Chapter 64.1 Deserted Village 06
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All eyes turned to Zhao Yao. She touched her nose hesitantly, her face etched with confusion as she stared at Chonky for a long moment. “Did you mistake me for someone else?”
Chonky growled low in his throat, pacing back and forth until he calmed down. “You’re Xu A’ni. I’d recognize you even if you turned to ashes. Besides, you look just like Xu A’ni.”
“But I’m Zhao Yao,” Zhao Yao pointed to the old professor and Zhao Gang, “They both know me. Zhao Gang and I are from the same village, came to university together, and share the same surname. I’ve been following the professor since I started university. I’m not Xu A’ni. Did you make a mistake?…… Wait, how can a cat even speak?!” Zhao Yao, belatedly realizing this, was utterly shocked. “Are you a cat spirit? But you only have one tail. That doesn’t look right.”
Chonky got infuriated again. “Damn your mother! Damn your mother!” If not for Chen Yang restraining him, he would have probably scratched Zhao Yao to death with his claws. Although he couldn’t scratch Zhao Yao to death, he used his weight to subdue her.
As Zhao Yao collapsed onto the ground, Chonky leaped onto her lap. She shrieked in terror, “My leg! My leg! It’s broken! My bones are shattered! Aaaah!” Enraged, Chonky bounced on her legs, making Zhao Yao’s face turn green. Twenty-five kilograms of weight, she really couldn’t bear it.
Chonky hissed menacingly, “I’m a cat ghost.”
Zhao Yao paused. “Cat ghost? You mean those evil things like the cat voodoos and the furry deities? I’ve studied that folk culture topic, but I don’t know how to practice voodoo, and I’m certainly not Xu A’ni. Seriously.”
The old professor and Zhao Gang confirmed that Zhao Yao was indeed not Xu A’ni. Her records from childhood to adulthood were stored in the school system, readily available for scrutiny. Chonky, still skeptical, looked at Zhao Yao. Chen Yang squatted down and suggested, “Could it be a reincarnation?”
Chonky replied, “Impossible. Xu A’ni drank zombie blood and is now a furry zombie about to cultivate into a flying one.” Its bicolored eyes flickered before adding, “Do you have a peachwood sword? If you’re not Xu A’ni, you won’t fear it. Even if I stab your heart—”
“Hey, wait. A sharpened peachwood sword can kill anyone, not just furry zombies,” Zhao Yao exclaimed, desperately trying to stop Chonky’s crazy idea. She was convinced that Chonky was seeking revenge out of spite. “You can’t blame me just because I look like that Xu A’ni. What if I’m not her? I’ll be wrongly accused.”
Chen Yang picked up Chonky, weighing it in his hands, confirming that Chonky was definitely over ‘24.5’ kilograms. “Chonky, you really need to lose weight, or no one will be able to lift you.” Chonky angrily swished its tail, as if it enjoyed being carried. Chen Yang then turned to Zhao Yao and said, “No need to stab the heart. A peachwood sword can’t harm ordinary people.”
Chief Witch Yi turned to Liu Quanning and said, “Let me borrow your peachwood sword.” Liu Quanning tossed the peachwood sword to her. Chief Witch Yi caught it, turning it around in her hand before lunging towards Zhao Yao’s heart. Startled, Zhao Yao recoiled, the peachwood sword coming to rest harmlessly on her shoulder.
Chief Witch Yi put away the peachwood sword. “Not a zombie.”
Chonky, still suspicious, stared at Zhao Yao. “You look exactly like Xu A’ni. Even if you’re not a zombie, you might be her reincarnation.”
Zhao Yao earnestly pleaded, “Chonky, you can’t target me just because I look like Xu A’ni. Clearly, she’s a zombie, and I’m just a regular person. Insisting that I’m her reincarnation—aren’t you just making baseless claims?”
Du Shuo lifted Chonky from Chen Yang’s arms and tossed it away. Chonky landed gracefully, its generous belly jiggling as it settled. Du Shuo explained, “Humans have three souls and seven spirits. When the main soul leaves the body and reincarnates, the remaining two souls and seven spirits return to heaven and earth. Zombies, however, have resentment trapped in their throats, preventing them from truly living or dying. After cultivating into a furry zombie, the two souls and seven spirits responsible for emotions and consciousness gradually regain order, allowing them to become independent entities.”
