Free Web NovelChapter 807: Chapter 602: Rescue
Before the voice fell, Yang Xiao suddenly heard the sound of rushing water. Following the sound, it was coming from the well in the corner, followed by the discordant creak of the well rope being pulled under strain.
Something was about to come out of that well, the ghost from last night!
Holding his breath, his eyes twitching, Yang Xiao had already cursed Zhang Songde’s eight generations of ancestors in his mind—shoddy spellwork could cost lives.
There was no need for him to engage in such tricks; had he just walked through the door openly, nothing would have happened. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
The sound of water and the rope being pulled were particularly harsh in the quiet night, but strangely, Zhang Songde seemed to have heard nothing and showed no appropriate reaction.
Even stranger, as Zhang Songde slowly stood up, the sound of water and pulling disappeared instantly.
The rising Zhang Songde then respectfully bowed to the outside of the door, and to the unknowing eye, he exhibited the manner of a true master. He then stepped forward with square steps, chin up and chest out, entering the room and closing the door behind him.
But at the very moment his hands closed the door, Yang Xiao’s pupils suddenly contracted, revealing a bloated ghostly figure standing behind Zhang Songde.
"Bang."
The door closed.
"Idiot, hopeless, impossibly stupid idiot!" Xiang Fengchen, usually calm, was stomping his feet in anger, "How has he even survived until now?!"
Yang Xiao kept watch for any noises inside the room, and saw the light flicker, presumably Zhang Songde had lit a candle.
"Why hasn’t the ghost made a move yet?" Yang Xiao found this strange.
"If only he would die immediately, this imbecile, he’s going to cause a disaster tonight!" Xiang Fengchen angrily stared at the illuminated room, his rage nearly burning a hole through the door, "If not for the Gate Gods on the door, he would have been dead by now, but the ghost was invited in, and even the Gate Gods can’t suppress it. Once the water has blinded the eyes of the Gate Gods, his life is over."
"How long will that take?" Yang Xiao pursued, concerned for others who hadn’t returned that night. Including Lou Huixiang and Fang Zhou, there were 3 people in that room—three lives at stake.
"I don’t know, but he certainly won’t last until dawn," Xiang Fengchen answered.
The mission was still unclear. Losing three people at once was too great a cost. After a moment’s thought, Yang Xiao suggested, "What if we stop the others from returning? We could intercept Fang Zhou and Lou Huixiang, tell them what’s going on, and have them spend the night in our room to fight it off."
"That’s not appropriate. This house is strict about rules, and changing rooms on a whim would break those rules," Xiang Fengchen immediately rejected the suggestion.
Yang Xiao understood that Xiang Fengchen did not want to take risks for the two of them; after all, if disorder was caused by breaking the rules, none of them could escape.
Additionally, and what worried Yang Xiao the most, he couldn’t be sure whether Fang Zhou and Lou Huixiang, who would return later, were the real deal or ghosts in disguise; making contact rashly was too risky.
"Rustle, rustle, rustle..." freewebnøvel.com
Footsteps were heard outside again, Yang Xiao and Xiang Fengchen stopped talking and focused on the courtyard door. The footsteps were light; whoever it was, was very cautious. When they entered and they saw it was Chang Chuchu.
Chang Chuchu looked around and finally set her gaze on the room on the far left, the room where Yang Xiao stayed.
Yang Xiao understood what she was thinking—despite having returned before himself and Xiang Fengchen, no light was on in their room. She must have also noticed the two "Gate Gods" pasted on the wall.
Gate Gods not on the door but on the bare wall looked off.
Chang Chuchu did not approach for a closer look, but circumvented their room, walked around to her own room, and examined the Gate Gods on the door for a moment. She did not thoughtlessly enter either; she took out a cloth bag from her bosom and lit incense in front of the door, bringing it before each of the two Gate Gods for a while, listening with her ear to the door to assure there was no movement inside before slowly pushing the door open.
From Yang Xiao’s angle, the inside of the room was somewhat dark. Chang Chuchu stood outside, peering in; the next second, she retracted her right foot by one step, raised the incense with her left hand, and touched the interior of the room in three directions—left, front, right.
"Rashamon bows three times, not even King Yan will stay," Xiang Fengchen frowned, seemingly surprised, "She’s from a Corpse Chasing lineage."
"Corpse Chasing is taught from father to son, Witchcraft from mother to daughter, that’s the rule of the older generation. How could she possibly be a Corpse Driver?" Yang Xiao expressed his basic knowledge.
"You’re right, she comes from a Corpse Chasing lineage, but she is not a Corpse Driver," Xiang Fengchen nodded lightly.
"This craft of Corpse Chasing is dangerous; one encounters many bizarre corpses. Ordinary corpses aside, some who died unjustly, or violently, carry such strong resentment that they might cause trouble along the way."
"When things reach extremes, Yin devours Yang, bringing disaster. At these times, women like her are needed. In the business, they are referred to as female figurines, women surrounded by inauspicious vibes and with Life Charts so resilient, that when transporting certain malicious corpses, to prevent accidents en route, they would take a female figurine along. If there were signs of a corpse rising or if they encounter a Ghost Hitting the Wall, the Corpse Drivers would have these women ride backwards on top of the coffin to ensure safety."
"In cases where no reasoning would work, the female figurine would help the Corpse Driver to open the coffin, pry the corpse’s teeth, and dig into the corpse’s throat to release the last breath of resentment. Naturally, the risk involved needs no explanation," Xiang Fengchen explained in detail.
Upon hearing this, Yang Xiao suddenly remembered something. Chang Chuchu called herself a Funeral Master, and her right hand was missing a part of a finger, which appeared to have been hastily treated; his first impression was that it looked as it had been bitten off by something.
