Chapter 62.1 Deserted Village 04
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There were countless burial customs, with earth burial being the most common and not considered strange. However, in some regions, many strange and eerie burial practices emerged, such as the well-known sky burial and hanging coffin burial. Water burial, on the other hand, was less known and appeared more bloody and violent due to its influence from primitive religions.
Water burial and sky burial shared a similar concept. In the former, the deceased were fed to the fish, while in the latter, the bodies were fed to the eagles. Both eagles and fish were considered incarnations of deities. In regions where water burial was practiced, people believed that casting the body into a river to be consumed by fish was a path to reincarnation and soul purification. This was a customary belief in certain regions.
Water burial practices vary across regions, with two primary methods being most prevalent. One involved tossing the entire body into a river, and the other involved cremating the body before immersing the ashes into the river. A more gruesome method involved cutting the body into pieces, known as dismemberment, and throwing the remains into the river.
When performing a water burial, it was imperative to choose the right time and place. The dismemberment method, especially, required performing the ritual at night and choosing a water area with swirling seashell patterns.
Chen Yang: “Seashell pattern… The well water might be connected to the river. Since we didn’t see the river from the side we entered, it must be on the other side of the deserted village. This village used to practice water burials, and the fish in the river grew up feeding on body parts. Those fish swam into the ancestral hall’s water through underground currents, and the villagers caught and ate them… I still don’t understand why eating the fish would cause spiral patterns to appear.”
Fish that grew up eating corpses were naturally ominous, and the spiral patterns on the arms of Chief Witch Yi and the others must be related to the fish in the ancestral well. But how were the two connected, and what did it have to do with the life-taking starving ghosts and Wu Lingjiu?
“Fish holds a special status in Daoism. The carp leaping through the Dragon Gates becomes a dragon’s offspring. The blackfish, with seven stars atop its head, pays homage to the Big Dipper… Hence, wandering spirits and wild ghosts are known to attach themselves to fish. If those fish in the well indeed grew by consuming human remains, it’s perfectly normal for wandering spirits and wild ghosts to inhabit them.” Du Shuo reached out, grasping Chen Yang’s shoulder, and whispered, “Rest for now. We’ll discuss more tomorrow.”
Chen Yang nodded. “Mm.”
Du Shuo found a cleaner spot and let Chen Yang lean against him. Large hands gently stroked Chen Yang’s back, lulling him into a drowsy state. Before falling asleep, he glanced at the nine ordinary people. They were gathered in a corner, forming two distinct groups. Three youths formed one group, and the other six were the ones who got off the bus.
The group that emerged from the bus harbored animosity towards the three youths. If it weren’t for them not heeding warnings and cooking fish soup, how could they have been trapped in the deserted village? Meanwhile, the three youths met the accusations with scornful sneer, utterly contemptuous of the six individuals’ hypocritical moral posturing.
The four celestial masters had set up a separate area. The injured Celestial Master Zhong being cared for by another celestial master. Chief Master Yi was in hushed conversation with Liu Quanning, while Wawa was drowsing in her pocket. As for Chonky, it was still perched on the windowsill, gazing at the moon, thinking who knows what.
If not for the isolated location of the deserted village, the scene at this moment would be considered tranquil and harmonious. This was Chen Yang’s last thought before he drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Chen Yang was jolted awake by a torrent of voices. Opening his eyes, he saw Du Shuo covering his ears to block out the noise. However, the argument was too loud. Sitting up, he unconsciously rubbed against Du Shuo’s palm and then hoarsely asked, “What’s going on?”
Du Shuo paused for a moment before gently placing his hand back on Chen Yang’s head, stroking his soft hair. “Inside job robbery.”
“Don’t just give me the answer all at once. Telling me the details will ruin the joy of solving the puzzle.”
Du Shuo gazed at Chen Yang silently with lowered eyes, the latter feigning innocence and obedience. Helplessly, Du Shuo explained in detail, “The woman carrying the baby accused the young man of trying to steal her child, but the young man denied it. People from the woman’s group didn’t believe the young man, and joined in condemning him with suspicion. The young man, in his anger, openly admitted that the baby is a burden and suggested taking it outside. This sparked a heated argument between the two sides.”
Understanding the situation, Chen Yang stood up and walked over. Chief Witch Yi and Liu Quanning remained on the sidelines, showing no intention of intervening. Seeing Chen Yang approaching, they even gestured for him to come over. Chief Witch Yi said, “No need to bother. Let them quarrel.”
Liu Quanning informed him, “Chief Witch Yi’s doll said that they,” he pointed towards the quarreling parties, “are stealing from their own people. We can’t be bothered to deal with it. We’re not that idle to act like neighborhood committee aunts.”
“Ah, I have no intention of getting involved,” Chen Yang replied. After hearing Du Shuo’s explanation, he had no desire to intervene. Both parties were likely waiting for the celestial masters to step in. If the celestial masters intervened, the drama would continue. If not, it would soon fizzle out.
Indeed, after a while, they ceased arguing. The three youths wore mocking smiles, and the woman with the baby ran over, crying to Chen Yang and the others. “They want to steal my child, and throw my baby to the starving ghosts. They’re not human!”
“They are clearly aware of the eerie nature of the deserted village. They even witnessed their companion’s death right before their eyes. The celestial masters repeatedly warned warned us never to eat anything in the village, but they insisted on cooking fish soup. Could it be that they had already eaten something from the deserted village before we arrived, so they wanted to drag everyone down with them? These selfish people, if we don’t kick them out now, they’ll secretly kill us later!”
