Official Body
"I don't want to become a ghost."
Ding Ling shook her head.
"That's because you haven't been pushed that far yet," Chang Dafeng said with a snort. "Once someone really is pushed that far, who can say what they might do?"
"If you become a ghost, you're no longer yourself. Why would anyone still want to become one?
"Qian Heng should have learned about this too. Why was he still in such a hurry to become a ghost?" Zhou Yang had taken over Ding Ling's body by then, and he put the question to Chang Dafeng.
Chang Dafeng knocked the bowl of his pipe against the sole of his shoe. "Some people do say that.
"But others say that after a person becomes a ghost, they retain a little of their own consciousness.
"People are all like that. They cling to delusions and won't shed a tear until they see the coffin.
"So you'd best give up any thought of taking that evil path from the very start. Otherwise, when the time comes, there'll be no medicine for regret..."
Chang Dafeng looked at Ding Ling, who stood a few steps away, his words carrying a deeper meaning.
"I just don't understand why such a dangerous, terrifying spell for becoming a ghost would come from a scripture called the 'Health Preservation Scripture,' of all things," Zhou Yang said with a smile, asking Chang Dafeng another question. "Health preservation-just from the name, you'd think it was a scripture for prolonging life."
"You've simply mistaken the scripture's name, thinking it refers to preserving health.
"The 'sheng' in its name is actually the character for livestock, as in cattle and sheep used for sacrifice.
"The Livestock Raising Scripture sacrifices human lives to create evil ghosts.
"That is the scripture's true name," Chang Dafeng said.
Zhou Yang nodded at that.
He did not continue discussing matters related to the "ritual of killing to become a ghost" with Troupe Leader Chang. Chang Dafeng was wary of him and always spoke ambiguously; further questioning would yield nothing useful.
So Zhou Yang pretended to lower his head and study the map in his hands, then abruptly said to Chang Dafeng, "You seem to have been to quite a few places. There's a ghost village called Guan Village. I wonder if you've ever been there, or heard of it?"
As soon as he said it, Zhou Yang's heart began pounding.
He feigned composure and looked up at Chang Dafeng across from him.
Chang Dafeng raised an eyebrow, clearly somewhat surprised by "Ding Ling's" question. "Guan Village, Guan Village-that's the village that produces high officials. Of course I've heard of it. Why do you ask?"
Guan Village was a village that produced high officials?
What did that mean?
Had Chang Dafeng really heard of a place called Guan Village, or had he never heard of it either, and was just making things up?
Zhou Yang was bewildered. Unsure whether Chang Dafeng's words contained some crucial information or whether he was simply brushing him off, he answered his question. "I happened to remember some legends I'd heard about Guan Village when I saw your map.
"What did you mean when you said 'Guan Village produces high officials'?"
"The Great Zhao Dynasty rules all under heaven, so naturally it needs many officials to govern the various regions on its behalf.
"To become a court-appointed official, one must first obtain an Official Body.
"Official Bodies are found in Guan Villages, so naturally they're places that produce high officials." Chang Dafeng smiled with an inscrutable expression. "I've heard Guan Villages are divided into different ranks, too. In the highest-ranked Guan Villages, one can obtain a 'Primordial Corpse' Official Body.
"A Primordial Corpse... obtain an Official Body like that, and the moment you leave the village, you're a candidate to become the Son of Heaven of Great Zhao!"
Chang Dafeng wore a strange expression, and the things he said were exceptionally bizarre.
So much so that Zhou Yang's first reaction was that everything Chang Dafeng had said was a lie.
But on second thought, he realized that he was Ding Ling at the moment, merely talking with this troupe leader about things unrelated to either of them after surviving a calamity. What reason did Chang Dafeng have to lie about matters unrelated to them both?
Was Guan Village really a village that "produced" high officials?!
The Guan Village he was in was filled almost entirely with ghosts.
Didn't that mean all the Official Bodies that came out of Guan Villages were ghosts—and that the Great Zhao Dynasty was actually a "ghost court"?
Zhou Yang was eager to learn more, but outwardly he could only keep his composure and pretend to be puzzled. He said to Chang Dafeng, "Ghost calamities are rampant under the Great Zhao Dynasty's rule. Is the government doing nothing about them?"
"If we called the authorities here, could they help us put an end to the ghost calamity in Daliang Village?"
"Call the authorities to help us?" Chang Dafeng gave several cold laughs. "Never mind that we can't leave this village now-moving too soon would only alert the ghosts in the village and get us killed faster!
"Even if you really had a way to send word to the court, I'd advise you not to!
"I'll tell you just one thing: the Quail Fair in Baligou Township has such troublesome rules for joining partly to guard against evil ghosts, but the other reason is to guard against the authorities.
"Bandits pass through like a coarse comb; soldiers pass through like a fine one.
"Now ghosts pass through like a coarse comb, and officials like a fine one!
"Alert those people with Official Bodies, and the consequences will be even worse than alerting evil ghosts!"
"Th-this—" Chang Dafeng's words confirmed Zhou Yang's earlier suspicion. He put on a dumbstruck expression and stammered for a moment before saying, "Then the Great Zhao Dynasty is actually a ghost court?"
Chang Dafeng shook his head, a strange smile on his face. "There are still plenty of living people serving as officials in it.
"It's just that they might as well not be there..."
"From what you've said, most officials in the court come from Guan Villages.
"And those villages are divided into different ranks-is there any way to tell what rank or grade a Guan Village belongs to?" Zhou Yang could not contain himself and followed up with another question for Chang Dafeng.
Presumably, a Guan Village that held a Great Zhao Dynasty "Primordial Corpse Official Body" must also be a ghost village of the highest degree of danger.
If Zhou Yang could learn how Guan Villages were ranked, he could use that to judge how dangerous the one he was in was.
This question was exceptionally important to him.
Chang Dafeng noticed nothing unusual. He shook his head and said, "Only someone who's entered a Guan Village would know that. I've never been to one, so how could I know its particulars?
"I've only heard that Guan Villages have quite a few trials at various stages.
"They call those trials 'ceremonies.' Each ceremony corresponds to a type of Official Body."
It matched!
Zhou Yang's eyelid twitched.
Wasn't he in a Guan Village right now, waiting for that "Revelation Ceremony," where he would be skinned and disemboweled?
"Then this Official Body-" Before Zhou Yang could finish his question, Chang Dafeng suddenly stood up across from him, cutting him off.
Chang Dafeng said, "You want to ask what an Official Body is good for?
"I've never been an official, so I don't know!
"We've rested enough by now, and your mood should have settled too. Come with me. First, we'll carry Qian Heng's corpse into the courtyard.
"We'll burn it, so it doesn't turn into one of those evil, unnatural things.
"Then I'll teach you the Draft of Divine Makeup and Ghost Painting myself, so you can open the first door and raise an Averting God as soon as possible!"
Zhou Yang got up as well. He watched Chang Dafeng walk over to Qian Heng's head and lift it, then grabbed the corpse by the ankles. One at the head and one at the feet, they carried it out the door and into the courtyard.
Following the same procedure as with Li Yichun's corpse, Chang Dafeng took a flame from a Ghost Candle and burned Qian Heng's remains until nothing was left.