Grave Moving Brigade - Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – A Spirit

Chen Ling scratched his skin twice with his fingernails. It didn’t hurt or itch, and there were no bumps due to external stimulation, so it couldn’t be a mosquito bite.

Could it be that he had touched something he shouldn’t have touched and he’s allergic to it?

There was a knock on the door to the left.

Zhao Xunchang saw that his apprentice had been in the bathroom for a long time. He couldn’t help but worry and shouted from outside: “What are you doing in there? Why haven’t you come out yet?!”

“Okay, okay, I’ll be right out.”

The apprentice’s voice was blocked by the wooden door, and it sounded muffled and guilty, as if he was deliberately hiding something.

Zhao Xunchang frowned and just as he was considering whether to break in, the tightly closed wooden door opened with a click.

Chen Ling covered his neck and walked out, “Master, I’m fine.”

Zhao Xunchang blew his beard and glared, “Why were you there? Slacking off?”

Removing his palm, Chen Ling tilted his head to reveal the marks on his neck: “I think it’s an allergy. I just applied some medicine.”

He didn’t know that what had started out as a pale pink mark had now deepened into a scarlet red, with the edges faintly showing signs of turning purple.

Zhao Xunchang breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t sense the breath of any evil spirit from Chen Ling, but his eyes were still sharp. He looked at the young man in front of him carefully from head to toe. Finally, he realised the disharmony that had suddenly arisen in his heart since his apprentice had entered the house.

“Where is the Sanqing Bell I gave you? Didn’t you hear it ring today?” Zhao Xunchang spoke sternly, as if he was going to teach someone a lesson.

“Here it is!” Chen Ling took out the Sanqing Bell from his trouser pocket, took out the toilet paper stuffed at the bottom, and said flatteringly, “Look, I didn’t lose it.”

Zhao Xunchang took the copper bell, put it to his ear and shook it. The sound was as crisp as the sound of jade hitting each other.

After making sure that the young apprentice was not possessed by any ghost, he handed the Sanqing Bell back to him and sternly warned him: “Under no circumstances are you allowed to plug the bell with toilet paper.” Seeing that the apprentice said “Oh” dejectedly, he naturally changed the subject and talked about the workers.

“I gave the planned blueprint of the cemetery that you drew to the contractor. Let him study it first.” Zhao Xunchang took out a thick and full triangular talisman paper from his pocket. “If I’m not around when something happens, just throw this out. It can’t save your life, but at least it can buy you some time to escape.”

Chen Ling took it obediently and put it in his shirt pocket. “Thank you, Master.”

Zhao Xun raised his chin: “Why are you being polite? We are family after all.”

Chen Ling went back to his room, changed his shirt and trousers, hung the Sanqing Bell back on his waist, put the triangular yellow talisman in his pocket, put on a sun hat, and ran up the mountain.

Over the years, in order to avoid being possessed by ghosts, he has developed great endurance. With his endurance, he could easily climb to the top of the mountain.

Yuhe Mountain is covered with dilapidated and withered trees, as if it had been severely ravaged by the cold winter and all vitality had been taken away.

The contractor and his workers were sitting under a huge parasol. Hearing footsteps, they looked up and saw a familiar young man.

The young man had an outstanding appearance, with a neat and clean short haircut, wearing a white T-shirt, khaki shorts, and light-coloured knitted sneakers. His brows were full of flamboyant vitality.

The contractor straightened his clothes and stood up. When the young man approached, he took the initiative to extend his hand: “I don’t know if Mr. Chen still remembers me. I am Yang Jianmin who signed the contract with you before, and I am also the team leader of this cemetery project.”

Chen Ling shook hands with the middle-aged man in a friendly manner, “Hello, Mr. Yang.”

The two of them let go of each other’s hands at the same time, sat under the umbrella, and talked about the project.

Yuhe Mountain is not small, with the front and back mountains together covering more than 200 acres. However, only the 40-something acres of land in the front mountain facing the dead lake below can be used as a cemetery, and this also includes the green area within the cemetery.

Chen Ling discussed the brief construction plan and the design drawings that Zhao Xunchang helped draw with the contractor for nearly two hours. Before leaving, he thought of the Jiang family member, stopped, looked around, and seemed to be looking for something. Then he strode diagonally upwards, toward the top of the mountain.

As early as when it was decided to transform Yuhe Mountain into a cemetery, Zhao Xunchang had taken him to measure the entire mountain inch by inch with his feet. Chen Ling knew exactly which position and direction were suitable for burial. In order to avoid mistakes, he also secretly marked them without telling his master.

About forty metres away from the top of the mountain, Chen Ling stopped, moved the marking stone, and inserted a dry wooden stick into the soil.

Chen Ling: “Mr. Yang, please make sure to dig a grave at this location before the sun sets today.”

Generally speaking, a single tomb for storing urns should not exceed 1 square metre. But, such a small place is really unfair to the sponsor’s ancestors.

