Chapter 71

Chapter 71

That female corpse could surface during an overcast day, so it had clearly attained considerable power. Perhaps it was no weaker than Miss Duan.

But why had it appeared from nowhere merely to give me a bead?

Judging by its behavior, it did not seem like an ordinary floating corpse. It appeared to be bound by some strange force. Even when it left, it seemed to do so against its will.

I silently considered everything, but the matter remained shrouded in mystery.

How exasperating.

We still had not uncovered the truth about the mysterious rogue occultist connected to the Killer Demon Tree. Now a powerful and inexplicable floating corpse had suddenly appeared as well.

Perhaps the phrases it spoke had been important.

But I did not understand corpse speech.

Whatever else might happen, I should take the unconscious Yao Nan back first.

The school doctor and an assistant physician accompanied us throughout group activities such as the picnic so that any minor accident could be treated promptly.

I was not worried about her safety.

I slipped the strange object from the corpse’s mouth into my pocket, hoisted Yao Nan onto my back, and followed the earthen ridge out of the pool.

As soon as I emerged from behind the surrounding water plants, I saw several teachers and students hurrying toward us, anxiety written across their faces.

They must have heard Yao Nan’s terrified scream and rushed toward the sound.

Our homeroom teacher, Chen Xue, led the group.

When he saw Yao Nan on my back, he fired questions at me in a breathless rush.

“Wu Zhong, what happened to Yao Nan? What were you two doing? Is she all right?”

Naturally, I could not tell him the truth. Even if I did, no one would believe me.

“Here’s what happened, Mr. Chen. Yao Nan and I came here to wash the vegetables. Her eyes must have played a trick on her, and she mistook some water plants floating on the surface for something frightening. It scared her so badly that she fainted.”

Only Yao Nan and I had been present, and she had lost consciousness. I could invent whatever account I wanted of what had happened.

As I spoke, I lowered Yao Nan from my back.

The school doctor quickly took her and examined her on the spot.

“Yes, she merely fainted from an intense fright. It isn’t serious. Let her rest for a while, and she should wake up on her own.”

“Good. That’s good.”

Chen Xue adjusted his glasses and sighed in relief.

If anything serious had happened, he, as our homeroom teacher, would probably have borne some responsibility.

He patted me on the shoulder.

“Wu Zhong, you’re an impressive student. You study diligently, and in a crisis, you remain calm. Forget middle-school students–even many adults would panic if a companion suddenly collapsed.”

Yao Nan’s clothes were clean and showed neither water nor mud. Chen Xue had probably realized that I caught her before she hit the ground.

The other teachers and the school doctor nodded as well, praising my courage and presence of mind.

“Mr. Chen, I only did what anyone should.”

I scratched my head, embarrassed by so much praise.

When we returned to our group’s cooking site, Wang Dachun and the other students crowded around and asked anxiously what had happened. I repeated the story I had told the teachers.

After such an incident, Wang Dachun told me not to help light the fire, cut ingredients, or cook. I should remain beside the unconscious Yao Nan instead.

With nothing else to do, I took my English textbook from my schoolbag and began reviewing it.

This strange foreign gibberish was terribly difficult to learn.

It gave me a greater headache than mathematics, Chinese, history, geography, chemistry, physics, or any other subject.

I could only devote more time to it.

About half an hour later, Yao Nan gave a muffled groan and slowly opened her eyes.

The instant she regained consciousness, the last memory before her faint remained vivid, and she screamed.

“A ghost! Aaa–mmph!”

The final sound came from my hand covering her mouth.

“Don’t shout so loudly. You’ll frighten everyone who’s cooking. It’s all right, Yao Nan. Everything is fine.”

I soothed her, looked into her eyes, then slowly removed my hand from her mouth.

Fortunately, she did not scream again.

She sat up and looked around, confusion and bewilderment on her face.

“Wu Zhong, what happened? Weren’t we washing vegetables in that pool over there? Then I saw a pale, waterlogged body floating in the water. How did I…?”
I laughed. “Yao Nan, you certainly have a vivid imagination. How could there be a body in that pool? Your eyes deceived you. You mistook a clump of water plants for a dead woman’s hair and frightened yourself unconscious. I already explained everything to Mr. Chen and the others.”

