Chapter 29.1: Zombie Lovers (12)
Taoist Xuan Cheng solved the corpse poison and that night, the remaining six actors carried the coffin on the road.
More than three days had passed in the horror movie.
Taoist Xuan Cheng seemed a bit anxious. “The employer ordered me to deliver the coffin to their house before August 15th but now I’ve been delayed at the inn for one day. There are only three days left until the deadline. I’m afraid that we will have to work day and night. It is hard on all of you.”
Taoist Xuan Cheng had just finished speaking when the actors’ phones rang.
[The plot progress has been updated. Deliver the coffin to the employer’s house within three days. The journey time will be 5.0 times faster.]
The group nodded and sighed with relief. If it was passing at 5.0 times the speed then traveling all day and night wasn’t too tiring.
Xie Chi’s focus wasn’t on the speed. It wasn’t his turn to carry the coffin so he walked to Taoist Xuan Cheng and seemed to casually ask, “Master, if it needs to be delivered on August 15th then how many days did the employer give you?”
Xuan Cheng replied, “I was given nine days. It took three days to reach the Mian Mountains. Then we carried the coffin slowly and were delayed at the inn. It is really sad and we have to hurry up.”
Xie Chi nodded.
Taoist Xuan Cheng had always been rigid but he wasn’t cold-blooded and ruthless. He remembered that Xie Chi was the first disciple to find teeth powder for him and had a preference for Xie Chi. Now that Xie Chi asked, he released his bitterness.
“The employer is of high birth and they aren’t someone you and I can afford to offend. Otherwise, I wouldn’t insist on still transporting the coffin despite the heavy casualties. If it was a general commission, the corpse has changed into such a powerful zombie that I would burn it to avoid it damaging people. We can afford it even if people blame us. However, this employer will probably kill us if we burn the zombie.”
“I’ve never seen such a harsh one. It has to be nine days. The employer stressed several times that it must be delivered within nine days. If it can’t be delivered then we’ll probably have to stay there.” Taoist Xuan Cheng looked back at the team carrying the coffin and urged them.
Perhaps because they were approaching Huai Ao but Xuan Cheng had started to reveal some information about the employer.
Xie Chi thought about it and asked, “Did the employer say why it needed to be nine days?”
Taoist Xuan Cheng shook his head. “No, the employer just said that they wanted to move the grave. It is probably a lucky day for re-burial after nine days.”
Xie Chi nodded but he didn’t quite believe this statement. However, there was no need for Taoist Xuan Cheng to hide this from him. This person probably didn’t know.
Nine days, this deadline was emphasized many times. What was the employer’s intention? It stood to reason that the grave could be moved at any time. If one auspicious day was missed then wait a few days for the next one. There were so many auspicious days that it wasn’t necessary to wait for a certain one.
The emphasis on the deadline meant that if they exceeded the deadline, the impact on the employer was huge. This deadline must be crucial.
Taoist Xuan Cheng saw that Xie Chi was more pleasing to the eye and smiled bitterly. “It is hard for you to follow me. I’m not good at teaching. I’m far behind Uncle Lian Xi. Your uncle Lian Xi is my senior and he knows everything. He is proficient in divination and even knows the art of borrowing the laws…”
Taoist Xuan Cheng suddenly paused, his face looking like he had spoken something taboo.
Xie Chi clearly heard it. “The art of borrowing the laws?”
Taoist Xuan Cheng avoided talking about it and sighed, “I didn’t expect Zhou Tong to be so sinister in his heart. I was wrong to accept him as a disciple. He almost hurt you and I have to take the blame…”
Xie Chi, “……” This person’s method of changing the subject wasn’t clever at all.
Xie Chi felt there was obviously a butterfly effect in the horror movie. If he hadn’t been selected by Taoist Xuan Cheng to catch the pheasant because of his luck buff then he wouldn’t have met Taoist Lian Xi. He wouldn’t have received the refined eight trigrams and information about the land of four yins.