Chen Ling felt that since he had received double the money, he should give the other party an ideal and comfortable sleeping environment. At least it should be a mansion with a mountain view. “It should be the size for burying the body.”

The contractor took note of the boss’s request and confirmed, “That means 4 metres long, 2 metres wide, and 1.4 metres high?”

Such comfortable living conditions are not available in other cemeteries even if you have money!

Chen Ling nodded and reminded: “Do make it quick, it must be ready for use before noon tomorrow.”

The grave should not be moved before noon, because the midday sun is too strong and will burn the bones.

This was not the first time that Mr. Yang had taken on a project of this kind. Knowing some relevant common sense, he immediately promised that he would complete the task perfectly, but he felt a little confused.

Recalling what he had heard before, the contractor stopped the young man who wanted to leave and asked, “Mr. Chen, who is this spot for? Why are you so anxious? Could it be for the Jiang family in the south of the city?”

Chen Ling turned his head and asked cautiously, “How do you know?”

The man’s eyes widened: “Is it true?”

Seeing the young man staring at him inquiringly, the contractor explained, “I didn’t investigate your business privately. I heard that the Jiang family’s ancestral tomb is very strange. It is not buried with other deceased ancestors, but left alone in the woods in the suburbs.”

Chen Ling became interested: “What else do you know?”

“Well, I’m just a nobody, how can I know the secrets of the rich and powerful?” The contractor scratched his head and said embarrassedly, “It was just that when I was working at the xx cemetery, I happened to run into the Jiang family visiting the tombs, and afterwards I was curious and listened to some gossip.”

Chen Ling glanced at him sideways, and his tone became mature: “Since you know it’s the Jiang family, you should be more careful when working, don’t fool around.”

“I understand, I understand.” The contractor assured him again and again.

The Jiang family has deep roots in Taipei, dating back to hundreds of years, and it is still thriving today, with involvement in both politics and business. No one would dare to mess with such a family unless they wanted to die.

The contractor looked at the young boss’s receding back and laughed, shaking his head. He never expected that this young man, at such a young age, could climb up the big tree of the Jiang family.

Chen Ling returned to the courtyard and plunged himself into the makeshift study room to make up for his professional knowledge.

Zhao Xunchang was smoothing his beloved bird’s feathers. He took the time to glance at the half-open window of the study and walked over.

Zhao Xunchang tapped the glass with his fingers a few times and said, “This matter is entirely up to you. I won’t interfere. This is a good opportunity to test how well you have learned in the past two months.”

Chen Ling said with a bitter face: “It’s only been two months and you’re already asking me to finish my apprenticeship. I’m not sure.”

“You will never learn anything if you only read books without applying them.”

Nearing evening, the scorching sun, which had already faded, was suddenly blocked by clouds. A damp and hot wind blew up, causing the green tiles on the roof to vibrate and clang.

The violet parrot screamed: “It’s raining! It’s going to rain!”

Chen Ling dropped the book and ran to the yard to collect clothes. Just as he filled his arms with them, raindrops as big as beans began to fall, and it actually hurt a little when they hit his body.

The rain was heavy, the sky was covered with dark clouds, and the wind was howling, making the whole sky abnormally dark.

Chen Ling was worried that there might be problems with the Jiang family’s ancestral tomb, so he put down his clothes and called Mrs. Jiang.

The phone was always busy, no matter how many times he called, it just didn’t go through.

Chen Ling had a bad premonition in his heart, his scalp tingled, and his whole body felt cold… He only had such a feeling when he encountered a ghost!

He subconsciously reached into his trouser pocket and tightly grasped the Sanqing Bell inside.

The bell didn’t ring, which meant there was no evil around.

Chen Ling rubbed his brows, wondering if he was having an illusion because he was too nervous about tomorrow having to take on the responsibility alone.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, took out a thick book on criminal law from under his pillow, and read aloud word by word.

This was a habit he had developed after he saw a ghost for the first time. Whenever he was scared, he would recite the core values ​​and read the criminal code. In this way, he could transfer the righteousness of socialism to himself and would not be afraid of anything.

Zhao Xunchang lived next door. Listening to the emotional and rhythmic reading, he twitched his lips a few times, picked up a feather duster and knocked on the wall between the two rooms.

Knowing that he had caused noise pollution, Chen Ling pursed his lips in grievance and changed his reading from aloud to silent recitation.

The sky outside was getting darker and darker. Under the cover of wind and rain, the lights of the houses not far away dimmed and gradually went out. Dogs kept barking. The barking sounds were unusually clear in the dark evening, and became more and more frequent.

Chen Ling suddenly remembered that cats and dogs could see things that ordinary people could not…

Quickly stopping his wandering thoughts, he cleared his throat seriously, clenched the book in his hand, and was about to open his mouth to continue reading, but his body suddenly stiffened, and his neck seemed to be pinched by an invisible hand, and he could not utter a word.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a person standing in the corner.