Corpse Driving at Night

Shoushan Town is famous for its mountain artisans!

This is because Shoushan boasts many unique stones. With a little carving and stacking, they can be made into rock gardens, which are highly favored by wealthy and noble families.

It is said that those with particularly outstanding peaks not only receive noble titles but are sometimes even bestowed with golden sashes.

As a result, many poor families from the surrounding villages send their children here to become apprentices, risking their lives for a meager living.

If they catch the master's eye and are taught the craft, they might just become like a firecracker soaring into the sky – skyrocketing to success.

Even villages on the other side of the mountain often send their children here upon hearing the news.

Unfortunately, "when the apprentice learns the trade, the master starves."

The art of carving and stacking has always been closely guarded by the master craftsmen.

The apprentices who come to learn either collect stones on the mountain or do trivial chores.

At times, there's even the risk of death.

Just a few days ago, two apprentices died in front of Boyan Stone Records.

It's said that while collecting stones on the mountain, one lost his footing and instinctively pulled his companion down with him, and they both fell down a slope to their deaths.

The lives of children in the mountains are as cheap as grass. Boyan Stone Records, as usual, compensated them with some silver, and the matter was settled.

However, transporting the bodies became a major problem.

These two apprentices were from villages on the other side of the mountain. If they took the official road, it would take seven to eight full days.

Not to mention the exorbitant prices charged by carriage companies, even if they paid the silver, by the time the bodies reached the other side in the scorching heat of July, they would likely have already maggots and started to stink.

But if they took the mountain path, not only was the terrain rugged and difficult to traverse, but who would dare carry a corpse?

Heh!

Don't tell me, where there's demand, there's a market.

In this world, there are indeed people who make a living from this unique profession.

They are known as: corpse drivers.

"Daoist priest, do you think this is strange or not? Not only do they not carry the corpses, but they make the corpses line up and walk back by themselves!"

"I just saw it. It was truly a long, wobbly line, hopping along as they left the Yi Zhuang and headed into the mountains!"

The farmer, carrying a hoe, boasted with spittle flying, his expression a mixture of excitement and a hint of hidden fear.

Mo Chuan felt a stir of interest upon hearing this.

If he wasn't mistaken, this was likely some kind of corpse-driving technique!

If he could learn this, it would at least be a skill to establish himself in the world.

"Excuse me, old brother, in which direction did the corpse driver go?" Mo Chuan quickly asked.

"Daoist priest, are you going to chase after that corpse driver?" The old man's voice trembled all over.

"Haha, look at your wooden head. The Daoist priest is trying to avoid that corpse driver. Who wants to get close to those unlucky things?"

A man in green clothes next to him laughed heartily, "Daoist priest, I saw it clearly. They went towards the small path by Shuiqiao Stream in Shoushan."

Mo Chuan cupped his hands in thanks, "Thank you, elder brother, for the guidance!"

Then, he looked at the tea stall owner, "Old man, how much for the tea?"

The stall owner waved his hand, "Daoist priest, you're too kind. Half a bowl of strong tea, no charge!"

Mo Chuan didn't stand on ceremony. He reached into his robes, felt around, and took out a Ghost Subduing Talisman, handing it over.

"Old man, please keep this. Wear it daily, and minor spirits won't dare come near."

"Good, good, good."

The stall owner quickly wiped his hands on his clothes before reaching out to take it.

"Apologies for the intrusion, I bid farewell."

Mo Chuan cupped his hands and strode away.

"How peculiar. It's the first time I've seen a Daoist priest traveling at night."

Watching Mo Chuan's retreating back, the man in green shook his head, and his expression suddenly changed, "Huh? Why is the Daoist priest heading towards Shuiqiao Stream?"

"Daoist priest, that's the direction of Shuiqiao Stream. Don't go, don't go—"

The stall owner looked in the direction the man pointed and, as expected, quickly shouted.

In the dim twilight, the Daoist priest raised his hand, signaling that he had heard, and then plunged headfirst into the vast night.

The night was empty and shrouded in miasma.

The mountain path, which had a bit of human presence during the day, had turned into a winding, desolate grave by night.

The unique Shoushan stones, marveled at by the world, were casually piled by the roadside, resembling solitary graves and mounds.

