In the lunar calendar's fourth month on the twenty-third day, at 1:22 AM, Gu Yunqing and Ye Miaozhu arrived at the arch bridge downstream and quietly waited for Ning Zhe and Feng Yushu.
Leaning on the stone railing, Ye Miaozhu propped one hand on Gu Yunqing's shoulder and looked down at his phone screen. The call log was brief—only two minutes—and although the number belonged to Feng Yushu, it was Ning Zhe who spoke.
Ning Zhe delivered three pieces of information in concise terms:
Xie Sining is dead; her body is floating in the river, cause of death unknown.
Something—whether human or not—has taken Xie Sining's identity and is following Zhang Yangxu, motive unknown.
That entity used Xie Sining's phone to call Feng Yushu.
Ning Zhe reasoned that this "thing" called Feng Yushu with hidden intent, and by coincidence they discovered the real Xie Sining's corpse by the riverbank—thwarting the impostor's plan. If its purpose had succeeded, something terrible might have occurred.
"That's too much of a coincidence," Ye Miaozhu whispered, pressing her lips to Gu Yunqing's ear.
His ear twitched. In a low, husky voice he asked, "How so?"
"According to Ning Zhe, the impostor phoned Feng Yushu just as they spotted Xie Sining's body in the river," Ye Miaozhu murmured. "Don't you find that improbably coincidental?"
"It is," Gu Yunqing nodded, tilting his head to indicate a collapsed section on the bridge deck. "This hole gave way just as Ning Zhe was crossing—he almost fell to his death here."
Ye Miaozhu nodded. "Feng Yushu said his misfortune was due to unwittingly breaking a taboo."
"But I don't think it was mere bad luck," Gu Yunqing said. "Imagine if the deck hadn't collapsed. Ning Zhe and Feng Yushu would have crossed normally, and on their way back to the ancestral hall, Feng Yushu would have received the impostor's call—would they still have found the body in the river?"
"…Unlikely."
"Exactly." Gu Yunqing exhaled softly. "If the bridge stayed intact, Ning Zhe probably wouldn't have discovered Xie Sining's corpse, nor learned of her death or the impersonation…"
His tone grew darker. "Ning Zhe's misstep wasn't misfortune from taboo-breaking but a warning from above of impending danger."
"But there is no heaven in He Family Village," Ye Miaozhu said, her gaze grave. "There's only the Snake God."
"Yes—only the Snake God. So maybe it helped him. But why would the Snake God aid him?" Gu Yunqing turned off his phone and slid it into his pocket. "Feng Yushu said Ning Zhe unwittingly violated a taboo. Did she tell you which one—travel rites, burial rites, funeral processions, or sacrificial ceremonies?"
They didn't know.
"This village is strange, and its people are stranger still," Ye Miaozhu said softly.
"And if we want to leave alive, we must stay alert at all times," Gu Yunqing agreed.
They waited on the bridge until two figures appeared on the distant road—Ning Zhe and Feng Yushu at last.
"You're really late," Gu Yunqing greeted Ning Zhe with a smile.
"Couldn't help it—I broke a taboo today, so I couldn't rush," Ning Zhe said miserably, pulling a wry face. "I don't even know which taboo I broke, yet I was so unlucky I nearly fell to my death crossing a bridge."
"You don't know which taboo?" Ye Miaozhu's concern deepened. "Then we must be careful too. Also…are you sure pulling Xie Sining's body from the water won't break a taboo?"
Burial rites or funeral processions—all involved the dead.
"That could be, but we must retrieve her anyway," Ning Zhe said quietly.
Ye Miaozhu fell silent. Indeed, uncovering the mystery shrouding He Family Village required this crucial clue—however dangerous, it was better than wandering blindly.
"Let's go. The current here is slow, but after so long her body must have drifted far downstream."
With that, Ning Zhe led the way off the bridge and hurried along the riverbank, the others following closely.
As Ning Zhe said, this river through He Family Village flowed so gently that the willow leaves drifting on its surface moved like green stickers on clear glass. The four ran downstream, eyes fixed on the water, catching the moon's white reflection and the riverbed's rounded pebbles.
"Found her."
After a long stretch, Ning Zhe spotted Xie Sining's pale, wet corpse washed up on a smooth stone slope where the village women did laundry. They rushed forward without a word. Gu Yunqing and Ye Miaozhu lifted the body and unbuttoned her clothes to examine her.
"She's been in the water long enough that her body has cooled completely—can't estimate time of death."
"No open wounds or bruises—no signs of blunt force trauma; external injury seems ruled out."
"No internal bleeding—unlikely she died from internal injuries."
"No water in her lungs—she wasn't drowned; she was dumped into the river after death."
"No signs of poisoning so far, but without proper instruments we can't be certain."
The more they examined, the deeper their confusion grew.
"There's no trauma, no drowning, no clear poisoning—inside or out, there's no cause of death," Ye Miaozhu said gravely, biting her lip. "It's like…an abrupt, unheralded collapse, or immediate brain death."
Gu Yunqing placed his hands on Xie Sining's shoulders and looked first at the pensive Ning Zhe, then at the moonlit river reflecting his own troubled face.
"What happened? How did Xie Sining actually die…?"
Gu Yunqing clenched his teeth. Despite his efforts to ignore the eerie supernatural possibilities, He Family Village defied all rational explanation.
"How did she die?" Ning Zhe folded his arms. He understood that this question hid a crucial secret—one that might determine whether he would survive here.
As they all plunged into thought, a splash shattered the moonlit silence.
A warm, fresh corpse slipped off the stone slope and fell headfirst into the flowing river, sending up a pale spray.
Gu Yunqing is dead.
"…What a joke?" Ning Zhe froze.
Was it the impostor who replaced Xie Sining? If so, how did it kill Gu Yunqing?
Chapters in advance there: patreon.com/Thaniel_a_goodchild
Reference Glossary:
Lunar calendar: Traditional Chinese calendar used for festivals and rituals.
Taboo (忌): Forbidden actions in folk belief thought to incur misfortune if violated.
He Family Village (何家村): Fictional village setting with peculiar customs and supernatural elements.
Snake God (蛇神): Local deity worshipped in some Chinese folk religions, often associated with water and protection.