Chapter 3 : Bringing Back the Dead
3: Bringing Back the Dead
Day had just broken when a terrifying scream tore through the Qin Manor's quiet.
Chief Steward Liu Chun was washing his face. Hearing the commotion outside, he frowned. He was about to shout a question when his door was thrown open. His personal attendant, He Xing, rushed in, his face a mask of panic. "Master, something terrible has happened! The Ninth Young Miss… her spirit has returned!"
Liu Chun frowned, wondering if he had misheard. "The Ninth Young Miss did what?"
"She's returned! Her spirit has returned!" He Xing said hurriedly. "Nanny Yang, who was keeping vigil, ran to the front courtyard like a madwoman, screaming the whole way that the Ninth Young Miss has come back to life, that she stood up and spoke! Everyone in the manor is heading toward the western back courtyard now…"
Liu Chun was a man in his thirties, experienced and knowledgeable. But the idea of a dead person's spirit returning to their body… he did not believe it.
He Xing caught his breath. "Also, Nanny Yang said Fuling hanged herself!"
Liu Chun's eyelids twitched. Wiping his face, he hurried out the door. "Where is Nanny Yang now?"
"She screamed all the way, seemed scared out of her wits. They've restrained her now. The main residence and the Old Madam's courtyard must have already heard. Master, what should we do?"
Liu Chun strode forward purposefully. "You go to the western back courtyard and see. I'll go to the main residence."
He Xing nodded briskly and ran out, heading northwest.
"Her spirit's returned! The Ninth Young Miss's spirit has actually returned! And it's not even the seventh day!"
"Exactly. Could she have been possessed by some evil spirit? Several people checked her pulse when she was pulled from the lake. They all confirmed she was dead. And her eyes were wide open when she died…"
"Could it be her resentment was too strong, and she turned into a vengeful ghost?"
The path to the western back courtyard was crowded with Qin Manor servants. There were many tales of the dead returning, but few had ever witnessed it. Servants gathered in twos and threes, their fear dissipating, treating it more like a bizarre spectacle to gawk at.
He Xing ran the whole way. When he reached the western back courtyard, he stared, dumbfounded.
The overgrown, secluded western courtyard was surrounded, three layers deep inside and out. So many people had come!
Frowning, He Xing pushed past those blocking the way, squeezing forward. When he pushed past the last person, his scalp instantly went numb.
The funeral lantern at the courtyard gate was starkly visible. Qin Wan, clad in plain white burial robes, her face deathly pale, her ink‑black hair loose over her shoulders, walked with an otherworldly grace along the path leading to the western back courtyard. From a distance, her figure seemed both eerie and ethereal, impossible to tell if she was human or ghost.
He Xing's eyes widened. He had personally seen Qin Wan pulled from the lake!
"N‑Ninth Young Miss, spare me! This lowly servant deserves death for speaking disrespectfully of you. Ninth Young Miss, you are magnanimous, spare me! This servant will copy the sutras ninety‑nine times for you, and… and offer ten eternal lamps in your honor…"
Nanny Zhao trembled as she walked ahead, her voice thick with frightened tears. Nanny Yang had run off screaming, but Nanny Zhao had been so terrified she'd collapsed on the spot. She had thought the Ninth Young Miss's corpse had moved to claim her life. But the young lady had only ordered her to lead the way to find Fuling.
Did she know Fuling was dead? Did she want to take Fuling with her to the afterlife?
Qin Wan looked expressionlessly at the small courtyard ahead, a slight frown creasing her brow.
The western back courtyard was less than twenty zhang from the mourning hall courtyard. Its gate was narrow, its walls low, surrounded by overgrown weeds. It was remote and desolate. The Qin Family's Ninth Young Miss had lived in such a place?[ TN: Zhang (丈): Traditional Chinese distance measurement (approx. 3.3 meters); 10,8 feet. ]
The thought flashed through her mind. Right now, only two words occupied Qin Wan's heart: Fuling.
Whether it was the instinct of her former life as a healer, or the fragmented words she'd heard in her blurred consciousness, she could not abandon this loyal servant who had chosen to follow her mistress in death. With this thought, she reached the gate of the western back courtyard.
"Open it." Qin Wan's voice was hoarse, carrying an inexplicably chilling quality in the cool dawn air.
Nanny Zhao shuddered and hurried forward to push open the half‑closed gate.
As the gate swung open, across the central courtyard, those outside could clearly see the figure hanging from the roof beam inside the room.
Qin Wan's gaze darkened. She stepped past Nanny Zhao and strode swiftly inside.
From a distance, He Xing drew in a sharp breath. Nanny Yang had told the truth. Fuling had hanged herself!
"That's Fuling! Fuling really hanged herself!"
The onlookers only watched from afar, not daring to approach Qin Wan. Only after she entered the courtyard did they dare move closer. The closer they got, the clearer the scene inside the room became.
"Do you think the Ninth Young Miss is human or ghost?"
"The sky is fully bright. If she were a ghost, how would she dare face so many of us?"
