“Later, I vaguely heard someone calling me. It sounded like my mom’s voice, and then I ended up here.” Zhao Yuehua looked at me with an innocent expression. I frowned—someone had clearly used that spirit-calling bell to harm Grandpa Jin. But honestly, Zhao Yuehua didn’t seem like a bad guy.

Just then, the door burst open. Han Sifan and Brother Xiang charged in. Han Sifan was wearing a black leather jacket, looking stunning as ever. But the moment she saw Zhao Yuehua, she rushed forward with a peachwood sword, ready to slash at him. Both of them must have applied ox tears to see spirits. I panicked and shouted, “Wait! This ghost isn’t bad!” I quickly stepped in front of Zhao Yuehua to block her, but her swing landed squarely on my shoulder.

Even though I wasn’t a ghost who’d scatter into nothingness from a hit, that peachwood sword still felt like a solid club smashing down on me—especially since it was Han Sifan wielding it. The pain made me grit my teeth in frustration. Holding back my agony, I hurried to explain the situation before they misunderstood. Only then did the two nod in understanding.

“So, what now?” I asked Brother Xiang and Han Sifan. Zhao Yuehua and the old lady standing to the side didn’t dare to chime in.

“Here’s the plan,” Brother Xiang said. “Hui and I will go find Zhao Yuehua’s body and bury it somewhere proper so he can reincarnate. Xiaofan, you investigate where this bell came from. Oh, and don’t you still have some ox tears? Give it to Grandpa Jin so he can say a final goodbye to the old lady. After that, she should also go reincarnate.” Han Sifan had no objections to the plan.

Sure, it might seem like Brother Xiang and I were taking on just one task while she had two. But trust me, our job was no cakewalk. It was scorching outside, nearly 38°C. We had to not only search the mountains for a cave but also carry a corpse out of it. Who knows how much it had rotted in this heat after a month?

It was a crappy job, but someone had to do it. Ugh, my cursed life.

At Grandpa Jin’s house, I found an empty wine bottle and had Zhao Yuehua enter it. Then I wrapped the bottle tightly with a black cloth—spirits like him couldn’t be exposed to sunlight or they’d vanish without a trace. After saying goodbye to everyone, Brother Xiang and I left the village and headed out.

The village was surrounded by a forest, and as soon as we entered, the temperature dropped. With nothing better to do, Brother Xiang and I strolled and searched, stopping here and there. If it weren’t for the blazing sun, we might’ve let Zhao Yuehua out to guide us. But finding a cave in this endless mountain range wasn’t easy.

Luckily, Brother Xiang had a solution. He pulled out his compass, asked Zhao Yuehua for the exact date of his death, and calculated something. Then he pointed toward a hillside to the east. “Over there.”

Say what you want, but feng shui techniques are pretty amazing. Following Brother Xiang’s lead, we reached the hillside and actually found a cave. It was hidden behind thick grass, nearly impossible to spot unless you were specifically searching. No wonder Zhao Yuehua accidentally fell into it back then.

We had no idea what the cave was like inside and didn’t dare enter recklessly. We also didn’t bring flashlights. So, I just threw the bottle inside. The sound of glass shattering echoed, followed by Zhao Yuehua’s voice: “Yes, yes, this is the place!”

His voice was tinged with excitement. Brother Xiang and I exchanged a glance. Brother Xiang frowned, looking uneasy, and whispered, “This cave’s feng shui is weird. Be careful when you go down.”

“Got it.” I went in first. The cave sloped downward at a steep 45°, but the ground was uneven with plenty of rocks, so I managed to climb down slowly. Soon, Brother Xiang followed me.

No wonder Zhao Yuehua fell to his death—this drop was at least ten meters. Surviving that would’ve been a miracle. As soon as I reached the bottom, the temperature noticeably dropped. My foot landed on something soft, and a foul stench hit my nose. Then Zhao Yuehua’s voice came from nearby.

“Hey, dude, you’re stepping on my stomach! Watch it and leave me a decent corpse, will you?”

I didn’t reply, thinking, Buddy, be glad I even came down here to help you with your corpse. What more do you want? Looking down, I saw that the cooler temperature had slowed decomposition. Though his body had rotted somewhat, there were no maggots, just surface decay.

“Hey, can you use your flash to take a picture of my corpse while it’s still intact? A nice farewell photo!” Zhao Yuehua seemed oddly pleased with his preserved state. What a weirdo, I thought. Not even sad about dying, but asking for a photo instead.

“Let’s get this over with. It stinks down here.” Brother Xiang had climbed down and ripped the black cloth from the bottle into two pieces, handing me one. We used the cloth to wrap around Zhao Yuehua’s arms. I grabbed his left arm, Brother Xiang grabbed his right, and we started dragging him out.

“Easy, easy, guys! Don’t treat my body so roughly! I’m still here, you know! Mistreating a dead guy will bring bad karma. Ow, my ear fell off!”

Zhao Yuehua kept whining as we worked, but with the stench overwhelming us, neither of us cared to listen. Soon, we managed to drag him out of the cave. Thankfully, it was cloudy, and it wasn’t yet noon, so Zhao Yuehua didn’t have to hide in the bottle.

I scanned our surroundings and pointed at a nearby patch of forest. “That spot’s a good place. You’ll reincarnate as an emperor in your next life if we bury you there.”

Did I know anything about feng shui? Nope. I just didn’t want to carry the corpse any farther.

“Don’t mess with me! China doesn’t even have emperors anymore. Pick somewhere else!”

“Fine, go to England and be their queen. Stop complaining, or we’ll toss you back in the cave!” Brother Xiang snapped, pinching his nose in frustration. Honestly, I was getting fed up too. People don’t understand how awful it is to carry a corpse around.

If Zhao Yuehua hadn’t been bouncing around next to us, we probably would’ve been scared out of our minds.

We quickly dug a hole, tossed Zhao Yuehua’s body in, and buried him. Then we found a random slab of stone to serve as a gravestone. Despite all this, Zhao Yuehua looked at us with gratitude as his figure grew fainter. He said, “Guys, even though we didn’t know each other long, I owe you for hauling my body out. My bank card has 100,000 yuan in it—it’s probably in my bag. The password is 213213. Feel free to use it. See you in the next life!”

With that, he disappeared. Brother Xiang and I exchanged a look. We filtered out all the nonsense he’d said, focusing on one thing: 100,000 yuan! We immediately dug up the grave we’d just made and searched his corpse for the wallet. But it wasn’t there. Could it still be in the cave?