Chapter 13

The sky was ablaze with clouds, and the village dogs barked incessantly, as if they had seen something unclean. Zhao Qian's feng shui compass was gone, and she clutched the secret letter her mother had given her, squatting on the ground, at a loss for what to do.

Zhao He placed his hands on his hips, staring intently at Siqiao, perhaps thinking that his yang energy could intimidate the spirits in the water.

I took out my phone and checked the time; it was already six o'clock. Given the current situation, it was impossible to leave the village tonight, and my heart was filled with worry.

Only Yu Xiaoxue, with her quick wit, picked up a sweet potato and ate it raw, saying it was sweet. I wanted to hit her with a whip, let alone Zhao Qian and Zhao He, who were her siblings.

I said, "Since everyone in the village is dead, where did the bodies go?" Zhao Qian suddenly asked me.

"I don't know; I've never seen a single body," I replied.

Yu Xiaoxue was taken aback, as if reminded of her father's death, and she felt sad, her movements of eating the sweet potato freezing.

"You said the ghost baby killed your brother. Where did this ghost baby come from?" Zhao Qian asked curiously, having regained her usual efficiency, as if the girl who had cried and sniffled earlier was not her.

With this question, I remembered Zhang Yidan's body and said, "Let's talk about this later. We can't leave the village tonight, so I'll go bury my brother first."

"I don't want to see my childhood friend's body left in the wilderness."

"Brother, let's go help him." Zhao Qian nodded and pulled her brother to help.

The cemetery was eerily quiet, with no sign of any animals. I looked down and my face changed abruptly.

Where Zhang Yidan had been lying, a grave mound now stood, with a tombstone erected on it.

My heart pounded wildly. There was no one else in Xiaoyi Village. Who had buried Zhang Yidan?

"Brother Tian, what should we do? Could it be a passerby who helped?" Yu Xiaoxue's face was also not good.

"It's impossible. Even if it was someone they knew, they wouldn't be kind enough to bury a person who died unjustly. Let's go see the tombstone." I walked over and stared at the tombstone, feeling a chill run down my spine: the inscription was in seal script.

"Southern son, virtuous and yielding, his stars aligned, unyielding and unbending, living without regrets, dying without a name. Signed: Li Po Xiao." Zhao Qian read the words on the tombstone with difficulty, her face turning pale.

The stone tombstone had been inscribed with a sharp tool, the marks not deep, and would likely be erased by wind and sand in a few months.

Zhao He scratched his head; he couldn't understand such profound words. But after hearing Zhao Qian read them, he laughed, "Ha, it seems there are still good Samaritans in this world, and this one is even educated. The epitaph is well-written, impressive."

I shook my head. "It's not that simple."

"Dig it up and see." After some thought, I took out a hoe and decided to dig up the grave.

"You can't be serious. Isn't that disrespectful? Digging up a grave is too much." Zhao Qian immediately opposed, as she was a feng shui master, not a grave robber, and the Zhao family didn't do such things.

Yu Xiaoxue also didn't approve of me digging up the grave, waving her hands, "Brother Tian, let's not disturb Brother Egg, okay?"

"Have you forgotten? His soul is gone. What's there to disturb?" I insisted and started digging.

The other three didn't say much. Zhao He didn't dare to help, so I dug alone.

As I slowly dug halfway, I felt a chill, like a bucket of cold water had been poured over me. Zhang Yidan wasn't in the grave!

I was afraid he had been robbed of his body, and his remains might have been damaged. There was nothing I could do about it. It was getting dark, and soon all sorts of ghosts would come out of the cemetery. I sped up, and after a few more digs, I reached the bottom and dug up some items.

It was Zhang Yidan's upper clothing.

But the clothes were clearly taken off, with cuts from scissors still visible, and the body was really gone.

Zhao Qian and Yu Xiaoxue opened their mouths wide, and Zhao He's eyes were also wide with shock.

"He was robbed of his body. Li Po Xiao, what a bold grave robber!" I felt a surge of anger. "If I ever meet him, I'll make sure to deal with him."

"Let's go back to the village. It's too open here, with no walls to block the wind." I said calmly, considering the possibility of encountering a vengeful spirit like Zhou Xuan.

The Zhao siblings now dared not oppose my words and decided to find a place to rest. Today had been too tiring, and even a person with a bit of stamina would be exhausted, let alone two women.

As Zhao He passed Siqiao, he scattered paper money and lit incense, not daring to look down at the river.

I had passed this place several times in the past two days and didn't find it particularly scary, so I looked down at the river. As I turned to look back, a dark object floated up from the river.

"Is that Huo Dade?" I was uncertain. "Is that Huo Dade's body?"

Zhao Qian's face turned pale, and she also looked into the river. Indeed, it was Huo Dade's body.

Huo Dade's head was facing up, and he could be clearly recognized...

