Chapter Thirteen: The Unexpected

The clouds in the sky looked as if they were ablaze, and the dogs in the village barked incessantly—only when they sensed something unclean would they behave this way.

Zhao Qian’s feng shui compass was missing. She crouched on the ground, clutching her bag, utterly at a loss.

Zhao He stood with his hands on his hips, staring intently at the broken bridge, perhaps believing his yang energy could intimidate the lingering spirits in the water.

I took out my phone and checked the time: six o’clock already. Given the current situation, leaving the village tonight was impossible. A heavy cloud of worry settled in my heart.

Only Yu Xiaoxue was clever enough to pick up a sweet potato and eat it raw, muttering “sweet” between bites. Even I felt like whipping her, let alone the Zhao siblings.

“I’m just saying, if everyone in the village died, then where did the bodies go?” Zhao Qian suddenly asked me.

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen any—no corpses at all,” I replied.

Yu Xiaoxue paused, as if recalling her father’s death, her expression saddened. Her movements faltered mid-bite.

“You said the ghost infant killed your brother. Then where did this ghost infant come from?” Zhao Qian asked curiously, now back to her usual sharp self, as if the tearful, sniffling girl from earlier was a stranger.

Her question reminded me of Zhang Yidan’s body. “Let’s talk about that later. We can’t leave the village tonight. I should go bury my brother first.”

I didn’t want to see my childhood friend’s body left abandoned in the wilderness.

“Brother, let’s help him,” Zhao Qian nodded, pulling her brother along.

The graveyard was eerily silent; not even a rat stirred. I looked down and my expression changed abruptly.

Where Zhang Yidan had been lying, a burial mound had been raised, topped with a tombstone.

My heart pounded wildly. There was no one else in Xiaoyi Village—who had taken care of Zhang Yidan’s body?

“Tian, what should we do? Could it have been someone familiar passing by who helped…” Yu Xiaoxue’s face turned grim.

“Impossible. Even if it were someone they knew, no one would be kind enough to bury someone who died unjustly. Let’s look at the tombstone,” I said, walking over and staring at the inscription. A chilling sensation washed over me: it was written in seal script.

“From the South, a child, both virtuous and yielding; adorned with stars and constellations, unyielding and steadfast; living without leaving memories, dying without leaving a name. Signed: Li Poxiao.” Zhao Qian struggled to read the words aloud, her face paling.

The stone tombstone was carved with a sharp tool, the marks shallow and likely to be eroded by wind and sand within a few months.

Zhao He scratched his head, unable to understand the profound writing. After hearing Zhao Qian read it, he laughed bitterly: “Ha, looks like there really are living Lei Fengs in this world—cultured too. This epitaph is well written.”

I shook my head. It wasn’t that simple.

“Let’s dig it up and see,” I said after a moment’s thought, pulling out a hoe and deciding to exhume the grave.

“Are you serious? Isn’t that disrespectful? Digging up a grave is just… wrong,” Zhao Qian immediately objected. She was a feng shui master, not a grave robber. The Zhao family didn’t do such things.

Yu Xiaoxue also frowned, waving her hand: “Tian, let’s not disturb Brother Dan, okay?”

“Have you forgotten? The soul’s gone. What else is there to disturb?” I insisted, starting to dig.

The other three couldn’t say much. Zhao He dared not interfere and let me do the work.

After slowly digging through most of the grave, I suddenly panicked as if doused with cold water—Zhang Yidan was not in the coffin!

I feared someone had stolen his body and might have damaged it. There was nothing to be done now. Night was falling fast, and who knew what spirits might appear in the graveyard. I hastened my digging and soon reached the bottom, uncovering some items.

They were the upper garments of Zhang Yidan’s body.

But the clothes had clearly been taken off, slashed with scissors. The corpse itself was truly missing.

Zhao Qian and Yu Xiaoxue’s mouths dropped open, and Zhao He stood dumbfounded.

“He was robbed. Li Poxiao—what a bold grave robber!” I felt a surge of anger. To steal a body from the dead—if I ever meet this Li Poxiao…

“Let’s head back into the village. It’s too open here; there isn’t even a wall to block the wind,” I said, calming myself and considering the possibility of encountering vengeful spirits like Zhou Xuan.

The Zhao siblings didn’t dare object and agreed to find a place to rest. Everyone was exhausted—anyone with a shred of energy could barely hold on, let alone two women.

As Zhao He passed the broken bridge, he scattered paper offerings and lit incense, but didn’t dare look under the bridge.

I had passed here several times over the last couple of days without feeling much fear. I looked beneath the bridge—and then quickly turned back as a dark, shadowy form floated up from the river.

“Huo Dadong?” I was bewildered. Was that Huo Dadong’s corpse?

Zhao Qian’s face turned pale as she also looked toward the river. It was indeed Huo Dadong’s body.

His face was turned upward, unmistakable.

