Chapter 18
Chapter 18
Chief Zhou spent over ten minutes calming his emotions, but the look of admiration in his eyes only grew stronger.
“Old General… old comrade, I wouldn’t flinch at the thought of charging onto a battlefield to kill enemies, but I have no experience dealing with filthy things.”
“From now on, I’m under your command!”
“I’ll do whatever you say!”
The Old Master stood up abruptly and slammed a heavy palm onto the table.
“What else is there to do? We kill that bastard!”
“Whether it’s the Japs or an evil ghost, anyone who dares to harm our people will be wiped out! No leniency!”
Chief Zhou snapped to attention and saluted, shouting at the top of his lungs, “Orders will be carried out resolutely!”
Now that they had reached a consensus, Old Li had someone invite Deaf Granny inside.
When it came to dealing with filthy things, she was the professional.
The three of them consulted for a moment and decided to dig the Iron Coffin out of the well before dark.
They would see exactly what kind of thing was inside before figuring out how to deal with it!
In truth, the best time to dig up the Iron Coffin should have been at noon. That was the time of day when yang energy was at its peak.
But given the urgency of the situation, they couldn’t afford to be so particular.
Chief Zhou set up a cordon under the pretext of protecting a crime scene, preventing anyone from spectating.
Deaf Granny brought out the Mountain-Opening Wood and the Gold-Silver Fan, hanging them above the withered well.
She then buried Ancient Coins around the well according to the Nine Palaces Direction to increase the yang energy.
The Mountain-Opening Wood was also known as the Wood of Emerging from the Mountains.
It was a ritual tool as vital as a spirit medium’s shrine manifest or a Great Seal.
It was an essential artifact for presiding over a shrine hall, stabilizing the morale of the spiritual army, and manifesting the orthodox path of the law.
The Gold-Silver Fan was the progenitor of all illusion-type ritual tools within the spirit medium shrine halls.
Fearing an accident, Deaf Granny distributed small Incense Ash Pouches to everyone.
She strictly instructed them to keep the pouches on their persons until the filthy things were dealt with.
Just as they had finished their preparations and were about to start digging for the Iron Coffin, they were interrupted by Cadre Zhao.
He walked over reeking of alcohol, followed closely by Tian Zhigang and his father, Old Fourth Tian.
Cadre Zhao shouted as he approached, “What are you all doing?”
“Why wasn’t I notified if there are leads for the case? Are you trying to hog all the credit?!”
“Don’t forget, I represent the township government!”
“You’re showing a complete lack of organization and discipline!”
Seeing Old Li’s expression souring and Cadre Zhao’s endless nagging, Tian Zhigang immediately stepped in with a smile to smooth things over.
“Old Li, Chief Zhou, please, go about your business.”
“Is it alright if I just stay to the side with Leader Zhao and watch? I promise we won’t cause any trouble!”
Old Li gave a cold snort. “If you want to watch, then watch. Just don’t piss your pants in a moment!”
Cadre Zhao sat on a stool Tian Zhigang had brought over, sipping tea while prattling on incessantly.
“When the case is solved, the primary credit belongs to me!”
“Everything was accomplished under my guidance!”
Everyone ignored the idiot and began their work.
The process was tedious. To put it briefly, it took three Young Police Officers plus Chief Zhou and Tian Zhigang to exert every ounce of their strength to haul the Iron Coffin up from the bottom of the well.
A burst of putrid, fishy air made everyone cough repeatedly.
Deaf Granny looked closely and, sure enough, saw a small hole on the top of the Iron Coffin made by the Drilling Machine.
The rancid stench was wafting out from that very hole.
The alcohol had clearly gone to Cadre Zhao’s head. Ignoring Tian Zhigang’s attempts to stop him, he circled the Iron Coffin to get a better look.
“You spent all that effort just to dig this thing up?”
“Is the killer hiding inside?”
Old Li sneered inwardly. This idiot actually got it right-the killer really was inside!
Tossing an Incense Ash Pouch to Cadre Zhao, Old Li said coldly, “Don’t say this old man didn’t look out for you. Keep it on you!”
Cadre Zhao clearly didn’t take it seriously. He perfunctorily stuffed it into his trouser pocket, his mouth still running.
“Don’t just stand there!”
“Now that it’s dug up, open it and see. If there are cultural relics inside, that’s another achievement for me!”
The moment the Iron Coffin was opened, a foul stench hit them.
Faint, ghostly laughter seemed to echo in everyone’s ears.
Everyone was startled by the sight inside the coffin.
Cadre Zhao, in particular, let out a scream of “Mama!” and fell to the ground in terror.
He scrambled on all fours toward Fourth Uncle’s house.
In his panic, the Incense Ash Pouch Old Li had given him fell into the snow.
“Help! A ghost!!”
Inside the coffin was nothing but black water.
A naked Female Corpse had been nailed to the bottom of the coffin with iron spikes.
The skin had been flayed from her entire body, and her lower half was a mangled mess of flesh and blood.
Her face had been carved beyond recognition by a sharp blade; her eyes, nose, and ears were all gone.
Deaf Granny’s expression grew even more solemn.
“An Immortal Corpse!”
“She was tortured so miserably while alive. No wonder she started harming people the moment she got out!”
Chief Zhou suppressed his nausea and said furiously, “How could anyone commit such an inhumane act?!”
“We must investigate this to the very end and bring the truth to light!”
“We must get justice for the deceased!”
While everyone was filled with righteous indignation, a sudden thud came from behind them.
Old Fourth Tian had collapsed onto his back. With a vacant expression, he repeated a single sentence over and over:
“She’s back… she’s back for my life!”