Chapter 76

Chapter 76

A savings passbook!

That was right.

The object that fell from the female corpse’s hair was a savings passbook.

It had been soaked in water and felt damp.

But it remained intact, and the writing was still legible.

Many young people today may never have seen a passbook. Some may not even have heard of one.

A passbook was a booklet used to hold money in a bank. Essentially, it served the same purpose as a modern bank card.

It was a thin book with a stiff paper cover and numerous pages.

Every deposit and withdrawal was printed inside, allowing the owner to review every transaction.

In those days, some residents of major cities may already have used bank cards, but almost everyone elsewhere still relied on passbooks.

I opened it.

The balance read: 8,677 yuan and 60 cents.

That was a substantial amount.

I looked at the female corpse. “This much money? Because you died under strange circumstances, you’re worried that no one will support your parents. You want me to withdraw all the money in this account and give it to them?”

The woman slowly nodded and produced a low sound from her throat.

I had guessed correctly.

She had probably been carrying the passbook when she died, and it sank into the Chuan River with her.

Looking at it, I relaxed.

Thank goodness. She had brought me to her home only because she wanted me to withdraw her savings and give them to her parents. She did not expect me to support them personally.

Otherwise, I really would have cried.

Uh… wait.

“But Sis, you’re visiting me in a dream. In the waking world, this passbook is in the river. How am I supposed to obtain it?”

After all, withdrawing money from the bank normally required the passbook.

The female corpse raised an arm and pointed to the long string of digits at the front.

I understood.

“Oh, the account number? I think I’ve heard that some banks now let you withdraw money without the physical passbook, as long as you have the account number and password.”

I was about to ask for the password when a string of digits suddenly appeared in my mind.

“Fine. I understand.”

I shrugged.

She had considered everything so thoroughly that there was nothing more to discuss.

I simply had to do as she asked.

The female corpse stood before the entrance and stared at the fog-filled doorway without moving.

I studied her and asked tentatively, “Do you want to go inside? Then go see your parents. They look terribly pitiful, Sis.”

At those words, her expression suddenly became savage.

Two lines of bloody tears slowly flowed from her eyes.

Drop by drop, they struck the ground and seeped into the earth before the door.

The sight made me jump violently.

I shuddered, stepped aside, and drew my neck in.

No way. Had my attempt at comfort backfired and angered the female corpse? If she advanced into a baleful entity because of me, that would be absurd.

Fortunately, she merely stared at the misty entrance and wept blood, overcome by sorrow.

Nothing else about her changed, and she did nothing outrageous.

Only then did I relax a little.

People said accompanying a ruler was like accompanying a tiger. Accompanying a corpse was apparently no different.

No!

I would rather accompany a tiger. Unless it was one of the largest Siberian tigers, an ordinary smaller tiger might not be as powerful as the vicious corpse before me.

Apparently, the woman could not enter the house.

After watching for a while and shedding bloody tears, she turned away.

She moved just as quickly as before.

Naturally, I had to jog after her again.

We almost completely retraced our route toward the Chuan River.

While passing a certain spot on the northern outskirts of town, the female corpse abruptly stopped again.

This time, I was prepared. I stopped in time instead of running into her back. I had no desire to touch a vicious corpse from the water.

“What is it now, Sis? Could you stop startling me like that? Don’t halt without warning. Give me a little time to react.”

I spoke half jokingly and half in earnest.

I had been bold since childhood. After spending so long beside the female corpse and knowing we were inside a dream, I had relaxed somewhat and was no longer as cautious as before.
She slowly raised a rigid arm and pointed at a mountain not far outside town.

I followed her gesture.

Under the moonlight, the mountain resembled a golden ingot.

Night and distance made details difficult to discern, but it appeared to possess good feng shui.

From its position, one could probably look directly down upon the place where the female corpse’s parents lived.

I understood and asked tentatively, “After I find your body, do you also want me to bury you on that mountain? Then you can watch over your parents.”

Even as I spoke, I complained silently.

Sis, I accepted only one corpse core from you, and I did not do so entirely of my own will. Aren’t you making too many demands? I have to withdraw your money, investigate how you died, and now bury your body properly too.

Never mind.

Master said that obtaining the power of a relatively pure corpse core was extraordinarily rare and difficult.

Since it had more than doubled my strength, I would agree.

But after hearing me, the female corpse first nodded and then shook her head.

I paused.

Then I understood. She meant this was not part of the nether covenant, merely a request. If I was unwilling or unable to fulfill it, I could refuse.

Well…

I was the classic sort of person who responded to kindness but not force.

If someone tried to be hard with me, I could become even harder.

If they softened, however, I tended to soften as well.

I waved a hand. “Fine, fine. Considering how pitiful you are, Sis, I’ll do my best. But since you’re visiting me in a dream, why don’t you speak?”

A corpse-fiend could not produce living speech in the waking world because of its altered body, but a dream was mental. It required no organs of speech.

It should have been like the secret voice transmissions in martial-arts novels.

The female corpse gave no answer and simply continued onward.

I shrugged and helplessly followed.

Retracing our path, we returned to the Chuan River bank north of town.

The corpse turned around.

She raised the head that had hung low throughout our journey and stared directly at me with eyes showing only white.

Earlier, the sight would have covered me in goose bumps.

Now, I was not quite as frightened.

I even dared scratch my head and offer her a strained smile.

At that moment, her body began shaking violently, as though she were in pain.

I stared.

Then I realized that some mysterious and unnatural force must be affecting her again.

Hrrrgh! Hrrrgh!

Low growls issued from the corpse’s throat. She appeared to be fighting the strange force.

I could only stand helplessly and watch.

At the same time, I wondered how that force could appear even inside a dream.

The woman seemed to gather the last of her strength. Looking at me, she finally forced out a single phrase.

“Th-thank you…”

Speaking those words appeared to consume what little strength she had left.

At almost the same instant, the same strange black incantations I had seen during the picnic appeared across her face.

I did not know what they were, but after studying talisman arts with Master for so long, I could tell they belonged within that broad discipline.

I strained to see their shape. If I could memorize them, perhaps I could describe them to Master later.

But I was given no time.

After only a second or two, the black incantations twisted like snakes. The female corpse toppled backward.

Splash!

She fell into the shallows and was immediately swept away by the river, drifting out of sight.

“Ah!”

I shouted instinctively.

Then I jerked awake from the dream and sat upright in bed, gasping for air.

I was awake.