Free Web NovelChapter 6: Thump, Thump, Thump.
When night gave way to dawn, the roosters crowed.
As their calls echoed through the village, a faint line appeared on the horizon, dividing darkness from daylight. Life gradually returned to the lands with the Yang energy of day replacing the Yin energy of night.
“You lazy brat, still not up?”
“Go feed the pigs! You still have to head to the fields later...”
Voices rang out through the village.
Li Yan hadn’t slept all night; instead, he had stood guard in the courtyard with his blade in hand. Only when he heard the distant scolding of neighbors did he finally push the wooden gate open. The old latch creaked sharply as he opened it.
When he stepped through the entrance, he looked up, only for his eyes to widen in shock. The plaque was no longer in its original pristine form. Chunks of lacquer had peeled away, and the edges were now visibly decayed. A crack had even formed along the right side.
Li Yan didn’t know how the plaque managed to hold off the evil of the night. Perhaps it had something to do with the imperial court, but one thing was clear: it had taken significant damage after a single night. If the same thing happened another night, it might crumble completely.
From the looks of it, the evil spirit of Third Blindy had only been temporarily driven back! What was he supposed to do now?
As he stood there thinking, Li Gui came out of his room and stood at the side, leaning on his cane. He slowly lifted his pipe and was about to take a few puffs when he noticed the disheveled Li Yan standing outside with a blade in hand.
“What are you doing?! You’ve been training so much recently that you don’t even eat properly. Now, you don’t even know how to wear your clothes?! Don’t stand around the entrance so early with your blade! You'll scare people. Come here, and I’ll make you something to eat.”
He turned and hobbled to the kitchen. Due to his age, he hadn’t heard anything the night before.
Li Yan was about to stop him, but he soon decided against it. He wasn’t in the mood to make his own food anyway. He rushed back to his room to get dressed properly.
Farmers didn’t care much for clothing; most wore simple, coarse black cloth. With the weather warming up, a single layer was enough. The trousers, however, had a certain standard, usually loose and shapeless. They had to be tied in a specific way so that they would be easier to move about in.
Once Li Yan got dressed, he stepped out and headed straight for the village’s entrance. Though he already knew that Third Blindy’s corpse had been hung on the crooked tree, he hadn’t bothered to look. He hadn’t expected trouble to come already.
Before he left, he glanced back at the kitchen. Seeing the smoke slowly rising into the air, he clenched his fists. His grandfather was home, and he couldn’t just leave to escape the strange happenings from the night before. Whatever that thing was, he had to think of a way to deal with it!
The morning sun slowly rose, spreading warmth over the yellow earth and wheat fields. Blue skies stretched overhead. Villagers started walking around with hoes on their shoulders.
The peaceful countryside scene was a complete contrast to the horrors of the night before.
Third Blindy’s corpse still hung on the tree, but it was now in tatters because the children had pelted it with stones the day before. As the villagers passed, some would jab it with their hoes, laughing as they went.
Li Yan was in no rush to approach. Instead, he sniffed the air. Since he was downwind and less than fifty meters away, he expected to smell the same stench from when he had killed Third Blindy. However, it was nowhere to be found.
It was as if it were an ordinary wolf’s corpse.
Li Yan frowned as he stepped closer to examine it closely. However, nothing seemed unusual.
Just then, a man passed by and clicked his tongue. “What a waste. I told you we should’ve just eaten it. If we leave it hanging for a few days, it’ll rot anyway.”
Li Yan didn’t know what to say. The man was Li Shuanzhu, a bachelor known for being gluttonous and sharp-tongued. Moreover, he loved arguing. The other villagers generally disliked him.
The only thing was... if anyone ate the corpse, they would have likely been the unlucky fellow the night before.
Unaware of how annoying he sounded, Li Shuanzhu added, “Widow Wang was saying it’s inauspicious, that it should be burned and a ritual performed. Looks fine to me...”
His eyes widening slightly, Li Yan quickly pressed, “What else did she say?”
“What else could she say?” Li Shuanzhu snorted. “Her house smells worse than a latrine, and she’s always mumbling nonsense. What a shame.”
He then walked off with his hoe over his shoulders. Li Yan didn’t care too much about Li Shuanzhu’s reply anyway. By the time he walked off, Li Yan had already turned to head to Widow Wang’s house.
It didn’t take long for him to reach his destination.
The gate to the old house was tightly shut. Weeds grew along the earthen walls, and dust-covered clutter lay everywhere.
Most villagers were already in the fields, and there was no one nearby. The entire place felt abandoned.
While approaching, Li Yan frowned. Aside from the Earth God shrine, Widow Wang’s house was the only other place that felt off to him. To him, the strangely unpleasant smell coming from within and the stench that seemed impossible to get rid of were unbearable.
