Chapter 55: 54, Body and Head

54, Body and Head

That woman wore the two-bun hairstyle common in Qing palace dramas; the kingfisher-feather ornaments and various hairpins between her strands had, under the erosion of time, developed a layer of dull patina.

She held a swaddled infant, standing close to Zhou Chang.

Zhou Chang then smelled a mixture of corpse stench and moldy odor.

She only revealed her form in Zhou Chang's fleeting glance, in the corner of his eye.

As Zhou Chang subconsciously looked toward where she stood, the concubine holding the swaddled infant suddenly vanished without a trace.

Yet that mixed stench of corpse and mold continued to linger around Zhou Chang, refusing to depart.

—'She' is now staying around Zhou Chang, but to see her requires a special method of observation.

"Do you smell anything strange?"

Zhou Chang looked at the other two and suddenly spoke, asking.

He was unsure whether that concubine had now targeted only him, following at his side, or whether the other two had already sensed the concubine's presence but, out of fear, dared not speak up to ask.

Combining what Father Bai had previously recounted, if targeted by this former Qing concubine, one would most likely smell the corpse odor on her.

The corpse stench might be an important characteristic for distinguishing whether the other two had been targeted by the former Qing concubine.

Hearing Zhou Chang's words, Bai Xiue shook her head blankly, pointing ahead and saying, "I didn't smell anything strange, but that stone tablet before us has disappeared."

Father Bai, his expression tense, also nodded along.

"Wasn't that stone tablet frequently appearing and disappearing, hiding and revealing itself before? No need to worry about this." Zhou Chang casually replied a few words, then looked at Father Bai and asked, "When Bai Xiue's grandfather saw that concubine nursing the child before, and that concubine asked him what he wanted, did he ever respond with a single word?"

"Let me think..." Father Bai furrowed his brow, pondering carefully for a moment, then shook his head decisively, "No.

At that time, he was merely terrified, wanting to flee quickly; how would he dare respond to that strange concubine?

Who knew that if he responded to her, he might be left with only his body while the head in her arms remained?"

Zhou Chang sniffed; he felt that mixed stench of corpse and mold growing ever closer, as if within a range of three to five feet around himself.

Whether this former Qing concubine is now a demon or a folk deity remains uncertain.

Yet it stands quietly before a living person; normally, the living cannot see it, only smelling its corpse stench. Just thinking of it makes one's hair stand on end.

It draws ever closer to Zhou Chang; once it approaches within a certain distance, who can predict what will happen?

Zhou Chang pondered, then resumed his steps, leading the other two along the mountain path toward the outside of the Bai family cemetery.

Mountain mist, rising from who knows where, had already sealed off the mountain path.

However, among the three present, besides Father Bai, the other two were both extraordinary beings; thus, even with limited visibility, the two led Father Bai without their movements being affected in the slightest.

Zhou Chang hurried forward; he simply wanted to test whether, as he left the Bai family cemetery, that former Qing concubine would depart from him.

But he had thought wrongly—

All the way until he crossed the mountain path, climbed over the hilltop, and had completely left the territory of the Bai family cemetery, the stench lingering in his nostrils not only did not dissipate but grew even more intense.

It was as if a corpse whose internal organs were highly decayed, yet whose exterior appeared temporarily unchanged, was face-to-face with him!

That corpse was still breathing; the highly decayed stench within its chest and abdominal cavity, carried by its exhaled breath, kept drilling straight into Zhou Chang's nostrils!

Zhou Chang stopped, speaking as if to himself: "Did Wen Laozu perhaps also see this former Qing concubine?

What transaction did he make with this former Qing concubine?"

Father Bai, hearing the words, was bewildered.

He could not keep up with Zhou Chang's train of thought.

He did not know where Zhou Chang's words came from.

But Bai Xiue, after a moment of stunned silence, suddenly realized.

She frowned in thought, speaking softly: "According to what Father said earlier, Grandfather saw that golden head open its mouth; beneath the tongue inside the mouth lay many spirit tablets, and one of those tablets bore the character 'Wen'...

Perhaps that was Wen Laozu's spirit tablet...

The Bai family cemetery also has the stone tablet and plaque gifted by Wen Laozu—perhaps he indeed made some transaction with that former Qing concubine."

"That former Qing concubine should already be dead.

She is merely parasitized by that head suspected to be Yongzheng's, thus though dead, she cannot rest in peace." Zhou Chang's eyes gleamed brightly. "Every word she spits out actually represents the will of that Yongzheng head.

If Wen Yongsheng truly made some transaction with the Yongzheng head, then it should be that Wen Yongsheng received a divine banner from Yongzheng.

And Yongzheng took Wen Yongsheng's body to use for a time."

Bai Xiue's mouth opened slightly.

She instinctively felt Zhou Chang's deduction was entirely correct, yet she could not keep up with Zhou Chang's line of reasoning.

"Was the Yongsheng Winery created entirely by Wen Yongsheng himself, or was it the work of the Yongzheng head?" Zhou Chang's eyes shone with divine light; he stared at Bai Xiue but called out another person's name, "Bai Ma, Bai Ma!"

Hearing the words, Bai Xiue looked hesitantly at her father beside her and said softly, "Father, do not be afraid..."

"I have seen everything now; what is there left to fear?" Father Bai smiled, relieved.

Then, seeing another face 'grow' on half of Bai Xiue's cheek, he was instantly dumbstruck, filled with shock and doubt!

Bai Ma's face was shrouded in frost; she looked coldly at Zhou Chang and said nothing.

Zhou Chang tapped his temple with his finger and asked Bai Ma directly: "If I have no head, I must die, yet a Jiangshi without a head can actually still live—the death omen of Feng Si has absolutely no effect on a Jiangshi, correct?"

Bai Ma nodded.

"I thought that actually, the death omens of Sheng, Leng, Hei, and Chang do have some effect on a Jiangshi." Zhou Chang suddenly overturned his earlier deduction. "Even a corpse, complete and whole, is better than having a part missing.

—When eunuchs left the palace, they all had to spend vast sums to redeem their missing parts.

Let alone a head, such an important part?

Therefore, the Jiangshi was nearly out of options at that time; to force my death, it was willing to sacrifice its own head!

For the Jiangshi itself, losing its head was a desperate measure.

But for the master behind you—Bai Ma, this act, for the Cai Bao Tianwang behind you, must have been exactly what you desired, correct?!

I can perceive that although this Jiangshi now possesses only instinct, the consciousness of all living beings is born one by one through the cultivation of instinct; yet if its head is gone, perhaps it will forever exist only with the instinct of hunger, unable to give birth to consciousness!"

And a 'Nai' that retains only instinct is the Cai Bao Tianwang's cultivation goal!

Thus, a headless Nai corpse is a crucial part of the Cai Bao Tianwang's scheme!

So when I turned back then, I fell right into Feng Si's taboo; that is why you shed tears and declared I had no chance—

Is that not so, Bai Ma!"

Under Zhou Chang's relentless words, Bai Ma was already utterly shocked.

She looked at Zhou Chang's corpse-like face, yet could not see through the living soul hidden behind it.

Bai Ma felt a chill run down her spine for a moment!

"We still have one chance now, Bai Ma." Zhou Chang stared straight into Bai Ma's eyes; his gaze seemed to pierce through her soul. "Tell me, what if I attach another person's head onto a Nai corpse?

Bai Ma, think it over.

You shall be my match and assist me.

If I have a chance, then you shall have a chance too!"