Chapter 78

Chapter 78

That night.

Cold moonlight spilled across the hills. Mist blurred the landscape like a veil draped over everything in sight.

An ever-burning lamp still glowed in the village’s ancestral hall.

Incense offerings burned there day and night. Candles burned silently in the darkness, their bean-sized flames faintly illuminating a small patch of space.

The village chief opened his eyes in confusion.

His sleep had been peaceful and comfortable.

He had not slept so well in many years. When he first woke, he was dazed, as though sleep had softened every bone in his body.

But as he stretched and his thoughts returned, he suddenly realized that something was wrong.

Why was he sleeping here?

The village chief sucked in a breath and finally remembered. Today… today was the day of the River God’s wedding!

He had been in the ancestral hall preparing to officiate the wedding and praying to their ancestors for the ceremony to proceed safely. Who would have imagined… who would have imagined that he would simply fall asleep like that!

No, he had not merely fallen asleep.

If that were all, why had no one woken him?

And the time was wrong!

The village chief jerked his head toward the pitch-black sky outside. This was plainly not what dusk should look like!

The auspicious hour had passed.

Where was the wedding? The bride? The sacrifice? The River God?

This was terrible.

He should never have listened to Crazy Wang and chosen a strange woman as the bride.

Now everything had gone wrong!

Overcome with regret, the village chief hurried out of the ancestral hall. He wanted to summon the villagers, ask what had happened, and discuss what to do next.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” Before the village chief could even leave through the hall’s main doors, he shouted several times at the top of his lungs – and someone really did come.

“Old Ma, perfect timing!”

The moment the village chief saw Ma Qiaoqiao’s father, he rushed over as though he had found his savior. “How did I fall asleep? Where is everyone? Why can’t I see a single person? How did the wedding go? Did the sacrifice happen on schedule? We warned the River God in advance. If we failed to complete the wedding on time, she’ll punish us!”

“Don’t worry, Chief. Listen to me.” Ma Qiaoqiao’s father stopped him and spoke soothingly. “Here’s what happened… The wedding went very well, and the River God was quite satisfied. Everyone has gone home to get on with their lives.”

“Is that so? Then hurry and sound the gong. Call everyone here so I can ask what happened.” The village chief immediately began issuing orders.

“All right, all right. I’ll call them right – ” Ma Qiaoqiao’s father suddenly pulled out a handkerchief and clamped it firmly over the village chief’s face.

The village chief froze. Sensing disaster, he struggled, but his body quickly went limp and quiet once more.

“Pah! You stay here and sleep like a good boy! Stop causing trouble!” Ma Qiaoqiao’s father put the handkerchief away.

Ye Anran had left it with him.

Because the Ma family had been extremely cooperative with the plan to slay the god, they had been chosen as the team’s agents inside the village. While the others went out to conduct the ritual, the Ma family remained behind to keep watch.

Ye Anran had left them a sedative of her own making and instructed them to knock out anyone who woke up midway through the night.

Following her method, Ma Qiaoqiao’s father had drugged quite a few people that night and gradually become skilled at it. After knocking out the village chief, he even kicked the man in the backside, finally venting some of his resentment.

Still…

Unease gnawed at him.

Ma Qiaoqiao’s father pulled out a cigarette and tried to light it.

Whether the night wind was too strong or his hand shook too badly, he flicked the lighter several times without producing a flame.

He gave up helplessly and looked toward the Big Dipper. Following the line of its handle, he gazed south, toward the village entrance, and murmured, “They have to… They have to succeed… It’s already so late.”

Why had they not returned yet?

As he fretted, he suddenly heard Ma Qiaoqiao, who had been guarding the village entrance, running toward him. Gasping so hard her words broke apart, she shouted, “Dad, Mom, the bride’s back! The bride’s back!”
They were back!

Joy surged through Ma Qiaoqiao’s father. He flung the cigarette away and strode out to meet them.

–

The village was silent. Only the dogs barked unusually loudly, their frantic cries eerie in the stillness.

They were once again at the far end of the village, inside the same low white house belonging to Ma Qiaoqiao’s family.

The six Department members and the family of three – nine people in all – crowded into the living room until it was packed full.

Yu Wei and Ling Fang each lowered the person on his back.

“Could you prepare some hot water for us?” Ling Fang asked Ma Qiaoqiao’s family. “Some of us are injured and need rest to recover.”

Seeing the two people lying there with their eyes closed, neither clearly alive nor dead, Ma Qiaoqiao’s family looked terrified. Only after Ling Fang spoke did they snap out of their daze and relax. The two were merely injured, not dead.

Still, one look at their condition made it clear how dangerous the operation had been.

When Ma Qiaoqiao thought that she would probably be lying dead at the bottom of the river if she had been the bride today, relief washed through her, followed by a shudder of lingering fear. She threw herself even more eagerly into helping them.

“Yes, of course! Right away!”

Ma Qiaoqiao’s father watched the two women in his family rush out to prepare hot water, but he did not leave.

Summoning his courage, he asked, “I won’t ask who you people are, but… if I may be so bold, will the sacrifices to the River God have to continue?”

In the end, he lacked the courage to say the words “slay a god.” Afraid of tempting fate, he replaced them with a more tactful question.

“There won’t be any more,” Ling Fang said.

At Ling Fang’s unequivocal answer, Ma Qiaoqiao’s father froze, disbelief spreading across his face.

He stood there in a daze. The flesh of his cheeks suddenly quivered, and his face crumpled as though he might cry. After a long while, he scrubbed a hand haphazardly across the corner of his eye and strode outside.

Once the family had left, Ling Fang said, “Ye Anran and Dai Xingyu, stay here and look after the injured. Old Yu and I will use the rest of tonight to search the village thoroughly and find out what happened to those three people.”

