Chapter 38: Seeking the Corpse, Inquiring of the Way

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I truly could not understand why these people were so determined to kill me.

Could it be that they had all set their sights on the fortune my grandfather had left me, and meant to seize a share of it for themselves?

If so, that was not necessarily a bad thing. I could use this opportunity to reveal the true power of the Green Hemp Physiognomy before the world.

Just then, Liu Qingqing came downstairs from her room, carrying the things I had asked for.

“Brother Qiyue, my mother takes good care of herself, so her hair doesn’t fall out easily. I had a hard time finding these two strands. These are the clothes she just changed out of and hasn’t had time to wash yet. You can have them all!”

Liu Qingqing placed the things she had prepared into my hands. She trusted me completely.

The moment I reached out to take the clothes, a faint feminine fragrance drifted into my nose, and my face instantly flushed.

A little flustered, I said to Liu Qingqing, “Qingqing, stay at home for the next few days. Don’t go anywhere. I’ve prepared several talismans for you to distribute among your parents. Tell them to avoid going out as much as possible.”

With that, I prepared to leave the Liu family villa.

I had already gained a general understanding of the situation here.

What I needed to do next was meet the woman in red from the Hundred Graves Hollow.

“Brother Qiyue, where are you going? You’re not planning to catch ghosts, are you? Can I come with you?”

Liu Qingqing looked at me curiously. When she was with me, she seemed entirely unafraid of those sinister beings.

“No. These spirits are far too dangerous. Even I may not have the means to restrain them. It would be too dangerous for you to come along. Stay home for the next few days and don’t go anywhere!”

I rejected her request with a serious expression.

She wanted to come ghost-hunting? Was she tired of living?

I had been born under the ill fate known as the Five Afflictions and Three Deficiencies, while Liu Qingqing was the woman my grandfather had selected only after exhausting half a lifetime of accumulated virtue.

Neither of our destinies was ordinary. If the two of us joined together, all manner of ghosts and monsters would inevitably be drawn to us in the future.

When that happened, she might not even be able to drive them away.

“All right, then, Brother Qiyue. Be careful. I’ll wait for you here.”

Liu Qingqing pouted, looking as though she had suffered some enormous injustice.

I said nothing and merely nodded.

My feelings toward Liu Qingqing were complicated. She had broken off the childhood betrothal between us and brought shame upon my entire family. For that, I still resented her.

Yet now she had taken the initiative to show me kindness, even threatening to take her own life for my sake. That had made me see her in a different light.

For a moment, I had no idea what I ought to do.

I would leave it to fate.

I let out a self-mocking sigh, then hurried away from the Liu family villa.

I returned to Uncle Hu’s house almost without stopping. I had to complete this corpse-seeking divination while there was still sunlight.

Once I arrived, I gathered all the ritual implements I would need and carried them into the courtyard to begin the rite.

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I then asked Uncle Hu to bring out the white jade bottle, for it would also be needed in this corpse-seeking divination.

“Qiyue, what’s going on? Have you discovered something new?”

Uncle Hu gazed at me nervously. So many things had happened over the past two days that the entire geomancy community of Sheng City had been thrown into an uproar.

Everyone wanted to know just how capable the heir to the Green Hemp Physiognomy truly was.

Could he survive the calamity destined to befall him?

“Uncle Hu, protect me while I perform the ritual. I’m going to leave my body in spirit form and seek out the corpse!”

I told him exactly what I intended to do without the slightest hesitation.

The moment he heard my words, Uncle Hu grew tense.

He grabbed my sleeve and said nervously, “Qiyue, do you know what you’re doing? This corpse-seeking divination is far too dangerous. We haven’t even figured out who is behind all this. How can you dare attempt something so perilous?”

I smiled and patted his hand, speaking to him earnestly.

“Uncle Hu, don’t panic. I’m only going to investigate whether the person behind this is the one I predicted. Don’t worry—I won’t engage them in a confrontation.”

Only after I pleaded with him repeatedly did Uncle Hu finally agree to let me perform this dangerous art.

