Chapter 15: The Shadow's Passage

“Cluck, cluck, cluck—”

The sound was strange, neither quite a child’s voice nor exactly an animal’s cry. In any case, it sent a chill down one’s spine.

The woman was startled by the noise, instantly rushing over and grabbing my arm tightly, pressing it into a hollow in the terrain.

I could feel a soft, springy sensation on my arm, yet it was icy cold.

We’d been wearing clothes for so long—how had it not warmed up yet?

“What was that? So scary! My mom said there are a lot of dirty spirits in the back mountain!” Her body trembled with nervousness.

I wasn’t as frightened as she was. Since birth, I’d encountered all sorts of strange things, so I’d become somewhat accustomed to such situations. The only reason I’d cried out just now was because that furry thing suddenly pressed against my face. Anyone would have jumped in fright.

I twisted my arm slightly, now freed, and said, “If you know this place is always troublesome, why come here so early?”

“Today’s the fifteenth of July, of course I’m here to tend the graves. I thought there’d be hot springs here, so I came up early to wait for my mom and the others. Didn’t you go to school? Don’t you know what the fifteenth of July is?” She looked at me with disdain.

Before I could reply, another shadow flashed past ahead.

“Ah!”

The woman, terrified, dove straight into my arms, clutching me tightly.

I didn’t have time to appreciate the softness pressed against me and instead said, “Then wait here for your parents. I have business further up the mountain.”

With that, I gently pushed her away and turned to leave.

I was still a hot-blooded youth, curious about girls, but this wasn’t the time to take advantage.

Besides, I hadn’t yet broken off my engagement with that mysterious female corpse. If I got too close to other girls, she might get jealous and kill me. That corpse was no ordinary being.

That pale weasel-like creature and those little yellow-skinned things? I’d slapped them all away, tails tucked between their legs, fleeing. Even the old Taoist priests of the Maoshan sect dared not intervene.

With such power, dealing with me would be effortless for her.

So I needed to end the engagement first and repay that girl’s kindness before pursuing anything else.

In short, I was a bit afraid of my future wife.

With that thought, I took a few steps forward, but footsteps sounded behind me.

“Clomp, clomp, clomp—”

I turned around immediately and saw the woman following me fearfully.

“Hey, miss, what are you doing? Didn’t you come here to tend graves? Just wait for your mother.”

“I’m scared…” she said timidly.

I said coldly, “If you’re scared, don’t follow me. When my wife appears, you’ll be even more terrified.”

“You… you’re married at such a young age?” She clearly didn’t believe me.

I didn’t bother explaining further.

I kept walking, the footsteps behind me persistent.

I didn’t mind. If she wanted to follow, fine. If she got tired halfway up, she could wait for her family at the grave since villagers never buried the dead at the mountain’s peak.

Her mother was a villager.

Their ancestors’ graves must be halfway up the mountain. I could at least accompany her partway.

Passing through a bamboo grove, the path ahead became a proper mountain trail.

I had taken a few steps when I noticed many sheets of white paper scattered on the path, and at the entrance stood a spirit-summoning banner.

The banner was a stick wrapped in white paper—used by the villagers as a marker to guide wandering spirits after someone’s death.

Could it be that someone in the village had died?

Just as the thought crossed my mind, a slow jingling of copper bells echoed along the mountain path.

“Spirit travelers, please yield the way. The living, please avoid!”

“If encountered, please yield; do not disturb the departed!”

“Spirit travelers, please yield the way. The living, please avoid!”

“…If encountered…”

Gradually, a middle-aged man wearing a yellow Taoist robe appeared halfway down the mountain, holding a copper bell high in his left hand and shaking it rhythmically.

In his right hand, he held a compass. His features were tight and rodent-like—small, squinty eyes like tadpoles, closely packed together, with two small curled mustaches.

He muttered softly to himself.

Judging by his words, he was likely performing a ritual to guide a spirit.

I stopped and glanced at the woman, who still looked distressed and timidly stared at me.

Seeing that, I quickly grabbed her hand and dragged her to the side of the mountain, where tall grass and shrubs offered concealment.

I pressed her down, making her half-kneel before me while I stood—an awkward position.

I hurriedly turned my back to her, still feeling strange.

But the Taoist continued his slow, unsteady descent.

Something else seemed to be following him.

I crouched down, hiding with the woman in the grass, silently watching the mountain path not far away.

“Spirit travelers, please yield the way. The living, please avoid!”

“If encountered, please yield; do not disturb the departed!”

At the banner’s entrance, behind the Taoist, a woman about forty or fifty years old followed slowly.

Her hair was streaked with white.

Her eyes were vacant.

Her face unusually pale.

She followed the Taoist aimlessly, appearing dazed.

I recognized her—it was Er Pozi.

Was she… dead?

Had she died before fifty?

Her daughter was right behind me and had said she was waiting for her mother to tend the graves.

What was going on?

The woman beside me saw this too and tried to speak and stand.

“Mom…”

She barely whispered the word before I clamped my hand over her mouth and pressed her down hard, silencing her completely.

Though still some noise escaped.

The Taoist heard it and turned his head toward us.

But it was still dark, visibility low, and we were hidden in the grass, so he couldn’t see our exact location.

He paid no mind.

Probably assumed it was some animal—after all, we were in the mountains.

He bent down, took out a handful of white paper money from his pocket, and scattered it into the air.

The round white papers drifted down gently.

“Spirit travelers, please yield the way. The living, please avoid!”

“If encountered, please yield; do not disturb the departed!”

Having completed the ritual, the Taoist led Er Pozi forward again, drawing ever closer to our hiding spot.

I held the woman tightly in my arms and lowered my body as far as possible.

From where we were, we could only see their upper bodies; their lower halves were hidden in the weeds.

Through gaps in the grass, I watched them slowly pass by.

Er Pozi still followed the Taoist with vacant eyes.

Spirit travelers must never be disturbed.

If you disturb the departed, they will follow you relentlessly, refusing to rest.

Fortunately, I reacted quickly.

Otherwise, this mountain path might have turned deadly.

Just as I exhaled and watched them about to leave, Er Pozi’s face suddenly twisted around!!!

Smack!

A deathly pale face with bulging eyes stared directly at me!