Due to her reputation and his fear that the villagers would start spreading rumors about him, Li Yan never liked to approach this place, despite his curiosity. However, he no longer had any choice. He had to deal with Third Blindy, and Widow Wang seemed to know something.
Just as he was about to step forward, the door swung open, and the disheveled widow came into view. Caution filled her eyes as she glanced nervously behind Li Yan. When she was finally satisfied, she said in a trembling voice, “Come... The immortal... The immortal wants to see you.”
Li Yan was taken aback.
She knew I was coming? Wait, there’s an immortal in there?!
Li Yan instantly grew a little more cautious, but he didn't show it. His finger rested lightly on the hilt of his blade as he walked into her courtyard.
Due to his heightened sense of smell, the stench hit him like a truck as soon as he entered. Frowning deeply, he held his breath as he looked around.
Piles of rotting wood and jars of pickled vegetables were placed along the walls. The contents had long since spoiled, forming a layer of white foam. Flies buzzed thickly around them. The smell they produced was no different from a cesspit.
No longer able to endure the smell, Li Yan pinched his nose. But just before he could speak, he froze.
Something was off.
The jars along the wall seemed messy at first glance, but upon closer inspection, they seemed to be deliberately arranged that way. They corresponded to the doors of the Eight Trigrams: Open Door, Rest Door, Life Door, Harm Door, Blocked Door, Scenery Door, Death Door, and Fear Door.
He had some understanding of it through his training.
Is there a hidden reason why she arranged the jars that way?
Before he could think further, Widow Wang opened the door to the room within and gestured for him to follow. Even the way she opened it was strange. She pulled it open just a crack from the side, then raised a cloth curtain to block the light, as if afraid of letting wind in.
What is this?! Even confinement after childbirth isn’t this intense.
Li Yan’s suspicion deepened as he stepped inside. Surprisingly, the smell inside was milder than outside. However, the room was dim and stifling, and that incense-tinged smell was even thicker.
His gaze was immediately drawn to the arrangement inside. A square offering table in the center held four plates of buns, three plates of fruits, a roasted chicken, some fatty pork, and a jar of alcohol. Three sticks of incense burned in a censer, flanked by dim candlelight. Behind the offerings was a wooden tablet with red paper affixed to it. Written on it were the words: Seat of Third Aunt Hu.
On either side hung a small couplet: Cultivating in the deep mountains, nurturing one’s spirit; emerging from ancient caves, gaining fame across the four seas.
Could this be a spirit medium?
Li Yan was slightly taken aback as faded memories surfaced. The practice originated from ancient shamanistic beliefs. It was common in the northeast, with guardian spirits and spirit mediums.
It was rare on the Guanzhong Plains, but then it clicked. Widow Wang had been bought from a human trafficker. Someone had once mentioned she came from the northeast.
What caught his attention even more was the space in front of the table. Red wooden sticks were planted in the ground, forming a circle with red string. A neatly dressed little girl lay within the circle, her clean appearance at odds with the unkempt house. With her eyes shut, she looked like she was unconscious, but her eyelids twitched constantly.
What was even more unsettling was the faint pulsing beneath her skin along certain points from her head to her shoulder and arms.
What is this?!
The scene felt utterly absurd. However, after the night that had just passed, Li Yan learned that they lived in a complicated world. There was some type of strange energy in it.
Widow Wang didn’t explain anything. She simply pulled a red cloth from a nearby rack to reveal a drum. It had been painted with the pattern of the Eight Trigrams, and eight strings hung from behind. Four of them pointed north, and four pointed south. There was also a string of copper coins attached, which jingled softly to any movement.
The drumsticks had strips of red cloth tied to their handles.
The King Wen Drum and the King Wu Whip?[1] fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
Feeling a little more intrigued, Li Yan narrowed his eyes. Aside from antiques, he had also studied folk tradition in his past life.
The way this world works might be way more than simple folklore...
Holding the drum in one hand and the whip in another, Widow Wang seemed to become someone else altogether. Her shoulders began to sway, and her head shook. While beating the drum, she started to circle the red string.
Thump. Thump. Thump, thump!
She maintained a deep and steady rhythm. Her timid and withdrawn demeanor started to shift to one of solemnity.
“The sun sets in the west, and night falls upon the land. Every household bolts its door tight. Travelers hurry to the inns, birds return to the forest to find rest, and tigers return to the mountains in peace...”
As she continued, even her accent changed.
The scene was familiar; Li Yan had seen something similar in his past life. However, something about this one was different. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
With each beat of the drum, the incense-laced smell in the room started to move, as if it had found a place to gather.
Following the rhythm, it started to converge.
1. It’s a handheld drum, the tiny ones. Both are used for shamanic rituals. ☜
