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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 9: Corpse (Ten)
Zeng Family Bay is mostly made up of dry fields, which have the advantage of not drowning the seedlings. However, the downside is related to water; since they do not retain moisture, once seedlings are planted, constant irrigation is necessary.
Thus, most of the dry fields in Zeng Family Bay are planted with saplings. I noticed quite a few, including Ginkgo trees and Pomelo trees, as well as Osmanthus trees. Some people were weeding beneath the trees and planting other crops between them. When some recognized me looking at Qin Jian and Tian Baigan, they greeted me and asked where I was headed before returning to their tasks.
A narrow field path, barely over a foot wide, had deep bicycle tire ruts carved into it. The sides were overrun with creeping grass and other unnamed weeds. As we walked further in, the number of houses dwindled until they were nearly invisible, leaving only a vast expanse of scrub forest and scattered graves.
Zeng Shufen's graveyard was located by the riverbank, a solitary site overrun with thorny vines. I found it strange that Zeng Shufen, being part of Zeng Family Bay, should not be buried alongside Grandma Zeng in the family ancestral tomb.
When I visited the Zeng Family, I saw several burial sites near their house; that was indeed where their ancestors were laid to rest. The place where the deceased were buried was rather dismal—perpetually shrouded in darkness throughout the seasons, it felt suffocating even for the living.
Tian Baigan seemed to sense my confusion and explained, "My aunt was pulled out of the water. Those who die outside cannot enter the family home; even if they do, they would be chased away by the door gods. So this is where she was hastily buried."
I asked Tian Baigan to stand back while I approached alone.
This area had been planted with numerous crops, but due to poor water retention, their growth was stunted. Looking at these crops reminded me of hair that had not been tended to—too thin and frail. Zeng Shufen's graveyard lay at the far end of these crops near the riverbank, separated from it by a dense patch of Mao Bamboo.
I discreetly took out my divination compass to assess my fortune.
The compass first needed to align with the meridian line; there were four key phrases to remember.
"Between emptiness and danger, the needle points true; in the south, three stars align; within the hexagram of Kan and Li lies the middle line; a slight deviation leads to misfortune."
The heart's positioning corresponds to true celestial alignment; this is one method to test whether the compass is accurate or not. According to ancient wisdom, a slight miscalculation could mean wealth or poverty—this principle applies here as well. As I took out the compass to locate the deceased's head and feet positions, both needles began spinning wildly—something was amiss. While I felt a surge of anxiety and moved closer to the graveyard, I realized it was still early; the yang energy had not yet peaked, which could invite malevolent spirits. I quickly stepped aside just as I caught a glimpse of two eerie green eyes staring at me from within the dense vines of the graveyard.
When I looked again, they had vanished.
At that moment, I noticed what appeared to be bloodstains on one of the vines covering the graveyard. I hurriedly took out a talisman from my pocket, lightly dabbed it on the stain, and discreetly left without drawing attention.
Clearly, Qin Jian had witnessed my earlier actions and hurriedly asked, "Is there a situation?"
"Yes," I nodded, pulling out the blood-stained talisman to show him. "Look at this." I quickly led the way, with Tian Baigan and Qin Jian hastily following behind. Both of them seemed to sense the seriousness of the situation and dared not speak much.
Indeed, the situation was quite serious. How could there be bloodstains in a graveyard?
It was evident that something was buried there, and it wasn't anything good. Just as Zeng Aixiu had mentioned, it was a 'being' with limbs that could crawl on the ground.
Qin Jian clutched the talisman, his hands trembling. He feared nothing more than these things—entities that couldn't be controlled by human strength.
This matter was truly eerie. A solitary graveyard was overrun with dense vines. When Tian Baigan buried someone here, this place had been clean, devoid of any vines. Were these vines specifically crawling out from the ground to cover the graves? Yet upon closer inspection, there were no vines anywhere else.
The vines crawling over the graves seemed ordinary at first glance, just typical vines. However, upon closer examination, they appeared different from regular vines. They possessed a certain spiritual quality; they ignored the flat ground and crops around them and chose only to climb this particular graveyard. At first sight, it looked as if the graveyard was covered with a thick quilt made entirely of vines.
If only this were all there was to it. Upon encountering this situation, Tian Baigan seemed to recall more memories. When his Aunt Shufen passed away, he dreamt that she was very cold and wanted a blanket.
Qin Jian waved his hand dismissively. "Don't mention it; I'm feeling cold myself."
Indeed, Qin Jian's face was pale, and he trembled all over. This area was filled with a rare deathly aura, surrounded by Mao Bamboo and thickets. The ground was thick with Mao Bamboo leaves. We hid within this bamboo grove; although there was sunlight outside, we felt no warmth at all—only a chilling aura coming from all directions made us feel icy cold.
"This place is heavy with Yin Qi; I'll draw a circle." Without hesitation, we three gathered many Mao Bamboo leaves together to form a circle while clearing away everything else to prevent any fire hazards. Seeing this scene reminded Tian Baigan of another story.
He said, "During the first year after Aunt's burial, there was a fire that burned down many Mao Bamboo and shrubs. We didn't know how the fire started; we were the last to leave after all visible flames had extinguished. It rained that night, and when we returned the next day, we found that many of our neighbors' Mao Bamboo and shrubs had burned down too. They couldn't ask us for compensation, so they sold valuable items from Aunt's house to cover their losses."
"Sigh, when people leave this world, they become indifferent. Those who have passed should be respected; why must they go so far as to take away someone else's belongings? After all, those are items belonging to the deceased—how can they be moved casually?"
"I also think it's wrong," he replied. "But my mother ignored it; she even took a fine piece of clothing from Aunt's house but never wore it. It wasn't until her death that we discovered it had been chewed through by mice."
“Do evil,” I added. Under my suggestion, he stepped into the fire circle and walked through.
Tian Baigan followed suit and crossed the fire circle. I then extinguished the flames, took out several hundred bills, and instructed Tian Baigan to break it down into smaller amounts. He wrapped four pieces in red paper and went to find a few strong men to quietly come to Zengjiahe Bay without alarming anyone. Finally, I reminded him to borrow a square inkstone from the carpenter at Zeng Family Bay, preferably one that had aged over time.
Tian Baigan left, and Qin Jian asked me, “What are you planning to do?”
I glanced at the time and sighed, “Examine the corpse.”
“Is that really okay? Aren’t you afraid something might go wrong?”
“With me here, what’s there to be afraid of?” I replied, slightly impatient with Qin Jian for hesitating at such a critical moment. He was usually decisive in other matters but was now being overly cautious.
“It’s not our territory; you understand. If something goes wrong, we really won’t be able to handle it.”
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