IMMFBCG Chapter 77

Chapter 77: The Corpse Herder

After a phone call, Lu Xuezhen finally abandoned his idea of getting close to a zombie.

On Friday, after finishing her classes, Ye Xue said goodbye to her roommates and bought some joss paper and candles, heading back to Xianzhen Temple.

The incense and oil were meant for the corpses in the mortuary.

After returning from Yunjiong Mountain, Ye Xue told Bai Zi’ang about the strange incident Lu Xuezhen and his friends encountered.

After hearing the story, the temple master suggested that Ye Xue burn some incense and make offerings for the spirits at the mortuary.

“After all, you accidentally disturbed the souls there,” Bai Zi’ang said.

Ye Xue found the idea reasonable.

However, when they returned, it was already morning. Having stayed up all night, Ye Xue hurriedly took a nap in the afternoon before rushing back to school, pushing the matter to the following week.

At that moment, Yu Qi was still at work.

Ye Xue returned to her room, packed her things, and prepared to head to Yunjiong Mountain. She sent a message to Yu Qi, asking him to pick her up later.

Just as she was about to leave, Bai Liu rushed over, asking, “Shishu, are you going to Yunjiong Mountain?”

Xu Zhou passed by carrying a wooden bucket. Hearing Bai Liu’s question, he instantly understood the young man’s intent and shook his head helplessly.

“Yes,” Ye Xue replied, “Why? What’s the matter?”

Bai Liu quickly said, “I’ll go with you!”

Ye Xue was a little surprised. “You’re not afraid of seeing corpses anymore?”

Bai Liu waved his hand nonchalantly. “Nah, it’s nothing! You know, ‘One must endure hardship to stand above others!'”

Ye Xue gazed at him calmly.

Bai Liu quickly corrected himself. “Okay, fine! I admit it—I just want to go there to soak up some good fortune!”

Ye Xue almost lost her composure. “What?!”

Oh, great. First, there was Lu Xuezhen, and now here’s Bai Liu wanting to change his luck.

Nearby, Xu Zhou couldn’t help but chime in, “Shidi, fortune doesn’t come that easily. You’d have to encounter a half-human, half-zombie, and it would need to rise at the perfect demonic hour.”

Bai Liu’s excitement visibly dimmed. “Ah? That’s how it works.”

Thinking he had given up, Ye Xue was about to breathe a sigh of relief. But then Bai Liu said, “Shishu, let’s hurry! If we don’t leave now, we’ll miss dinner!”

Ye Xue chuckled. “You sure it’s not that you’re afraid of running into Wei Xingteng?”

Bai Liu straightened up with mock seriousness. “Shishu, how could you say that? I just didn’t want you to get bored on the trip, so I’m tagging along!”

Just then, Bai Zi’ang walked by. Hearing Bai Liu’s comment, he asked, “What’s this about Yu Qi?”

Looking at Ye Xue, Bai Zi’ang chuckled. “Speaking of which, Shimei, you’ve been inseparable from Yu Qi recently. It’s good—learn as much as you can about metaphysics from him. He knows more than I do.”

His tone was filled with genuine admiration.

“…” Bai Liu shot him a strange look.

Seeing Bai Liu’s expression, Bai Zi’ang snapped, “Why are you staring at me like that? Did you finish drawing the talismans? Is your work done? All you do is hold your Shishu back! Your Shishu can draw a talisman in one second—what can you do in a second?”

Bai Liu mumbled under his breath, “I can blink in a second…”

“What did you say?!” Bai Zi’ang glared at him.

Ye Xue, long accustomed to their father-son squabbles, calmly mediated. “Alright, Shixiong, it’s getting late. Bai Liu said he wanted to accompany me to Yunjiong Mountain. We should get going.”

Bai Zi’ang scrutinized Bai Liu, who instinctively straightened his posture.

After a moment, Bai Zi’ang averted his gaze and huffed, “I bet he just wants to get bitten by a zombie or use this as an excuse to slack off.”

Xu Zhou almost burst out laughing.

Truly, no one knows a son better than his father.

Despite Bai Zi’ang’s outward disdain, he still allowed Bai Liu to leave.

Bai Liu enthusiastically stuffed a bag with a large amount of joss paper.

Ye Xue, watching him cram more and more into the bag, couldn’t help but remind him, “Be careful, or it’ll all spill out.”

Bai Liu patted his chest confidently. “Don’t worry, Shishu. It won’t!”

The two headed to the cultural plaza to catch a cab. Soon, a taxi pulled up.

