Chapter 98: Corpse Nurturing Ground

The jeep stopped at the entrance of the village, and a row of armed local guards immediately pointed their guns at us. Although Ruan Nan was young, he managed to say a few words, and the guns were lowered. Little Rascal ran over from the ground and jumped onto my shoulder, stretching out its tongue to lick me.

I patted its head and asked, “What are you doing here?”

Little Rascal barked excitedly, looking at Bai Yueming in my arms. It tried to reach out with its paw to investigate the little creature, but suddenly Bai Yueming opened its mouth as if to bite, scaring Little Rascal into quickly retracting its paw.

As it jumped off my shoulder, I pushed open the car door and carried Qi Qiqi out.

Ruan Nan said, “This is the place. We’ll wait here for Zuo Shan.”

I glanced back at him and said, “I won’t let him off. Do you have any penicillin…”

While speaking, I noticed Xie Lingyu and the jade corpse following her sitting in a wooden hut, with a one-armed middle-aged man standing beside them. The man was dressed in military-green fatigues, though it was unclear which country’s uniform it was.

Xie Lingyu called out, “Over here.” The jade corpse looked at Qi Qiqi, who was burning with fever in my arms, and seemed displeased.

I asked, “Why are you here? And who are you?”

The one-armed man smiled and said, “I’m Dai Hao. I invited Miss Xie here. Someone, take her away for treatment.”

Two female soldiers stepped forward and took Qi Qiqi. Xie Lingyu reassured me, “Mr. Dai won’t harm her.”

Only then did I hand Qi Qiqi over to the two tough-looking female soldiers.

Dai Hao smiled and said, “I invited Miss Xie here to ask for her help.”

I angrily retorted, “Is this how you ask for help? Without even a word?” Dai Hao remained unperturbed. “I said I invited her. What else could I have done?”

Xie Lingyu asked me to look deeper into the armed village and see if I noticed anything unusual. I walked to the entrance and gazed into the distance, sensing an overwhelming, sinister aura.

“It’s a corpse-raising ground,” I exclaimed in shock.

In feng shui, places with strong yin energy can preserve corpses instead of letting them decay. Over time, these corpses turn into zombies. Whether it’s Guo Pu or Yang Yunsong’s writings, such grounds are considered the most terrifying and taboo burial sites, unfit for any interment.

Landforms like “dead cow’s belly,” “dog’s skull,” “hard wooden spearhead,” “broken-faced Wenqu,” or “earth that isn’t earth” are all ominous terrain that fosters corpse-raising.

Dai Hao raised a finger in approval. “Mr. Xiao is indeed extraordinary. You found this place just with a compass. Last night’s gift—the compass—was my present to you. There’s also a story behind the golden compass.”

I took out the compass and threw it on the table. “Do you think a compass is enough to buy me off?”

Dai Hao chuckled. “It’s understandable that you’re angry. But there’s a reason for everything. Why not sit down and let me explain?”

Xie Lingyu also chimed in, “Xiao Qi, don’t be angry. When we lost contact with you, I was worried too.”

Only then, out of respect for Xie Lingyu, did I sit down.

Dai Hao continued, “I knew about the jade corpse in the Zhe Yin Mountains. When I sent people to find it, they discovered it was already following you. Fortunately, you came to Thailand. With the police and the sorcerers after you, I had to bring Miss Xie here first to keep her safe.”

At that moment, someone brought in some refreshments—a surprisingly refreshing cup of coffee.

Dai Hao went on, “The reason I invited the jade corpse here is to deal with an earth-raised corpse that’s about to emerge.”

I took a deep breath. “Jade corpses and earth-raised corpses can handle bronze-armored corpses. But whether a jade corpse can deal with an earth-raised one, I’m not sure. Why wait for it to emerge? Why not kill it now?”

Dai Hao shook his head. “We can’t kill it. We must capture it alive. Because it’s my ancestor, Dai Zhong.”

I looked at him uneasily. “General Dai Anlan was part of the Expeditionary Force. Is this Dai Zhong related to him? Was he also part of the Expeditionary Force?”

Dai Hao smiled approvingly. “I didn’t expect you to be familiar with that history. Yes, my father was one of General Dai Anlan’s trusted officers. When the 100,000-strong Expeditionary Force retreated through the Savage Mountains, my father died and was buried here by his men.”

Dai Anlan was a graduate of the third infantry class at the Whampoa Military Academy, a prodigy in his youth. He fought many tough battles during the War of Resistance. Newspapers praised him as “General Dai Anlan, who embodies the demeanor of the great Northern Song general Di Qing.” Later, he led troops into Burma to open another front in the war. To cover the retreat of British and American forces, he sustained severe injuries. While crossing the Savage Mountains, due to the harsh environment and lack of medical supplies, he heroically sacrificed his life…

Chairman Mao wrote a eulogy: “To repel foreign invaders, the general composed ‘Gathering the Bracken.’ His mechanized division bravely subdued tigers and bears. Bloody battles at Donggua, driving the enemy back at Tangji. Fallen on the battlefield, yet his ambition remains unbroken.” Premier Zhou Enlai also wrote: “A hero of Whampoa, a champion of the nation.”

