Chapter 9

He was supposed to be an honest and hardworking farmer in the future, but he met with an untimely death.

In the quiet little village of Xiaoyi, it seemed as if even the birds had vanished. I sat in the cemetery with Yu Xiaoxue for a long time, and we finally decided to bury Zhang Yidan.

Moreover, reporting such a bizarre incident to the police would not be believed. According to procedure, he would be autopsied by a forensic doctor, and his body would be subjected to all sorts of torment.

Dust returns to dust, and earth returns to earth. Zhang Yidan was pitiful enough; he deserved to be covered with yellow earth and buried properly.

I took up an abandoned hoe left by the graveside and began digging a grave for Zhang Yidan. According to ancient customs, a young man who died before the age of thirty did not deserve a coffin. He would be wrapped in a straw mat and hastily buried at night. Before the body was placed in the ground, a stone would be placed on it to prevent his vengeful spirit from causing harm.

However, I did not plan to place a stone on him because Zhang Yidan had no soul left. His new soul had been scattered by the soul-sealing talisman given by my grandmother.

Moreover, the feng shui of Xiaoyi Village had been broken, and the ghost catchers could not enter. Even if they knew Zhang Yidan was dead, they could not lock his soul. Missing the time to cross the Bridge of Sighs, he would become a wandering ghost.

Who are you?! Who gave you permission to bury someone? Raise your hands!

While I was digging the grave to bury Zhang Yidan, two men dressed as police officers rushed in from outside Xiaoyi Village. One of them, a tall middle-aged man, drew his gun, chambered a round, and aimed it at me.

With a gun, he must be a detective.

The other, a younger man who looked like a community police officer, did not have a gun but took out handcuffs and lunged at me.

Xiao Zhang, be careful. These people in Xiaoyi Village are a bit strange! The detective, a seasoned veteran, glanced at the terrifyingly dead Zhang Yidan and knew something was wrong.

I did not resist because the gun was aimed at me. Yu Xiaoxue was very scared, trembling all over. This scene should only happen on TV, but she never thought she would experience it herself. She had never been caught by the police before.

The community police officer, though a bit overweight, had received professional training. In a few quick moves, he pinned me to the ground, handcuffed me, and then lifted me up with ease.

Seeing Yu Xiaoxue's beautiful and honest appearance, he did not dare to touch her inappropriately. Instead, he took out plastic ties and bound her as well.

Captain Hu, it looks like these two men fought over this woman, leading to a murder. Do we count this as a commendation? The community police officer, surnamed Zhang, chuckled and pushed me, making me kneel on the ground.

What's your name? Did you kill the dead man? Detective Hu, surnamed Hu, ejected the round from his gun and, instead of answering the community police officer, questioned me.

Xia Yitian. I didn't kill him. A strange infectious flu broke out in the village a few days ago. Those who fell ill first had a cold, then coughed up blood, and then died. You can investigate to see if what I said is true. I answered honestly, feeling a bit annoyed with the community police officer who had pushed me down.

Really? Detective Hu asked without showing any emotion, looking around and noticing the village was eerily quiet, as if it had lost its vitality.

He had been a detective for over a decade and had seen everything. Whether there were people in the village, whether the footprints were from today, whether anyone had left the village, and whether there should be people in the fields at this time of day—all these clues were obvious to him.

Detective Hu tightened his grip on his gun and gestured: Zhang Kaifu, let's go and see if it's as he said. If all these households are dead, it's a big deal for our jurisdiction!

Zhang Kaifu was taken aback and hesitated. This was an infectious disease. He could bluff, but if everyone in the village was dead like this, he would be scared to death, let alone the risk of infection.

Captain Hu, it's an infectious disease. Why don't we just take them back and call for reinforcements before entering? Zhang Kaifu said, grabbing my back.

Damn it, call me Captain again and I'll hit you! Your father entrusted you to me, not to mess around! We are police officers, not hooligans! Check your phone for a signal! Detective Hu kicked Zhang Kaifu and gestured for him to push me and Yu Xiaoxue into the village.

If you go in, you'll regret it. I said calmly, but Zhang Kaifu kicked me.

Don't scare me! Say that again and I'll make you pay! Zhang Kaifu put away his phone and said fiercely.

Most community police officers were temporary workers recruited locally, with wide networks but no police academy training, often carrying the airs of village bullies.

Zhang Kaifu! You hit someone? Do you want to quit? Detective Hu spat and rolled up his sleeves, ready to hit him.

Zhang Kaifu forced a smile, dodged, and pushed me toward the village. He didn't care about the scene being disturbed since there was no one around.

Kid, you said we'll regret it? Regret what? Whose funeral is it on the hillside? Detective Hu, familiar with the area, knew about my grandmother. Seeing the funeral on the hillside, he had a bad feeling.

