Chapter 45 Tang Clan Ghost: The Grave

How can a grave be erected if the body cannot be found?

Tang Yu's question reminded Su Muzhi of a night ten years ago.

It was late spring, early summer, and the weather should have been gradually warming up, but the damp chill brought by the continuous spring rains was still too much to bear. Especially deep in the dense forests of Yunling Mountain, the cold was even more intense, and the dampness seemed to seep into one's bones.

He and his wife were adults, and having practiced martial arts since childhood, they were not afraid of the cold. But Tang Yang was only three years old at that time, which is the age when he is most susceptible to catching a cold.

A few days ago, the window wasn't closed properly, and the night wind blew in, causing him to catch a cold. At first, it was just a minor ailment, and since there were plenty of medicinal herbs at home, he had been drinking the medicine for two days and was already feeling better. But just as his condition was improving, he started running around the house, sweating profusely. Then, there were days of torrential rain, and the dampness seeped in everywhere. A gust of wind blew in, and the next day he developed a fever.

During the rainy season, Yunling Mountain is muddy and difficult to traverse, with slippery and treacherous mountain paths. Su Muzhi had not ventured into the forest to gather herbs for several days. Yet, even though the rain showed no signs of abating, he disregarded the dangers.

For the sake of their children, they had no choice but to put on straw raincoats and hats and brave the rain to go into the mountains to find medicinal herbs.

The torrential rain poured down, almost forming a continuous curtain, blurring the moonlight into a dim, milky mist. The dense foliage of the mountains blocked out the sun, and Su Muzhi relied solely on the weak light of an oil lamp to grope his way forward through the endless darkness of the forest amidst the wind and rain.

All that could be heard was the sound of the rain pouring down. The animals all sought shelter, and even the chirping of insects and the croaking of birds in the mountains were gone. The mountains were eerily quiet.

However, amidst this eerie solo of rain sounds, he seemed to hear a series of intermittent gasps. Weak, almost inaudible, yet it must have come from not far away.

He gripped the oil lamp tightly and followed the sound closer to the tall tree trunks where someone could hide. At the same time, he kept an eye on the ground, but unfortunately, the rain was too heavy, and all traces had been washed away.

But a faint smell of blood, mixed with the scent of damp earth and decaying leaves, made him certain that someone was hiding nearby.

The wind howled, the rain wept. He held his breath, his heart pounding with tension and vigilance. Apart from them, Yunling Mountain was deserted; who would sneak in on this rainy night? And what did they seek?

Could this pose a danger to my family?

His breathing grew weaker and weaker. He suddenly stopped, his gaze shifting downwards and settling on a thick tree root.

He squinted, and seemed to see a dark shadow. He quickly blew out the lamp and crept towards the shadow. With each step, his heart pounded faster, wondering what awaited him.

After going around the thick tree trunk, he finally saw clearly that it was a man in black lying in the rain.

The night was too dark for Su Muzhi to see. Rainwater slid down his hair, mixed with blood, and meandered down his chest, eventually silently merging into the mud.

However, the stench of blood on the tip of the nose was still hard to conceal even after being washed away by the rain.

Even at such close range, the man showed no reaction, clearly on his last breath. Reassured, he crouched down, pulled down the mask, revealing a purplish-blue face with high brow bones and deep-set eyes—a typical appearance of someone from southern Xinjiang.

Su Muzhi reached out to check the man's pulse and see if he could be saved, but then a flash of blood appeared and a tiny black shadow suddenly lunged out from the man's side.

He was startled, thinking it was a small wild animal from the mountains, and instinctively dodged away. At the same time, a silver needle flew out from his sleeve and pierced the small animal's body with perfect accuracy.

Strangely, the needle clearly contained enough anesthetic to incapacitate a wolf, yet the little beast was completely unaffected and pounced on him again in a frenzy.

Su Muzhi dared not hold back any longer. Taking advantage of the opponent's close approach, he suddenly leaped forward to dodge and precisely grabbed those slender ankles.

The opponent, caught off guard, missed his target and was thrown into the mud with a "thud".

Only then did Su Muzhi realize that the figure was not a small beast, but clearly a seven or eight-year-old child.

Startled, he immediately sheathed his blade and knocked her unconscious with the hilt.

They helped the little girl up, and the rain quickly washed the mud off her face, revealing a pale but exquisitely delicate face, typical of people from southern Xinjiang.