I stood up and bowed to Dai Hao in salute. “Thank you.” He returned the gesture.

“Since that’s the case, let’s go take a look at the corpse-raising ground,” I suggested. Dai Hao replied, “No rush, someone else is coming.”

Dai Hao excused himself to attend to other matters, giving me a chance to speak privately with Xie Lingyu. The jade corpse at the door also came over.

Xie Lingyu said, “He Qingling isn’t here. I don’t know where she went.”

I whispered, “I heard from someone named Abe that He Qingling might be a cat that escaped from an ancient tomb. Did you know that?”

Xie Lingyu shook her head, saying she had never heard of it. She then asked about what had happened in the past few days. I told her about the downfall of Ma Ruoxing and Bai Jingren.

She was equally shocked, never imagining that Ma Ruoxing would be so greedy for money.

Still worried about Qi Qiqi, I went to check on her after talking with Xie Lingyu. After a dose of penicillin and fresh bandages, her fever had subsided, and she was no longer at risk of severe brain damage.

I also had the female soldiers fetch some blood to feed Bai Yueming. In the makeshift infirmary, I saw Wu Tieqing, now emaciated like a dried-up monkey. In just four or five days, he had lost all vitality, his cheekbones protruding, his body emitting a foul odor.

His eyes were lifeless as he lay on the bed, moaning in pain. Soon, his entire body began convulsing. Turning a fat man into a skeleton—this was more effective than any weight-loss drug in the world…

Unable to bear it, I stepped forward. “Wu Tieqing, what’s wrong with you?” Barely conscious, he looked at me with pleading eyes, as if begging, “Save me, save me.”

I placed my hands on his abdomen, sensing the changes inside. His belly had turned completely black. Wu Tieqing had been poisoned by a drug curse from the Thai merchant. His time was running out.

I fetched a basin and pressed my hands firmly on Wu Tieqing’s stomach. He screamed in agony, his mouth foaming with white saliva. It seemed as though countless things were crawling inside him. He opened his mouth and vomited violently. The basin quickly filled with black hair, endlessly pouring out.

It was a horrifying sight.

The most unbelievable part was that the hair showed no signs of breaking. Wu Tieqing himself had never seen so much hair in his life, nor had I—except in Japanese horror films where hair grows endlessly.

After vomiting piles of long hair, Wu Tieqing grew even thinner, though his spirits seemed slightly better. He complained of hunger.

I wasn’t sure if I had actually lifted the curse…

……

Bai Yueming reeked of a foul odor, and I didn’t smell much better myself. I found a bucket and noticed a waterwheel setup at the back of the village, with water flowing from it.

While bathing, I ran into Ruan Nan, who glared at me viciously. “Have you figured out how to deal with Zuo Shan yet?”

I poured water over my head. “Killing Zuo Shan will be as easy as crushing an ant. Don’t worry.”

After finishing his bath, Ruan Nan picked up his bucket and left.

I called after him, “Was the person you called in the Zhe Yin Mountains Dai Hao?” Ruan Nan set the bucket down. “I’ve been in contact with General Dai for a long time.”

Ruan Nan was even more restless than Ruan Sanjia. The news about the jade corpse must have come from him.

I considered borrowing his satellite phone to call home but decided against it. I could feel several pairs of eyes secretly watching me.

Halfway through my bath, Little Rascal came running over. After not seeing it for a while, it had noticeably lost weight—probably missing He Qingling.

I filled the bucket with water, soaked a towel, and washed the stench off Bai Yueming. Just as I was cleaning him, the little creature suddenly let out a foul fart, making Little Rascal bark in protest.

After farting, Bai Yueming giggled mischievously. He was already able to crawl on his own, growing at an astonishing rate.

I took off my shirt. Days of running through the jungle, combined with constant tension, had stripped me of any excess fat and darkened my skin. As I rinsed my head, I turned and saw the jade corpse staring at me with wide eyes.

I quickly protested, “Stop looking! It’s not right to peep at someone bathing. How could you do this?”

The jade corpse didn’t understand a word and only stared more brazenly. I hurriedly finished and fled, hearing its mischievous laughter behind me.

Being peeped at by a female corpse while bathing—what a joke if word got out.

Little Rascal followed, barking. Dai Hao had someone bring me a military-green shirt, belt, and trousers, which fit surprisingly well. The bed was neatly made with clean sheets. I stashed my belongings close, placed the gun by the pillow, and laid Bai Yueming beside me.

Little Rascal settled at my feet. Exhausted, I fell into a deep sleep.

In my dreams, I saw Ji Qianqian again.