Chapter Ninety-Seven: Departure for Huamei Village

This matter was no simple affair. Just as we were discussing the ancient corpse wrapped entirely in copper coins, Zhao Wen sent word that the corpse had already awakened and escaped—far from good news.

“It’s true. Many of our Evil Spirit Cult members were killed or injured. I wasn’t here before, so I don’t know the full details, but from what I’ve heard, that copper-coin-covered corpse, upon awakening, immediately drained several of the Yin-Yang masters guarding it into piles of shredded flesh. Then it charged straight out. Two experts from the Shanxi Longevity Bureau tried to stop it briefly, but they too were reduced to shredded flesh.”

I was utterly stunned; it was beyond anything I could have imagined.

Xiyue’s brows furrowed deeper, and she said softly, “This is no simple matter. We must first head to Huamei Village. After all, the village holds the corpse coffin, and only by obtaining the coffin can Xiao Dong break the life-blood formation embedded within his body.”

“Indeed. That’s all we can do for now. Though I still don’t know the location where the three corpses converge, we must go to Huamei Village. I will immediately send a spirit talisman message to inform the elders, and we will depart for Huamei Village tomorrow.”

Xiyue nodded. At that moment, Zhao Shiwu sighed deeply and turned to head downstairs, presumably to prepare the spirit talisman.

Meanwhile, Zhang Ningning, lying on the sofa, coughed twice and slowly opened her eyes.

Chen Chuyi sat silently on the sofa, eyes closed, calculating something in his hands. Zhang Ningning struggled to sit up, and Nie Xiaoke gently helped her.

Startled, Zhang Ningning trembled and quickly moved aside.

“Zhang Jie, she’s Nie Xiaoke. She means you no harm!” I reassured her.

Zhang Ningning looked at me in surprise, then glanced at Chen Chuyi and Xiyue standing nearby. Suddenly, fear washed over her eyes.

“She is…” Zhang Ningning pointed at Xiyue but couldn’t speak for a long moment. I knew at once that she recognized Xiyue as an ancient corpse, surrounded by moonlight—truly a Moonlight Corpse from legend.

Xiyue turned to face the astonished Zhang Ningning, smiling gently. “Your eyesight is sharp. But you’ve been infected by corpse qi. You should rest well. If not, the corpse qi inside you may cause localized skin decay.”

Zhang Ningning was dumbfounded by Xiyue’s voice.

I forced a bitter smile. Xiyue turned and entered the room without further words.

I stepped up and patted Zhang Ningning’s shoulder.

“Zhang Jie, Xiyue means no harm. Don’t overthink it. For now, take care of your health. The corpse qi still lingers in your body. Your top priority is to purge it completely.”

Zhang Ningning nodded, seeming to understand that Xiyue’s relationship with us was unusual, and wisely refrained from questioning further.

I smiled faintly and said, “Zhang Jie, rest well here. I won’t keep you company.”

We were to leave for Huamei Village first thing tomorrow. That village represented a turning point in my life. I kept recalling the strange dreams I had—why did the villagers fear me so much? Why did I dream such things? At the small inn I stayed in, I saw those eyes that made me shudder whenever I thought of them.

And this corpse coffin they spoke of—what exactly was it? Did it really exist? All these mysteries made me feel as if I had fallen into a vast, impenetrable fog.

In that thick mist, I could neither see nor hear anything. I was enveloped in utter darkness.

I feared that feeling deeply.

At that moment, images of Su Ying and Xiyue surfaced in my mind.

I don’t know how much time passed before I suddenly awoke. When I opened my eyes, the sky was already bright.

Wiping sweat from my brow, I looked outside and dressed quickly, putting on a vest Chen Chuyi had prepared for me long ago. The scent of ink and cinnabar on it was particularly strong.

Early that morning, Chen Chuyi, Zhao Shiwu, Zhang Ningning, and I went out for breakfast together. Zhang Ningning had to return to the police station due to a call, so the three of us—Zhao Shiwu, Chen Chuyi, and I—left Chengdu, bound for the fabled Huamei Village.

This time, I took all my equipment, and even Wan Niang came with us.

Chen Chuyi drove while Zhao Shiwu explained many precautions along the way.

Perhaps because I was so tired, I dozed off in the car. When I awoke, night had fallen. Through the window, I saw the world shrouded in a dim yellow mist—I knew immediately we had entered the ghost road.

Could it be that Huamei Village, as Zhao Shiwu said, did not exist in the real world?

Finally, the car stopped in front of a cave.

We got out.

Not far off, the moonlight was cold and pale—not silver-white, but tinged with a faint redness, like a blushing maiden. Of course, that was a comforting metaphor. In reality, the moon looked like a blood moon. Although only the rim was blood-red, I knew, just as Zhao Shiwu said, it would turn fully red as we entered Huamei Village.

When the blood moon rises, the ghosts and corpses stir fiercely.

I was certainly afraid, but here I was the weakest and most unusual, so naturally, I became the target of countless fierce ghosts. From the path in my dream, Huamei Village seemed nestled among towering peaks. So what did this cave mean?

“Senior Brother, this is the entrance. But we must pass through this passage while the silver moon is changing into a blood moon. Otherwise, we will be lost in the ghost path.”

Zhao Shiwu nodded and pulled a “red” rope from his bag. It was soaked in cinnabar—more than just an ordinary rope, it was twisted from yellow talisman paper. This kind of rope was known as a Guiding Rope.

“Xiao Dong, hold onto this rope. I will go first, Chuyi last. As for Miss Xiyue…”

Before Zhao Shiwu finished, Xiyue’s figure flickered and she disappeared into the cave.