He checked the pulse and examined the injuries, confirming that there was nothing seriously wrong, only that the pulse sounded a little strange. But he didn't have time to think about it further, as there was still the man in black beside him whose injuries needed to be checked.

Unlike the well-protected little girl, he had countless fresh sword and knife wounds all over his body, the most serious one being a large, diagonal cut on his chest.

But none of these were fatal wounds. The black blood seeping from the wounds proved that what took his life was a poison that had long since entered his heart, and no medicine could cure it.

Su Muzhi's heart sank slightly. Although he had long since retired to the mountains, he had heard of the recent defeat of Nan Yue by the Great Xia army and guessed that these two people were probably the master and servant of a wealthy family in the Southern Frontier, who had fled here while being pursued.

But if the Great Xia army were to pursue them, where would the deadly poison on this man's body come from?

He couldn't figure it out for a moment. The young child in the house still needed him to find medicine and treat him, so without thinking too much, he took off his raincoat, wrapped the little girl up, put her in his basket, and took her home.

The little girl he rescued from the mountains that rainy night is none other than Tang Yu.

After the rain stopped and the sky cleared, Su Muzhi returned to the mountains alone and spent several days properly burying the man in black and erecting a grave for him.

During those same few days, he discovered another group of outsiders in the mountains. Upon closer inspection, he realized they were there to hunt down the man and the little girl, but they were not the Great Xia soldiers he had initially assumed; they were also from the Southern Frontier.

Fortunately, Yunling Mountain was shrouded in mystery, with rugged and difficult-to-navigate paths. He used a clever trick to keep the group wandering around in the mountains for several days. Only when the wild beasts in the mountains were startled did they flee down the mountain in a panic.

But this wasn't the only strange thing about Xiao Tangyu.

Initially, the couple thought she was from a wealthy family in Southern Xinjiang, or perhaps the daughter of a nobleman, which explained why she had servants protecting her so fiercely. However, the little girl, who was only seven or eight years old, couldn't speak a word and barely understood the Southern Xinjiang dialect.

She also had strange bluish-purple patches on her body, but they were not from the bumps and bruises she suffered while fleeing; rather, they seemed to be caused by lingering toxins in her body.

Her pulse was even stranger, as if a hundred kinds of toxins coexisted in her body. No wonder the anesthetic on the needle had no effect on her. Most people would die if they had just one or two of those toxins, but the little girl was full of energy and vitality.

After waking up, she was unusually vigilant and displayed strong aggression, behaving like an untamed wild beast. No wonder Su Muzhi initially mistook her for someone else.

Although she was shrouded in mystery and extremely dangerous, the injuries and poison on her small body were both shocking and pitiful. In the end, Su Muzhi and Tang Yuan decided to keep her, naming her Tang Yu, and raising her as their own daughter until now.

This wasn't the first time Tang Yu had heard these stories, but it was the first time she had pieced them all back together because of her knowledge of "Yue Qimeng." Many of her past questions, such as the people from Southern Xinjiang who relentlessly pursued her and the poison in her body, were now explained.

"So, you saw the same crescent moon mark on the two Nan Yue girls as on your left arm?" Su Muzhi asked, slightly surprised.

Tang Yu nodded: "That's right. So I'm curious... does the uncle who saved me back then also have the same mark?"

Su Muzhi shook his head: "I prepared his burial clothes and changed him into them before placing him in the coffin. I didn't see any crescent moon marks during that time. However..."

He then changed the subject, recalling something strange: "There seemed to be something in his throat, which he must have swallowed hastily before he died. But out of respect for the dead, I didn't examine it closely."

Tang Yuxiu frowned slightly, her fingertips tightening, but she couldn't figure it out for a moment.

Su Muzhi reached out and gently rubbed the top of her head, his tone tender: "Why think too much? No matter where you come from or what your background is, you are the most precious daughter of your mother and me."

Tang Yu felt a warmth in her heart and smiled sweetly as she tugged at her father's sleeve, saying coquettishly, "I know, I have the best parents in the world."

Su Muzhi was somewhat dazed by her coaxing, but then suddenly remembered something, suppressed his smile, and asked, "Did anyone discover that you are actually from the Southern Frontier when you came down the mountain this time?"

"No." Tang Yu shook her head.

"That's good." His expression still held a hint of worry as he instructed, "Your identity as a Southern Frontier person is ultimately a hidden danger. You must remember to take the medicine on time to maintain your hair and eye color. As long as your hair and eyes are black, others will not suspect anything."