If he hadn’t met Taoist Lian Xi, Taoist Xuan Cheng wouldn’t have mentioned ‘borrowing laws’ to him. Thus, information would be connected to one another and there was an obvious snowballing trend.
After speaking a few more words, Xie Chi determined he couldn’t ask anything else and returned to the team.
Two nights later, the group arrived in Huai Ao where their employer was located.
Huai Ao town was unexpectedly prosperous. Lanterns shone on the main road and the houses on both sides were simple and elegant. There were occasionally carved railings and painting buildings. The people in the town were well-dressed and there were few who were yellow and skinny. It looked like a large town with a rich and comfortable life. There was a small bridge with a stream flowing underneath it and frogs cried out from the farmland in the distance.
There was the help of the 5.0 times speed but everyone still looked tired. Xie Chi had Xie Xinglan working for him so his spirit was very good but his body was a bit more tired.
The deadline for delivering the coffin was 12 o’clock tomorrow night. They had traveled day and night and arrived one day in advance. There was ample time. Taoist Xuan Cheng’s face finally calmed down. As they passed by a noodle stall, Taoist Xuan Cheng was thoughtful and cried out, “Stop the coffin!”
He turned back to the group. “There is still a bit more to go. We won’t be late if we rest and eat a bowl of noodles.”
The people of the town weren’t surprised by their presence. They knew what the copper-cornered golden coffin meant but they didn’t avoid it. Instead, they smiled and expressed their goodwill for this profession.
In fact, each of them had more or less seen zombies. After all, how many people truly died well? The number of people who died while suffocating with anger wasn’t small. The Taoist priests who resolved these matters for them deserved respect.
Everyone put down the coffin and Taoist Xuan Cheng spoke to the stall owner. The group sat down and waited and happened to hear the people at the next table whispering.
“That wife of the Zhao family, her husband has been dead for several rays, right?”
“Yes, tomorrow night during the sigeng time happens to be the seventh day after his death. Her family has made soul banners and prepared a lot of paper money.”
Xie Chi’s expression changed slightly. The employer had ordered them to deliver the coffin before midnight tomorrow. The sigeng time was between 1-3 a.m. The date of handing in the coffin was too close to this time, making people think more.
The chattering was still continuing. “After all those years, Mr Zhao was unable to hold on. His poor wife, widowed at such a young age…”
“Yes.”
“She is a living saint. How can such a thing happen to such a good and kind person? It is strange.”
“Yes, Mr Zhao was also a gentle person during his life. He spoke slowly and methodically, like a teacher. Alas, cruel fate!”
“Two years ago, I received aid from his family. If it wasn’t for them, I would’ve never seen a person who is rich but not overbearing.”
Yan Jing whispered, “Brother, this woman sounds very pitiful.”
Xie Chi didn’t speak and was feeling thoughtful. The Zhao family was suddenly mentioned at this time, making it worth thinking about.
“Don’t talk about their family anymore. My ears are going to form cocoons. By the way, I heard the young son of the fish seller disappeared yesterday?”
“Yes! It is said that he went to school and never came back at night. His father and mother are so worried but he still hasn’t been found!”
“What’s going on? Several children have gone missing in the last two months. It has been reported to the officials and a search started, but they still haven’t been found…”
“No! I don’t dare let Er Gou go to school now. I directly locked him up at home and shut the door.”
“You’re so good! You are safe and don’t have to be afraid of danger. I’m afraid that someone is stealing the children and selling them…”
Yan Jing pulled at Xie Chi and wondered in a low voice, “Brother, do the missing children have anything to do with the main plot line?”
Xie Chi was still silent.
Taoist Xuan Cheng paid the money and spoke regretfully to everyone. “I heard the stall owner say that the employer’s husband has died.”
Xie Chi thought ‘as expected’ in his mind. The woman the customers at the noodle stall talked about was the person who hired them to transport the coffin. Movies were different from TV shows. Every sentence in a movie was basically meaningful and no useless information would be revealed, especially in suspense horror.
Bad movies would talk about things that had nothing to do with the main plotline, fooling the audience. However, the quality of Zombie Lovers was pros outweigh the cons and this probably wasn’t the case.
