The Headless Corpse

The two held their breath, their eyes fixed on the two black coffins covered in wood chips, as though even their hearts had stopped beating. The air around them seemed to have congealed. Only the rain echoed in their ears, like countless tiny needles piercing their eardrums and stirring their nerves.

In folk tradition, strict rules governed the colors of coffins—

White coffins were used for unmarried women or men;

Red coffins were used for elders who died peacefully of old age, symbolizing a death to be celebrated;

Yellow coffins were the poor's choice born of necessity;

Gold coffins were reserved for royalty and nobility;

But black coffins were the most unusual of all—reserved for those who died violent deaths or fell in battle. Associated with dark water, they could Suppress baleful intent.

The two before them were precisely these most ominous black coffins.

"One of the lids is open."

Zhang Xuan's voice was low, his temples throbbed, and his eyes narrowed to slits, making him look uncannily like a feline facing danger. He locked his gaze on the cracked coffin...

A stale, rotten smell permeated the air.

Monk nodded, his gaze grave.

The lid of the black coffin on the left had cracked under the violent impact, leaving a gap an arm's width across, like a monstrous, gaping maw.

Rain poured down, dripping from the edges of their bamboo hats with a steady patter. The cold, damp air coiled around their nerves like a venomous snake.

At some point, the water around their legs had stopped at their knees and ceased rising.

Yet neither man's expression relaxed in the slightest. Instead, they grew even more tense.

After a moment's thought, Zhang Xuan asked quietly, "Can we go around?"

A dozen or so meters ahead, rain had churned the ground around the coffins into mud. The two black coffins lay across the path they had to take, like two insurmountable barriers.

Monk shook his head, his voice low. "Going around would take too long. Every extra moment we stay here is dangerous."

Zhang Xuan gritted his teeth. "Then let's charge past!"

Monk barred his way with a hand as broad as a palm-leaf fan, his tone grave. "There may be something vicious inside those coffins!"

He weighed their chances. A purple or white jiangshi would be manageable, but if it was a green jiangshi, a hairy jiangshi, or even a legendary flying jiangshi...

The few hundred pounds of flesh between the two of them probably wouldn't even be enough to fill the gaps between its teeth.

The rain grew heavier, and a rotten smell hung in the air.

The two black coffins lay there quietly, as though waiting for them to choose.

Zhang Xuan clenched his fists, his fingertips paling.

"Then what do you suggest?"

Monk did not answer immediately. His gaze shifted between the coffins and Zhang Xuan before he finally said quietly, "Let's test them first."

With that, he quickly fished two pitch-black objects out of his cloth bag.

Zhang Xuan took one look. Well, well—weren't these his old friends, the Black Donkey Hoof that had knocked stars into his eyes yesterday!

It seemed Monk had picked them up earlier, ready to "recycle" them.

Monk swept his large hand across his face, wiping away the rain. "Let this humble monk toss a stone to scout the road!"

Before Monk could explain, Zhang Xuan understood his intention—throw a Black Donkey Hoof into the cracked coffin and test whether anything vicious lurked inside. If they heard anything strange, they would run immediately, without risking a closer approach.

Monk drew a deep breath and swung his fan-sized hand hard.

The large Black Donkey Hoof whistled through the air, smashing through curtains of rain as it hurtled toward the black coffin...

Bang!

With a dull thud, the Black Donkey Hoof slammed into the broken tree trunk, sending wood chips flying.

Then the Black Donkey Hoof plopped into the water and vanished.

The corner of Zhang Xuan's mouth twitched as he slowly turned toward Monk.

Monk's weathered face reddened, and his eyes darted away.

Zhang Xuan sighed.

Ever since the Monk had tried to hit the Chang Ghost with a Black Donkey Hoof and struck himself instead, he had known the big Monk's aim was poor.

"Let me."

He had barely finished speaking before the remaining Black Donkey Hoof was stuffed into his hand by the Monk.

Zhang Xuan wiped the rain from his brow with his sleeve, narrowed his eyes, and extended his arm.

The Black Donkey Hoof traced a graceful arc through the rain...

Thump!

The Black Donkey Hoof sailed squarely through the gap in the coffin and dropped inside.

Both men held their breath, their hearts practically leaping into their throats.

But even after a long wait, no unusual sound came from the coffin.

When the Monk began wading forward to investigate, Zhang Xuan grabbed his sleeve. "That sound was wrong. There's definitely something inside."

The Monk shook his head. "The sound was wrong, but... it probably isn't anything vicious."

Though both men had said the sound was wrong, they meant different things.

Zhang Xuan meant that when the Black Donkey Hoof fell into the coffin, it clearly hadn't sounded like it struck wood. Instead, it sounded as though it had landed on flesh.

The Monk, however, meant that whatever lay inside the black coffin was not a vicious undead creature. The "jiang" in jiangshi meant stiff, indicating that such creatures had bodies as rigid as stone. The falling Black Donkey Hoof should not have made that sound.

Seeing that the Monk was determined to investigate, Zhang Xuan did not stop him. He merely asked the Monk to hand him the last Black Donkey Hoof in the cloth bag.

He crouched slightly, holding the Black Donkey Hoof ready to throw at any moment.

Seeing how cautious Zhang Xuan was, the Monk nodded, then strode through the water toward the black coffin.

As the Monk drew closer step by step, Zhang Xuan felt the pounding heart in his chest almost leap into his throat.

The next instant, the Monk gripped the coffin lid with both hands and heaved, throwing the heavy lid open in one motion!

"Holy shit!"

Zhang Xuan gaped. He hadn't expected the Monk to simply barrel straight in.

The Monk, however, relaxed and waved Zhang Xuan over as though nothing had happened. "Come take a look."

Zhang Xuan cautiously approached the Monk. Before the other man could speak, a Black Donkey Hoof struck him in the chest.

"Brother Zhang Xuan, what are you doing?" the Monk asked, utterly bewildered.

Zhang Xuan scratched his chin, looking embarrassed. "I was afraid something unclean had possessed you. Just testing."

The Monk opened his mouth but said nothing. He merely watched the Black Donkey Hoof fall into the water with a look of regret and sighed.

"There's nothing vicious inside, but there is something else."

At those words, Zhang Xuan leaned forward to look inside the coffin—

A headless corpse lay within, dressed entirely in black. Flesh curled outward around the severed neck, as though some savage beast had bitten its head off.

"A tomb robber. From the Mountain-Moving tomb-raiding lineage. He hasn't been dead long."

Monk spoke quietly.

What frightened Zhang Xuan most was that blood was still trickling from the corpse's severed neck. Clearly, the man had only just died!

"Whatever tore his head off might still be nearby..."

A chill ran down the back of Zhang Xuan's neck. He exchanged a glance with Monk, and without a word, both men began racing forward through the water.

Monk was tall and powerfully built; one of his strides covered several of Zhang Xuan's.

Thick clouds completely obscured the sun. Zhang Xuan could only feel an impenetrable darkness behind him, staring at him.

Lagging behind, he felt a chill along his spine. An indescribable terror surged through him, as though an invisible hand had seized his heart and was squeezing it tighter and tighter...