Chapter Two: Resurrection

Yun Hao’s gaunt hand reached out, its pallor so ghastly it seemed to have emerged straight from the depths of hell. The onlookers froze in shock; the sharp-tongued woman let out a bloodcurdling scream and collapsed to the ground. A wide patch of her skirt was immediately soaked; those with a clear conscience do not fear ghosts at their door, but she had just falsely accused Madam Zhao, and now her son had come back to life.

His hand, claw-like, gripped the edge of the coffin. Drawing on every ounce of strength in his frail body, Yun Hao managed to sit up. He exhaled, opened his eyes, and gazed at the assembled mourners. The soul that had just taken possession of the body was still uncoordinated, so his eyes appeared fixed and lifeless, giving him the appearance of a zombie.

“It’s a living corpse!” someone shrieked in terror, and immediately chaos erupted in the hall as people scrambled to flee. The old patriarch, who had been trembling only moments before, now moved with the agility of a leopard, shoving aside Yun Da and darting out first.

No villager was unafraid of ghosts and spirits; all of them scattered in panic. Even the seasoned coroner hurried out in alarm. In a heartbeat, only Madam Zhao remained in the hall—well, and the sharp-tongued woman, who was paralyzed with fright.

“You wronged my mother!” Yun Hao’s voice was hollow, monotone, like a zombie from a supernatural tale. The woman, already half-dead with terror, rolled her eyes and fainted on the spot.

Yun Hao had meant to scare her, hoping it might leave her incapable of meddling further. Kindness invites bullying, just as a gentle horse is ridden. He had heard clearly—his mother Zhao was no shrew. If he did not repay every slight, he would be bullied to death in this village.

“Hao’er... Am I dreaming?” Madam Zhao stared in disbelief at Yun Hao sitting inside the coffin. She had seen with her own eyes the breath leave his body the night before.

“Mother! This is no dream. How could your child be in a coffin otherwise?” Yun Hao feigned confusion. Having just entered this body, his blood and energy had yet to circulate properly. Not only was his speech sluggish, but moving was also a labor. Sitting up by clutching the coffin’s edge was the best he could manage.

“My child!” Madam Zhao’s frail frame seemed to surge with newfound strength. With a few swift movements, she climbed onto the offering table and dragged Yun Hao from the coffin. Though his body was still cold, she felt warmth under his arms, and at last she was sure her son had truly returned to life. Supporting each other, they made their way to the bed, where Madam Zhao laid him down. She noticed he was not only stiff but seemed heavier than before—but overwhelmed with joy, she cared little for that. Nothing mattered so long as her son was alive.

“Mother, I’m hungry!” This body had not eaten for two days, and Yun Hao himself had not tasted food for three years in the underworld. Upon returning to the world of the living, his very first thought was to eat.

“Yes! I’ll make something right now!” Madam Zhao exclaimed, delighted, and hurried to the storeroom with a washbasin to fetch flour. Her son’s appetite was a good sign—he had hardly eaten a full meal in his half-year of illness.

Stepping outside, Madam Zhao was momentarily stunned. The sharp-tongued woman was crawling out the door like a dog, her skirt trailing in the dust, a pitiful sight. The yard was packed with villagers, nearly the entire population—young and old—had gathered, pointing and gossiping before the Yun family’s house as if it were a bustling marketplace.

“Second brother’s wife, come out quickly—your son’s a living corpse! He’s no longer human. Come out before he gets you! The Patriarch has sent for Taoist Sun; when he arrives, he’ll subdue the demon for certain!” Yun Da shouted from outside, waving his arms but not daring to set foot inside the gate. All the villagers clustered outside the fence, some even sitting in the little trees, munching on melons, chicken legs, sunflower seeds—the perfect audience for a spectacle.

“How can you speak such nonsense, elder brother? Hao’er is your nephew—he’s alive, just fainted before. Now he’s revived, you should be happy as his uncle. How can you side with outsiders and harm your own kin? What kind of uncle are you?” Madam Zhao, indignant at Yun Da’s attempt to seize her land, snapped at him with a cold face.

“The coroner said he was dead! How could he come back to life? There’s Coroner Xu right there—he’s examined every corpse in the county. If he says someone is dead, there’s no mistake!” Yun Da quickly pointed out Coroner Xu in his official robes. If Yun Hao survived, Yun Da would be stuck with a few meager acres. To seize the Yun family’s fertile fields, Yun Hao must die—dead or alive.

“That child truly is a living corpse, Yun family’s daughter-in-law. You’d best come out. When Taoist Sun arrives, we’ll summon celestial fire and burn it all away.” Stung by doubt about his expertise, Coroner Xu stepped forward. The crowd grew even more fearful; many mothers clutched their children, ready to flee at any moment.

Hearing that Taoist Sun was coming, Madam Zhao panicked. Sun was reputed to have extraordinary powers, able to summon divine fire from the heavens to reduce all evil to ashes. A few years back, a girl in a neighboring village went mad; Sun declared her possessed by a demon. Without lighting a flame, yellow talismans on his peachwood sword ignited themselves, and the girl was consumed to cinders—a wonder Madam Zhao had witnessed with her own eyes. The thought of Sun being summoned now filled her with dread. Yun Hao, frail and still lying in bed, could never survive Sun’s methods.

“Elder brother, Hao’er is your nephew. He’s alive, not some demon. You mustn’t burn him—please, you mustn’t!” The basin slipped from Madam Zhao’s hands as she staggered forward, nearly collapsing to her knees.

“He’s no living boy—clearly a demon risen from the dead! With such evil in the family, as Hao’er’s uncle it’s my duty to act. Zhao, come out and stop shielding the monster, or I’ll report to the Patriarch to have you struck from the family register. Then, even in death, you’ll not be admitted to our ancestors’ tombs, but doomed to wander as a lonely spirit.” Yun Da, seeing her desperation, was secretly delighted. If he could have Zhao expelled from the clan, and Yun Hao burned by Taoist Sun, the land would be his. Once Zhao had no support and was under his thumb—well, she was still young and comely, not yet thirty. If he could bring her into his bed... The thought alone made him giddy; were it not for the crowd, he’d have laughed aloud.

Though the neighbors despised Yun Da’s character, they could not deny the facts: with a monster in their midst, no one would sleep easy. Moreover, the coroner warned that zombies would bring either locusts or drought. They were all farmers, living at the mercy of the heavens, and with the prospect of a ruined year ahead, all awaited Taoist Sun’s arrival. One blaze to reduce Yun Hao to ashes would surely dispel the village’s misfortune and ensure a bountiful harvest.

“You... all of you!” Madam Zhao, hearing Yun Da’s words and seeing the villagers siding with him, trembled so violently she nearly fainted.