Yun Niang gasped for breath, trembling with rage; she had never imagined her judgment of people could be so poor.
Shen Mingshu gently took Yun Niang’s hand, her lips pouting in distress. "Mother, I’m so scared..."
Yun Niang wrapped her arms around her daughter’s shoulders, patting her back soothingly. "Don’t be afraid. I will never let you enter into a ghost marriage with that pile of rotting flesh."
The surrounding villagers, unable to watch any longer, began to side with Yun Niang. "Zhang Cuilan, have you no shame? Bullying a pair of lone orphans just because they have no kin here—you actually want to force her daughter into a ghost marriage with a corpse! How could such a malicious person exist in our Huaihua Village?"
"Vile woman! Who knows whose daughter you’ll target next!"
"Burn this corpse immediately! Lest she get any more ideas about our daughters!"
"Burn it!"
"Set it on fire!"
The crowd was incensed. Seeing the villagers glaring at her with such ferocity, Zhang Cuilan grew fearful, her body beginning to shake.
At that moment, the village chief’s voice rang out: "Stop the clamor! Mystic Master Chen Yang has arrived!"
The crowd parted. Shen Mingshu looked back to see an elderly man with a goat-like beard approaching, accompanied by a middle-aged man in a navy robe carrying a fly whisk.
The bearded man was the village chief. He gestured respectfully, saying, "Mystic Master Chen, this matter concerns a corpse; I must ask you to make the final determination."
Chen Yang walked through the crowd without casting a glance to either side. His eyes lingered on Shen Mingshu for a brief second before he turned toward the bed.
He swung his fly whisk repeatedly, circling the bed three times. A grave expression appeared on his face. "This is bad. The corpse is on the verge of turning into a Jiangshi. If there is no girl of the appropriate age to enter a ghost marriage with it tonight, I fear it will transform and slaughter the entire village!"
"What!" The village chief turned pale with shock and quickly bowed his hands. "Mystic Master Chen, you must help us!"
Chen Yang swept his gaze over the people nearby and asked in a booming voice, "Among your households, are there any girls aged fifteen or older? Any born in a Yin year, Yin month, Yin day, or Yin hour are eligible to be the bride."
As soon as he spoke, those with daughters began to avert their eyes.
Zhang Cuilan crawled on her knees to Chen Yang’s feet, pointing a finger at Shen Mingshu. "Mystic Master Chen, she is a Full-Yin girl! She was born in the Yin year, Yin month, Yin day, and Yin hour!"
Yun Niang shielded Shen Mingshu, her expression icy as she snapped, "You’re lying! My Shenshen is no Full-Yin girl! Stop your nonsense, Zhang Cuilan!"
But Zhang Cuilan insisted, "She is a Full-Yin girl, you told me so yourself! It was because your daughter was born at an inauspicious time that you were driven out of your home to settle in Huaihua Village!"
Yun Niang was so furious her eyes felt as if they might burst.
In the past, when villagers whispered about her raising her daughter alone, Zhang Cuilan was the only one who had spoken to her often. As they grew closer, she had shared, half-truthfully, why she had settled here—never expecting that today, those words would become the reason for Zhang Cuilan’s relentless harassment.
Chen Yang flicked his fly whisk and said, "If she is a Full-Yin girl, she is the perfect candidate. If the ghost marriage is completed tonight, I will have the opportunity to purify the corpse, and the village will remain at peace."
Yun Niang shouted through red, tearful eyes, "I won’t agree! Why should my daughter be matched with a corpse? She is a living, breathing person!"
Leng Feng, unable to stomach such a sight, said in a low voice, "Yun Niang, perhaps we should leave this place now, so as not to waste more breath on them."
Yun Niang nodded immediately. "Shenshen, let’s go!"
Chen Yang sighed. "If they wish to leave, then we have no choice but to pick a girl from another family."
"But if the girl is not a Full-Yin type, the corpse may not be satisfied. If I cannot control it then, the entire village will have to be buried along with it. Alas!"
The village chief immediately cried out, "Stop them! Don’t let them leave!"
The villagers who had previously joined in cursing Zhang Cuilan now spontaneously blocked their path.
"Yun Niang, our village kindly took you in as outsiders. Now that we truly need you, how can you just walk away?"
"Your daughter is a Full-Yin girl; she is an omen of misfortune anyway. If she helps the Mystic Master resolve this, she will earn blessings for her next life."
"Yun Niang, if you just leave us, what are we supposed to do?"
Yun Niang looked at them as they chimed in one after another. She held Shen Mingshu tightly in her arms and shouted angrily, "Why don’t you offer up your own daughters? Even if they aren't Full-Yin, couldn’t you just gather several girls from your households to make up the Yin energy?"
"What kind of talk is that, Yun Niang? Your daughter alone is enough; why must you insist on us putting our own daughters' lives at stake?"
Yun Niang kicked at them in a fit of rage. "Your daughters' lives are lives, but my Shenshen’s is not? Get away, all of you, get away!"
"How can one life compare to so many? Besides, if there is no Full-Yin girl and Mystic Master Chen’s ritual fails, the whole village will die!"
"Yun Niang, you can go, but the girl Mingshu must stay!"
Leng Feng drew his sword and pointed it at the crowd, his voice chillingly cold. "The laws of the Dayu Dynasty strictly forbid using the living for ghost marriages! You are treating human lives like grass!"
Seeing him draw his sword, the village chief frowned and surveyed him. "Who are you? We have no one like you in Huaihua Village!"
"You hold a sword—are you here to kill? Come then! If you have the guts, chop me down!" He thrust his neck forward.
Leng Feng quickly retracted his blade, terrified that he might actually slice the man’s throat.
"That's right! If you've got the nerve, kill us!"
"Who do you think you are? Try moving against us and see what happens!"
It was the first time Leng Feng had encountered such a thing. His fists clenched so tightly they cracked. "A bunch of unruly peasants!"
These villagers were not only difficult but shameless, and most importantly, they held absolute belief in the words of the Mystic Master named Chen Yang.
Shen Mingshu pondered for a moment before speaking up. "I am willing to stay for the ghost marriage, but you must let my mother leave Huaihua Village first."
Yun Niang was stunned. "Shenshen! What are you saying?"
Shen Mingshu reassured her with a look and continued, "Everyone, the auspicious hour is still some time away. Can you let us return home to pack our belongings and allow my mother to depart early?"
The village chief agreed immediately. "Very well! As long as you don’t leave, your mother can go wherever she likes!"
To ensure Shen Mingshu did not flee, a dozen villagers stood guard outside her door.
Inside the room, Yun Niang hugged Shen Mingshu, choking back sobs. "You child, how could you agree to a ghost marriage with a corpse? They are only bullying us because we are a helpless, widowed mother and daughter!"
Shen Mingshu spoke softly, "Mother, I am a Mystic Master too. These villagers cannot do anything to me. I sent you away because I was worried that if I were to fight, they would use your life to threaten me."
"Besides, I discovered that the corpse is quite unusual. Even after more than a decade, it still retains its original appearance—it truly might transform into a Jiangshi. And as for that Master Chen, I suspect the ghost marriage is not his true motive at all..."