Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 23: The Western Cemetery

When Cheng Songyun pushed the door open and came out, she looked completely dazed. Seeing her unharmed, Shan Hunzi let out a surprised sound, while Fourth Master thoughtfully stroked his chin.

As the three men watched, Cheng Songyun stammered through a description of the situation inside the shrine. While she spoke, she kept glancing at Fang Xiu, but he remained silent.

He appeared deep in thought, fingers subtly playing with the edge of Bai Shuangying’s sleeve. In reality, he was pondering a curious problem.

Bai Shuangying’s clothing transformed along with him from a non-Newtonian fluid into human form, which explained its strange texture. Since the clothes were part of Bai Shuangying, did they have any sense of touch?

Fang Xiu pinched the sleeve lightly. Bai Shuangying didn’t react.

He pinched it again, and still no response.

On the third pinch, Bai Shuangying wordlessly reached out and pinched Fang Xiu’s earlobe in return.

…Apparently, there was some sensation after all. The study of spirits was truly fascinating, Fang Xiu thought.

“Ha!” Fourth Master suddenly clapped his hands. “I’ve figured out the third taboo.”

Shan Hunzi: “Not many of us left, so share it quickly.”

Manpower was indeed scarce, and after hesitating for a couple of seconds, Fourth Master decided to speak.

“I heard that during mountain god rituals, people have to imitate the god’s appearance.”

Fourth Master pointed at Cheng Songyun. “She’s transformed to look like the god’s image, which must mean she’s been marked as a ‘live sacrifice’. Live sacrifices belong to the God of Weishan, so Old Man Fu wouldn’t dare harm her.”

Shan Hunzi: “How does that work?”

“The third taboo is that you can’t harm a live sacrifice,” Fourth Master said solemnly.

Fang Xiu gave a small, surprised cough, blinking his eyes.

“That guy surname Fang said that ‘guests’ who slack off in their duties are chosen as live sacrifices. We don’t know much about the woman, but Doctor was sloppy in his duties, and this one just messed up our food supplies. Every one of them is useless.”

Fourth Master continued.

“And remember, the woman was stabbed through the heart, and Doctor hanged himself. If they had violated the taboos, they would have died the same way. But in fact, the person who stabbed the woman had the strangest death. She turned into a pile of flesh. That’s because he violated the taboo by harming a live sacrifice.”

“…It all fits. It all makes sense! It’s definitely the resentment of the live sacrifices that created the ‘E’!”

Fourth Master got more and more worked up, spitting as he spoke. “Damn it, I finally figured out the cause and effect!”

Fang Xiu muttered, “But wasn’t there a rule about protecting the villagers…?”

“Protect?” Fourth Master sneered at him. “The villagers here survive by snatching offerings meant for the God of Weishan. The ‘E’ outlawed stealing and fighting, so they can’t take from others. To eat, they have to commit sacrilege.”

“How ruthless. It’s only because these spirits don’t eat human food that we were thrown off track.”

Shan Hunzi chuckled. “If that’s the case, then the western cemetery is the closest to Weishan, full of yin energy, making it the perfect place for live sacrifices. If we reach the end of the west without encountering a ghost wall…”

“Then that proves the ‘E’ is in the cemetery,” Fourth Master said, waving his hand. “Let’s go. I know how to break the ghost wall.”

“Amazing.”

Shan Hunzi grinned, his small eyes gleaming.

“But since Miss Cheng has revealed her transformed body and cleared the challenge in front of Old Man Fu, once we break the ghost wall, Old Man Fu will know we’ve made a discovery.”

“At that point, it’ll come after us without hesitation. There’ll be no turning back.”

“Why? Aren’t they supposed to mimic the villagers?” Fang Xiu, who had been enjoying the conversation from the sidelines, finally spoke.

Shan Hunzi glanced at him with a sly smile. “I can’t tell you for free.”

Fang Xiu: “……”

Damn, getting hit with his own trick actually stung a bit.

But no worries. Shan Hunzi would volunteer the answer soon enough.

……

They reached the western edge without encountering any spirits. At the end of the ghost wall was nothing but an empty void. There was no shrine, no ghost stalls, and no cemetery in sight.

Cheng Songyun, struggling to adjust to her new limbs, was panting. “Isn’t the west supposed to be the most dangerous?”

Fang Xiu moved closer with a serious expression, causing Cheng Songyun to shiver and perk up her ears.

Fang Xiu said, “Cheng Jie, you don’t play video games much, do you?”

Fang Xiu continued, “In most games, when you reach a map without minor enemies, players call that the ‘boss room’.”

Cheng Songyun: “……”

We haven’t talked for this long, and this is what you wanted to say?

She looked anxiously into the darkness. Shan Hunzi had been right: once they broke through the ghost wall, Old Man Fu wouldn’t let them off.

Fang Xiu’s live offering theory was a lie, and any deductions based on it by Fourth Master must also be wrong.

…Was it really okay to proceed so recklessly?

“You go first,” Fourth Master said, pushing Cheng Songyun forward. “The rest of you grab her clothes and follow.”

Fang Xiu obediently grabbed onto her with his one good arm.

Cheng Songyun sighed quietly, steeling herself as she stepped into the darkness.

Sure enough, the ghost wall didn’t hinder a “noble live sacrifice”. After only a few steps, the scenery opened up before them.

They had reached the cemetery of Weishan Village.

With the endless rain, the cemetery looked especially gloomy. The gravestones were crowded together, surrounded by wild grass and mud. In the distance, Weishan loomed faintly through the rain, casting an oppressive shadow over everything.

The moment they stepped into the cemetery, a piercing, furious shriek echoed from above the village.

