Juxi knew that there really was a wandering physician in the Central Plains who was said to know how to dispel corpse poison. But for now, Juxi could only keep it brief: “I know. But who would’ve thought… Maybe the Empress Dowager, though? Anyway, finding that person won’t be easy. There are plenty of things those bastards don’t even know about. If you ask that emperor—can you imagine it, friend?”
Juxi’s words immediately forced the girl to swallow everything she’d been about to say. The atmosphere froze in an instant.
With nothing left to talk about between them, their relationship instantly turned cold.
Trying to start a conversation, the girl began teasing Juxi by picking a fight with her: “I’ve long heard that Orientals are people of propriety. But it looks like you haven’t even given me your name yet, have you?”
“…Heh. Why should I show my manners to someone who attacked me without using her brain first?”
“You—”
“After that, things completely spiraled out of control. I happened to have the king’s will, the one he left for his daughter, saying that he wanted to marry her off to the Polish prince. The other side even sent an envoy. And here we were, trying to hold the king back. Thank goodness nothing happened. Otherwise, those nobles would’ve gutted us.” As she spoke, even she couldn’t help shivering.
It really was frightening. After hearing her explain it, Juxi hesitated a little—thirty thousand gold coins really weren’t easy to earn!
From her story, Juxi learned many more things, including exactly how she had escaped from Hariland.
“After that, thanks to the help of certain people, I temporarily gave up on staying here.”
“Then the children born to the women in the village all…” The girl suddenly grew extremely serious. “Listen carefully now. This is the important part! Hardly anyone saw the thing that was born, but one midwife jumped from the castle and died, while another went insane and is still a complete idiot to this day. That bastard girl probably looked absolutely—”
“Absolutely what?!” Juxi didn’t understand. This was no time for jokes.
But the girl wasn’t joking in the slightest. She only shook her head.
“I mean it. She died right after being born. If you ask me, it was probably because no one tied off the umbilical cord in time. And Her M—Her Majesty the Queen… she got lucky. She died after giving birth.”
“And then, brother, Fortest made another stupid mistake. That bastard should’ve been burned right away, or buried somewhere in the wilderness—not placed in a stone coffin in the royal palace’s underground mausoleum.”
“It’s too late to review things now.” Juxi straightened her mustache and said, “We should consult a wise man about this.”
“You mean that young master who placed thirteenth in the imperial exam? I know what kind of person his father is, but that’s beside the point. If you ask him to step in, I doubt it’ll do any good.” The girl clearly had some grudge against that fellow. Juxi had no idea how he’d offended her, but she certainly couldn’t stand the kid.
…
It was already deep into the night when they left the tavern. On the way back to their lodgings, Juxi never stopped thinking.
It hadn’t appeared from the very beginning—oh no. For seven days after the queen’s funeral, everything was peaceful and uneventful. Then, on a night with a full moon… the palace filled with roars and screams. Chaos erupted everywhere!
There was no point saying more. I knew perfectly well what would happen if I told the others.
I’d also read the request on the notice. It said that the baby had grown inside a completely sealed crystal coffin and developed perfectly well. More importantly, it had a certain chance of being born with magical power and becoming an exorcist.
Unfortunately, unlike me. It was simply that the girl hadn’t seen those corpses.
If she had, she definitely would’ve stayed far away from the princess she’d been talking about.
According to the legends of the Western Yi, people who gained magical power by absorbing yin energy would have two hearts—in other words, the memories of two people. After they died, the other soul would revive them as monsters.
Another version claimed that the child born to the queen had been transformed from a newborn who died before receiving the Holy Mother’s blessing.
Aside from doing what had to be done, all I could do about this matter was remain silent.
While I was still absent, Li Cai continued, “Fortest called in a whole bunch of useless Heavenly Dao masters. They argued among themselves until they nearly started fighting and showing off with the iron swords in their hands. Eight times out of ten, those people made a living by putting on mysterious airs. If you ask me, people probably often let their dogs loose to bite them… Sorry, kid. Maybe your opinion is different from mine. Everyone has their own view of people in this line of work, but in my eyes, they’re nothing but freeloaders and idiots! I trust exorcists more. At least you people are practical!”
Remembering all this, Juxi smiled without saying a word.
“Back to the point!” Juxi closed her notebook and said to Yuanhui, “Some of the Heavenly Dao masters actually had pretty clever suggestions. One said we should use a silver spear to hack the corpse ghost’s body apart. But some of them, wanting to save effort and make dirty money, would tell their clients to spend one night in the tomb, claiming that would calm the resentful spirit. And then—can you guess what happened, brother? That idiot really went to the graveyard. You can probably guess the rest. He was eaten clean, leaving behind, at most, a single boot.”