In the howling mountain wind, they seemed to puff clouds and whisper secrets, as if picking and choosing.

"Jingle jingle..."

Suddenly, a sharp bell sound drifted faintly from the deep mountains and old forests, making hearts tighten.

A moment later, the thick fog shattered.

A person wearing a conical hat and a Daoist robe, shaking a Soul鎮魂 Bell in their left hand and holding a small gong stick in their right, beat the Yin Calling Gong at their waist, accompanied by the ringing of the bell.

"Clang! Clang!"

"The dead travel, the living avoid; if you don't avoid, you're responsible for the consequences..."

Under the dim night, a strange procession followed the gong-beating Daoist priest, moving slowly along the winding mountain path.

The group stretched out their arms, connected to each other in a line, moving in unison, hopping along. The scene was eerily strange and terrifying.

These people were none other than the corpse drivers the idle chatter at the tea stall had been discussing.

"Lead corpse driver, switch?"

A tentative greeting came from the hopping corpse group.

"We've only walked a few steps! It's still early, don't try to slack off!"

The lead corpse driver, guiding them, turned back and scolded the junior corpse driver hidden within the group of corpses.

"Oh!"

A muffled, unhappy grunt came from the corpse group.

"Clang! Clang!"

Two more gong beats sounded. The lead corpse driver continued to beat the gong as before, staggering along the mountain path.

"Lead corpse driver, stop banging, it's deep mountains and old forests, there shouldn't be anyone around!"

The junior corpse driver's voice came again.

"Heh heh, deep mountains and old forests, of course, there's no one."

An echoing voice replied, and the hopping corpses suddenly stopped.

Because the voice was sharp and piercing, like a charming young woman, or a wronged ghost, hiding in the shadowy mountains, looking at the mountain path with ill intent.

"Who?"

The junior corpse driver's voice came from the corpse group.

"Silence!"

The lead corpse driver scolded, quickly grabbed a handful of talismans from his bag and scattered them, chanting as he did:

"Humans are separated by paper, ghosts are separated by mountains;

Evil cannot emerge, nor can it enter."

As the talismans scattered, the forest seemed to fall silent.

The lead corpse driver listened intently for a moment. Seeing no more seductive sounds, he finally relaxed. He held his gong stick, about to strike.

"Heh heh, old Daoist priest, is that all you've got?"

Unexpectedly, the sharp voice came again, faintly accompanied by a ghostly chuckle that made one's heart palpitate.

"Go!"

Hearing this, the lead corpse driver's expression changed. Without another word, he pulled down his hat and, head down, quickened his pace.

The stopped corpse group began hopping again, their movements much more flustered.

"Whoosh!"

Something suddenly flew out of the forest and hit the lead corpse driver with a thud.

The lead corpse driver paused for a moment, then continued to hurry along with his head down.

"Want to leave? Leave behind your toll for passage!"

The sharp voice came again, and several wisps of green phosphorescent fire rose from the forest, trailing around the corpse driver's team.

The lead corpse driver ignored it, his steps never faltering, walking faster and faster.

"Hey! You charlatan, take this saber!"

From the side of the rugged, rocky path, a shout suddenly erupted.

As the lead corpse driver turned his head in shock, he saw a mountain-splitting saber, reflecting the dim moonlight, cleave through the air!

A cold glint flashed.

A very large head flew into the air.

The conical hat followed, soaring upwards!

Under the desolate moonlight, a man covered in a murderous aura stood with his saber, his headless body swaying unsteadily before collapsing to the ground with a thud.

"Master—"

An anxious cry came from the corpse group, and then a figure shot out, rushing towards the lead corpse driver.

"Hahaha, good one!"

Seeing this, the man was overjoyed. He took a step forward, swinging his mountain-splitting saber down again.

"Clang—"

A sharp metallic collision rang out. The charging figure had instinctively drawn a Xiangxi saber, blocking the fatal blow.

"Hey!"

Unexpectedly, this strike sent the man into a frenzy. He grabbed his mountain-splitting saber and hacked again.

This time, the corpse driver intended to block with his saber, but he was powerless to lift it. He could only despairingly offer his neck for the thrust!

Thwack!

