Chapter Forty-Nine: The Corpse-Breeding Grounds

I gazed at the person before me, Xiao Qi, who had already lost her sense of morality for the sake of money. I thought again of Xu Feifei, who had died at the hands of her own husband. Was it truly possible that, for money, they were willing to surrender their souls to the hands of evil spirits?

With the tattoo needle in hand, I moved ceaselessly across Xiao Qi’s shoulder. The black skeleton of the little ghost gradually took shape, followed by slender, clawed fingers, outstretched arms, curled legs, and that gaping, bloodthirsty maw, filled with interlaced, jagged teeth that seemed ready to devour everything before it.

The outline was nearly complete; only the coloring remained. This time, it was simple—just black and blue ink. I dipped my needle in the black and traced the runes atop the ghost’s head. My mind felt as though it was slowly slipping out of my control.

Time seemed to stand still. The little ghost slowly crawled out from Xiao Qi’s body, its limbs curled, its face wary as it stared at me. Then it turned around and, with those slender arms, embraced Xiao Qi from behind, opening its mouth wide, biting down. Flesh and bone mixed, blood gushed.

Xiao Qi seemed paralyzed by some invisible force. No sound escaped her lips. Her eyes burst wide as the little ghost bit into her throat, tearing her windpipe. With a shrill scream, blood gushed in torrents, covering the ghost, Xiao Qi, the floor, and the table—everywhere.

With a jolt, I snapped out of the hallucination. Everything had felt too real, as though the scent of blood still lingered in the air. I hastily threw the tattoo needle aside. “I can’t do this. If I really finish this tattoo, you’ll definitely die!”

A look of irritation and disdain gathered on Xiao Qi’s face. “Fine, just wait for my lawyer to sue you. I’ll not only ruin your crappy shop but also make you pay a hefty sum—maybe a million or so, you loser.”

Her expression was filled with annoyance and contempt. I remembered her usual adorable and approachable persona on her livestreams, but now, looking at her, I couldn’t help but see the little ghost’s face merging with hers. It was as if she herself was the ghost…

Old Liao gently gripped my shoulder, pulling me from my reverie with a light squeeze. “Go ahead and finish it. Everyone has their own fate, their own destiny.”

“That’s right. At least this old guy understands. If you don’t take the money, you must be crazy,” Xiao Qi said, not even bothering to hide her frivolous nature. She didn’t seem to care that an evil spirit would soon be etched into her skin.

“But remember, you said it yourself: you bear all the consequences. Once the tattoo is done, there will be no more dealings between you and us,” Old Liao said, his face dark, enunciating each word.

“No problem. Once I pay, I’ll never come back.”

Xiao Qi lay back on the tattoo bed, giggling, as if already picturing herself showered with gifts. Gritting my teeth, I picked up the needle once more and pressed it into her skin.

As each rune was inscribed, the tattoo of the little ghost neared completion. From a distance, it seemed to merge with the snake-and-peony design near her collarbone. Now the image was of a large-headed ghost, its slender arms encircling the peony and the green snake, almost toying with them, its pitch-black eyes flickering with a greedy hunger.

As the ink took hold, the screaming began again, but this time, instead of the previous shrillness, it seemed to harmonize with Xiao Qi herself. As the tattoo was completed, the screaming diminished, replaced by Xiao Qi’s satisfied moans.

It was over. I collapsed into a chair by the tattoo bed, gasping for breath. This was the first time I’d come so close to a ghost during a tattoo. Perhaps it was the nature of this shadow tattoo, or perhaps it was because of how much it matched Xiao Qi’s desires. Whether this shadow tattoo would bring fortune or disaster, I couldn’t say.

Perhaps because the two designs merged into one, Xiao Qi was very pleased with the result. She paid me fifty thousand yuan without a word and tore up the agreement right in front of me.

I had thought she would use this as leverage to threaten me further, but watching her tear up the agreement, I finally felt relieved.

“That’s more like it, Boss Zhang. See you on the livestream.”

“I hope not,” I replied.

Xiao Qi skipped out of my shop. At that moment, I heard Old Liao muttering to himself. I sat beside him as he drained his teacup and asked, “Do you know what the worst mistake I made as a Taoist priest was?”

“Revealing heaven’s secrets?”

“Yes—and no. My biggest mistake was putting too much weight on karma and saving too many people who shouldn’t have been saved. Those who bring disaster upon themselves cannot be saved. There are some people you cannot save, nor should you try. Because if you do, you go against the will of heaven.”

I nodded, as if I’d suddenly grasped some truth in his words.

“In this line of work, you have to go with the flow of heaven if you want a good end.” Old Liao lit another cigarette. I asked him for one, but he just shook his head and went to watch TV instead.

I admit I can be sentimental, but Xiao Qi’s case made me realize that good intentions don’t always bring good results. I might as well live a little more freely. After all, nothing bad had happened yet, and we still had to deal with Xia Liang’s situation. That haunted house was the real trouble.

Without realizing it, I fell asleep in my chair. When I awoke, I saw Old Liao painting runes on talisman paper. I walked over. “Brother Liao, do you think going to Dragon Ridge Residences tonight will be dangerous?”

“In this line, when is it not dangerous? If things get bad, just remember two words.”

“Which two?”

“Run away.”

He was right. If we can’t beat it, we can at least outrun it. “It’s almost nine. Shall we go?”

“Let’s wait a bit.”

“Wait for what?”

“For Ahao.”

I nearly forgot about Ahao—he’s the one who dragged us into this! No, if we get through this, I’ll be sure to make him pay for it.

Soon enough, Ahao arrived—familiar black robe, familiar bamboo hat, familiar scars, and that familiar stench. Except this time, the smell was so strong, and there was also a faint, rubbery odor?

Old Liao approached with a smile. “I’ve long heard of the corpse-walking arts of Xiangxi.”

I saw Ahao open the door wide, and behind him came another figure in a black robe. Remembering Old Liao’s words, I asked, “Are you saying that this is…”

“Hush. It’s best to keep this secret on the road. If we get caught, there’ll be trouble.”

Now I understood why they didn’t take the train or a plane. With a corpse created by secret arts, only the back roads were safe.

Ahao bowed to Old Liao and me, cupping his hands. “Ahao of the Miao family thanks you both for your help!”

A sense of camaraderie warmed my heart—perhaps this was the unique bond of those who walk the shadows.

“Let’s go!”

Dragon Ridge Residences, as the name suggests, is a luxury estate built along the mountains. There aren’t many houses, but each is massive and could only be described as a mansion, mostly used by the wealthy to escape the summer heat.

We drove up the winding mountain roads, arriving carefully at the gated entrance under the black night sky. Because of its location, the security staff were all hired from the local village. Thanks to the generous salaries provided by the estate, the village had built its own mini-mansions with the money earned from the wealthy homeowners.

After parking the car by the roadside and preparing to enter, Old Liao stopped me, turning to Ahao. “Ahao, do you notice anything strange about this place?”

Ahao circled the entrance, glanced at the vast mountain behind, and spoke in a low voice: “Veins draw from the heart’s core, sheltering from deadly winds among purple thickets. If you want to know the color of the bones and stones—golden. In motion or stillness, yin and yang are clearly divided. This is bad. This land is meant for raising corpses!”