Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The moment she finished speaking, the little boat shuddered violently beneath me, as if an invisible hand had given it a shove.

Its speed multiplied in an instant!

The wind roared louder past my ears.

Aunt Qin actually put away her pole, laying it in the boat before turning and walking back. With the coffin between us, she sat down facing me.

“How does it feel, Little Wu?”

“You’re amazing, Aunt Qin! This is even faster than the ferry I rode when Mom and Dad took me to the city last year.”

She chuckled at my praise, apparently rather pleased with herself. Her laughter was crisp and pleasant.

I found it a little strange.

Everyone in the village, including my father and the old village chief, had treated her with the utmost respect, yet it had not made her particularly happy.

But a few words of praise from a little boy had her laughing with delight.

She laughed, and so did I.

But my laughter soon died.

Behind Aunt Qin, a pale hand, bloated from soaking in water, rose out of the moonlit river and slapped onto the gunwale.

“Aunt Qin, behind you!”

Without even looking back, she flicked one hand behind her.

Something shaped like a club slid from the broad sleeve of her robe and struck the pale ghostly hand with a thud. The hand shattered, dissolving into a cloud of mist.

A shrill, unnatural cry immediately rose from the water. Beneath the moonlit surface, I saw a blurry shadow swim away.

I was frightened, but with Aunt Qin there, I still felt safe.

“Was that a river-log?”

“Mm. Quite a bold one too, trying to take me as its replacement at night.”

Even I knew that traveling by boat at night was extremely dangerous. The adults were always saying that the river became a wicked place after dark.

All sorts of things in the water began making trouble: drowned river-logs, enormous fish, shrimp, turtles and crabs, strange spirits… the list went on!

By the moonlight, I finally got a clear look at the “club” Aunt Qin had used to smash the river-log’s hand. It was actually a ruler.

It was about as wide as the straightedges we used in math class at our village elementary school, but twice as long.

The ruler was a burnished yellow, with irregular measurement marks and a number of strange sigils carved into it.

Seeing me stare, she smiled. “This is called a Lu Ban ruler.”

Oh. I see.

As if knowing its name did me any good! Still, I obediently nodded with all my might.

Just then, a thick black cloud drifted from nowhere and covered the moon.

Darkness instantly swallowed our surroundings. Even the dim outlines of grass and trees on the banks vanished from sight.

Only the width of a coffin separated Aunt Qin and me, yet I could barely make out her silhouette across from me.

The moment darkness fell, a sudden bang sounded from inside the coffin before me.

Then came a piercing scrape, like sharp claws raking rapidly and violently against the inside of the coffin.

I froze in terror and did not even dare breathe.

Another slap rang out. This time it came from the coffin lid–Aunt Qin must have struck it with her palm.

The coffin fell silent again.

“Still trying to make trouble?”

Her voice was icy. Then a flame sprang to life.

A kerosene lamp appeared in Aunt Qin’s hand, and she hung it from a wooden frame in the bow.

Warm yellow lamplight illuminated the boat, tearing open a small breach in the boundless dark.

Aunt Qin put away her Lu Ban ruler. “All right. While the boat is still outside the Chuan River, we’re relatively safe. Let’s make some preparations. Whatever I tell you to do, Little Wu, follow my instructions exactly.”

My face fell when I heard that.

A water ghost had already grabbed the boat, and Wang Fei had been scratching inside the coffin… She called this safe?
What would happen once we left the little river beyond the village and entered the Chuan River proper?

My young heart felt deeply wounded.

But we had already come this far. Crying for my mother and begging to go home was no longer an option. Besides, I had matured early and cared a great deal about saving face. No matter how afraid I was, I forced myself to hold firm and nodded vigorously.

Aunt Qin told me to pass her one of the large roosters bound tightly in a corner of the boat.

She swept her right hand over its comb. Blood immediately began flowing into a bowl she held in her left hand.

“Pass me the jar of black dog blood.”

I quickly handed her a small earthenware jar. Aunt Qin took it and poured its contents into the bowl, mixing the black dog blood with the rooster-comb blood.

“Cinnabar.”

I hurriedly tossed her the little pouch containing the cinnabar.

She poured some of it into the bowl of blood.

Finally, Aunt Qin extended a hand and pushed the bowl toward me through the air.

Whoosh!

Filled with black dog blood and rooster-comb blood, the bowl flew over the coffin and landed steadily in front of me.

Not a single drop spilled!

“Little Wu, prick your middle finger and let a few drops of blood fall into the bowl.”

What?

I was not happy about that.

Nobody had said anything about making me bleed… So that was what the sharp awls lying nearby were for–stabbing my own finger?

But at a time like this, I had no choice but to obey, even if I was afraid of the pain.

To my amazement, the moment my blood fell in, the contents of the bowl began to give off a faint glow!

“Aunt Qin, I’m afraid I’ll spill it if I throw it back, so I…”

Before I could finish, she beckoned through the air.

The bowl flew straight back into her hand.

It was incredible!

Aunt Qin wasted no words. She dipped a finger into the bloody cinnabar mixture and rapidly drew a host of strange symbols across the coffin.

Only when she was finished did she breathe a sigh of relief.

“Black dog blood, blood from a rooster’s comb, Featherborn blood, and cinnabar. That should suppress this vicious water revenant.”

“Featherborn?” I asked curiously. “Do you mean me, Aunt Qin?”

She nodded. “Feathers are the lightest things under heaven. Your bazi is theoretically as light as one can be. If someone like you manages to survive, the esoteric arts call him a Featherborn. Speaking of which, I truly admire whoever gave you the name Wu Zhong.”

“Mm. Dad said that master looked like a great expert too. I wonder which of you is stronger.”

Children are always inclined to compare people.

But Aunt Qin only smiled and said nothing.

At that moment, I felt the wind strengthening around us and the river’s current quickening.

“Sit tight, Little Wu. We’re about to enter the Chuan River.”

The little river had reached the great one!

I looked up. Although nothing was visible in the blackness ahead, my nose caught the heavy, fishy smell of water carried straight toward us by the river wind.

The little river did not have that smell.

I could not help shivering.

All my life, I had heard the adults say that the Chuan River ran fast, with high waves and countless reefs, making it extremely treacherous. Even ordinary motorized cargo boats carrying sand or coal were never completely safe.

And Aunt Qin and I were in a tiny skiff, with a coffin aboard.

Before I could think any further, the sound of rushing water grew clearer in my ears. It was the roar of the Chuan River striking the rocky banks at its most dangerous stretches.

Having grown up around water, I understood at once.

“Aunt Qin! This little river joins the Chuan River right at a dangerous shoal. Will… will the waves capsize us?”

I shouted in alarm.

Aunt Qin did not answer. Instead, she raised her voice and began to sing.