Back at the Door, One Hook Settles It

Did I have a choice? No.

I needed to get to the bottom of it.

I understood my problem now. At its root, it lay in my Eight Characters.

My Eight Characters were too light. I carried the Four Misfortune Calamities and had been born with a frail fate.

The older I got, the greater the Four Misfortunes became.

Misfortune had overwhelmed my fate, which was why ghosts had latched onto me.

As someone who was going to die.

If I wanted to live, I could only learn to seek blessings for myself.

Corpse Head Song's method was also my best option at the moment.

But for the next five years, I would have to work for him.

Still, that was better than dying...

After thinking it over, I fell silent for a moment.

Then I spoke to Corpse Head Song.

"Master Song, as long as you save my life.

I'm willing to take you as my master and work for you for five years."

After saying that, I prepared to kneel and perform the formal rites of apprenticeship before Corpse Head Song.

But Corpse Head Song suddenly said,

"Wait!"

I froze. Wasn't he asking me to become his apprentice?

I was about to take him as my master, so why was he stopping me?

Corpse Head Song stroked his little mustache.

"Our line of work.

We eat from the dead and make money off the dead.

We spend all year among corpses and in the company of ghosts.

It may be an unconventional trade, but we can't be this careless when a newcomer joins.

Since you've chosen to take me as your master, you must do so before the Grandmaster.

And as your master, I ought to show you what I can do.

Wait. Let the thing haunting you come to the door first."

With that, he picked up his fishing rod and cast the line.

I stood behind him without saying anything for a while.

My feelings were complicated.

Because I had never imagined becoming a Corpse Collector.

And I had never imagined

that my Eight Characters would be so light—that my life would be short and my fate frail, burdened with the Four Misfortune Calamities.

Or that Xiao Yu had silently done so much for me over the past year or so.

And what had happened to her now? What was it that had left her unable to protect herself?

And whether my roommate Zhang Qiang and the Dissection Teacher had truly died normal deaths.

My mind was a mess. Too many questions tangled together, and I couldn't find any answers.

So I stood behind Corpse Head Song.

Quietly watching him fish.

Neither of us spoke. The only sounds were his occasional casts and the whooshing of the fishing line.

Before I knew it, it was already past eleven at night.

There was no one else by the pier besides Corpse Head Song and me.

The riverbank was bone-chilling at night.

Whenever a gust of river wind blew by, it made me shiver from the cold.

Although Corpse Head Song had his back to me, he noticed me trembling.

He said,

"The riverbank has heavy yin energy, and your yang energy is weak.

Put this on first. Don't catch a cold."

As he spoke, Corpse Head Song casually tossed a coat over to me.

He didn't even look at me. Instead, he replaced the hook on one of his fishing rods with an enormous one.

Anyone who didn't know better would have thought he was fishing for sharks.

I really was freezing, so I took the coat and said to Corpse Head Song,

"Thank you!"

Then I put it on and felt a little warmer.

But right then, a faint fishy smell drifted in on the river wind.

The scent was faint, but it kept growing stronger.

The moment I smelled it, my heart skipped a beat.

It was exactly the same smell that had clung to Zhang Qiang.

I hurriedly scanned the area. Everything around us was pitch-black, without a single figure in sight.

But I still spoke to Corpse Head Song, who was fishing.

"Master Song, I think... I think the thing haunting me is here..."

Nervously, I looked around.

Master Song did not move at all. Instead, he said casually,

"Good. I've been waiting all night."

The fishy stench grew stronger and stronger, making me want to vomit.

Suddenly, a faint voice sounded from behind me.

"Jiang Ning, it's time to come with me..."

The voice made my scalp tingle, and my whole body stiffened.

I slowly turned my head.

Zhang Qiang—the Drowned Ghost—had appeared five meters behind me at some point.

His face was deathly pale, and his swollen body stood there.

Water dripped continuously from him with a patter, patter, patter...

But at that moment, Corpse Head Song, standing before me, suddenly gave a cold snort.

He gripped the fishing rod in his hand and, with a whoosh, cast it behind me.

The enormous hook shot out at once, drawing an arc through the air before hooking straight into Zhang Qiang's mouth.

Before Zhang Qiang, the Drowned Ghost, could react, Corpse Head Song yanked the rod forward and gave it another swing.

Zhang Qiang, caught on the hook, was flung through the air.

With a crash, he was thrown into the river.

Zhang Qiang struggled violently in the water, letting out muffled growls and loud splashing sounds.

It looked as though he had caught a huge fish that weighed over a hundred pounds.

Even the fishing rod bent under the strain.

But Corpse Head Song merely crooked his mouth and began playing the Drowned Ghost like he was reeling in a fish.

I stood on the shore, completely dumbfounded.

You could fish like this?

Only now did I realize

that even a vicious ghost like Zhang Qiang could be dealt with so easily.

And Corpse Head Song hadn't changed to that enormous hook earlier to catch a shark.

He had done it to catch a ghost...

I stared in shock as the Drowned Ghost that had haunted me for days and nearly killed Uncle Yu and me was played like a fish. My face was filled with disbelief and astonishment.

Yet inside, I felt a burst of satisfaction.

It was as if the anger I had bottled up for days had finally been released.

Holding the fishing rod in one hand, Corpse Head Song even mocked him.

"Oh! You've got quite some strength!

No wonder that brat Yu Long couldn't send you away.

But now that you've fallen into my hands, you're nothing!"

With that, Corpse Head Song sharply lifted the rod again.

With a whoosh, Zhang Qiang, still hooked, was yanked out of the river.

Then, with a bang, he was slammed onto the shore.

At that instant, black vapor spilled from his entire body, only to quickly dissipate.

A Drowned Ghost, slammed onto the bank, was now completely unable to move.

And I noticed that the water dripping from his body had turned black as well.

In no time at all, it had formed a puddle...

As the black water flowed out, the icy feeling and fishy stench coming from him gradually faded as well.

I stared in amazement, but Corpse Head Song suddenly asked me,

"This ghost is the Drowned Ghost that's been haunting you, right?"

I nodded vigorously, looking at Corpse Head Song with admiration.

"Yes, he's my roommate, Zhang Qiang."

Corpse Head Song was unbelievably formidable.

He had dealt with Zhang Qiang without breaking a sweat.

Seeing me nod, Corpse Head Song continued,

"This Drowned Ghost hasn't turned into a fiend yet.

He has resentment, but no fiendish energy.

I've driven the resentment from his body now. Soon, he'll return to normal, and he can still be sent on his way.

Go remove the hook.

When he wakes up, ask him how he died.

Make him understand that he is already dead.

After that, I'll teach you how to send him down.

Then you can seek a blessing from him, send him on to reincarnation, and resolve this evil matter."

By then, my heart was in turmoil, and I was extremely nervous.

Something so terrifying had been handled so simply.

This Corpse Head Song was truly an expert.

I nodded and gave an "Mm," then hurried forward.

Corpse Head Song, meanwhile, casually lit himself a cigarette.

Feeling a little nervous, I walked up to Zhang Qiang.

He lay motionless, the hook still lodged in his mouth.

A great deal of black water had flowed out beside him.

But his appearance had returned to normal, and he was no longer swollen.

Overall, he looked just like a corpse, except without any color in his face.

Following Corpse Head Song's instructions.

I reached out and removed the enormous hook from Zhang Qiang's mouth.

But the instant I removed the hook, Zhang Qiang, who had been lying motionless on the ground, suddenly trembled.

Then his eyes flew open, his eyeballs seeming ready to bulge from their sockets as he stared at me...