Chapter 59 – Night Watch

The room on the fourth floor had completely transformed. Several bright red threads stretched out along the door, sealing the entrance and forming a strange symbol on the floor. Yellow talismans were pasted on the door frame and window sills, resembling typical Taoist talismans. The cinnabar used to draw them was so dark it looked like dried blood. The room was unlit, and a few candles had been placed somewhere, burning with flickering flames as if blown by invisible ghosts. The light from outside made the darkness inside the room even more oppressive, the wavering candlelight casting a ghostly glow on the vague, twitching figure on the bed, adding to the eerie atmosphere.

The three masters were now shrouded in darkness, their faces barely visible. One of them was crouched down, arranging something, while the other two sat motionless nearby. The scene was so bizarre it sent chills down Miao Yun’s spine, making him feel an icy coldness all over his body.

As if sensing their presence, the person arranging things stood up and quickly walked toward the door. “Everything’s ready? Bring the cinnabar and glutinous rice first!”

It was Wei Yang, his previously calm face now showing a hint of urgency. A lackey nearby hurried forward, wanting to carry the items inside, but Wei Yang frowned and barked, “Careful! Don’t step on the talisman array on the floor!”

The shout nearly made the lackey wet his pants. He didn’t dare step inside, instead stretching out his arm to hand over the items. Wei Yang took them and glanced at them, frowning again. “Why is there only glutinous rice? Where’s the cinnabar?”

Miao Yun finally found his voice. “Cinnabar is hard to find. We’ve already sent someone to buy it. As for the roosters, we’ve only managed to get some small ones. The nine-catty yellow rooster hasn’t been found yet, but it should be coming soon…”

Wei Yang waved his hand dismissively. “Fine. When the cinnabar arrives, have someone scatter it in the courtyard and draw a circle around this room to prevent any evil energy from leaking out. As for the nine-catty yellow rooster, once it’s found, don’t bring it upstairs. When I need it, kill the rooster and bring the fresh blood directly. Don’t kill it upstairs, as it might weaken the yang energy and provoke the evil spirits.”

Miao Yun listened attentively, but Wang Wei couldn’t hold back any longer and blurted out, “Why isn’t the light on inside? What’s with the candles? Are you trying to scare us with this nonsense?!”

Wei Yang’s voice turned cold. “To catch the traces of evil spirits, only natural light will do. There’s no moonlight tonight, so what else can we use besides candles? I only brought a few incense candles. Go find some regular candles to use when these burn out.”

His tone was stern and left no room for argument. Wang Wei opened his mouth but changed the subject. “What about those two? Why are they just sitting on the floor? Aren’t they going to help you with the ritual?”

“They’re already performing the ritual, suppressing the evil energy in the room,” Wei Yang replied in a low voice.

Behind him, Sun Muhua was crouched in a corner, muttering something, one hand raised as he moved his thumb across his fingers. The gesture looked familiar to many, resembling the hand seals used by Taoist masters in movies. However, none of the tomb raiders knew anything about Taoist rituals, so they couldn’t tell that Sun Muhua was just faking it. The flickering candlelight made his trembling body less noticeable, giving him an air of mysterious calm.

Beside him, Zhang Xiuqi sat cross-legged in a proper meditation posture, performing the Soul Binding Technique. Wei Yang naturally wouldn’t let him waste time. However, Zhang Xiuqi’s figure was so cold and still, it seemed as if he was preparing some powerful technique.

Wang Wei was momentarily speechless. Although he felt something was off, Wei Yang’s serious expression made it hard for him to voice his doubts. Miao Yun quickly pulled his nephew aside. “Let’s follow Master Wei’s instructions! Can we stay here now?”

Wei Yang pondered for a moment. “Tell me your birthdays, in the lunar calendar.”

Most of these tomb raiders were from rural areas and knew their lunar birthdays. They quickly reported them one by one. Wei Yang pointed at a few of them. “These three won’t do. Their birth charts contain too much yin, making them susceptible to evil energy. These two are fine. Mr. Miao, although your birth chart is a bit light, you’ve been drenched in rooster blood, so you can stay if you want. As for this one…”

He glanced at Wang Wei and shook his head slightly. “If you want to stay, I won’t stop you, but you must hold your breath and try not to speak.”

Wang Wei was furious, but Miao Yun took it seriously. When he was young, his family had also had his fortune told, and he was told his birth chart was light, which was why he had stayed behind the scenes when he partnered with his brother and never went tomb raiding himself. Now that he thought about it, if he hadn’t been cautious and had gone tomb raiding directly, he might have been afflicted even before his brother. Without hesitation, he immediately ordered the others to leave, sending away those who couldn’t stay.

Glancing at the nervous expressions of the two who were allowed to stay, Wei Yang secretly sighed in relief. He could easily tell who was scared and who wasn’t, who wanted to stay and who wanted to leave. His goal was to send the brave ones downstairs and leave the timid ones to guard the door, so that when the Corpse Puppet acted up in the middle of the night, these people would be too scared to pay attention to what they were doing. However, these two leaders would be harder to shake off, and he’d need to put in more effort to deal with them.

