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墨書 Inktalez
The moonlight awakened, and with a stretch, it knocked over the alluring Rouge. Thus, the tranquility of a flower scattered across the ground.
Xing Ruyi looked at the girl standing in front of her. She was short and slender, yet she wore an oversized men's robe. The dark blue garment exuded a faint scent reminiscent of decay. Her eyes were cold, and her delicate, pale fingers gently pointed to a certain compartment behind the counter.
"Rouge! Common Rouge, but it excels in color, making it perfect for enhancing a sickly complexion or overly pale skin," Xing Ruyi said as she took down the box of Rouge and handed it to the girl while extending three fingers. "If you want it, it's three copper coins!"
The girl nodded and pulled three coins from a cloth pouch she carried, handing them to Xing Ruyi.
Xing Ruyi noticed that the pouch was also meant for men, making it look somewhat out of place on the girl. She smiled and placed the coins on the counter.
As the girl turned to leave, Xing Ruyi raised her voice and asked, "May I know your name?"
"Rouge!" The girl looked up at Xing Ruyi and replied, "The Rouge from Rouge!"
"Rouge!" Xing Ruyi remarked as she watched the girl's retreating figure. "That's quite a nice name."
"What’s nice about it?" A fox emerged from behind the curtain and walked over to stand beside Xing Ruyi, glancing at the girl's back with a comment, "Strange!"
"You noticed too?" Xing Ruyi raised an eyebrow and naturally leaned against the fox.
The fox pressed a finger against Xing Ruyi's lips and said, "No curiosity, no meddling!"
Xing Ruyi huffed in response and rolled her eyes at the fox.
Inside Yamen, Chang Tai maintained a calm expression, but beneath that calmness lay some dissatisfaction.
He looked at his superior and asked, "Why? I've been chasing this bandit for months now; we're on the verge of capturing him."
"Have you not already grasped his activity trajectory and whereabouts? The net has been cast, and as for when to retrieve it, just leave that to Shengzi and his team. They've been following you for so many years; can you not trust them? I trust them myself."
"But sir—"
"Enough with the 'sir'! I have no choice in this matter; it's an order from the Ministry of War, specifically naming you, Chang Tai, to handle it. What can I do? I suggest you stop fixating on that bandit and get this matter sorted out; that's the priority. We cannot afford to offend those people in the Ministry of War."
The official then handed a letter to Chang Tai: "Go on, bring these generals back!"
In the first year of the Xuanzheng era, which corresponds to 690 AD, in order to suppress the rebellion led by Xu Jingye, the former governor of Meizhou, along with various princes of the Tang Royal Family such as Li Chong and Li Zhen, and to fend off external attacks from the Turks and Tibetans, the court had no choice but to engage in military campaigns year after year. This not only put them in a difficult military position but also resulted in increasing casualties among soldiers. Those of lower rank were mostly buried on-site, while those of slightly higher rank were cremated locally, with their ashes sent back by designated personnel. As for those with some prestige or notable family backgrounds in the capital, they would invite a corpse transporter to the border to bring back the bodies for proper burial by their families.
Chang Tai's mission this time was to assist several officials in the capital in retrieving their relatives who had died in battle. According to the list outlined in the letter, there were a total of eight individuals: one was a main general, while the others were deputy generals and military advisors—none held low positions within the military.
"This journey is long, and there are many battles at the border, plus given the current situation—"
"You don't need to worry about any of that. The Ministry of War has already selected a corpse transporter who is currently waiting for you at a charity house south of the city. Your job is simply to provide cover. In short, just follow along; they are all dead. No matter how glorious their lives were or how prominent their families are, it's all over now. Who would hold a grudge against these corpses?" The official then pulled out another letter and handed it to Chang Tai: "This is a second secret letter from Deputy Minister of War Lord Li for you to deliver; open it only when you reach your destination and do not show it to anyone else."
"Understood!" Chang Tai took the secret letter without further words.
The charity house south of the city was located ten miles outside Luoyang. It had originally been a Taoist temple but fell into disrepair after its master was executed for wrongdoing. Because it was situated between the riverbank and a village, those who drowned in the river or children who died under mysterious circumstances or prematurely would be temporarily placed here by their families. Gradually, this Taoist temple became a charity house.
When Chang Tai arrived at the charity house, he saw a short girl dressed in ill-fitting Taoist robes sitting cross-legged, her cold eyes devoid of any emotion as she looked at him.
"Lord Chang!"
"Are you the Master that the Ministry of War sought?" Chang Tai asked somewhat surprised.
Chang Tai had not seen the corpse herder before, but he had heard of him.
It was said that years ago, if someone complained at a mysterious inn in the mountain village of Tanzhou, they were likely to see a walking corpse. Before dawn, a Walking Corpse would stagger towards the inn, draped in a large black shroud. In front of these corpses was a living person holding a gong, known as the "corpse herder."
