Chapter 15: To Speak or Not to Speak?

“Woof! Woof! Woof!”

The black dog barked fiercely.

It was strange—on the first night, the moment Uncle Li’s dog from next door started barking, every dog in the village would erupt into a wild chorus. But now, only the big black dog outside was howling; the rest of the village was as silent as if no dogs existed at all.

Xu Buhuo snatched up the peachwood sword propped beside him and stood. I hurried to his side. At that moment, a shadow flickered by the courtyard gate—Old Lady Wang leapt inside. The skin of her face, battered and ruined before, had disappeared somewhere, leaving her features both terrifying and revolting.

“Remember what I told you to do.”

Leaving only these words, Xu Buhuo rushed out to block Old Lady Wang. I knew he was buying me time, so I followed after him in haste.

When we’d set up the defenses, Xu Buhuo had instructed me: the moment Old Lady Wang entered the courtyard, I must close the gate, raise the sun-string, and ring the corpse-suppressing bell.

Close the gate, raise the sun-string, ring the bell.

As soon as I stepped outside, a chill settled on my body. I glanced up to see Old Lady Wang’s dead, glassy eyes fixed upon me. I quickly turned my head away.

Five of my seven souls had already been snatched away. According to Xu Buhuo, if I lost one more, I’d be confined to bed, barely living.

I forced down my fear and moved quickly toward the courtyard gate.

Old Lady Wang’s target was obvious—me. Wherever I went, her head jerked and twisted to follow.

Xu Buhuo kept pace, always positioning himself between us.

In that moment, gratitude for Xu Buhuo welled up in my chest. Without him, facing this undead crone, I wouldn’t have known what to do.

“Waaah!”

As I reached the courtyard gate, Old Lady Wang let out a sudden, hideous cry and lunged at me, but Xu Buhuo kicked her back.

“Hurry!” Xu Buhuo urged, anxious.

I dashed to the gate, latched it, and pulled the sun-string from the wall on the right. But when I reached to grab it from the left, the string was gone.

Panicked, I searched everywhere.

The sun-string, meant to block Old Lady Wang’s way, had been pulled away by someone. There was nothing left on the left side of the gate.

“What are you standing around for? Hurry!”

“The sun-string is missing on this side,” I had to admit. Xu Buhuo froze for a moment, then cursed loudly and kicked Old Lady Wang away again as she sprang at him.

“Forget the sun-string—just ring the bell!”

There was no time to lose. I rushed to the main room, grabbed the cord connected to the corpse-suppressing bell, and pulled hard.

“Ding, ding...”

The bell rang only twice before crashing down from the wall.

“Damn it.”

Xu Buhuo was truly furious now. Old Lady Wang became the focus of his wrath—he drove kick after kick into her body.

“Check the magic circle on the ground—see if it’s damaged!”

I grabbed the flashlight and examined the formation closely. After a careful search, I saw no visible damage, so I retreated inside.

The magic formation was our most important defense against Old Lady Wang. Xu Buhuo retreated as he fought, luring her into its center.

---

Thinking of the missing sun-string and the corpse-suppressing bell that fell with a single tug, I wondered how such a careful arrangement could fall apart so suddenly.

It was as if someone knew our preparations and had secretly tampered with them.

“Heaven and earth limitless, Kuigang in four directions—rise!”

Xu Buhuo’s feet moved rapidly in a ritual dance. As soon as Old Lady Wang stepped into the formation, it was as though she’d been dropped into boiling oil. She shrieked hideously, white smoke pouring from her body.

It worked.

Seeing her in pain, I clenched my teeth in excitement. But that thrill lasted less than three seconds—a sudden bang erupted from beneath Old Lady Wang’s feet.

The next instant, Xu Buhuo was flung backwards, as if struck by an invisible force, crashing into the steps.

Old Lady Wang shrieked and lunged at him again. Xu Buhuo rolled away, cursing loudly.

We’d thought the formation was intact, but clearly, it too had been sabotaged.

The sun-string, the soul bell, the formation—someone had meddled with them all. I couldn’t fathom who, or why.

Suddenly, Xu Buhuo grabbed the hatchet from the steps and ran to the well, where the black dog was. Before the dog could react, its head was severed cleanly and fell to the ground.

Xu Buhuo lifted the headless body and hurled it at Old Lady Wang.

Black dog’s blood splattered over her, and she screamed, smoke billowing from her flesh, before charging toward the courtyard gate.

Closing the gate was meant mostly to keep the villagers from being frightened—the real barrier was the sun-string. Without it, Old Lady Wang smashed through the gate and bolted out.

The courtyard, tumultuous just a moment before, fell suddenly silent.

The ground was a scene of chaos. The black dog’s head lay to one side, blood still gushing from its corpse.

