Chapter 15: 015 Ma Wang Village (4)

A reanimated corpse is a kind of thing similar to a zombie, but it is not a zombie.

Although Wang Wu was not a fan of zombie movies when he was at his hometown, he also knows that zombies are creatures with little intelligence.

At least most zombies in zombie films have no intelligence; as the saying goes, "the three souls and seven spirits are missing three souls," meaning they have spirits but no souls.

But a reanimated corpse is different; it is another kind of thing. Although it also originates from a dead human, it is not a soulless, spiritless husk.

They are resurrected "people," only transformed into another monster by the resentment they held before death.

They still retain memories from life and can recognize those they knew while alive.

It can also be said that they are the resurrected original hosts, after all the soul is the same soul, and the body is the same body.

However, what they first eat is often their own acquaintances, their relatives.

The closer the relationship and blood tie in life, the higher the chance that the first victim will be that person.

And unlike zombies, they can hide, speak, and even use scheming.

Even though their appearance has changed drastically, essentially they are a different species from their living self, and even the closest person may not be able to recognize them.

Yet the sound that comes from their mouths is still indistinguishable from that of their living self.

Therefore, many victims of reanimated corpse die because of that voice, dying to the call of the person who was closest to them in life.

Ripped apart brutally and swallowed into the belly.

Obviously, Widow Ma's second husband died in that way.

Reanimated corpse can also move during the day, but cannot act in places directly exposed to the sun. Now this corpse has been dug up by everyone and is exposed to sunlight, clearly visible; because of the direct sun, its outer skin is continuously melting.

And its mouth now also emits a childish voice:

"Mother... Mother..."

"So painful... so painful..."

"Mother... save me, save... save me..."

Ma Guafu has a son, but the villagers seem to have not seen her son for some time.

Last month, her son was reported to have some disease, so a doctor from He Dong Xian outside the village was called over, who prescribed some medicine for him to rest at home, preferably not to leave the house.

After that, the villagers have not seen Ma Guafu's son again.

Whenever someone in the village dies, it must be reported, because a human corpse is a very dangerous thing. After death, a body must go through many procedures before it can be placed in a coffin and buried.

Otherwise, there is a high chance of corpse transformation.

Moreover, a dead person cannot be cremated, or rather, cannot be cremated without proper conditions, because improper burning can also give rise to undesirable things.

In rural areas, the cost of burial is far lower than cremation, so burial is the most common way to handle corpses after death in villages.

"Son, son!!!"

Just as the few young men in the village who had never seen a xieshi were startled by the childish voice from the ugly mouth of the xieshi in the pit, a mournful voice suddenly rang out beyond the crowd.

Before anyone could turn around, a slender figure had already rushed into the crowd, grabbed a handful of earth, and began pouring it onto the xieshi's body in the pit.

"What are you doing!!"

However, before she could pour a few handfuls, her action was violently interrupted. The village elder who had first spoken with Ma Chuo let out a roar, then delivered a kick to the woman's head, sending her crashing to the ground.

"You vile woman, you didn't tell the village that your son died and just buried him in the ground???"

"You caused your husband to die!! You slut!!!"

Clearly the elder was extremely angry, his face flushed bright red, pointing at the woman on the ground and shouting loudly:

"Damn it, you want to kill everyone in the village!??? If it weren't for Wang Shaoxie being here today, we might not have immediately realized that this was done by your son!!"

"If this matter isn't uncovered today, then the person who dies tonight will be you!!!"

The elder stared at Ma Guafu on the ground, growing angrier as he spoke, his neck swelling redder. From his current stance, it was clear he intended to strike Ma Guafu again.

However, Ma Chuo interrupted him at that moment:

"Hold on, Chang Bo."

Immediately, the old man's raised hand dropped. He stepped back a few paces, standing behind Ma Chuo, but his angry expression remained as he glared at Ma Guafu on the ground.

"Did you do it on purpose?" Ma Chuo approached Ma Guafu, lowered his head and said, "You didn't want your son to die, unwilling to send him to burial. So you had Ma Wang bury your dead son in your own vegetable garden, hoping he would become a reanimated corpse."

"Is it or isn't it?"

"I... I... I..."

Ma Guafu was clearly very frightened of Ma Chuo; faced with his questioning, she stammered for a long time without managing to utter even a single complete sentence.

Seeing her like that, Ma Chuo did not continue questioning. Instead, he stood up and looked at the angry elder.

"Village chief, it seems there's nothing more to ask, so let's follow the old rules."

"This..." Hearing Ma Chuo's words, the village chief, who had been full of anger, showed hesitation, "This Ma Guafu, her former husband Ma Tong died for our Ma Wang Village, and she is also pregnant, if..."

"Yes, indeed..."

Hearing the chief's words, several young villagers echoed in agreement.

However, they seemed quite afraid of Ma Chuo; while echoing, they also observed Ma Chuo's expression.

Although the old man was called village chief by Ma Chuo, and in theory should be the highest authority in Ma Wang Village, from everyone's behavior now and their attitude toward Ma Chuo, it seemed Ma Chuo was also quite remarkable.

Hearing the chief's words, Ma Chuo said nothing, merely nodded silently. Then he turned his gaze to Wang Wu, who was watching the scene from the side:

"Wang Shaoxie, you are the great benefactor who saved our village this time; may I trouble you once more to speak?"

"For a mother who, to revive her own son, prefers him to become a xieshi and harm the whole village, how should she be dealt with?"

"Huh?"

Wang Wu, who had been watching the commotion, was startled by those words.

"How to deal with it? You ask me?" he pointed at his own nose.

"Hmm." Ma Chuo nodded.

"Then perhaps..." Wang Wu, hearing the other's suggestion, was not dismissive but truly considered it. He then stroked his chin, looked at the weeping woman on the ground, and asked:

"How did you deal with this situation when you faced it before?"

"Kill them, or expel them from the village," Ma Chuo said.

"Then..." Wang Wu thought, "keep her for now, wait until the child is born and give the baby to others in the village to raise, then drive this woman out?"

(End of chapter)