"Right. Did you see? The Ninth Young Miss casts a shadow on the ground!"
"So you mean the Ninth Young Miss is… a moving corpse? The Ninth Young Miss has come back to life?"
A cacophony of discussion erupted. This once‑in‑a‑century marvel was unfolding right before their eyes. Everyone stared wide‑eyed, watching Qin Wan's every move.
Qin Wan had no mind for the chatter. Possession of a corpse was strange enough; even she hadn't fully processed it. Her focus was entirely on Fuling. Without hesitation, she entered the room and wrapped her arms around Fuling's dangling legs.
Fuling wore mourning clothes, her neck suspended in a cloth noose, her body already stiff.
Qin Wan tried to lift her but couldn't manage alone. She turned to Nanny Zhao, still at the courtyard gate. "Help!"
Nanny Zhao trembled, then, like an obedient puppet, immediately entered the room.
Seizing the moment, Qin Wan swept her gaze over the room. The furnishings were simple, the items neatly arranged. The stool Fuling had stood on lay overturned behind her. There were no signs of struggle or a fight.
Once Nanny Zhao was inside, Qin Wan spoke. "Slowly."
Qin Wan used few words, but each one carried a palpable pressure. Nanny Zhao, scared out of her wits, obeyed her every command. Carefully, together, they lowered Fuling to the ground.
The moment Fuling was down, Qin Wan's hand went to her chest. At the same time, as if compelled by a ghost, Nanny Zhao reached out to check for breath under Fuling's nose.
The touch made Nanny Zhao scream and scramble away on her hands and knees.
"She's dead! Fuling is dead…"
Hearing this, the crowd outside reacted with little surprise, as expected. Fuling must have hanged herself in the middle of the night. Now it was dawn; how could she possibly be alive? Besides, Fuling was just a maidservant. What did her death matter?
Everyone's attention remained fixed on Qin Wan.
She had died by jumping into a lake. Her death had been confirmed. The mourning hall was set, burial robes donned, rites performed. She was about to be taken out and buried. And now she was alive?
"Look! What is she doing?"
Someone shouted. Everyone looked and saw Qin Wan crouched beside Fuling, holding up one of her arms. She began vigorously rubbing Fuling's arm. After a moment, she moved to Fuling's throat, then her chest and abdomen, then her legs.
The scene was utterly bizarre. The onlookers stared in bewilderment at Qin Wan inside the room.
"Is she trying to save her? She's already dead. How can she be saved?"
As the words fell, Qin Wan suddenly stood up and placed her feet on Fuling's shoulders. In the next moment, she grabbed Fuling's hair and pulled. Not long after, she crouched down again, pressing on Fuling's chest…
Even though everyone knew it was hopeless, the intense, focused seriousness emanating from Qin Wan inexplicably made everyone hold their breath. Just then, a man's voice suddenly rang out.
"Make way! The Old Madam is here! The Mistress is here…"
Chief Steward Liu Chun's loud shout jolted the watching servants awake. They hurriedly cleared a path.
On the small path outside the western back courtyard stood Jiang‑shi, matriarch of the Qin Family's Third Household. She wore a deep black padded jacket and skirt, holding a silver‑topped cane. Her hair was completely white, her face deeply lined. An aura of solemnity and severity surrounded her, her eyes a pool of inscrutable gloom.
Behind her stood Lin‑shi, the current mistress of the Jinzhou Qin Manor. Lin‑shi's attire was proper, her features gentle and obedient. Her only flaw was that, nearing forty, she showed clear signs of age. Standing behind Jiang‑shi, her presence was completely overshadowed.
The two women had arrived with a large retinue, but they seemed to hesitate, keeping their distance.
At the very back followed seven or eight monks in gray robes.
"Greetings to the Old Madam! Greetings to the Mistress!"
The watching servants all knelt in salute. Even Nanny Zhao inside the courtyard hurriedly dropped to her knees.
Jiang‑shi did not move. Lin‑shi remained silent. Only Liu Chun stepped forward.
He glanced inside the room and saw Qin Wan. His narrow eyes gave a violent twitch. He then hurried to Jiang‑shi and Lin‑shi's side. "Reporting to the Old Madam, reporting to the Mistress, the Ninth Young Miss's spirit has indeed returned. Her maidservant lies in the room, appearing to be dead."
A flicker of fear passed through Lin‑shi's eyes. "Mother, this matter…"
A flash of disgust crossed Jiang‑shi's murky, profound gaze. "I have lived many years. What haven't I seen? A spirit returning, that's all. Fortunately, these venerable masters have not yet left the Qin Manor. What exactly is happening, the masters will have their judgment!"
Having said this, Jiang‑shi instructed Liu Chun, "You!"
"Cough! Cough, cough, cough cough!"
Before Jiang‑shi could finish, a violent fit of coughing erupted abruptly.
Before Jiang‑shi could react, the servants at the courtyard gate all turned to look inside. When they saw, every single one of them stared, eyes wide with shock.
Fuling, who had been stiff in death, was sitting upright!