Go, Zhang Asi's House First

The hall fell silent for a long while.

Xu Jin raised his eyes to Zhang Asi, his tone gentle and calm. "Besides her voice changing and craving water, what other abnormalities have there been?"

Zhang Asi's throat bobbed as though he had recalled something even more terrifying. His teeth chattered.

"And... she doesn't sleep at night. She squats beside the water vat in the kitchen, scooping up the raw shrimp and live fish I caught during the day and stuffing them into her mouth."

"Her mouth is full of bloody froth, crunching away. No matter how I call her, she won't answer."

He raised a hand and wiped his face. Tears mingled with the cold water on his face and trickled down. "She used to hate the fishy smell most. She wouldn't even touch fish."

"She's even stranger during the day. She seals the doors and windows tight, says light makes her head hurt, and curls up under the blanket. Even the skin she leaves exposed has turned bluish."

The village chief sighed beside them and quietly took over.

"Patrol Officer Xu, it isn't just his family. These past two days, Old Li's family at the east end of the village and Old Woman Wang's family at the south end have had similar incidents."

"Li's boy fished up a rusty bronze mirror. Less than two days after bringing it home, he went dazed. He runs to the river every day, and no one can hold him back. He keeps muttering that someone is calling him to drink water."

"Old Woman Wang picked up an old porcelain bottle. Every night, she squats by the river and cries, and the voice isn't her own either."

The village chief's brows twisted into a knot. "They all got into trouble after bringing ancient objects from the water home. I was afraid it would spread panic, that no one would dare make a living running boats, so I suppressed the news for now and only told each family to throw the things back into the water. But it was completely useless."

Xu Jin's brows furrowed slightly as he asked one question after another.

"Where is the carved wooden box now?"

"What state is your wife in currently? Can she still recognize people?"

"Besides your wife, has anyone else touched that wooden box?"

Zhang Asi hurriedly shook his head, wagging it like a rattle drum.

"I hid the wooden box in the firewood pile in the woodshed. I haven't dared touch it again! Other than my wife, no one has touched it!"

"She... she doesn't even recognize me now. She hides whenever she sees someone, and she's frighteningly strong. Two men, me and a neighbor, couldn't hold her down."

His voice trembled again as he spoke, thick with tears. "Sir, I really haven't gone mad. Everything I said is true!"

He suddenly rolled up his left sleeve and held his arm beneath the candlelight.

A ring of bluish-black fingerprints was starkly imprinted on his arm. The outlines of all five fingers were unmistakably clear, while the surrounding flesh was swollen high and an unnatural dead white-blue.

"This was from last night, when that thing in the water grabbed me by the river!"

Zhang Asi's voice quavered. "It's been three days, and it hasn't faded at all. It's bone-piercingly cold at the slightest touch, like ice shards drilling into the cracks of my bones."

"The village doctor examined it and said it wasn't a bruise or sprain. Medicine didn't help in the slightest."

The hall sank into dead silence once more.

The candle flame crackled and jumped, shadows swaying back and forth along the walls.

The attendants stood beneath the corridor, looking at one another with their lips pressed tight, none daring to speak.

They had all grown up by the water. Who had not heard tales of water ghosts dragging people in as replacements, of sinister entities attaching themselves to objects?

They had once dismissed them as old stories elders used to frighten children. But now that it was happening right before their eyes, no one could stop their heart from crawling with dread.

Yet no one dared discuss it aloud.

The village chief lowered his head, his five fingers clenched tight.

He was the man in charge of the village. If word spread, half the boatmen at the ferry would flee, and Green-Mud Ferry's water transport would be ruined.

Suppressing the news was wrong, but if he did not, the chaos would be even deadlier.

After a moment of silence, Xu Jin lifted a hand and swept aside his robe, revealing the bronze patrol officer's plaque hanging at his waist.

The beast pattern of the Demon Suppression Bureau glinted with a cold, hard light in the candlelight. The four words "Special Grade A Patrol Officer" stood out with perfect clarity.

