Chapter 8: The Bride
Chen Shi crouched behind the shattered temple window, witnessing the scene outside.
In mere moments, dozens of Spirit Embryo Realm cultivators had been slaughtered. The brutal efficiency left him deeply shaken.
Under the moonlight, the little girl from Fangdian Village’s shrine met his gaze. Her expression was devoid of human emotion. She took another bite of her red apple, then turned and walked away.
From behind him, Grandfather's voice broke the silence. “No need to envy her. With your current physique, you could also defeat those constables.”
Chen Shi froze, his heart racing with surprise and delight. “I’m as strong as Fangdian Village’s Dry Mother now?”
Grandfather, stirring the pot of simmering medicinal soup, didn’t even glance at him. “The Dry Mother could kill you with a single branch. Those constables, weak as they look, could kill you with a single spell.”
Chen Shi frowned in confusion.
“Did you notice?” Grandfather continued. “Once the branches got close, the constables were doomed. They didn’t even have time to react. Their Spirit Embryos might be strong, but their bodies are weak. You, on the other hand, have a strong body. If you get close enough before they cast their spells, you could crush them with ease.”
Grandfather’s voice was calm as he stirred the pot. “Of course, if they attack first, even their weakest spell could kill you. Without any true energy to counter their magic, your only strategy is to strike first—don’t give them a chance to act.”
Chen Shi nodded thoughtfully. The constables were all scholar-bureaucrats, trained in the Heavenly Heart Righteous Energy Manual, a technique designed to cultivate qi and spiritual foundations rather than physical strength.
But Chen Shi’s Three Lights Righteous Energy Technique was different. Its goal was to forge a Holy Embryo Physique—a body as resilient as a Spirit Embryo. Moreover, the technique combined physical and spiritual cultivation, aiming to create harmony between raw physical strength and powerful energy.
Chen Shi lacked a Spirit Embryo, meaning any spiritual energy he cultivated would dissipate. However, by focusing solely on physical cultivation, his progress was twice as fast as normal.
Combined with Grandfather’s bizarre “medicine” and peculiar “meals,” Chen Shi’s physical advancement was nothing short of extraordinary.
As the medicinal soup finished brewing, Chen Shi drank it and resumed practicing the Three Lights Righteous Energy Technique. Slowly, he entered a meditative state, becoming oblivious to the world around him.
Moonlight spilled through the temple’s windows, creating a serene yet mysterious atmosphere.
Grandfather, avoiding the moonlight, huddled in a shadowy corner. His body trembled.
“So hungry... so hungry... the smell of human flesh... so fragrant...”
From under his straw hat, blood-red eyes gleamed in the dark.
The campfire’s flames turned a ghostly green, and the air temperature plummeted, cold enough to suggest snowfall.
Black Dog shivered, crouching low to the ground and refusing to move.
In the corner, Grandfather stood up silently, his eyes fixed on the meditating Chen Shi.
“I’m so hungry... I want to eat him so badly!”
Suddenly, a temple window creaked open, and Grandfather disappeared into the night.
He ignored the corpses strewn outside. A few quick leaps, and he vanished into the moonlit shadows.
Black Dog barked twice, breaking the silence.
Chen Shi woke with a start. Rushing to the window, he closed it tightly.
“Grandfather went out again?”
Chen Shi searched the temple, but there was no sign of his grandfather. Peering out the window, he saw the moonlight illuminating the scattered corpses of constables and horses.
Suddenly, one of the bodies twitched.
Chen Shi rubbed his eyes. Sure enough, one corpse began to rise slowly in the moonlight.
“Risen from the dead?”
Before he could react, another corpse began to move, and another.
Even the eight horse carcasses got to their feet, blood dripping from their lifeless bodies.
The once-dead constables and horses stood unnaturally upright, their movements slow and jerky, as if something was puppeteering them.
The scene sent a chill down Chen Shi’s spine. What kind of sinister force could animate so many dead bodies?
Chen Shi's heart pounded wildly in his chest. Black Pot padded closer, rearing up on its hind legs to peer out the window beside him.
Faint music drifted through the moonlit air. Outside, the corpses swayed and staggered in time with the melody, as if drunk.