“Oh. I see.”

She nodded in embarrassment, believing every word of my nonsense.

I smiled. “You actually mistook water plants for a corpse’s hair. Do you watch too many horror movies?”

I meant it only as a joke to make my lie seem more convincing.

To my surprise, Yao Nan lowered her head shyly and twisted her hands together.

“I don’t really watch that many. Sometimes I secretly rent a few discs from the video shop and watch them on our VCD player at home. Some of the ghost movies from Hong Kong really are frightening.”

I stared at her.

Good grief!

She truly was a girl who enjoyed horror movies?

That was unusual.

Then again, Yao Nan looked pretty and refined, but the fact that she did not fear a bully like Wang Dachun showed that she was no fragile little rabbit. She possessed great inner strength.

Perhaps enjoying horror movies made sense after all.

“Brother Wu, Sister Nan, the food is almost ready! Hurry over. In a minute, we’ll invite Mr. Chen and the school leaders to taste it.”

Wang Dachun called from nearby.

I turned and saw him waving at us from seven or eight meters away.

His hands and face were black with soot, probably from building the stove and blowing on the fire. He had not even bothered to wash.

At the title “Sister Nan,” Yao Nan blushed slightly.

Ever since rumors spread through the class that she and I had that sort of relationship, Wang Dachun had changed the way he addressed her to “Sister Nan.”

I had intended to stop him from using such a misleading name, but Yao Nan objected. Nothing existed between us, she said, and an upright person need not fear a crooked shadow. If we made too much effort to deny it, we would only look guilty.

Her reasoning made sense, so I let the matter go.

When we returned to our picnic group, I saw that the finished meal was quite lavish.

Twice-cooked pork, fish-fragrant shredded pork, kung pao chicken, mapo tofu, and dry-fried green beans covered the makeshift table.

The stove had been built from river stones, and the firewood did not burn as hot as a proper stove at home, so the dishes were not quite as fragrant as they might have been. Even so, the sight made a food lover like me swallow hungrily.

“I never knew we had a chef among our classmates. Who would expect food this good at a picnic?”

“Exactly. Which student is such a wonderful cook? Perhaps this study committee member can give him a little extra time when collecting his homework next time.”

Yao Nan joined in the teasing.

Everyone looked directly at Wang Dachun.

He scratched his head shyly.

Question marks filled my mind.

I blurted, “No way! Wang Dachun cooked all this? A spoiled brat like you can actually cook?”

“Brother Wu!”

He looked at me plaintively, as though deeply aggrieved.

“You’re looking down on me. My parents are busy with work and attend social engagements all the time. They’re often away from home, so I have to cook for myself. Of course I learned after doing it for long enough.”

I laughed and patted his shoulder.

“Fine, fine. I apologize. I never expected a spoiled brat like you to be such a good cook. If our group doesn’t win first place, we’ll blame you.”

Before long, Chen Xue brought the school leaders over to sample each picnic group’s food in a friendly fashion.

In the end, we got our wish and won first place in the class.

…

I had to admit that a picnic with my classmates was quite enjoyable.

It felt different from cooking outdoors with the village children when I was young, and I finally understood why everyone looked forward to the annual school picnic.

After lunch, we gathered to sing and play games. Laughter filled the bank, and everyone enjoyed themselves.

A little after two in the afternoon, we began packing our things for the group journey back.

We did not need to return to school. Once we entered the town limits, a student could report to a teacher and leave the group.

After crossing the northern bridge, I informed Mr. Chen and prepared to follow Liangfeng Street back to Old Cao’s coffin shop.

It was Friday, so I would return home today. But first, I had to say goodbye to Old Cao.

More importantly, I could hardly wait to ask whether he knew what the object from the female corpse’s mouth was.

Why had it sought me out? What had it wanted to say?

I had not gone far when Wang Dachun called from behind.

“Brother Wu, wait for me!”

