Chapter 13 - Battling the Corpse Nightmare (Part II)

The trio hid on the balcony until the smell had dissipated before they ventured back into the living room. Still cautious, they refilled their containers with water and proceeded to the door of the master bedroom, listening intently to ensure it was silent inside.

Chen Shaoxian instructed Liu Baodong and Xiao Zhuang to hold the water while he kicked down the door. If the corpse nightmare had not yet perished, they would continue to douse it with water.

Chen Shaoxian counted to three and then kicked the master bedroom door open. The room was filled with green powder, and the water they had previously splashed seemed to have evaporated without a trace. Only then did they breathe a sigh of relief.

“Hmm?” Xiao Zhuang seemed to have found something. He set down what he was holding and went into the restroom within the room to pick up a clothes hanger that Chen Shaoxian had just finished using and had been snapped in two. He sifted through the powder and soon fished out a piece of a garment.

Xiao Zhuang told the others, “When we found Su Jingya and the others that day, He Xin was wearing clothes of this color. Although it’s somewhat discolored by the lime, it’s still recognizable.” He searched further and confirmed, “Same brand, it’s definitely this one.”

Chen Shaoxian said, “I understand now. When Grandpa Liu wrote about He Xin’s absence, he didn’t mean that He Xin had lost his soul; he meant that Grandpa Liu had never found He Xin at all. This piece of clothing proves that on the day he was supposedly found, He Xin had already been harmed by someone.” After a moment of thought, he continued, “The person behind He Xin feared someone would investigate, so they turned him into a corpse nightmare, knowing well that the ones who’d come looking would never be the police. With the nature of a corpse nightmare, even if it were discovered later, no evidence could be traced back.”

Liu Baodong asked, “Shaoxian, I know about nightmares, but I’ve never heard of a corpse nightmare before.” After Liu Baodong asked, Xiao Zhuang also looked at Chen Shaoxian curiously.

Chen Shaoxian explained, “When people die filled with immense anger, hatred, and fear, their resentful energy lingers after death. Some with strong resentful energy can turn into fierce spirits, and while nine spirits may produce a demon, nine demons do not necessarily form a nightmare. That’s because the conditions to become a nightmare are extremely strict. First, the resentful energy must be extremely heavy and the corpse must be well-preserved so the evil spirit can attach to its own body and form a nightmare. Therefore, what we encountered couldn’t have been a nightmare; if it had been, we would have been dead by now. Nor could it have been a zombie, as the body was far too dried out. That’s why I think it was a corpse nightmare. The formation of a corpse nightmare is much simpler than that of a nightmare; the conditions are not as harsh, but it possesses characteristics not found in nightmares. A nightmare is dead, whereas a corpse nightmare is alive.”

“Are you saying we killed someone?” Liu Baodong asked.

Chen Shaoxian shook his head and continued, “No, I said it’s alive because it was made this way before death. The soul merged with the resentful energy inside the body. Someone blocked its Seven Orifices and then extracted all the moisture from the body, wrapping it in lime to keep it in a state of thirst. All this was done while it was still alive. The corpse nightmare believes it is alive and it wants to drink water. And the entire room was covered in lime, creating a very dry environment.”

Chen Shaoxian then asked Liu Baodong, “Uncle Liu, what would a person do if they were dying of thirst in the desert and suddenly saw an oasis?”

“They would run straight towards it,” Liu Baodong replied.

Chen Shaoxian continued, “Indeed, it was lunging forward to drink water. This dry environment is much like a desert, and suddenly, we were like an oasis. The puffing sound we heard was the corpse nightmare searching for water. Unable to find any in such a dry environment, it could only lie down quietly. We followed the puffing sound to find it, and it found us; that’s why it chased us, because it wanted to absorb the moisture from our bodies. A corpse nightmare is different from a zombie. A zombie, once activated, will chase after people with yang energy and killing it ends the matter. But a corpse nightmare is different; it will completely drain all the moisture from your body. In other words, you might be left intact if you encounter a zombie, but with this thing, nothing will remain of your body. Once a corpse nightmare absorbs enough moisture, it can’t suppress the resentful energy inside and will explode, which is what we saw with this green powder. Everything within the explosion range that contains moisture will turn to powder. We barely escaped in time, or we would have ended up the same.”

