The Corpse Jiao Codex

The ruined walls of the Universal Cloud Daoist Temple looked bleak in the autumn wind.

Daoist Mu lay in a makeshift, ramshackle shelter. After taking two sips of pork soup that was still hot enough to scald his mouth, he lowered his propped-up body and lay down again.

"The ghost in Dragon Gate Village at Ten-Li Slope is most likely a water ghost," Daoist Mu said slowly to the group. "Water ghosts are people who drowned in rivers but whose bodies never floated to the surface. Their bodies absorbed Yin Qi spawned somewhere in the earth's crust, giving rise to a different kind of intelligence. If a water ghost sees someone walking by the river, it will seize any chance to drag that passerby into the water."

"So Wang Fu'an drowned?" Rong Li asked.

"If he was indeed killed by a ghost, that is the only possibility." Daoist Mu nodded. "I performed rituals in Dragon Gate Village before, but I never found the location of that ghost's Yin lair. Thinking back on it now, its lair is most likely in a deep pool somewhere in the river!"

"If the water ghost moves about in the water, how did it eat those pigs and cattle?" Zhang Xuezhou asked doubtfully.

"Water ghosts usually move about in the water, but that doesn't mean they can't come ashore," Daoist Mu said. "Once such malevolent things lack the conditions they need to survive, they are bound to come out and eat livestock and people. They use the Essence Blood of people and livestock to prolong their lives in the mortal world!"

"Then why did the water ghost eat so many pigs and cattle but leave Wang Fu'an uneaten? Was it full?"

"Well...?"

Daoist Mu had based much of his thinking on local rumors and the Yin Qi he had traced, leading him to suspect a water ghost.

Only after Zhang Xuezhou pointed it out did he notice the difference between the two.

In the former case, the pigs and cattle had vanished without a sound, while in the latter, a corpse had been left behind. The outcomes were different.

The idea that a single water ghost was responsible did not quite hold water.

"There were indeed traces of a Yin creature's gloomy presence left there. Perhaps there were two ghosts?" Daoist Mu guessed. "One ghost consumed the flesh and blood of the livestock, while the other took Wang Fu'an's life!"

"Two?"

Zhang Xuezhou's expression darkened slightly, and Rong Li and the others felt their scalps tingle.

"Cousin, how about you just go to the yamen and take the ten strokes?" Zhang Xuezhou suggested.

"Cousin, you can't throw me into a pit like that," Rong Tianding said dejectedly. "You were the one who gave me the idea for the painting of immortals, but now I'm the one getting beaten. How about I name you as an accomplice, and we each take five strokes?"

"That depends on whether Lord Bao is willing to punish us that way," Zhang Xuezhou said. "What if you name me and don't get a lighter sentence? Instead, you might have your punishment increased for concealing relevant facts in court and get another ten strokes."

"I can't even endure ten strokes. Twenty would kill me. If it comes to that, I'd rather go fight ghosts," Rong Tianding said worriedly.

"Daoist, everyone has their own specialty. Since you have experience killing ghosts, why don't you teach us a few tricks?"

Looking at Daoist Mu, who was still recovering from his injuries, Zhang Xuezhou felt that even if they gave the old Daoist a sum of money, he would be unable to help.

And going back to the yamen to take a beating wasn't a reliable option either.

The matter had to be settled somehow, so Zhang Xuezhou wanted to see if Daoist Mu had any ideas.

If Rong Li, a butcher, really led their bunch of weaklings to catch ghosts, Zhang Xuezhou feared they would not even see a ghost. By the time they realized what was happening, someone would most likely already be dead.

"To tell you the truth, Young Master Zhang, I am an outer disciple of the Fierce Ghost Sect of the Corpse Jiao Sect. I never entered the inner ranks to cultivate profound Technique Methods, and I learned only the bare rudiments of a couple of ghost-nurturing Technique Methods. In the past, I used a hanged ghost to fight ghosts. Now that the hanged ghost is gone, my hands are tied when I face one!"

Nurturing a ghost with white silk was a Technique Daoist Mu had cultivated all his life, but after Zhang Xuezhou restrained it, the Daoist art had been destroyed in an instant.

To this day, Daoist Mu still had not worked out the crucial detail.

