Chapter 51: The Outer Graveyard

When the words "outer graveyard" were mentioned, Zhao Hai-kun’s face twitched noticeably.

Seeing that he looked unwell, I quickly asked, "What is an 'outer graveyard'? And why must my old squad leader be buried in one?"

Zhao Hai-kun looked embarrassed, even ashamed to speak. He raised his head to look at me, then sighed deeply. "Six hundred years of the Zhao family, and in the end, I have to rely on you to handle the funeral for my younger brother... What a cruel twist of fate!"

After that sigh, Zhao Hai-kun told me about the so-called outer graveyard.

He explained that the outer graveyard was a place used in the past specifically for those who died unnatural deaths. It was located in a remote area, and over the course of six hundred years, quite a few people had been buried there. However, these people all shared one characteristic: they were considered "sinners."

Zhao Hai-kun said that the Lunan Zhao family placed great importance on heritage and honor. No matter how a person died, they were generally entitled to be buried in the ancestral graveyard—unless they fell into a specific category. This exception applied to those of the Zhao clan who died due to committing crimes or disgraceful acts; they were forbidden from entering the ancestral grounds and were instead consigned to the outer graveyard.

Furthermore, as a warning to others, their tombstones were not inscribed with titles like "Father Zhao so-and-so" or "Son Zhao so-and-so." Instead, they bore shameful labels like "Unfilial son Zhao so-and-so" or "Depraved child Zhao so-and-so." In short, that plot of land served as a "negative example" for the Zhao clan, reserved only for those who had committed grave sins or atrocities.

But my old squad leader was not a sinner during his lifetime! Why should he be sent to that place?

As Zhao Hai-kun pleaded again, the village chief waved his hand and said, "Begging me is useless! If it doesn't work out, I’ll just hand your brother over to the county crematorium. Let him be turned into ash. Then you can bury him wherever you want! No one will care."

I couldn't stand it any longer. If I didn't take action now, I would be failing my old squad leader and my own conscience.

The next moment, I stepped forward and said to the man who looked like the village chief, "My old squad leader’s reanimation has nothing to do with evil spirits! It was orchestrated by someone to frame him. Li Douniu from your village is the number one suspect."

"Who?!" The village chief, a man in his fifties, was stunned. "You’re talking nonsense! Li Douniu is my son; it’s impossible..."

"How is it impossible?" I thrust my arm and my face, covered in cat scratches, almost right up to the old man’s nose. I gestured at my wounded face and told everyone, "These cat scratches are the evidence. If you don't believe me, go bring Li Douniu out for a confrontation!"

Hearing this, Zhao Hong, who had been clutching his stomach, immediately backed me up. "Old Tian! Tell them the truth. Let the villagers hear about the filthy deeds of this village chief’s son!"

With Zhao Hong’s support, I felt much bolder. I quickly and concisely recounted how, after chasing after the corpse, I encountered Li Douniu, who claimed he had been bitten by my old squad leader before leading me into a trap surrounded by "cat demons."

Upon hearing this, the old village chief’s hair seemed to bristle with rage. He pointed a finger at me and shouted, "You’re lying!"

"I’m not lying!" I felt a surge of ferocity, and pointing at the old man’s nose, I yelled, "Your son colluded with practitioners of dark arts! He caused my old squad leader to reanimate and intended to kill me as well."

"What evidence do you have?" the old man demanded relentlessly.

I pointed to my own face and said, "I am the evidence! I haven’t even been in Zhaojia Village for a day; I don't know anyone’s name, so how would I know your son’s name, Li Douniu? How would I know he has a wife and a son not yet a month old? Well?!"

After I spoke, Zhao Hong and the dwarf A-Si stood behind me. A-Si was even more aggressive, pointing at the old village chief’s nose while cursing and threatening to take legal action, insisting that I sue his son.

Just as the argument reached its peak, my uncle-in-law, Zhao Hai-kun, suddenly tugged on my arm. "Uh... Bu-er, you might have truly mistaken the person."

Confused, I asked with a sense of grievance, "Uncle, you don't believe me?!"

Zhao Hai-kun shook his head in distress. "I believe you, but..."

"As long as you believe me!" I turned back and pointed at the face of the Zhaojia Village chief, questioning him again. "You have a son named Li Douniu, don't you?!"

The old village chief was somewhat intimidated by my glowing eyes and hurriedly nodded. "Yes!"

"Your son has a wife, and his wife just gave birth to a son, right?!"

The village chief nodded again.

"Does your son have any bad habits, like dabbling in dark arts, stealing, or hanging around with cats?!"

The old village chief turned pale, but he remained honest. In front of all the villagers, he actually nodded. "Yes! He did like keeping cats in the past, but..."

I had finally found the culprit. Just as I was about to take further action against this village chief who had failed to discipline his son, my uncle Zhao Hai-kun waved his hand at me and said, "Bu-er, it definitely wasn't his son who did it! Don't wrong an innocent man."

His words left me stunned. How could it be wronging an innocent man?! I had seen and heard everything with my own eyes! My wounds were still aching.

In disbelief, I turned back to Zhao Hai-kun. "What do you mean?! I saw and heard it myself!"

At this moment, the old village chief stomped his foot and shouted at me, replacing Zhao Hai-kun, "Hey! Li Douniu died last year! How could a dead man plot against you?!"

This news shocked everyone. It felt as if I had been dealt a heavy blow to the face. Li Douniu had been dead for a year? Then who had I seen just now? A ghost? Or an impostor?

Pressed by my interrogation, the old village chief sighed and told me the whole story of Li Douniu’s "death." He was an honest man. He told me that his son’s death had been bizarre; he was not even thirty years old when he died.

From a young age, Li Douniu had been seen as "not quite right" by the villagers. People often saw him running off to Shiren Gu or the graveyards, disappearing for the entire day. No one knew why a child would keep going to a graveyard.

Later, as people saw it more often, they couldn't help but ask why he kept going there. Li Douniu’s answer was chilling. With snot running from his nose, he would smile and say to people, "An old man always takes me to the graveyard to play and gives me lots of delicious food. That old man told me his name is Zhao Qingshan!"

This statement was enough to terrify any villager in Zhaojia Lou. Everyone in the village knew that more than a decade ago, Zhao Qingshan had been denounced and died in a heavy snowstorm. When Li Douniu was born, grass was already growing on Zhao Qingshan’s grave. He had never met the man, so how could he have encountered him?