“I’m here. I’m fine.”
At that moment, Pei Zhao stepped into the hall through the main entrance and spoke quietly.
A young man dressed as a priest followed beside him. With his prominent brow ridge and deep-set eyes, he appeared to be of mixed heritage. Somehow, he looked even more stunned than Liu Yang Yang.
The priest was presumably in charge of St. Maria Cathedral. At the moment, he could not stop staring at Qin Shu. Utterly baffled, he repeatedly scratched his head until his meticulously waxed hair was a complete mess.
Everyone gathered in the middle of the empty church, and another awkward silence slowly spread through the hall.
The fall had left Qin Shu dazed. The moment he saw that Pei Zhao was safe, all the tension drained out of him. He sat there blankly, rubbing his aching tailbone as his mind emptied, temporarily forgetting what he was supposed to say.
Pei Zhao had never minded an awkward silence. He walked past the dumbfounded priest, approached Qin Shu, and held out a hand, helping the dazed boy struggle to his feet.
When he noticed the dust and slick streaks of blood on the back of Qin Shu’s left hand, Pei Zhao immediately frowned. He took out a wet wipe and scrubbed at it for a long time, none too gently.
“Hiss…”
Only then did Qin Shu begin to feel the dull ache in his knuckles. Pei Zhao’s relentless wiping rubbed against the swollen, reddened skin, making him grimace and whine as he leaned against him. Pei Zhao expressionlessly let him, entirely focused on cleaning away the blood. Even when Qin Shu placed all his weight on him, he showed no strain.
The foul blood left behind by the evil spirit had to be wiped off first, then covered with something pleasantly scented. Otherwise, Pei Zhao would feel uncomfortable all over. He could not stand smelling it on Qin Shu for another second.
Watching the two of them sink into their own little world, Liu Yang Yang finally could not bear the awkwardness any longer. He cleared his throat and smiled at the priest. “You must be Mr. William. My name is Liu Yang Yang. I made an appointment with you on WeChat—to collect a special corpse at six thirty on Friday evening. Do you remember?”
“Ah, yes… Hello, Mr. Liu. Of course I remember our arrangement. Mr. Litt’s body is being kept in the mortuary beside the cemetery. You may collect it from Sister whenever you’re ready. But… Mr. Liu, are these two your companions as well? Could someone please tell me what exactly happened?”
Father William spoke timidly. Halfway through his question, he noticed Liu Yang Yang hesitating and became afraid he might offend someone he could not afford to offend. He hurriedly rephrased his words. “I don’t mean anything by it. It really isn’t a serious problem! St. Maria Cathedral was already planning some renovations. We wanted to replace the upper section of the nave with stained glass anyway, so this is perfectly fine. You’ve even saved us the demolition costs. Ahahaha…”
Liu Yang Yang’s heart ached as he listened. His gaze quietly fell upon the black patch sewn onto the hem of the priest’s robe, and his heart ached even more.
The world really did belong to the strong. Even a frail corpse herder like him had to watch other people’s moods, tread on eggshells, and work hard to master the art of diplomacy. How much worse must life be for an ordinary priest serving a small suburban church? He was dirt poor, could not win a fight, and even his own God’s house had been infested with evil spirits for who knew how long. Miserable hardly began to describe it.
“Mr. William, there’s no need for that. I’ll cover the cost of repairing the outer wall. Please rest assured, these two didn’t come here to cause trouble. Let me explain what happened…”
Five minutes later, the smile Father William had struggled to maintain gradually fell apart.
“An e-evil spirit?! It was hiding on the holy statue?”
“The evil spirit has already been completely destroyed. There isn’t even any ash left, so you can relax for now,” Liu Yang Yang tried to reassure him. “From what I can tell, the other statues outside the church are all clean and sacred. At present, none of them show any signs of contamination.”
Father William fell silent for a moment and rapidly murmured several lines from the Hail Mary. Then he asked weakly, “Mr. Liu, you only mentioned the exterior of the church. Does that mean… there is also something wrong with our altar? Could you please examine the tabernacle beneath it? Is there… an evil spirit inside?”
“I’ve already checked. There is.”
The person who answered was not Liu Yang Yang, but Qin Shu, who had finally recovered from his daze.
Pei Zhao had thoroughly cleaned him up, and Qin Shu had tied his school jacket around his waist to hide the dust and debris covering the back of his trousers and thighs. He now smelled pleasant and felt clean again. Every deep breath left him refreshed.
The church, however, was obviously riddled with problems. It was practically the opposite of refreshing.
The interior felt oppressive and cavernous, steeped in gloom and severely lacking in light. Had Qin Shu not punched a hole through the wall above the main entrance, the church would have been so dark that it was almost impossible to see. They would have needed electric lights and several candles just to illuminate the space.
That raised another concern. Qin Shu had serious doubts about the candles used inside the church. The scent lingering from the fragranced wax… was extremely strange.
