Upon entering the ward, we noticed three elderly men.
These three men were of varying heights.
All appeared to be in their early sixties, dressed in Zhongshan suits.
They were gathered around Grandpa Jiang's bed, conversing with him.
Most importantly, these three men exuded a faint scent of corpse decay.
Seeing this, I immediately furrowed my brow.
Old Mo also became vigilant.
Even burning bodies at the crematorium didn't produce such a smell.
Who were these people?
It was evident they knew Grandpa Jiang, given their conversation.
I remained silent, and my martial uncle, who was in front of me, also said nothing.
He merely paused for a moment before entering.
Old Mo and I naturally followed.
As we entered the room, Grandpa Jiang on the sickbed noticed us.
Moreover, Grandpa Jiang recognized my martial uncle at first glance.
"Oh, Old Tang is here!" Grandpa Jiang exclaimed.
The three elderly men also turned around at that moment.
They looked at us in unison.
"Hahaha, Old Jiang, I heard you almost died last night. I just came to see you, to see what's going on with you old chap." My martial uncle said with a laugh, showing no reservations.
Grandpa Jiang also smiled, "Indeed, I nearly died last night. If not for your disciple and Old Gu's disciple, I would have sunk into the Qingshan River..."
As he spoke, Old Mo and I walked over.
We greeted him, "Grandpa Jiang!"
Grandpa Jiang acknowledged us with a "Mm," then said to us, "Right, these three are my friends, Xiangxi artisans."
He then pointed at the three elderly men on the sickbed.
At this, all of us were taken aback.
Xiangxi artisans?
What kind of "artisans" could there be in Xiangxi?
Wouldn't they be "corpse handlers"?
I quickly made this connection.
My martial uncle's eyes also widened slightly.
It was clear he also understood the visitors' identities.
If they were corpse handlers, then the faint corpse smell was normal.
After all, corpse handlers were different from crematorium workers.
Corpse handlers often had to come into contact with corpses, so the corpse qi on them would be heavier, hence the smell of decay.
If that was the case, there was nothing to be surprised about.
Among the Nine Masters of the Yin Gate, the corpse handler was also ranked.
Like us, they all earned a living from the dead, from the underworld.
The three corpse handlers joined their hands and performed an upper and lower seal towards us.
Seeing this "seal," we immediately became solemn.
This was a "Dao礼" (Daoist礼 - ritual), a high-level etiquette within the profession.
My martial uncle saw it and reciprocated with "Wuliang Tianzun" (boundless celestial lord).
Old Mo and I, being the juniors, followed suit.
But we did not vocalize it.
After we greeted each other, Grandpa Jiang spoke again, "My three brothers were on a job, passing by here. They knew I was hospitalized, so they came to visit."
The three old men then said to Grandpa Jiang, "Old Jiang! Take good care of yourself these days. Seeing that you are out of danger, we three are relieved. We have some heavy matters to attend to recently, so we won't be staying long."
One of the taller men spoke. "Old Jiang, we'll be taking our leave then."
"Old Jiang, we'll see you after we finish our business." The other two old men also said.
Grandpa Jiang cupped his fists in farewell, "My three brothers, I won't see you off."
"Farewell!" The three men cupped their fists, turned around. After glancing at my martial uncle, they smiled and nodded, then walked between Old Mo and me.
After the three left, my martial uncle went to Grandpa Jiang's bedside, "Old Jiang, your three friends left quite far away! Xiangxi is not close to here."
Grandpa Jiang nodded, "It is quite far. I heard they were escorting a bronze-cornered coffin on this trip."
"What, a bronze-cornered coffin?" My martial uncle looked astonished.
I also slightly frowned.
Having been in this line of work for so long, I had some understanding of coffins.
Different coffins had different uses.
Red coffins were for burying malevolent spirits, black coffins for burying evil spirits.
Iron coffins were for burying earthly spirits.
Bronze coffins were for burying zombie spirits.
Escorting a bronze-cornered coffin, did it contain a zombie?
Old Mo also thought of this and whispered to me, "It might be a zombie!"
We had encountered zombies before. They were truly difficult to deal with.
Last time, I even used up a Wuchang spell.
My martial uncle lowered his voice and asked, "A zombie?"
Grandpa Jiang replied, "That's right. They said they had to transport it to Blackwater Mountain."
Blackwater Mountain is a desolate mountain on the outskirts of our city.
It is sparsely populated and a nature reserve.
Wild animals, even bears and mountain leopards, roam in the vicinity.
Therefore, people here generally do not go there.
"Why go to Blackwater Mountain?" My martial uncle asked again.
Grandpa Jiang shook his head, "I don't know about that. After all, my three friends were entrusted by someone, and I didn't ask too many questions. Never mind that, Old Tang! I'm quite surprised you came to see me. When I'm better, I'll treat you to a drink. A fine wine I've been saving for eight or nine years!"
Upon hearing about fine wine, my martial uncle's eyes lit up. "Oh! That would be great! Tell me, what kind of wine is it, is it strong..."
My martial uncle began to chat with Grandpa Jiang.
Old Mo and I stood by, idle.
We chatted a bit about the Xiangxi corpse handlers.
However, both Old Mo and I had very little contact with them, so we knew little.
We were just very curious.
In this day and age, how did they handle corpses?
Were they still like in the movies, shaking bells?
This was something we could only ask my martial uncle and Grandpa Jiang later.
As we were chatting, Chen Yao arrived.
When Old Mo saw Chen Yao, the little nurse, he completely ignored me.
He trotted over to greet her.
I rolled my eyes, this guy, truly prioritizing women over friendship.
I smiled and walked to the window, looking towards the hospital's radiology department.
The sky had begun to darken.
Darkness was about to descend upon the land again.
The gloomy specters were about to appear.
And tonight, our mission was the ghost infant in the radiology department.
I thought to myself.
But someone suddenly patted my shoulder.
Turning around, I saw it was Chen Yao.
"What are you looking at?"
"Nothing, just looking around." I replied with a smile.
Chen Yao narrowed her eyes and said, "I just heard from Mo Ting that you are going ghost hunting tonight?"
Hearing this, I turned to look at Old Mo.
He told someone about this?
Old Mo spread his hands and chuckled twice, as if admitting it.
Seeing this, I nodded, "Yes, the ghost infant!"
"That's great, then I must go with you tonight. I really want to see how you guys hunt ghosts. I'm so excited." Chen Yao said excitedly, looking very enthusiastic.
I was speechless.
No wonder Old Mo had a good impression of this little nurse; she was just like him.
Others would avoid ghosts at all costs.
This little nurse, like Old Mo, not only didn't avoid ghosts but was excited and looked forward to them.
"Forget it! If you follow me, there's no benefit. Ghosts are best left alone. For ordinary people, it will shorten your lifespan..." I said truthfully, also offering a kind warning.
But at this moment, my martial uncle's voice suddenly came from behind, "If this young lady wants to go, let's take her along!"