Chapter 10: Sinister Omens at Midnight (Please add this book to your reading list)

For quite a while, I struggled to recover from the shock of losing another piece of my soul. I had no intention of telling my mother about it. Grandmother's sudden passing had hit her hard, and the subsequent whirlwind of tasks left her looking as though she had aged ten years overnight. I didn't want to add to her worries.

I lay down on the bed, drifting in and out of restless sleep for two hours. When I awoke, Xu Bu Lai had already returned, and beside me was a bundle of willow branches.

He smeared the willow branches with a muddy mixture of rooster and black dog blood, then wove them together into a willow whip. I couldn't help but ask what it was for.

"To flog corpses and drive away ghosts," Xu Bu Lai replied coldly, then continued working on the willow branches.

Flogging corpses and driving away ghosts? The word "corpse" made me think of Old Lady Wang, while "ghost" brought to mind Jiang Yan. Was this meant to deal with them? I wanted to ask, but seeing Xu Bu Lai engrossed in his task, paying me no mind, I swallowed my words.

Night fell quietly. Remembering Grandmother's instructions, I hurried to find the Soul-Calming Lamp and the black lamp oil. Though the oil filled a small bottle, the bottle itself was tiny, making me worry it might not last the seven days required.

"Mr. Xu, should we fetch some ice to protect Grandmother's body?" Mother suddenly asked.

It was a hot day, and her concern was obvious—she feared the body would swell and decay.

"No need to worry. The body won't change," Xu Bu Lai answered with absolute certainty, as if he knew Grandmother's remains would not rot like others. Mother, reassured, returned to her chores.

After a simple meal, Xu Bu Lai settled beside the coffin in his usual half-alive manner, dozing off. I sat across from him, gazing at this old man who seemed half-dead most of the time. In my heart, I silently thanked him. Without his presence, my mother and I would have been helpless.

As midnight approached, Xu Bu Lai suddenly lifted one eyelid and said to my mother, who was burning paper at the coffin's head, "Sister, it's getting late. Go get some rest. After midnight, until dawn, you must not enter the mourning hall."

His tone, though lethargic, carried weight. Mother said nothing, finished burning the paper money, and left the old house to rest.

Though Grandmother had passed, she entrusted me with a task. I watched the clock intently; with two minutes to midnight, I hurried to place the Soul-Calming Lamp at the coffin's head, preparing to pour in the black lamp oil. Xu Bu Lai suddenly snapped, "Be careful, boy. Your grandmother prepared this oil precisely—not too much, not too little. If you spill it, there won't be enough."

I felt a surge of irritation at the half-dead old man. I had been calm, but his warning made me tense, my whole body trembling as I carefully poured the oil.

The oil was black and viscous, its composition unknown. Sniffing it closely, I caught a faint fishy smell—a sense of vague familiarity, as though I'd encountered it somewhere before, but couldn't recall where.

When the clock struck twelve, I hurried to light the Soul-Calming Lamp.

Xu Bu Lai was quick to act. As soon as I lit the lamp, his half-dead demeanor vanished. He stood, took a stick of the black incense from the coffin's head—used earlier for ritual offerings—and pressed it to his forehead, praying in each direction, then used the Soul-Calming Lamp's flame to light it.

The black incense was no ordinary incense; its smoke glowed faintly red. Even more strangely, where normal incense smoke rises, the black incense's smoke drifted downward.

Each time Grandmother performed a ritual, she used three sticks of incense. Xu Bu Lai used only one. I asked why, but he ignored me, walking around the coffin, pressing his fingers in varying patterns on its surface.

He circled three times clockwise, then three times counterclockwise. Instead of returning the incense to the burner, he took a lump of blood-soaked earth left over from the daytime ritual, placed it atop the coffin, and stuck the incense in, letting the smoke roll across the lid.

"Mr. Xu, what kind of incense is that?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Incense for the dead."

I rolled my eyes. It was just incense, after all—why such a name? Afterwards, Xu Bu Lai took a small stool and sat at the doorway, half-dozing once more. I knelt by the coffin, burning paper for Grandmother.

Wind kept blowing in from outside, making the Soul-Calming Lamp flicker wildly. Remembering Grandmother's warning that the flame must not go out, I rose to find something to shield it.

Though his back was to the hall and his eyes closed, Xu Bu Lai seemed to know what I was about to do. Before I could move, he said, "No need to cover it. The wind can't extinguish this flame."

"You must be joking—how can a flame not be put out by wind?"

"Hmph."

He sounded annoyed. "If you don't believe me, blow on it yourself. If you manage to put it out, I'll call you Father."

Was it truly unquenchable?

I doubted Xu Bu Lai was joking, but I didn't dare test it, fearing an accident.

I took a stool and sat beside him, hoping to discuss the events of recent days, but his breathing soon grew heavy—he was snoring.

Left alone, I sat quietly.

Missing a piece of my soul made me lethargic. Though I'd rested earlier, with nothing to do, sleepiness crept in, my eyelids heavy. Unable to resist, I got up to stretch.

A casual glance nearly made my eyes pop from my head.

The black incense Xu Bu Lai brought was peculiar.

It burned incredibly slowly.

After lighting the Soul-Calming Lamp, I'd offered incense for Grandmother, which had long since burned out. But the black incense, from the moment it was lit, had only produced about half a centimeter of ash, none falling onto the coffin lid. In all this time, it had burned only half a centimeter.

"Is it going to burn all night?" I wondered what strange material could make incense last so long. As I pondered, the hall suddenly filled with an eerie green light, growing ever stronger.

Following its source, my whole body tensed.

The Soul-Calming Lamp at the coffin's head, whose flame should have been yellow, had somehow turned green—softly glowing, like emerald fire.

"Mr. Xu... Xu!" I stammered.

I didn't know why the lamp's flame had changed, but instinctively, I felt it was a bad omen.

No sooner had I spoken than Xu Bu Lai, who had been sleeping, sprang to his feet. He didn't look at the lamp's flame, but stared out the door.

"Woof! Woof..."

Just then, Uncle Li's dog from the house next door barked.

Within moments, other dogs joined in, and in three or five seconds, every dog in the village was howling. They sounded as if they'd seen something hateful, barking fiercely and violently.

Suddenly, the whole village resounded with the cacophony of dogs. My heart raced with anxiety.

Late at night, one or two dogs barking is normal. But for every dog in the village to bark madly—something was clearly wrong.

Legend says dogs can see things people can't.

As this came to mind, I couldn't help but wonder: Was she coming?

The frenzied barking left me at a loss.

I heard Uncle Li next door get up, yelling at his dog, but no matter how he cursed, the animal kept howling.

The commotion made my heart chaotic. Just as I was about to ask Xu Bu Lai what was happening, silence fell abruptly.

Every dog in the village stopped barking at once.

The sudden hush left me stunned. I instinctively turned to Xu Bu Lai, hoping for an explanation.

Bang!

The gate outside the courtyard was struck from outside, making me jump. My voice trembled as I called out, "Who is it?"

No answer came. I moved to open the door, but just as I took a step, a hand gripped my shoulder.

Xu Bu Lai shook his head slightly, signaling me not to open the door.

Bang!

The gate rattled again. I called out once more, but still, no response.

If it were a person, surely they would have answered.