It's Zhou Xianniang's. I said calmly. My grandmother's surname was Zhou, and I never knew her name until after her funeral. She was always signed as "Zhou Xian" on my school papers.

Detective Hu sucked in a breath, looking around, considering whether to enter the village.

Zhou Xianniang had been famous in the surrounding villages for decades. If a detective captain didn't know her, he would be considered incompetent.

As we approached the Si Bridge, a chill seemed to rise from the stream beneath. I was surprised: It was daytime, so why was the yin energy so strong?

When we crossed the Si Bridge, Yu Xiaoxue began to tremble. She and I saw something strange under the bridge, and we felt a tingling in our ears, as if someone was talking.

I noticed that Detective Hu and Zhang Kaifu didn't seem to notice anything.

But when we reached the middle of the bridge, Zhang Kaifu sneered and looked at me: Hey, you said everyone in the village was dead. Didn't you hear anything?

I looked at Zhang Kaifu as if he were already dead and sighed: Here it comes.

Detective Hu frowned, sensing something was wrong.

If you don't want to die, don't look at the bottom of the bridge. I warned Detective Hu coldly, remembering that he had stopped the community police officer from hitting me.

Detective Hu paused, staring at me, trying to read something in my eyes.

A thousand flowers, ten thousand flowers, floating, sprinkling, piling up, building a snowman, not afraid of the cold, not afraid of the freeze.

Listen to it yourself, a group of kids! Zhang Kaifu spat on the ground.

I watched the murky spit spread out, knowing Zhang Kaifu was finished.

Human spit has the power to ward off evil. A skilled practitioner can concentrate their yang energy and burn a ghost with a single spit. Although Zhang Kaifu was not a skilled practitioner, his spit still aroused the malevolence of the entities below. The yin energy was momentarily dispersed, and then a more powerful wave of yin energy surged toward us.

Zhang Kaifu! Don't look at the bottom of the bridge! Detective Hu tried to pull him back, but Zhang Kaifu seemed possessed, flailing and struggling as he saw something below.

His eyes wide, he grabbed the bridge railing, his face contorted, and his head twisted at an impossible angle. Finally, he jumped off the bridge as if he were mad.

Detective Hu couldn't hold him, but he was not a rookie. He immediately chambered a round and fired three shots into the air.

The sound of gunfire can scare ghosts.

At first, I thought he was going to shoot us, but seeing the yin energy dispersed by the loud noise, I knew Detective Hu was not an ordinary person and knew something about ghosts and spirits.

But you, Detective Hu, shouldn't have fired those three shots. This isn't scaring ghosts; it's announcing a death!

Sure enough, countless ghosts emerged from the river, dragging Zhang Kaifu, who was struggling in the water, under.

As Detective Hu turned pale with fear, a man and a woman approached from outside the village. The woman held a copper sword in one hand and an iron bell in the other, chanting and walking toward us.

The man was tall and muscular, running to the bridge and scattering paper money into the river. He then took out a pinch of incense, lit it, and placed it on the bridge.

To all the spirits passing by, we offer gold and silver as a token of respect. We burn incense to borrow the path. Please show mercy.

Saying this, the man jumped into the river and, in a few breaths, dragged Zhang Kaifu out like a dead dog.

Detective Hu looked at the man with fear, unable to speak.

The beautiful woman in her twenties, holding the sword and ringing the bell, also approached Zhang Kaifu. She then placed the sword on his forehead and said: By the command of the Supreme, I invoke the Five Emperors above and the Ghost-Cutting General below. All wandering spirits, you must not linger! Be gone! As ordered!

With a jingle, Zhang Kaifu woke up, and the woman smiled.

Seeing the faint black aura on Zhang Kaifu's face return and the path opened under the bridge close again, I frowned and warned the woman, who was still examining Zhang Kaifu: Leave him quickly; he's beyond help.

The muscular man gave me a cold smile, seemingly dismissive.

The woman, though not mocking me like the man, shook her head and smiled, as if she didn't take my words seriously or was confident in her own magic.

I felt helpless but thought, "It's not my death, and I'm still handcuffed. Why should I care about her? There are still two men here."

I was right. After Zhang Kaifu woke up, saliva dripped from his mouth, and he smiled evilly. His eyes widened like bells, and he quickly grabbed the woman's slender neck with both hands.

Zhang Kaifu, possessed, clung to her, almost lifting her off the ground.

The woman's feet dangled, and she struggled but could not break free, no matter how she tried to stab Zhang Kaifu's eyes with her sword.

The muscular man was stunned but quickly punched Zhang Kaifu repeatedly.

Zhang Kaifu! Stop! Detective Hu also rushed over, trying to pull Zhang Kaifu's hands apart, but Zhang Kaifu, with unknown strength, refused to let go, choking the woman until her eyes rolled back and her tongue and saliva turned red.