Bai Liu hopped into the front passenger seat to help with navigation.

Ye Xue sat in the back.

But the moment Bai Liu got in and explained their destination, the bag of joss paper burst open, scattering hell money everywhere.

The driver’s expression immediately shifted, casting Bai Liu a very suspicious glance.

If it weren’t still broad daylight, the sight of so many bills from the Bank of the Underworld combined with their destination might have made the driver think they were ghosts.

“Uh…” Bai Liu hesitated for a moment before quickly making something up. “Qingming Festival is coming soon, and my dad told me to stock up on joss paper for our ancestors.”

He let out an awkward laugh, stuffing the spilled paper money back into the bag.

The driver visibly relaxed, though there was a trace of doubt in his voice. “But it’s only March?”

Bai Liu replied smoothly, “We’re just trying to get ahead of inflation.”

The driver: “…” He didn’t understand young people these days.

The taxi stopped at the foot of Yunjiong Mountain. Since the mountain was undeveloped, the road leading up was rough and inaccessible by car, requiring them to continue on foot.

After paying via WeChat, Bai Liu grabbed his bag of joss paper and followed Ye Xue.

As he surveyed the surroundings, he remarked with some curiosity, “How could Lu Xuezhen and his group get lost here? This place doesn’t get many visitors.”

Ye Xue explained, “He thought the tourist slogans were exaggerated.”

Following the path she remembered, Ye Xue led them toward the mortuary.

Before long, they arrived at the mortuary gate, where white lanterns hung on display.

A figure holding a broom was slowly sweeping the ground.

Bai Liu approached and began to speak, “Hi, we’re here to…”

The person raised their head, revealing a face burned and disfigured, with blood and flesh distorted. Their eyes, cold and lifeless, sent chills down Bai Liu’s spine.

“Holy crap!” Bai Liu jumped in fright and immediately hid behind Ye Xue.

Ye Xue was also startled by the gruesome appearance and nearly drew her sword, but she quickly noticed the figure lacked the aura of a spirit.

Though faint traces of cold energy lingered around them, it was the kind one acquired from dealing with corpses over a long period.

Realizing this, Ye Xue straightened up and respectfully said, “You must be the corpse herder?”

Without a word, the person reached into their coat and pulled out a mask, which they put on. With their face now obscured, only calm, indifferent eyes were visible, making them far less intimidating.

The corpse herder cast a glance at Bai Liu, then fixed their gaze on Ye Xue. “You’re the one who broke my client’s arm a few days ago, aren’t you?”

Their hoarse voice was ageless, making it impossible to discern how old they were.

Corpse herders never referred to the corpses they managed as “bodies.” Instead, they called them “clients” or “customers.”

Ye Xue gave a slightly embarrassed smile and explained, “I thought it was a zombie, so I might have used a little too much force…”

“A little?” The corpse herder’s calm eyes betrayed a flicker of doubt.

After all, the walking corpse’s arm had been completely broken.

Ye Xue looked sheepish. “Uh… I’m a bit stronger than most people.”

The corpse herder stared at her, their expression unreadable.

After a long moment, they finished sweeping up the last bit of debris, then turned and gestured toward the house. “Follow me.”

Bai Liu and Ye Xue entered the mortuary, finding the corpse herder pulling aside a curtain. Behind it stood the walking corpses, no longer lying in their coffins. Each was dressed neatly in clean burial clothes, arms resting gently at their sides, with yellow talismans pasted on their foreheads to suppress their movements.

It was Bai Liu’s first time seeing walking corpses outside of television, and he couldn’t resist stealing a few glances.

As the candles on the altar began to flicker and dim, the corpses’ bodies started swaying slightly.

The corpse herder walked over, carefully pinched the candle wicks with tongs, and added new wax. The flames steadied, and the corpses quickly returned to stillness.

Without saying a word, the corpse herder placed a blackened copper basin in front of the altar.

Seeing this, Ye Xue motioned for Bai Liu to put the bag down. She then began the ritual to honor the spirits.

One by one, she threw sheets of joss paper into the fire. The ashes occasionally drifted upward, glowing faintly in the firelight and casting eerie shadows around the room.

The corpse herder also picked up a gold ingot made of joss paper and placed it into the copper basin to burn.

His gaze was calm and indifferent. Even with his face hidden behind the mask, Bai Liu still felt unnerved by the sight of his eyes. Instinctively, he moved a little closer to Ye Xue.

