chapter 53

“Seven days after the earthquake, we suddenly found that several people in the town had gone missing, but no one could tell how they disappeared. We hurried to report the case. After investigating, the government found that all of the people who disappeared were morticians[1]. Not only was the person gone, but many of the needles in needlework shops also disappeared. This was too strange, but no matter how much they investigated, they couldn’t find an answer, so they could only give up.

“At that time, although everyone was scared, they weren’t afraid of losing their jobs. On the other hand, because of the disappearance of the morticians, the rest of the people in the town actually were doing better in business. But then, someone went back to the village that was originally buried under the ground.”

Yun Xie smiled. “They sure are bold. You said that no one’s body was found in that village, followed by the disappearance of living people. I thought no one would dare to dare to go back.”

Rou Rou replied, “Adults don’t dare, but do the teenagers understand this? I’m afraid the more their families stopped them from going, the more curious they were. My big brother was among the group of people who went. After arriving in the village, they were originally looking for something new and interesting. They probably went around and felt that it was too ordinary, but their hearts were not settled. They were so bored that they took a hoe to dig…”

Jiang Xunyi leaned forward slightly. “What did they dig up?”

Rou Rou smiled bitterly. “They dug out three big boxes.”

She paused, a disgusted expression on her face, and she seemed to be very reluctant to talk about what followed. Jiang Xunyi had already guessed what happened. “Don’t tell me the box was filled with corpses.”

“It was indeed corpses… and I saw it with my own eyes.” Rou Rou paused and continued with difficulty. “My brother took part in digging out the boxes, and after returning, he fell ill. The witch doctor said that he offended the ghosts and gods, and everyone in the whole family was required to kowtow to the three boxes. Even though I was young at that time, my father and mother still brought me to participate. The people in the box were not wearing clothes. Their whole bodies were rotten, and you couldn’t see their original appearance at all. I won’t forget that scene in my whole life.”

Yun Xie replied, “So that’s why no one could discern their identity.”

Rou Rou nodded softly, fear in her eyes. “You have to know that it was winter at that time! The snow-capped mountains were terribly cold. If you buried someone, they wouldn’t end up like that even after two months. Those morticians were barely missing for a few days, and they numbered far more than three, so although everyone had their own suspicions, no one was sure that the bodies belonged to the missing people. But if the box was originally buried under the ground, then after so many years, the bodies should’ve been reduced to skeletons, and it still wouldn’t be like this. No one could figure it out.

“Although the dead bodies did not necessarily belong to the morticians, that scene was still really, really terrible! It was not a good thing at all, and after this, everyone was really sullen, so we don’t have a mortician here anymore. A lot of craftsman skills have also been lost. If you are searching, go far away and look elsewhere!”

Rou Rou hasn’t mentioned this for many years, and it was hard to finish relaying everything. Thinking about the scene at that time, her heart felt panicked. She couldn’t understand why she exposed everything when she was planning to never mention this in her life again. At this moment, she felt afraid, accompanied by some inexplicable grievances.

She pouted and looked at Yun Xie. “Okay, I have finished all I have to say. Are you scared silly now? Let’s see if you believe my words now. Hmph, the excitement that you just mentioned, go look for it now!”

Her tone was obviously coquettish, but unfortunately the pretty and suave appearance of a gentleman Yun Xie previously adopted was demolished right then. He ignored her flirtatious glance as if he was blind and did not comfort her as she wished. Instead, he stood up with fear and anxiously pulled at the corner of Jiang Xunyi’s clothes. “A’Xun, what Miss Rou Rou said is right. This is very scary; let’s leave quickly!”

Rou Rou: “…” She felt too disillusioned.

Jiang Xunyi kept smiling and, continuing to stay still, yanked back his clothes. In the end, he was kinder than Yun Xie and cupped his hands as a salute. “Thank you miss for letting us know. You can rest assured that we will never mention this to outsiders.” He took out a yellow paper folded into a peace symbol from his sleeve. “This is… a senior monk gave it to me before. I shall give it to you today. This symbol is very effective, and I hope it can keep you safe and secure.”

Rou Rou accepted it with difficulty. She felt a little thankful in her heart, but she also thought it was mostly useless. As she took it, she couldn’t help but glance at Yun Xie, but only saw him looking at Jiang Xunyi intently. His eyes were gentle, and the corners of his lips were unconsciously slightly upturned. It wasn’t clear what he was thinking. She couldn’t help but feel stunned, a sense that something was unusual suddenly flitting through her heart.

At this moment, a woman in a red dress ran towards them from afar and shouted loudly, “Rou Rou, your mother is calling you back.”

Rou rou replied, “Ah, why?”

The woman said, “I only heard that your family seems to have gone to a impressive learned man whose fortune-telling is very accurate. Your mother wants you to go back so he can tell your fortune with marriage. Your brother has already gone, so you should quickly go, too.”

