Chapter 56: The Drought Demon! (8)

When Li Laozhang first witnessed this bloody scene, he had wanted to run away long ago, but he feared that any movement on his part might provoke the zombie to lunge at him. Wang Banxian seemed to sense Li Laozhang’s thoughts. He leaned close to Li’s ear and whispered, “Old Master Li, do exactly as I say—first, both of us will quietly pick up a stone from the ground. Then, watch for my signal. We’ll throw them simultaneously into the river beside the grave. The splash will draw the zombie’s attention, and once it’s distracted, we’ll run down the mountain.”

“Can’t you subdue the zombie directly?” Li Laozhang’s eyelids quivered involuntarily, his voice trembling like his shaky legs. At that moment, Li Yang was pinning down a half-dead worker, grinding his teeth with a grating sound, his mouth nearly buried in the man’s neck. Thick, warm blood dripped from Li Yang’s gums, staining his chin and chest, while occasional low growls of excitement echoed through the air. The pungent smell made Li Laozhang gag uncontrollably.

“Zombies have no soul, so my spells are useless against it. The only way to destroy it is by fire—but not ordinary fire. We need the eternal flame from the temple, so we must go retrieve it. Otherwise, once it finishes off these people, it will head to the village and kill others. Anyone whose essence it drains might undergo a second transformation into a corpse within days. Then, who knows how many more people will die!” Wang Banxian covered his nose, his face contorting in disgust.

“Is there really no other way? Can’t we just wait until daylight? Don’t zombies fear light?”

“No, no, no!” Wang Banxian shook his head helplessly. “This is a black jiang—a special type of undead creature. It can move freely even in daylight. So follow my plan quickly—otherwise, it will be too late!”

With no other choice, the two men silently bent down to pick up stones. After exchanging a glance, Li Laozhang nodded at Wang Banxian.

“Plop!” The sound of the stones hitting the water echoed loudly in the still night.

Sure enough, Li Yang’s shoulders jerked violently. He dropped his ‘meal’ and his greenish eyes gleamed with animalistic greed. His rigid body, stiff as a log, sprang up in an instant. Arms stretched straight forward, he hopped forward without twisting his waist or bending his legs, making a loud thumping sound as he bounded toward the river. His arms flailed wildly like dry branches, clearly still hungry and unwilling to miss any opportunity to feed.

Seeing Li Yang distracted, Wang Banxian immediately pulled Li Laozhang toward Lingguan Temple. After running for a while, Li Laozhang suddenly stopped and said, “Wait! I haven’t retrieved my son’s soul yet. That ‘tan chong’—I must go back for it.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Old Master Li! Now you’re really bringing up the wrong topic at the wrong time! Going back now would almost certainly mean death. Besides, what’s that trinket compared to a human life? As for the tan chong…” Wang Banxian hesitated briefly before offering a compromise: “Let’s burn the zombie first, then go back for it!”

“No, I can’t leave my son behind. I can’t…” Li Laozhang stubbornly refused.

“This…” Wang Banxian drew out the word, clearly conflicted. Although the saying “the customer is always right” hadn’t been coined yet, Wang was a conscientious practitioner. Despite his minor flaws, he was diligent and ethical, a model among spiritual mediums. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, “Alright, since I accepted your case, I’ll see it through to the end. I’ll go retrieve the soul, and you go to the temple to get the flame. Li Laozhang, remember—once you get the flame, go home and light a white wax candle with it, then pour oil around your doorstep. Don’t let the flame go out. Wait for me to lead the zombie back. If I haven’t returned after an hour, prepare several large drums and bang them as hard as you can. By then, it’ll be nearly the fourth watch of the night, and the noise should lure the zombie over. Once it’s close, set the fire and burn it to death!”

‘Going myself would be suicide, but Wang Banxian might have a chance. I’ll just follow his plan,’ Li Laozhang reasoned internally.

“Then take care, and be safe,” Li finally agreed. Wang Banxian nodded and turned back, while Li Laozhang continued hurrying toward Lingguan Temple.

When Wang Banxian returned to Li Yang’s grave, the “big dumpling” was still feasting on his prey. The tan chong sat in front of the donkey cart, so retrieving it would require passing by Li Yang. Wang Banxian repeated his earlier trick, picking up another stone and tossing it into the stream. Zombies, after all, lacked intelligence. Wang easily distracted the foolish Li Yang again. Taking advantage of Li Yang’s distraction, Wang crouched low and crept behind the cart, using the wooden fence for cover.

