Chapter Fifty-Four: Playing the Filial Son

After hearing Li Douniu’s story, I felt not only astonishment but also a lingering, genuine sense of dread.

This tale reminded me of the "Zhao Huo" mentioned by Zhao Shuihe, and the historical records of his "refining of a cat demon." Three hundred years ago, to ensure his clan survived the ravages of war, Zhao Huo decided to refine a "Fire-Tailed Lian." His clansmen had warned him that the beast was a double-edged sword: used well, it could attract wealth and treasure, but used poorly, it could bring ruin upon the entire family.

Clearly, Li Douniu had not used the Fire-Tailed Lian well; instead, it had cost him his life. As for why he failed, I could only speculate, though it likely had much to do with that one backward glance he cast at the graveyard. Piecing together the available information, I reconstructed the "truth" of his demise. I suspect that, guided by that "Taoist priest," Li Douniu had accidentally stumbled upon the techniques for refining a Fire-Tailed Lian within the Zhao family’s ancestral graveyard. Driven by the desire to "attract wealth and defy fate to dispel ghosts," he ignored the taboos and successfully refined the beast using ancient methods. In the end, however, he could not control its wild, animalistic nature and met a tragic end.

As for the Li Douniu I encountered today, he was likely either a vengeful spirit seeking a substitute to take his place, an illusion conjured by the cat demon, or an impersonation by the very Taoist who had instructed him to use a cat to ward off disaster. Of course, this was merely my conjecture, and it only addressed part of my concerns. I would need to discuss the rest with Zhao Shuihe, Zhao Haikun, and Xian Hongye.

...After recounting the death of Li Douniu, the old village chief told me with heartbreaking grief that after his son died, the cat with the glowing tail had become a menace to the village. It had likely killed many of the elderly, stolen goods, and acted with complete lawlessness, beyond anyone’s control. Following Li Douniu’s death, his wife had taken their child and returned to her maiden home, leaving the old man alone and struggling to survive. As he spoke, the man in his fifties began to weep. Watching his tear-streaked face, I felt deeply uncomfortable and ashamed. I realized that my desperate attempt to defend my old squad leader had backfired, only making matters worse.

In this awkward situation, my Uncle Zhao Haikun quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "The young man was just talking nonsense, Chief, please don't take it to heart. Regarding the funeral for our second-in-command... we will proceed according to your wishes."

"The outer graveyard!" the old chief snorted coldly before walking away.

I watched his retreating figure with a sense of dejection. So, he was to be buried in the outer graveyard after all—the place where, in the past, only the wicked were laid to rest.

That night, we brought the squad leader’s body back to the Zhao estate. Fearing that his remains might be desecrated by wild cats or malevolent forces, the villagers and I spent the night transferring him to a new coffin and sealing it early. Zhao Hong and I followed local custom, soaking the coffin nails in rooster blood before sealing the lid. Throughout the process, I remained silent, casting one last look at the squad leader’s desiccated, mud-like face. Following the rites of the Five Viscera Temple, I placed an intact black bowl atop his head before closing the coffin for the final time.

Afterward, dressed in mourning attire, I kept watch over the coffin with Uncle Zhao Haikun. We were on edge, neither of us daring to leave for even a moment. A few hours later, I noticed my uncle swaying in his wheelchair, clearly unable to hold on any longer. It was understandable; as a disabled man, he had endured a series of shocks and blows over the past few days, and his strength was utterly exhausted. I urged him to go and rest, assuring him that I would handle things and that he needed to save his strength for the burial tomorrow.

Zhao Haikun eventually relented. Before leaving, he told me not to hold a grudge against Master Duantian. With a nervous expression, he said, "Master Duantian is a famous Yin-Yang Taoist in Shiren Gu. He came down from the mountains to the city a year ago. He is highly skilled and has helped us resolve many disasters; he really is a good man..."

I smiled, letting his words drift away like the wind.

...Late into the night, Xian Hongye brought me a midnight snack. She took the opportunity to have a long talk with me, starting by warning me not to act impulsively against Master Duantian, as we lacked any evidence. "Unless you can uncover his true motives and bring him to justice," she said, "simply beating him up won't achieve anything."

She was right. Even if I beat him half to death, what good would it do? Furthermore, she warned me that besides Master Duantian, there were certainly others eyeing the Zhao family. When I asked why, she replied, "Do you remember what I told you during the day? Your squad leader’s resurrection was not a simple case of a corpse rising."

Of course, I remembered. At dusk, just as I was locked in a tense "battle of wits" with Zhao Shuihe, the squad leader had suddenly exhibited signs of a cat-animated corpse. During that moment, Hongye had hinted that it was more than it seemed. I hadn't asked for details then, as I was too busy being chased by the corpse. Now that she brought it up again, I listened intently.

"Don't you find it strange?" she whispered. "Why did your squad leader possess such explosive power and agility the moment he rose? It was as if he had truly come back to life."

I hadn't understood it at the time, but now that she pointed it out, I realized how abnormal it was. Typically, a corpse rising is just a release of residual bio-electricity, a very brief process. Usually, it involves only minor twitches of the limbs or perhaps a few bites, but it is never like my squad leader—running, jumping, and laughing. It was as if he had been fully revived.

"I suspect your squad leader was targeted while he was still alive," Hongye continued after a moment of thought. "And after he died, his body was tampered with."

"Tampered with?" I asked, stunned. "Is there any evidence?"

She shook her head in disappointment. "It's just a hypothesis; I have no direct proof, as this involves supernatural matters. But I have a theory... I think the person who tampered with him turned his body into a dried husk to hide their crimes, as it makes it impossible to see the signs of what was really done to him."

I nodded, narrowing my eyes as I recalled the day’s bizarre events. I knew that "these people" would not rest after the burial. As long as I observed carefully, the mastermind who had repeatedly acted against me and the Zhao family would soon be unmasked.

The night was long, but dawn would inevitably come.