Chapter 120
Chapter 120 Checking for Demons
Old Guo pointed at Xiao Ma, who was pumping air into the tire and said, “We’re just pa.s.sing by, but our tire went flat . We’ll just be around for a while, so don’t mind us . ”
One of the men that held the coffin asked a youngster to go and help them . Then, the youngster approached them and politely asked Old Guo, “Do you need any help?”
Old Guo appreciated the sentiment, but he replied that it was fine . Instead, he asked, “Young man, if you don’t mind me asking, was the person who died a young person?”
The youngster sighed and replied, “She was my cousin; she was just eighteen when she drowned . ”
Then, Old Guo pa.s.sed a cigarette to the youngster and continue to ask, “I don’t think that this place is your village’s ancestral grave site, so why are you burying the girl here?”
“It’s a rule of our village . We will not bury those who die suddenly and have no children at our ancestral gravesite, nor can we cremate them . They can only be buried here, halfway up the mountain . Please excuse me now . I have to go back and help,” the youngster waved as he ran back to the formation .
Ye Shaoyang observed the four men that carried the coffin . The two on the left seemed to use a lot more strength than the other two . It almost seems like the coffin weighed heavier on the left side . Old Guo also noticed this phenomenon, so he muttered, “A coffin heavy on the left, brings demons and spirits . Something is wrong with the corpse . ”
The row of people continued to march on for a while until they arrived at a flat open ground . Then, the Daoist yelled, “Stop!”
Everyone stopped and the four men lowered the coffin . Then, the Daoist took out a Fengshui compa.s.s and started to examine the area . He walked around for quite some time until he came to a certain spot . Without any explanation, the Daoist stomped his foot on the ground and said, “Dig here . ”
A few young men swiftly grabbed shovels and proceeded to the dig up the spot . After they dug the grave, the Daoist ordered them to put the coffin in . But just as they were about to nail shut the coffin… .
Ye Shaoyang walked up and said, “You can’t bury this coffin . ”
At this moment, everyone turned and stared at the stranger that interrupted their ceremony . Some of the people had already grown angry . Then, Xiao Ma quickly rushed toward him and tugged on Ye Shaoyang’s clothes, “Don’t say such things, you’ll get beaten up… . ”
The Daoist felt that Ye Shaoyang had challenged his authority, so he looked at him with a stern face and asked, “Why can’t we bury her?”
“There’s demon Qi coming out from that coffin, so you won’t be able to bury it,” Ye Shaoyang calmly explained . But these words created discontent among the villagers .
People that stayed in rural regions were generally very superst.i.tious . They believed that one of the worse things to say during a burial was bad things about the corpse . This was especially true in those cases where the deceased had died a sudden death .
The Daoist was especially angry . After all, he had ordered the burial, yet Ye Shaoyang said it could not be done . Such words were like a slap to his face . Immediately, the Daoist pointed at Ye Shaoyang and said, “Who do you think you are? Profaning a sacred ritual . If you dare to speak anymore, I’ll write you a Tongue Rotting Talisman Paper!”
These threats failed to faze Ye Shaoyang, who curiously asked, “This is the first time I’ve heard of such a curse . How do you make it? Can you teach me?”
“Brat, go away now . Stop hindering the ritual!” scolded the Daoist .
Xiao Ma grew agitated when he heard these words, he rolled up his sleeves and scolded, “You old Daoist sh*t… . ”
Old Guo glanced at him and said, “Who are you scolding?”
Xiao Ma paused . Then, he remembered that both Old Guo and Ye Shaoyang were also Daoists .
Then, Old Guo went forward, cupped his hands, and said, “A mountain may not be a mountain, and water might not be water . May you tell us which sect you are from?”
