"Stand where you are, everyone. Form the Seven Star Mudra with your hands, point your pinkies toward the North Star, and keep the tips of your fingers pressed against your foreheads. Once I begin the rite, do not open your eyes, lest you witness unholy sights," Old Immortal Wang instructed the Li family. Once everyone was positioned correctly, Old Immortal Wang prepared to commence the ceremony.

"Rise! Edict of the Grand Supreme, summon your solitary souls. All wandering spirits, receive this grace... Little Long, bring the chicken's blood."

"Master, the chicken's blood."

Old Immortal Wang snatched a yellow talisman from the plate; with a sharp 'Hah!', the paper ignited. He immediately tossed the burning talisman into the chicken's blood, then formed the Ten Thousand Character Mudra, lifted the bowl of blood, took a sip, and slowly approached the grave mound, spitting the mixture onto Li Yang's two 'old branches'—his arms. Moments later, Li Yang's two 'old branches' slowly lowered.

"Dispel the altar!" With Old Immortal Wang's sharp command, everyone opened their eyes. Seeing the hands resting down at the mound, they all breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Master is truly mighty, thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!" Old Man Li immediately exclaimed to Old Immortal Wang.

"Not at all, not at all... Old Man Li flatters me!" Although Wang said this verbally, he was secretly thankful that the trick had worked. Otherwise...

"Old Man Li, the Secretary has peacefully passed on. Have a few more people help tidy this up and repair the grave. We shall return! Liu Xi, later you go upstream in the creek and draw two buckets of clear water. Once you have them, cover them immediately. After returning, wet the 'shroud' in the water and cover the grave mound with it. Once that is done, offer incense to the 'Water God' on the east side of the grave. Remember not to mess this up."

"Yes, Master!"

After Old Immortal Wang and Old Man Li left with the others, it was already the Hour of Zi (11 PM to 1 AM), and Su Xiaolong had just returned from the creek.

He followed Old Immortal Wang's instructions, placing the 'shroud' on Li Yang's grave mound and then invoking the 'Water God.' Invoking the 'Water God' actually meant digging a half-foot-deep pit in the southeast corner of the grave, pouring water into it until it overflowed the pit, and then immediately covering the pit with a 'black lid' until the water fully seeped away, after which three sticks of incense were to be lit before the pit. Invoking the 'Water God' was intended to help Li Yang clear his path in the Underworld. The 'black lid' was a yellow talisman umbrella, so named because cinnabar dust had been sprinkled upon it. Having completed all these tasks, Su Xiaolong hurried to the place where his brother's corpse lay.

"Little brother, your brother has failed you. You... you rest assured. That scoundrel Li Yang has been taken care of by the Master. Go in peace! Oh, right, you loved eating corn when you were alive. On my way here, I passed a cornfield and secretly plucked a few handfuls for you to eat on your journey. Your brother... I'm so sorry!" Su Xiaolong collapsed by his brother's corpse and wept bitterly.

"Go well, my brother!" Su Xiaolong said while lighting the torch, as instructed by Old Immortal Wang to cremate the body. In truth, Su Xiaolong didn't want to do this, but Old Immortal Wang warned that this might prevent corpse reanimation.

Watching the flames diminish, Su Xiaolong wiped the tears from his eyes and returned to help repair Li Yang's grave. By the time he arrived, most of the work was nearly done; only the final sweeping remained. Su Xiaolong took the broom and furiously swept before the grave, still immersed in the pain of losing his brother, the only family he had left in the world. As he swept, he moved towards the grave mound without noticing.

While he was deeply focused on sweeping, a 'thump' sounded, startling Su Xiaolong. He turned towards the noise and nearly wet himself from fright again.

Li Yang's hand had emerged from the grave once more, wildly flailing his two 'old branches.' Just as Su Xiaolong prepared to flee, Li Yang grabbed his ankle with one of the 'old branches.'

"Ah, help! Help!" Su Xiaolong cried out in terror. The diggers resting nearby heard the shouts and rushed over. It was better not to look, for upon seeing the scene, they were all paralyzed with fright. Two old branches held Su Xiaolong's foot, and despite his desperate struggles, he could not break free.

"Quick, go call the Master! Quick..." Su Xiaolong yelled desperately to the earth movers. Hearing his cries, the others snapped out of their stupor and scattered in a rush, leaving Su Xiaolong and Li Yang alone at the graveyard.

