Chapter 017: The Sudden Revelation of the Family Tomb

The woman before me, bleeding from all seven orifices, sent a jolt through my nerves! I immediately released her hand.

Looking down, I found my hand inexplicably crawling with maggots! They had slowly crept from the girl’s hand onto my arm. There weren’t many, but their wriggling bodies occasionally dropped one or two off, giving me goosebumps all over.

Panicked, I shook the maggots off onto the ground.

Suddenly, the blood-smeared girl raised both hands toward me, her fingers intent on removing the maggots, coming straight at my nose! I instinctively stepped back.

“Damn it, are you human or ghost?” I exclaimed.

The girl let out a strange, eerie laugh, blood dripping from her mouth as she smiled unsettlingly.

“Giggling—”

That sound was familiar!

It was the first time I’d heard it when she was bathing. At the time, I was curious about the source since it didn’t quite sound like human laughter. Coupled with the shadowy, fuzzy figure I encountered, I instinctively thought it was some creature making the noise.

Now it was clear—this girl had been off from the very start.

Seeing her about to attack, I abruptly turned and ran up the mountain.

The girl was quick, and before long she blocked the path down. If I continued downhill, it would be walking into a trap. I had no choice but to sprint further up the mountain.

I ran frantically back and forth on the mountain, utterly exhausted. But at least this time I wasn’t dragging her along. My speed picked up, and it became less taxing.

When I reached the mountain top again, the ground was littered with the same paper offerings as before. I slowed my pace, mindful of the graveyard halfway up the mountain where the old ghost—the girl’s mother, Old Madam Wu—was said to be.

I glanced toward where Old Madam Wu and the others had been, but the place was empty.

What was going on?

Had they all gone after me downhill? That couldn’t be right—I would have seen them on my way back.

Could there be another path on this mountain?

I stopped and looked behind me; the girl was gone too.

“Whew, whew—”

Panting, I slowed my steps and cautiously approached the graveyard where Old Madam Wu’s tomb lay.

The land appeared long neglected, strewn not only with soil but with many brittle dead branches that cracked loudly beneath my feet.

In the eerie silence and mystery of the place, I half-felt I was stepping on bones rather than twigs.

I proceeded carefully, keeping an eye on the graveyard and my surroundings, wary of the girl’s possible return.

Reaching the grave, I saw numerous offerings laid around it—not the usual kind for respectful memorials, but materials essential for a ritual: yellow paper, chicken blood, sticky rice, incense sticks...

A chicken lay on a plate, too.

What on earth was happening?

Though I was a fortune-teller, I couldn’t predict my own fate. I could only read others’ fortunes or glean signs from their faces. Doctors can’t heal themselves; likewise, fortune-tellers cannot truly divine their own luck.

Forcing it only depletes spiritual merit and yields inaccurate results.

No fortune-teller predicts their own fortune. If there’s someone who does, they’re far from an ordinary seer—perhaps not even human.

So I had no clue what had transpired here.

I looked up at the tombstone and shuddered.

It read: “Tomb of the Entire Wu Family.”

Old Madam Wu’s full name was inscribed there.

The entire family!?

They had all died?

But I had seen her just days ago, alive and well. When had this happened?

I couldn’t have missed it; as a village guardian, I should have known about any deaths or funerals.

This was a family tomb—the kind where all members were buried together, symbolizing eternal togetherness in the afterlife.

Family tombs were rare and scarcely documented, for all members had to die simultaneously to be interred together.

Who dies all at once?

That was nearly impossible.

Which meant...

The girl I met, her mother Old Madam Wu, and the entire Wu family I encountered on the mountain were not human.

The thought chilled me to the bone.

I recalled peeking at the girl while she bathed, holding her hand and running for so long.

A cold chill swept down my spine.

“Wait, it’s not just a chill—I’m really cold...” I muttered to myself and turned around.

Five pale, bluish faces pressed close to mine, all staring downward slightly, their iron-blue faces twisted into uncanny smiles.

“Old Madam Wu!” I cried out in shock and sank to the ground.

“Giggling—”

The entire Wu family stood in a line—men, women, young, and old—all emitting that familiar eerie laughter.

Terrified, I scrambled backward.

“Who... how did you die? What do you want?”

They said nothing.

Their bodies remained rigid, moving steadily closer.

I had backed myself up against the edge of the graveyard platform—no escape.

“Shhhh!”

All five suddenly raised their arms in unison, each hand crawling with maggots. Old Madam Wu’s nails were long—three to four centimeters.

If she grabbed me like that, I’d be doomed!

Summoning all my strength, I sprang to my feet and dashed sideways!

I had to find the mysterious woman’s corpse—the bride of the dead.

Though I’d put some distance between us, the Wu family floated swiftly, far faster than I could run.

I didn’t look back.

Suddenly, a burning yet icy pain flared across my back.

“Ah!”

I gasped as my clothes were torn and several cold hands gripped my shoulders.

Ignoring the pain, I pushed harder on my legs, but no matter how I tried, I couldn’t speed up—only pacing in place.

Panic surged through me.

My marriage wasn’t even finalized yet—was I going to die here?

Just as despair overwhelmed me…

“Squeak, squeak—”

A sharp, piercing noise rang out—some animal’s cry.

Suddenly, my body relaxed and I stumbled forward.

I quickly regained balance and bolted toward the mountaintop—no obstructions in my way.

When I reached the trailhead at the summit, loud animal growls echoed behind me.

The sounds were distant.

Only then did I dare glance back.

A white-furred yellow weasel crouched low, its bristling fur like steel needles, emitting threatening sounds.

It stared fiercely at the five terrifying figures of the Wu family.

This was the same white weasel that had nearly tricked me out of the female corpse’s coffin before.

Why was it helping me now?