Chapter Thirty-Two: Reanimation

"Heh, protect them? Do you think you can afford the price?" Old Man Wang’s eyes bulged, his thick finger pointed directly at me, and his jowls trembled with such fury that steam seemed to rise from the raindrops running down his face. It was a terrifying sight.

Around us, the thugs began striking the ground with iron rods. The rhythmic *clack-clack-clack* sounded like war drums, chilling to the bone.

Seeing this, Han Shanshan, Huo Dadong, and the other police officers turned pale, instinctively closing ranks to surround me. In the current criminal underworld, possession of firearms was common, and the detectives were all wary of someone suddenly opening fire.

"Brother Wang, why get so angry at a junior? He didn't come here specifically to challenge you; he just wants to check on Ah Heng’s situation. If you keep blocking the way, we’ll reach a dead end, and I’m sure you don’t want that either, right?" Lin Feiyu stepped forward to mediate, effectively placing himself between me and Old Man Wang.

"Fine, this is interesting. A kid who pops out of nowhere actually dares to challenge me, Wang Cheng. I’d like to see if, having stepped through this door, he can ever walk out again!" Old Man Wang sneered, his eyes locked onto mine with a deathly stare.

Once he finished speaking, the silence in the area became stifling. The thugs ceased their rhythmic tapping, and we could hear nothing but the sound of the drizzling rain.

I glanced at the morgue door, wondering what the old man meant. Was it already that dangerous inside?

*"You are my little, little apple, no matter how much I love you, it's never enough..."* Just as the scene reached a peak of tension, my phone rang.

The ringtone nearly made everyone present drop dead from the sheer absurdity of it.

Embarrassed, I pulled out my cheap knockoff phone, having forgotten to set it to silent. I cursed internally at Yu Xiaoxue for messing with my ringtone; I wouldn't let her touch my phone again. I took a quick look at the screen, intending to hang up, but froze when I saw the caller ID simply read "Zhou."

It was my mother. I glanced at the people staring at me and answered the phone, my voice sounding as hollow as a stagnant pool: "Mom, it’s me. I’m busy right now. What’s wrong?"

"The police called. They said Xiaoyi Village has been struck by disaster and it’s very dangerous there now. I asked about your grandmother, but they said they haven't found her yet and are still searching. You just focus on your work, don't think about going to see her, and for heaven's sake, don't go back to the village. Be a good boy..." My mother said, her voice filled with distress.

"Mom, I know Xiaoyi Village is finished. You don't need to make up excuses to lie to me. I’ve seen many things with my own eyes. I came out of there the day before yesterday, and I’m in the county now." I didn’t plan to hide it; if I did, given my mother’s stubborn nature, she’d probably try to run to the village herself.

"What? You’re in the county?"

My mother’s voice stopped abruptly, as if she were trying to process what I had said. I didn't want to explain further—telling her more would only add to her worries—so I said, "Mom, don’t worry too much. I have some things to attend to, so I’ll talk to you later."

I hung up. When I looked up, the expressions on Old Man Wang and Lin Feiyu were grave.

"You came out of Xiaoyi Village? What are you to Zhou Xian?" The red flush on Old Man Wang’s face had drained away, as if doused in ice water.

"She is my grandmother." I didn’t intend to lie about this; after all, anyone with the right connections could eventually dig it up.

Lin Feiyu gasped, his gaze toward me shifting instantly to one of realization. "Tsk tsk, Brother Wang, did you hear that? This is the grandson of Senior Zhou."

Old Man Wang pursed his lips, finally grunting, "Humph, so what if you’re related? Everyone has relatives! This matter cannot be settled, not even if her own son came here! Go in!"

Seeing that Wang Cheng had allowed us entry, I didn't say another word and followed Lin Feiyu to the door of the morgue.

Han Shanshan was confused, but Huo Dadong seemed to know a little about the situation in Xiaoyi Village. Old Man Wang and his son, Wang Dong, followed behind; they wanted to witness the autopsy personally.

I had never seen an autopsy, but the mere thought of a corpse sent a chill down my spine. It took a strong stomach to watch such things.

Huo Dadong, despite being the captain, didn't dare open the door. His hands were trembling with nerves as he fixed his gaze on the old man, Lin.

Rainy days were times when ghosts were most active—this was common knowledge. As I looked up at the steady, intensifying rain, everyone’s mood felt incredibly heavy.

Knowing this was difficult for Huo Dadong, Lin Feiyu stepped forward to the door himself. The door was a standard aluminum alloy frame, but it looked ominous after being covered in dog teeth and splattered with dog blood.

Lin Feiyu opened his case, took out a bundle of black incense from a red cloth, lit it, muttered a few incantations, and stuck it into the ground outside. Without looking back, he said, "Everyone not involved, turn around."

"Turn around, did you hear that?" Wang Dong relayed the command after seeing his father nod.

No one dared to look. The female family members were pale as sheets; they had seen red and yellow incense burned before, but never black.

What was black incense burned for? It was used specifically to appease malicious spirits. Ordinary incense wouldn't work; spirits wouldn't listen to the living.

The black incense emitted a heavy, pungent aroma—it was high-quality stuff.

