The next day when they returned, every brother was carrying a cloth sack, and Fan Debiao’s face was positively beaming; it was clear the rogue had snagged a bit of enjoyment on the road as well.

In those days, with all the men gone, only women and children remained in the village. Some of the newly married women, who had barely tasted the sweetness of marriage, were suddenly separated from their husbands. It was hard to imagine how many could endure such hardship. Near their village, there happened to be a construction site, and the laborers there had become a paradise for those women.

If Fan Debiao had known about this, the old fellow would likely have been running down the mountain three times a day.

“You lot, divide what you’re carrying among the brothers to eat. I managed to get some cash here. Liangzi, you go down to the village tavern and bring back twenty pounds of Shao Daozi liquor. Let me tell you, it’s only a half-hour trip from here to the village. If you’re not back in half an hour, I swear I’ll have you castrated.” Fan Debiao, afraid Liangzi would get into trouble in the village, warned him sternly.

“Got it, Boss!” Liangzi took his long strides and ran down the mountain. The ground trembled slightly again.

The whole crowd was drunk, and there was nowhere to sleep at night. The thatched huts had only been half-restored during the day and were completely uninhabitable for sleeping. So, the men just sprawled out outside, snoring away under the twinkling stars. The construction site was strangely quiet that night; you could probably hear a fart echoing.

Just as dawn faintly broke, a sudden, piercing cry shattered the quiet: “Bad news, bad news! A dead man! A dead man! Come quick, there’s a corpse!”

Everyone was startled awake and rushed toward the direction of the shout. Seeing the fellow dead on the ground, some of the more timid ones even threw up.

The place where the man lay dead was what they called the "Big Spot." Since this area was exclusively for men, they hadn't bothered building proper latrines, just digging a massive pit for waste disposal. Over time, this pit was overflowing with filth.

And the corpse? Its lower half was submerged in excrement and urine, its entire body coated in it, which was even oozing from its mouth.

No one would believe this man had drowned, because his intestines and viscera were floating right on top of that massive pile of waste.

“Damn it, this… this dead bastard…” Fan Debiao was utterly nauseated and could barely form a complete sentence.

“You men, pull this bastard out. Damn it. Dying so miserably!” Fan Debiao choked out the words, nearly retching his own guts out.

But no one stepped forward. The man had died too obscenely, and since he was dead—no work points—who would want to do something so offensive to the deceased?

“For crying out loud, whoever pulls this man out gets credited with five work points,” Fan Debiao announced.

The prospect of five work points exploded among them, and they all scrambled forward, eager to drag the body out. Normally, they wouldn't earn five points even after a full day of grueling labor. To earn a full day’s worth just by pulling someone out? Why wouldn’t they?

With that thought, more and more surged forward. With a loud sploosh, one man actually fell into the Big Spot. Fan Debiao couldn't help but tremble all over: “Blast it, this guy is too disgusting.”

The dead man was hauled out, but several others had also fallen in.

“Those who fell in get ten extra work points!” Fan Debiao said, trying to appease those who had been shoved into the cesspit.

Sploosh, sploosh. Two or three more people actually jumped in.

Fan Debiao froze momentarily. These guys really were…

Young Master Liu was equally shocked. He never imagined these men would jump into a cesspool just for a few work points.

There was no helping it; in those times, people would jump into a pit of fire for a single point. They were desperately poor.

Looking again at the man pulled out, his whole body was slick with filth, and his stomach contents, a serpentine mass of intestines, trailed six or seven meters across the ground. His skull seemed to have been scooped out by something—a pale, sticky substance coated the top of his head entirely, making him look like a popped ear of corn.

“Master Liu, take a look, what happened here?” Fan Debiao finally thought to consult Young Master Liu. Young Master Liu gave his usual reply: “I don’t know.”

However, Fan Debiao seemed quite satisfied with this answer. He nodded and declared, “To hell with it, this guy must have been crushed by a rock falling from the mountain. Yeah, that’s it. Dig a hole and bury this man.” With that, Fan Debiao turned and left.

And that Big Spot—fill that pit in too. From now on, for any physiological needs, everyone has to go much farther away,” Fan Debiao suddenly remembered the pit and turned back to instruct them.

Young Master Liu was also perplexed. Why would this honest, quiet man die so horribly for no apparent reason? He had no known enemies, ruling out murder by someone within the crew.