He had merely used a ghost-possession ability, hoping to control Zhang Xuezhou and frighten the people of the Rong Household. He had not expected to be the one frightened in the end.

By rights, since Zhang Xuezhou had the ability to destroy the hanged ghost in an instant, he ought to be capable of killing ghosts.

When Zhang Xuezhou asked him for advice, Daoist Mu immediately waved his hands again and again, trying to decline.

"Think of something else," Zhang Xuezhou said. "Don't look at me. I merely have some connections with the Northern Border Military Region. When it comes to catching ghosts, I'm not as much of an expert as you!"

Since Daoist Mu had spoken openly, Zhang Xuezhou could only reveal his own background to keep the man from letting his imagination run wild.

He really couldn't do it; he had no ability to fight ghosts.

As for why Daoist Mu's spell had backfired on him, Zhang Xuezhou still had not figured out the connection.

In short, Daoist Mu believed Zhang Xuezhou had defeated him, while Zhang Xuezhou did not know how he had defeated Daoist Mu.

In their respective views, Daoist Mu believed Zhang Xuezhou was a heaven's chosen from some holy land, while Zhang Xuezhou knew perfectly well that his own abilities fell far short of Daoist Mu's.

He was just a newbie who had barely begun cultivating. No matter how unusual he was, he couldn't possibly be a match for a "Blood Penetration Realm expert" like Daoist Mu.

Daoist Mu was the only Realm Entry cultivator Zhang Xuezhou knew or was acquainted with in Hibiscus City. He had no one else to turn to.

That was why Zhang Xuezhou had asked Daoist Mu for help again and again.

"But I... I truly am at my wits' end. Oh, right, please lift your esteemed backside and open the chest underneath you. I'll look through the Corpse Jiao Canon again and see if there's a method in it suitable for catching water ghosts!"

"Oh!"

Daoist Mu pointed to the chest Zhang Xuezhou was sitting on, and Zhang Xuezhou immediately stood up.

He pulled back the iron latch and rummaged through the pile of clothes inside before finding a book made of animal hide.

Zhang Xuezhou looked at the four characters for "Corpse Jiao Canon" scrawled on the hide, then glanced at some of the writing left among the temple's ruined walls.

"These are marvelous ghost-catching and ghost-controlling arts that I went through countless hardships to hear from my senior brothers and sisters in the sect!"

Seeing Zhang Xuezhou studying the writing, Daoist Mu's aged face reddened.

"There are quite a lot of these marvelous arts. How come you only know ghost-nurturing?" Zhang Xuezhou asked doubtfully.

He flipped through the Corpse Jiao Canon and saw one ghost-catching art after another recorded on the hide. From their descriptions, they were several levels above Daoist Mu's abilities.

"For one thing, my aptitude is limited. For another... for another, these arts are incomplete," Daoist Mu said helplessly. "My senior brothers and sisters were always sending me to do chores, but they only ever told me about the arts in bits and pieces. They never gave me a complete one!"

"Your senior brothers and sisters were really good to you!"

Zhang Xuezhou flipped through the Corpse Jiao Canon, feeling that Daoist Mu's early years had not been easy, not much different from the way Li Jiao had treated him.

Arts that were kept under wraps were naturally difficult to cultivate to a profound level. Rather than dabble broadly in a jumble of them, it was better to specialize and master one.

Perhaps that was also why Daoist Mu had concentrated on nurturing a hanged ghost.

But Daoist Mu's "mastery" was limited. Once his one specialized art was broken, what abilities he had left were of no account.

Zhang Xuezhou continued turning pages, while Daoist Mu kept explaining the relevant details.

After more than twenty pages, the two finally came across an art.

"Why don't you give it a try?"

Daoist Mu looked at Zhang Xuezhou.

Different Realm Entry Seeds suited different Technique Methods, and the endpoints their cultivation could reach also differed.

But the arts in the Corpse Jiao Canon, let alone their endpoints, were missing much of their content even at the starting point.

Under those circumstances, whether an art was compatible and whether it could be cultivated to great mastery were not particularly important.

If Zhang Xuezhou wanted one more temporary means at his disposal, Daoist Mu thought he could give it a try.

For some exceptionally gifted people, learning a beginner-level art in a short time was entirely possible.