I gained a new respect for Old Man Lin. It seemed he made a living dissecting corpses, and yet he had managed to survive this long despite the pervasive yin energy surrounding him. He certainly had some tricks up his sleeve. I needed to learn a thing or two; if I followed the old man around, I might be able to get my hands on some black incense later. It didn't matter if it was expensive.

After burning the incense, Lin Feiyu took out a bag of white ash and spread it evenly across the doorway.

Ash—I understood this. It was for warding off evil and preventing the body from becoming a reanimated corpse. Entering was dangerous, and they were afraid of being contaminated by filth.

However, the ash was a bit too white and unnervingly eerie. I doubted it was actually just ash, but Lin Feiyu wasn't showing off, so I didn't press him.

Once everything was done, Lin Feiyu opened the door. In an instant, the trapped yin wind rushed out like a dam breaking, blowing away the ash he had just scattered!

Lin Feiyu’s face went white as a sheet, and the black incense sticks burned down as if made of paper. If we hadn't seen them burning slowly before, one would have thought Lin Feiyu was cutting corners!

I looked back; the two detectives had long since turned their backs. Being close to the door, they seemed to feel the icy chill of the yin wind on their necks and were shivering uncontrollably.

Huo Dadong didn't act like a coward, but his face was deathly pale.

"The air conditioning in there is freezing," Han Shanshan said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She had undergone brain surgery before and was acting as if she were strolling through a park, so I didn't bother with her.

Wang Dong stood rooted to the spot. Despite his underworld ties, there were some things he could never be bold about. The act of crossing that threshold seemed to make his feet feel like they weighed a thousand pounds.

"Afraid to go in after opening the door? Little Lin, you aren't thinking of backing out, are you? I won't lie to you—the guys who helped carry Ah Heng last night are all still lying in the psychiatric hospital," Wang Cheng said coldly.

"Is it really that scary?" Han Shanshan said, her tone mocking, before she stepped through the door. I couldn't stop her!

"Don't!"

Inside the door was a hallway several meters long. Just as Lin Feiyu was about to stop her, Han Shanshan had already entered. I instinctively reached out to pull her back, but at that moment, the hem of my shirt was tugged by Sister Wife!

"Xijun!" I shouted in a low voice without hesitation and immediately popped the lid of the spirit urn!

Xijun moved with incredible speed, at least two or three times faster than us, and dashed in front of Han Shanshan in an instant!

"Ah!" A scream echoed from within. When Lin Feiyu and I rushed in, we saw Han Shanshan kneeling on the floor, her eyes fixed, unblinking, on the iron bed in the center of the room!

On the iron bed, the middle-aged man with the crushed skull was sitting bolt upright. His posture was stiff and level, his hands hanging by his sides, looking exactly like a primary school student listening attentively in class.

But his eyes were a terrifying white, and his blackened lips were half-parted, as if he were welcoming us.

"Ah Heng!" Seeing his son in such a horrific state, Wang Cheng wept, unable to bear the sight.

"Brother..." Wang Dong was terrified, his voice trembling. His brother had been lying still last night, but now he had turned into a corpse-demon!

Xijun stood before Han Shanshan, baring her teeth, her black eyes filled with ferocity.

Han Shanshan was crying, too terrified to speak. I pulled her up and felt like slapping her across the face: "If you don't court death, you won't die! Do you understand now?"

"Wuu..." She wasn't just crying; she was nearly frightened out of her wits. Fortunately, she didn't seem to have lost her mind. If Xijun hadn't blocked that surging wave of evil yin energy in time, we would have had to send her to the psychiatric ward.

Xijun didn't try to drag the malicious spirit out, but simply stood in a standoff with it. This worried me; it seemed the spirit inside was so powerful that even Xijun found it difficult to handle.

I didn't know when Huo Dadong had pulled out his service pistol, aiming it at Wang Heng’s head, but his hand was shaking so violently that I doubted he could hit a target.

"Old Lin, what should we do? Should we leave or stay?" I asked Lin Feiyu.

Both Lin Feiyu and Old Man Wang had seen me release the spirit and were now looking at Xijun, who stood before me. However, their attention was mostly drawn to the reanimated Wang Heng, so they didn't have the luxury to worry about my spirit.

"There’s no choice. This ghost is very powerful; its resentment can be felt in the entire room. When they brought him in last night, he was still sealed, but now he has completely broken the sealing charms. Little Lin, I don't mean to discourage you, but I fear even if we combined our efforts, we wouldn't be able to drive it out. Even if we sacrificed a life or two to force it into a black coffin, we probably couldn't even lift it," Wang Cheng said to Lin Feiyu, his gaze shifting toward me.

I didn't speak. Xijun couldn't overcome it, and I wasn't skilled in these ghost-exorcism arts. I could only frown.

Neither of the two old men knew what to do. Seeing me frown, they assumed I was thinking of a plan and waited for me to make the call.

I was at a loss: *Why are you two looking at a young man like me at a time like this? If you can't solve it, why expect me to? Do you really think I'm my grandmother?*

I had never seen a ghost that could hold its own against Xijun. For a long while, I watched Wang Heng sitting there, motionless, and had no ideas. I suggested, "Old Lin... why don't you burn a few more black incenses? Invite it to come out and talk?"

Just as I said that, the sound of teeth chattering reached my ears. I wondered who was shaking, but when I turned my head, I saw Wang Heng’s jaw suddenly move...