Chapter 126: Ascension

They all shook their heads.

The man who had been speaking to Gama looked visibly uneasy. "Before we arrived, only the village chief and the mountain folk who discovered the body were here. At that time, there were many others from the village who had come to take a look..."

My expression shifted slightly. "That’s troublesome. We must find the village chief immediately. We need to search the entire village and screen everyone to see if anyone has been bitten. We have to be quick; it’s almost midnight."

The others were visibly shaken, asking us all at once how a living person could turn into a corpse and harm others.

At this moment, Li Yue spoke up. Her voice was soft. "It’s just like a reanimated corpse. They crave blood and will bite a second person, causing those victims to turn as well. If it were just a dead body rising, it would be slightly better, because the person is already dead—the soul is gone, leaving only instinct. But a living person turning is extremely dangerous. They are still alive, and the desire to consume blood brings them nothing but terror and eventual collapse. Once they lose control of their instincts, they become monsters."

As she said this, Li Yue cast a meaningful glance at me.

My heart skipped a beat, and I immediately understood what she meant. If I failed to control my own instinct to absorb ghosts, I would be driven by that same desire and eventually turn into a monster myself.

The villagers turned pale with fright. They shouted, "Gama, we’ll keep guard here. You and Da Neng go find the village chief at once. This can’t be delayed."

Gama was also terrified. A dead body in the village was already enough to cause panic, and even if they feared the corpse might reanimate, they could prepare for it. But if there were a living person turning into a monster that could harm others, no one’s safety would be guaranteed.

The man who had been speaking with Gama, known as Da Neng, immediately agreed to go find the chief. Gama clenched his fists, saying the village chief would be here soon, as they had encountered his son on the road earlier.

I then realized that the chief’s son must have been the man talking to Gama on the path.

Zhang Chang kept his eyes fixed on the corpse, eventually reaching out to touch it.

"Little Fatty, get your immobilization talismans." Zhang Chang commanded.

Wang Erjun produced a black immobilization talisman and muttered a few words under his breath. I caught a faint snippet—he was complaining that these talismans cost one mao each. I suppressed a bitter smile; though Wang Erjun grumbled, he didn't act with any hesitation or delay.

The talisman was pressed onto the corpse’s forehead, covering its brow, bridge of the nose, and eyes, leaving only the chin exposed.

"Take out the ghost-repelling talismans, too. Have them stick those on all the doors and windows."

Wang Erjun’s face clearly showed his heartache over the cost.

Gama said with an embarrassed expression, "I’ll tell the village chief about using your talismans, and we will compensate you for the price. I’ve heard that Master Wang’s talismans aren't cheap."

At once, Wang Erjun’s face lit up with a grin. He handed the bundle of fifty or sixty ghost-repelling talismans to the villagers standing guard.

"You also need to raise the door thresholds. Both the front and back exits need to be raised to half a meter high. And make sure no one stays inside the ancestral hall. This immobilization talisman will suppress his ability to move after reanimation. With the talismans posted, he won't be able to get through the windows, and with the raised thresholds, he won't be able to get out of the doors."

Once Zhang Chang finished speaking, Gama and Da Neng went to work.

Only the three of us remained beside the corpse.

Zhang Chang lowered his voice and said, "I fear there is more trouble coming to Zhenyin Mountain. This wasn't caused by humans. Those who went up the mountain must have encountered something; the guide was bitten, which is why he was abandoned."

My heart sank. I lowered my voice and asked, "Isn't this the location of the Dragon’s Head? There shouldn't be any ghosts here, so how could..."

Li Yue bit her lip slightly. "Ghosts and corpses are different. A place with great Feng Shui certainly won't have ghosts, but the better the Feng Shui, the more corpses you tend to find. Unless it's a place like Yalong Mountain, where all the dead are given water burials in the Yin Dragon River. This is the end of the Yin Dragon River; the water flows from top to bottom, so it’s impossible to let corpses enter the water here. If I’m not mistaken, the people of Zhenyin Mountain prefer to bury their dead on the mountain."

Zhang Chang nodded. "Corpse poison is potent. It’s not just resentment that makes them reanimate; abundant vitality does too. In places with good Feng Shui, corpses can absorb such vitality that they might even 'ascend'."

