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The skull was buried deep at the roots of Gui Liu, its hollow eye sockets, nostrils, and missing teeth sending chills down the spine at first glance. Those who saw it couldn't help but flee, and even Ding Li let out a startled cry, hiding behind Ye Chenfeng, too afraid to look again.
Just then, the skull unexpectedly bounced slightly, causing the onlookers to scream in terror.
Ba Old Man, however, did not retreat; instead, he disregarded the warnings of others and rushed forward.
“Old man, don’t be impulsive. You've lived a long life; it wouldn’t be good for you to rush in like this,” Ye Chenfeng said, blocking Ba Old Man's path and trying to persuade him gently.
“Alas! What’s meant to come will come. Besides Xiao Jiang, there are Lao Zhang San and Li Si; they had an accident while constructing the Evil Manor Project. Could it be unrelated to this skull?” Hearing the old man's words made Ye Chenfeng recall what Xiao Jiang had hinted at earlier—was this what he had been hesitant to say?
“Old man, please speak calmly and don’t get agitated.”
Only Ding Li, Ye Chenfeng, and Ba Old Man remained at the scene. Dan Xiangsheng had also run far away with the others; the skull at the roots was making quite a commotion.
“In the era of cannibalism, Bastard, you young people may not have heard of it. That year, on the coldest day of the twelfth lunar month, heavy snow fell like goose feathers. A group of people came to the village, armed with real weapons and fierce expressions. The villagers had received advance notice and hid away. However, one person didn’t get the message—he was the landlord's son whom everyone in the village hated. They didn’t tell him about the Bastards coming. As a result, when the Bastards couldn’t find any money to steal, they vented their anger on him. He was tied up and brought here to Gui Liu where they beheaded him…”
It was indeed a tragic tale.
Ye Chenfeng and Ding Li felt a chill run down their spines after hearing this.
“Don’t worry; now is an era where we Chinese people are in charge. There are no more Bastards running rampant or invaders encroaching upon us. I will help you fulfill your wish and return your head so you can be reincarnated.”
Whether it was coincidence or if Ye Chenfeng's words moved the skull, it began to bounce even more vigorously as he spoke.
“You all stay here; I’ll go take a look.” Ye Chenfeng walked toward the opened pit. He hadn’t brought his Ghost-Collecting Gourd with him, and Ding Li felt a cold sweat in her palms; she was more nervous than if she had gone herself.
Ye Chenfeng walked over, squatted down, and reached out to pick up the skull.
To his surprise, there was a toad inside the skull, about the size of a human palm.
The center of the skull was hollow, and the toad couldn't get out, so it kept jumping around, causing the skull to move as well.
What was strange was that the toad hadn’t eaten or drunk anything while buried underground. How had it not starved to death?
At that moment, Ye Chenfeng instructed someone to prepare yellow paper and write sutras on it. Then he made a straw man. Ba Old Man recited the birth date and time of the skull's owner, which was then attached to the straw man. He also filled the skull with yellow clay.
Surprisingly, with his nimble hands, he managed to shape the bare skull into something resembling a face.
Ba Old Man squinted at the face made of yellow clay and shook his head, saying it didn’t quite look right; it needed a bit more expression.
Creating an expression wasn’t as simple as just molding it; one had to truly understand it.
Ye Chenfeng asked Ba Old Man to describe the person's usual preferences, habits, and character. After taking a deep breath, he focused intently and reshaped the eyes, nose, mouth, and brows—any features that could highlight expression. When he showed it to Ba Old Man again, he praised it as perfect.
However, unexpectedly, when everything was ready and Ye Chenfeng placed the head on the neck of the straw man, it fell off countless times and damaged the features he had just crafted.
What was going on?
Ye Chenfeng adjusted the head once more, placing it back on the scarecrow's neck. The head wobbled slightly before falling off again, revealing a crack across the face that resembled a scar. With an expression of anger etched on its features, it sent chills down the spines of those who witnessed it, leaving them feeling uneasy and horrified.
There must be something else he hadn't considered. Ye Chenfeng glanced at the crowd gathered a few meters away, their faces obscured in shadow, and suddenly thought of something.
When a person dies, they should have devoted children and grandchildren to see them off. Yet in this case, there was no one to perform the funeral rites. The deceased had been wrongfully killed and surely did not wish to leave this world so easily.
After some contemplation, Ye Chenfeng instructed Ba Old Man to identify if there were any relatives of the deceased present.
Ba Old Man replied, "There are some, but they are unwilling to come forward. Only Xiao Jiang is left; his grandfather led the others into hiding and told them not to reveal themselves..." Ba Old Man seemed hesitant to mention the name of the skull owner.
"It's fine. I promised to help him; he won't make things difficult for you."
"Well, his name is Fugui. Back then, his father was a landlord who hoped his son would grow up to be prosperous. Sigh, those who suffered under landlords can't help but resent them! Fugui is a decent person; it's just that everyone has preconceived notions about him, so they reject him... My family bears some responsibility for what happened. Perhaps I've lived this long because this matter has stuck in my throat; without it, I might have moved on!"
Fugui!