Snow-white wax had seeped into cracks between the bricks and dripped down the corners of the altar. Even the rows of wooden pews used by worshippers were marked with stains that would be difficult to remove. The longer Qin Shu smelled it, the more wrong it seemed. It was like rancid lard mixed with cheap perfume, and the cotton wicks were speckled with mildew.
After being burned again and again, the smell had soaked into the entire church. It was fragrant and foul at the same time, and staying in it too long only made people feel restless and uneasy.
Surely they could not be this poor. What if candles this badly made gave the worshippers respiratory infections?
Qin Shu snapped an unlit candle in half and examined it carefully, his brows furrowed. Without looking up, he continued, “Father William, a Catholic tabernacle can’t simply be desecrated or destroyed, correct? If you want me to drive out the evil spirit, I won’t be able to leave it intact. As you’ve already seen, my method of exorcism… is rather destructive.”
“I—I see…”
“I respect your faith, so I won’t take any further action without permission. But Father William, I hope you fully understand how serious this is before deciding what to do next.”
As he spoke, Qin Shu held up the broken piece of candle he had crushed between his fingers, showing them the black mold inside the wick and the strange clumps of half-congealed wax. He emphasized, “Whatever is being kept inside the tabernacle, it is filthy now. Filthier than this inferior candle. Completely contaminated.”
The tabernacle was one of the central features distinguishing a Catholic church from a Protestant one and was also known as the sacred shrine. It was usually placed in the heart of the sanctuary and contained sacred relics and holy remains associated with Jesus, symbolizing the Lord’s presence among His believers… Of course, “sacred relics” was a special designation. The objects themselves were, in fact, food.
That was right—food.
Wine and round white wafers blessed through religious rites could be taken home by believers for worship and contemplation. If someone became so poor that they had nothing left to eat, they could even consume them as emergency provisions.
The custom had continued into the present day and still held profound meaning for believers. Many cities overseas even held grand festivals devoted to it. The problem was that whoever ate the “sacred objects” inside St. Maria Cathedral would die.
Qin Shu had only glanced inside before nausea swept through his entire body. He would rather lower his head and study the candle in his hand than turn back for another look.
The wafers inside the cabinet were damp and rotten, soaked through with dark-red wine and gleaming with a murky, oily sheen beneath the dim candlelight. The silver chalices on either side were even worse. Their interiors had long since become densely packed seas of maggots.
Flesh-white larvae churned and writhed, forcing the red wine over the rims and across the floor. The spilled liquid had soaked the wafers as well, leaving the already spoiled food even more heavily mottled with mold.
Many of the maggots that had bathed in wine and fed on moldy wafers had already matured into buzzing greenbottle flies. They formed a large, dark, filthy cloud, repeatedly slamming into the translucent glass of the tabernacle as they tirelessly searched for a way out.
Just hearing the flies strike the glass made Qin Shu deeply uncomfortable, as though he had genuinely swallowed several of them. An itch spread through his throat, and it felt as though insects were crawling over his skin. As he slowly described what he could see, he crushed the rest of the candle into pieces, then borrowed several more wet wipes from Pei Zhao and repeatedly scrubbed his knuckles.
By the time he finished, Father William looked completely dazed. His lips trembled uncontrollably, and all the color had drained from his face. He stared wide-eyed as he clutched the cross at his chest and murmured, “This is… Beelzebub, lord of demons! Thy will be done on earth… deliver us from evil…”
He was reciting the Lord’s Prayer, seemingly by instinct. His expression became deeply devout, and his breathing gradually steadied with the rhythm of the prayer. A faint yet gentle white radiance slowly appeared over his bloodless face, lending his deep-set eyes the delicate beauty of a finely carved statue.
Qin Shu froze, wondering whether his vision had blurred. When he focused and looked again, the strange glow had already vanished. Only Father William remained, his emotions once more under control. His complexion had returned to normal, his thin lips were pressed tightly together, and his eyes were filled with sorrow and distress.
“Mr. Qin, I understand the situation now. Please allow me to think carefully. I need a little time.”
“No problem. We’ll go collect the body first. You should sit down and rest.”
Qin Shu studied him thoughtfully and answered with patience. It was rather remarkable. The white light had not only calmed the priest, but had also eased much of Qin Shu’s nausea. Perhaps when a sufficiently devout believer sincerely prayed for help, they truly could receive tangible protection.
At least from Qin Shu’s perspective, despite living for years inside a church filled with filth and evil, Father William remained physically healthy. He had not lost his sanity, developed a darkened brow, or suffered any disability or illness. His eyes were bright and alert, and he appeared remarkably normal… In an environment like this, he was almost suspiciously normal.
—The power of faith could not be underestimated.
Any religion with an orthodox lineage that remained widespread and influential to this day must possess some unique power and mysteries of its own. Qin Shu repeated that thought twice in his heart as a warning.
