oh!” The three old men exclaimed in unison.

Senior Village Chief said happily, “That’s wonderful. Since you’re university classmates, you two must know each other very well then. Yueni, your late grandfather can finally rest in peace!”

Shen Xingyue bowed her head and did not say anything, while Li Mu felt the urge to cry. The three old men who weren’t aware of the real situation thought that Yueni missed her grandfather hence they were sensible enough to change the topic.

Li Mu hesitated for a moment before deciding to tell the three old men in front of him what was on his mind this whole time.

He had been planning to do this ever since Shen Xingyue introduced him to the villagers and the village’s current situation. He had not discussed it with Shen Xingyue, as he wanted it to be a surprise. He knew very well that she still had feelings for him. And he did not want his ex-lover to leave this world with regrets.

“Senior Village Chief, there is something I would like to discuss with you.” Li Mu suddenly said.

“Oh, sure! Son-in-law, what do you need us to do? We’ll do it for you!” Senior Village Chief agreed without hesitation.

Shen Xingyue looked up at Li Mu, who held her hand in his and nodded to her.

“Senior Village Chief, Fourth grandfather, and Sixth grandfather, Xingyue is seriously ill. Her days on earth are scarce.” Li Mu said in a low voice.

The three old men froze. And there was pin-drop silence in the room. After some time, the Sixth grandfather was the first to burst into tears, followed by the other two old men.

“Son-in-law, you’re much more knowledgeable than us. I’m sure you know better than us. Please save Yueni. We'll pay for it. We'll pay for whatever it takes!” Senior Village Chief choked back a sob and begged.

“She has been to all the renowned hospitals in the country.” Li Mu said tearfully and shook his head!

There was an offering table at the front of the house with a spirit tablet on it. The incense burner in front of the spirit tablet was full of ashes, making it obvious that the villagers had been making incense offerings here regularly.

Suddenly, Senior Village Chief got up and rushed to the offering table. He knelt down and cried out loud, “Big brother, I’m sorry I didn't take good care of Yueni. I'm so sorry!”

The two other old men also knelt before the offering table and cried as they cried on the ground.

Shen Xingyue and Li Mu rushed over to help them up. But all three of them refused to get up. In the end, they had no other choice but to only cry together with them.

Gradually, many villagers gathered in the courtyard. Everyone knew clearly that something had happened but they did not dare to ask any questions. All of them stood in the middle of the courtyard as they stared in their direction nervously.

After a long time had passed, Senior Village Chief took the lead to stand up and said to the other two elders, “Stop crying. Don't make it hard for Yueni. Son-in-law, what’s your next plan?”

“Senior Village Chief, I've thought about it. I'm planning to marry Xingyue and have a wedding in the village so that everyone can have a good time together. And Xingyue can be my bride happily!”

“Li Mu!” Shen Xingyue looked at Li Mu in surprise, with a look of disbelief.

Li Mu took her hand and said to her seriously, “Xingyue, this is my decision after deep consideration. I want to do something for you so that the both of us will have no regrets. I am sorry that I can't get a marriage license with you. All I can do is to have a banquet with you. Will you marry me?”

Shen Xingyue cried uncontrollably and leaped into Li Mu's arms. Hugging him tightly, she cried aloud, “Yes! I do!”

Senior Village Chief said immediately, “Okay, it's a deal. Fourth Brother, get as many people back as possible. We'll hold a wedding for Yueni in the village. Her marriage must be a glorious one!”

“Alright! I’ll listen to you!”

......

Late at night, the three old men gathered at Senior Village Chief’s house. With the door closed tightly, the three men who were each holding a pipe of dry tobacco sat there smoking.

After some time, Sixth grandfather sat upright and said to the other two, “Second Brother and Fourth Brother, take a stand! So, is it yes or no?”

“Sixth Brother, don't be in a hurry. This is a big matter. Let us think it through first!” Fourth grandfather responded. Judging by his tone and words, he did not sound like a village man at all.

“What else do you need to think about? What are you still hesitating about? I read Yueni's face right after son-in-law said that. Her days left here are no more than three months. Are you going to watch Yueni die young and let the family lineage end just like that?”

“Sixth Brother, don't blame us for this. Increasing someone’s life expectancy is against the rules of God. This is a huge sin and will bring us karma for sure. Before Big Brother passed away, he reminded us repeatedly that we, the Shen People, should never touch such an evil spell anymore. Do you want to go against Big Brother's death wish?”

Sixth grandfather stood up with a huff and waved his tobacco pot, “Second Brother, it’s different now. I believe that if Big Brother had still been alive, he would’ve done the same thing! Could he not do anything and watch his granddaughter die just like that? Do you think it's possible?”

