Hibiskus als Gemälde

Kapitel 41

“Hmph,” Song Diweng chuckled, “I once saw Ji Xiaolan’s manuscript of ‘Notes from the Thatched Cottage of Close Observation,’ which recorded that an ancient ‘ghost pot’ was buried in the ‘Tomb of Feng Hou.’ However, none of the printed versions in history have mentioned it, which is obviously someone deliberately concealed it. Miss Ke’er, I guess you are neither exceptionally beautiful nor outstanding in talent. There are countless beauties in the world, so Heshen’s decision to force you to marry him from afar must have some purpose.”

"What is the purpose?" the leader asked hesitantly.

“‘Ghost Pot’,” Song Diweng replied.

The commander was taken aback upon hearing this, and after a long pause, he slowly said, "Previously, some soldiers captured my father and tortured him to extract secrets about the Guo family. My father refused to confess even at the cost of his life. Later, Heshen inspected Shanxi and dismissed the county magistrate, releasing my father to return home. Not long after, he sent a bridal sedan chair to take Ke'er as a concubine. The young woman had no choice but to be forcibly married and brought to the capital."

"And then?" Song Diweng pressed.

The leader lowered her head, and said shyly, "This Heshen was originally a handsome man who was the most handsome man in the capital, with elegant manners, interesting conversation, and he was also very loving towards me..."

"So you revealed the secret that the Guo family kept until their deaths..." Song Diweng said calmly.

“No! This lady has no such thing,” the commander protested.

"Why?" Song Diweng asked in confusion.

"Because I don't know this secret either... The Guo family only passes it down to sons, not daughters," the leader replied, bowing his head.

"‘The corpse is your corpse, without corpse, without breath, what do you seek in the corpse? Ghost pot incantation.’ Aren’t these four lines of verse passed down through generations of the Guo family? What do they mean?" Song Diweng asked.

"That's the lullaby the Guo family used to lull their children to sleep," the leader said with a chuckle.

Upon hearing this, Song Diweng became furious and angrily questioned, "Then why did you possess the leader?"

The commander chuckled, then lewdly remarked, "This man is strong and wild, his member is short and thick, and he has a wide variety of techniques; his sexual prowess far surpasses that of Heshen..."

"A lewd female ghost," Song Diweng scoffed.

Beside the old locust tree, Qin Ruhua's face flushed red as she listened, and she glared fiercely at Guo Youcai with her bull-like eyes.

A cloud slowly obscured the moon, shrouding the earth in a hazy mist.

"I wish to use this man's body to return to my hometown..." the leader murmured.

"Guo Ke'er, how could you possibly leave your position as the leader?" Song Diweng asked anxiously as the hour of Chou approached.

"Ke'er has arrived home. Take her to the Guo family's ancestral graves in the back hill valley, and the matter will be resolved there," the leader sighed softly.

Under the hazy moonlight, Youcai and Louyi each carried a hoe, and the group silently bypassed the old house, heading towards the ravine behind the mountain.

That's Old Guo's grave up ahead; a layer of tender green grass has already sprouted on the yellow mound.

"Guo Ke'er, we've arrived at the Guo family's ancestral graves," Song Diweng said to the leader walking behind him.

"Keep walking forward; this is the burial grounds of the Guo family's descendants," the commander replied coldly.

Song Diweng had no choice but to continue on his way, and finally arrived at the small hill where Master Fei had discovered the Moonlight Stone Coffin.

"This is it." The commander stopped and sat cross-legged on the ground.

Song Diweng said in as calm a tone as possible, "Guo Ke'er, now that you've returned to the Guo family ancestral graves and your wish has been fulfilled, please leave as soon as possible."

"Dig it up," the commander ordered sternly.

Song Diweng waved his hand, and Mayor Guo and Lou Yi raised their hoes and began to dig. Because the hole had been dug not long ago, the soil was very loose. Before long, the Moonstone Coffin was exposed.

Under the pale moonlight, the carved "Gu" trigram and the two characters "Feng Hou" on the stone coffin lid were clearly visible. Lou Yi followed Guo Ke'er's instructions and lifted the coffin lid.

The stone coffin was empty, except for a line of Qin small seal script engraved on the bottom: "That corpse, your corpse, no corpse, no breath, what do you seek in a corpse? Ghost pot, incantation."

"It's almost time to leave the commander's body, or it will be too late," Song Diweng urged anxiously.

Just then, footsteps sounded in the distance, and a dark figure approached from the moonlit mountain path.

"Who is it! What are you doing here?" Mayor Guo shouted.

"I am Erxi. I'm taking my wife back to her parents' home..." The dark figure answered and came closer. It was indeed Guo Erxi, a villager from Fenglingdu Town. He was the one who had come to town last month to report on the tomb raiders. You Fu recognized him.

"Hey, Mayor Guo, Special Commissioner Guo, you're both here. What are you digging for in the middle of the night?" Guo Erxi asked in surprise as he noticed the newly dug pit and the stone coffin.

