Chapter 15 The Corpse in the Water

According to the ways of術 (shu) practitioners, if someone drowns with a bellyful of resentment, and the place of drowning happens to be a place of extreme yin, or a special location like a water demon's grave, the corpse might, by chance, transform into a monster that is half-demon and half-corpse.

The corpse under the willow tree was showing its spine above the water like a fish, indicating that it had already begun to demonize. Such a corpse, once awakened, would inevitably be unusually ferocious.

Old Liu grabbed my hand and said, "Mr. Li, I, Liu Bao, have lived most of my life and never asked anyone for anything. Today, I beg you, I beg you to take the villagers out of here. Lead them to the highway and let them escape for their lives!"

I lowered my voice and asked, "What about you?"

"Me?" Old Liu gave a wry smile. "Die, what else? This is fate. Those who guard the water will have this day sooner or later."

Old Liu waved his hand before I could speak. "Go! Go! Mr. Li, you're still young. If possible, get out of this path of the術 (shu) practitioner! When you're covered in scars and your family is torn apart, it'll be too late to jump out."

Old Liu waved his hand and walked towards the crowd. His back looked like an old dog nearing its end, no longer having the strength to guard the door for its master, yet dragging its crippled body towards the gate it had guarded with its life.

The moment Old Liu stopped, he stood tall with his back straight, head held high, "Fellow villagers..."

"Don't be afraid! Liu-Shu and I will handle things here," I interrupted Old Liu and strode into the crowd.

Old Liu's eyes widened. "You..."

I asked with a half-smile, "Don't you trust me?"

Old Liu was old. Even if he was a formidable術 (shu) practitioner in his youth, he was now just a person dragging a crippled body and struggling desperately.

When I said he was like an old dog, I wasn't belittling him. An old dog who would guard the gate even at the cost of its life was worthy of admiration because there were no distracting thoughts in its heart, only persistence. Even if its last few roars were merely a demonstration, they represented its loyalty to its duty.

Old Liu shook his head and sighed. "Fellow villagers, listen to Mr. Li!"

I said in a deep voice, "Who can find me a few coffin ropes? The older the better. If you can't find coffin ropes, sturdy ropes will do. Also, get me a barrel of diesel fuel. Who has a tractor? If not a tractor, a three-wheeled motorcycle will do, anything that can drag things."

I thought for a moment and said, "If anyone has a coffin, it would be best to get one for me. Also, find quicklime. If there's no quicklime, cement or yellow soil will do, the more the better."

The village generally didn't lack the things I mentioned. The key was whether anyone was willing to bring out coffins and coffin ropes.

There were definitely coffins in the countryside, but those coffins were the precious treasures of the elderly, and no one wanted to bring them out.

Then there were the coffin ropes. If a funeral home wasn't used, the ropes would be thrown away after the coffin was carried to its destination. Only the people who specialized in carrying coffins in the funeral home would keep the ropes. Aged coffin ropes could be used as magical instruments in the hands of術 (shu) practitioners, so funeral homes wouldn't easily let them go.

These two things were the key to getting the corpse out of the water.

Without them, things would be much more troublesome!

Old Liu really did have prestige in the village. He led people around the village and actually managed to get a good coffin and a few coffin ropes.

I had everyone step back and threw a rope to Old Liu. "Tie the feet, I'll tie the body. Tie it tight, don't let the rope break. If the rope breaks, it'll be difficult."

"Those over there, first spread quicklime in the coffin, a foot thick."

"Drive the tractor over, tie the rope to the back of the tractor..."

After I finished assigning tasks, I took out a piece of white cloth from my backpack to cover my mouth and nose, and tentatively stepped into the water pit containing the corpse.

I tentatively took two steps towards the corpse before slowly straddling it. I used the coffin rope to tie a slipknot around the corpse's neck, and then used another coffin rope to tie three more around the corpse's body, but deliberately didn't tie the corpse's arms.

When I stood up, the corpse's hands were still stretched out in front of it.

I threw the coffin rope tied to the corpse's neck to Old Liu, then waved to the distance. "Tractor, pull back!"

A few seconds later, the coffin rope was pulled into a straight line, and the corpse in the water was like an iron tree that had taken root. No matter how much it was dragged, it didn't budge. The tractor's tires made a harsh friction sound on the ground, but it couldn't move forward any further.

"Pour the diesel into the water!" As soon as I said that, Old Liu was startled. "Don't set it on fire, what if you startle the corpse?"

The villager responsible for pouring the oil stopped.

I walked over and took the oil drum. "I'll light it! When you see the corpse retreating, throw dirt into the pit. For every inch the corpse retreats, you fill an inch. You must fill the water pit completely, understand?"