Salvaging Corpses

Before long, we walked towards the small wooden house. Martial Uncle was sitting there, smoking his pipe, the old tobacco pipe glowing on and off.

The firelight burning on the ground cast a glow on his face, making his entire face look red.

He just stared blankly at the fire, lost in thought.

Occasionally, he would look up at us. Especially when looking at Nangong Yiyi, Martial Uncle's eyes showed indecision.

I walked over and sat down next to Martial Uncle. "Martial Uncle, what are your plans now? When are we going to get Qianqian's corpse back?"

"Find out where her corpse is, and you can go get it back tomorrow."

I was a bit at a loss, so I asked Martial Uncle if I was going alone.

Martial Uncle said, "What's wrong? Weren't you eager to go before? Are you scared now?"

I said, "No, it's just that you won't be by my side, and I feel a little uneasy."

After hearing what I said, Martial Uncle sighed. "Sigh! You need to learn to rely on yourself in the future. No one will protect you forever; protecting yourself is the most reliable thing. How about this: tomorrow, you'll go with Qianqian to find her corpse and bury it. I have something else to do, so I won't go with you. This time, you'll have to rely on yourself."

I asked Martial Uncle what he had to do.

Martial Uncle said he wanted to find a place to settle these things outside, otherwise, they would cause trouble sooner or later. He then added that it would be fine to leave for a few days, but if he left for a long time, the area within a hundred-kilometer radius would suffer, so he was worried. This time, he needed to find a friend and see if he could help settle these things. Only then could Martial Uncle set his mind at ease and do his own business, which was why he couldn't go with me.

At this moment, Nangong Yiyi said, "Little brother, I'll go with you. If anything happens, I can take care of it." Before she could finish, Martial Uncle refused.

Martial Uncle said to Nangong Yiyi, "You can't go with him either. This time, he needs to handle it himself. Otherwise, he'll never be able to grow up." Nangong Yiyi thought for a moment and then nodded. She then comforted me, telling me to be careful and not act rashly, and I nodded in agreement.

I then thought of the things in my bag and said to Nangong Yiyi, "Sister, since you're home, could you help me take out the things in my bag to air them out in the sun? These things have been in my bag since I left. I don't even know if they've gotten moldy. Although I don't know what most of them are for, I'd still be sad if they were lost or ruined."

Nangong Yiyi smiled and said to me, "Okay, don't worry, leave this small matter to me." I nodded in thanks.

Then I asked Qianqian if she could still remember where her corpse was.

Qianqian said she could remember, it was near the university in town, not too far. Hearing this, I breathed a sigh of relief. If Qianqian couldn't remember, or if it was too far away, it would have been a troublesome matter. Then I said to Qianqian, "Alright, then get a good rest tonight. We'll set off as soon as it's dawn tomorrow."

Qianqian looked at me gratefully and said, "Thank you." I replied, "We're like family, no need for that."

At this time, Martial Uncle asked Qianqian, "How long can you stay in direct sunlight now?"

Qianqian said that if it was direct sunlight, it would be about five or six minutes. If it was in the shade during the day, it would be about ten minutes.

Martial Uncle frowned, said nothing, then got up and rummaged through some items in the back. After a while, he seemed to have found something and handed it to me. I took a look. It was a small wooden token, intricately carved and shiny. Holding the small wooden token, I looked at it and asked Martial Uncle what it was.

Martial Uncle said it was a 'Ghost Token'. As long as a ghost was inside it, it wouldn't be burned by sunlight. It was much more effective than ordinary porcelain bottles, and he told me to wear it. I nodded. I saw that the small wooden pai had a hole, so I rummaged in my bag and found a string. I threaded the string through the hole, tied a knot, and put it around my neck. After doing all this, I said to Qianqian, "Qianqian, come in and take a look."

Qianqian smiled and turned into a wisp of white smoke, entering the wooden token. After a while, Qianqian came out again. I asked Qianqian, "How is it?"

Qianqian said the token was well-made and would protect her from sunlight inside.

Hearing that, I also felt relieved.

Martial Uncle and Nangong Yiyi chatted idly.

I found it boring, something about ghost cultivation or the like.

I couldn't understand it either, so I drifted off to sleep.

The next day, I woke up as the sky was just beginning to lighten.

I prepared some breakfast and called Martial Uncle to eat. While we ate, he cautioned me to be careful with everything.

I replied, "Okay," and then went to get ready.

I took some talismans, water, and dry rations, and then set off.

Before I left the house, Nangong Yiyi told me to be careful. I nodded and went out.

Because the entire village had disappeared here, there were very few people and very few vehicles now.

With no other options, I planned to walk to town. Halfway there, I encountered a tractor pulling fertilizer.

I asked the driver if he could give me a ride, and he agreed. I got on.

The driver was an uncle in his thirties, very talkative.

As soon as I got in, he smiled and asked, "Young man, are you heading into town?"

I lied to the uncle, saying, "Yes, I'm going to buy some things."

The uncle nodded, then put on a frightened expression and said to me:

"Oh dear! There's a village nearby, and I don't know what happened there. They say the entire village vanished.

I used to hear crying sounds when I drove past there late at night, which really scared me.

Ever since then, I haven't driven through there at night.

Even if it means taking a longer route, I wouldn't dare pass by that village entrance. It's too eerie.

Thinking about it now makes the hairs on my back stand up."

Fearing trouble, I said I didn't know what had happened.

I'm from the next town over, just passing through today and wanted to buy some things on the street.

The driver said, "That's good. Come to this place less often in the future, especially at night. Avoid it if you can."

I acknowledged the driver with a "good" and then stared out the window in silence.

I don't know what was going on, but ever since I got in the car, I felt a wave of yin energy lingering in the driver's seat. I couldn't see it, but I could feel it.

When we arrived in town, before I got off, I took advantage of the driver's inattention and slipped an Exorcism Talisman under my seat.

Then I offered the driver ten yuan for the fare. The driver waved his hand, saying it was unnecessary, and sped away.

Once in town, I asked Qianqian where to go next. Qianqian said from inside the wooden token to keep heading north.

Strangely, I could hear Qianqian speaking, but no one around me could.

Once I had my direction, I set off. Qianqian guided me all the way.

We went about seven or eight kilometers away from town, and then Qianqian said the small hill ahead was the place.

I headed towards the small hill. The path wasn't very wide, just a small trail. After about half an hour, I arrived.

The scenery here was truly beautiful. Looking down, there was a small lake.

The lake was covered in small white flowers, whose names I didn't know.

Qianqian said to keep walking towards the lake, and on the opposite side of the lake stood an old pagoda tree.

The well was right beside the roots of the old locust tree. I spotted the old locust tree immediately.

I walked towards it. Under the tree, I saw there was indeed a well.

It was a very old well, overgrown with weeds. I cleared the weeds aside.

After clearing the weeds, I saw a wooden board underneath them.

It was just the right size to cover the well opening.

I flipped the wooden board over and saw that some talismans were stuck to the underside.

I had never seen these kinds of talismans before, and the talisman paper used was black.

Then I leaned over the well and peered inside.

It seemed there was indeed the silhouette of a human body floating in the water, but the well was too deep.

With no other option, I went back to town to buy a bundle of rope and gloves.

They were earth-yellow gloves, waterproof, and I also got a few disposable masks.

I returned and tied the rope to the trunk of the old pagoda tree. Fearing it wouldn't be secure, I used two ropes.

I tied the other end to my waist and slowly lowered myself down the rope.