Chapter 7: with translation of chapter title

I never expected to see grandma again; I immediately sat up, wanting to hug her.

I reached out, but grabbed only air.

Only then did I realize that the phantom before me was not grandma's true form, but……

"Xiao Jiu, grandma doesn't have much time left." Grandma lightly touched my head and said, "I was schemed by that gray rat, nearly wiped out; it was only because the Seventh Lord transferred a bit of Merit to me that my Soul Essence was preserved. My corpse has been properly buried, and after the cockcrow I will go to reincarnate."

I immediately welled up with tears, reluctant: "Grandma……"

"Don't cry." Grandma smiled at me, "Good child, none of the generations who guarded Dang Pu have had a good ending. Because of you, the Seventh Lord agreed to help, and my chance to reincarnate is all thanks to Xiao Jiu."

"The curse of Wufu Town has already come; that the Seventh Lord is willing to wade through this muddy water for you is truly beyond my expectation. Xiao Jiu, you must cling tightly to the Seventh Lord's thigh—only then do you have a chance to survive, understand?"

I nodded straight away; of course I understand this.

Grandma became especially stern: "The road ahead will be tough; you must trust the Seventh Lord completely, and you yourself must strive to grow. The fate of Dang Pu, and indeed the entire Wufu Town, now rests entirely in your hands."

I was a bit confused, about to speak, but Grandma gave me no chance; as time passed, her phantom gradually faded.

She kept urging: "In the coming period, the Seventh Lord will surely be exhausted suppressing the unclean things in Dang Pu, having no spare attention for you; you must be extremely careful."

"On the first and fifteenth of each lunar month, you must offer sacrifices to the black coffin; the offerings must be either pure yang or pure yin. If you cannot obtain these, you may use incense to buy a few days, but you must never break the offerings."

"When the curse arrives, the broken mailbox before the corridor will surely not hold; once that mailbox is destroyed, Xiao Jiu, you must personally tear off the black cloth on Dang Pu's signboard, open the door of Nan Shu Fang, and reopen Dang Pu."

"Dang Pu deals in both pawning and redeeming; just follow the rules. Remember: do not be surprised by strange things."

"Xiao Jiu, you must live well……"

The cockcrow sounded suddenly.

With that cockcrow, Grandma's phantom jerked and quickly vanished into the air.

She went to reincarnate.

I sat dazedly on the bed, for a moment unable to collect my thoughts.

This night has brought too many things beyond my comprehension, and it seems even more awaits me ahead.

What is the curse of Wufu Town?

Who will destroy the broken mailbox before the corridor?

What will happen after the broken mailbox is destroyed?

……

No matter how I think, I simply cannot figure it out.

The room's temperature was so low I couldn't help but shiver; I wrapped myself in a blanket, preparing to return to my own room to get dressed.

Lowering my head, I discovered that the jade pendant the Fox Lord gave me was missing, replaced by something else.

It was a piece of silvery-white……scale armor?

The scale armor was about the size of a thumbnail, its edges still tinged with faint traces of blood; though small, it felt substantial, and it was icy cold to the touch.

Could this be……from Liu Junyan?

Where is the Fox Lord's jade pendant?

I searched on the bed, couldn't find it; could Liu Junyan have thrown it away?

The room was too cold; I wrapped myself in the blanket and went out, hoping to quickly find clothes to put on.

But as soon as I stepped out of the east wing's door, I was utterly startled.

The temperature in the main hall was even lower, a bone‑chilling yin cold.

Around the black coffin in the main hall swirled thick black qi; the talisman papers on the coffin fluttered, making a rustling sound, and from time to time a talisman would ignite without flame, instantly turning to ash.

As the talisman papers kept burning, the black qi seemed to be gradually receding.

I suddenly realized—this must be what Grandma meant, the Seventh Lord suppressing the unclean things in Dang Pu, right?

Then, what we used to offer—were they actually for the Seventh Lord?

Or were they for the unclean things suppressed by the black coffin?

Cold, it's freezing!

I pulled the blanket tighter, passed through the main hall, and went to my room in the front.

I quickly took a bath, changed into clean clothes, and only then did I feel alive again.

Thinking of Grandma's warnings, I opened the main door and poked my head out to look at the broken mailbox before the corridor.

Who would have thought that opening the door would startle several people on the street holding umbrellas.

It was still dark, and a heavy rain was falling; I hadn't expected anyone to be out on the street.

I still recognized those few people; they were all neighbors of Wufu Town.

I had just intended to greet them, but they were frightened and took off running.

Faintly, I heard one of them clearly shout, "Ghost!"

Uh……

So, many people in Wufu Town actually know about what happened last night, right?

They tacitly accepted that I wouldn't survive last night.

Liu Junyan said the sacrifice occurs once every thirty years……

That is to say, at least thirty years ago, the events of last night had happened before.

Xiao Jiu……Grandma said I am the ninth female manager of Dang Pu, so the previous eight female managers……

Hiss……

Thinking of this, I sucked in a breath of cold air.

The previous eight……were they all sacrificed to those beasts?

If Liu Junyan hadn't saved me last night……

Then what role does the Fox Lord play in this sacrifice?

One gruesome supposition after another kept drilling into my mind, making me reluctant to investigate further.

Just then, a clear gong rang from the west.

I turned my head to look west and, through the rain curtain, saw the town mayor wearing a raincoat and rubber boots, holding a bronze gong, striking it while shouting, "The water's coming! The water's coming! Everyone, shut your doors and windows, don't wander about!"

He had come from the street ahead, his voice loud and urgent.

When he reached the Dang Pu's doorway and saw me, his steps halted abruptly.

I saw the surprise in his eyes.

Immediately, he glanced at the broken mailbox by the porch, walked a few steps closer, lowered his voice and said to me, "Xiao Jiu, the water's coming; before it recedes, don't go out, shut your doors and windows, and no matter what you see or hear, don't open the door."

Having said that, he didn't give me a chance to ask and hurried away.

The gong's sound continued, and the whole Wufu Town lay deathly silent in the downpour.

I closed the main door, leaving only the small window of the rear-facing room facing the street open, and I would occasionally peek out.

The rain grew heavier; by evening, the water on the western riverbank had overflowed onto the streets.

The Dang Pu, built facing the river at its westernmost point, had water covering the steps below its doorway.

I kept worrying about that broken mailbox, and from time to time I would glance out the small window to check.

Just as I was looking out for who-knows-how-manyth time, hurried footsteps suddenly sounded on the street.

I turned my head and saw, on the western water, a girl in a Republic-of-China-era student uniform running toward the Dang Pu.

She carried a few books in one hand and held an envelope in the other; her small feet in black cloth shoes made the water part automatically as she passed.

She ran straight to the broken mailbox in front of the Dang Pu's porch and slipped the letter into it…