Volume Three – The Fox Spirit’s Tomb Chapter 27 – The Village Chief of Goutou Village

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Seeing the boy’s pained expression, the woman quickly lowered her head and grasped his palm in her hand. Her eyes fixed on the boy’s palm, and she suddenly exclaimed in surprise. Li Kun, Xu Tian, and I turned to look in the direction of the sound. To our astonishment, the boy’s palm was healing visibly before our eyes. In just a short moment, a thin layer of new skin had grown over the wound in the center of his palm. It wouldn’t be long before the injury fully recovered.

At this sight, the woman turned toward me, tightly clasping the child’s hand, and immediately knelt down. I had been watching her every move, so I stepped forward and gently supported her arm, saying, “Sister, there’s no need for this.”

The woman said, “Master, thank you for saving my son.”

I waved my hand to reassure her and then glanced at the heavy layer of dark, deathly aura clinging to her body. “Sister, I see that same deathly aura on you as well. Let me help you cleanse it.”

At that moment, I touched my waist and found that the Soul Severing Blade, just as I had suspected, had silently returned to its sheath without my noticing. It lay quietly at my side.

I drew the Soul Severing Blade once more and said to the woman, “Sister, please sit on the ground and place your left palm flat on the floor. Remember, no matter how painful it becomes, do not move your hand. The blade is extremely sharp—if you move, your entire palm could be severed.”

The woman nodded and sat down, glancing around nervously. She picked up a relatively clean wooden stick from the ground and bit down hard on it.

I said, “Sister, endure it a little longer. It will be over soon.”

She nodded again. I then plunged the Soul Severing Blade into the black circular mark on her palm.

Just like before, the blade began to absorb the black deathly aura from her palm. Within two minutes, the blade trembled slightly. I thought to myself that the dark aura on her must have been completely drawn out.

With that realization, I slowly withdrew the blade from her hand. However, this time, the wound on her palm did not begin to heal.

I pondered silently—apparently, the Soul Severing Blade’s ability to heal wounds was not omnipresent. That made sense; if the blade’s healing power were always active, then its wielder would be effectively immortal, which would be far too extraordinary.

I looked up at the woman and her young son. Indeed, there was no trace of the dark aura on either of them anymore. Yet, dense black deathly energy still swirled thickly overhead in the courtyard, so oppressive that even walking felt sluggish under its influence.

Seeing this, I said to the woman, “Sister, your husband’s corpse cannot remain here in the courtyard. Otherwise, you and your son will continue to be tainted by this deathly aura, and the Headless Ghost will surely return.”

Upon hearing this, the woman nodded hastily and asked, “Master, what should I do then?”

I glanced at the body on the ground and said, “Your husband’s body must be burned promptly.”

The woman took a small step back and said, “Isn’t that too soon? He only died last night... How can that be?”

I shook my head and replied, “If you don’t handle your husband’s body quickly, the deathly aura will infect you and your son again.”

Upon hearing this, the woman finally nodded and said, “I understand. I will bury my husband properly.”

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After speaking, the woman busied herself with preparations. I turned to Li Kun and Xu Tian and said, “You two should help this sister as well. I see a wheelbarrow over there on the left—quickly bring the corpse over and burn it outside the village. Remember, do not let the woman touch the body again; otherwise, the deathly aura will cling to her.”

Xu Tian nodded, but Li Kun asked me, “Old Liu, this deathly aura won’t infect us, will it? I don’t want to be stabbed by you.”

Xu Tian slapped Li Kun on the shoulder and said, “You’re so dense! Both of us wear the Dragon-Seeking Master’s inheritance rings. These things keep us safe from such forces. If this deathly aura could affect us, do you think Old Liu would let us come?”

Hearing that, Li Kun scratched his head, and the two of them walked toward the double-wheeled cart, pushing it over.

Meanwhile, the woman retrieved some clothes her husband often wore when he was alive, preparing to burn them as well.

When I told her not to touch the corpse, the woman burst into tears again, and the boy beside her sobbed continuously. Witnessing this, I felt a surge of anger against the Headless Ghost; I wished I could throw that fiend into boiling oil three times over before feeding it to the dogs.