As he approached the cart, he spotted Liu Dashao hiding near the grave. In fact, Liu Dashao and Old Madam Fan had already arrived before Wang Banxian. Seeing Li Yang devouring the workers’ corpses, they had hidden near the grave and remained silent. Old Madam Fan, having experienced many hardships, was somewhat prepared for the sight, but Liu Dashao, still underage, nearly fainted at the gruesome scene.

“Li Yang’s birth chart is dominated by earth, which suppresses water, so he lacks water. Now, the marble base beneath the tombstone blocks the underground water supply, and the carving of two dragons playing with a pearl on top of the stone makes things even worse. Dragons suck water, so they’ve drained all the moisture. That’s why he lacks water. But those are just external factors. The real problem is that this tombstone acts like a gate, completely blocking the water vapor from miles around and causing drought. That’s why he turned into a black jiang,” Old Madam Fan muttered to herself.

“Hmm, why does it sound like there’s noise?”

“No time to think about it. Get the tan chong first!” Wang Banxian muttered. He finally managed to leap onto the cart just as Li Yang returned to his feeding spot. Seeing that he hadn’t been noticed, Wang gently picked up the tan chong, opened the lid, and captured Li Yang’s soul into a soul-locking chain for easier transport. He had already planned how to lure Li Yang back to the Li family’s courtyard. From his sleeve, he pulled out a yellow talisman. With a few quick finger movements and a focused thought, the paper folded itself into a lifelike sparrow. It resembled the paper crane Old Madam Fan had once given Liu Dashao. Wang Banxian whispered to the sparrow, “Little sparrow, this time it’s all up to you. Lead that monster to the Li family’s house.”

Upon hearing Wang’s command, the paper sparrow flew toward Li Yang, chirping as it flew. Zombies could only perceive sound, so Wang cleverly used the sparrow’s chirping to guide Li Yang slowly toward the Li family’s courtyard. It worked—Li Yang heard the sound and chased after it.

“That’s Wang Banxian! Has he come to subdue this monster? Where was he before? More than ten people have already died, and now he shows up!” Liu Dashao muttered angrily.

“What’s he hiding for? Why doesn’t he just subdue it? Madam Fan, should we call him?” Liu Dashao nudged the old woman beside him.

“Shh! This one has turned into a black僵, and ordinary spells no longer work on it. Only fire can destroy it, and even then, nothing but the eternal flame from the temple will suffice. The zombie can only detect sound, and Wang is using the sparrow to lure Li Yang somewhere,” Old Madam Fan whispered in response. Yet inwardly, she nodded in approval, thinking that over the years, Wang, the “spiritual charlatan,” had at least made some progress.

“Lure him somewhere? Which direction is that?”

“It should be the Li family’s!”

“Don’t act recklessly now. Wait until they leave. Then we’ll smash the tombstone. Once the zombie loses its yin energy, it’ll be easier to deal with,” Old Madam Fan said.

Wang Banxian had been seen by Old Madam Fan and Liu Dashao when he arrived, but they had refrained from calling out to him for some reason. Finally, both Wang Banxian and Li Yang disappeared into the night. The two immediately stood up and walked to Li Yang’s tombstone. Old Madam Fan reached out and touched the dry, alkaline soil beneath the stone, sighing, “I’ve only been away for a little over ten days, and already the village has faced such a disaster, with so many deaths. If this zombie turns into a drought demon, it’ll be beyond saving.”

“Boy, get to work!”

“Leave it to me!” Liu Dashao acted decisively, grabbing a large sledgehammer and smashing the tombstone without hesitation. “Boom!” The stone shattered into pieces, the small fragments scattered on the ground like glaring eyes.

Meanwhile, Wang Banxian had been leading Li Yang with the sparrow for some time when suddenly, Li Yang collapsed onto the ground motionless. Wang Banxian watched from a distance, too afraid to approach.

‘Could the sparrow have stopped chirping? That doesn’t make sense! The bird is still chirping fine, right? But…’

Wang Banxian was deep in thought when a drumbeat suddenly came from the Li family’s direction. Earlier, Wang had spent quite a bit of time retrieving the tan chong. Before he could lead the zombie to the Li family, the fourth watch of the night had already arrived.