First, I marked out a special location in the courtyard. Then I scattered rhinoceros-horn powder across the ground, forming a small circle.

I wrapped the clothes I had brought back from the Liu family villa around the strands of hair and placed them inside the circle. Then I set them alight with a talisman.

As the clothes blazed fiercely, I took out my compass and began reciting the incantation under my breath:

“Seek the path of yang, discern ghosts and spirits. Let demons and monsters retreat; let the soul return to its place. Wherever it is hidden, let the compass reveal it.”

This was another art I had learned from my grandfather. By burning hair and clothing tainted with the aura of corpse evil, one could locate the place where the person controlling it was hiding.

The corpse fiend had possessed Liu Qingqing’s mother for less than twenty-four hours. The compass should still be able to sense its presence.

Sure enough, the moment I finished the incantation, the needle on the compass began to tremble.

Before long, the compass in my hand pointed out a direction.

That was the place I had been looking for.

Now that I had found it, what came next would be simple.

I sat cross-legged in the courtyard and silently recited the Soul-Severing Incantation, allowing my spirit to leave my body.

Then, carrying the compass, I quietly followed the direction indicated by the needle.

Because I was traveling in spirit form, I moved extremely quickly.

That was precisely why I had chosen to leave my body in order to investigate the person behind all this.

Ordinarily, a corpse fiend was made from a dead body. No matter how profound its cultivation, it would be unlikely to move over a long distance for an extended period.

I therefore boldly surmised that its master could not be too far from the provincial capital.

Perhaps only a few dozen miles away, somewhere in the mountains.

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Sure enough, after traveling roughly fifteen or sixteen miles, I arrived at my destination.

Just as I had suspected, it was the same place I had seen that night while possessing the body of the great black snake. I had returned to the Hundred Graves Hollow.

I had taken only a few steps forward when the compass in my hand began to shake violently. The needle on its face trembled without pause, rising and sinking erratically.

This was bad. A powerful evil creature was about to emerge.

Realizing this, I hurriedly retreated, my nerves tightening.

The compass needle associated with the west was pointing upward, indicating that yin energy had gathered here. Most likely, someone who had died unjustly had been buried in this place.

The compass continued to spin, while the needle bobbed halfway between floating and sinking. This meant that the tombs here had been tampered with.

Someone had deliberately altered this perilous place in order to change its geomantic arrangement.

I understood now. The woman in red must not have wanted anyone to discover the tomb where she refined her corpse fiend. That way, no one could break her evil technique.

I gave a cold laugh.

I admitted that her occult abilities were formidable, but when it came to locating dragon veins and choosing auspicious burial sites, I was confident I could match her.

Unfortunately, that secret art of geomancy required a physical body to perform.

As I was only a spirit at present, it would be best not to linger here too long.

After memorizing the location, I prepared to return to my body at Uncle Hu’s house.

After all, wandering the mortal world in spirit form was deeply unpleasant. If I happened to encounter one of the underworld officers who enforced its laws, they might seize me and drag me down to the netherworld.

It would be better to return to my body as quickly as possible. I had already memorized the location of the Hundred Graves Hollow. At worst, I could simply take the time to come here in person.

However, after circling the area twice, I suddenly frowned, and my entire spirit grew tense.

The woman in red had done more than merely alter the geomantic arrangement here. She had actually transformed the place into a perilous Yin-Yang Gate.

The Yin-Yang Gate was also known as the Gate of Life and Death. As its name suggested, the living entered through the Gate of Life, while souls were drawn into the Gate of Death.

Once someone accidentally trespassed inside, the formation would be triggered.

At best, they would be trapped for several days and emerge with their minds deranged.

At worst, they would die within the formation, their souls utterly scattered.

As for the formation’s true power, that depended on the skill of the person who had created it.

But to me, it was not particularly difficult.

Even so, although I was confident I could break the formation, I still did not dare enter rashly.

I was in spirit form. If I became trapped inside, my life would be over.

Still, this confirmed that the woman in red I had encountered that night was no ordinary opponent.

To deal with her, I was afraid I would have to find several allies.