–

Early the next morning.

Xie Qingling woke to discover that she still could not move.

Someone had changed her into clean, fresh clothes. Apart from the paralysis, the lingering exhaustion, and her general weakness, she no longer felt any serious discomfort.

Overall, she would live. She simply could not move freely.

That morning, Ye Anran settled her into a chair, then went out with Ling Fang and the others, saying they needed to wrap up the operation.

Before leaving, Ye Anran hooked an earpiece over Xie Qingling’s ear to ensure they could contact her at any moment.

After all, this village was not exactly safe.

Sitting in the chair, Xie Qingling tried to shift her backside, but to no avail.

Her lower body might as well have vanished completely. Her upper body was affected too: her movements were clumsy, her body stiff, and her limbs exhausted.

This was awful.

Fortunately, she was not a sorcerer. Being cursed by these objects every day would have been unbearable.

Xie Qingling felt a surge of deep sympathy for Ling Fang.

“Shen Huaizhou!” Xie Qingling shouted.

Before long, heavy footsteps sounded outside, and Shen Huaizhou appeared before her.

“You…” Xie Qingling froze. She had heard the footsteps, but somehow could not see anyone. Where was Shen Huaizhou?

The words she had intended to say changed before they left her mouth. “Where are you?”

Shen Huaizhou: “…”

“I’m right here.” Shen Huaizhou placed one hand on Xie Qingling’s shoulder.

He was standing directly in front of her.

Xie Qingling blinked in confusion before finally making out Shen Huaizhou’s appearance – and his entirely new outfit. Today, he wore clothes belonging to Ma Qiaoqiao’s father.

He had on loose black trousers and an old, sleeveless jacket. He looked much like one of the old men who sat cooling off near the village entrance.

His long hair had also been tied back and hung down behind him.

Shen Huaizhou now looked like a slightly bohemian, world-weary young artist. More to the point, he looked like a man.
Xie Qingling was silent for a long moment before saying, “Did the River God traumatize you so badly that you’ll never dare wear a skirt again?”

Shen Huaizhou: “…”

He looked as though he had a great deal to say, but in the end, he explained nothing. “There aren’t any skirts here that fit me.”

Oh. Right.

Ma Qiaoqiao was not particularly tall. Her clothes barely fit Xie Qingling, let alone Shen Huaizhou.

“You look pretty good like this too,” Xie Qingling said. “If you don’t like wearing skirts, you don’t have to force yourself.”

Shen Huaizhou shook his head. “If I don’t wear a skirt, you can’t see me.”

“?” What did that mean?

Shen Huaizhou removed his hand from her shoulder, and his resigned voice drifted eerily toward her. “The talent I awakened can reduce my presence to almost nothing.”

“It’s troublesome when people can’t see me during team missions. That doesn’t happen when I wear women’s clothing, and dressing that way helps me cultivate my illusions faster because it confuses people’s minds.”

Xie Qingling: “…”

She understood now.

So that was why.

What a strange talent. It was even stranger than the rambling, mystical voice in her head.

“Help me get my feet onto the ground. Just my feet will do,” Xie Qingling said.

Shen Huaizhou did as she asked. He crouched and helped place her feet on the floor.

Listening to Ling Fang through her earpiece, Xie Qingling murmured, “Soul Recall.”

As her words fell, the divine ability spread out in all directions through the ground, centered upon the tips of her toes.

–

At that moment, Ling Fang, Ye Anran, and Dai Xingyu stood on high ground.

It was a small hill not far from the village.

Low graves crowded the hillside, some new and some old. White sheets of joss paper occasionally tumbled across the ground.

The inscriptions on the tombstones showed that generation after generation of villagers lay at rest in this forest of graves.

The village chief knelt on the ground and wailed, “You’re really going to dig up my ancestors’ graves? Heaven damn you! What terrible sin did my ancestors commit for you to treat them this way? If you dare touch their graves, then… then you’ll have to step over my dead body first!”

He rolled around on the ground and threw a shameless tantrum.

Nearby, villagers held hoes, sickles, and other tools as they watched the investigators menacingly.

Digging up another family’s ancestral graves was a grave taboo in the countryside.

All the more so when done so openly in broad daylight.

Ling Fang remained unmoved. “We finished our investigation last night.”

“Your father died less than a year ago, yet you suddenly rushed to move his grave. They say burial brings peace to the dead. Why were you so eager to disturb the earth? Were you trying to bury something in the grave? A few unfortunate travelers, perhaps?”

“You – I don’t know what you’re talking about! You’re not digging up my ancestors’ graves! If you try, I’ll curse you to be struck by lightning!”

The villagers also glared at Ling Fang and the others, looking ready to fight at any moment.

They could never let these outsiders walk all over them!

“Who said we were going to dig up your ancestors’ graves?” Ling Fang swept a cold gaze over them. “We’re not digging.”

“We’ll let them come out on their own.”

He lowered his head and touched his earpiece. “Xie Qingling, you can begin.”

“Yes, Director.”

A woman’s low voice sounded through the earpiece. “Soul Recall.”

Before long, rustling noises suddenly emerged from the graves that had been silent until then, like someone scraping their fingernails against a coffin lid.

The sound grew louder and louder. Even the freshly packed soil atop one grave showed faint signs of loosening.

The villagers clutching weapons all turned pale, and the village chief looked worst of all.

“There’s… There’s something in the grave…”

“A ghost… There’s a ghost!”

The village chief’s legs went weak. He tried to run, but Ling Fang dragged him back.

Ling Fang clamped a hand around the back of his neck and forced him to look at the grave about to split open.

“Take a good look for yourself. See exactly what’s buried in there!”