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墨書 Inktalez
I listened to Xu Bansian's words and found them quite reasonable. "So that's how it is. According to you, Grandpa Xu, it seems my grandfather's remains were indeed taken away by his companions. No wonder the grave was dug so neatly, with no bones left behind. Well, Grandpa Xu, can we still find these people? After all, it's my grandfather's remains; I need to know where he was buried."
Xu Bansian thought for a moment. "Fei Wa Zi, if you really want to inquire, you can find out. There aren't many groups that have been digging graves for the past ten years. You could check in Beijing's Panjiayuan or at the Nanjing Confucius Temple. Generally, those who encounter situations like yours won't hide the truth from you."
I took note of this.
Xu Bansian lay back on the sofa, eyes closed, breathing heavily.
I glanced at his arm and suddenly noticed that his entire arm had turned black; the rice wasn't working at all!
Seeing Xu Bansian's arm had darkened, I hurriedly said, "Grandpa Xu, your arm isn't better yet! What are we going to do?"
Xu Bansian kept his eyes closed and shook his head. "It's nothing serious."
I understood then that ordinary rice couldn't completely remove the Corpse Poison. I stood up and said, "Grandpa Xu, just wait here at home. I'm going outside to see if anyone has Glutinous Rice."
Xu Bansian didn't respond; he just lay there, breathing heavily.
I found a pair of Xu Bansian's shoes and slipped them on before heading out.
The rain from last night had been heavy, and the village roads were muddy and sticky underfoot. I didn't care about that; I planned to go to the Village Head's House to ask if they had any Glutinous Rice.
In our northern village, not many people ate Glutinous Rice, and since it was quite expensive, I figured only the Village Head's family would have it on hand. After all, the Village Head's House was the wealthiest in our village.
As I reached the street corner, I saw dozens of villagers gathered around. That seemed to be Dog Sheng's house. I walked over and saw Dog Sheng's parents and his wife sitting in the mud.
Dog Sheng's body lay on Main Street while his wife was disheveled, crying out repeatedly, "Ghost! Ghost... it's really a ghost... don't come near me!"
Dog Sheng's parents were there trying to comfort their daughter-in-law while wiping their tears away.
I sighed inwardly. It seemed that after Dog Sheng had run out, he was caught and killed by Lian. In fact, even if Lian hadn't killed Dog Sheng, he wouldn't have survived anyway; he had been poisoned with Corpse Poison, and it was severe.
Why was I fine? It was truly strange!
I didn't linger any longer and ran to the Village Head's House. There was no one inside; Lian's memorial had been destroyed, likely smashed by Dog Sheng's Parents. I couldn't blame them, after all. They didn't know that Dog Sheng was the one who had killed Lian; they probably thought Lian had turned into a ghost and inexplicably harmed their son.
I rummaged through the rice jar in the Village Head's House and found two types of rice. I couldn't tell if it was Glutinous Rice, but I didn't have time to worry about that. I grabbed a plastic bag and filled it with rice, packing two bags before heading out.
As soon as I stepped outside, I saw the village head, Hao Dafu, walking in, accompanied by a Taoist priest dressed in a Master's Robe and wearing a tall hat.
Hao Dafu spotted me and frowned. "Fei! You little brat, trying to take advantage of the chaos to steal my rice!"
I initially wanted to explain, but seeing Hao Dafu's disdainful expression made me angry. I had already married his daughter and almost lost my life because of her; now, for just a bit of rice, he was being so petty!
"I'll pay you!" I shouted before running off.
When I reached Xu Bansian's house, I reopened his wound to let some blood flow, then wrapped the rice around his arm. As I bandaged him, I said, "Grandpa Xu, it seems the village head has brought a Taoist priest."
Xu Bansian kept his eyes closed. "That's good! That's good! Alas, what a calamity! How could such things happen in Shantai Village! I hope that Taoist can deal with Lian."
Once I finished bandaging him, I said, "I'll go take a look; that Taoist looks quite impressive."
"Alright, go ahead, Fei Wa Zi."
I didn't feel like returning to school just yet. Earlier, my desire to leave stemmed from fear and anxiety. Now I realized that Lian couldn't kill me at all; as long as I carried my Peach Wood Stick, I could hold my own against her! Since that was the case, there was no rush to leave. I wanted to see if this Taoist could capture Lian.
By the time I arrived at the Village Head's House, a crowd of over a hundred people had gathered at the entrance—almost all the villagers of Shantai Village were present.
Everyone already knew the reasons behind Dog Sheng and Big Pillar's deaths. Now everyone was terrified of Lian, fearing she might strike again.