“Zhao He, go pull him out!” I ordered. He had experience rescuing Zhang Kaifu before. I realized Zhao He was better at swimming than I was and, crucially, his yang energy was stronger, so ordinary spirits couldn’t possess him. My yin energy was too heavy; if I went in, the ghosts might drag me down.

Zhao He’s face twisted in dread. “Brother… this… isn’t right. He’s dead, and there are so many ghosts on the river. Won’t I be in danger if I go in?”

My expression darkened. Seeing his reluctance annoyed me. “What? You have the strongest yang energy here. It’s not even dark yet. Do you want me or your sister to go instead?”

“Brother… Tian must have his reasons. Be careful—I’ll set up an incense altar behind you. As soon as you come up, I’ll help drive away the evil spirits.” Zhao Qian saw my change in expression and quickly squeezed Zhao He’s hand.

“Alright, fine. I’ll go. But if anything happens to me, please take care of my sister. We are the Zhao family from the county…” Zhao He’s voice trembled with pleading, as if preparing for a heroic sacrifice. Zhao Qian was the beloved daughter of the Zhao family; they couldn’t afford to lose her.

Zhao Qian’s eyes reddened instantly. Wiping away tears with her sleeve, she looked at her brother, speechless. After a while, she looked at me pleadingly: “Please…”

“Enough talk! Huo’s not dead. The longer you hesitate, the worse it gets.” I glared at the siblings, half amused, half exasperated. They seemed to think Huo Dadong was dead.

In truth, Huo Dadong had a strong life force. If he’d fallen from a cliff to the ground, he’d surely be dead. But the river had saved him. Before falling in, his soul had been partially taken, but once submerged, his primal will to survive was triggered. By instinct, he paddled, floating face-up to this spot.

Huo Dadong couldn’t see spirits; his yang energy was still strong. Though his face was heavily shadowed now—likely targeted by water spirits—the fact that some malevolent force was fixated on him meant he wasn’t dead.

Reassured, Zhao He lit incense and scattered paper. When Huo Dadong floated past the bridge, Zhao He jumped in, but Huo Dadong immediately struggled fiercely, trying to break free.

Zhao He was frightened at first, but seeing Huo Dadong’s thrashing was instinctual, not an attempt to drag him down, he relaxed and used both hands to knock Huo Dadong unconscious.

Thanks to Zhao He’s muscular build, he managed to support the dazed Huo Dadong. If it had been me, I’d likely have drowned holding him.

Once ashore, Zhao Qian immediately set up a ritual to dispel the surrounding spirits.

“Can you summon the soul?” I asked her.

Zhao Qian nodded.

“This is downstream, flowing toward a dead town. I suspect the spirits captured by the ghostly army are brought into this river. When night falls and yin energy thickens, souls pass through here quickly. Huo Dadong only lost part of his soul, and his body remains here, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to call him back,” I mused, considering the spirits beneath the broken bridge. It seemed this river was a conduit for souls.

After eating some roasted sweet potatoes, night fell and even the dogs stopped barking. The village was utterly silent.

Zhao Qian found Huo Dadong’s wallet and ID, noting his birthday. Although his eight characters of fate were missing, this was no challenge for her—with the original person still present, it was manageable.

“Soul, return swiftly! The high hall still stands; soul, return swiftly! The home has a weak child; soul, return swiftly! The grieving wife waits anxiously...” Zhao Qian chanted loudly, waving a peachwood sword and ringing a bell to summon the soul. Zhao He held a folded umbrella, ready to capture the spirit the moment it appeared.

Yu Xiaoxue and I each had spirit-seeing talismans, allowing us to clearly see the ghostly heads emerging from the river. When Huo Dadong appeared, we both exclaimed in unison: “Here he comes.”

To distinguish Huo Dadong’s spirit, Zhao Qian and Zhao He wiped their eyes with burnt “bull’s eye tears” talismans. It was not surprising to see the spirit, but both of us seeing it in unison stunned them. If it had been only me, no big deal. But Yu Xiaoxue seeing it too? Was she some kind of hidden master?

Not likely... She was still crying over two sugarcanes earlier today.

Still, Zhao Qian was professional. She declared: “Huo Dadong, born 1970, yang life not yet ended, physical body undying... I am here. Return your wandering soul at once!”

At her call, a fragment of Huo Dadong’s spirit tried to surge forward. Zhao He happily opened his folded umbrella, ready to trap the spirit once it crossed the bridge.

But before it left the river, it was dragged back!

Two ghost soldiers forcibly pulled it back, continuing to escort it across the river.

The spirit could not reach the shore. Zhao Qian and Zhao He were shocked—they could see those two ghost soldiers clearly.

I was surprised as well. It seemed some forceful action was required. I put my hand in my pocket, ready to unleash my little fierce ghost, even if it cost me some blood.

Just as I was about to act, a black figure silently appeared behind me from the direction of Xiaoyi Village.

So close now, I said, “Hey, sister-in-law, are you asleep or what!?”

“Yo, summoning the soul, huh?” The person greeted us with a raspy voice like a duck’s quack.