“But who could have killed him then?” Young Master Liu fell into deep thought.

Suddenly, Liu remembered those two Shanshen Dandan (Mountain God Eggs). He quickly asked, “Where are those Shanshen Dandan? Right, Su Yougui, where did you put the remains of that Shanshen Dandan?”

Su Yougui replied, “We moved them to Fan Debiao’s office. Do you want to go take a look?”

Young Master Liu glanced down carefully and noticed a faint indentation on the ground. If he wasn't mistaken, that must have been the mark left by a Shanshen Dandan.

It seemed there was truly something suspicious going on. He needed to investigate thoroughly; otherwise, if any more chaos erupted tonight, it would be a huge problem. With this in mind, Young Master Liu asked Su Yougui to take him to check if the Shanshen Dandan was still there.

“Oh dear Lord, Master Liu, Master Liu!” Before the two could reach Fan Debiao’s office, they heard Fan Debiao shouting Young Master Liu’s name from inside.

Young Master Liu sensed something was wrong. He kicked the door open. The door seemed to hit something and rebounded violently, nearly knocking his nose off. Luckily, Liu dodged at the last moment, but blood still gushed from his nose.

He pushed the door open to find Fan Debiao crouched on the ground, his eyes fixed rigidly on the ceiling.

The two followed Fan Debiao’s gaze and nearly jumped out of their skins. There was Liangzi, the errand runner from yesterday, now hanging limply from the rafters.

Being suspended from the beam wasn't the issue itself; Fan Debiao had seen many dead bodies, and a hanging death wasn't frightening. The key was how grotesquely Liangzi had died: he had somehow pulled his own intestines out, hung them over the beam, which wrapped tightly around his neck a few times before securing his head to the rafter.

Seeing this sight, Young Master Liu almost vomited again. Su Yougui, unable to hold it in any longer, promptly retched.

Fan Debiao practically crawled up from the floor, looking at Young Master Liu and pleading, “Master Liu, tell me, what in the world is going on here?”

Young Master Liu’s expression grew severe as he commanded, “Do not speak of this, do not tell anyone outside. This is possession by a vengeful spirit. Liangzi encountered something foul when he ran out yesterday. This office of yours is unusable; burn it down.”

Fan Debiao nodded immediately. When life was at stake, he cared little for such a small office.

“You few men, come here, come here, and burn this room down for me.” Fan Debiao gasped deeply on the ground, then directed a few men over.

Hu Beikang looked at the perfectly sound office with some concern: “Boss, if we burn this office, where will you stay? Besides, this is the best building we have, it’s our pride. If we burn it, won’t we lose face?”

“Face my ass! What good is face if you’re dead? Burn it! Burn it for me!” Fan Debiao was nearly frantic, shouting at Hu Beikang to burn the building.

Hu Beikang, unable to defy him further, eventually set the room ablaze until it was utterly consumed by fierce fire.

Watching the raging inferno, Fan Debiao finally felt a slight measure of relief.

But then came the scent of roasting flesh, followed by the collapse of the roof, revealing a human silhouette amidst the flames.

“Oh my god, I killed someone! There was someone inside!” Hu Beikang suddenly dropped to the ground, looking at the still-burning large figure, utterly devastated.

“Nonsense! This large fellow committed suicide; he hanged himself. It has nothing to do with you!” Fan Debiao snapped at the pale-faced Hu Beikang. If Hu Beikang had admitted responsibility now, his own life would have been forfeit.

Hu Beikang instantly realized his error and corrected himself: “Boss is right, Liangzi killed himself, and he nearly took you down with him, Boss.”

The scare had finally passed. Two men had died today, and the rumors of hauntings at this location intensified bitterly.

Fan Debiao, however, turned to Young Master Liu and asked, “Master Liu, based on your insight, what should we do next?”

Young Master Liu blinked slowly, then surveyed the scene and said, “Here’s what we’ll do: prepare some chicken blood and donkey hooves. I will perform a ritual today to see if it has any effect. We need to exorcise the vengeful spirits of these two men, otherwise their lingering souls will turn this entire site into utter chaos.”

Young Master Liu spoke.

