Chapter 12
Chapter 12
Everyone stared greedily at the mineral water bottle in my hand. I rolled my eyes and tucked it away.
“This coffin is wreathed in Death Qi. I’m afraid a corpse transformation is truly imminent. Liu Xiong, were you here nine days ago during the Zi Hour?”
Liu Xiong did the math and let out a startled cry.
“Yes, Master Qiao! That was the anniversary of my father’s death. I’d had a bit to drink and stayed here until midnight.”
I nodded.
“The Dingwei Month, the Xinchou Day… Ding belongs to Yin Fire, and Wei belongs to Yin Earth. During that Extreme Yin Time, the Death Qi in the cemetery seeped out through the headstone and entered your body. If you want to dispel the Death Qi inside you, this coffin is the root of the problem.”
“Find someone to exhume the coffin tomorrow. Get it outside and let it bake in the sun for nine days. I need to perform a Ritual Ceremony for it.”
“Heh, you make it sound so real. For all we know, that water is just some special solution that only corrodes wood. Don’t fall for it, everyone! And you, Master Qiao-weren’t you looking for another corpse? Where is it? Don’t try to change the subject with that bottle of water.”
A discordant voice rose from the crowd. Everyone froze for a moment before nodding in agreement.
“That’s right. Stop with your mystical nonsense. Where is the corpse?”
Searchlights already illuminated the Underground Palace. It was a square space of about thirty square meters with a single coffin in the center. The crowd stood huddled around the coffin, leaving the rest of the area empty and visible at a glance.
I pulled out my Luopan and did a lap around the chamber. When I reached the northwest corner, I looked around and tapped on the wall, but found nothing.
I circled the Underground Palace three times like this. Each time, the Luopan indicated something was off in the northwest corner, yet I couldn’t find a thing. I only felt that this particular corner was exceptionally gloomy and dark, as if a thick mist was blocking the light from reaching it.
Utterly perplexed, I knelt and scraped up some soil from beneath my feet, bringing it to my nose.
The soil was damp and cold, carrying a faint, fishy stench. I shook my hand in disgust and happened to glance upward.
“Holy crap!”
There, pinned to the ceiling, was a corpse. Its limbs were splayed out, its head twisted at a bizarre angle, staring right back at me.
“Heh, why the swearing just because you can’t find it, Master Qiao?”
“Exactly, Master Qiao. Where is this corpse you mentioned? Hurry up and show us!”
The Feng Shui Masters gathered by the coffin, mocking me with disdain.
The corpse glanced at me and suddenly recoiled. Then, hugging the ceiling, it crawled toward the group of Feng Shui Masters with terrifying speed.
“The world is truly going downhill. Young people these days don’t bother to actually learn their craft. They pick up a few tricks and start making wild claims, trying to climb over the reputations of us elders.”
The Feng Shui Masters shook their heads and sighed, looking at me with expressions of pained disappointment.
I walked toward them with agonizingly slow steps, pulling out my Thunderstruck Wood Talisman and Bagua Mirror as I moved.
Next to the coffin stood a ladder leading up to the opening by the headstone. I watched with my own eyes as the corpse reached out toward the top rung and gave it a gentle push.
*Clang!*
The ladder hit the ground with a dull thud, kicking up a cloud of dust that danced in the pale glow of the searchlights.
President Xu was displeased. “Little Chen, why did you knock the ladder over?”
Chen Zhen shook his head, looking bewildered.
“President, I’m standing right here. I wasn’t even touching the ladder.”
President Xu asked, “Then who pushed it? Pick it up.”
“It wasn’t me.”
“Not me either.”
“I didn’t do it.”
Everyone started talking at once. After a brief discussion, they realized that no one had been standing near the ladder.
“Then it must have been someone above ground. How could they be so careless? What if someone had been standing under it?”
President Xu looked up toward the opening.
Right then, a thunderclap exploded out of nowhere. A gale began to howl outside, followed immediately by the frantic *pitter-patter* of heavy rain hitting the ground above, accompanied by the panicked shouts of people.
“It’s raining!”
The sky had turned overcast. The last rays of sunlight had long since vanished, leaving only the deathly white light of the searchlights inside the Underground Palace.
President Xu blinked once, then blinked again hard.
Then, clutching his chest, he let out a high-pitched scream that sounded like a terrified teenage girl.
“Aaaaah!”
As he screamed, the corpse finally dropped from the ceiling. Like a predatory reptile, it landed on the coffin lid with its limbs splayed, staring the Feng Shui Masters right in the eye.