Chen Shi and Black Pot strained to find the source of the music. Moments later, the sound of horns and suonas grew louder. Emerging from the forest were two lines of performers, dancing and playing instruments like a wedding procession welcoming a bride.
Chen Shi had seen wedding processions before, always bustling with joy and celebration. But this scene was nothing like those joyous occasions.
The performers were foxes, standing upright on their hind legs like humans. Their cheeks puffed out as they blew into suonas and pipes, while others clanged cymbals or beat drums strapped to their waists. The music was deafening, and the foxes' movements were erratic, their swaying bodies casting eerie shadows under the moonlight.
Following the performers was a large, bright red sedan chair. It floated eerily in the air, swaying as if carried by invisible hands, keeping pace with the music.
The corpses outside the temple danced grotesquely in rhythm with the music, creating a chillingly macabre scene under the moonlight.
“It’s not an evil entity… It’s a Malevolent Spirit! ” Chen Shi gasped.
His grandfather had explained the difference. A Malevolent Spirit was far more dangerous than an evil entity. Even the village Dry Mothers couldn’t fend off a Malevolent Spirit. Whenever a Malevolent Spirit appeared, it meant disaster—entire villages, including their Dry Mothers, would be wiped out overnight.
“If the Malevolent Spirit breaches the temple, grandfather’s peachwood talismans might not hold it back!”
Chen Shi stared nervously at the wedding procession. The curtain of the red sedan chair fluttered, revealing the faint outline of a bride in a red wedding gown. A slender, pale hand extended from under her veil.
“Bring the groom—”
The fox performers suddenly turned their heads in unison, their necks twisting unnaturally as they stared directly at the temple. In eerie, human-like voices, they shouted, “Bring the groom to the sedan chair!”
The dancing corpses outside the temple also stopped, their gray, lifeless eyes locking onto the boy inside. As one, they rasped, “Bring the groom to the sedan chair!”
Chen Shi and Black Pot ducked back, hearts racing.
The wedding procession continued its music as the sedan chair floated closer to the temple.
“They’re coming to take me!” Chen Shi thought, retreating quickly. His eyes darted to the talismans hanging over the doors and windows.
The talismans, drawn by his grandfather, bore intricate symbols depicting guardian deities. His grandfather’s skill had never failed to repel spirits and demons before.
Suddenly, everything outside fell silent.
Black Pot crouched low, baring its teeth and growling in the direction of the temple door.
Without warning, the talismans burst into flames, burning to ash in mere moments.
The temple door creaked open.
The red sedan chair hovered just outside.
“Woof! Woof! Woof!” Black Pot leapt forward, barking furiously at the intruder.
A pale, slender hand emerged from the sedan chair, lifting the red curtain. Inside, the bride sat serenely, her figure draped in vibrant red wedding robes.
Black Pot’s fur bristled, and it barked louder and more frantically.
“Black Pot is so loyal!” Chen Shi thought, his heart swelling with gratitude. I misjudged it all this time.
The bride’s delicate hand slowly lowered the curtain again.
“Could it be that the Malevolent Spirit is intimidated by Black Pot?” Chen Shi wondered. Perhaps it will retreat.
But just as the thought crossed his mind, he sensed someone beside him.
He turned his head. The bride from the sedan chair was standing right next to him.
Chen Shi froze in place, his mind blank as his eyes darted around. The entire temple was bathed in a sinister crimson light.
Meanwhile, outside the sedan chair, Black Pot let out a relieved sigh when the curtain fell back into place. But its relief was short-lived.
Inside the sedan, another figure sat—a groom in matching red robes. For a fleeting moment, Black Pot saw the groom’s face.
It was Chen Shi.
Black Pot’s hackles rose, and a chill ran down its spine. It spun around to look inside the temple, only to find that Chen Shi was gone.
The red sedan chair slowly floated upward, accompanied by the fox orchestra banging drums, clanging cymbals, and playing wind instruments in jubilant celebration as they escorted the chair away from the temple.
Black Pot couldn’t stand by any longer. It bolted out of the decrepit temple, racing after the red sedan chair to save Chen Shi.
Just then, a chilling gust of wind swept through the area, thick and dark, obscuring the surroundings. Black Pot skidded to a halt. As the wind dissipated, it saw that the red sedan chair, the fox orchestra, and the dancing corpses had all vanished without a trace.