"Hey, don't all leave. Leave someone to help me, help me!" Su Xiaolong screamed in agony. Not a single person turned back, let alone stopped to help.

"You will all face retribution for abandoning someone to die! Li Yang! You beast! Did I have some ancient grudge with you in a past life? Fine, if you want to kill me this badly, come! Brother, I'm coming to join you, little brother."

Su Xiaolong was still struggling fiercely when, unexpectedly, Li Yang's head also pushed out of the grave! That head could hardly be called a head anymore. It was entirely a 'dead piece of wood,' the facial features tightly 'stuck' to the skull, the skin like that of an old loofah gourd. A section on the left side of the head was caved in, and sparse tufts of hair remained on either side of the scalp. Most sickeningly, his throat had a large hole torn open, exposing his Adam's apple. With every 'Hoh... hoh...' sound he made, the Adam's apple pulsed up and down. Seeing Li Yang's terrifying 'visage,' Su Xiaolong's stomach churned. He continued screaming for help. But who would be there now? Before Su Xiaolong could finish his cry, Li Yang's 'old branches' clamped around his neck and shoved it toward his mouth. Su Xiaolong was bitten to death before he could even manage a single 'Ah!'

Li Yang seemed very 'thirsty,' sucking forcefully at Su Xiaolong's neck. Blood streamed down Li Yang's lips and through the hole in his throat, soaking a large patch of the ground red. But Li Yang kept sucking, as if he could never be filled. In a short while, Su Xiaolong was reduced to a dried husk. Li Yang tossed the corpse aside and roared towards the sky.

Those who fled back arrived breathless, struggling to explain what had happened.

"One by one, tell me!" Old Immortal Wang said, waving his hand.

"Master, the grave... the young master has risen again. A zombie uprising..." one of the diggers stammered nervously.

"Impossible! I used the Soul-Returning Array to send his spirit to the Underworld. How could he again..." Old Immortal Wang spoke with doubt, finding it incomprehensible.

"Master, what is going on? Tell me clearly! I paid you one hundred dollars to bury my son peacefully, and now someone says he has reanimated. You... you told me my son would rest in peace. What is happening? You owe me an explanation!" Old Man Li said angrily to Old Immortal Wang.

"Son, son. My son isn't dead, he isn't dead! Where is he? I want to see him, I want to see him," Madam Li said with manic excitement. Her longing for her son had evidently rendered her delirious.

"Yes, old woman. You go back to the room and rest. I'll take you to see him later," Old Man Li patted his wife, saying.

"Old Man Li, rest assured. It was just a minor unforeseen incident. I will handle it," Old Immortal Wang said with a forced smile to Old Man Li.

"You better, or I'll ruin your reputation!"

"Did you see clearly? Right, where is my apprentice?" Old Immortal Wang asked the digger again.

"Your apprentice was restrained by the zombie, so I fear... we all saw this with our own eyes, it is true."

"Xiao Hu... Xiaolong!" Old Immortal Wang murmured sadly. Though these two apprentices were lazy and loved to slack off, they had been his disciples for several years; Old Immortal Wang felt genuine sorrow.

How could this be? Old Immortal Wang was deeply perplexed. Just as he was thinking, a 'bang' sounded from the front door, and two 'old branches' appeared on the large red-lacquered door.

"Li Yang is here, it's a corpse reanimation!" Old Immortal Wang cried out in alarm.

"How can this be? How can this be! My son!" Old Man Li cried out in anguish.

Seeing this, everyone in the mansion scattered in fright. Li Yang was about to smash through the door.

"Everyone, don't panic! Hide in your rooms! I will deal with him!" Old Immortal Wang shouted, and everyone quieted down and fled toward the rooms. Just then, the door was knocked down by Li Yang, and he rushed in, emitting the 'Hoh... hoh...' sound from his throat.

"Son, you're back. Old man, quickly prepare food; son hasn't eaten yet." Madam Li, seeing Li Yang in that state, did not run away but instead walked towards him.

"Madam, the young master is dead! Come back quickly, or you will be bitten to death!" Old Immortal Wang yelled at Madam Li.

"Old man, hurry, come back! Come back!"

Seeing that Madam Li showed no reaction, Old Immortal Wang immediately grabbed a stool and charged at Li Yang.