Mayor Guo was speechless for a moment and stammered, unable to answer.

"Erxi, the town government is conducting a secret excavation. You must not tell anyone about this, understand?" Youfu hurriedly stepped forward to explain.

"Ke'er, it's already past 1 AM, there's no time left, you must leave the commander immediately!" Song Diweng, disregarding everything else, impatiently growled at the commander.

“Alright, who among you will be the ‘corpse master’ for this young lady?” Chief Yingying asked.

"What 'benefactor'?" Song Diweng asked, puzzled.

"Hehe," the leader said seriously, "I need someone to lie in this stone coffin so that I can come out and possess his body. The moonlight stone coffin ensures the immortality of the human body. I can't possibly spend the long years to come alone..."

This left not only Song Diweng, but everyone else stunned.

"Which one of you will be my 'corpse master'?" The leader's eerie gaze slowly swept across everyone's faces.

Master Fei quietly hid behind, while Qin Ruhua was already pale with fright.

Song Diweng chuckled coldly, his figure blurred, and suddenly he struck out with lightning speed, his small hand hitting Guo Erxi's fatal pressure point in the hollow of his occipital bone...

Chapter 59 of the main text

Guo Erxi let out a muffled groan and collapsed limply to the ground.

In an instant, everyone around was stunned...

“Mr. Song, you…” Youfu said in astonishment, then stretched out his one arm to check Guo Erxi’s breath. Guo Erxi had already died.

"Hmph, this man cannot be left alive; he can only blame himself for coming at the wrong time," Song Diweng said coldly, his face grim. "Besides, the most urgent task right now is to save the leader." After saying that, he ignored everyone, grabbed Guo Erxi's body, and threw it into the moonlight stone coffin.

"Ke'er, if you don't leave, don't blame me for being ruthless!" Old Man Song threatened through gritted teeth.

The commander jumped into the pit and carefully examined Guo Erxi. "Hmm, firm flesh, in his prime, a top-quality 'corpse master'," he said. Then he reached down and touched Erxi's crotch, clicking his tongue in satisfaction. "Very plump and strong..."

Secretary Qin and the others held their breath, nervously watching their leader...

Under the moonlight, a cloud of white mist enveloped the leader, and a chilling wind blew through the tomb, sending shivers down one's spine. After a long while, the mist gradually dissipated, and the leader slowly stood up, letting out a long breath, "So hungry..." He then leaped up, stood beside the pit, looked down into the coffin, and asked in surprise, "Who is this person?"

Youfu rushed forward and shouted, "Sir, this is Guo Erxi, a villager with a wife and children. But Chairman Song killed him with a single blow in an attempt to exorcise a ghost. This is a living, breathing human life..."

"Those who are wealthy must not be disrespectful to their superiors!" Secretary Qin sternly rebuked.

The leader glanced at the villager and immediately understood. He then said sternly to Chairman Song, "Comrade Song, although we are complete strangers to this villager, we are all proletarian revolutionary brothers. There is no distinction between noble and lowly people; we just have different jobs. How could you do this? How am I supposed to face the people?"

“Chief, the hour of Chou is approaching, and Guo Ke’er needs a corpse to possess her. Dion is also forced to do so…” Song Diweng said, his face flushed and his voice trembling.

"Yes, sir, as long as you recover, the sacrifice of one villager is nothing. We will handle the aftermath properly. Please don't blame yourself too much. Health is the foundation of everything. The Party and the country need you," Secretary Qin said righteously.

The leader frowned, sighed, and said with deep sorrow, "Alas, how can I live with myself if an innocent revolutionary is sacrificed for me?" Then his face hardened, and his tone became unusually stern, "Secretary Qin, the dead cannot be brought back to life. What happened tonight is a state secret, and no one is allowed to divulge a single word about it, understand?"

“Understood, understood,” Secretary Qin quickly replied. “Youcai is my son-in-law, Ruhua is my daughter, and Youfu is Youcai’s brother. Leader, please rest assured, they are not only family members, but also Party members. We are willing to guarantee with our Party spirit that we can absolutely keep state secrets.”

"Well, Comrade Guo Erxi's death is of paramount importance. Secretary Qin, how do you plan to handle his funeral arrangements?" The commander's sinister gaze fixed on Secretary Qin's face.

"This..." Secretary Qin's mind raced and he immediately understood what the leader meant, so he said, "Guo Erxi's body and this female ghost should be buried on the spot and reported as missing persons. His family has lost its labor force, and the government will provide appropriate economic subsidies in accordance with relevant policies."

The leader nodded, looking somewhat lost, and said, "That's good, but I feel a little guilty."

"Commander, you seem hungry. You and Fu Ruhua, please go back and prepare a midnight snack to help calm your nerves," Secretary Qin instructed.

Fu walked back with heavy steps. A living person was gone just like that. This world is so unfair, but what could he do...?

Guo Erxi's body lay peacefully inside the moonlight stone coffin. He didn't even realize what was happening before he died. Like a withered leaf, he quietly drifted down there, like dust and mud.