After the husband’s body was dealt with, I asked the woman, “Sister, where is the village chief’s house? I have some questions for him.”

She replied, “Master, let me take you there. It’s not far from here.”

I nodded and said, “Sister, you can rest easy tonight. The Headless Ghost won’t come after you and your son again.”

The woman nodded, thanking me once more. Then, Li Kun, Xu Tian, and I followed her, wandering through the village.

With her guidance, it wasn’t long before we reached a household’s door within ten minutes. Above the wooden door hung a plaque indicating it was the village committee’s office, so this must be the village chief’s residence.

At the door, the woman knocked three times lightly and called out, “Village chief, there are three masters here to see you.”

Inside the courtyard, the sound of a door opening came, followed by an elderly man walking toward us, muttering, “I haven’t summoned any Taoists for many days. Why suddenly three masters?”

We heard footsteps approaching from inside.

When the old man reached the entrance, we heard the sound of a latch being pulled, and the door was slowly opened from the inside.

At that moment, an elderly man with a goatee stood before us. He was about 1.7 meters tall, hunched over, and leaning on a cane. Upon seeing us, he glanced at Li Kun, Xu Tian, and me.

His body paused when he saw the three of us, then he turned to look at the woman beside us and asked, “Are these three young men the masters you mentioned?”

The woman nodded, then recounted what we had done earlier. The elder’s expression turned solemn as he looked at me, quickly approaching and clasping my hand tightly. “I didn’t expect you to have such skills. Come inside; we should talk.”

I nodded, and he stepped aside, gesturing for us to enter.

Inside the courtyard, it was clean and tidy without clutter. Along the right side of the central pathway stood a stone wall over a meter high surrounding a vegetable garden, though it was barren now, as winter had set in.

We followed the village chief into the house, which was spacious. A wooden table sat by the wall surrounded by several wooden chairs, and on the right side was a heated kang bed. A little girl of about four or five years old played with toys atop it.

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The village chief said to us, “Please sit down. I’ll prepare some tea first.”

I quickly waved him off, saying, “Village chief, no need for formalities. We came here specifically for this matter. The woman has already explained our purpose, and I have some questions to ask you.”

The old village chief looked at the woman sitting on the kang and asked, “Liu Fang, has something happened in your family?”

The woman named Liu Fang nodded and said, “Yes, my husband was killed by the Headless Ghost last night. If it weren’t for these three masters, my son and I wouldn’t have survived tonight.”

The village chief sighed heavily and said, “Alas... to be honest, we don’t know what’s going on in Goutou Village recently. These two ghosts have made life unbearable.”

Hearing this, Li Kun and Xu Tian immediately stood up. Li Kun exclaimed, “What? Two?”

I took a deep breath and motioned for them to sit down.

The village chief chuckled bitterly and sighed, “Yes, two ghosts, not just one.”

Xu Tian, Li Kun, and I exchanged glances. I then asked, “Village chief, please tell us what has happened recently.”

The village chief began slowly, “I remember the first incident happened at the beginning of last month...”

That morning, as usual, the village chief rose early at five o’clock. After washing up, he went to the village’s morning market for a stroll. Though he rarely bought anything, being old and staying home all day was dull, so he liked to wander the market.

Just as he reached the market, Wang Lao’er from the east end of the village came running over, tumbling and panting beside him.

Upon seeing the village chief, Wang Lao’er hurriedly said, “Village chief, it’s bad news. My neighbor, Zhang Laogeng, has died.”

The village chief stopped in his tracks. Looking at the panting Wang Lao’er, he asked, “What happened? Isn’t Zhang Laogeng only in his forties? He was always healthy. How could he have died?”

Wang Lao’er said, “Zhang Laogeng died last night. When he died, his head... his head...”

Seeing Wang Lao’er’s hesitation, the village chief grew impatient. He tapped his cane on the ground a few times and asked anxiously, “Stop stammering. What exactly happened?”

Wang Lao’er swallowed hard and stammered, “Zhang Laogeng’s head... it’s gone...”