In the village of Jiyang Zhu, an old man in his fifties passed away peacefully at home. As the family hastily prepared the funeral rites, a sudden, loud clamor erupted from inside the coffin—Old Man Zhu had somehow revived.
His wife was overjoyed and quickly asked him what had happened. Old Man Zhu replied, “I was truly dead. But on the road to the Yellow Springs, I kept thinking of you left all alone here, needing the children to manage your food, clothing, and lodging. Living like that holds no pleasure, so I specifically came back to fetch you to come along with me.”
His wife thought he was speaking nonsense and paid it no mind, laughing, “That plan sounds rather nice, but I am a perfectly healthy living person; I can’t just die right away.”
Old Man Zhu stated, “Dying is not difficult. Just hurry and take care of the daily household chores.”
The wife smiled and ignored him, but Old Man Zhu urged her repeatedly. She finally walked out the door, dragging out a few moments, and returned to coax him, “Everything is settled now.”
Old Man Zhu then commanded her to go back to the room and apply makeup. The wife refused, but the old man kept pressing. Having no choice, she reluctantly donned a simple dress and went out. The daughters and daughters-in-law could not help but stifle their laughter upon seeing her attire. Old Man Zhu pointed to the bed and said, “Lie down.”
His wife hesitated, “The children are all here. If we lie side-by-side, what will that look like?”
Old Man Zhu, furious, pounded the wooden bed frame, shouting, “Lie down together and die! What is there to laugh about?”
Seeing their father angry, the children also urged their mother to comply. The wife, resigned, finally lay down shoulder-to-shoulder with her husband. The family members watched the bizarre scene with amusement, covering their mouths to suppress chuckles. After a moment of laughter, they suddenly realized something was terribly wrong. They saw that Mrs. Zhu’s eyes were tightly shut, the smile had vanished from her face, and her breathing had stopped. When someone reached out to touch her, her skin was ice-cold; she had been dead for quite some time.