Chapter 342: Lotus Goat

“Would the caster find out that the ritual has been destroyed, Xuanyun?” Ye Qing suddenly asked a crucial question.

“They would,” Qi Xuanyun replied without hesitation.

“How strong is your clan elder, Brother Peng?” Ye Qing looked at Peng Hu next.

“He’s a Spirit Master. What’s the matter?” Peng Hu didn’t understand why Ye Qing was asking this.

Ye Qing rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “So, your enemy is strong enough to kill a Spirit Master. That’s a problem. If I were you, I would be thinking how I’m going to keep myself alive, not take revenge.”

“You’re saying they would show up to silence us all.” Peng Hu’s eyes narrowed.

“That’s definitely a possibility.” Ye Qing shrugged. Qi Xuanyun was certain that the caster would find out that the Five Punishments Ritual was destroyed. Naturally, it made sense that the caster would show up to finish the job.

Of course, there was always the possibility that they wouldn’t, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

“Joyless’ worries are well-founded.” Chu Nianjiu nodded. “For now, let’s leave this place. Brother Peng Chuan needs his rest too.”

“One thing, Brother Peng. You should leave your clan elder’s body behind. The Five Punishments Ritual might not be the only thing the caster has done to it.” Ye Qing stopped Peng Hu as he moved to retrieve the corpse.

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Peng Hu rejected the suggestion without hesitation, “No coffin haulier worth their salt would ever abandon a body to save their own lives, much less the body of a clan elder.”

Chu Nianjiu joined in on the persuasion. “Brother Peng, now isn’t the time to cling stubbornly to your beliefs. Assuming what Joyless and Xuanyun said is true, we would die as soon as the enemy catches up to us. You’ve already lost so many brothers, you don’t want Peng Chuan and your remaining brothers to die a meaningless death, do you?”

Peng Hu frowned deeply but didn’t say anything.

“Brother Peng, we understand that you have certain rules you must abide by, but rules are dead, and you are alive. The living has to be more important than what is dead, don’t you agree?” Lin Yuhuai also chimed in. “Plus, we’re not telling you to leave your clan elder’s body in the wilderness. We’re telling you to do what you need to do to secure the body first and message the Peng Clan for reinforcement later. Surely this is a better way than throwing away your lives for nothing? Surely that cannot be the wish of the Peng Clan?”

Peng Hu was visibly struggling to arrive at a decision. On one hand, breaking the rules would mean breaking the taboo and ruining the reputation his clan had upheld for over a hundred years. On the other hand, his brothers’ lives were in danger. He truly didn’t know which was the better choice.

“Brother Peng, remember that we’re only making guesses. We have no idea if the caster would actually come after us.” Ye Qing advised after choosing his words carefully, “We’re not far away from Auspicious Phoenix Market. You can afford to secure the clan elder’s body, leave it here, and spy on it from the village. If a few days later, you discover that the body is undisturbed, it probably means that the caster hasn’t caught up to you. You’d be free to carry it back to the Peng Clan.”

“But if something did happen to the body, this would be your opportunity to find out the truth. You’d be able to find out exactly who is the murderer of your clan elder. Assuming help shows up in time, you could even take revenge for your elder and resolve the problem once and for all. This way, you can kill two birds with one stone.”

“Obviously, this solution isn’t risk free. Assuming the caster shows up, I won’t deny that there is a chance they would spot you spying on them in secret. But it’s still better than sticking to your current course of action and dying meaninglessly, isn’t it? What do you think, Brother Peng?”

“That’s a wonderful plan! I knew you’re the most devious of the four of us.” Chu Nianjiu clapped a hand on Ye Qing’s shoulder.

“I’ll pretend that you’re complimenting me.” Ye Qing rubbed his nose.

“Very well. We’ll do as you say.” This time, Peng Hu agreed to the suggestion without hesitation. Doing as Ye Qing said would allow them to identify their clan elder’s murderer and still carry the body back to its rightful place. He could not see any reason to turn this down.