Therefore, if these people talked about the Zhao family then the Zhao family was likely related to the main plot line.
The cannon fodder turned pale when they thought about going to the employer’s house with a dead person in an hour.
Taoist Xuan Cheng sat down and sighed. “This world is so fickle. Our employer, her husband has been suffering from tuberculosis for many years. Nine days ago, I was hired by his family and felt reluctant. Now that I’ve heard the news of his death, I calculated the date and it wasn’t even two days after I left. That day was the last time I saw him…”
Taoist Xuan Cheng sighed again, his expression bleak. He was apparently regretting the passing of a life.
Everyone had different expressions.
Yan Jing whispered to XIe Chi, “Isn’t this too coincidental? We delivered the coffin and it happened that the employer’s husband passed away from illness. The timing is also very close…”
Xie Chi was thoughtful. Coincidences in horror movie might be predestined. The woman’s husband might have tuberculosis but was it a coincidence that he died of illness at this time?
Why did the female employer emphasize again and again that the coffin had to be delivered within nine days? Why was the deadline so close to the seventh day of her husband’s death? What was the relationship between the zombie and Mrs Zhao? Where did the missing children relate to this matter? What was the real meaning of transporting the zombie?
There was insufficient information so there was no need to think hard. Xie Chi didn’t want to get a headache and quietly ate his noodles.
After half an hour, the group set off again. They were unimpeded the entire way and arrived at the entrance of the Zhao house around 9 o’clock in the evening.
The Zhao house was as magnificent as expected. The house covered an extremely large area. On the ground in front of the red door, there was a copper basin where paper money was burning. Ashes flew and looked like fireflies in the summer night.
Standing outside, everyone could see the white soul banners hanging high on the Zhao house. The soul banner swayed in the night wind and at first glance, they looked like a ghost in white clothes without any feet.
The door was tightly closed. Taoist Xuan Cheng was about to knock on the door when it opened from the inside. The moment the doorman saw them, he smiled happily. Then he remembered that someone in the family had just died and removed his smile. “I received news that you were coming and was about to take someone out to meet you and help carry the coffin. Unexpectedly, you arrived first. I am ashamed.”
The job was about to be completed. Taoist Xuan Cheng’s pressure was reduced and his tone was relaxed. “No problem. Fortunately, we caught up and didn’t delay the employer’s time.”
“Yes.” The doorman thought about it and sighed with a bitter smile. “The young master’s wife waited day and night. If you hadn’t come then she would send someone to look at you. For the past few days, due to the young master’s business, she has been mournful. Then you hadn’t arrived yet and she became more anxious. She hasn’t closed her eyes for several days and her face was haggard. We were anxious but didn’t dare say a word to persuade her…”
Yan Jing secretly whispered, “It seems that Mrs Zhao is very popular. Even the doorman cares about her so much…”
The doorman’s ears were sharp and he heard Yan Jing’s words. He looked over and sighed. “Little Taoist, you don’t know but the young master’s wife is really a compassionate person. She can’t even bear to step on ants to kill them. She and the young master have helped thousands of poor people in recent years. Lately, several children have gone missing from the town and she couldn’t eat for a few days after hearing about it. Later, she went to the Buddist temple to chant and pray for these children… alas.”
Xie Chi raised his eyebrows. Was she really kind or was it an act?
The more the doorman said, the darker his expression became. He smiled bitterly, “Can you tell me why God didn’t take away the wicked but instead took away my young master? The two of them were so loving. Now… ah, the young master’s wife is also suffering…”
The doorman’s eyes were red and his throat choked up.
Taoist Xuan Cheng had no other way and could only comfort him.
Yan Jing sighed. “Listening to him, Mrs Zhao is really pitiful. She is young and very good. She had a good relationship with her husband but ended up a widow…”
Xie Chi’s focus wasn’t here.
Her husband just died and Mrs Zhao still had the leisure to worry about moving the grave? Didn’t she love her husband? What was the origin of this zombie that it was worth making Mrs Zhao so anxious?