Chapter 120
Old Guo pointed at Xiao Ma, who was pumping air into the tire and said, “We’re just passing by, but our tire went flat . We’ll just be around for a while, so don’t mind us . ”
One of the men that held the coffin asked a youngster to go and help them . Then, the youngster approached them and politely asked Old Guo, “Do you need any help?”
Old Guo appreciated the sentiment, but he replied that it was fine . Instead, he asked, “Young man, if you don’t mind me asking, was the person who died a young person?”
The youngster sighed and replied, “She was my cousin; she was just eighteen when she drowned . ”
Then, Old Guo passed a cigarette to the youngster and continue to ask, “I don’t think that this place is your village’s ancestral grave site, so why are you burying the girl here?”
“It’s a rule of our village . We will not bury those who die suddenly and have no children at our ancestral gravesite, nor can we cremate them . They can only be buried here, halfway up the mountain . Please excuse me now . I have to go back and help,” the youngster waved as he ran back to the formation .
Ye Shaoyang observed the four men that carried the coffin . The two on the left seemed to use a lot more strength than the other two . It almost seems like the coffin weighed heavier on the left side . Old Guo also noticed this phenomenon, so he muttered, “A coffin heavy on the left, brings demons and spirits . Something is wrong with the corpse . ”
The row of people continued to march on for a while until they arrived at a flat open ground . Then, the Daoist yelled, “Stop!”
Everyone stopped and the four men lowered the coffin . Then, the Daoist took out a Fengshui compass and started to examine the area . He walked around for quite some time until he came to a certain spot . Without any explanation, the Daoist stomped his foot on the ground and said, “Dig here . ”
A few young men swiftly grabbed shovels and proceeded to the dig up the spot . After they dug the grave, the Daoist ordered them to put the coffin in . But just as they were about to nail shut the coffin… .
Ye Shaoyang walked up and said, “You can’t bury this coffin . ”
At this moment, everyone turned and stared at the stranger that interrupted their ceremony . Some of the people had already grown angry . Then, Xiao Ma quickly rushed toward him and tugged on Ye Shaoyang’s clothes, “Don’t say such things, you’ll get beaten up… . ”
The Daoist felt that Ye Shaoyang had challenged his authority, so he looked at him with a stern face and asked, “Why can’t we bury her?”
“There’s demon Qi coming out from that coffin, so you won’t be able to bury it,” Ye Shaoyang calmly explained . But these words created discontent among the villagers .
People that stayed in rural regions were generally very superstitious . They believed that one of the worse things to say during a burial was bad things about the corpse . This was especially true in those cases where the deceased had died a sudden death .
The Daoist was especially angry . After all, he had ordered the burial, yet Ye Shaoyang said it could not be done . Such words were like a slap to his face . Immediately, the Daoist pointed at Ye Shaoyang and said, “Who do you think you are? Profaning a sacred ritual . If you dare to speak anymore, I’ll write you a Tongue Rotting Talisman Paper!”
These threats failed to faze Ye Shaoyang, who curiously asked, “This is the first time I’ve heard of such a curse . How do you make it? Can you teach me?”
“Brat, go away now . Stop hindering the ritual!” scolded the Daoist .
Xiao Ma grew agitated when he heard these words, he rolled up his sleeves and scolded, “You old Daoist sh*t… . ”
Old Guo glanced at him and said, “Who are you scolding?”
Xiao Ma paused . Then, he remembered that both Old Guo and Ye Shaoyang were also Daoists .
Then, Old Guo went forward, cupped his hands, and said, “A mountain may not be a mountain, and water might not be water . May you tell us which sect you are from?”
The Daoist was slightly taken aback; he waved his hand and said, “What rubbish . I’m a Maoshan Sect Heavenly Master . If you don’t have any business here, scram . ”
“Maoshan Sect Heavenly Master you say…” Xiao Ma gave Ye Shaoyang a glance . He gave a thumbs up to the Daoist and said, “Say whatever you like . You’ve made up one of the biggest lies of the century . ”
The Daoist noticed that they spoke very strangely; they might really be Daoists . He immediately turned around and said to the crowd, “The time has come; nail the coffin shut!”
Ye Shaoyang was about to stop them again, but Old Guo came up to him and whispered, “Junior brother, let’s just wait and see . If you do anything now, they might just beat you up . Since the burial is impossible, you’ll just have to step up when they fail . ”
Ye Shaoyang thought so too, so he stood quiet and watched on .
Two of the undertakers picked up a handful of seven-inch nails and began to nail the coffin . Meanwhile, the Daoist sat cross-legged on the side, as he waved a peach wood sword and chanted away . When they arrived at the seventh nail, they all heard a sudden crack . It snapped, the nail had snapped! This was considered a very ominous sign . Then, the Daoist scolded, “What’s going on!”
One of the undertakers picked up another nail . He steadily held onto the nail with one hand and struck the nail with a hammer in his other hand . But the nail snapped in half again… .
This scene shocked everyone . The family members felt furious, and they complained that the undertakers were not paying attention .
The two undertakers looked at the Daoist and said, “Sir, it is really not our fault . I struck it accurately, and I held the nail straight . So… . ”
“Useless sh*ts . I’ll do it!” the Daoist took the hammer from the undertaker . He hopped into the grave, put a nail on the coffin, and swung the hammer down .
The nail broke again!
This left the Daoist stunned . Before he could even react, a knocking sound came from within the coffin . This change of events terrified the Daoist . His legs weakened, and he collapsed next to the coffin . The Daoist greatly panicked and quickly climbed out of the grave on all fours . When he got out from the grave, he still wanted to perform a ritual . He reached and searched for his wooden sword, but it was not on him .
“Where’s my sword? Where’s my peach wood sword?”
When he looked down, he noticed that his wooden sword laid beside the coffin . When he tried to reach for it, the banging sound from the coffin would intensify . It reached the point where the entire coffin shook . It would die down however when he was not close . The old Daoist retreated in fear . He stood up with dirt on his face, as he hoped to grab his peach wood sword . But fear held him back . He struggled in his heart, as he stood still . Suddenly, a peach wood sword flew over and stabbed into the earth in front of him .
“I’ll loan you mine . Go do your thing then,” said Ye Shaoyang without even looking at him, “Let me see your Maoshan techniques . ”
The Daoist felt scared and embarrassed; he turned around and shouted at the equally stunned crowd, “She’s becoming an undead . Quickly get some wood here and burn it!”
Just as he said these words, the knocking started again . This time, it did not stop . Not only that, but they could hear a faint voice coming from the coffin . The voice said, “Father, please let me out of here . I’m not dead yet . I’m suffocating in here . Please let me out!”
This shocked all the people involved in the burial . There were a few seconds of silence . Then, the crowd quickly backed off . The father of the deceased sat on the floor and began to cry, “Open that coffin, open it . . . my daughter is alive!”
“Uncle please calm down; she has already died,” one of the young men went beside him to advise him .
“No, she’s not dead; she’s alive!” the man got up . Then, he laid on the coffin and yelled, “Open it! Please save my daughter!”
No one dared to do anything, as the previous events had still left them shocked .
However, the Daoist yelled, “Burn it . Quickly get some wood and burn it!”
Both of them, the Daoist and the father, yelled their lungs out . One wanted to burn the coffin, while the other wanted to open it . Ye Shaoyang and his companions thought they were watching a soap opera .
Unable to watch this drama anymore, Ye Shaoyang walked up to the father and said, “That thing inside the coffin is not your daughter anymore . Even so, we have to open up the grave and solve this problem . I guess this is a good chance to show you what has happened to your daughter . ”