Xu Buhuo sat on the ground, exhausted, panting heavily.

After a long while, he struggled to his feet, a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth. I couldn’t tell if it was the dog’s or his own.

“Bring me the flashlight.”

He took the light and went to the left side of the wall. The sun-string wasn’t entirely missing—part of it lay snapped on the ground. The spot where the corpse-suppressing bell had been fixed showed clear signs of tampering.

As for the magic circle, Xu Buhuo scraped away the surface layer of chicken blood with his knife, revealing a layer of black, bloodlike substance beneath, reeking with a stench reminiscent of the jar that had held the fetus corpse earlier.

I’d been right there when the formation was set up—the ground had been swept clean, and the chicken blood painted directly on top. How could something have appeared underneath?

Instinct told me someone had indeed tampered with everything. I wanted to ask Xu Buhuo who and why, but the dark look on his face made me too nervous to speak.

After washing his hands, Xu Buhuo circled my grandmother’s coffin, staring wide-eyed at the formation, searching for any sign of further sabotage.

Watching this, I shuddered with fear. Thank goodness I hadn’t dared tamper with the formation myself, or I’d have been caught immediately. Glancing at the last stick of incense on the coffin, I suppressed the urge to snuff it out.

After several laps, certain that the funeral hall hadn’t been disturbed, Xu Buhuo finally sat down on the wooden chair.

I sat to the side, unable to see his face directly, but could tell he was staring into the darkness outside, deep in thought.

Having lost another soul, my body felt as if it had been drenched in icy water. No matter how tightly I wrapped myself, the cold seemed to seep into my very bones. I was drowsier than ever; the moment I sat down, my eyelids grew heavy, impossible to keep open.

Once bitten by a snake, you fear the rope for ten years.

Half asleep, I suddenly remembered being possessed at nightfall. With a shudder, I jolted awake—only to scream in terror.

Xu Buhuo, who had been sitting at the door, was now right in front of me, silently watching.

The shock of waking to find the one you most fear staring you down—it’s hard to describe how terrifying that is. Recovering, I met his gaze, his eyes calm yet chilling. Fighting my nerves, I asked what he wanted.

---

“Don’t you have something you want to tell me?”

His tone was calm, but his eyes told me he knew something.

His words filled me with dread and indecision.

After three seconds, I decided to keep lying. I turned my head toward the door and retorted, “You don’t think all that outside was my doing, do you?”

Xu Buhuo snorted, lips curling in a sinister smile. “Don’t play games with me. You know exactly what I mean. Do you really think you can fool me?”

The atmosphere was unbearably tense.

I was torn—should I tell him or not?

There was fear in his eyes.

“Did you know, when I looked at you earlier today, I could see two of your souls were already gone? The jade pendant I gave you was meant for protection. When you lost more souls even with it on, I checked it and found it had been tampered with—the protective power fouled. That’s why I asked who had touched it.”

By this point, I knew I couldn’t keep hiding the truth.

“Ziwu, I want you to understand the situation. I came here to help your grandmother, and to help you. If there’s anything you’re hiding from me, you’d better tell me before I decide to leave. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being merciless.”

His eyes locked on mine; in that moment, I couldn’t help but believe he was telling the truth.

“Well? Who came here yesterday?”

He opened his palm, revealing three dull gray beads, marble-sized—though I knew they weren’t marbles.

“These,” he said, “I found in the corner of the wall. Luckily I spotted them in time, or your grandmother would’ve been in real trouble.”

I couldn’t help asking, “What would have happened?”

“What would have happened?” Xu Buhuo’s smile twisted into something frightening. With a flick of his fingers, one bead snapped open, revealing a tiny red insect the size of a soybean inside.

“A corpse beetle—commonly known as a corpse-eater. They feed on corpses. This is a female. If just one of these had crawled into the coffin, you’d never know when your grandmother’s body turned to bones.”

Staring at the little bug, my skin crawled with dread.

Yesterday, many villagers had come by, but only Grandpa Qin seemed to know about such things.

Was it he who had planted the corpse-beetles?

Or did Xu Buhuo plant them himself?

I had always trusted Grandpa Qin, but now, seeing the tampered jade pendant, the loss of two more souls, and the appearance of the beetle queen in the funeral hall, my confidence wavered.

Xu Buhuo seemed genuinely intent on helping, but his intensity hinted at ulterior motives. Now, pressing me so hard, perhaps he was using this as leverage.

As for Grandpa Qin—he had no grudge against us, no reason to harm my family. Why would he set such a trap?

“I’ll give you three minutes,” Xu Buhuo said coldly, picking up a stool and moving to the doorway. “Either you tell me everything and lay it all bare, or I walk right now.”

Tell him? Or stay silent?

I was at a loss.