Rou Rou made a sound of acknowledgement, probably thinking that she would be able to come back soon after leaving. She tucked the yellow rune into her purse and said to the two, “I’ll go back and take a look.”

Yun Xie smiled. “Okay. Thank you for today.”

Rou Rou’s eyes were like flowing water, and she glanced at Yun Xie with a mixture of anger and a smile. Her thoughts were unclear as she looked back at Jiang Xunyi before turning away.

Once she left, Jiang Xunyi immediately said, “Come on, let’s go to that village to see.”

“Why are you in such a hurry. Look how lively it is by the river; let’s play before we go,” Yun Xie replied.

Jiang Xunyi was surprised. “You still want to play?”

Yun Xie grasped his hand and smiled. “It’s a rare visit, just take it as accompanying me to see the festivities. You’re always so rigid; aren’t you tired?”

Jiang Xunyi was dragged forward reluctantly by him. “What’s worth looking at? No matter how lively it is, it will inevitably come to an end. Joyous things are only temporary; instead of waiting until later to lose the feeling, it’s better to just avoid it completely.”

Yun Xie replied, “Your way of thinking is not right. It’s because the joy in front of you is real and the past is unreachable that we must catch it. When we can be happy, why not smile more?”

Jiang Xunyi stopped playing spouting philosophy at him and looked back. “Yun Xie, what do you want…”

Yun Xie put his arm around his shoulder, and he spoke as if he was saying something deep. “A’Xun, you know, many of the things in this world that make people happy require greediness. The more greedy you are, the happier you will be. Good brothers share happiness and sadness. I only want to take you with me to have fun. If you have a heavy burden on your shoulders, you might as well give me some.”

Jiang Xunyi slightly lowered his eyes and smiled, no longer resisting. He let Yun Xie take him to a field on the side.

The two of them chose the most lively place and saw a group of people clamoring in a circle, constantly yelling something. The scene was very lively. Yun Xie pulled on Jiang Xunyi’s arm and squeezed to the front. He saw two young men fighting in the middle, their movements looking quite decent[2]. At the end, one of them even lifted the other high above his head before tossing him out.

The thrown person was a complete mess, rolling all the way to Jiang Xunyi’s feet before he was helped up. He gritted his teeth and said, “I admit defeat!”

Yun Xie said, “Hey, isn’t today the day when young men and women get together? Why are they fighting? Is it to grab girls?”

Someone beside him heard him and replied, “You have to fight even if you aren’t fighting for a girl. Today, if the boys don’t show their skills, how can the girls know whether the person in front of them is a hero or a pimple? But this guy Liu Bo attacks so cruelly, I’m guessing that after winning this game, no one would want to fight with him.”

Liu Bo wasn’t satisfied and thumped his chest, shouting, “Is there anyone else coming up!”

No one answered.

Someone below laughed loudly. “Liu Bo, if you haven’t gotten enough, why not pull out the little slave in our town? You can beat him however hard you want, and even if you kill him, you won’t have to pay with your life.”

Jiang Xunyi frowned slightly. He knew that in many places there was a custom of keeping slaves. People like this were generally low-born or guilty of serious crimes, so they were reduced to slaves. If no one is willing to pay for them, they don’t belong to a specific family. Everyone can bully and scold them, and even if they die, no one will care.

In fact, when he thought about it, if he really was born to a woman from the Underworld as Uncle Chen said, he would’ve been a slave if he wasn’t brought back by Ti Mingxian.

Soon, a pale and thin young man was brought in. He was wearing a steel collar with a chain on his neck. He was led in slowly by the leash as if he were a dog.

Suddenly his forehead warmed from Yun Xie lightly flicking his fingers against Jiang Xunyi’s brows. “Frowning again. This is nothing more than fun. The Hidden Spirit Sect deserves to be a Buddhist temple. You, the chief disciple, are really compassionate.”

Jiang Xunyi glanced at him, and was suddenly curious: “I want to know, is there anything you care about in this world?”

Yun Xie didn’t even think before saying, “You.” He added, “Besides you, there is no one.”

While the two were talking, the fight had already begun.

The slave boy who was brought in was only 15 or 16 years old, and his figure was very thin. When he stood in front of the burly Liu Bo he was a whole half a head shorter. With one glance, you could tell that he was not his opponent. Once they started to fight, the difference was even more apparent. After just a few moves, the slave boy was sent flying by Liu Bo’s kick. The old wounds on his body were once again opened, and blood stained his linen cloth.

He simply lay down on the ground and no longer got up. Even when Liu Bo kicked again, he was immobile.

[1] People who sew together corpses. I wasn’t really sure if there’s an English word so I just used mortician.