Chapter 30: Holding Asafoetida in the Mouth

A tall, slender woman lay quietly in the coffin. She must have been over five feet seven inches tall. Her waist was so slim it seemed she could be spanned by a pair of hands, with not an ounce of excess flesh. Her well-endowed bosom, even veiled beneath a plain azure robe, could not hide its generous proportions. I had seen her figure when I was a child, so I only allowed myself a brief moment of appreciation.

What truly left me stunned was her face. Her long, black, straight hair draped slightly over her shoulders. Her graceful collarbones looked as if they had been meticulously carved, pale as jade. Her eyes were tightly shut; beneath her brows lay phoenix eyes, and her long lashes trembled slightly in the mountain breeze. A temperament of cold indifference hung about her features. Overall, she did not look like a woman who had been buried for years; she looked exactly like a breathtakingly beautiful woman simply lost in slumber.

Seeing me stare at the corpse without a word, that cold, crisp voice sounded again: "Have you seen enough? Carry me to find the coffin fungus."

I remained dazed, still looking at the woman. She was too beautiful. She was even more stunning than the actresses on the television at the village chief's house. How could such a beautiful woman exist in this world?

"Han Tiangang! Hurry up and take me to find the coffin fungus!!!"

She finally could not help but shout at me again. I immediately snapped out of my reverie, silently swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and walked forward in a trance. I dared not touch her at first, but tentatively grabbed her small hand. It was so soft—but I dared not show it. I took her arms and draped them over my shoulders, then gave a firm tug, grabbed her other hand, and placed it across my shoulders. With a forceful push of my hips, the female corpse was pressed against my back.

As I stood up, I felt as if I had been electrocuted, and I nearly dropped her. My back was pressed against those two large, soft mounds; they seemed to change shape under the pressure. This startling tactile sensation made me lose my composure entirely.

"Amitabha, Amitabha, a calm heart brings natural coolness, a calm heart brings natural coolness..." I muttered to myself. But the female corpse was positioned too low, and I had to shift her upward to carry her properly. I had no choice but to say, "Forgive me, miss."

As I spoke, I gave a forceful jolt upward!

"Oh—"

Feeling those two soft mounds compress against my back, I let out a sound. The female corpse immediately said in a cold voice, "Is it that heavy?"

I thought for a moment. These two items were indeed quite substantial...

"It’s alright, I can handle it..." I replied, ignoring the actual question. The female corpse clearly did not know what I was talking about; to her, it must have seemed like I was just carrying someone normally.

I walked down the mountain with the soft body of the female corpse on my back. As I passed other graves, I could hear the surrounding female voices whispering again.

"It’s her! I told you, who else would dare to deal with this fool!"

"Indeed, she never associates with us, her origins were always unknown, and now she’s with this eccentric boy. Truly..."

"Lower your voices, they’re coming this way. Do you have a death wish?"

Just as I reached the edge of their burial plot, the surrounding voices ceased abruptly. They were clearly afraid of this female corpse. They dared to gossip, but they would never dare to provoke this mysterious woman. I was curious myself. Even the daughter of a General's mansion was buried here; if even someone of that stature didn't dare challenge this corpse, what exactly was her identity?

Filled with a mountain of questions, I carried her down the mountain. Although my stamina was average, carrying a slim beauty at a steady pace for this distance didn't feel too exhausting. Furthermore, wherever I went, it was deathly quiet. It wasn't just the evil, crooked spirits; even the cicadas in the night, which had been chirping away in the distance, fell completely silent the moment I drew near. This was different from usual—cicadas were good at hiding in the night and wouldn't stop unless you were very close. I knew they weren't afraid of me; they were afraid of this ancestor on my back.

After much jolting, I finally returned to the Liu family ancestral graves halfway up the mountain. When I arrived, I saw Er Pang leaning against a coffin, fast asleep, snoring with a thunderous, winding sound.

"Snore—"

Seeing this, I felt a sudden surge of anxiety. The coffin fungus was a precious treasure; if it were stolen while he was sleeping in this wilderness, where would I find another? I slowly set the female corpse down. Perhaps because she seemed so pristine, I took off my jacket and laid it beneath her. Then, I ran over to check the coffin. Seeing that the white, translucent little mushroom was still there, I let out a long breath of relief. Then, I slapped the sleeping Er Pang.

"Smack!"

Er Pang woke up with a start, staring at me with wide eyes. Seeing it was me, he said impatiently, "What are you doing? I’ve been busy all afternoon, what’s wrong with me taking a nap?"

I couldn't be bothered with him. I reached into the coffin for the arm of the skeleton and prepared to bite down.

The female corpse's voice rang out: "Do you have a death wish? Eat a piece of yellow paper first!"

As soon as the voice spoke, Er Pang, who had just been lying down, shot upright. "Who! Who is talking! What kind of monster is that! You... what are you doing!" He started looking around nervously, grabbing a rotten wooden stick.

I ignored him, took some yellow paper from my bag, tore off a piece, and asked the air, "Is this enough?"

Er Pang looked at me, bewildered. "What's enough?"

The female corpse's voice replied: "Enough!"

"Oh! It spoke again! Tiangang, there’s a female ghost, take out your talismans!" Er Pang was fully on guard; he had clearly been scared out of his wits today.

I nodded, stuffed the yellow paper into my mouth, and began to chew. The taste of yellow paper was different from ordinary paper, and it wasn't easy to swallow. After frowning and gulping it down, I went back to the coffin, picked up the skeleton's arm, and slowly took the small white mushroom into my mouth.

It felt ice-cold and biting, like swallowing an icicle. It was so cold it gave me a headache, but I knew this was the most effective method. If I tried to use my hands, I feared I would be frozen solid. In the next second, I bit down on the mushroom and pulled with force. The fungus separated cleanly from the bones without a sound.

Enduring the biting cold in my mouth—my lips felt like they were changing color—I walked away quickly. Er Pang looked at me as if I had seen a ghost. "It's over, it's over, Tiangang is possessed too. I said we shouldn't have dug this coffin, Great Supreme Elder Lord, please manifest your spirit..."

Seeing him blocking my path, I grew anxious. I was about to freeze to death, and he was still standing there babbling! I pushed his fat body aside and hurried downward. My destination was where the female corpse lay; I was only a step away!