Chapter Eighty-Seven: Ghostly Sound

Within a few minutes, the altar had been set.

Incense, candles, and fruit offerings were all in place.

Daoist Master Zhou laid the chessboard, the bamboo booklet, and the other worn relics upon the main offering table.

The wooden bucket was placed beneath the altar.

Then he lit the incense and candles, knelt respectfully before the shrine, and said in a devout, reverent voice, "Zhou Tianxuan of Qianshui Town greets Lord Wang. Today I have set up a sacrificial altar to soothe Lord Wang's spirit within the coffin."

"Lord Wang carried Qianshui in his heart, yet was trapped and unable to return home. The townspeople of Qianshui, for generations, have not forgotten the kindness of those years. Now Qianshui is in peril. I beg Lord Wang to emerge from the coffin and take charge."

As soon as Daoist Master Zhou finished speaking, among the people behind him there were not only townsfolk carrying the coffin.

Several young Daoists stepped forward as well.

Only then did I notice that each of them carried an iron hammer and a crowbar.

Expressionless, they reached the coffin and began removing the sealing nails one by one.

The townspeople watching from behind all wore pious expressions, yet no matter how I looked at it, that piety felt strangely unsettling.

Sweat was already pouring down Li Yue's forehead, and her eyelids kept twitching wildly.

I did not dare speak now.

Within the Wang family estate, an eerie air lingered everywhere, cold and terrifying.

It was as though the gloom sealed inside that coffin spread outward the moment the nails were pulled free, blanketing the entire courtyard.

A few minutes later, all the sealing nails had fallen to the ground.

Yet Daoist Master Zhou led all the Daoists and townsfolk out of the estate.

As the gate shut with a creak, I finally could not suppress the heaviness in my chest and let out a breath.

But Li Yue clamped a hand over my mouth at once. Her hand was trembling slightly, and the sweat on her brow had not lessened in the slightest; instead, it had become denser, beading down in larger and larger drops.

At that very moment, the coffin lid gave a soft click.

The next instant, the entire lid slid backward.

The sight was especially eerie.

An ordinary coffin would take two or three people just to close the lid, let alone pry it open backward with even greater force.

That thing inside had come out.

My eyelid twitched violently too.

A hand came to rest on the coffin's edge.

The next moment, a man appeared beside the coffin.

He looked very young, no older than thirty, wearing a gray traditional suit with a straight, upright posture.

Yet his hair was slightly white, the unmistakable sign of premature greying from overwork.

His features were resolute, but his eyes held a look of lingering sorrow and attachment.

This man was Wang Gongming.

He looked as though he bore not the slightest trace of resentment, yet the force of his soul felt astonishingly strong, even stronger than that evil ghost at the height of its power, the one that had been the son of the funeral master Liu.

Wang Gongming turned toward the offering table. The next moment, his body vanished from where he stood and instantly reappeared before it.

The bamboo booklet was now in his hands.

He lowered his head as though reading.

My heartbeat grew faster and faster. Sweat dripped in heavy drops from my forehead.

This ghost was terrifying.

Without even fighting him, I could tell that my current Thunder Subduing Talisman would never be enough to deal with him.

Li Yue still did not move. She shook her head very lightly, almost as if trembling.

From the courtyard came a hoarse voice. "When I died, the nation was in turmoil and the family was not at peace. When I awoke, the nation had been pacified, but the family was gone."

That voice carried none of the coldness I associated with ghosts. Instead, it sounded like the faint sigh of an old man in his twilight years.

Only there was a trace of sorrow in it.

"I do not wish to do anything. I only want to go home."

"You may come out."

Wang Gongming's voice held no fluctuation at all, yet my heart jolted violently. Had he already discovered us?

Li Yue rose to her feet, sweat streaming from her head, and reached out to push open the woodshed door.

I moved slightly ahead of her.

Biting her lip, Li Yue said in a trembling voice, "You cannot remain here."

Wang Gongming did not answer her. He did not even look at us. Instead, he was surveying the Wang family estate.

I felt the atmosphere in the entire courtyard plunge to freezing.

Then Wang Gongming's gaze fell upon me. He raised a hand.

My whole body suddenly shuddered, and a wisp of blackness left me and flowed into Wang Gongming's body.