As for danger, they were ready to die for their cause. Why would they be afraid of danger?

“Thank you very much for your guidance, Brother Ye.” Peng Hu saluted Ye Qing.

“You’re welcome, but let’s make haste, shall we? The sooner we’re away from this place, the better!” Ye Qing warned. He was certain that the caster hadn’t caught up to them yet—he hadn’t sensed any pursuers with his demonic thoughts—but that could change given enough time.

Peng Hu wasn’t stupid. He too knew the dangers they were courting by lingering too long. So, he immediately produced a new coffin from his Nature’s Shell, put the body back inside, and began searching a good location to secure the body.

They were fishing. Of course they should choose a good fishing spot.

As for Peng Shan[1], they put him to rest the coffin haulier way: cremating him and allowing his ash to return to the world.

All coffin hauliers possessed unusual birth dates and secret arts that were unique to their profession. As a result, their corpse and soul were attractive to certain Strangers and evils. Besides that, coffin hauliers generally preferred to live on nature’s gift and return the favor after they’re dead. That was why they were normally cremated and scattered across the world.

The group trekked toward Auspicious Phoenix Market after dealing with Peng Shang’s body. Finally, they found a good place to secure the clan elder’s body not far away from the village: a tall cliff.

They weren’t the only ones who had the same idea. Some of the recesses and gaps below the cliffside were hanging with coffins.

Lin Yuhuai explained as he watched the coffins, “Those are hanging coffins[2]. Some places prefer to deposit their loved one’s deceased bodies on a cliff or suspend it in the air. It’s because they believe that their souls would go to the heavens this way.”

Ye Qing nodded approvingly after observing the location. “This is a good place. The fact that so many people decided to leave their coffins here meant that this location is safe from most Strangers. Since it is close to Auspicious Phoenix Market, you can pretend to be a villager or a traveler and spy on this place without drawing attention.”

“You are absolutely right.” Peng Hu was clearly satisfied with this location as well. “Very well. We shall leave our clan elder’s body here.”

“Meeeeeeh...”

“Meeeeeeh...”

Suddenly, the group heard a goat’s cry from atop the cliff. When they looked up, they saw a black goat that wasn’t there before.

The goat’s fur was as black and shiny as ink. It had a pair of multi-pronged horns like a deer’s, and sitting on its forehead was a black lotus. A palm-sized girl sitting crosslegged at the center of the lotus. Right now, the girl was watching them curiously from above.

“A Stranger?!” Chu Nianjiu raised an eyebrow.

Ye Qing rubbed his nose embarrassedly. He just said there were no Stranger, and a Stranger immediately came out to slap his face. How embarrassing!

But Peng Hu let out a sigh of relief. “Calm down, everyone. That’s a Lotus Goat. It’s harmless to humans.”

A Lotus Goat was a Soulstealer-class Stranger. Shaped like a goat, it had pitch black fur and a lotus with a child inside the pistil. As it enjoyed feeding on corpse qi[3], it could often be found in a graveyard and other places where the dead were plentiful. If it ran into a funeral procession or an abandoned body, it would personally carry the coffin or the body to the graveyard. If it encountered grave robbers, Strangers or people who were planning to steal or damage a body for whatever reason, then they would swallow the offenders whole.

“This is great! If the caster shows up, it would have to go through the Lotus Goat first before it could get to the body. It would give us an easier time to identify them,” Ye Qing immediately pounced on the opportunity to cover up his failure.

“Indeed, not to mention that the Lotus Goat would protect the body from danger. There is a problem though. How are we going to retrieve the body afterward?” Lin Yuhuai voiced his worry.

Peng Hu wasn’t worried though. He assured them, “That, you don’t have to worry about. The Peng Clan knows a secret art that’ll allow us to retrieve the body without being attacked by the Lotus Goat.”

