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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 6: Corpse (Part Seven)
I couldn't help but chuckle as I watched Qin Jian scratching his head, unsure of how to respond. "It's not that," I said. "I heard some noise and called him over to take a look. By the way, did you guys see something moving quickly just now?"
The group of night patrollers shook their heads in unison. "No, what was it?"
I pressed for clarification. "Did you not see it clearly, or did you not see it at all?" In truth, when I caught sight of that thing, the compass needle was spinning wildly, and the malevolent energy was overwhelming; it definitely wasn't anything good. However, I pretended not to have seen it clearly to avoid alarming anyone.
As we debated back and forth, someone suddenly screamed that they had been bitten. The night patrollers, including Qin Jian and me, rushed toward the source of the commotion.
The one who had been bitten was a cat. Its limbs were stiff, its body convulsing violently, and its glassy eyes were wide open in terror as if it had seen something horrifying. It couldn't make a sound, its mouth twisted in agony, and the fatal injury was on its neck.
The blood beneath its neck seemed to have coagulated; not a drop flowed out. The fur stained with blood trembled with each spasm of the cat's body.
I reached out to check for signs of life, but all I felt was a chill. There was a bloody hole in its neck; upon closer inspection, it wasn't that the blood had coagulated but rather that something had drained it completely. The cat's body appeared hollowed out, leaving only skin tightly clinging to its bones, making it look pitifully emaciated.
"It's dead." The cat's eyes rolled back as it breathed its last.
One must understand that cats are among the most agile and intelligent creatures among livestock; they leap and run with an agility that rivals dogs. Yet this spirited creature fell victim to an unknown force that drained its blood. What could be more terrifying than this? Would humans be next?
Everyone exchanged glances filled with dread; they looked at each other as if the unseen monster lurked nearby. Their inability to catch it only deepened their inexplicable fear. Before long, people began to disperse. I called out to Baymax, the young man I had seen fleeing on his bike earlier, and asked, "Could you retell the story you shared with the village chief tonight? It felt incomplete."
"Actually," he began, "Zeng Shufen was pregnant when she died. Since she was already gone, the child wasn’t fully developed yet; nothing would happen to it if we buried them together."
"You share the surname Zeng?"
"No, my surname is Tian—Tian Baigan."
That name seemed resistant to farming! I chuckled inwardly and casually explained, "I thought you were from Zeng Family Bay..."
Before I could finish my sentence, I offered him a cigarette and handed one to Qin Jian as well. We squatted by the edge of the field, smoking and chatting idly. "So I mistakenly thought you were a Zeng," I continued.
Tian Baigan's face clouded over; my words seemed to touch on something troubling for him. He grew somber and eventually looked away from me and Qin Jian toward a distant stretch of dark road. "My mom died suddenly after Zeng Shufen passed away. At that time, I understood that after Zeng Shufen died, more people from Zeng Family Bay would follow suit. Sure enough, two more died shortly after—one was the village chief's son, and the other was my mom."
"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to..."
"It's nothing, my mom died young, just thirty-eight..." Tian Baigan's voice trembled as he spoke, his eyes misty.
I exchanged a glance with Qin Jian, unsure if we should press further.
Qin Jian flicked the ash off his cigarette and softly suggested, "It's pointless. Why don't we go back and get some sleep?"
"Yeah, that thing has already fed tonight; it won't move for a while. Let's head back!"
But as we turned to leave, Tian Baigan called out to us, "I don't think it was the Yellow Weasel that killed the livestock. It was something much more terrifying."
"What is it?" Qin Jian and I asked in unison.
"It's a 'person.'"
"A person?" I thought Tian Baigan's idea was somewhat similar to mine, but I wondered if his 'person' was the same as what I had in mind. Noticing he had fallen silent again, I pressed on, "What makes you think it was a 'person'?"
"My mom saw it. She was so frightened that she had a heart attack from the stress and passed away."
"Did your mom describe what this 'person' looked like?"
"Yes." Tian Baigan strained to recall the details. Qin Jian and I exchanged another silent glance, patiently waiting. Finally, Tian Baigan gathered his courage to recount what his mother had witnessed. Not long ago, Tian Baigan's mother also bore the surname Zeng.
Let me clarify: in Zeng Family Bay, there are actually only three households with the surname Zeng.
Two of these families are related by blood, while Grandma Zeng's family is from a different lineage. Their previous generation was indeed connected.
Grandma Zeng's family is the elder branch, while Er refers to the descendants of Tian Baigan's mother. It's unclear why the Zeng family has dwindled; Er's side had three daughters, while this side also had three daughters—two married off and one remaining at home, which is Tian Baigan's mother.
On the other hand, Grandma Zeng's father-in-law, Zeng Carpenter, had three sons. The hope of continuing their lineage rested on the eldest son Zeng Carpenter, but due to issues surrounding a child bride, the entire family fell apart. The eldest son moved away for work while Er and Third Brother met untimely ends. The only remaining descendant, Zeng Shufen, also did not have a peaceful end.
Moreover, Tian Baigan's mother, who stayed at home after marrying in, also passed away young.
Hearing all this from Tian Baigan made me sense that the Zeng family's misfortune might be linked to their ancestral grave. As a mortician, I may not know as much as those before me, but I'm aware that the feng shui of burial sites significantly impacts future generations. Such matters can be serious; typically after someone passes away and is buried, their essence combines with the energy of the burial site to create vitality. This connection through yin and yang can exert considerable influence in unseen ways.
The fortunes of living relatives can be greatly influenced by the deceased, affecting their luck, misfortune, and the prosperity of future generations. After a person passes away, if their burial site brings good fortune to their descendants, it is referred to as a blessed resting place.
Conversely, if the deceased is buried in a cursed grave, then their descendants can forget about thriving; they may only face ruin. The concept of "Yin House" feng shui relates to the wealth and status of future generations and the prosperity of the family line.
Qin Jian picked up on the issue from what Tian Baigan had said. He wasn't very knowledgeable about feng shui, and seeing my silence and furrowed brow, he quietly asked, "Is this related to feng shui? If the whole family moves away, will it improve things?"
"Yes, it has a lot to do with feng shui. Moving away is futile; as long as your ancestral grave is not good, you will still be affected by its feng shui no matter where you are."
"Oh, I see!"
I replied, "Let's not talk about feng shui anymore; let's listen to him."
Then came Tian Baigan's account.
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