In fact, it would be more accurate to call him the "lead corpse herder," as this living person struck the gong while guiding the group of corpses forward. Typically, these lead corpse herders did not carry lanterns; instead, they shook a soul-repelling bell to warn night travelers to steer clear and to notify households with dogs to keep them inside.
Whether cats and dogs truly frighten corpses was uncertain.
Chang Tai also heard that those who wished to learn this trade needed two qualities: great courage and good health. Moreover, most who trained to be corpse herders were ugly men. A man with sufficient yang energy could ward off evil spirits, while an unattractive appearance could scare away malevolent ghosts. However, the Master before him, despite wearing a male Daoist robe, was an unmistakable young girl—slender and beautiful.
The girl in the Daoist robe lowered her head upon hearing Chang Tai's inquiry and softly replied, "You may call me Rouge."
Chang Tai cleared his throat and noted that it was getting late, so he said, "Rouge, let us set off."
"Yes!" Rouge responded as she stood up; the sound of metal clinking came from the large cloth bag she carried.
Chang Tai glanced at Rouge's hand partially hidden in her sleeve and thought that the bag likely contained the soul-repelling bell and gong he had heard about.
Since she was a girl, Chang Tai allowed Rouge to walk ahead for better coordination. However, he did not expect that although Rouge was thin, she moved quickly. Whether riding or walking over mountains, she navigated as if on flat ground, her breathing rate remaining unchanged.
Half a month later, while passing through a village called Midnight, they encountered an unexpected event.
At that time, it was already deep into the night; the road was rugged and difficult to traverse. Additionally, it had just rained here recently, making the air humid and the ground muddy. Thus, every step required more effort than usual. As they walked along, Rouge suddenly stopped and pointed ahead: "Ghost Fire!"
Following Rouge's finger, Chang Tai indeed saw clusters of blue flames not far away. As a Constable who had investigated many cases near Mass Graves and having listened to Xing Ruyi's chatter often enough, he had some understanding of Ghost Fire. The so-called Ghost Fire was not fire emitted by ghosts but rather phosphorescence produced when bones decayed.
Looking at Rouge's expression, it seemed more like a reminder than fear. Chang Tai lightly hummed in acknowledgment, indicating that he had also noticed, but he didn't say anything more.
Rouge continued, "That place is a Grave Mound. To the east lies an old man, his burial site is complete, and to the west lies a lady, her body and head separated."
When Chang Tai heard the words "body and head separated," the flesh on his face involuntarily twitched. At that moment, he suddenly heard a cat's meow, followed by the flickering of a blue Ghost Fire that quickly extinguished.
Rouge turned to look into Chang Tai's eyes and asked him, "Have you heard of Cat Scares the Corpse?"
"What is that?" Chang Tai replied, his peripheral vision unconsciously scanning towards the western grave. Due to the darkness and dim starlight, he couldn't see the specific details of the grave; he could only tell that it seemed to lack a Grave Mound.
Rouge did not answer Chang Tai directly but began telling a story at a steady pace: "Three years ago, the court was repairing a Reservoir at Peach Blossom Inn. It was summer, and the heat was intense. One day, a man took advantage of the guard's nap to wash away a drowned body in the Reservoir. Because he had drowned and his facial expression was distorted at death, making him look quite terrifying, according to local customs, he could not be buried properly.
That night, the man's family set up a simple grass shed on the roadside. They removed the wooden door from his residence and laid down some clean straw before placing him on top. Following the Feng Shui Master's advice, they covered him with a layer of grass matting, leaving only his hair bun and feet exposed. The man had an Old Mother above him and a wife and children below. That night, both the Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law, along with an innocent child, kept vigil nearby, weeping softly. Just after midnight, a strange wind suddenly blew, causing the grass mat to shift and reveal the man's face. The wife remembered what the Feng Shui Master had said before leaving and hurried forward to adjust the mat but saw that her husband's eyes were wide open.
At that moment, the old woman heard a cat's meow. Looking down, she saw a Wildcat that had appeared from who knows where, lying under the door plank with its green eyes fixed on her. Just as she was about to scream, the Wildcat lunged at her and bit down on her throat. Fortunately for her, she was quick-witted; in that instant when her throat was bitten, she pushed her grandson away.
Seeing this, the Daughter-in-law didn't care about anything else; she quickly picked up the child and stepped back a few paces while fearfully staring at what was happening before her. In her mind echoed three words she had heard in childhood: Cat Scares the Corpse!
At that moment, the corpse suddenly sat up straight, its eyelids flipped back revealing only the whites of its eyes as it stared intently at its wife and child with a slight smile creeping across its lips. The old woman finally breathed her last breath as the Wildcat contentedly released its grip and licked its blood-stained lips while its green eyes focused on mother and child.
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