Fourth grandfather hesitated for a moment and leaned forward, “Second Brother, Sixth Brother had a point. What was the point of abiding by the rules if our family lineage is ruined? Even if there’s karma, so be it! Let karma hit us then. The Shen Family can only have a future if we don’t let the family lineage come to an end.”

“Exactly!” Sixth grandfather immediately agreed, “Without the family lineage, the soul of the Shen Family will be lost and the secrets we've been holding on to will become a joke. Second Brother, Yueni can't die. Even if what we’re doing is a sin, we can't let her die. The Shen family's hopes are all on her. We can’t let anything happen to her!”

Senior Village Chief nodded slowly. Barring two puffs of his cigarette, he asked Sixth grandfather, “How many among us are eligible to be taken their lives away?”

“By fate, my youngest grandson, Yueni's father, a boy and a girl from Ninth Brother’s family who lives at the head of the village are all appropriate. These are all suitable candidates, making a total of four!”

“Take away Yueni's father. That beast is a sc*m and an embarrassment to the Shen Family. Even if he was willing to reduce his life expectancy, Yueni wouldn’t even want to have his blessings!” Senior Village Chief said furiously.

“That leaves three people then. My youngest grandson is still young. He can contribute more. Ninth Brother’s children aren’t that young anymore. They can contribute less!” Sixth grandfather suggested.

“Sure. Your grandson can contribute 25 years and the rest of them can each contribute 15 years. We’ll be adding 55 years to Yueni’s life span then. That's about it. Any more than that and God might punish us!”

Senior Village Chief’s decision was unanimously agreed upon by the two others. Fourth grandfather suggested, “Second Brother, we should call Third Sister back. She’s the only one among us who can host this ritual.”

Senior Village Chief shivered as he hesitated, “Call Third Sister to come back? Sigh!”

Sixth grandfather said immediately, “Second Brother, don't hesitate anymore. We can only guarantee success if it was hosted by her. Besides, don't forget her bet with Big Brother. Imagine what will happen if you dare not call her back!”

“Alright then. I'll send her a letter personally and ask her to come back immediately!”

Sixth grandfather added, “Don’t forget about Ninth Brother. Let's call him back first as we need to discuss this matter with him. He’s the most important person here. If he doesn’t agree…”

“Alright then. Call him now and ask him to come back from the county right away! By the way, ask him to bring his children back along with him. Just tell him that we miss them!”

“Second Brother, Ninth Brother has always had a grudge against Big Brother. I'm worried he wouldn’t agree to this. If this really happens, what’s our next plan?” Concerned, Fourth grandfather asked.

The three of them smoked silently again. Senior Village Chief finally made a decision, “This is a matter of great importance to the family lineage. It's not up to you, me, or him to decide. It’s great if he says yes. But if he doesn't, we’ll have to take things into our hands!”

“Alright!” The two other men both nodded heavily.

Two days later, they gathered at Senior Village Chief’s house again. It was still the same old people and the same old topic, as they talked about increasing Yueni’s life expectancy. But this time, there was another person that wasn’t there during their first meetup.

This white-haired man looked young and had a rather stout figure. He sat in a chair with his head bowed.

Fourth grandfather glanced at Sixth grandfather, who immediately got the hint and said, “Ninth Brother, we all know that you feel bad about this. But this is related to the Shen Family’s lineal. We must prioritize the family first no matter what happens. I mean, we’re all from the Shen Family, aren’t we?”

“Sixth Brother, I understand what you’re talking about. But both my kids aren’t young anymore. They weren’t born blessed from the very start. I’m afraid they can’t even live to an old age if you take away 15 years from them. What I’m trying to say is, could you perhaps cut the years down a little?”

“No way!” Fourth grandfather refused without hesitation, “Yueni must increase her life expectancy by 55 years so she can die at 80 years old. This is her fate and the Shen Family’s destiny! It won’t work with one year more, nor one year less! It must stay this way!”

Once again, Ninth grandfather bowed his head in silence. It was clear that he wasn’t willing to let his son and daughter take such a huge blow and lose 15 years of their lives for nothing.

One couldn’t blame him for being selfish though. As a parent, who wouldn’t wish the best for their children? How many of them would be willing to use their children's lives to extend the life of others, even if that person was none other than their granddaughter?

Sixth grandfather sighed and said to everyone, “Let’s not make things hard for everyone. My grandson is still a baby and there’s nothing for me to find it hard to let go of. Let's do it this way. Ninth Brother’s children will have their lives reduced by 10 years. And my grandson will have his life reduced by 35 years. Ninth Brother, is that alright?”