Chapter Forty-Seven: Calamity

As evening approached, the villagers gradually returned home. When we got back to Huang Wenyang’s house, both he and Zhuang Xingrui had already arrived. Knowing now what Huang Wenyang had done, I looked at his obsequious, sycophantic manner, thinking to myself: this old fox, acting so servile, must be extremely cunning.

Xiao Qingwan’s face betrayed her discomfort. I nudged her and gave a subtle signal, urging her to hold back—now was not the time to reveal our hand. Besides, the cause of Huang Yunlei’s death remained unclear, and no matter how influential Master Wei might be, a powerful outsider could never easily suppress a local tyrant. If we exposed everything now, we’d be the ones to suffer.

“I heard you all went to see the person who died under the prohibition. Did you discover anything?” Huang Wenyang asked politely, his kindly smile not quite reaching his sly, calculating eyes. Though he pretended to be friendly, he was probing for information.

I frowned, shook my head with a grave expression. “Things look grim. I fear it’s more complicated than it seems. Did you find any clues today?”

Before Huang Wenyang could answer, Zhuang Xingrui spoke up first. “None of your concern!”

From the moment he walked in and saw Master Wei with us, he had been visibly displeased, as if his authority had been overshadowed. He strode up to Master Wei, cupped his hands arrogantly and declared, “Master, the prohibited ghost hasn’t been found yet, but I have a lead. Give me two more days and I’ll surely ferret out the one possessed by the spirit.”

Master Wei’s expression remained unchanged, silent as ever.

It sounded impressive, but in truth, he just hadn’t found any clues and was asking for more time.

I was puzzled. Old Ma hadn’t denied the existence of the prohibited ghost, and Zhuang Xingrui really did have skills—so how could he have spent two days and still come up empty-handed?

After dinner, Huang Wenyang was exceedingly attentive, asking if we were comfortable staying here, if the food suited our tastes. His behavior was unusually solicitous; he must have sensed our intentions.

Back in our room, I could occasionally spot his figure pacing outside the window.

Xiao Qingwan originally wanted to come with me to find Old Ma, but to avoid arousing Huang Wenyang’s suspicions, I told her to rest early while I went alone to update Old Ma on the situation.

Entering Old Ma’s guest room, I found him half-reclined on the bed, happily inhaling snuff. I could never understand the appeal of that stuff—especially since the liquid in his gourd always smelled of cilantro! The old man had drunk quite a bit at dinner, yet showed no sign of drunkenness. I was beginning to suspect that his drunken display last night had been a ruse.

I relayed everything I’d learned that day.

When he heard that Huang Yunlei had been buried in the ground, Old Ma’s expression changed. “You said she was interred in earth?”

“Yes,” I replied. “Her friend said she was buried in the northern woods. Why? Has her wronged soul really come back for revenge?”

Old Ma put away his gourd. His wrinkled, gaunt face grew grave. “There has never been any sign of a vengeful ghost at work here—never from the very beginning.”

I was stunned. What did he mean—no sign of a vengeful ghost? Then why had he asked me to investigate all these things? And how could Zhuang Xingrui’s divinations have come up empty? Was Old Ma just playing with me? But seeing the seriousness on his face, I doubted he was pretending.

“Sir, what’s really going on? If it’s not the work of a vengeful ghost, why can’t Zhuang Xingrui divine anything? And what’s wrong with the burial?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he immediately got out of bed and put on his shoes. “Something’s wrong! We have to go to the grave—now! I fear disaster is at hand!”

“But we don’t even know the exact location, and it’s the middle of the night,” I protested.

“We may not know, but the ones who did the burying surely do! We must go at once—every moment we delay brings calamity closer!” Old Ma said, and rushed out ahead of me.

In all my days with him, I had never seen him so urgent. Clearly, things were dire. I said no more and hurried after him.

Outside, Huang Wenyang was still wandering about. As soon as he saw us coming, he greeted us with a beaming smile, but Old Ma cut him off, barking, “Take us to Huang Yunlei’s grave! Quickly!”

The color drained from Huang Wenyang’s face; his expression grew dark. He clearly hadn’t expected us to know about the grave.

“If you wish to live, take us there now! If we’re late, not even the gods can save you—the whole village will suffer!” Old Ma’s tone was sharp and brooked no argument.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Huang Wenyang’s fear replaced his anger. “Is…is what’s happening in the village connected to her?”

“Lead the way!” Old Ma demanded, giving him no choice.

Huang Wenyang trembled all over, too frightened to disobey.

Old Ma told me to gather the others. Though I had no idea what exactly was happening, I complied, calling everyone together. By the time I reached Master Wei’s room, he was already outside, flanked by his two bodyguards and Su Feiyong. I explained Old Ma’s intentions, and the group set out at once.

Huang Wenyang brought seven or eight flashlights; Huang Gaoyuan came too, each of them carrying a shovel. Clearly, we were going to dig up the grave.

Zhuang Xingrui was highly displeased with Old Ma’s drastic move. “You wouldn’t leave your room for days, and now in the dead of night you summon everyone—what kind of nonsense is this?”

Old Ma retorted bluntly, “Even staying inside, I’m more resourceful than you. For all your vaunted skills, you wandered about for two days and found nothing—my apprentice is more useful than you!”

“You!” Zhuang Xingrui fumed, “I’ll let it pass for your age’s sake!” His expression wasn’t out of respect for the elderly, but out of fear of Old Ma’s abilities. The truth was, he knew he couldn’t match him.

Failing to win the exchange with Old Ma, Zhuang Xingrui shot me a venomous glare, taking out all his frustrations on me. This man was not only pretentious, but also narrow-minded.

Our group set out in haste. Old Ma glanced at Master Wei, as if considering asking him to stay behind, but seemed to think better of it at the last moment and said nothing. The old man held grudges—perhaps he still remembered the trouble Master Wei had given him last time, and was looking for a chance to settle the score.

All the households were shut tight as we made our way through the village, heading for the northern woods.

There was no moon tonight; the sky was a heavy, oppressive black.

“Tell me the truth! How did Huang Yunlei die?” Old Ma demanded abruptly.

His bluntness caught me off guard. Huang Wenyang was clearly involved—most likely the murderer himself. Old Ma's boldness in questioning him so directly was astonishing.

Huang Wenyang’s whole body shook; he nearly dropped his flashlight, his eyes darting, stammering, “Didn’t I say…she…she took her own life…”