From a paper-making apprentice to a celestial master

Chapter 9 Deadlock

"Old Mrs. Huang doesn't want to leave."

Old Zhou shook his head and sighed.

"Um?"

Liu Quan frowned.

Qin Shuang followed behind, her eyes also flickering.

"This old lady Huang died seven days ago."

He should have been buried three days ago.

The ceremony was all prepared, and eight young men were invited to carry the coffin, but the coffin didn't budge and couldn't be lifted at all.

The village elders then stepped in and managed to lift the coffin, but it kept spinning on the way up the mountain. Unable to continue, they had to carry it back.

Upon hearing this, Liu Quan frowned even more deeply and said in a deep voice, "The coffin is spinning? Is this because they dislike the burial site, or is there another reason?"

Old Zhou looked around and lowered his voice, saying, "Who knows?"

Later, Huang's son invited an expert from the neighboring village to come and see for himself. The expert said that Old Lady Huang was reluctant to leave, and that the coffin was haunted by yin energy, so another ritual had to be performed to appease her.

After all that effort, it was all for nothing.

Last night, the coffin lid... seemed to jump a few times on its own.

The person on night watch was Zhao Lei, the son-in-law of the Huang family. He was a constable in the county and skilled in martial arts. He was so frightened that he jumped up and kept shouting, "It's a zombie! It's a zombie!"... That's why we had no choice but to ask you, Master Liu, for help.

Liu Quan frowned even more deeply, then asked, "Where is the coffin now?"

"It's still parked in the main room of the Huang family."

The Huang family dared not move again, and were waiting for your arrival.

As Old Zhou spoke, he glanced at Qin Shuang again, "This kid is..."

"My apprentice."

Liu Quan said calmly.

Old Zhou was stunned for a moment, then his expression changed to one of sudden realization, followed by a hint of envy: "Master Liu has taken on an apprentice? That's a big deal."

My child, if you follow Master Liu, you're sure to have a bright future.

It's a pity my son, he also had the chance to learn from Master Liu, but he was too timid and didn't have the good fortune.

Qin Shuang nodded in agreement, but in her mind she was already comparing the situation of the old lady Huang with the records in "Folk Ghost Stories".

The coffin couldn't be lifted; was this a sign that "the dead must stay"?

The coffin being carried in circles—is this a case of "being trapped in a maze"?

Knocking on a coffin in the middle of the night—is this a sign of a "resurrected corpse"?

However, no matter what, something is very wrong with this situation.

And this is definitely not an ordinary "funeral commotion"; something is truly "haunting" the place.

"Everyone has their own ambitions."

Liu Quan waved his hand, ignoring Old Zhou's words.

Because Old Zhou had forced his son to become his apprentice. He didn't want to take him in, so he deliberately took his son to the cemetery at night. After they came back, he refused to stay as an apprentice no matter what.

Then, the two said goodbye to Old Zhou and headed straight into the village.

On the way, Liu Quan explained, "If the coffin can't be lifted, it's mostly because the dead person's obsession is too deep, or there's something wrong with the earth's veins. Forcing the coffin to be lifted could easily cause an accident."

However, if the coffin spins, it usually means that the deceased's spirit is dissatisfied with the burial place, or that it has encountered some kind of "dirty thing" interfering with it along the way.

But knocking on a coffin in the middle of the night is a bit strange.

Either it's man-made, or it's something else entirely.

Either it's truly haunted.

"Master."

Which situation do you think it is?

Qin Shuang asked tentatively.

Liu Quan continued walking, pondering for a moment before saying, "It's hard to say."

It's possible that the old woman harbored deep resentment, and her lingering attachments haunted her after death. Alternatively, it's possible that someone secretly sabotaged the situation and orchestrated it.

Everything depends on the situation.

When we get there, be alert, observe and listen more, and speak less.

"It's Master!"

Qin Shuang nodded quickly, feeling both nervous and excited.

The two quickly arrived outside the Huang family's courtyard. Before they even entered, they heard sobbing and a man's angry shouts coming from inside.

The courtyard gate was open, and a group of people were gathered inside, mostly Huang's relatives and friends, some wearing mourning clothes and others with white cloths tied around their arms.

Only one or two people, who were probably "experts" invited by the Huang family, were standing there awkwardly, looking completely lost.

After all, they had been working on it for two days, and the problem was still not solved.

Beyond the crowd was a mourning tent, with a white banner hanging askew beside it. Below the tent was a black coffin, supported by two long benches.

In front of the coffin was a table with offerings on it, including chicken, duck, meat, and a bowl of white rice with three chopsticks stuck straight in it.

"Master Liu is here."

Someone reminded me.

Soon, several people in charge came out.

The leader was a thin man dressed in mourning clothes, with a haggard face, who looked to be in his fifties. He was followed by a middle-aged man in his forties, who was somewhat robust and also looked a little nervous.

When Qin Shuang saw the slender man at the head of the group, she was taken aback for a moment, and then greeted him, "Sir."

This person was none other than his private tutor, Huang Guan.

Speaking of which, the reason he fell into the water and encountered the ghost was actually because Huang Guan's mother had passed away and the private school was closed for the holidays. Otherwise, they would have still been in class at that time, and he would not have passed by that wooden bridge, let alone fallen into the water and been haunted by that water ghost.

Of course, no one can be blamed for this.

To his surprise, his husband's mother had also passed away, and seven days had passed without her being buried.

"Qin Shuang?"

Huang Guan was also taken aback, and a hint of surprise managed to appear on his haggard face. "How come you..."

"I came here with my master."

Qin Shuang explained.

Huang glanced at Liu Quan and immediately understood what was going on. He quickly cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Master Liu, thank you for making this trip."

I never expected that Qin Shuang would become your disciple.

"It was also a matter of chance."

Liu Quan didn't explain much. His gaze swept past the crowd and landed on the coffin under the mourning tent. "Tell me the details."

Huang Guan stopped dwelling on it, but sighed, his face somewhat bitter, and said, "Master Liu, to be honest, my mother's departure has been truly unsettling..."

He then explained some situations, which were basically the same as what Old Zhou had said before, only with some details.

Finally, his gaze involuntarily drifted to the black coffin, and he lowered his voice a few decibels: "Last night was even stranger... My brother-in-law Zhao Lei was on night watch, and he said he heard the coffin lid making a 'thump thump thump' sound, as if someone was knocking inside."

He mustered his courage to look, and the coffin lid actually jumped open by itself, revealing a crack... He saw with his own eyes that his mother's hand... reached out.

"His hand reached out?" Liu Quan raised an eyebrow. "Did he see it clearly?"

"I see it clearly, it's absolutely true."

The middle-aged man in his forties behind Huang Guan spoke up, his voice deep and powerful, "I've worked in the county government for seven or eight years, what kind of scene haven't I seen?"

Last night's hand... the fingernails were at least two inches long, bluish-black, it definitely didn't look like a living person's hand.

Upon hearing this, Qin Shuang felt a chill run down her spine. After a person dies, their fingernails grow longer and their skin turns black, which is a sign of "zombie transformation".

According to his understanding from "Folk Ghost Stories," this is a situation where a person's resentment is stuck in their throat after death, unable to be swallowed or dissipated.

It is also a precursor to the corpse turning into a stiff body.

They have even turned into zombies.

The newly formed zombies are white zombies, which move stiffly and are not very strong.

However, if the resentment is too strong and it absorbs enough yin energy, then the white zombie will turn into a 'black zombie'. At that time, it will not be as simple as just reaching out to knock on the coffin, but will break out of the coffin and devour people.

……

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