"When I built Qianshui Town, I spent three years seeking immortals and learning the Dao. My master said my bones and roots were rare, a genius of cultivation, and wanted to keep me in the mountains."

"My heart remained with Qianshui, so I declined my master's kindness. I returned to the town and moved the geomantic eye of this place, repairing it with the Judge's Hat. From then on, I used my own lifespan to drive the feng shui into shape, and thus I died of illness."

"My lifespan could not fully complete the feng shui. I made myself into the town's ghost-guardian at this geomantic eye. So I sent dreams to the townspeople and had them bury me outside the town."

"The Judge's Hat requires a place for filth to be drained away, where yin energy may gather, and so I hid here."

"Year after year, four decades have passed. Thus, I caused the wrongful spirits of my descendants to push me into the water, borrowing the resentment of the vicious ghosts to break against the current and return upstream."

"Now, I only want to go home."

Wang Gongming looked deeply at me and Li Yue, his voice still utterly calm. "I am the town's ghost-guardian. This Judge's Hat feng shui formation was originally built by me to protect Qianshui Town. The feng shui has now taken shape. You need not worry about this place. No ghost can enter, and no ghost can hurt anyone."

At last, Li Yue's expression turned to astonishment.

She lowered her head, and her voice softened considerably. "This junior has disturbed you. We shall leave Qianshui Town at once."

After saying that, she reached out, grasped my wrist, and hurried toward the Wang family manor.

Though I was still confused, I knew better than to ask questions now.

After we had left the manor and reached the street, we turned into a side lane. Only then did Li Yue pause slightly. Panting, she murmured, "I never expected Wang Gongming to be the ghost-guardian within the Judge's Hat."

I hesitated before saying, "What does ghost-guardian mean? But even after this, there are still hundreds of ghosts trying to get in to evade the underworld envoys. If we just leave and do not let him return, what will happen to those ghosts?"

Wang Gongming was strong, but I still did not believe he could deal with so many ghosts. Especially since those ghosts were not acting independently; there was a ghost secretly controlling them.

They had even nearly killed Li Yue. If it had not been for the thing on the back of my hand...

By now, Li Yue would have been dead in the graveyard.

Li Yue shook her head. "The ghost-guardian is, in a sense, the master of this Judge's Hat. In this town, Wang Gongming is the one who serves as judge. No ghost can enter unless he wills it. Even if one does enter, he will destroy it at once. The fact that the Judge's Hat can evade the underworld envoys already proves how powerful it is."

"And Wang Gongming has no resentment. Even if that old Daoist wanted to tempt him into doing something, it would be impossible."

I also understood now. Earlier, when Daoist Master Zhou had tried to draw Wang Gongming out, he had spoken at such length, emphasizing above all that Qianshui was in danger.

Li Yue gave a soft snort. "The ghost-guardian is merciless. Wang Gongming did not harm us because he understands cause and effect, and knows we bear no malice toward this place. If anyone had malice toward Qianshui Town, they would not live long. He only cares for the safety of the whole town. He would never help simply because of a few words from an old Daoist."

Now I understood what Li Yue meant.

Her face also regained its smile. "Master was wrong about him before. He thought Wang Gongming was a ghost of fortune because, at the time, he feared you would not allow him into the town, so he left a trace of bad luck on you. He has already withdrawn that misfortune just now. The matter of Qianshui Town has nothing to do with us anymore. Let us go find Master now and have him tell you where we should head next."

Clearly, there was already a note of delight in Li Yue's voice.

But then, in my ear, I suddenly heard a strange sound.

It was like a flute being played, and the sound sent a chill, stinging pain through the back of my hand.

As though something on the back of my hand was resisting.

Li Yue's expression abruptly changed.

The smile from a moment ago vanished at once.

She had been standing with her back to the Wang family manor, while I could just make out the estate behind her.

At that moment, Wang Gongming's figure suddenly appeared at the manor gate.

He began walking with very slow steps in another direction.

Li Yue's face changed completely. Her voice trembled as she said, "That is a soul-luring tune, a Daoist art used to confuse ghosts!"

She whipped around and looked at Wang Gongming.

"Wake him up at once! That old Daoist actually knows this art! There is definitely something wrong with him!"