The corpse herder seemed completely oblivious to Bai Liu’s discomfort and suddenly spoke. “Twenty-three years ago, I escorted a client back to his hometown.”

Ye Xue tilted her head to look at him.

By “client,” the corpse herder naturally wasn’t referring to a living human, but rather something akin to the walking corpses standing before them.

He continued, “At the time, the client was unwilling to rest in peace. His last breath lingered, and though his body had died, it hadn’t decayed. After I returned him to his family in the countryside, I suggested cremation on the spot, but they refused. Instead, they invited a feng shui master to dispel the corpse’s energy. However, due to an unforeseen mistake, they ended up burying him in a place that nurtured corpse energy. The situation quickly spiraled out of control…”

Hearing this, Ye Xue’s eyes sharpened with focus.

Bai Liu, on the other hand, still wore a clueless expression, thinking the corpse herder was just sharing an old story. But Ye Xue understood that he was talking about the zombie outbreak that occurred in Fengyang Village over two decades ago.

The corpse herder’s gaze shifted to the demon-slaying sword strapped to Ye Xue’s back. “The young Daoist they called back then carried a sword just like that.”

Ye Xue responded softly, “The one you’re referring to was likely my master.”

A flicker of relief seemed to pass through the corpse herder’s calm eyes. He tossed the last piece of joss paper into the fire, then stood and said, “With you inheriting this weapon, it seems the Zhang celestial lineage hasn’t been disgraced.”

When the fire in the basin finally burned out, the corpse herder said, “You should leave. Once night falls, I’ll escort them home.”

Nighttime was the ideal moment for corpse herding, which explained why Lu Xuezhen and his group hadn’t encountered the corpse herder earlier.

Ye Xue glanced at the time. Yu Qi should have almost arrived at Yunjiong Mountain by now.

As she and Bai Liu exited the mortuary, she closed the door behind them. For a fleeting moment, she thought she saw the elderly woman from before, waving goodbye to them.

The eerie image flashed past, and Bai Liu immediately grabbed Ye Xue and started running.

After running a good few hundred meters, Ye Xue finally asked, exasperated, “Why are we running?”

Bai Liu paused, looking dazed. “Right, why are we running?”

He clapped his hands as realization struck. “Oh, wait, I forgot! I’m a Wuchang spirit now. Why the heck am I scared of ghosts?!”

Ye Xue rolled her eyes.

On their way down the mountain, Bai Liu asked, “Shishu, my dad once told me that in Xiangxi, they only pick ugly people to be corpse herders. Is that true?”

Ye Xue nodded. “Of course. Corpse herders often encounter dark, malevolent beings. Having a fierce appearance helps scare off such entities. That’s why the uglier someone looks, the more suited they are for the job. Think about the door gods we put up during Lunar New Year. Aren’t they always painted to look as fierce and intimidating as possible? They’re meant to ward off evil spirits, so there’s no need for them to look kind and benevolent.”

Noticing that Bai Liu kept glancing at the time and slowing his pace, Ye Xue asked, “What are you doing?”

Bai Liu broke into a mischievous smile. “Shishu, look, it’s still early. We…”

Ye Xue cut him off. “Yu Qi is already waiting for us at the foot of the mountain. If we don’t go down soon, he’ll come looking for us.”

Bai Liu’s smile froze, but he mumbled under his breath, “But it is early…”

He was hinting furiously.

Finally understanding his meaning, Ye Xue sighed. “…Fine. Let’s have Yu Qi take us out to eat first. We’ll head back after Wei Xingteng leaves.”

She pinched Bai Liu’s ear. “You said you wanted to keep me company, but you just want to slack off!”

“Ow, ow, ow!” Bai Liu yelped but still tried to defend himself. “Slacking off is also keeping you company!”

Ye Xue let go and gave him an exasperated look.

By the time they reached the bottom of the mountain, Yu Qi had been waiting by the roadside for quite a while.

Bai Liu sensibly climbed into the back seat, leaving the front passenger seat for Ye Xue.

Yu Qi helped buckle Ye Xue’s seatbelt. “Heading back now?”

“Ahem, ahem!” Bai Liu exaggeratedly cleared his throat.

Yu Qi glanced at him briefly.

Ye Xue looked back at Bai Liu and said, “Take this brat to eat first.”

Yu Qi nodded. “Alright.”

One hour later.

Bai Liu sat alone in a private room at a fancy restaurant. After a long silence, he muttered, “So… they just went off to enjoy their little world of two, huh?”