Xu A’ni had once died, but through secret arts and zombie blood, she transformed herself into a zombie. She roamed the mortal realm for centuries, cultivating into a furry zombie. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, she was responsible for the ‘cat voodoo’ catastrophe, leaving a trail of countless innocent lives in her wake. She should have been taken to Fengdu for trial and cast into the depths of hell. However, Xu A’ni excelled at concealing her whereabouts, being neither alive nor dead and unafraid of sunlight, appearing as a living being.
Hence, capturing Xu A’ni proved challenging.
Zhao Yao: “I’m the reincarnation of Xu A’ni? Xu A’ni? The mastermind behind the ‘cat voodoo’ catastrophe? The servant of Dugu Tuo, the younger brother of Empress Dugu of the Sui Dynasty? Because she was the main perpetrator of the ‘cat voodoo’ disaster, she paradoxically gained a full name in history despite being a woman and a lowly servant.” She wore an intrigued expression, not at all disgusted by the revelation. “According to your Daoist beliefs, the main soul undergoes reincarnation, while the remaining two souls and seven spirits are responsible for the seven emotions, six desires, consciousness, and wisdom. Xu A’ni’s two souls and seven spirits remain as Xu A’ni, while mine are Zhao Yao’s. Therefore, I am Zhao Yao, not Xu A’ni. Even if I am her reincarnation, we are distinct and independent individuals.”
The old professor nodded in agreement. “Two distinct personalities prove they are different individuals. The murderer and wrongdoer is the zombie Xu A’ni, not my student Zhao Yao.”
Zhao Yao joyfully high-fived the old professor. “Great minds think alike.”
Chen Yang also believed that Zhao Yao and Xu Ani were two completely different individuals. However, Chonky remained convinced that Xu A’ni was up to no good. Just as Chonky was about to pick up a deck of cards, Chen Yang commented, “If you can speak, just speak. Why bother writing on cards?”
Chonky remained motionless for a long while before finally climbing on the windowsill and addressing the moon, “You don’t know how cunning Xu A’ni is. She’s a born deceiver! She’ll never tell the truth, always deceiving and manipulating people. She’ll lie with such sincerity that you’ll believe every word she says.”
Due to anger, Chonky’s entire fat body jiggled in a “duangduang” rhythm. The layered mountain of flesh appeared comical. If the window wasn’t two meters above the ground, many would probably want to reach out and touch it. While others contemplated how to sink their hands into the meat mountain, Chonky, immersed in the anger of past deception, continued, “She raised many old cats, keeping them by her side from birth. Just before their deaths, she cruelly killed them, refining them into cat ghosts to bring her wealth and commit murders. She deceived everyone, including the old cats. The killed cats held lingering resentment, but with a few words, she manipulated them into serving her willingly.”
Filled with righteous anger, the meat mountain ‘duangduang’ once again. “Refining cat ghosts. The older the cat, the more spiritual it becomes. The more tragic its death, the heavier the resentment, and the more sinister it becomes. Cat ghosts created from this process possess even greater power. That year, her actions led to the loss of countless lives, yet she somehow managed to portray herself as an innocent pawn in a larger game. Fortunately, the Court of Great Yin is just and fair, documenting everyone’s sins during their lifetime. Even if the lies are perfect, they cannot escape the eyes of karma. Xu A’ni’s sins are unforgivable, and she must descend into the depths of hell to atone for them.”
Chen Yang: “How did Xu A’ni become a zombie and roam the mortal realm for centuries?”
“……” After a long silence, the despondent meat mountain spoke, “Because I shouldered all her sins. In the end, she was deemed innocent while I bore the weight of deep-seated guilt. I died a natural death, and after I passed, she asked if I would be willing to be refined into a cat ghost, forever by her side. She had so many cats, and I was the only one who had died peacefully of old age. Naturally, I felt special. She never bothered to ask the other cats before refining them into cat ghosts, but she asked me. And then she said something that made me lose my head, and I impulsively agreed to shoulder her burden of sins.”