“That’s right! The more I think about it, the more I think something is wrong. It’s such a strange place, and the celestial masters specifically warned us that even if we’re playful or rebellious, we can’t risk our lives. Unless they were already trapped in the village before they met us, so they want to drag everyone down with them.”
“Now they don’t even spare a little baby. Will they spare us in the future? Celestial Masters, even if you are compassionate, you shouldn’t tolerate wolves among us.”
Chen Yang pieced together the motive behind this inside job robbery — last night, their discussion about the fish in the well had planted a seed in the minds of ill-intentioned individuals. He also deduced that the youths who had prepared the fish soup were likely already trapped in the deserted village and were now plotting to drag everyone else down with them.
Upon hearing this, the three youths shouted in protest. “You make it sound as if we forced you to drink the fish soup! You!” Pointing at the middle-aged man among the six, one young man continued, “You came over willingly, offering money to buy fish soup from me. Now you’re acting like you’re so innocent. Did I hold a gun to your heads and force you to drink the fish soup we cooked? Get it straight, you’re the ones who shamelessly came to me and asked for fish soup to drink!”
“What? If you had listened to the celestial masters and refrained from disturbing the fish in the well at the ancestral hall, would we have even touched your fish soup? We were starving, and you deliberately tempted us with it. You were trying to drag us down with you! Celestial Masters, these traitors will be our undoing! They’re not worth saving!”
The three youths anxiously stepped forward to explain, “Don’t listen to their nonsense. Although at that time we were indeed doing it just for fun, we didn’t force them. They came to us willingly. Look, this was the money they used to buy the fish soup.” One of the youths pulled out several red bills from his pocket, presenting them as evidence to Chen Yang and the others. Then, he tossed them back to the middle-aged man, saying, “There you go, we owe you nothing now. Stop spouting nonsense!
“Who wants to steal your baby? I haven’t even touched him. Look at your baby yourself. He only cries when you’re not holding him. The moment you put him down, he screams like someone’s strangling him. If I had taken him, he would have started crying and screaming right away. Tell me, have you ever heard this child cry?”
Passing the buck to each other, Chen Yang thought.
The six people who came off the bus suspected that the three youths deliberately intended to drag them down, so they wanted to get rid of them early as a precaution. The three youths, on the other hand, exposed their scam and tried to shift the blame. Another round of heated arguments ensued.
Chief Witch Yi, with a fiery temper, smashed a chair on the spot and coldly said, “Had enough of the noise? If not, get out. Attract all the starving ghosts over. Argue in front of them.”
Both sides, still resentful, attempted to justify themselves. It seemed that paying for their lives gave them the confidence to speak. Someone said, “Celestial Master Yi, even straving ghosts will turn into filthy water under the broad daylight. We just want to settle the matter during the day so that we don’t have to see ghosts at night and guard against traitors during the day.”
Chief Witch Yi said, “Since we’re settling scores, let’s settle them all together. We told you not to eat anything in the deserted village. You claimed it was for fun, and you said you were tempted. What about us? Who deliberately mixed fish soup into the water kettle? It was them.” She pointed at the three youths, then turned to the other six who were acting as if the matter didn’t concern them. “Did any of you not see them doing it? If you saw, why didn’t you stop them or warn us? Because if something happens, at least there’s a celestial master around, right?”
The nine individuals, their faces flushed with shame, stood silent, unable to offer any defense. Selfishness had clouded their judgment, but they also claimed they had no choice, for no one wanted to die.
Chief Witch Yi continued, “Try any more tricks, and all of you will be kicked out!”
The nine individuals wanted to say something more, but seeing the celestial masters with cold, displeased expressions, the few who still hoped to survive by sticking close to the celestial masters dared not speak again. Both sides exchanged resentful glares before finding places to sit and rest.
Chief Witch Yi: “They’re becoming increasingly reckless. While they were initially hesitant to make any bold moves, they’re now constantly engaging in petty acts of defiance.”
Chen Yang: “After realizing that they couldn’t leave the deserted village, they selfishly concealed eating food from the village. If they found out they would die in the deserted village, while the celestial masters could leave, it might stimulate them to do even more dreadful things.”
The suggestion last night to pay for their lives was meant to calm these people down, preventing them from becoming burdens. However, today, they created such trouble, ostracizing their fellow human companions, instead of thinking about dealing with the starving ghosts and leaving the deserted village.
Chen Yang said to Chief Witch Yi, “We’re going to check the situation in the ancestral hall.”
Chief Witch Yi nodded. “Be careful of the turrets. Starving ghosts fear sunlight, so they reside inside the turrets overgrown with greenery.”
Chen Yang paused. “All the starving ghosts are hiding in the turrets? How about we clear away all the greenery, let the sunlight burn them to death.”
“No use. We tried, but the greenery stubbornly embeds itself in the walls of the turrets. Even if we spend an entire day, we might not be able to clear the greenery in just one turret. The turrets are specially constructed, so even removing the greenery around the windows and doors wouldn’t be of much help. Instead, it would provoke the starving ghosts, making them remember our scent and hunt us down far and wide. Right now, we’re hiding in this turret without greenery because the ample sunlight temporarily masks human presence. But it won’t last long.”
“Understand.” Chen Yang and Du Shuo followed the narrow path back to the ancestral hall. The ancestral hall remained eerie, with rows of memorial tablets standing silently in the center of the hall, as if casting a watchful eye over every intruder.
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