I looked back.

He and Zeng Jin were running toward me, so I stopped to wait.
“Brother Wu, I heard Sister Nan fainted because she saw a ghost by the pool. You told the teachers that her eyes were playing tricks on her, but that isn’t really what happened, is it?”

Wang Dachun waggled his eyebrows at me as he spoke.

Zeng Jin asked, “Brother Wu, Brother Chun and I know who you really are. And when that evil being possessed Brother Chun, we learned that ghosts truly exist. But in broad daylight, what kind of powerful ghost could–”

So that was why they had come.

They were the only people at school who knew something of my true background, so there was no need to hide it from them.

“Yao Nan and I really did see a floating corpse in the pool. It opened its eyes and destroyed one of my talismans. It must possess considerable power. I certainly couldn’t defeat it, but it did not seem hostile.”

Hiss!

Wang Dachun and Zeng Jin clutched each other and sucked in a breath.

“What? Even you couldn’t defeat it? It destroyed one of your talismans? How powerful was it?”

I rolled my eyes, speechless.

“That’s enough from both of you. I told you, I’m only a novice. I don’t know any especially powerful magic. You survived last time because you were lucky. The Dry Immortal was only a minor evil and wasn’t particularly strong.”

Wang Dachun shook his head vigorously. “You’re too modest, Brother Wu. Far too modest!”

Then he put on a fawning smile.

“Brother Wu, when you hunt ghosts in the future, could you take me along? When I was little, my parents hired a fortune-teller to read my fate. He said my bazi was strong, so I don’t fear ghosts.”

I sneered.

“Really? Then what happened last time? A strong bazi only means you resist sinister yin somewhat better than an ordinary person. It helps against the lowest wandering ghosts, nothing more. The thing I met today could kill a hundred of you with one hand, stabbing through each of you one after another.”

As I spoke, I deliberately jabbed a finger at his heart.

He shuddered in fright and stumbled backward.

I laughed and waved them away. “Enough nonsense. Hurry home. These matters are beyond you. Honestly, I don’t even want to be involved myself.”

At the end, I sighed and added in a solemn voice, “I’m still only a child.”

Wang Dachun fell silent.

So did Zeng Jin.

They looked utterly baffled. Apparently, I had no talent for jokes. That one had been far too dry.

When I reached the coffin shop, I raised my leg to step over the high threshold as usual.

To my surprise, my foot struck it with a thump, and I failed to enter.

Huh?

I looked down at the shop’s high threshold in confusion.

What was going on? Was I so tired today that I could not lift my leg?

Muttering to myself, I tried to step over it again.

Thump!

Once more, my foot struck the top of the threshold instead of clearing it.

“What’s happening?”

Now I knew something was wrong.

The first time could have been carelessness, but on the second attempt, I had deliberately raised my leg high. The threshold had still stopped me.

This was no accident.

I lifted my leg a third time and, unsurprisingly, failed again.

The ordinary threshold had become an impassable chasm before me. No matter what I did, I could not enter the building.

“This is too strange!”

Thoroughly alarmed, I shouted from the entrance.

“Old Cao! Old Cao, are you home? I’m back. Come out and get me!”

His voice soon came from a room at the rear.

“If you’re back, come inside, Xiao Wu. It’s Friday. You’re going home after packing, aren’t you? We know each other so well that you’re hardly a formal guest. Why would I need to receive you?”

Old Cao chuckled as he emerged.

The instant he saw me, his expression changed dramatically. He stared fixedly at me, brow tightly furrowed.

“Xiao Wu, what happened? Why is the corpse qi on you so dense? The threshold of my coffin shop is enchanted. It’s a corpse-blocking threshold, so corpses, ghosts, and monsters can’t enter. It has mistaken you for a corpse-fiend, which is why you can’t cross.”

“What?”

I was equally shocked.

“The threshold thinks I’m a walking corpse?”

Old Cao hurried closer, stopping just inside the entrance. He probably wanted a better look at what had happened to me.

Wait!

Suddenly, a possible explanation occurred to me.