** How is it possible to fake death?

I had to use all my persuasion skills to calm down the panicked crowd.

I told them that Fatty hadn't actually died completely, there was still a trace of breath left in him, and after taking the antidote, he miraculously revived.

Fatty's father couldn't believe it either. He hugged Fatty and touched him all over, saying, "Son, you really came back to life?"

Fatty felt a bit embarrassed by his father's touch. "Dad, stop touching me, I'm fine!"

Fatty's father raised his hand and gave him a big slap on the face. Fatty was instantly dumbfounded.

We were all shocked, not knowing why Fatty's father suddenly struck him.

At that moment, Fatty's father asked, "Does it hurt?"

Fatty touched his swollen cheek and with teary eyes, said, "Dad, you're asking if it hurts? It hurts so much! You almost knocked my teeth out!"

"Oh! If it hurts, then it's good!" Fatty's father said happily. "Feeling pain means you're really okay!"

Fatty looked at his father speechlessly, wanting to get angry but not daring to. In the end, he could only swallow his anger.

The crowd fell silent, as if a flock of black crows had flown over our heads. We looked at each other, greatly amazed by Fatty's father's peculiar thinking process. We could only worship, deeply worship!

Smack!

Another crisp slap, which caught us all off guard.

This slap was from Fatty's mother, who slapped Fatty's father in the face.

Fatty's father was dumbfounded too, staring at Fatty's mother. "What are you doing?"

Fatty's mother asked, "Does it hurt?"

Fatty's father frowned, "Isn't that obvious?"

Fatty's mother said, "Since you know it hurts, then why did you slap my son? If you slap my son, I'll slap you!"

The crowd burst into laughter. Fatty's family was truly unique. Only when they were together could they enter the house together!

Fatty's father touched his cheek and laughed foolishly. His son had come back to life, so as a father, he naturally felt happy. Fatty's father waved his hand grandly and said, "Fellow villagers, relatives, and friends, don't leave. Today, I'm in a good mood. Let's all have a drink!"

Since Fatty hadn't died, there was no need for the mourning hall or the coffin. The people quickly dismantled the mourning hall, and Fatty's father personally took a big hammer and smashed the brand-new coffin to pieces. For them, these things were ominous, and if they weren't destroyed, the bad luck wouldn't go away.

Seeing that Fatty was fine, I also put my heart at ease and was about to leave. But Fatty rushed up to me, hugged me without hesitation, and then looked at me affectionately. "Yang Cheng, I love you!"

I was taken aback and quickly pushed Fatty away. "I don't have that kind of preference!"

Fatty said, "We're brothers, and today we must celebrate. First, we celebrate my resurrection, and second, we toast to our friendship!"

I said that the entrance exam was coming up, so why drink alcohol? Drinking too much would make my head dizzy and affect my performance in the exam.

But Fatty insisted that I shouldn't leave. He said I was his lifesaver and that he couldn't repay me with anything else, so he wanted to treat me to a meal and drinks.

Fatty's father even gave me a red envelope, but I refused to accept it no matter what.

Fatty got into trouble because of me, and he saved my life. I also saved his life. There was no need for me to take any red envelopes.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Fatty's mother also held onto me, not letting me go, insisting that I stay for the meal. She kept apologizing to me, saying that her previous words were said in anger and asked me not to take them to heart.

While Fatty pulled me, we drank small glasses of wine and he told me about his miraculous experience.

Fatty said, "Yang Cheng, let me tell you, do you know where I went when I was unconscious?"

Fatty's question was strange. I said, "Weren't you in the coffin when you were unconscious? Where else could you have gone?"

Fatty said mysteriously, "I went to the underworld, believe it or not? It's true, I'm not making it up!"

"Oh?" I took a peanut and crunched it. "Is the underworld fun?"

Fatty said, "You may think what I'm saying is unbelievable, but my feelings were real, different from ordinary dreams. Really, I saw myself standing inside a train station. It was dark there, no light at all, like it was about to rain. Many people were lining up on the platform with blank expressions. I didn't know where it was, but I followed the crowd and got on the train confusedly.

The train went to the outskirts, and the scenery outside became more desolate and strange. There were many place names, like Wangxiang Platform, Guimen Pass, Naihe Bridge. I thought to myself, aren't these names in the underworld? When I asked the conductor, I found out that the train I was on was actually heading for the underworld! That's when I realized that I was really done for!"

I found it interesting and poured Fatty another half cup of wine, encouraging him to continue.

Fatty continued, "I don't know how long I was on the train, but we finally arrived at the terminal station. The conductors asked us to line up and get off the train. There were officials standing on the platform, holding life and death registries, checking everyone's identities one by one. When it was my turn, they discovered that my name wasn't on the registry, which meant I hadn't died yet. So, they sent me back on the train with a bang, and I returned to the starting station with a rumble. Then, when I opened my eyes, I saw myself lying in the coffin! Can you believe it?"

Fatty's writing skills were very poor, and he couldn't even come up with six words in three days. So, it was unlikely that he was fabricating stories. What he described should be his real experiences from the past two days.

In rural areas, experiencing something like what Fatty went through is called a "visit to the underworld." It's similar to what we usually refer to as "walking around Ghost Gate." When a person is on the verge of death but doesn't die, they take a trip to the underworld and, after waking up, vividly remember this journey as if it were real. Many people who have been close to death will have these miraculous experiences after being saved.

I patted Fatty's shoulder and told him to remember this experience. When he got old, he should write a memoir, which would no doubt be amazing.

Fatty shook his head. "Forget it, I don't want to go through this kind of experience again. You don't know how uncomfortable it is on that train. It's like an old green-skinned train, shaking and slow!"

That night, Fatty and I drank until we were dizzy. Our heads didn't clear for several days, and in that state, we took the primary school graduation exam. The result was predictable: Fatty and I both failed and returned home to be scolded.