“Damn it! Get up and keep moving! Oh, I wonder how much longer Li Laozhang’s candle will last. What’s going on here?” Wang Banxian, frustrated, cursed as he saw Li Yang lying still. “I can’t just wait here like this.”

Carefully approaching Li Yang, Wang discovered that Li Yang’s eyes were now closed, unlike before when they were wide open.

“Hmm, strange,” Wang muttered. He kicked Li Yang lightly with his foot, but there was no reaction. At this moment, Li Yang had reverted to a corpse again, because the tombstone that had caused his resurrection had been smashed, breaking the curse.

“It seems he’s… well, no matter. If he won’t move, that’s even better. Now I’ll go get the flame and burn him.”

Wang Banxian took off his robe, covered Li Yang’s corpse with it, and ran toward the Li family’s house.

After smashing the tombstone, Old Madam Fan and Liu Dashao immediately chased after Wang Banxian. On the way, they spotted the corpse covered by Wang’s robe.

“Madam, that’s Li Yang’s body! Smashing the tombstone really stopped him. You’re amazing!” Liu Dashao, seeing the harmful creature finally defeated, couldn’t help but praise Old Madam Fan.

“Not really. I just did what I had to do,” Old Madam Fan smiled.

“Don’t be modest! Oh, where did Wang Banxian go?”

“He might be going to retrieve the eternal flame. We mustn’t let him burn the body!”

“Why not?” Liu Dashao asked.

“If a wrongfully deceased person is cremated, they will definitely be reborn as an animal in the next life. Because their physical body was burned, the underworld judge will assume they hated human life, so they’ll be sent to the animal realm. Although Li Yang’s soul was extracted, this body still belongs to him. Burning it now would be harming him.”

“Then what should we do?” Liu Dashao asked again.

“Return the soul to the body, re-bury it at an auspicious time, and erect a new tombstone,” Old Madam Fan replied.

“A new tombstone?”

“A new tombstone means carving a eulogistic inscription on it. There’s an old saying: ‘When the departed rest in a blessed place, future generations will enjoy blessings for a thousand years.’ But this saying only applies to those who die naturally or have completed their lifespan. Those who die unjustly must have a eulogistic stone erected to help them transcend. The inscription for an unjustly deceased person should simply summarize their life and the significance of the stone, while expressing sorrow for their untimely death. Never mention their virtues, for unjustly deceased souls are still repaying debts from their past life. Writing virtues would deceive the underworld judge, and Li Yang’s next life would be even more tragic. So writing the inscription is the hardest part,” Old Madam Fan explained.

“Writing an inscription? That’s easy, leave it to me!” Liu Dashao slapped his head.

“Perfect! Just remember how I told you to write it,” Old Madam Fan reminded.

When Wang Banxian arrived at the Li family’s house, Li Laozhang was still pounding the drums furiously. Seeing a figure approaching, Li Laozhang shouted, “You lot, light the fire!”

“Wait! Wait! It’s me! Old Master Li, it’s me!” Wang Banxian shouted desperately.

“You’re back! I thought you were… Is the zombie behind you?” Li Laozhang hurriedly asked when he recognized Wang.

Wang Banxian then explained what had happened.

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s burn him!” Li Laozhang said.

“No!”

“Fa… Fan Xianggu! Where were you these past few days? I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” Li Laozhang was overjoyed. Old Madam Fan and Liu Dashao had hurried all the way and finally caught up with Wang Banxian and Li Laozhang just before they were about to leave.

“I had some matters to attend to, so I disappeared for a few days, hehe!” Old Madam Fan smiled.

“Since you’re here, everything can be discussed. Now we’re going to destroy that zombie—why not?” Li Laozhang asked cautiously.

“Burning him now would be harming your son…” Liu Dashao repeated what Old Madam Fan had told him. Hearing this, Li Laozhang felt a chill in his heart.

“Wang Banxian, should we burn him or not?” Li Laozhang, afraid of making another mistake, turned to Wang for advice.

“Follow her suggestion. I don’t have a better idea. Keeping the body is better than burning it.”