The coffin lid was closed, and Lou Yi began to backfill the grave with soil. Before long, the grave was leveled, and everything was restored to its original state, as if nothing had ever happened.

In the early hours of the morning, the kitchen of the old house was filled with steam and the aroma of wine as everyone ate their midnight snack. You Fu declined, saying he had a headache, and went back to his room to rest.

Secretary Qin raised his glass and said respectfully, "Commander, congratulations on your recovery. This is just a small token of my appreciation."

The leader chuckled and said, "Let's all drink together." He then downed his drink in one gulp, quickly grabbed his chopsticks, and glanced at the plates and dishes on the table. He was starving, having been tormented by the female ghost.

Qin Ruhua brought out a porcelain basin filled with white, tender tofu.

"Sir, this is a famous dish from Hedong called 'Loach Drilling into Tofu.' I wonder if you would be willing to try it?" Secretary Qin said politely.

"It's alright, it's alright..." The commander plunged his chopsticks into the tender white tofu, picked out a plump loach, and said, "This is one of the four most beautiful dishes in China, do you know that?"

"Four Beauties Dishes?" Secretary Qin and the others all shook their heads.

"Xi Shi's Tongue, Imperial Concubine's Chicken, Diao Chan's Tofu, and Zhao Jun's Duck—these are the four famous dishes created in response to the four beauties of ancient China. For example, this 'Loach Drilling into Tofu' uses the loach as a metaphor for the cunning Dong Zhuo. The loach, desperate for shelter in the hot soup, burrows into the cold tofu, finding it incredibly comfortable. The tofu in this dish is as white as jade, like Diao Chan's tender virgin body. Its flavor is fresh and spicy, and the broth is rich and fragrant, just like the taste of a peerless beauty. Dong Zhuo plunges in headfirst, like an old cow and tender grass, burrowing in and out, it's extremely smooth and enjoyable..." The leader chuckled lewdly, opened his mouth, and "crunch!" bit off the loach's head.

"Brilliant! The art of 'eating tofu' is truly profound..." Secretary Qin exclaimed, sticking his chopsticks in and pulling out a slender loach. His face flushed, and he quickly stuffed it into his mouth.

"Sir, the county public security bureau has searched all the household registration records but found no information about Master Yidu. In fact, there is no household registration information for him at all," Secretary Qin said while eating, explaining the case.

"Oh, isn't there a little monk too?" the leader asked, swallowing the spicy "Diao Chan tofu."

"It's said that the young monk's name is 'Youliang,' and his accent sounds like it's from the old course of the Yellow River, but the county bureau doesn't have his household registration card either," Secretary Qin replied.

The leader pondered for a moment and said, "Chairman Song, we can expand the scope further, such as the entire Yuncheng or Hedong region, but it must be done in secret. If we still don't have any leads, we can also investigate in Shaanxi Province on the south bank of the Yellow River."

“Yes,” Song Diweng replied.

After finishing their late-night snack, the leader returned to the west wing, leaving Song Diweng behind for a private conversation.

Song Diweng recounted in detail what happened when the leader was incoherent.

"Oh, so Guo Ke'er didn't know where the 'Ghost Pot' was either... She possessed me just to have me take her back to her hometown of Fenglingdu? Things probably aren't that simple, are they?" the leader said thoughtfully, then fell into deep thought.

"Are you sure that girl named Guo Ni has the clues we need?" After a moment, the commander suddenly asked.

“Old Guo had no other relatives. When he was on his deathbed, Ni Zi was by his side. In addition, Mayor Guo searched the entire old house but found no trace of the ‘Hidden Wind Map’,” Song Diweng replied.

"How much do Mayor Guo and Secretary Qin know?" the leader then asked.

“They only said it was a state secret and dared not ask any more questions,” Song Diweng replied cautiously.

"Alright, in short, the fewer people who know about this, the simpler it will be to deal with the people in the future. Also, is there any news about the group of tomb raiders who appeared in the Fengling Temple area?" the leader asked.

“It hasn’t happened again,” Song Diweng said.

"Which warlord has been involved? Do you think it might be related to Master Jia Shiming?" the leader said thoughtfully.

After thinking for a moment, Song Diweng cautiously replied, "It is definitely not a coincidence that Master Jia suddenly appeared at Fengling Temple. Either he is in cahoots with the tomb raiders, or there are three groups of people looking for 'Feng Hou's Tomb' including us."

“Yes, that would make things even more complicated… Let’s go take a look at Fengling Temple,” the leader said.

"Now? But you haven't rested yet," Song Diweng asked with concern.

"Now that Guo Ke'er is gone, I feel relieved. Time waits for no one," the leader said, standing up.

Lou Yi drove the old jeep, carrying the leader, Song Diweng, and Master Fei, heading towards Fengling Temple overnight, while Secretary Qin and the others stayed at the old house.

Under the pale moonlight, Fengling Temple stood quietly in a thin mist.