The saber entered his neck, and another large head flew off.

The headless corpse of the corpse driver swayed in place before finally collapsing to the ground with a thump.

At this moment, a rustling sound came from the woods.

Pushing aside the vegetation, two figures, one tall and one short, emerged. The darkness concealed their faces, making them indistinguishable.

"Old Biaozi, you were too impulsive. Why didn't you say anything?"

One of the taller figures complained.

"Say what? I told you long ago, these two charlatans pretending to be ghosts doing this kind of work must be as bold as they come. Better to just chop them down quickly!"

Old Biaozi said dismissively, patting his mountain-splitting saber with a sinister and fierce air!

"Alright, alright, let's focus on finding the money!"

As the shorter figure tried to smooth things over, he impatiently began searching the bodies.

"You guys search, I'm going to see how these two charlatans are driving corpses."

As Old Biaozi spoke, he nonchalantly walked up to the line of corpses and poked them with his saber.

To his surprise, with one poke, the corpse collapsed with a rumble, taking the entire row of corpses behind it down with it.

The thump-thump of falling bodies startled the two men who were searching the bodies.

"Peh! What trash. I was wondering how they were driving corpses. Turns out they cut the torsos and strung them up with bamboo poles."

Old Biaozi poked at the corpses with his saber and immediately started cursing.

The two men searching the bodies quickly came closer to get a better look.

Indeed, the driven corpses only had limbs and heads left, with the insides stuffed with straw.

Once dressed, you couldn't tell the difference.

Two long bamboo poles were passed under the armpits of the corpses, stringing them together in a line. The corpse driver only needed to stand in the middle to easily carry the entire row of corpses.

It seemed that the hopping movement was just the natural swaying of empty legs.

"No wonder they travel at night. Turns out it's all a scam. I spit on it!"

"Damn it, we're basically eliminating evils for the people."

The group of bandits cursed as they went, clearly unfazed by the bizarre scene. They were indeed as bold as tigers!

"Find money, find money!"

"Third brother, how much did you find?"

"Just a string of copper coins."

"I only found a few copper pieces."

"Are you hiding something?"

"Damn it, you suspect me?"

Before long, the three bandits started arguing, all because they hadn't found much money.

Keep in mind, they were well-prepared.

According to rumors, this trip for the corpse drivers was worth four taels of silver. But in the end, they got less than a string of copper coins?

How could this not make them suspicious?

Amidst the curses, the three bandits left, unwilling to accept their meager findings.

The mountain wilderness became quiet again.

Only the scattered limbs and corpses remained, who knew which passerby they would frighten?

"Dada-da—"

As soon as the bandits left, footsteps echoed from deep within the mountain path.

Through the swirling mist, a young Daoist priest stepped into the crime scene with a look of uneasy surprise.

"Was this a bandit attack?"

Mo Chuan looked at the messy mountain path, and even with his extensive experience, his expression changed drastically.

What kind of fierce bandits dare to block the road in the middle of the night?

Especially blocking the path of corpse drivers, members of the Yin-Retrieval Sect?

"What a shame! If this old Daoist hadn't drunk that leftover tea, I might have caught up."

Mo Chuan muttered, shaking his head with some regret.

He looked at the corpses scattered all over the ground, wondering if he should bury them.

He wanted to help, but he felt a bit creeped out.

Wouldn't he?

Imagine it: deep in the night, in a desolate wilderness, beside a narrow mountain path, heads and severed limbs rolling everywhere. It was enough to make anyone tremble with fear.

It was fortunate that he had seen so many demons and monsters, and developed a strong heart.

Otherwise, before he obtained the Sacrificial Dao Furnace, this scene would have likely left his mind blank and his heart stopped.

"Sigh!"

Mo Chuan sighed, gritted his teeth, rolled up his sleeves, took out a shovel from the Sacrificial Dao Furnace, and began digging beside the mountain path.

With the Art of Ascending and Copying, digging graves wasn't a difficult task for him.

Unexpectedly, just as he started digging, an aged voice suddenly came from behind him, making his scalp tingle.

"Daoist priest, don't dig!"

He suddenly turned to look, only to see a head that had rolled to the side of the road suddenly open its eyes and look at him with a kind expression.