“Fine, we’ll do it. Huang Shitou, run down below and buy some things. We’ll do the ritual. If anyone asks, just say the injured brothers need a restorative blood tonic,” Fan Debiao instructed. If the others found out they were performing a ritual, they’d likely be branded as heretics, and a day of public denouncement would be the least of their worries.

“But what if they ask why we need black donkey hooves?” Huang Shitou inquired.

“Tell them someone’s hand is injured and needs the black donkey hooves for healing.”

“Why do they specifically have to be black donkey hooves?” Huang Shitou still had a mountain of questions.

“Damn it, when have you ever seen a donkey hoof of a different color?” Fan Debiao cursed him out.

Huang Shitou scurried away. Then Fan Debiao remembered something: “Half an hour! I want you back here in half an hour!”

By evening, Young Master Liu had arranged the supplies neatly on a small round table before him. He donned Taoist robes, picked up his peachwood sword, and instructed his fellow workers to stand guard at the four cardinal directions to protect the ritual space.

In reality, these men were useless, but to ensure they didn't leak details of the ceremony, involving everyone meant everyone shared the responsibility, and no one would dare betray the secret.

Young Master Liu picked up a peachwood sword from the table, waved it vaguely a few times in his hand, then slashed it across the chicken blood, scattering drops everywhere.

In no time, the ground reacted, letting out faint hissing sounds as wisps of vapor emerged.

Young Master Liu told the tense Fan Debiao beside him, “Don’t panic, this is just the sound made by Liangzi’s scorched vengeful spirit reacting to the fresh blood. It won't harm us.” Then, turning to where Liangzi had hung, Liu spoke, “Liangzi, we brothers didn’t mean to harm you. You know, hanging in the room like that means a spirit possessed you. Don't worry, we will avenge you. Rest in peace.” As he finished, a burst of talismans flew off the table from the peachwood sword. Young Master Liu spat toward them, and the talismans instantly ignited.

Watching the fiery red talismans burn, Fan Debiao’s face finally softened somewhat.

“Liangzi, this is a guiding lamp. Follow this light, and you will find your final resting place.” With that, Young Master Liu thrust and then quickly drew back his peachwood sword. A faint blue light shot out instantly, and the talismans rushed forward like shooting stars, streaming straight toward the direction of the village.

The plume of white smoke also vibrated intensely, and then a bolt of white lightning seemed to chase after it, looking truly like a person pursuing that direction.

Clang, clang.

Suddenly, Young Master Liu felt the altar behind him shake violently. He quickly looked back and saw that one of the table legs supporting the altar was not touching the ground.

Young Master Liu panicked instantly. This was the dead man trying to lift the table to crush his own foot! Ghosts who acted this way usually hoped to trap their souls under the table, forcing them to remain there forever, causing calamity until the entire site became deserted wasteland.

Young Master Liu saw clearly: if that table leg touched the ground, that ghost's foot would be eternally buried beneath it. Then, the construction site would likely never know peace.

In a flurry of panic, Young Master Liu flipped off the platform, landing near the table, and shouted, “Hey! A few of you come over and help lift this table! Be careful not to let that corner touch the ground, or we’ll be in big trouble!”

Fan Debiao quickly stood up, went to the table, and strained to lift it, preventing the corner from descending.

But for some reason, that raised leg of the table felt as if it were being pressed down by the force of a thousand men. Young Master Liu couldn't budge it; the table simply wouldn't lift.

“Put some effort in! It’s just a table!”

Young Master Liu used all his strength, but after struggling for a long time, he couldn't move it. Finally, he gave up, told everyone to stand back, and said, “Alright, alright, now watch me.” Young Master Liu took the peachwood sword from the table, smeared it with chicken blood, and fiercely stabbed the corner of the table.

But with a pfft, a cloud of red smoke billowed out, enveloping him layer by layer.

Feeling as if his body had been partially disassembled by the faint light surrounding him, Young Master Liu took a long time to stand up. He looked at the corner of the table, which had now sunk heavily into the ground.

“Damn it. This is serious trouble now.” Young Master Liu walked to the table and saw numerous bloody claw marks covering the surface where the corner had been. He stared at the table in shock, at a loss for words.

Fan Debiao also managed to stand up and approached the table, his body covered in goosebumps as he saw the bright red handprint near the table leg.

“Wh-what should we do about this…” Fan Debiao stammered at Young Master Liu. Fan Debiao too realized that grave danger was about to befall the construction site.