Chapter 48: The Empty Grave

Old Ma sneered, “Suicide? Do you think I’m a toddler? You’d best come clean, or else you’ll be waiting for death.”

Huang Wenyang trembled all over, tormented for a long while, and glanced at Old Ma. Normally so careless and nonchalant, Old Ma now appeared grave, every gesture radiating authority—a clear sign this matter was truly thorny. Huang Wenyang, guilty at heart, finally snapped under the tension.

“It’s not my fault! It was just an accident! She was a little crazy, wouldn’t listen, even bit people. I put her face in a basin of water, and somehow she drowned... It really was an accident. My son was there too—he can testify she drowned herself!” Huang Wenyang argued, panic etched in his voice.

To claim she drowned herself with her face in a basin, and that his son could attest to it! Such shameless nonsense—how could he utter it without flinching? Huang Yunlei had been held down by father and son, forced into the water, drowned alive! Fearing exposure, they buried her body in the mountains that very night, erasing all evidence!

Huang Wenyang quaked, his voice trembling in terror. “I-Is she back?”

“If it were really her, at most she’d come for you and your son,” Old Ma replied, “but the situation may be far worse.”

Huang Wenyang jerked violently, the iron spade clattering to the ground.

Watching the group advance, I was surprised—they were heading in the same direction Wei Second Master had gone last night. I glanced at him, but the darkness hid his expression.

We reached the village outskirts, arriving at the woodland where I’d encountered the bird-eating spider the previous night. Now, with seven or eight flashlights, the beaten path within the woods was visible. Wei Second Master had indeed entered here last night.

We walked into the forest. The night was already pitch-black, and deeper inside the woods the darkness grew thicker, as if swallowing the beams of our flashlights, dimming them.

Late autumn—night chill like water. Cold winds swept through, rustling leaves everywhere, punctuated by occasional calls of nocturnal birds.

Xiao Qingwan was indeed a brave girl; she showed no fear, occasionally glancing at Wei Second Master, as if wary of wandering ghosts emerging from the woods, always ready to protect him.

At first the trees were sparse, but as we ventured further, the forest thickened, and the path vanished. We relied entirely on Huang Wenyang and Huang Gaoyuan, who wielded their spades to clear the way ahead.

They had buried her deep!

The rustling grew more frequent, with sounds of movement from the underbrush and grass—some animal, unknown. I only hoped it wasn’t a snake; at night, any bite here could bring unpredictable consequences.

My doubts deepened. What could be so urgent as to drive Old Ma to gather everyone in the dead of night? Was the matter truly so pressing it couldn’t wait for dawn?

---

We walked for an indeterminate time. Huang Wenyang led us into a dense patch of vegetation, pointing at a cluster of thick shrubs. “It’s here.”

Well hidden; without his guidance, we’d never have found it.

“Dig it up!” Old Ma commanded.

Huang Wenyang, trembling, picked up his spade and, with Huang Gaoyuan, began clearing the brush. His face was pale, his body shivering.

Now he knew fear? When he abused Huang Yunlei, forced her into prostitution, and finally killed her, was he not afraid then?

I wanted to ask Old Ma about the situation, but his increasingly grim face discouraged me.

Huang Wenyang and Huang Gaoyuan removed the shrubs, and nervously began digging. The more they dug, the harder they shook; their pace slowed, their strength waned.

“Dig faster!” Old Ma barked, his face darkening further.

They gritted their teeth and dug with all their might.

The pit grew larger and deeper, yet no corpse appeared.

Huang Wenyang muttered, “Strange, we didn’t bury it this deep. Why isn’t it here?”

They dug further, deepening the hole, but still found nothing.

Huang Wenyang’s face was ghostly pale, terror-stricken, his voice quivering, “H-How could it not be here? We clearly buried it right here.”

“Is it possible she wasn’t dead, and after you left, she got out herself?” Huang Gaoyuan suggested.

Huang Wenyang shook his head frantically. “Impossible. We checked—she was dead. How could the body just disappear?”

How could a corpse vanish? Did it crawl away by itself?

---

I looked at Old Ma; his expression was grim.

“Ma, do you know what’s going on?” Xiao Qingwan asked.

Old Ma’s face was set. “There’s no vengeful ghost here, but the air is thick with resentment. I once thought it was because the body was cremated—that without physical remains, her anger lacked a vessel, and she couldn’t seek revenge. But it was a burial! Buried bodies rot, but their form lingers, gathering darkness and evil, and over time, breeds malice. Especially in such a gloomy, wild forest, without a grave marker or tombstone—not a proper burial! Such souls are sure to haunt. Yet here, there’s only resentment, no trace of her spirit. Something has gone wrong, and it’s far worse than I imagined.”

He turned to Huang Wenyang. “After you buried her, did anyone come here?”

Huang Wenyang shuddered. “I-I don’t know. We were very careful when we buried her. No one knew. I’m surprised you even know about the body…”

Old Ma looked at me. I asked Huang Wenyang, “Are you certain no one saw when you buried her?”

“Certain. It was late at night, absolutely no one around.”

So how did Huang Yunlei’s friend know? She wasn’t from the village. I’d thought she’d learned of it from a witness, but now it seemed stranger still.

I looked at Xiao Qingwan and Wei Second Master—both were present at the time. Xiao Qingwan’s face showed the same confusion, while Wei Second Master remained silent, inscrutable.

I stared at the empty, deep pit, pondering. If the corpse didn’t move on its own, someone must have dug it up. This place was so remote, no grave marker or tomb—unlikely to attract ordinary grave robbers. It had to be someone from the village. Whoever found this spot must have known about that night.

Though Huang Yunlei’s friend wasn’t a villager, she knew about it—and that made her a prime suspect.

But there was someone even more suspicious: the person who told her everything!

My mind raced, a vague idea forming. I turned to Xiao Qingwan. “Under what circumstances do forbidden ghosts typically possess someone?”

She was startled—uncertain why I asked. After thinking, she replied, “There aren’t really any special circumstances. In past stories, sometimes two parties had a grudge, then one fell ill or died, and investigation revealed the other as the forbidden one. But that’s not absolute—more often, those with unusual behavior were identified as the forbidden ones.”