I lay beside the coffin, staring at the darkened corpse. I dared not say anything, but in my heart I secretly cursed her for being stupid.
Zombies are just stupid. They knew they were going to get hurt, but they didn't wake me up, insisting on getting themselves into this state.
At the same time, I was a little worried. I asked Uncle Fu if the corpse's injuries were serious. He said she'd be back in six months. I asked if it hurt.
Uncle Fu looked at me seriously and said, "With injuries like this, it must hurt. It feels like needles piercing my heart every moment." As he spoke, he made a heart-piercing gesture.
I shuddered, feeling even worse. I felt pity for the corpse and asked Uncle Fu if there was any way to make her feel better quickly.
Uncle Fu frowned, thinking for a long time before rubbing his chin and saying, "There is a way, but I don't know if you have the courage."
I saw him doubting himself, puffed out his chest, and imitated my grandfather's tone when he talked about the Three Kingdoms. "Just tell me. No matter how difficult it is, I'll go."
Uncle Fu feigned hesitation, and only after I pressed him did he say, "The Corpse-Suppressing Drum. Use the cowhide on the drum to apply to the young lady's wound. It will heal in less than two days."
Uncle Li's Corpse-Suppressing Drum?
That's a treasure, something even the female corpse fears. Whether Uncle Li is a good person or not remains to be determined. If he steals the Corpse-Suppressing Drum, he won't be able to deal with the female corpse.
But we have to go down the mountain. Now that I have Yang Yuan, I'm much stronger. Returning early might yield some clues.
Chen Hao floated beside me and said, "Zhang Tong, I'll go with you."
He definitely wanted to go; I'd have to ask him about Uncle Li.
I agreed, and Uncle Fu eagerly said, "Young Master, you can leave the mountain now, but remember, you can't start until night."
I nodded and turned to leave with Zhang Hao. Uncle Fu remained by the coffin, seemingly speaking to the female corpse.
Chen Hao whispered in my ear, a sinister whisper. "Zhang Tong, why do I feel like that old man is deliberately goading you into stealing the corpse-suppressing drum?"
Chen Hao was right. The female corpse was injured, but certainly not as badly as Uncle Fu described.
Passing by the stone house, I scooped a few pieces of meat from the pot and skewered them on a stick to eat on the way. After Chen Hao absorbed blood and gathered souls, he could manifest during the day. As I ate the meat on the stick, I asked him to explain the story of Wu Laogou and Uncle Li.
Chen Hao started with the story of his coffin descent two years ago.
Two years ago, Chen Hao wasn't actually descent into the coffin. Instead, someone used a soul-suppressing technique to take away his three souls and seven spirits. Wu Laogou, unable to identify the culprit and feeling guilty, secretly raised Chen Hao's soul as a sacrifice.
Grandpa knew the truth but kept it to himself. He blamed Wu Laogou for his incompetence, causing the coffin-suppressing boy to descent, thus earning Wu Laogou's wrath.
Chen Hao's existence was a secret within the Wu family, unknown even to Wu Laogou's sons. However, a wandering soul couldn't remain in the mortal realm for too long; it would eventually disintegrate.
To protect Chen Hao, Wu Laogou searched far and wide for a solution.
A few days ago, Uncle Li suddenly approached Wu Laogou and told him how to gather souls by absorbing blood. He also said he would have Liu Degui obtain a female corpse, then kill Liu Degui and bury her. Wu Laogou then had her secretly placed in the coffin. My horoscope was compatible with Liu Degui's, so I would definitely go and suppress the coffin. When the corpse revived, Chen Hao would take advantage of the opportunity to absorb blood and gather souls, and the blame could be completely shifted to Grandpa.
Wu Laogou hated Grandpa, but when he heard that Liu Degui's life was being taken, he wanted to refuse. But Uncle Li said he wouldn't do it and would find someone else to do it.
Seeing Uncle Li's murderous intent, Wu Laogou knew he couldn't escape the consequences, so he agreed. However, he knew this was no simple matter, so he secretly gave the ancestral Yin Jade to Liu Degui, who then went to Shi'ao Mountain to retrieve a powerful female corpse.
What happened next was all my own experience.
I sat down to think things over. Combined with what the man in black had said when he stopped me, claiming he'd been tricked by Wu Laoxie, I knew Chen Hao wasn't lying.
Concerned that I wouldn't believe him, Chen Hao showed me a dark stone, saying it was the Yin Jade. With it, even ordinary people could ascend Shi'ao Mountain.
It looked ordinary enough to me, so I reached out to touch it. As soon as my fingertips approached, a powerful chill surged forth, rivaling the frosty Yin energy of Shi'ao Mountain.