"I am the Green-Mud Ferry patrol officer of the Demon Suppression Bureau, tasked with handling local sinister entities and evil objects."

His voice was not loud, yet it carried a weight that put people at ease. "Since I have taken this matter, I will uncover the source of these sinister entities and protect the peace of this place. You need not panic, nor may you spread rumors recklessly, lest you bring needless casualties upon yourselves."

Zhang Asi stared at the bronze plaque, then dropped heavily to his knees with a thud, his forehead striking the floor again and again.

"I knew it... I knew the authorities wouldn't ignore us!"

"Sir, please save my wife! Please save us!"

"Get up."

Xu Jin gestured for Wang Lei to help him up, his tone softening somewhat. "Settle your wife first. Do not let her go near the river again. I already understand the circumstances. I will go to your home shortly to investigate."

With that, he rose and began assigning tasks. He looked first at the village chief.

"Go back and arrange men to do three things."

"First, find an empty residence and house the three victims separately. Put cinnabar talismans on the doors and windows, assign dedicated guards, and do not allow anyone near the water."

"Second, keep watch over every household in the village. If anyone fishes up ancient objects from the riverbed again, they must hand them over to the station. No private hoarding, no trading. Offenders will be treated as having concealed yin objects."

"Third, suppress the news for now. Tell outsiders only that there is a water plague, lest the villagers panic and flee, making it easier for yin Baleful Intent to exploit the opening."

The village chief hurriedly bowed, bending so low his waist nearly folded. "Yes! I'll see to it at once! I absolutely won't let the news spread!"

Xu Jin then turned to Wang Lei at his side.

"Go to the storeroom and retrieve ten evil-warding jade talismans. Then search the Demon Suppression Bureau archives for records of similar cases involving water wraith possession and yin objects carrying Sha Qi. Copy them down. Bring cinnabar, a compass, and instruments for detecting qi. Wait for me at the station entrance in a quarter of an hour."

"Understood!" Wang Lei did not delay for even a moment before turning and running toward the rear courtyard.

The original plan to meet Chen Old Ghost, the treasure-diviner, and enter the tomb three days later had been completely overtaken by events.

If they delayed for a few more days, the entire shoreline of Green-Mud Ferry might be contaminated by yin Baleful Intent. Then it would no longer be a matter of a few households suffering misfortune—the entire ferry would become a land of yin.

They had to find the point where it was leaking out and seal the source on shore first.

He lowered his gaze and pondered for a moment, swiftly running through the plan in his mind.

First, inspect the carved wooden box and determine the nature of the yin Baleful Intent.

Then investigate the shallows where it was leaking out, following the current to find the side entrance to the Sunk Tomb.

If he could bypass Profound Yin Hall's frontal blockade directly, so much the better. If he could not, he would clear a path through it.

In any case, he would have to deal with Profound Yin Hall sooner or later. Sooner or later made no difference.

Xu Jin let out a breath. Molten Gold Astral Qi slowly circulated once through his meridians, instantly driving away the yin chill around him.

Daylight gradually brightened. The mist over the river slowly dispersed, and scattered signs of movement had already appeared in the village along the bank. Roosters crowed in the distance, yet this ordinary warmth of daily life was wrapped in an inescapable gloom.

Before long, Wang Lei hurried out with a cloth pack on his back, carrying a compass and a stack of copied archive records.

"Brother Xu, everything's ready! Evil-warding jade talismans, cinnabar, a qi-detecting compass, and copied records on water wraiths—it's all here."

He caught his breath and lowered his voice. "I just checked the archives. Cases involving yin objects under the water carrying Sha Qi usually mean there's a large yin lair or an evil entity's nest beneath the water. The Sha Qi drifts ashore along with submerged objects, attaching itself to living people and slowly draining their yang qi. It matches the situation with our Sunk Tomb exactly."

Xu Jin nodded and accepted an evil-warding jade talisman, tucking it into his robes.

"Go, Zhang Asi's house first."