"Old Man Li, quickly pull the Madam away!" Old Immortal Wang urgently shouted. Then he struck Li Yang with the stool. The stool shattered, and the web of Old Immortal Wang's hand went numb from the impact. But Li Yang showed no reaction whatsoever.

"Damn! So tough!" Old Immortal Wang exclaimed involuntarily. Suddenly, Li Yang lunged at Old Immortal Wang. Old Immortal Wang instantly tore a strip of cloth from his Taoist robe, and capitalizing on Li Yang's momentum, he spun around behind him, using the cloth to cover Li Yang's eyes. At that moment, Li Yang froze, completely still.

Seeing Li Yang immobilized, Old Immortal Wang breathed a sigh of relief.

The others, seeing Li Yang motionless, also calmed down.

"Old Immortal Wang, what exactly is going on? You must explain clearly today. My son... how did he become like this!" Old Man Li shouted at Old Immortal Wang.

"Son, why are you just standing there? Come, come to Mother. Be good!" Madam Li stared vacantly at Li Yang, murmuring.

"Old woman, son hasn't come back yet. That's just a piece of wood; go rest in your room first. Qingshu, hurry and escort my wife inside," Old Man Li coaxed his wife with a smile, but his smile was more painful than weeping. His son died young, the father outlived the child, and now his wife was mentally unstable. Old Man Li wondered what sin he had committed to endure such misfortune past the age of sixty.

"Old Man Li, I suspect the reason the Secretary reanimated is due to some unclean entity haunting the burial site. I need to go look at the grave again." In truth, Old Immortal Wang did not know why this had happened; he was asking himself the same question. He decided to investigate the burial site of Li Yang himself.

"I'm telling you for the last time: if this is not resolved this time, you won't be able to practice in this area again. I, surnamed Li, may not have many other skills, but a little maneuvering from me can make this entire town tremble!" Old Man Li said quietly, without even looking at Old Immortal Wang.

"Yes, Old Man Li." After answering, Old Immortal Wang turned to the diggers.

"I bound his eyes with cloth earlier; this prevents him from sensing living energy. But I cannot guarantee he won't move again, so I will now use my blood seal to fix him in place. You people go quickly and fetch a donkey cart, sprinkle it with water, and prepare a large yellow cloth, which you must also wet. Hurry!"

"What are these for?" Old Man Li asked Old Immortal Wang.

"We need to transport the Secretary's body back to the grave. The sprinkling of water and covering with the yellow cloth is due to the Secretary's natal chart configuration," Old Immortal Wang replied. The diggers, hearing that Er-Zhu needed the body moved back, hesitated to step forward.

"Don't be afraid, I will fix him now!" Old Immortal Wang pulled out a seal from his robes; it was brown and the size of a finger. He bit his own finger and smeared the blood onto the seal. He formed the Taoist finger sign before the seal, tracing a few strokes, and then aimed it at Li Yang's forehead. As he did so, a cinnabar-drawn character for 'Command' appeared on Li Yang's forehead. Li Yang's arms, which had been spread out, dropped to his sides after the seal was applied. Seeing the hands lower, the diggers finally approached Old Immortal Wang. Old Immortal Wang gently removed the cloth strip; Li Yang's eyes were closed, making him look as if he were asleep. When the diggers got close to Old Immortal Wang, they clearly saw Li Yang's appearance and felt their stomachs turn again.

"Hurry and prepare everything!" Old Immortal Wang urged. Seeing that Li Yang was immobilized, the workers gained some courage and said, "It will be ready right away."

"Old Man Li, what did the Secretary like most when he was alive?" Old Immortal Wang asked.

"My son loved watching opera; he was an opera fanatic. Nothing else much."

"Good, that’s enough information. Old Man Li, do you have any red cloth here?"

"Of course! How much do you need?"

"Seven feet should suffice."

"You, go get it!"

"What do you need this for?" Old Man Li inquired.

"Old Man Li, you just told me the Secretary loved opera. Now, the Secretary may be controlled by a resentful spirit. The best solution is to lure his soul out. I will cut three 'cloth figures' from the red cloth, then cast a spell to transfer the souls of three opera troupe members into the 'cloth figures.' When the 'cloth figures' perform opera before the grave, the young master will see them. At that point, his soul is bound to be drawn out. Once drawn out, we will directly usher his soul toward reincarnation and then cremate the body."

