Chapter 33: The Undead of Western Hunan

  "What it says here is that the zongzi was sent from Xiangxi to Jiangnan City on July 7th, and there were special hurrying corpse carriers who took a shortcut through the Ghost Forest." The computer expert said.

  "On the seventh of July, ghosts are on the move, how interesting. The ghost gate is wide open on this day, and all the ghosts pass by. Marvelous! Marvelous!" Mao Jin'gui habitually pinched his nonexistent beard.

  "Is there some mystery here?" I asked in puzzlement.

  "The subtlety of this lies in deceiving people's eyes and ears, using the Ghost Street to pass through the Ghost City, so no one will notice a person driving zombies, thinking it's just a Qing dynasty ghost passing by. This can numb the police, making it impossible for anyone to discover."

  "What shall we do now?" asked Mao Jingjiu.

  "July 7th is still two days away, let's go to Xiangxi first, it'll be good for you to broaden your horizons and see the hometown of the corpse chasers. I haven't been there in over a decade." Ma Shi Jiu said in a low voice.

  Xiangxi? Xiangxi corpse driver, this renowned title, who doesn't know and who isn't familiar with it. It's a mysterious profession that is deeply hidden at the bottom of society, nobody knows where they come from or where they go to. Holding a corpse-driving bell, scattering white paper along the way, in order to appease the lonely ghosts and wild devils on the road, letting them avoid the path. And there's also the Taoist talisman on the zombie's forehead that can fix the zombie in place, after being uncovered, the zombie can come back to life. These are all things I've seen in Hong Kong zombie movies.

  "Actually, the corpse drivers are also Taoist priests, but their profession is different from ours. They are called corpse drivers (transporting corpses), while we are responsible for driving out and catching ghosts. In comparison, we ghost-driving Taoists are just poor devils. The situation where a ghost enters a wealthy household or mansion is rare, and we mostly earn our living by taking advantage of the poor. On the other hand, a corpse driver can take a break for several months after just one trip." Ma Shi Jiu complained.

  After listening to Mao Shi Jiu's rant, I also found that the profession of a ghost driver is not worth it, and I couldn't help but say: "Then I won't be your apprentice anymore, there's no future in this!" Mao Shi Jiu heard me say this and suddenly became anxious, "Who said that? Our ghost drivers may not earn much foreign exchange, but we can take something from the evil ghosts' bodies, that is, ghost armor. That thing is several dozen times more expensive than gold, although you can only get half a kilogram from one ghost, which adds up to several thousand. As they say, 'thin profits and many sales', one hundred ghosts or one thousand ghosts, it's terrifying!" Mao Shi Jiu licked his tongue and smiled.

  "Where did you catch so many evil spirits?" I said irritably.

  "Ah, yes, the Yama Temple." Mao Shi Jiu burst out laughing.

  "Your grandfather, why don't you go to the eighteenth level of hell? It's full of evil spirits inside."

  "You don't know this, but beneath the 18th level of hell lives a malevolent spirit that has been there since Pangu created the heavens. All other evil spirits that were cast into the 18th level of hell have been devoured." Ma Shi Jiu bared his teeth and brandished his claws, trying to intimidate me.

  "I don't believe it, come on, when are we leaving? I really can't wait to see the beauty of Xiangjiang River." I looked at Mao Shi Jiu with a face full of expectation.

  "Pack up and set off immediately." Mao Nineteen made a gesture of departure.

  This time I and Mao 19 went ahead, Li Jian Tian had to stay at the police station to preside over the overall situation.

  Jiangnan City to Xiangxi must pass through Guiyang, but we chose a direct flight to Xiangxi, and the company reimbursed us without spending a penny.

  Before I left, I saw Lin Mo once and told her to be careful of her brother, but was scolded away with a sullen face. However, after hearing Mao Shi Jiu say that they were temporarily out of danger, I stopped worrying about them and came to Xiangxi with peace of mind.

  It was already evening when I arrived in Xiangxi. This place is different from others, with almost no one on the streets at night, only a few lonely ghosts and wild devils.

  "Look, there's someone over there." In such a vast place, I finally met someone, and I was so happy that I pointed it out to Mao Zijun.

  "That's not a human, it's a lonely soul, wandering the streets at midnight. The lonely soul is extremely stupid and can only wander in its own area, repeatedly unable to transcend, this is the most miserable form of a ghost." Mao Shi Jiu sighed, as if sympathizing with the ghost.

  The main street of Xiangxi was gloomy and desolate, with gusts of evil wind blowing in, so cold that people shivered.

  "You say it's July, how can it be so cold." I hugged my arms and shrank up with the chill.

  "It's not that it's cold outside, but the yin energy is too heavy. Plus, you originally have a yin-energy constitution, so it's like adding insult to injury." Mao Shi Jiu explained to me.

  "Make way, make way! We're just passing through, borrowing your land to get by. We'll come back and pay the toll later." Suddenly a voice came from the depths of the street, accompanied by the occasional ringing of a bell.

  "What's that noise?" I asked in puzzlement.

  "You're quite lucky today, as soon as you arrived, you met a corpse chaser. He's the one who's buying ghosts (bribing passing spirits not to block the way). So we came all the way here and only saw a few lonely souls." said Mao Shi Jiu with a smile.

  "Did you say it might be a hearse driver heading south of the Yangtze River?"

  "There are many corpse carriers, but it's not that easy. In Xiangxi, buying and selling corpses is taboo among fellow practitioners, so those who transport corpses to Jiangnan will not be so blatant. Generally, corpse carriers only help people move their ancestors' graves, few engage in buying and selling." Ma Shi Jiu carefully transmitted these Daoist common knowledge to me.