Chen Shaoxian took a breath and added, “Later, people came to investigate, but they couldn’t find out anything, so this thing is incredibly cunning.”

Xiao Zhuang, curious, asked, “If no one came, would this thing continue to exist?”

“It wouldn’t. This environment can’t remain forever. The corpse nightmare would still slowly absorb moisture from the air until it reaches its limit and explodes, it just takes longer. So, the person behind this is not simple,” Chen Shaoxian explained.

The three searched the room for a while longer but found no useful clues. It was starting to get light outside, so they decided to head home. Suddenly, Chen Shaoxian noticed a Paper Doll by the door frame, glanced at it, and kept quiet.

Xiao Zhuang managed to open the main door by fitting another door handle onto it, which made Chen Shaoxian incredibly envious. He asked Xiao Zhuang how he did it, but Xiao Zhuang just shook his head, indicating he wouldn’t teach him. Chen Shaoxian scoffed.

It was then that Liu Baodong spoke up, “If someone discovers this later and reports it to the police, could it cause some trouble?”

“Don’t worry, it won’t. I have some friends at the police station who can help. Just a word from me will do,” Xiao Zhuang reassured Liu Baodong, who then nodded in relief.

Once Chen Shaoxian got in the car, he lit a cigarette and suddenly remembered something, then asked Xiao Zhuang with a sly smile, “Xiao Zhuang, can I ask you something?”

Xiao Zhuang, somewhat creeped out by Chen Shaoxian’s grin, replied, “What is it? If it’s about that door thing earlier, I won’t tell. It’s not something you should learn.”

Chen Shaoxian thought to himself, Does he think I could be a thief? Please, I was just curious, but still said with a sly smile, “No way, I was just wondering where the water in your jug came from earlier since the pipe was dry.” He finished and snickered while looking at Xiao Zhuang’s face.

Xiao Zhuang, hearing this question from Chen Shaoxian, turned bright red and said nothing. Chen Shaoxian, seeing his reaction, immediately understood and slapped Xiao Zhuang on the shoulder, laughing heartily, “Xiao Zhuang, you’re a genius! That beer last night was well deserved.”

Liu Baodong also caught on and tried to hold back his laughter but couldn’t help himself. He said to Chen Shaoxian, “Stop talking nonsense, if it weren’t for Xiao Zhuang’s quick thinking, you would have been long gone.” After saying this, he also patted Xiao Zhuang’s shoulder comfortingly, “Xiao Zhuang, quick reaction.” While the two laughed, Xiao Zhuang pressed the accelerator and started the car.

After their laughter subsided, Xiao Zhuang asked where they wanted to go. Chen Shaoxian suggested going to his place first to clean up and then head home. Liu Baodong and Xiao Zhuang agreed, and the three drove to Chen Shaoxian’s house.

Once at Chen Shaoxian’s house, they used soybean oil to remove the lime from their skin, thankfully it was only slaked lime. Afterward, they each took a shower, and Chen Shaoxian offered them homemade glutinous rice wine. The three sat on the sofa, smoking and discussing the events of the previous night until they all fell asleep.

The doorbell rang, and the three men opened their eyes to see it was already half-past six. Chen Shaoxian got up to open the door and was instantly alert at the sight of the visitor. It was none other than Zheng Ruirui.

Zheng Ruirui walked in without acknowledging Chen Shaoxian, carrying two plastic bags, and greeted Liu Baodong and Xiao Zhuang. She mentioned she had gotten up early to make breakfast and urged them to eat while it was still hot.

The three had been busy all night and were terribly hungry. They had fallen asleep without realizing it, but now the sight of food triggered their appetites. Chen Shaoxian shamelessly took a seat to see what was on offer. Zheng Ruirui placed a bowl in front of each of them and pulled out a thermal pot from the bags, filling each bowl to the brim.

The three of them looked at their bowls and made odd faces, then all rushed to the bathroom, from which sounds of vomiting could be heard.

Zheng Ruirui, puzzled, took a spoonful of the porridge and mumbled to herself, “This century egg and lean meat porridge is pretty good though.”