“Oh, I’ve heard that before. Apparently, all coffinmakers, corpse shepards, corpse carriers and more know a kind of secret art that allows them to summon a Lotus Goat to their aid if necessary. The Lotus Goat wouldn’t protect them, but it would guard the bodies with its life.”

Chu Nianjiu explained, “There are many benefits to having a Lotus Goat guard a body. For one, it is a powerful Soulstealer-class Stranger who could fend off most Strangers and warriors. Two, it could feed on corpse qi and prevent the bodies from transforming into zombies. After the danger is over, we would retrieve the bodies from the Lotus Goat using our secret art.”

“Haha, Brother Chu’s explanation is right on the mark.” Peng Hu smiled. “That is why this is the best place to place the clan elder’s body.”

“Peng Lin?”

Peng Hu glanced at Peng Lin, and Peng Lin immediately produced a bone whistle from his sleeve. He then blew it strongly.

Screeeeeeeeeeeeech!

The whistle sounded more like the screeching noise of fingernails digging into a piece of wood, or glass rubbing against metal than an actual whistle. The shrill, piercing noise immediately inflicted Ye Qing’s group with deep nausea.

“Meh! Meh!”

On the other hand, the Lotus Goat started bleating the moment it heard the whistle. Soft and elegant, it was completely different from the horrible whistling.

A few bleats later, the Lotus Goat began walking down the cliff with elegant footsteps. The cliff was tall, steep, and impossible for a human to navigate normally, but the Lotus Goat made it look like it was treading on flat ground.

“Meh...”

After the Lotus Goat landed on the ground, it bleated once at Peng Lin before the girl inside the lotus flower rubbed her nose with great anticipation. Then, she opened her mouth and breathed deeply. A stream of mist-like corpse qi immediately rose from the coffin and entered her mouth.

The lotus girl’s cheeks were fully puffed like that of a cute cat as she swallowed the corpse qi inside her mouth bit by bit. She looked so happy and intoxicated it was like she was drinking sweet honey, not corpse qi.

When she was finally done, the lotus girl let out a big yawn, smiled sweetly, and closed her eyes.

“Meh...” The Lotus Goat bleated and tapped the ground with its hoof three times. There was a small explosion of dust, and the coffin was thrown into the air and onto its back. Then, the Lotus Goat climbed up the cliffside with just as much ease and grace as before.

“It is done. Let’s go.” Peng Hu let out a sigh of relief after the matter was settled.

“What is that bone whistle Peng Lin just used?” On the way to Auspicious Phoenix Market, Ye Qing voiced his curiosity. “It’s pretty interesting.”

“Er...” Peng Hu hesitated.

Chu Nianjiu interrupted, “It’s better if you don’t know.”

“What do you mean? Is it a taboo to speak about it?” Ye Qing looked puzzled.

“No, but Brother Chu is right. Are you sure you want to hear about this?” Peng Hu asked.

If you’re trying to pique my curiosity, then you sure as hell succeeded, brother.

Peng Hu noted Ye Qing’s expression and sighed. “The whistle is called the Human Bone Whistle. Among corpse hauliers, we have a saying called, ‘The living hear the living, and the dead hear the dead’. The Human Bone Whistle is a whistle forged from the skull of a dead human. It can be used to interact with some ghosts and Strangers.”

“The skull needed to make the whistle is also quite unusual. It is the skull of a baby who is born on a yin year, month and day. The baby cannot be older than nine years old either, and the younger the better.”

“This is because people who are born on a yin year, month and day are also born with a greater reservoir of yin qi, so much so that they can see the unseeable. This applies to babies as well as their heart and soul is pure. This is why the Human Bone Whistle possesses the power to communicate with certain ghosts and Strangers. In a sense, it’s a Strange Artifact.”

1. The guy who tried to attack the paper doll earlier but died instantly. ?

2. Hanging coffins are coffins which have been placed on cliffs. They are practiced by various cultures in China, Indonesia, and the Philippines. ?

3. Halfman Xu: GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME! ?