The Taoist approached the village chief's front gate. He was in his thirties, dressed in a Taoist robe, wearing a tall hat, and carrying a master’s sword on his back, exuding an air of authority.
"I am aware of the ghostly disturbances in the village," the Taoist declared loudly, hands clasped behind his back. "Rest assured, since I, Master Ma, have taken on this responsibility, I will ensure everyone's safety. Now, let us first go to Lian's grave."
"Alright!"
"Thank you, Master Ma."
"Truly a blessing!"
The villagers sighed in relief and followed Master Ma up the mountain.
The village chief led the way, and nearly ninety-five percent of the villagers followed him uphill, leaving behind only the elderly and children.
I spotted my father among the crowd but chose not to greet him.
As we made our way toward the mountain, it became clear that our villagers were buried in the hills behind.
After about half an hour, we arrived at a grave.
Village Chief Hao Dafu pointed at it. "This is Lian's grave."
The grave was in disarray; it had been disturbed. However, due to the heavy rain last night, the soil on top had collapsed. Since Lian could come out at night to harm others, it was evident she must have crawled out from here.
Everyone felt a bit frightened and stood at a distance.
Master Ma gestured toward the grave. "A few strong young men, come and help me dig this grave up."
Naturally, the villagers were apprehensive.
I wasn't afraid, mainly because I knew I wasn't scared of Corpse Poison, and there was nothing to fear from Big White either. I stepped out and said, "Give me an Iron Pickaxe."
As soon as my dad saw me come out, he kicked me, saying, "What are you showing off for? Get back to school! Didn't you leave yesterday? Why are you still here?"
I replied, "Dad, it's fine. I'm staying here to see what happened to Lian."
My dad grabbed my arm, insisting that I go back down the mountain.
At that moment, Master Ma coughed and said, "Don't worry, brother. With Poor Daoist here, no matter how many monsters or demons there are, they won't dare to cause trouble. If you all lack confidence in Poor Daoist, then perhaps it's best for Poor Daoist to leave."
"Hey, Master Ma, don't say that. Of course we have faith in you," the village chief Hao Dafu quickly interjected, pulling Master Ma aside. He then pointed at my dad and said, "Song Jianjun! Don't hold us back. Fei is a good man; if we get two more people, let's act quickly while the sun is out and take care of this. Our village will be peaceful afterward."
My dad was quite intimidated by the village chief because he wanted to obtain land and timber from him. He kept agreeing and stopped trying to stop me.
Then two more people came out; they were both around twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old from our village. The three of us picked up the Iron Pickaxe and within minutes had dug up Lian's grave.
We uncovered Lian's Grave and revealed the coffin inside, which was already broken.
When I saw what was inside the coffin, I was startled. There was a large red paper figure dressed in a groom's outfit, and on its head was a big photo of me! Moreover, my name was placed on its chest.
Damn it! Thankfully my dad didn't know my exact birth date; otherwise, he would have sold it!
I felt a bit resentful but thought it didn't matter much. I quickly realized this was what they called Yin Marriage—placing two people in the coffin. If Lian hadn't undergone Corpse Transformation, she should have been lying beside me at that moment.
However, now that the coffin was broken and Lian had run away, there was nothing left to fear.
It was just that there was a faint smell of something foul in the soil.
I wrinkled my nose and noticed that one side of the coffin had dirt that was a dark purple color, as if it had been soaked in blood!
I was startled and stepped back, glancing at Master Ma.
At that moment, Master Ma was focused solely on the coffin. He stared for a while, then closed his eyes as if calculating something. Afterward, he turned to the village chief, Hao Dafu, and asked, "Who chose the location for this grave?"
Hao Dafu covered his nose and replied, "Our family's forest land is right here. According to tradition, the lotus must be buried here."
Master Ma nodded, then shook his head. "Why must it be buried here? Even moving it a meter would be fine!"
"Ah?" Hao Dafu looked at Master Ma in surprise. "Daoist, why is that? This is our Hao family's ancestral grave. As for this burial site, it was personally pointed out by Xu Bansian from our village. It’s located to the north, with a stream in front and Fortune Mountain behind; the terrain is spacious and perfect for burial."
Master Ma shook his head. "By common reasoning, that is indeed correct. However, the timing is a bit off. Is your burial time set for a quarter past three in the afternoon?"
"Yes... yes," Hao Dafu said, his face turning pale as fear became evident.
At this moment, the people around began to murmur among themselves, amazed at how Master Ma could even deduce the time of the burial.
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