Grave Moving Brigade - Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Chased by a Spirit

It was undoubtedly a man.

Black leather shoes, legs wrapped by smooth trousers, looking clean and tidy, without any stain from the mud outside. Going up, the legs are straight, without even lifting up the trouser, one can imagine how strong and slender the long legs hidden underneath are.

The supposed man walked from the corner of the wall to the window and stopped behind Chen Ling. He felt his hair being gently stroked by a hand, and the touch went down along his temples and stopped near the red mark on the side of his neck which was caused by the allergy.

There was deathly silence in the room, and strangely, there was also total silence outside.

It felt as if all the noise from before existed to solely serve as a welcome to the thing behind him. Now that the real owner behind the chaos had arrived, there was no need for the noise to still exist.

Chen Ling’s breathing was rapid, and he felt confused and bewildered. His master had always been very sensitive to spirits, so why was there no movement from his side today? The Sanqing Bell was also a magical instrument for detection of evil spirits! It was as if the bell had gone dead, issuing not the slightest form of warning.

If one encountered spirits too often, it would unconsciously become a habit. If one is used to being scared, they will gradually stop being scared from the constant encounters.

Chen Ling tried hard to squeeze out a little volume from his throat, wanting to have a friendly negotiation: “You…”

Just as he started speaking, a damp and cold breath sprayed on the back of his neck. He could feel that thing behind him sniffing his skin carefully, like some kind of elegant pre-dinner etiquette.

“You smell so good…” A low, hoarse voice with a hint of sleepiness sounded in his ears.

Chen Ling was bewildered. It was the first time he knew that these things, that is, the spirits, also had a sense of smell. He wanted to immediately pick up the T-shirt and smell it hard to find out what the fragrance was!

Unfortunately, he couldn’t move and could only think quickly, thinking about how to break the predicament and find a way out.

At that tense moment, his cell phone rang suddenly, shaking the entire air.

Chen Ling subconsciously stood up from the stool. He was stunned for a moment, then realised that he could move.

He turned back warily. The simple room was empty, with nothing out of place in it, as if everything that had just happened was just an illusion.

The ringing ended, and the next moment it rang again. Chen Ling stretched his stiff fingers, cleared his dry throat, picked up the phone and answered it.

The sound of wind and rain came from the phone, and the contractor’s voice was vague: “Mr. Chen, things are not good. The grave we just dug this afternoon got caught in a little rain, and the soil at the edge collapsed. If we want to pile it back to its original state, we’ll have to wait until the rain stops. But if we do that, we’ll have to lay bricks and apply cement tomorrow, and we’ll have to dry and warm the grave, so I’m afraid it won’t be in time…”

Chen Ling was in a dilemma and ran to the next door to ask Zhao Xunchang for help.

Zhao Xunchang: “The location you chose is the centre of the dragon vein of Yuhe Mountain. It is surrounded by water and backed by high mountains. We have visited this spot before and the soil there is not bad. Since it is good in all aspects, there is no need to worry too much. You can go and see the situation yourself and then expand the tomb as appropriate.”

“Then I have to notify the Jiang family first.” After Chen Ling finished speaking, he dialled Mrs. Jiang’s number. The short beep sounded like a hit on the heart, making people feel inexplicably nervous.

The call could not be connected.

Seeing his apprentice frowning, Zhao Xunchang suggested, “Maybe the weather has affected the signal. Do as I say first, and try calling again when the rain stops later.”

Chen Ling was efficient. He put down his phone, took his measuring tools, and took great pains to find a small umbrella with flowery patterns in the utility room.

Before leaving, he ran to the master’s window and took a look, and saw that the old man was busy meditating with his eyes closed. After thinking about it, he decided to deal with the more urgent matters first, and then go to the master to report the matter that the Sanqing Bell did not ring when encountering evil.

About ten metres below the top of the mountain, there were two temporary sheds. Five or six workers were hiding from the rain in the shed on the left, while the other three, led by the contractor, were squatting beside the collapsed pit with sad faces.

Seeing the young man suddenly arrive up the mountain by himself, the contractor stood up with his trouser legs lifted up, shielded the rain with one hand, and leaned out half of his head to shout to the front: “Mr. Chen, why are you here?!”

“I came up here to take a look at the situation myself!” Chen Ling responded loudly.

He took three or two steps into the simple shed, and as he turned up, his head hit the sunken awning, which was heavy with accumulated rain water.

Chen Ling poked it upwards with the ruler in his hand, and the rain immediately flowed down along the four corners of the shed. The water seeped into the soil and merged with the muddy soil and the wet dead grass.

The collapse of the new pit was not serious, and the entire tomb only needed to be widened by about 0.3 metres.

Chen Ling jumped down, measured repeatedly with a ruler, and decided on a more auspicious width: “Expand according to this number, no more, no less.”

“Yes, yes, I understand.” The contractor took the paper from the young man with both hands. “It’s raining so hard now, and the soil is too wet. It’s really not suitable to start construction. Mr. Chen, do you think we can wait until the rain stops before we continue?”