Wearing it, using Yin to overcome Yin, would indeed allow one to ascend Shi'ao Mountain. But Shi'ao Mountain was guarded by Uncle Fu, so how could Liu Degui have gotten close?
Unless the female corpse had willingly allowed herself to be found by Liu Degui.
Chen Hao said, "Zhang Tong, the person we need to be careful of now is Uncle Li. As for those men in black, they've captured our family and they definitely won't stay in the village."
I turned to Chen Hao and asked, "Old Wu... Did Grandpa Wu tell you what Uncle Li and those men in black were looking for? Did he ever tell you about our Zhang family?"
Chen Hao thought for a long time and shook his head, saying no. But then he remembered something and hurriedly said, "Oh, Grandpa Wu said your family is hiding a secret. It will sooner or later be a disaster, bringing disaster to the village and even to the Wu family."
Secret?
I frowned slightly, but said nothing. I finished the last bite of meat, wiped my mouth, stood up, and said, "Chen Hao, your grandfather asked you to follow me so that you could be my younger brother. You have to obey me from now on, understand?"
Chen Hao was about my age when he was alive. He curled his lips and gave me a disdainful look, unconvinced.
I said, "If you don't listen to me, I won't let you go to Shi'ao Mountain. If you run into Niu Bizi out there, they'll beat you to death."
Chen Hao snorted. I got a little anxious and continued to scare him. "Don't disbelieve me, you've seen the female zombie in the bronze coffin, right? She's my wife. She's the boss in Shi'ao Mountain."
Chen Hao felt a little guilty about bringing up the female zombie. I snorted and pretended to ignore him. A few seconds later, Chen Hao approached me in a flattering manner.
The Yin Jade he possessed was actually quite extraordinary. It could suppress Yin energy, making it so that even Niu Bizi wouldn't be able to detect him.
Seeing him approaching me in a flattering manner, I said in a commanding tone, "Go to our village now and see what's going on. Come back before dark. We're going to Lijia Village to steal the drum."
After Chen Hao left, I climbed a large tree, covered myself with leaves, and slept there.
In the evening, Chen Hao returned. The village was deserted. He found a wooden sign in my yard.
The wooden plaque was exquisite, with the character "Zhang" on it. Neither Grandpa nor my parents had it.
I put it away, planning to ask Uncle Fu sometime. The Zhang family must have kept it for some reason.
At dusk, I jumped down from the tree and headed towards Lijia Village with Chen Hao.
Lijia Village was different from my village. Everyone in the village had the surname Li, forming a large family. There were many people like Uncle Li who lived off the land, making paper figurines, making coffins, and carrying them.
I used to think it was just a village custom, but now I don't. They were all well-versed in esoteric numerology and weren't to be trifled with.
But tonight, Lijia Village was quiet. It was pitch black, not even the dogs barked. Chen Hao and I lay on the ground at the entrance of the village, feeling a little strange, but we didn't go in.
As the moon crested over the hill, I grew anxious and wanted Chen Hao to go investigate. I definitely wouldn't go. Uncle Li and the men in black were out to catch me, and I'd walk right into their trap, endangering Grandpa and my parents.
But while Chen Hao was a ghost, he was a small one, dawdling and refusing to leave. Seeing that my elder brother's words were no longer effective, I was about to threaten him with the female corpse when a dark figure appeared on the village path, bounding out of the village.
I shuddered as I saw it clearly. Wasn't that Liu Degui, the resurrected corpse? Why had he ended up in Lijia Village?
Before I could think, the village erupted in an uproar. People from Lijia Village rushed out of their homes, torches in hand. Seeing this, Liu Degui leaped even faster. As he fled, everyone chased after him, and soon they were out of the village.
This was a godsend! I was eager to take action, having just spotted Uncle Li in the crowd. But just as I was about to stand, I felt something was amiss. Was this too much of a coincidence?
I didn't move, waiting for a few minutes. Three people huddled out of a roadside mill. The moonlight revealed them to be teenagers, about fifteen or sixteen years old. The leader was a pretty girl with pigtails.
Two young men followed her, calling her Senior Sister. One of them flattered her, saying, "Senior Sister Liu Rou is truly brilliant. She's using Liu Degui to lure the villagers away, making it easy for us to capture the Corpse Suppression Drum. Once we gather all eight Corpse Suppression Drums, Master and Uncle can set up the Dragon Gate Drum Formation, and no matter how powerful the corpse clan of Shi'ao Mountain is, they won't be able to resist."
Dragon Gate Drum Formation? What the hell is that? I don't know, but it sounds powerful. And they already have seven Corpse Suppression Drums. If they get Uncle Li's, they'll attack Shi'ao Mountain.
No matter who it is, these drums must not fall into their hands. And they're probably going after Shi'ao Mountain now to capture me, for that secret that even I don't know.