"Cremation! Cremation? Is there no other way?" Old Man Li was shocked to hear about cremating his son's body and could only ask Old Immortal Wang helplessly.

"Old Man Li, this is the best method. Otherwise... you wouldn't want the young master going around harming people, would you!"

After a long silence, Old Man Li finally replied, "Fine, cremate him!"

The foreman craftsman, Ma Tiezhu, was busy helping prepare the donkey cart and the yellow cloth. Being a man of little courage, he was already half-dead with fright upon seeing Li Yang. He just wanted to finish quickly and go home. He didn't even care about the double pay. He had a wife and children; if something happened to him, how would they live?

Lost in thought, the group arrived at the gravesite. Old Immortal Wang ordered the workers to park the donkey cart in front of the grave, remove the yellow cloth, and then spread a layer of lime before the mound. Next, he brought out the already cut 'cloth figures' and arranged them around the donkey cart. From his ritual box, he took out three ash urns and placed them behind the three cloth figures—these were, unsurprisingly, the ashes of the three opera troupe members. Old Immortal Wang held a soul-luring bell in one hand and began walking with a bizarre gait. After pacing for a while, Old Immortal Wang stopped before the central cloth figure, shaking the bell faster and faster. Suddenly, Old Immortal Wang cried out, 'Hah!' and the ash urns all burst open. The ashes from the three urns fell without a single speck missing onto their corresponding 'cloth figures.' Once the ashes settled, the 'cloth figures' began to move along with the rhythm of Old Immortal Wang's bell. The workers behind him gasped in amazement, completely mesmerized. Old Immortal Wang lowered the bell and took out three yellow talismans, chanting softly over them. After finishing the chant, he pasted the three talismans onto the back of each 'cloth figure.' At this moment, the 'cloth figures' truly began to sing opera, their movements mirroring those of real people. Though the singing was soft, it sounded piercingly clear. The workers were even more astonished.

Old Immortal Wang closely watched Li Yang's corpse. The 'cloth figures' sang for a long time, but there was no movement from the body. "Is it not working?" Old Immortal Wang wondered inwardly. After the time it took for one stick of incense to burn, footprints finally appeared on the lime before the grave. Old Immortal Wang immediately took out a 'ritual jar,' opened the lid, and shouted in the direction of the footprints: "Li Yang!" The continuous appearance of footprints stopped, and Old Immortal Wang quickly closed the lid. Everyone behind Old Immortal Wang held their breath, watching this strange event unfold.

"Old Man Li, I have collected the Secretary's soul in this 'ritual jar.' Now the body can be cremated."

"Good! You, you, and you, prepare the wood and light the fire!" Old Man Li, having finally collected himself, instructed the few workers beside him.

"Yes, Master!" The workers, still deeply shaken, took torches and headed towards Li Yang.

"This time there won't be any problems, right?" Old Man Li asked.

"Da..."

"What's with the 'Da'? Why aren't you finishing?" Old Man Li asked again.

"I don't know, because..."

"You don't know! Because? Because what..."

"Because I captured his soul, but he is still moving..." Old Immortal Wang stared fixedly in the direction of the donkey cart. As soon as Old Immortal Wang finished speaking, several screams erupted from the vicinity of the cart. Old Man Li followed the sound and saw Li Yang sweetly 'devouring' the neck of one worker. The other three lay sprawled on the ground; their chests had been impaled by Li Yang's two 'old branches'! Blood streamed across the ground! Old Immortal Wang, Old Man Li, and the workers behind them dared not make the slightest sound. Old Immortal Wang finally realized that the 'Command' character on Li Yang's forehead had faded. It appeared Li Yang had turned into a 'ghoul,' a mindless living corpse that only knew how to bite.

Finally, someone regained their senses and shouted, "Run, run!" Old Immortal Wang tried to stop them, but it was too late. Since the 'ghoul' possessed no consciousness, the only thing it could sense was external sound; usually, if you remained silent, you were safe from a 'ghoul.' Hearing the worker's shouts, Li Yang dropped the 'food' in his hands and leaped up. This leap carried him directly over the heads of Old Immortal Wang and Old Man Li, landing in front of the group of workers. The leading worker didn't even know what was happening before Li Yang pierced his chest, killing him instantly. The other workers tried to run back, but how could they outrun Li Yang? In just a moment, without even a scream, five living men fell dead.