Chapter 440
After a moment’s contemplation, I asked the village chief, "When did that tree become sacred to the village?"
"I’m not sure. In fact, as a village chief, I’ve never really approved of superstitious beliefs and activity in the village. But since everyone partakes in superstition, I can’t do anything about it except respect their beliefs. In fact, I don’t believe in this so-called sacred tree," admitted the village head.
Removing her shoe soles, the village chief’s wife reminded, "Old man, have you forgotten that the tree once glowed at night? Everyone said that the tree god had appeared."
The village head recounted, "Oh, yes! That was in 2013."
"2013?" I mused. That was just five years ago and the glow of the tree must have been the effect of phosphorus volatilizing from the corpse, the same principle as the will-o-wisp. This meant that someone hid the corpse in the tree before the incident.
"Young man, why are you so interested in this tree?" asked the village chief.
I wanted to keep the matter out of the limelight for the time being so I said, "It’s nothing, I’m just curious."
The village chief insisted on keeping us for lunch which we had a hard time refusing. When I left his home, I found myself at a loss. What a conundrum indeed–I couldn’t touch or identify the body!
With these thoughts on my mind, I silently paced back and forth along the ridge. Song Jie chuckled, "What’s wrong with him? Has he gone mad?"
"He’s thinking about the case,” explained Song Xingchen.
"Tang-ge, come with me up the hill! We’ll catch sparrows!" suggested Song Jie.
"You two have fun. I’ll hang around here for a bit and meet you back at home later," I said.
"See you later then!" Song Jie chirped as she pulled Song Xingchen away.
After an hour of cudgeling my brains, I suddenly noticed the hill where the ghost wedding was held yesterday and the lonely graves. Despite no disappearances in the village during the five years, deaths must have still occurred. Could the body be one of the dead villagers? In this case, there must be an empty grave.
Wandering down this line of thought, I quickly headed back to the Song family’s old manor. Song Heting was picking vegetables when she noticed me. "Aren’t Xiao Jie and Song Xingchen with you?"
"Aunt Song, to investigate the case, there’s something I must do! I’d like to go up the hill at night to check the graves!"
Song Heting froze and arched an eyebrow, "If the villagers find out about this, you’ll be in big trouble!"
"I don’t really have to open the coffins. I just need a Luoyang shovel. Don’t worry. A Traditional Coroner knows how to perform an autopsy without leaving any traces behind," I assured.
"Be careful and make sure no one sees you,” said Song Heting. “I don’t have a Luoyang shovel, but there are some iron sheets in the backyard. You can make one yourself!"
It was to my utter relief that Song Heting supported my actions. Thus, I headed to the backyard and created a Luoyang shovel with iron sheets and a bamboo pole. When I tried digging up some soil from the ground, the Luoyang shovel proved useful.
As the afternoon turned to dusk, it was soon time for dinner. When Song Jie heard I was going up the hill to conduct autopsies, she squealed excitedly and insisted on coming along.
Hence, the three of us headed out, surrounded by the darkness of the night. With Cave Vision, neither of us needed lighting equipment. As we neared the graveyard, Song Jie grew frightened. "There won’t be any ghosts, will there?" she asked.
I laughed, "Are you afraid of ghosts? Aren’t you a Song?"
"I’m not like you. I don’t face dead bodies every day,” pouted Song Jie. “Song Yang-gege, have you ever seen a ghost?"
"Yes," I nodded.
"Let’s about hear it then... Oh, forget it. Tell me when we’re home... No, no! Tell me about it when the sun’s out!" Song Jie covered her ears in fear.
I picked up the homemade Luoyang shovel and dug at the grave. Shoveling out the soil to catch a whiff, I confirmed a body was indeed buried below. Then, I explored all the graves in the same manner but couldn’t find any empty ones. "How can this be?” I muttered to myself. “Why are all the bodies here? Could there be other graves nearby?"
Song Jie interjected, "The villagers are all buried here. If you go up further, you’ll see the grave of our ancestors. Are you going to desecrate Song Ci’s tomb?"
"Bold little girl, be careful! You might get struck by lightning for running your mouth off!" chided Song Xingchen.
Song Jie laughed, "Hehe, I’ll just hide behind you! If I’m getting struck by lightning, then so are you!"
Naturally, I wasn’t in the mood to joke around. I sat on one of the graves, thinking, Did I miss something?
Some time later, Song Jie waved her hand in front of my eyes, "Aren’t you cold?"
"I’m going back to get some tools. I’ll need to open the coffins and perform autopsies!"
"Haven’t you checked all the graves?" asked Song Jie. “Why are you thinking of opening the coffins now?”
"Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. There’s definitely one body missing from these graves. I am sure of that!"
Song Xingchen and Song Jie exchanged a meaningful look. "Song Yang, you have to think twice before you do this,” advised Song Xingchen. “If the villagers see their ancestral graves desecrated, you won’t be able to keep investigating..."
"Don’t worry. A Traditional Coroner knows how to open a coffin without being found. We’re even more experienced than grave robbers,” I assured. “Besides, I only need to dig up three graves."
“What makes you say that?" queried Song Jie.
"It’s just a guess at present. I’ll share it with you once I verify the truth."
"Geez, you really like whetting our appetites and leaving us hanging!" grumbled Song Jie.
By the time we reached home, Song Heting and her husband had already fallen asleep. In order not to disturb them, Song Xingchen jumped up the wall and threw over a pick and a shovel from the backyard. Without much effort, Song Jie caught the tools in her hand and waited for Song Xingchen to climb back from the other side.
Back on the hill, I turned to Song Jie, "The people here practice the tradition of the bone-seeking burial. Show me which graves have been removed for the ritual."
Song Jie pointed to one, but instead of digging into the grave at once, I shoveled at the soil from the back, carefully making a hole. In order not to destroy the shape of the grave, I took extra precaution and time–almost half an hour–just to create a squarish hole into which I could reach.
In the dead of the night, the graveyard was desolate and the forest behind was shrouded in fog. There were strange movements and sounds coming from within. Frightened, Song Jie tugged Song Xingchen’s sleeve, "Thank goodness I’m not one of the civil Songs. I wouldn’t want to do this sort of thing."
"What’s there to be scared of? Compared to the living, at least the dead are honest," I smiled.
"You’ve got the courage of a lion!” commended Song Jie.
I knelt down and slipped my hand into the hole, much to Song Jie’s shock. She quickly hid behind Song Xingchen and poked her head out. "Song Yang-gege, aren’t you afraid a hand will suddenly grab yours?" she whispered.
I wasn’t afraid of some ghost’s hand, but a slippery snake would terrify me. Generally speaking, however, snakes only hid themselves in the winter.
Something fluffy grazed my hand and whatever it was escaped with a squeak. Much to my relief, it was a vole. The presence of voles meant there would be no snakes.
Finally, I felt something hard. Sliding my other hand in, I slowly pulled out an earthen jar.
Then, I unsealed the jar, poured the bones onto the ground, and crouched down as I began to piece the bones together.
Song Jie turned to Song Xingchen, "Does he always behave so strangely?"
Song Xingchen shook his head, "No, he’s usually more bizarre!"
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