Chapters 34-36 Summary

In Chapter 34, the women of the Kao compound are worried about "the curse of the blood-glow," which is a superstition about the dead. When the body of an older member of the family is still in the house and a woman gives birth, the woman's blood attacks the corpse and causes it to spurt blood. The Venerable Master Kao's body is still in the house, and Jui-cheuh is preparing to deliver her second child. The only way to prevent the curse of the blood-glow is for the woman to give birth outside of the city gates and across a bridge, and even then, a layer of bricks and dirt must cover the coffin.

The women pressure Cheuh-hsin into finding a place outside the city gates for Jui-cheuh to live until after she gives birth. He knows he should stand up for...