The Daoist was slightly taken aback; he waved his hand and said, “What rubbish . I’m a Maoshan Sect Heavenly Master . If you don’t have any business here, scram . ”
“Maoshan Sect Heavenly Master you say…” Xiao Ma gave Ye Shaoyang a glance . He gave a thumbs up to the Daoist and said, “Say whatever you like . You’ve made up one of the biggest lies of the century . ”
The Daoist noticed that they spoke very strangely; they might really be Daoists . He immediately turned around and said to the crowd, “The time has come; nail the coffin shut!”
Ye Shaoyang was about to stop them again, but Old Guo came up to him and whispered, “Junior brother, let’s just wait and see . If you do anything now, they might just beat you up . Since the burial is impossible, you’ll just have to step up when they fail . ”
Ye Shaoyang thought so too, so he stood quiet and watched on .
Two of the undertakers picked up a handful of seven-inch nails and began to nail the coffin . Meanwhile, the Daoist sat cross-legged on the side, as he waved a peach wood sword and chanted away . When they arrived at the seventh nail, they all heard a sudden crack . It snapped, the nail had snapped! This was considered a very ominous sign . Then, the Daoist scolded, “What’s going on!”
One of the undertakers picked up another nail . He steadily held onto the nail with one hand and struck the nail with a hammer in his other hand . But the nail snapped in half again… .
This scene shocked everyone . The family members felt furious, and they complained that the undertakers were not paying attention .
The two undertakers looked at the Daoist and said, “Sir, it is really not our fault . I struck it accurately, and I held the nail straight . So… . ”
“Useless sh*ts . I’ll do it!” the Daoist took the hammer from the undertaker . He hopped into the grave, put a nail on the coffin, and swung the hammer down .
The nail broke again!
This left the Daoist stunned . Before he could even react, a knocking sound came from within the coffin . This change of events terrified the Daoist . His legs weakened, and he collapsed next to the coffin . The Daoist greatly panicked and quickly climbed out of the grave on all fours . When he got out from the grave, he still wanted to perform a ritual . He reached and searched for his wooden sword, but it was not on him .
“Where’s my sword? Where’s my peach wood sword?”
When he looked down, he noticed that his wooden sword laid beside the coffin . When he tried to reach for it, the banging sound from the coffin would intensify . It reached the point where the entire coffin shook . It would die down however when he was not close . The old Daoist retreated in fear . He stood up with dirt on his face, as he hoped to grab his peach wood sword . But fear held him back . He struggled in his heart, as he stood still . Suddenly, a peach wood sword flew over and stabbed into the earth in front of him .
“I’ll loan you mine . Go do your thing then,” said Ye Shaoyang without even looking at him, “Let me see your Maoshan techniques . ”
The Daoist felt scared and embarra.s.sed; he turned around and shouted at the equally stunned crowd, “She’s becoming an undead . Quickly get some wood here and burn it!”
Just as he said these words, the knocking started again . This time, it did not stop . Not only that, but they could hear a faint voice coming from the coffin . The voice said, “Father, please let me out of here . I’m not dead yet . I’m suffocating in here . Please let me out!”
This shocked all the people involved in the burial . There were a few seconds of silence . Then, the crowd quickly backed off . The father of the deceased sat on the floor and began to cry, “Open that coffin, open it . . . my daughter is alive!”
“Uncle please calm down; she has already died,” one of the young men went beside him to advise him .
“No, she’s not dead; she’s alive!” the man got up . Then, he laid on the coffin and yelled, “Open it! Please save my daughter!”
No one dared to do anything, as the previous events had still left them shocked .
However, the Daoist yelled, “Burn it . Quickly get some wood and burn it!”
Both of them, the Daoist and the father, yelled their lungs out . One wanted to burn the coffin, while the other wanted to open it . Ye Shaoyang and his companions thought they were watching a soap opera .
Unable to watch this drama anymore, Ye Shaoyang walked up to the father and said, “That thing inside the coffin is not your daughter anymore . Even so, we have to open up the grave and solve this problem . I guess this is a good chance to show you what has happened to your daughter . ”