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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 0: Corpse (Eleven)
"Don't worry, I've thought of all this. Otherwise, why would I have told Tian Baigan not to alarm too many people, especially the women?"
"You are just too paranoid. How do you know that only women gossip? Men can spread rumors and cause trouble too."
I was about to explain myself to Qin Jian when I saw Tian Baigan bringing a few people over. At first glance, they were members of the Zeng Family Bay who had organized themselves to patrol at night. They looked anxious, holding tools like hoes and shovels. Once everyone was gathered, we checked to ensure there were no conflicting birth dates among us. Finally, we chose two to keep watch while the others passed through the fire circle I had ignited with Purgatory Flame. Each person received a talisman for protection and drank a bowl of protective water. It was almost time.
Tian Baigan's efficiency was truly reassuring; the ink pot he brought was the best kind. From what I could tell, it had been around for decades, and finding materials of such quality now was rare.
To my surprise, upon inquiry, I learned that this ink pot belonged to Zeng Carpenter—Zeng Shufen's grandfather. Was this some sort of prank? In the end, the trouble he caused had to be cleaned up with his own belongings.
Now that the sun was high in the sky and the Deathly Aura was at its peak while the Yin Qi weakened, we all stopped at Zeng Shufen's grave mound.
First, I circled her grave, using the ink pot to draw lines that formed a Bagua. The people Tian Baigan brought stood firm in the four cardinal directions. Qin Jian lit a temporary torch and began to ignite the vines surrounding the grave site. According to Tian Baigan, since Zeng Shufen was buried here several years ago, no one had come to burn paper offerings for her.
Zeng Shufen's resentment was strong, compounded by her unclear cause of death and some unknown entity within her. This led to frequent incidents and deaths in Zeng Family Bay village. I couldn't understand why they weren't afraid despite having crops here.
Tian Baigan explained the situation to me.
The sparse and poorly growing crops I saw were not planted by anyone; they had been sown long ago but had not been tended since Zeng Shufen's burial. These crops had grown naturally over the years without any human intervention.
Qin Jian struggled to ignite half of the vines on the grave; the flame from his torch flickered as if blown by a strong wind, making it frustratingly difficult to light them.
"I'll do it," Tian Baigan volunteered, taking the torch from Qin Jian's hand. However, before he could even light it, a tremendous force erupted from the graveyard and sent him flying backward, crashing hard onto the ground.
"Ah... there's... a ghost..." Someone screamed in fear and immediately tried to run away.
"Don't panic! If we don't catch whatever evil is lurking here this time, your lives will be in danger," I shouted loudly. Those who wanted to flee hesitated, exchanging glances and unsure of what to do next.
"Watch this." I slightly closed my eyes and chanted the incantation. The Purgatory Flame surged forth, emanating from my fingertips, shaking the entire area. Everyone turned to me, their eyes wide with astonishment, mouths agape in disbelief.
I chanted again, and the Purgatory Flame shot out like a fire dragon, striking the vines covering the grave mound.
In an instant, the vines ignited, the flames burning a chilling blue, reminiscent of liquefied gas, instilling fear in all who beheld it.
The vines were consumed in no time, leaving behind a bare mound of earth. However, near the riverbank, there was a hole the size of a bowl. The onlookers speculated that this was the Snake Cave because when a person dies, snakes come to feast on the decaying flesh; everyone was convinced it was indeed the Snake Cave.
If it truly was the Snake Cave, then this snake must be quite large—at least a Python by now.
This bowl-sized Snake Cave revealed everything.
Yet, it was not the Snake Cave. I instructed them to start digging up the grave; we had to open it within half an hour.
The orientation of this grave was clearly wrong; it was obviously a corpse-rearing grave. I had no time to question who had done this; I needed to hurry and open the coffin before the Deathly Aura peaked. At this moment, even with its fierce corpse energy, it could only shrink back into the dark and damp space, too afraid to show itself openly during the height of the Deathly Aura when Yin Qi weakened.
The grave mound was made of sand and soil; aside from dense vine roots above, it was just sand. With a few strokes of a hoe, we could break through. Deeper within that bowl-sized hole was a winding, smooth serpentine path that at first glance really did resemble snake tracks.
They looked at me, seeking my opinion on whether to continue digging. I waved my hand decisively: "Keep going, hurry up."
"The coffin is just a door plank," Tian Baigan added timely. I cursed inwardly; damn! I hurried them along with their digging. Based on how long someone typically decomposes after death, I figured Zeng Shufen's body must have severely decayed or perhaps been hollowed out by something underground, leaving behind a stinking shell.
The reason for cremation upon death is precisely this: it's clean and avoids secondary contamination after death. Even if decayed remains seep into the soil, they are still filthy.
But unexpectedly, what I had predicted unfolded before my eyes in less than half an hour.
Zeng Shufen's body not only showed no signs of decay but appeared remarkably lifelike. However, her abdomen was grotesquely distended as if a massive sphere were placed inside her belly—larger than that of a woman nine months pregnant in this world.
Everyone gasped in shock and instinctively stepped back, their faces turning pale. Even Tian Baigan, who usually showed no fear, stumbled back several steps and pointed shakily at Zeng Shufen's body: "Her belly is so big..."
I subtly hinted to Qin Jian to use money to win people's hearts, advising them to keep their distance and just stand back. I needed to borrow their Deathly Aura along with my spells to suppress the corpse's malevolent energy. The lookout over there kept glancing this way.
Qin Jian gestured for them not to look, warning that the consequences would be theirs to bear. It was more important to ensure the lookout was settled.
With money, even ghosts can be pushed into action. Under the influence of cash, those who were afraid took a few steps back and didn’t move again. But it was impossible to calm the anxious heart; they craned their necks, straining to see what Qin Jian and I were doing.
I prepared a talisman to seal the corpse and prevent its soul from escaping, followed by another talisman to seal its abdomen.
Qin Jian held the Exorcism dagger, watching as I lifted Zeng Shufen's belly, revealing skin stretched so tightly it appeared almost translucent, with faintly visible veins. He quietly asked, "Shall I cut?"
I raised a finger to shush him, signaling him to remain silent. Then, on the round, nearly transparent belly, I swiftly drew a few lines of a suppression spell and nodded seriously for him to make the cut.
The dagger slid through, opening a seam in the belly without any blood spilling out. It resembled a wind-dried pouch that could still provide warmth, with not a single drop of moisture or corpse fluid leaking out. The dried skin automatically parted as the dagger moved, revealing a dark head—not that of an infant but rather that of a two-year-old child with full hair. Then the body followed.
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