C9 (1/2)
”Alright, how's the matter with the water ghost? Have you found anything?”
”A body was found in the river yesterday, but it was sunk very deep.”
The old man frowned and said, ”Then get the corpse out. Perhaps we can find the cause of the water ghost. You decide for yourself.”
The moment I heard this, I didn't care about it anymore. This water ghost wasn't alone, so he said, ”Old Master, are you leaving this matter at that? You want me to investigate this alone?”
The old man slapped my head and softly said, ”I taught you, and now I'm giving you a chance to train. What if I don't see you anymore? You can't rely on me for your entire life, can you?”
The old man took a break and walked out of the shop with the pipe in his mouth. No one knew who he had gone to look for. The business these few days was not bad, but I was free. I sat in the chair by the door, thinking about the water ghost.
He still had to go into the water when he was free. If he could get the corpse out, he might be able to catch the water ghost. After dinner, I ran down to the river. It was dark now, and night had fallen on the village.
It was very cold here. I took off my clothes and walked into the river, then slowly dived into the bottom of the river. I found the boulder. The last time I saw the man's hand behind the boulder, I grabbed it and pulled hard. The body seemed to be stuck.
I climbed up the bank and took a piece of hemp rope from my backpack. I jumped into the river and tied the rope tightly around the corpse's arm.
”Brother Sheng, what are you doing!” I climbed out of the river. Fang Fang held a bamboo basket in her hand. ”Brother Sheng, why did you go down again? Are you not afraid of anyone?”
”I'm here to catch the water ghost.” I tied the other end of the rope to a large stone and sat by the side to rest for a while. ”Why did you come here so late at night?”
”I came to see you. Uncle Liu said you were here, so I'll bring you something to eat. It's the pastries I made.” Hearing this girl's words, I really felt a bit hungry. Swimming and diving is the most strenuous of all.
”Brother Sheng, have you been helping out at the coffin shop these past few years? I see that you're not the same as before.” I took a piece of osmanthus cake and stuffed it into my mouth. ”What's different about that? You should head back as soon as possible. The wind here is really cold.”
”I'm not cold. I'm here to chat with you.”
”I don't have time to talk to you.” I got up and grabbed onto the rope before I tried to grab onto the corpse. The corpse was really heavy. Even when I broke the rope, I didn't manage to pull the corpse up. I was so tired that I sat on the floor and panted heavily. There was really no other way. I could only go back and think of another way.
”Gu Gu …” ”Gu gu!”
”Brother Sheng, what is this sound? It sounds so scary.” Fang Fang was like a frightened rabbit, holding onto my arm, and I found that this girl had taken my arm whenever I had the chance.
”A night owl is called a seedling. In the past, when you were young, you would hide in your brother's arms whenever you heard this cry. You were so scared that you started crying.”
Fang Fang Fang said with a frightened expression, ”Then let's hurry up and go. This place is really creepy, I'm really scared.”
I whispered, ”What is there to be afraid of? It's just a night owl.”
The moment I said those words, I felt that I had said something wrong. A cold wind blew out from the forest. I tightened my clothes and shivered.
Although it was cold in the mountains, there wasn't such a cold wind. Furthermore, it was a hot summer season, yet a cold wind suddenly blew in this place. I still felt uneasy in my heart.
”That rope moved …” I looked down and saw that the hemp rope actually swayed twice, as if it was fishing. The swing of the fishing rod meant that there was a fish that was about to take the bait.
I reached down and grabbed the rope, and when I did I felt something go up, an arm sticking out of the water.
”Help me pull the rope and pull the corpse up!” The body was like a dead pig, and it took us half a day to drag it out of the river.
Without much time to think, I took out a sack from my bag and placed the body inside. After tying it up with a rope, I lifted it up.
”Let's go, we'll talk about it when we get back!” I took Fang Fang and hurried home, through the woods, in front of me was a desolate field of bracts. Fang Fang held my arm tightly as she looked at the corpse on my back, her face pale with fright.
I carried the body back to the coffin shop and the old man came out of the house when he saw me coming back.
”Not bad, I got the corpse back in two days.”
”This corpse is already swollen from soaking in the water. I reckon it's been quite some time.” I carried the body to the morgue in the backyard and untied the sack.
The old man lowered his head and looked at the corpse. His face changed and he said in a deep voice, ”That Little Riverside Corpse is actually a place for raising corpses. Although this corpse is a bit swollen, the corpse was preserved very well.”
”Old Master, what's so special about this corpse? Why can't I tell?” This is a female corpse. The clothes she wore were very similar to ours, so she should be from our village.
”Water ghosts usually accidentally fall into the water and die, because their corpses have always been hidden at the bottom of the river, so their grievances are in the river. If they want to be reborn, they can only rely on substitutes.”
I whispered, ”What about the corpse? Did it burn or was it buried?”
The old man lit the pipe and took a puff, lightly exhaling the smoke ring.
”Something is wrong, this body is not the same as the head.” When I heard the old man say this, I also took a careful look. There was a very unremarkable wound on the woman's neck, and the old man's cigarette revealed the blade.
”Lordmaster, how could something like this happen?”
”Looks like this matter really isn't that simple. Let's not burn this corpse and just keep it in the coffin for the night.” After saying that, the old man returned to his room. I placed the corpse in a coffin, placed a few incense sticks in an incense burner, and closed the shop.