In their place sat Chen Shi, confused and dazed.
Black Pot bounded up to him, wagging its tail furiously. Chen Shi, still seated on the ground, had no recollection of how he had escaped the sedan chair.
“I only remember seeing the bride,” Chen Shi murmured, “and then suddenly I was inside the chair.”
He frowned deeply, trying to piece together the scattered fragments of memory. "The bride tore at my clothes but suddenly recoiled like she’d seen something terrifying. She shrank into the corner of the chair, screaming. Then I blacked out... and woke up here.”
Still shaken, the boy and his dog returned to the ruined temple.
Chen Shi took one look at the open temple door and the ashes of the burned talismans and couldn’t shake the unease in his chest. Shaking his head, he forced himself to focus. He quickly closed the door, then rolled a massive stone into place to block it.
Black Pot, ever diligent, rummaged through the wooden cart, pulling out Grandpa’s knife with its teeth. It brought the blade to Chen Shi, gesturing with its paw at its neck to suggest drawing blood for new talismans.
Chen Shi hesitated but finally took a small amount of black dog blood, careful not to hurt his companion further. He set up ink, paper, and brush, mimicking his grandfather’s technique.
His memory of Grandpa’s talisman drawings was crystal clear. Grinding the cinnabar into ink, Chen Shi focused intently, channeling the sparse reserves of Three Lights Righteous Qi into his brush. Every stroke carried precision and intent.
The first talisman was complete in a single breath.
The night pressed heavily on his nerves. Chen Shi worked swiftly, creating six talismans. He hung two on the door and the remaining four on the windows, hoping his efforts would hold against any more disturbances.
Despite his preparations, Chen Shi was filled with doubt. Could these hastily drawn talismans really repel what lurked outside?
Unable to sleep, Chen Shi and Black Pot kept a vigil by the window, their senses sharp to any movement beyond.
“Why did the Malevolent Spirit spare me?” Chen Shi muttered, his mind churning.
The thought gnawed at him. A Malevolent Spirit could easily decimate an entire village, including its Dry Mother. It was incomprehensible that such a creature would retreat from him, a mere boy.
The bride’s sudden terror and retreat had left him baffled.
He decided to let it go, concentrating instead on the quiet outside.
The night stretched on, the temple eerily still.
Black Pot lowered its front paws from the windowsill, ready to relax. But before it could rest, Chen Shi broke the silence.
“Black Pot,” he murmured, “Grandpa might not be human anymore.”
The dog’s ears perked up, and it tilted its head in confusion.
Under the pale moonlight, Chen Shi’s face glistened with unshed tears. His voice was soft but steady.
“Over two weeks ago, Grandpa told me his time was up. He said he needed to hold his own funeral to fool the ghosts sent to drag him to the underworld. If they believed he was already dead, they’d leave him alone.”
Black Pot remembered it well. Grandpa had meticulously prepared a coffin, a spirit tablet, and offerings of gold ingots and candles.
“He said that if he could survive that day, he’d gain a few more years. He didn’t want to leave me alone.”
Chen Shi’s voice wavered. “But after that day, Grandpa changed. When he came out of the coffin, he stopped eating food and started chewing on candles. He doesn’t like normal food anymore, only the smell of incense. And…”
Chen Shi’s voice dropped to a whisper. “I think he’s been eating people.”
The boy shivered and continued, “I think Grandpa didn’t trick the ghost collectors. I think he died in that coffin. The one who came out isn’t really him anymore.”
Despite his grim words, Chen Shi’s resolve didn’t falter.
“No matter what he’s become, he’s still my Grandpa. Even if he turns into a corpse demon, even if he tries to eat me, he’s still my family.”
Black Pot, solemn and understanding, nodded gravely.
Chen Shi’s gaze hardened. “He’s all I’ve got.”
He paused, then added softly, “Go rest, Black Pot. I’ll take the first watch.”
Black Pot wagged its tail in agreement, curling up to rest. But just as it closed its eyes, Chen Shi muttered under his breath:
“This dog knows too much. Should I kill it to keep it quiet?”
Black Pot sprang to its feet, ears flattened, and hurried to take over the watch. It nudged Chen Shi insistently, practically begging him to go to bed, wagging its tail to emphasize its loyalty.
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