Seeing how smoothly things had gone, Wang Banxian looked completely different—like a wilted eggplant. “Alright, Madam Fan, with you two immortals here, I can rest easy. After this is done, I’ll reward you properly.” Li Laozhang smiled at Old Madam Fan.

Ever since the conversation ended, Wang Banxian had been staring at Old Madam Fan, as if he wanted to say something. Liu Dashao felt something strange.

By the time the fifth watch arrived and dawn began to break, Liu Dashao, Old Madam Fan, Wang Banxian, and Li Laozhang gathered again at Li Yang’s burial site.

This place was no longer just Li Yang’s grave—it now included the graves of more than ten workers he had killed, as well as Wang Banxian’s two apprentices. Their tombstones were all carved by Old Madam Fan, and since they were made of peach wood, they didn’t take long to complete.

“Madam, why are their tombstones made of peach wood?” Liu Dashao asked.

“They were all unjustly deceased, so they don’t need permanent stone tombstones as ‘passes’ to the underworld. A wooden one is enough for the judge to see,” Old Madam Fan smiled.

After paying their respects to the deceased, everyone returned home, leaving behind the many graves to stand together in silence.

“Ladies and gentlemen, what happened last night was completely unexpected. On behalf of my family, I sincerely apologize to the families of the deceased. Please accept this money as compensation,” Li Laozhang said to the dozen or so women gathered in the living room. But they just kept crying, unmoved by his words.

“Master Wang, please help me reason with them!” Li Laozhang turned to Wang Banxian, who reluctantly tried to calm them down.

“These workers died unjustly, and we just finished the rituals to help them pass on peacefully. If you keep crying like this, they might become attached and return to you. So please, stop crying!” Wang Banxian said in a strange tone. Surprisingly, it worked—the women quieted down.

“Master Wang is right. Now, please take the compensation and go home,” Li Laozhang hurriedly said after seeing the women calm down. After sending them away, Li Laozhang noticed that Old Madam Fan was gone.

“Hey, where did Madam Fan and that Liu boy go?” Li Laozhang asked.

“She said she had something to do and went back,” Wang Banxian replied.

“She left already? I still wanted to thank her!”

“Old Master Li, since the matter is settled, may I go find Madam Fan? I have something I’d like to ask her,” Wang Banxian said.

“Alright, and take these two hundred yuan for her as a small token of my appreciation.”

Wang Banxian took the money and walked toward Madam Fan’s only residence in the village. However, upon his arrival, the house was empty, the door was locked, and no one responded to his knocks. He speculated that they might have gone to the cemetery. Thus, with a tentative attitude, he left the village.

“Child, back when the snake spirit left, I originally had some doubts about her words. But in just these past few dozen days, so many strange things have happened in our village. Now I truly believe them. Sigh! When things go against the norm, there must be something supernatural at play. But what could cause such a big disturbance…” As Wang Banxian walked a bit, he saw Madam Fan and Liu Dashao sitting among the weeds. As he approached, he just caught the end of Madam Fan’s words.

“Sister, so you really are here!”

“What do you want?” Madam Fan’s voice turned cold the moment she saw Wang Banxian.

“I know I was a bit harsh last time—I’ve come to apologize,” Wang Banxian said. Although Madam Fan and Wang Banxian had been like oil and water for years, they were actually fellow disciples under the old Taoist master twenty years ago. The old master was highly respected and strict, a pillar and leader of the village. While he was alive, Wang Banxian was obedient and diligent, learning many skills and doing several good deeds that satisfied the villagers. Relations between the two disciples were quite harmonious. But after the old master’s death, Wang Banxian completely changed. Without supervision, his hidden vices surfaced one by one. Madam Fan tried to advise him, but he mocked her, turned the blame on her, and eventually broke off relations. Wang Banxian was a very ambitious and proud person, yet now he was humbly apologizing to her. Madam Fan thought he must have changed after all these years and her anger softened a bit.

“Fine, I’m not that petty,” Madam Fan huffed, giving him a cold glare.

“I knew you wouldn’t be petty, hehe. Uh… May I ask, aren’t you supposed to be back in the town? Why are you suddenly here?” Wang Banxian pointed at the graves.

“What, not welcome?” Madam Fan shot back, then sneered: “If I hadn’t interfered with that zombie, you’d have been in serious trouble!”

“I know, I know, Senior Sister is superior!” Wang Banxian carefully replied.