"Zhao He, go get him!" I ordered. He had experience saving Zhang Kaifu, and I found that he was better at swimming than me. The key was that he had strong yang energy, and ordinary spirits couldn't approach him, whereas I had strong yin energy and feared being pulled down by yin ghosts if I went into the water.

Zhao He's face turned as bitter as a yellow lotus: "Brother, this isn't good. He's dead, and there are so many ghosts on the river. What if something happens to me?"

I immediately became serious, seeing Zhao He's lack of cooperation, and said, "What? You have the strongest yang energy here. It's not even dark yet. Do you want me or your sister to go?"

"Brother Tian, you must have your reasons. Be careful. I'll burn incense for you, and as soon as you come up, I'll drive away the evil spirits." Zhao Qian, seeing the change in my expression, quickly shook Zhao He's hand.

"Alright, I'll go. If something happens to me, please take my sister back to the city. We are from the Zhao family in the county." Zhao He's face was full of pleading, as if he were a hero ready to sacrifice himself. Zhao Qian was the Zhao family's treasure, and the elders cherished her greatly; she couldn't be harmed.

Zhao Qian's eyes immediately turned red, and she wiped away her tears, looking at her brother, unable to say a word. After a while, she looked at me pleadingly: "This..."

"Stop talking nonsense! Huo Dade isn't dead yet. If you delay any longer, he might die." I glared at the two siblings, feeling both amused and exasperated. They probably thought Huo Dade was dead.

Actually, Huo Dade was quite tough. If he had just fallen off the cliff, he would have died for sure. But the river saved him. Before he fell, his soul was taken, but once he hit the water, his instinct for survival kicked in, and he swam instinctively, floating face-up to this spot.

Huo Dade couldn't see the spirits, but his yang energy was still strong. Although his face was dark, it seemed that he was still being targeted by the spirits in the water, which meant he wasn't dead.

Zhao He was reassured and, after burning incense and scattering paper, waited for Huo Dade to pass the bridge before jumping in. However, Huo Dade immediately struggled fiercely, trying to escape Zhao He's rescue.

Zhao He was momentarily frightened, but seeing that Huo Dade was just instinctively moving and not trying to pull him down, he calmed down and knocked Huo Dade unconscious with a few strikes.

Thanks to Zhao He's muscular build, he managed to carry the dazed Huo Dade. If it were me, I would have sunk with the weight.

Once on shore, Zhao Qian immediately set up a ritual to dispel the surrounding spirits.

"Can you summon a soul?" I asked Zhao Qian.

Zhao Qian nodded.

"This is downstream, leading to a dead town. If my guess is correct, the spirits captured by the yin soldiers will be brought to this river. When the yin energy is strong at night, the souls will quickly pass through here. Huo Dade has only lost a part of his soul, and his body is here, so it shouldn't be too difficult to bring it back." I recalled the yin ghosts under the bridge and deduced that this river was used to transport souls.

We ate some roasted sweet potatoes and, as night fell, even the dogs stopped barking, and the village was eerily quiet.

Zhao Qian found Huo Dade's wallet and got his birthday from his ID. Although she didn't have his八字 (eight characters), it wasn't a problem since the person was still here.

"Return, soul, return to the high hall, return, soul, return to the weak child, return, soul, return to the grieving wife..." Zhao Qian loudly recited the soul-summoning incantation, waving a peachwood sword and a bell to summon the soul, while Zhao He held an umbrella, ready to catch the soul.

Yu Xiaoxue and I both had yin-seeing talismans and could clearly see the spirits emerging from the river. When Huo Dade appeared, we both said in unison, "He's here."

To distinguish Huo Dade's spirit, Zhao Qian and Zhao He had used the tears of a cow that had been burned with a talisman to anoint their eyes. It wasn't surprising that they could see, but we were both stunned that we had said it in unison. If it had just been me, it would have been fine, but how could Yu Xiaoxue see it too? Was she also a hidden master?

"Not really, she was crying over two sugarcane sticks earlier..."

But Zhao Qian, being a professional, immediately said, "Huo Dade, born in 1970, with life still remaining, and body not yet dead. I am here, and your soul must return immediately!"

At this call, a part of Huo Dade's spirit tried to rise, and Zhao He was delighted to open the umbrella. As long as Huo Dade crossed the bridge, he would catch the spirit in the umbrella!

But before he could leave the water, he was immediately dragged back!

Two yin soldiers forcibly pulled him back to his original position and continued to escort him across the river.

The spirit couldn't reach the shore, and Zhao Qian and Zhao He were both shocked, as they could see the yin soldiers clearly.

I was also surprised. It seemed that some forceful action was necessary. I put my hand in my pocket, ready to release the little ghost, even though it would cost me some blood.

But just as I was about to act, a black figure silently appeared behind me from the direction of Xiaoyi Village!

At such close range, I said, "Sister, are you asleep?"

"Hey, you're summoning a soul?" The person greeted us with a voice like a drake.

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