Chapter 204: Nurturing Corpses to Guard Treasures

A group of people were staring at me, and one of them asked, “That feng shui master, is he up to something fishy?”

I scolded, “Broad daylight, with gods watching from above, what fishy business could there be? I’m just thinking.”

In truth, the Taoist surnamed Gu had merely played a trick of deception.

I waved my hand. “Start digging, but be careful not to damage the coffin. The dead are just like the living—if their house gets wrecked, they won’t let you off easy.” I handed each of them a piece of dried cow dung to hold in their mouths. Gu Dun also took one, but seeing that I didn’t, he couldn’t help asking, “Master, why aren’t you using one?”

I replied, “Because I’m the master.”

Though it was nearing the end of the lunar year, the coldest days had passed, and the sun hung high in the sky. Digging them up now shouldn’t lead to corpse transformation. Besides, the black dog and rooster blood poured around the site would help suppress any evil. If I had some of my grandfather’s rare ingredients, I could’ve brewed a Corpse-Slaying Elixir.

Instead, I had to make do with old underwear and menstrual cloth in hand.

As the men started digging around, I couldn’t help but reflect—over the past half year, I’d dug up quite a few ancestral graves. Though it was for a good cause, grave-digging was still grave-digging. I must’ve lost a fair bit of my lifespan.

With everyone working together, the coffin was soon uncovered. Ropes and hooks were fastened tightly, and a wooden frame was set up. With a collective heave—thud! It didn’t budge.

I walked over and patted the coffin. “Old Man Gu, I’m doing this for your own good.” In my heart, I cursed the old man relentlessly, but with Gu Dun standing beside me, I kept my mouth shut.

After my words, everyone pulled again, and this time, the coffin lifted. The men looked at me with admiration.

I smiled mysteriously. “No problem. With me here, everything’s fine.” The coffin was hoisted up and moved aside, followed by another. After much effort, the lid was pried open.

The coffin, having weathered the years, had lightened. Inside lay Gu Zijue in a black burial robe, wearing a hat, with few burial items—just a rusted pair of fire tongs. When Madam Liu’s coffin was opened, black corpse miasma seeped out.

Gu Dun took one look and turned pale. “What’s going on?”

He stared at me, then at Ma Ruoxing.

Ma Ruoxing pointed at me. “Ask the master.”

Though I’d seen zombies before—especially that first one, Huang, who crawled out of a freezer—this was my first time digging up a grave. Gu Zijue and Madam Liu had changed. Their faces were dark and hardened, their hands blackened, resembling the Japanese corpse Meng Liuchuan had brought.

Strangely, their mouths were puffed up, dry and black, their clothes the same.

I told Gu Dun, “If zombies awaken, the first thing they do is hunt their own kin—because they blame them for their transformation. Uncle, you’d better be careful.”

Gu Dun, who had been skeptical before, now saw it with his own eyes. “Master, why do my grandparents look like this? Like they’ve suffered some disaster—almost ghostly.” I coughed twice, scolding him for speaking so disrespectfully. No matter how strange they looked, they were still his elders.

Gu Dun kowtowed frantically, asking what to do. I fetched an inked string, resealed the coffin, and said, “Don’t worry. I’m here.” Using a mixture of black dog and rooster blood as ink, I drew dense crisscrossing lines around the coffin for added protection.

Ma Ruoxing asked, “Master Xiao, can I go in now… to search the tomb?” I smirked. “Uncle Ma, why are you sweating?” He chuckled nervously. “It’s just hot.”

Gu Dun chimed in, “Yeah, it’s hot. The sun’s blazing.”

The others agreed. “It’s really warm today.”

Clearly, everyone was terrified.

Gu Zijue and Madam Liu had turned into black zombies. Once they tasted human blood, they’d be unstoppable—but I kept that to myself.

I placed two iron weights on the coffins. No matter how strong the zombies were, they couldn’t defy the weights, symbols of cosmic justice.

With everything set, I called out, “Alright. Uncle Ma, go ahead.”

I’d made one mistake—not bringing Xiao Jian, who had Yin-Yang sight. Ma Ruoxing climbed down into the pit, a small knife in hand.