“Of course.” Chen Ling said, “Have you prepared the dryer?”

“It’s on the way. It will be here in half an hour.”

Chen Ling nodded and was about to say thank everyone for their hard work when the sound of raindrops hitting his head suddenly became quieter. After another three or five minutes, the torrential rain that had been making all the workers panic stopped without any warning.

The contractor showed a look of joy, waved his hand, and told his fellow workers to start work.

Chen Ling stood aside and watched quietly. At about half past seven in the evening, he saw that some workers were so hungry that they began to eat the dry food they had brought along. Seeing this, he went down the mountain and went home. He went into the kitchen and made a big pot of fried rice with eggs. He put it in a clean wooden barrel and carried it up the mountain.

This time, the client had sufficient funds and only hired a team of contractors, so Contractor Yang worked very hard with his team.

At around ten o’clock that night, the grave was dug. An adult standing in it with his arms outstretched could not touch the boundaries at both ends.

The contractor smiled and joked with Chen Ling: “Probably only in a newly opened cemetery like yours, people can buy such a large tomb. In other places, it is difficult to buy a single urn tomb of one square metre.”

These days, the prices of graves and houses seem to be rising, with a new price every day.

The contractor was talking about a high-end cemetery with beautiful scenery, complete facilities, and close to the city. In addition to the burial area, it also provided various funeral services. It was more than ten blocks higher than Chen Ling’s Yuhe Mountain.

Although Zhao Xunchang was the one who proposed the cemetery project, Chen Ling also sincerely wanted to start a business. He inquired, “Brother Yang, do you know what the prices of other cemeteries are?”

While asking such a question, Chen Ling couldn’t help but feel frustrated.

He always thought he had good acting skills, but every time he pretended to be a customer and went to other cemeteries to inquire about price information, he was ruthlessly exposed.

After three consecutive incidents, he was directly blacklisted by all local funeral companies.

“The price of a high-end columbarium varies, depending on the location and size, some cost tens of millions or even hundreds of millions. An ordinary small columbarium will cost about 100,000 to 150,000 yuan. By the way, you even have to pay a management fee every 20 years, did you know that?”

“I know.” Chen Ling said, “It’s calculated based on 10% of the tomb’s price.”

“Yes.” The contractor lit a cigarette for himself and handed one to Chen Ling. Seeing that the other party refused, he joked, “Your girlfriend doesn’t like it?”

Chen Ling waved his hand to deny: “I’m a single dog. Where did the girlfriend come from? My master doesn’t allow smoking.”

People in their early twenties are full of energy and keen to try new things, but Chen Ling has never touched cigarettes or alcohol since he got started.

In the words of Zhao Xunchang, being contaminated by too much worldly filth is not good, as it affects one’s aura.

Of course, this is only for Chen Ling. As a master, he has no intention of setting an example. He drinks and smokes whenever he wants. He says that since he is old, it was alright for him to enjoy his old age. If he is too harsh on himself, he may go to hell after he dies.

As midnight approached, the day’s work came to a temporary end.

Chen Ling led the workers down the mountain with a flashlight. After negotiations, he temporarily placed them in the homes of several nearby villagers.

After bidding goodbye to the contractor, it was already one o’clock in the morning. Chen Ling knew that his yin and yang were out of balance, so he paid great attention to health care, fearing that illness or low health status would worsen his condition.

Instances like the current one where he got home only in the early hours of the morning, hadn’t happened since he turned 18.

Most people in the village had moved away, leaving only dark houses standing there, like monsters crouching in the darkness, staring at people passing by on the white path ahead.

Chen Ling looked straight ahead, tightened his five fingers holding the flashlight slightly, took out a bell from his pocket and shook it vigorously, using the sound of the bell to clear the way for himself.

The crisp sound of tinkling broke the dead silence of the humid air, giving him an inexplicable sense of peace.

Chen Ling’s nervous heart relaxed and he continued to move forward, but soon, his lips, which had been closed easily, gradually tightened.

——There were footsteps behind him.

The footsteps followed closely behind him, not too far away. Chen Ling was not afraid at all. He ran, and the other party’s speed was slow. After slowing down, the other party’s footsteps were still neither fast nor slow, and he was at ease because he had the Sanqing Bell.

If it were a normal person with strong yang energy, he would definitely think that he was being followed by a bad guy.

When it was Chen Ling’s turn, combined with the other party’s extremely aggressive gaze, the attitude of following him closely but being reluctant to attack him… Sadly, he could only think of a perverted spirit who was suppressed to the point of perversion before his death and let himself go after his death!

Thinking of a possibility, Chen Ling’s innate alarm bells rang and he quickly covered his neck which was wet by the rain with his hands.

Before going out to the mountain, the feeling of his body being touched by the coldness returned to his brain, overlapping with the strange situation behind him.

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T/N :
The ML is finally going to make a proper entry soon.