Curious, Chen Yang asked, “What did she say?”
Chonky let out a long, sorrowful sigh. “She said I was her precious darling.”
Pfft. Chen Yang and the others couldn’t contain their laughter, their faces contorting into fits of amusement. The high-pitched voice of Chief Witch Yi’s voodoo doll cackled. “Hahaha, a twenty-five-kilogram precious darling!”
Enraged, Chonky turned and pulled out the voodoo doll. A cat and a doll engaged in a wild fight on the ground, eventually separated by Chief Witch Yi and Chen Yang playing the role of parents. Wawa lost a leg and a hand, its mouth filled with cat fur, looking quite satisfied. Chonky chewed up the doll’s limbs, its head evolving from a bald spot to complete baldness.
Bald Chonky spat out the chewed remains of the voodoo doll, snorting from its nostrils and mocking the doll in a triumphant pose. Zhao Yao suddenly reached out to pat Chonky’s completely bald head, joking, “Xu A’ni deceived you, but I won’t. How about becoming my precious darling instead?”
Chonky froze, then angrily swatted Zhao Yao with its tail. With indignation, it tossed a playing card and ran off. Zhao Yao picked up the card, reading, “You wish!” and then laughed, “Is Chonky feeling shy?”
Chen Yang said, “Possibly.” Smiling, he leaned back against Du Shuo. Du Shuo lowered his gaze to Chen Yang in his arms, a hint of amusement flickering in his eyes. He said, “Chief Witch Yi, lend me the peachwood sword.”
Chief Witch Yi handed him the peachwood sword. Du Shuo took it and casually threw it backward without looking. Someone behind reacted swiftly, darting towards the door. However, the peachwood sword thrown by Du Shuo seemed to have eyes, firmly locking onto the escaping person’s shoulder.
Zhao Yao looked over. “Zhao Gang?!”
The fleeing person was indeed Zhao Gang. The peachwood sword pierced through his shoulder and collarbone, firmly pinning him to the wall. Black blood, unlike that of a normal human, flowed from Zhao Gang’s wound. The peachwood sword exposed his true form: pale-faced with blue lips and two sharp teeth that almost pierced his lower lip.
Zhao Gang attempted to pull the peachwood sword out, but his hand was immediately corroded upon contact. Lowering his head, he discovered the peachwood sword now bore the Great Emperor of Fengdu’s seal. Zhao Gang asked Du Shuo, “When did you recognize me?”
The old professor and Zhao Yao exchanged puzzled looks, both turning their gaze to Du Shuo. They had no idea there was anything wrong with Zhao Gang. He had seemed perfectly normal up until this point. He wasn’t afraid of sunlight and didn’t drink blood. He was completely human.
Du Shuo glanced sideways at Zhao Gang and said, “I’ve seen you before, Xu A’ni.” A millennium ago, Xu A’ni had caused two cat voodoo catastrophe, increasing the workload for the Court of Great Yin. At that time, Du Shuo had encountered Xu A’ni once in the spirit realm. Later, Chonky took responsibility for Xu A’ni’s sins, causing a delay in the judgment. Xu A’ni seized the opportunity to escape Fengdu, resulting in this unresolved case.
Before encountering Chen Yang, Du Shuo was a recluse and a Buddhist. Even when Xu A’ni and Chonky escaped to the mortal realm, he didn’t personally go to capture them. Now that he had seen them, he was going to settle the score once and for all.
Everyone present was quite surprised. Chen Yang looked at ‘Xu A’ni’ and turned to Du Shuo, asking, “Didn’t you say Xu A’ni was a maid?”
The old professor assessed Zhao Gang, and upon opening his collar, he discovered the absence of an Adam’s apple. “It’s a girl.” He locked eyes with Xu A’ni. “Where is Zhao Gang?” Both Zhao Gang and Zhao Yao had been his students for two years, and he was certain Zhao Gang wasn’t someone with malicious intent. The only possibility was that Xu A’ni had disguised herself as Zhao Gang to infiltrate the deserted village with them.
Xu A’ni smiled. “Dead. I skinned him and dressed up in his appearance.”
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