Chapter 438: Corpse Hidden In The Tree (1/2)

”Why?” I asked.

”Just listen to me,” Song Jie refused to explain further.

Since Granny Yan walked slowly, Song Jie took us around from the side in order not to walk ahead of her.

We soon arrived at a hill overlooking the entire village. The rows of ancient buildings looked very pleasing to the eye. There was a big banyan tree in the center of the village, the leaves wide like a veil that covered the sky and some colored cloth was tied onto the branches. Song Jie pointed and said, ”What you need to investigate is in that banyan tree.”

”In the tree?” I asked in amazement.

”That's what my mother said, though I'm not very clear about the details. As far as I know, this is a sacred tree in the village. You'd better not let the others see you investigating, especially that old woman!” Song Jie warned.

When Granny Yan finally entered one of the houses, we slipped into the village. It was foggy in the morning, so I wasn’t worried about being seen. I circled the tree while Song Jie sat on a big millstone next to me, eating wild fruits she had picked along the road.

I instructed Song Xingchen to thump on the tree trunk slowly with his scabbard as I placed my ear on the trunk to listen. After switching from several different angles, I heard something in the tree. Sound traveled at different speeds through different objects and whatever was in that tree sounded like… a corpse.

”There is a corpse inside!” I exclaimed.

Song Jie looked surprised. ”That’s amazing. You can tell just by listening? Are you a dolphin?”

”Echolocation is a basic skill of the civil Songs.”

”Wow! If only I had this sort of listening ability, I could cheat on the exam. Hehe!”

I chuckled, I’ve certainly never done such a thing!

But how were we supposed to remove the skeleton from within? The banyan tree had extremely tenacious vitality. Even if one hanging branch reached the earth, it would slowly grow into a tree. In Southeast Asia, some temples were often completely wrapped in banyan trees.

Since this was a sacred tree of the village, I would certainly anger the villagers if I sawed the tree in half. If I wanted to pass the Song family’s test, I would have to abide by the rules.

After staring at the trunk for a considerable amount of time, I frowned, ”I need something sharp!”

Song Xingchen asked, ”What about my sword?”

”Is your sword resistant to heat?” I asked.

”Yes!” Song Xingchen nodded.

”No!” Song Jie smiled, ”This is called the bone-seeking burial. You’ve probably never heard of it. Let’s watch the excitement!”

We followed the crowd to a large cemetery outside the village, only to see two young men walking out of the crowd and digging away. Granny Yan knelt down and removed the skeletons with bamboo tongs while chanting prayers to pacify the soul. She placed the bones put on a mat, cleaned them with soju, and then put them in a jar.

According to the local folk customs, the bones had to be removed three years after their death and they had to be buried separately. The final burial ground was considered the real resting place of these bones.

Before the ceremony ended, Granny Yan walked to another grave with the jar and removed the second set of bones. Placing both bones in the same jar, she slaughtered a big cock, poured the chicken blood in the jar and sealed it with a red cloth before solemnly handing it to the family.

Song Jie explained that the bone-seeking burial and ghost marriage were performed at the same time. The deceased were an unrelated young man and woman before their death. In local folk customs, those who died before marriage were considered children. Thus, the two families arranged a ghost marriage so the man and woman’s souls could have each other as companions in the netherworld.

Song Jie muttered, ”If the couple were reincarnated, they would probably be brother and sister in their next life. Don’t you think so, Song Yang-gege?”

“Perhaps!” I nodded.