Ye Chenfeng committed Fugui's name to memory and addressed the people who were reluctant to approach from afar. "Fugui died unjustly, and besides that, he has good character. If things had been handled properly from the start, Evil Village wouldn't have seen so many troubles. All of you who share his bloodline should come pay your respects. Except for those born in the Year of the Rooster, Dragon, or Snake—everyone else related by surname can come to honor him and seek peace for all."
The villagers looked at Ye Chenfeng; he was just a young man with a five-cent mustache who seemed unreliable. Yet he approached matters with such seriousness and spoke with an unexpected maturity that belied his age.
After a moment's hesitation, someone stepped forward.
As one person walked over, another followed, then a third—
Ye Chenfeng guided those who approached to prostrate themselves before the scarecrow in unison, hands clasped together as they recited prayers for the deceased and chanted Amitabha's sutra.
The Scarecrow successfully connected with the title.
Among those chanting spells, someone suddenly burst into tears, which only made things feel even more intense.
Joss Paper danced gracefully in the wind, resembling burning butterflies filled with joyful emotions, swirling above people's heads before gently descending.
"Alright," Fugui thought to himself, filled with joy. Ye Chenfeng shouted, cupping his fists and addressing the swirling smoke loudly, "Safe travels."
The crowd echoed, "Fugui, safe travels."
Ba Old Man mentioned that Fugui's remains had long been lost. As for the construction of Evil Village, it was uncertain whether they had ended up at Mountain Lodge.
Mountain Lodge was divided into an outer area and an inner area.
The outer area was a chaotic graveyard.
The inner area was a cemetery where relatives paid their respects.
Speaking of Mountain Lodge, Ding Li recalled the nightmare she had that night.
She couldn't be bothered with her parents' ashes and had no idea where they had been taken by various relatives.
In an unusual move, she decided to call her father's family and her mother's family to verify whether her parents' ashes were at Mountain Lodge.
The answer she received left her stunned.
The ashes of my parents are located behind the Evil Village at the Mountain Lodge.
After settling the spirit of Fugui, Ye Chenfeng and the others gathered a group to carry Fugui's remains (the scarecrow) to the Unmarked Graveyard.
In the Unmarked Graveyard, most of the graves are nameless, neglected Lonely Tombs. Upon arriving at the Unmarked Graveyard, the sight of it sends chills down one's spine.
"Alright, since we can't find Fugui's grave for now, take the Joss Paper in your hands and burn it at each of the Lonely Tombs in this chaotic graveyard, then leave quietly. I know what to do next."
At this moment, the sky had grown dim, as if it were about to rain, low and within reach.
The villagers followed Ye Chenfeng's instructions, holding a stack of Joss Paper and burning it for each of the Lonely Tombs in the chaotic graveyard.
Ye Chenfeng was too busy and overlooked Ding Li.
Ding Li slipped away from the crowd and quietly made his way to the inner area.
In just a short while, every Lonely Tomb in the chaotic graveyard had received Joss Paper and Hell Money. Even those mounds that didn’t resemble graves had someone lighting Joss Paper, fearing that neglecting the spirits would anger them and turn good intentions into misfortune, bringing vengeful spirits home.
The sky grew darker. The villagers remained silent, only hearing the rustling wind and soft footsteps; no one dared to make a sound, even suppressing coughs until they left the chaotic graveyard.
Under the gloomy sky, old crows returned to their nests, perching on the locust trees in the chaotic graveyard, cawing eerily, making the place feel even more desolate and eerie.
As Ye Chenfeng observed the darkening sky, he realized it was still not quite nightfall; this was an unusual situation.
"Good people, I am Ye Chenfeng, from under the name of Deep Mountain Old Monk. Today I come to disturb you all; first, I bring some gifts for our meeting and then seek a favor."
Ye Chenfeng clasped his fists and listened intently, activating his Yin Eye.
Before long, shadowy figures began to emerge, drifting from the overgrown graves scattered around.
They all expressed their gratitude to Ye Chenfeng. For so many years, no one had acknowledged their existence, nor had anyone been generous enough to offer them the meager Joss Paper and Hell Money that held little significance in the mortal world. This time, they felt truly blessed and were eager to assist Ye Chenfeng in locating Fugui.
After a while, a figure dressed in a gray jacket, lacking a head, floated over.
He bowed deeply to Ye Chenfeng.
"Fugui, you have suffered. Your Yin body is here; let me properly settle you," Ye Chenfeng chanted incantations, gesturing with his hands as he recited, "Ascend Yin body."
Fugui successfully attached his Yin body and expressed profound gratitude towards Ye Chenfeng.
With Fugui's silver body now present, the restless spirits of the graveyard retreated, and the oppressive atmosphere lifted.
At exactly four o'clock in the afternoon, Fugui was ceremoniously buried within the Mountain Lodge's inner grounds.
At this moment, Ye Chenfeng suddenly realized that he hadn't seen Ding Li for quite some time.
Ding Li had mentioned Mountain Lodge to him before.
Ye Chenfeng hurried to the cemetery, where rows of neatly arranged tombstones stood solemnly. In front of one tombstone, Ding Li gazed tearfully at his father's photograph engraved on it, questioning in his heart a thousand times: "Why did you bring me into this world? Why did you abandon me? If this was the outcome, why leave me behind?"
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