Chapter 195: Strange Occurrence

Just the sight of a coffin was terrifying enough, let alone seven corpses.

The alcohol Shen Yihu and I had consumed was instantly shocked out of our systems. Shen Yihu threw some money on the table, told the owner to keep the change, and bolted outside. I quickly followed, hopping into the car as we sped toward the river.

It was already midnight, and in the dead of winter, few people wandered along the riverbank. The call to the police had come from a woman, reporting floating corpses on the river. If they were indeed corpses, this was a homicide case. When officers arrived, they found seven bodies carrying a coffin, slowly moving from one side of the river to the other, as if performing some eerie ritual.

By the time Shen Yihu and I arrived, the cold wind hit us like a slap in the face. We kicked open the car door, and the biting chill made our noses and ears numb. Cupping our hands over our mouths to warm them, we boarded a boat that had just pulled up and set off in pursuit.

The weather forecast had predicted temperatures of -5°C, but out on the river, it felt even colder.

Sure enough, on the dark waters, a corpse was wading through the river, holding what looked like a funeral banner to guide the way. Three more corpses flanked each side, carrying a stone coffin.

Something about the coffin struck me as familiar—it might have been the one excavated from Xia Jinrong’s coal mine. Back then, it had been taken away by the woman in the red mask and her entourage, but from this distance, I couldn’t be sure.

We didn’t dare get too close, fearing we might capsize the coffin, so we trailed about ten meters behind.

Shen Yihu grabbed the radio and barked orders: “Search both riverbanks for abandoned vehicles or suspicious individuals. Block off the roads along the river—no one gets through. And sweep the area for any clues.”

Even the usually unflappable Shen Yihu looked pale and shaken. The Yangtze was wide, and though the corpses moved slowly, the current was strong. Yet, instead of being swept away, they walked steadily against the flow. It defied all logic.

My face was just as ashen as his. The wind was brutal, and soon, my nose and eyes were streaming.

Photos of the seven corpses confirmed they were the same ones that had gone missing from the hospital.

Shen Yihu turned to me. “Master Xiao, what the hell is going on here? Dead people carrying a coffin? And not just that—they’re doing it in the middle of the damn river!”

I shook my head. “I’ve never seen anything like it. The Chu people have always had an affinity for water, and the ancient Mengze region was full of lakes, but I’ve never heard of corpses carrying a coffin across a river.”

Truthfully, I had no idea what was happening. My mind had short-circuited more than once recently, leaving me clueless about the bizarre events unfolding before me.

Shen Yihu asked, “Should we fish them out now or wait until they reach the shore?”

After a moment’s thought, I replied, “It’s harder to deal with them in the water. Let’s intercept them on the other side.”

The lead corpse swayed its ghostly banner, the fabric snapping in the wind like a spectral flag of the underworld. Shen Yihu and I leaned over the boat’s edge, watching intently.

The wind grew fiercer, the cold unbearable. Soon, my chest felt like ice, and I started jumping in place to keep from freezing to death.

The river was a kilometer wide, and after half an hour, the coffin still hadn’t reached the opposite bank.

After staring for so long, I still couldn’t figure out how they were doing it. It was like some high-tech horror show.

I turned to Shen Yihu. “When you worked with my grandfather, Long Youshui, did you ever encounter anything like this?”

“First time in my life,” he admitted. “What do you think is inside that stone coffin?”

“It’s got to be a person,” I said.

Then something struck me as off. “Officer Shen, remember when you could see Bai Yu and Han Zongnan? Do you still have that ox tear solution?”

“Of course.” He pulled out a small vial. I dabbed some on my eyelids, and he did the same.

*Clink… clink.*

Two crisp sounds. Shen Yihu and I both collapsed onto the deck. He grabbed the radio and shouted, “Everyone on the shore, fall back a hundred meters! When that coffin reaches land, no one approaches—understood? That’s an order!”

Rubbing my eyes, I saw that each of the seven withered corpses had a gaunt, skeletal ghost perched on its back. The ghosts’ ankles bore the mark of a centipede.

Sitting atop the stone coffin were three female spirits in red, their robes billowing sinuously—the kind of vengeful ghosts from legend, yet not quite.

It was unsettling.