After a moment of thought, Wei Yang turned and walked back into the room. He didn’t stop moving, scattering handfuls of glutinous rice on the floor, covering almost the entire room. After finishing, he carefully inspected the area before returning to the door and stretching out his hand to Miao Yun. “Where’s the killing blade?”

Miao Yun hesitated for a moment before finally pulling out a short knife from behind his waist. It looked like a Ming Dynasty-style knife, but the sheath and handle were covered in rust, and its condition was terrible. He handed it over. “This is what’s left from selling the loot. I’m not sure if it’ll work.”

Wei Yang didn’t hesitate, taking it and pulling out the blade. The edge was chipped, and the entire knife looked dull and unremarkable. Knowing that the tomb raider probably didn’t want to show off any of the good stuff, he didn’t care much either. He sheathed the knife again. “Wait outside. We’ll see what happens at midnight.”

Without another word, he turned and sat down beside Zhang Xiuqi.

It was still three or four hours until midnight! Wang Wei opened his mouth to curse, but Miao Yun quickly dragged him aside and whispered, “That’s your father! The master is being cautious. It’s like seeing a doctor—you have to listen to the expert.”

The murderous look in Wang Wei’s eyes was unmistakable as he glared at the dark room. “Damn it, if these bastards can’t save the old man, I’ll sink them in the river…”

But despite his harsh words, Wang Wei didn’t dare act recklessly. If he ruined the ritual to exorcise the evil, who would take responsibility? He sat down heavily in the corridor, his eyes fixed on the room. Miao Yun, meanwhile, ran up and down the stairs a few times, fetching candles and incense. The cinnabar and the nine-catty yellow rooster were finally found. After carefully scattering the cinnabar in the courtyard and preparing the rooster, he returned to the fourth floor.

It was only a few minutes until midnight. Looking at the now-brighter room, his heart started pounding again. Wang Wei hadn’t seen the earlier episodes, but Miao Yun had witnessed them for an entire week. Just thinking about those scenes made his hair stand on end. With the two masters here this time, would things go better?

As he was thinking, a sharp rooster crow suddenly pierced the night, stabbing into his heart like a needle. Miao Yun trembled all over, then calmed himself, thinking he was overreacting. Everyone in the countryside knew that roosters crowed three times, starting at midnight and continuing until dawn. It was only a few minutes until midnight, so it wasn’t that strange…

His pupils suddenly dilated, and he froze in place as if struck by lightning. Beside him, Wang Wei’s eyes widened, and the resentment on his face was replaced by a hint of fear. In front of them, in the flickering candlelight of the room, the copper coins that had been lying flat on the floor suddenly stood upright and began spinning in place. The white glutinous rice scattered like snow as the coins collided, making the madly spinning coins even more terrifying.

The bizarre sight immediately drew everyone’s attention. Even if it was man-made, it would be hard to replicate this effect with special effects in a movie. At that moment, the candles by the bed suddenly flared up with a long spark before extinguishing with a hiss. In the sudden darkness, someone cried out in panic, “Boss… boss!”

The figure on the bed moved. It wasn’t the slight twitching from before—the body twisted halfway over, and a pair of withered, claw-like hands gripped the edge of the bed, lifting the torso. More yellow liquid dripped from its face, and patches of rotting flesh were visible as they fell off. Yet, none of this elicited any human expression. The gaunt, skeletal face only wore a spine-chilling, sinister grin.

Miao Yun involuntarily took a step back, his back hitting the corridor railing. His brother had been possessed before, but it had never been this extreme! Beside him, Wang Wei took a step forward and shouted, “Should I bring the rooster blood up now? I’ll go get it!”

“No!” Wei Yang’s teeth were clenched tightly as he gripped the short knife in his hand. He had imagined the Corpse Puppet acting up, but he hadn’t expected it to be this malevolent.

In truth, everything in the room—the glutinous rice, the candles, the yellow talismans on the door, and the cinnabar on the floor—were all just a smokescreen. Only the circle of copper coins around the bed and the red nitre scattered around them had any real effect. The rest were just the talisman jade and the two Evil-Suppressing and Filth-Dispelling talismans from the Longhu Mountain that Zhang Xiuqi had given him. If they could make it through the night, things would be easier tomorrow, whether Zhang Xiuqi stabilized his soul or Director Sun arrived with reinforcements. But tonight, there could be no mistakes!

Sharply stopping Wang Wei’s question, he grabbed Sun Muhua’s arm, silencing the man’s impending scream. When dealing with evil spirits, one must not shout or breathe heavily. All humans have yang energy, and most yin entities and malignant spirits are drawn to and attack yang energy—the stronger the better. Sun Muhua was shaking like a leaf, but his left hand still trembled as he formed a hand seal, dutifully pretending to perform a ritual. However, no matter how well he acted, the figure on the bed paid no attention. Its withered neck creaked as it twisted, and the whites of its eyes slowly scanned the room. The moment felt like an eternity, and everyone fell silent, including Wang Wei, who tightly pursed his lips.

After what felt like an age, the creature moved again. Its arm gave out, and its massive belly pressed against the edge of the bed. A violent tremor passed through its body, and it opened its mouth.