Fang Xiu recognized the voice. It was Old Man Fu.

“We’ve been discovered. Move, move, move!”

Fourth Master pulled them through the dense gravestones, heading straight for the far western side of the cemetery.

Here, closest to Weishan, stood a row of arched gravestones. Some were new, others old, and the inscriptions were all blank.

They blended in with the varied village gravestones, nothing particularly remarkable. Last time Fang Xiu had visited the cemetery, he’d only noticed them after careful observation.

“I saw these before. The people buried here don’t have names, so they must be the ‘guests’.”

Fourth Master pointed to ten gravestones. “…These are the ones for the live sacrifices.”

Compared to the other unnamed gravestones, these ten were noticeably taller and more intricately crafted.

“Live sacrifices belong to the god, and the villagers wouldn’t touch their belongings. The ‘E’ must be inside the coffins.” Fourth Master quickly explained and shoved Cheng Songyun. “Start digging from the newest one, hurry!”

The third taboo prohibited harming live sacrifices, so no new ones could be buried.

Everything aligned perfectly with his theory, and Fourth Master’s face flushed with excitement.

The ghostly wails above Weishan Village continued as Cheng Songyun hesitated, unsure if continuing like this was really wise.

“Hurry up, Cheng Jie. Time is running out, and following orders is probably your best option.” This time, Fang Xiu looked directly into her eyes.

Cheng Songyun took a deep breath and started digging with her hands.

Yin energy surged in the cemetery as malicious spirits lunged at them. In the distance, larger ghostly figures began to gather.

Fourth Master raised his arm guard, deflecting attacking spirits, while Shan Hunzi muttered incantations, summoning headless ghosts from the ground to protect the other side.

Fang Xiu… Fang Xiu was leaning against Bai Shuangying, watching Cheng Songyun dig.

Cheng Songyun: “……”

Bai Shuangying: “……”

Fang Xiu whispered to Bai Shuangying, “See, sometimes it’s good to be a little injured.”

Cheng Songyun’s hand-digging was slow. Shan Hunzi pulled a yellow paper talisman from his pocket, blew on it, and it turned into two spades.

“You two, use these!” he said, tossing them to Cheng Songyun and Fang Xiu.

Fang Xiu didn’t take one.

His face pale, voice weak, he looked like he might collapse any second. “Sorry, my shoulder is dislocated, and it hurts too much to use my strength…”

Shan Hunzi: “……”

Bai Shuangying: “……”

Fang Xiu whispered again to Bai Shuangying, “You see? We’ve got the perfect seats to watch this show.”

Bai Shuangying pursed his lips. Being around Fang Xiu often gave him the odd feeling that his conscience was aching. Thankfully, he didn’t have one, and clearly, neither did Fang Xiu.

And so, the once-quiet cemetery grew lively.

The sound of piercing suonas grew closer, blood-stained paper money fluttering through the air. The spirits around them crawled forward, seemingly abandoning their pretense of “mimicking villagers”.

The spirits attacking them were growing stronger. Fourth Master’s arm guard could no longer deflect them, forcing him to chop them down with his peachwood sword. Shan Hunzi’s headless ghosts were torn apart by the horde, and the ones he summoned grew fewer and fewer.

The spirits only increased in number. Fourth Master and Shan Hunzi were sweating, retreating as they fought, while the safe zone behind them shrank.

Fang Xiu could see Old Man Fu’s suona troupe in the distance approaching from all sides, surrounding the entire cemetery. Under Old Man Fu’s lead, the spirits were closing in fast.

The time was right.

Fang Xiu lifted his eyelids and walked over to Cheng Songyun.

With the spade, Cheng Songyun was digging much faster now. The coffin wasn’t buried deep, and soon the lid was revealed.

It was one of the clay coffins they had seen before, though much larger. With no time to think, Cheng Songyun pried the lid open.

Inside was a curled-up skeleton.

The body was sitting, legs pulled up to the chest, now long since reduced to white bones.

Surrounding the bones were dried branches, withered flowers, and shriveled fruits. Scattered among them were everyday items like pencils and books. There was no sign of any special artifacts. It was just an ordinary grave.

Seeing that the grave had been opened without incident, Fourth Master pushed Shan Hunzi aside and rushed to the coffin.

He shoved Cheng Songyun out of the way, reaching inside.

What happened next all took place in an instant.

Shan Hunzi turned his head to look at Fourth Master, just as Fourth Master grabbed the skull.

Fang Xiu, who had been prepared, reached out with his right hand toward Fourth Master.

Cheng Songyun lost her balance and fell to the ground.

…There was a muffled thud as Cheng Songyun landed on the ground.

The next second, she was splattered with warm, fresh blood and chunks of flesh.

Shan Hunzi’s eyes widened, and Fang Xiu’s lips curled into a smile. He was holding onto the necklace with five jade Buddhas that had been around Fourth Master’s neck.

Fourth Master had vanished, leaving behind only a mess of flesh and fragments of his magical weapons.

Time seemed to freeze. Rain gently pattered onto the remains.

“I told you before, they wanted to use me to test the taboos, so I used them to test them instead.”

Fang Xiu put on the jade Buddhas and smiled at Bai Shuangying. “Finally, I’ve completed my test.”

“The first taboo: no food or water in the village may be consumed, except offerings.”

“The second taboo: no harm may come to the villagers, except in self-defense.”

“And… the third taboo: do not offend the God of Weishan, except for the Mountain God itself.”

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The author has something to say:

Farewell, Fourth Master. The Jade Buddha group has met its end (cue dramatic suona music).

This arc is about to conclude, and the truth of Weishan Village and the true nature of our main couple will be revealed one by one—

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