A strange fragrance hung in the air.

This scene was even more terrifying than anything I’d witnessed before.

Shen Yihu turned to me. “Master Xiao, what now? There are so many ghosts here.”

I felt like dying on the spot. All I wanted was to turn around, crawl back under my blankets, and dream of, say, Ms. Sora or Ms. Aoi. Instead, here I was, freezing on a boat, counting ghosts and watching zombies. I was an idiot.

I cleared my throat. “So, Officer Shen… maybe you handle this, and I’ll just head back?”

He grabbed my collar. “Master Xiao, you can’t bail now! Who else am I supposed to rely on? Just help me get those seven corpses down. The ghosts can go—I won’t push you on that.”

I groaned inwardly. *Buddy, it’s seven corpses and ten ghosts. This isn’t a street brawl.*

Shen Yihu fixed me with his heroic, justice-obsessed, slightly pained stare.

Gritting my teeth, I nodded. “Fine. But if those old ghosts kill me, promise you’ll take care of my parents. Tell them I died a martyr—defending the people and fighting crime. Deal?”

He released my collar. “Stop being so dramatic. You’re not dying that easily.”

I sighed. “It’s seven walking corpses and ten ghosts. And who knows if the corpses have turned into zombies?”

Shen Yihu grinned. “Relax. Hey, Xiao Qi, do you still have any dried cow dung? I’ll chew on some for luck.”

“Where would I get that in the city? Cows aren’t exactly urban pets.”

After exchanging a few morbidly humorous farewells, I urged Shen Yihu to speed up the boat so we could reach the shore sooner.

Once we landed, he ordered the boat crew to retreat two hundred meters. Handing me a walkie-talkie, he made to leave.

“Wait, Officer Shen—what’s this?” I asked.

He smirked. “I’m not the expert here. Zombies and ghosts are your department. What’s there to be scared of?”

I couldn’t let him go—he’d be useful in a fight. But Shen Yihu, still traumatized from the last encounter with the Huang family, shook his head. “Master, I’ll grab a sniper rifle and cover you from two hundred meters away.”

With that, he sprinted off into the darkness.

*Good luck hitting a zombie or ghost in this blackout, Officer Shen.*

Oh well. Catching criminals was his job; dealing with zombies and ghosts was mine. The only difference was that he got paid for it.

Life wasn’t fair.

Standing on the northern bank, I surveyed the scene. The dried reeds to the east and west stretched like a pale, shadowy wasteland, eerie and unsettling. I wondered if any water ghosts lurked among them, eyeing my soul—or if any female spirits coveted my essence.

I grabbed a flashlight and shone it over the river. The procession was about fifty meters from shore.

Feigning nonchalance, I called out, “Just a lonely soul admiring the river. Such beautiful scenery, such clear waters—”

I stopped. That was a lie. The Yangtze hadn’t been clear in years. Industrial waste, untreated sewage, deforestation—the river was a mess.

I quickly amended my statement. “Actually, I’m here out of concern for our polluted waters. The Yangtze is our mother river, and we must protect her! With proper leadership, public awareness, and funding, we can restore her glory!”

Just then, a water ghost emerged from the reeds. “I have a solution to clean the river overnight.”

I clasped my hands. “Oh? Do share!”

The ghost grinned. “For every official—mayors, directors, managers—we’ll personally deliver river water to their homes. They’ll drink it, bathe in it, cook with it. Soon, the river will sparkle like a mirror.”

I burst out laughing. “There aren’t enough of you ghosts to cover all our officials!”

The ghost scoffed, but after counting, it deflated. “Damn, you’re right. There *are* more of them. Forget it.”

Ten minutes later, the lead corpse with the ghostly banner reached the shore. The other six followed, dragging the coffin, their legs tangled in weeds. One even had a Durex wrapper stuck to its ankle and peeled it off irritably.

The seven skeletal ghosts perched on their shoulders gazed listlessly ahead, their eyes filled with resignation—no longing for life, no hope, no love.

It was the look of souls trapped in an endless cycle, worn down by time.

They had endured too much.

As they stepped onto land, the three red-clad female ghosts atop the coffin began to dance.

Their movements were hauntingly graceful—a spectral performance of *Feitian*, the celestial dance of the heavens.