Li Yue shook her head. "Ascension is too difficult. Since ancient times, many emperors sought immortality, only to pray for ascension after death. According to the records, the 'ascension' of a corpse is a very specific type of reanimation: white feathers grow on the body, and the complexion becomes rosy, just like a living person."

I looked at Zhang Chang. The ancestor of Yalong Mountain—wasn't he seeking this very ascension?

Zhang Chang narrowed his eyes. "The Seven-Root Ginseng thrives on Yang energy and vitality, so where it grows must be a place on Zhenyin Mountain with excellent Feng Shui. I don't know if those people are after the ginseng or something else, but we must prepare in advance."

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the ancestral hall. Gama and Da Neng were busy raising the thresholds. Several people appeared outside.

Leading them was an old man in his sixties or seventies. He looked spirited, and though his hair was white, his clothes were clean and neat. Beside him was the man who had been speaking to Gama earlier, along with several other strong, young villagers.

Gama and Da Neng immediately stood up and addressed him as "Village Chief." They then hurried over, suggesting we step outside the hall to talk.

The door wasn't fully reinforced yet, but when I asked Zhang Chang if we still needed to watch the body, he shook his head, and we walked out.

The village chief was kind and looked much more easygoing than the Great Elder of Yalong Mountain; he didn't give me any sense of discomfort. His tone was sincere as he asked if we had enough talismans and if we could find where Master Wang was.

Before I could answer, Gama and Da Neng stepped forward and recounted what we had said inside the hall.

The village chief’s face shifted instantly. He said he had no wounds on his body, but the mountain folk who found the corpse had already returned to their own village, and he didn't know if anything had happened to them. His expression turned grim. "The night watchman's body was touched by his wife and daughter. His daughter has a wound on her hand because when the body was brought in, his eyes were still open, and when she went to help close them, the corpse bit her. That is why we fear he will reanimate."

Zhang Chang immediately said that the night watchman’s daughter must be found so she wouldn't turn and harm others.

The village chief nodded.

At this moment, the man beside him asked with great anxiety, "Can she be saved?"

The chief gave a bitter smile. "This is my son, Huang Zhen. The night watchman’s daughter is named Xiao Yue. They are engaged and were to be married in two years. If you can help, our village will spare no effort to meet your requests. If you need to bring Master Wang here, we will arrange it immediately."

I looked at Zhang Chang.

Before he could speak, Li Yue answered, biting her lip. "She can be saved. As long as she hasn't seen the moonlight and hasn't turned or bitten anyone, she can be saved. Prepare sticky rice and yellow rice wine to draw out the corpse poison, and we will go find her now."

Joy appeared on Huang Zhen’s face, but the village chief grabbed his arm and shouted at Gama, "Gama, take these guests to the night watchman’s house. Everyone else, follow Gama’s lead. If it is discovered that Xiao Yue cannot be saved, you must not let her harm anyone. Do whatever the guests tell you to do."

Huang Zhen’s face went deathly pale. He shouted, "Father!"

The village chief lowered his voice. "Get yourself home! You are the only one to carry on our family line. If Xiao Yue cannot be saved, you have done nothing wrong to her!"

I suddenly understood the reason behind this.

However, for me, the most pressing concern was what Zhang Chang had said: that the group entering the mountain had disturbed something, and I wondered if they were targeting the Seven-Root Ginseng.

Gama led the way, with the group that had come with the chief following close behind.

Before long, Gama brought us to a stilt house. This was clearly deep within the village; there were no more bonfires around, and few people were in sight. The neighboring stilt houses were quite far apart.

A bamboo fence enclosed a small courtyard. In the corner of the yard, a woman was squatting, staring blankly at a large stone. Her hair was long and draped over her shoulders.

Gama whispered that this was the chief’s son’s fiancée, the night watchman’s daughter, Xiao Yue.

It wasn't yet midnight, and while the moonlight was bright, it hadn't yet reached the intensity of "moon essence."

However, Zhang Chang suddenly spoke up. "The stone she is looking at is problematic. Go find a few sticks—very long bamboo poles. Don't call her name, and don't startle her. Go get the poles quickly."

My heart pounded, and my attention shifted to the stone.