"Don't worry," Tang Yu replied with a smile. Just as she was about to say something more, she saw steam billowing from the pot and hurriedly called out, "Daddy, the pot!"

Su Muzhi then realized what was happening and hurriedly took a cloth to lift the lid to prevent the soup from overflowing. Tang Yu then brought over two bowls and watched as her father scooped up the snow-white eggs, filling a small bowl with ginger juice. Instantly, the air was filled with the sweet and spicy aroma of ginger juice, making one feel as if the dampness and cold had been dispelled just by smelling it.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the plate of green fruit again and casually asked, "I wonder where my aunt's grave is? I've never paid my respects there. Why don't we go with Mother the day after tomorrow and help her carry some things?"

Su Muzhi paused, her expression darkening slightly. After a moment, she sighed, "She... has no grave."

"No grave?" Tang Yu was slightly taken aback, her tone revealing a hint of surprise.

"If the body cannot be found, how can a grave be erected?"

Tang Yu did not expect that her casual question would cause her father's face to show a hint of sorrow.

Although I had heard snippets about my aunt, no one had ever been willing to tell me the details. The story seemed to have been tacitly covered up by the Tang family and never mentioned again.

Seeing her worry, Su Muzhi quickly suppressed his own thoughts and gently instructed, "Don't mention this to your mother and Xiaoge, so as not to upset them."

Tang Yu nodded gently and carried the two bowls of ginger-infused eggs out of the courtyard, steaming hot.

"Eat it while it's hot," Tang Yuan urged with a smile.

Tang Yu scooped up a spoonful, bit into the smooth egg, and tasted the spiciness of the ginger juice and the sweetness of the rock sugar intertwining in her mouth, the warmth flowing down her throat.

It tastes just like home.

Although she had been away from home for less than a year, the familiar taste of food brought tears to her eyes and made her nose tingle.

Although she wanted to stay, she had to return to the Tang Clan before sunset to report back. Moreover, there was one more thing she wanted to do before leaving Yunling Mountain—

Go and see that grave.

*

The grave stands alone halfway up Yunling Mountain, amidst the dense forest and thin mist, appearing particularly conspicuous.

"Whose grave is this?" Tang Ge asked curiously, examining the tombstone, which had no inscription.

“An old friend whose name I do not know.” Tang Yu said calmly as she slowly paced around the grave.

"I don't even know her name..." Tang Ge muttered, following her around. Just as he was about to ask again, Tang Yu suddenly stopped, almost causing him to bump into her.

Tang Yu's gaze was fixed on a certain spot, where the mound of earth seemed to have slightly collapsed.

Her expression was dark and unreadable, and her voice suddenly turned cold: "Dig up the grave."

The Tang Clan disciples looked at each other, not daring to make a move.

Tang Ge was also taken aback at first, but seeing Tang Yu's serious expression, he knew she wasn't joking, so he urged her, "Dig, hurry up."

Only then did everyone dare to make a move.

Lacking specialized tools, they had to dig with a sword sheath. Fortunately, the soil was damp and easy to pry open, filling the air with a strong earthy smell.

After an unknown amount of time, they finally reached the coffin. The mud had been peeled away, revealing the coffin itself. Clearly, Su Muzhi had chosen the finest wood back then, and even after ten years, it had not decayed despite the wind and rain.

Tang Yu stepped forward, took the sword sheath from one of the people's hands, and with a swing of her sword, used her strength to lift the coffin lid. With a "bang," the coffin lid fell heavily to the side.

Everyone instinctively avoided looking, afraid of seeing the rotting remains inside the coffin.

However, the coffin was empty.

"Empty?" Tang Ge asked in surprise.

Tang Yu bent down to look, her brows furrowing even more coldly.

There was a crack at the bottom of the coffin, and looking through the crack, darkness stretched straight down into the ground as if it had no end.

Tang Yu immediately jumped into the coffin and squatted down to examine it carefully. She lightly touched the broken edge with her finger; the rough edges were still clear, and there were some splinters pointing upwards around it, indicating that someone had dug the opening from below. Moreover, it had been done within the last six months.

Someone stole the skeleton of a person who had been dead for ten years.

A mountain breeze swept by, bringing a chill. Tang Yu slowly raised her head to look into the depths of the mist, her face ashen.

Who stole the bones?

Are they from southern Xinjiang?

Or... that female ghost in white?