Chapter Forty: A Message from the Corpse

The three of us looked at each other, stunned; even the old water ghost seemed not to have expected that the commotion outside would vanish so swiftly. He frowned and glanced at the door.

At that moment, the entrance was perfectly still. Yet, within such silence, every sight and sound became amplified, and a familiar dripping noise sent the hair on both my and Tong Xiaomeng’s arms bristling in terror.

“She’s come for us!”

Tong Xiaomeng’s face turned pale as paper in an instant. Just as she tried to rise, I grabbed her hand and shook my head, casting my gaze toward the old water ghost. At a time like this, only he could possibly know what might be standing outside.

The old water ghost’s expression shifted through a myriad of emotions before regaining its calm. He picked up the black whip from the table, stood up, and strode toward the main door. Without the slightest hesitation, he reached out and pulled it open.

By now, night had long fallen, and with no street lamps in the countryside nor any light in the courtyard, we, seated within the house, could only make out a pitch-black silhouette standing upright at the threshold. Most of its face was obscured by the old water ghost, but it was clear enough: it was Chen Tao, the one who had been trying to dispel the evil around the door.

Seeing this, Tong Xiaomeng and I exchanged a glance and breathed a sigh of relief. But immediately after, a chilling scene unfolded before us.

“I need to speak with you,” Chen Tao said.

Yet his words were muffled, as though his mouth was stuffed with something—his speech was slurred and indistinct. As soon as he spoke, a powerful stench wafted in on the night breeze—so foul it was like a heap of rotting fish and shrimp, dead for days, had been dumped at our door, making us wrinkle our noses in disgust.

Tong Xiaomeng seemed largely unbothered, but the smell triggered a memory in me that made my entire body freeze. I dared not move.

The old water ghost stood firm at the door, staring at Chen Tao for a long while before inhaling deeply and saying, “Even a tiger will not eat its cubs, yet tonight you would not spare your own son. The evil within you has truly become indelible.”

“Chen Tao…”

Tong Xiaomeng clutched my hand, her eyes wide in horror, staring at the scene at the door.

As Chen Tao spoke, a ticking and dripping sound could be heard—it didn’t resemble raindrops, but something else. Unable to resist, I glanced toward the doorway, and that single look sent the blood in my veins running cold.

It was still Chen Tao, outwardly unchanged. But his face was ghastly pale, just like a corpse fished out from the river—eyes bulging, tongue protruding, nose and ears stuffed with putrid river mud. Even as he spoke, mud and silt oozed from his mouth, dripping pathetically to the ground.

Anyone raised by the river knows: no living person could have river mud in their mouth; only those drowned and sunk to the riverbed would look like that.

Was Chen Tao dead?

I was dumbfounded. I had thought that, with his filial piety, Chen Tao would surely be able to dispel the evil from his father’s corpse. Who could have predicted that the malevolence of the river would be so terrible, that it would claim even its own blood—turning a son into a cursed being like his father in the blink of an eye.

But if Chen Tao was killed, why had he come to find the old water ghost?

I recalled the old water ghost’s earlier warning: if Chen Tao failed to dispel the evil tonight, none of the three of us would live to see the sunrise.

I would be lying if I claimed I wasn’t frightened. But seeing the color drained from Tong Xiaomeng’s cheeks, I forced down my fear, squeezed her hand, and whispered, “The old water ghost is here. We’ll be all right.”

The old water ghost was silent for a while before asking, “What do you want from me?”

“The Lady of the Yellow River sent me with a message for you.”

Chen Tao, his mouth full of silt, mumbled, “The Lady says that tonight is her wedding night with the boy of the Bai family. She hopes you will refrain from interfering. If you do, the waters of the Yellow River will rise above the banks, and it won’t be just Shansia Village that’s drowned.”

I saw the old water ghost’s back begin to tremble. He spoke in a low voice: “Does the Lady of the Yellow River truly intend to bury thousands of innocents for her own gain? Is she not afraid of the Dragon King of the Yellow River, or the wrath of heaven?”

Chen Tao shook his head. “I do not know. My father asked me to bring you her message. In an hour, the Lady will come ashore for her wedding. You’d best consider your own fate.”

With that, Chen Tao collapsed with a thud. The old water ghost hurriedly bent down to prop him up, then turned to me and said, “Quick, help me get him into the jade coffin!”

Together, we lifted Chen Tao’s body into the coffin. During the process, I realized he was not yet dead, but his breath was weak and his life was hanging by a thread.

Once Chen Tao was placed inside, the old water ghost gripped his wrist, pulled it to his mouth, and bit down hard. Before I could react, blood welled from the wound, dripping onto the jade coffin. At that moment, the coffin seemed to come alive.

Tendrils of icy, white vapor seeped from every seam, swiftly filling the coffin. Even from outside, I could feel the bone-chilling cold radiating from within. In moments, the entire coffin was enveloped in mist, and Chen Tao’s body vanished from sight.

The transformation happened so quickly I had no time to react. When I finally turned to look at the old water ghost, he seemed to have aged a decade in an instant. His eyes had lost their luster, and he stared blankly at the coffin for a long time before letting out a long, mournful sigh.

Seeing the old water ghost’s legs begin to give way, I quickly helped him back to his seat, poured him a cup of tea, and guided it to his lips. Only then did some color return to his face.

“The Lady of the Yellow River showed mercy after all… Otherwise, these old bones would have been left at that doorway, and I wouldn’t be here to drink another cup of tea,” he said, his voice weary.

I furrowed my brow and asked, “What do you mean—Chen Tao isn’t dead?”

The old water ghost nodded. “He should have died. After all, his father now serves the Lady of the Yellow River. Killing him, or even me, would have been effortless.”

“But then, why did the Lady let us go?” I pressed.

“Let us go?” The old water ghost looked at me and chuckled. “She simply didn’t want to show her bloody, ruthless side to her future husband. If tonight were your wedding night, given how I’ve angered her, not even ten lives would have saved me.”

I was more confused. “If that’s so, why were you so confident before that you could deal with her?”

The old water ghost shook his head. “Tonight was my first time dealing with her face to face. I didn’t expect her power to be so terrifying. Even the Dragon King of the Yellow River wouldn’t dare flood a village at will, but she is so fearless—she must have some means to deal with the consequences. Otherwise, no matter how much she liked you, she wouldn’t risk provoking heaven’s wrath.”

“Liked me?” I stared at the old water ghost, not fully understanding his words.

He looked at me and said, “Before you left here, aside from the incident with the jade corpse at Erdao Bend, did you never experience anything similar?”

I didn’t know why he was asking this, and I was about to shake my head when a familiar figure flashed through my mind.

The female corpse who once saved me at Erdao Bend!

Even the jade pendant I now wore was a gift from her, and her silhouette bore a striking resemblance to the woman in red from the river.

My mind buzzed, and a bold idea took shape. Bracing myself, I recounted everything about the female corpse to the old water ghost.

On hearing this, his eyebrows shot up in surprise. He grabbed my collar, tore the jade pendant from my neck, and stared at it intently. Suddenly, he threw his head back and laughed. “I know! I know! I understand everything now!”