After all this digging, the goal was to find any hidden treasure. Ma Ruoxing, eager for this moment, began digging deeper, uncovering worms, ants, and centipedes.

As I watched, something felt off. I replayed the scene in my mind—Gu Zijue and Madam Liu, their hands bound with black threads. My mind raced. No wonder the compass had spun wildly, alternating between auspicious and ominous.

Of course.

Taoist Gu’s trick was simple. Opening the coffin confirmed it. The Moon-Emerging-from-Clouds formation surely held treasure, and he’d planted two zombies to guard it.

If the treasure was disturbed, the zombies would awaken.

“Bad news!” I shouted, quickly placing the underwear and menstrual cloth under the weights. The mountain wind blew, creating a bizarre sight. Gu Dun, though embarrassed, kept silent, staring at his blackened grandparents.

Just then, Ma Ruoxing unearthed two large earthen eggs. A green beauty lay beside them, as if in love.

I collapsed onto the ground, flanked by two coffins—one for Gu Zijue, one for Madam Liu. I thought of many things. I used to be a slightly flamboyant artsy guy, smoking cheap cigarettes, chasing girls, taking them to movies, and booking budget hotels.

But now? Freezing in some backwater ravine in Jiangxi, probably about to die.

Ma Ruoxing had already grabbed the green beauty, pocketing the earthen eggs, grinning like a blooming chrysanthemum.

I’d never seen such joy. In rare geomantic sites, nature formed these earthen eggs, which, under the right circumstances, hatched extraordinary creatures.

No wonder Ma Ruoxing was ecstatic.

“Master, look at this!” he beamed.

I groaned. “We’re doomed.”

Gu Dun’s face turned from pale to green, his sweat dried by the wind, his nose running. Watching Ma Ruoxing laugh and me cry, he stammered, “Master, what’s going on? If there’s no trouble, I’d like to go home.” Before he finished, the helpers had already retreated twenty meters—skilled veterans who’d slipped away unnoticed.

Ma Ruoxing asked, “Master, why are you crying?”

He even shook the earthen eggs.

Thud! Thud! Gu Zijue and Madam Liu’s coffins trembled as they rammed their heads against the lids. The wood, decayed by years of rain and insects, was fragile.

I stood up. “Uncle Gu, go home and cook all the good food. After tonight, you won’t have a head left to eat with.”

Without a head, you’d have no mouth, and without a mouth, even the finest delicacies would be worthless.

Gu Dun wanted to ask more.

“Go!” I barked. “Spend your last moments with your wife.” He bolted, locking every door behind him.

From the coffins came rhythmic thuds—thud… thud-thud-thud…

At this rate, they’d break free soon. “Put them back! Now!” I yelled.

Ma Ruoxing protested, “But these are treasures!”

I shook my head. “Uncle Ma, there are two paths. Either return the eggs, move the coffins, and leave—or keep them and wait for death.”

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

I explained, “Gu Zijue and Madam Liu were buried strangely—hands bound, mouths stuffed. If I’m right, their throats were blocked to trap their last breath—all to nurture zombies.”

Ma Ruoxing still didn’t get it.

I cursed inwardly. My grandfather was a genius—how did he end up with such a dim-witted partner?

But that’s how life worked. Smart people always befriended fools. Take me—brilliant, yet stuck with a dumb dog, a clueless monk, Shen Yihu, and that so-called half-immortal.

I sighed, forgiving Ma Ruoxing.

“They died together—rare, unless they were deeply in love. Bound, gagged—all to keep them still. Disturb them, and their pent-up breath escapes. This was intentional—corpse cultivation.”

He seemed to grasp it. “You’re saying someone else wanted these eggs, so they planted zombies to guard them. Take the eggs, and the zombies wake up.”

“Bingo!” I gave a thumbs-up.

Ma Ruoxing blinked. “Bing-what? A soldier-dog?”

“It means ‘correct’ in English. The compass’s mixed signals were because of this. The zombies are guards. And that Taoist—he went to great lengths to protect these eggs. If we take them, do you think he’ll let us go?”