  "Where are you going, fellow Taoist?" asked Cao Jingzhu as he stepped forward and greeted the Taoist priest.

  This Taoist has an old and mature face, about nineteen years old, but always has a dead pig face.

  "Brother, I'm going to Niuluo Mountain first and have this zombie transported over. We'll be waiting for the relocation of the coffin." As expected, it wasn't about transporting it to Jiangnan, but rather helping someone relocate their ancestor's grave.

  "Brother Dao, this jiaozi has an extremely heavy corpse aura on it, you'd better be careful to drive it away." Mao Shi Jiu touched the zombie's body and sniffed it.

  This zombie doesn't look like the ones on TV, the zombies on TV all wear Qing dynasty official robes, while this one is wearing ordinary hemp clothes from the countryside.

  "Many fellow Taoists reminded me. I must hurry up and bid you farewell." Daochang Dead Pig Face said, then continued on his way.

  "Everyone, please make way and let us pass through your noble land. We will come back to reward you with money after we have finished our journey." The Taoist priest with a dead pig face continued to chant his incantation to drive away ghosts.

  "Look at that zombie's unsteady footsteps, this talisman is losing its effect." said Mao Shi Jiu, pointing at the hopping zombie.

  I took a look and indeed it was just like Cao Jingyu said, the zombie's footsteps were staggering all over the place, looking as if it really couldn't hold on much longer.

  "This Daoist is in danger," said Mao Shi Jiu.

  "How can you tell?" I asked in puzzlement.

  "This Taoist priest, don't look at his old age, but the incantation to drive away ghosts is not very good. I estimate he's a half-baked Taoist priest who has come out halfway. Moreover, this zombie's corpse energy is too heavy, if the talisman paper can't subdue it, the Taoist priest's life will be in danger."

  "Then let's hurry up and save him." The dead pig-faced Taoist had already walked far away, while Mao Shi Jiu was still thinking about something and didn't plan to move.

  "Why bother saving him? In this situation, it's better not to ask for trouble." Mao Shi Jiu's ignoring expression was extremely annoying.

  "What makes you a Taoist exorcist? Isn't it the Taoist way to draw your sword and help those in need when you see injustice?" I said incoherently.

  "You must have seen too much, don't act out Water Margin for me. I'm a ghost-driving Taoist, what does this zombie have to do with me?" Mao Shi Jiu said indifferently.

  "This isn't the you I knew, setting an example for others, and yet you're just going to stand by and watch someone die? No wonder the profession of Taoist priests is declining, it's because of people like you." I scolded Mao Shi Jiu angrily.

  "You don't understand a thing, I'm saying not to go save people, didn't say not to subdue zombies, and you're even lecturing me now, you little brat, the food you've eaten is not as much as the shit I've eaten."

  Haha, I don't know why Mao 19 suddenly made a slip of the tongue, but it's really cool to hear.

  "Pfft pfft pfft pfft, completely misspoken, the food you ate is not even as much as the rice I ate."

  Damn it, raised on rice, no wonder there's a raw smell.

  Cao Jingyu no longer argued with me, and directly took out his wooden sword, rushing in the direction that the Daoist Dead Pig Face had gone, I followed closely behind.

  Before running two kilometers, I saw a person and a corpse fighting, it was the Taoist priest and the zombie. It was clear that the Taoist priest was at a disadvantage, the zombie was about to strangle his neck, while the Taoist priest could only block with his wooden sword.

  "Brother Dao, come and save me quickly." The dead pig face Daoist saw Mao Shi Jiu rushing over to shout for help.

  As soon as Cao Jingyi heard the cry for help, he held a talisman in his left hand and grasped a wooden sword in his right hand, rushing quickly towards the zombie.

  "Monster, take a look at my sword." Mao Shi Jiu thrust his sword into the zombie's arm, and a puff of white smoke emerged. The zombie withdrew its arm, but it took with it a piece of flesh from Dao Chang's dead pig-like face. It let out a pained cry as it rolled around on the ground. The zombie also looked like it was in pain, staring at Mao Shi Jiu with a ferocious expression, its blood-red eyes gleaming with an eerie light.

  Mao Shi Jiu saw that the situation was not in his favor, so he retreated two steps. The zombie's other hand grasped upwards, and Mao Shi Jiu used his wooden sword to block it. He quickly moved around to the back of the zombie, turned his hand over, and slapped a talisman onto the zombie's forehead. The zombie suddenly became motionless, frozen in place by Mao Shi Jiu. Mao Shi Jiu kicked the zombie's buttocks, and the zombie's eyeballs rolled around, but its body still couldn't move. Mao Shi Jiu kicked again, and this time the zombie actually started moving, although very slowly at first, but with a tendency to speed up.

  "Your grandfather, how can you still move? Look at you being so arrogant. I'll add another talisman to you." After saying that, Mao Shiyan stuck another talisman on him, and the zombie completely stopped moving.

  I had never seen a real zombie before, my curiosity arose again, I slowly approached the zombie and carefully observed its appearance, it was really disgusting, with dry meat all over its body, extremely repulsive.

  "Your grandfather, how did you become so ugly?" I felt a little disappointed, thinking that the zombies in the movies all wore thick foundation and dressed beautifully, and couldn't help but feel a bit of a letdown.

  I slapped a zombie's head with one palm, and the zombie's head was lowered by me. I looked at the zombie still motionless, and my interest rose again with another slap. This slap wouldn't have caused trouble if it hadn't been slapped, but it happened to hit the zombie's forehead.

  The talisman that had been used to subdue the zombie was torn off, and the zombie slowly lifted its head, its eyes fixed on me with a fierce glare, sending shivers down my spine.

  A claw descended from the sky and landed right on my forehead.