While his strength was still limited and his information incomplete, before he had made every necessary preparation, he was standing on someone else’s ground. It was best to remain respectful and follow their rules first. That was the safest way to proceed.
Until the priest gave permission, Qin Shu would avoid damaging anything whenever possible—unless it genuinely posed a serious threat to public safety.
He skirted around the altar in the nave, took Pei Zhao’s hand, and followed the central aisle through the church toward the cemetery behind it.
Liu Yang Yang had not interfered in the crisis inside the church. While Qin Shu spoke with Father William, he did not interrupt once. Instead, he quietly checked his talismans, herbs, and various defensive tools, carefully preparing to receive the corpse.
It was not because he was cold or heartless. The situation simply fell outside the scope of corpse herding.
Liu Yang Yang specialized in handling corpses, whether they stayed dead or not. For work beyond his expertise, the other party normally had to make a formal request and sign the corresponding electronic or paper contract before he would step in.
Even when asking Qin Shu for help this time, Liu Yang Yang had prepared a contract in advance. It clearly listed the payment, division of responsibility, and exact nature of the help he required.
There had to be a paper trail for everything. As a working corpse herder supporting himself and his family, Liu Yang Yang had long since learned to live by that rule.
Qin Shu understood, but he remained curious because Liu Yang Yang’s reaction today had been far too calm. At Qingfeng Teahouse, he had looked nowhere near this composed upon seeing the eyeball.
“Brother Liu, you can’t see the filthy things inside the tabernacle, can you?”
The blood-colored sunset spilled down once more, and the frigid air from the river surrounded them again. Once the three of them were beyond Father William’s hearing, Qin Shu asked directly.
“Of course I can’t see them.” Liu Yang Yang scratched his head, sounding slightly envious. “Brother Qin, what you have is an extremely rare, inborn gift. It’s basically like being born with three eyes. When someone with that talent encounters the right opportunity, their Heavenly Eye opens at once. But most people in our profession… no matter how profound their cultivation may be, unless they transform their mortal body and ascend on the spot, seeing every ghost and evil spirit with the naked eye is nothing but a fantasy. It contradicts both human biology and scientific reason.”
For someone born with the talent, “opening the Heavenly Eye” was the same as gaining a third eye. It was simple and straightforward, with little need for explanation.
But for everyone else, “opening the Heavenly Eye” was a divine ability that had to be deliberately cultivated. Using it consumed a significant amount of spiritual power, and the practitioner had to guard against inner demons and evil spirits invading during the process. It was terribly inconvenient.
According to Liu Yang Yang, people like them who lacked the gift could normally rely only on spiritual intuition, combat instinct, and years of experience dealing with ghosts… or else construct a ritual altar in advance, perform investigative techniques, and prepare talismans that provided warnings and guidance.
Qin Shu listened carefully, then could not help raising an eyebrow. “Does science still exist in this world? Ever since I started seeing ghosts, the physics questions on my exams have become increasingly abstract. I keep thinking perhaps all of it is fake, and then I can’t solve them…”
“You can’t solve them because you haven’t practiced enough, your understanding of the concepts isn’t thorough, and you don’t know how to apply what you’ve learned. It doesn’t mean physics has suddenly stopped existing.”
The cool, merciless answer came from Pei Zhao, cutting straight to the heart of the matter without sparing Qin Shu any dignity.
Liu Yang Yang turned his head and pretended not to hear. After all, he was the least educated of the three. Moreover, for some inexplicable reason, every time Pei Zhao spoke, Liu Yang Yang felt uncomfortable all over—as though something had seized his lifeline and made it difficult to breathe. The longer he listened, the more uneasy he became.
Pei Zhao was clearly only a spiritually sensitive high school student and did not appear to have entered cultivation at all. Why was standing near him so unnerving…? Cautious by nature, Liu Yang Yang grew increasingly anxious and did not dare speak, afraid he might accidentally offend someone again.
Qin Shu had already wrapped an arm around Pei Zhao and crushed him into his embrace with suffocating force. “How could you say that? That was so cruel!”
“Gently.” Caught off guard, Pei Zhao was forced to press his cheek against Qin Shu’s warm neck. His muffled voice came from inside the embrace.
“No. Pei Zhao, you’re awful. I demand immediate comfort.”
“…Fine. Yes, I’m awful.”
By “comfort,” Qin Shu apparently meant using Pei Zhao as a human pillow, clinging to him and shamelessly rubbing against him several times. Pei Zhao normally kept his distance, so Qin Shu rarely got an opportunity this good. Now that he had an excuse, he naturally intended to make the most of it.
Unfortunately, their “dispute” could not continue for long. Faced with the vast, deserted cemetery and the small mortuary beside it… even the warmest atmosphere could only go so far.
Especially when an elderly nun dressed entirely in black silently emerged from the mortuary.
She stood quietly at the entrance without greeting them. Several strands of disheveled gray-white hair escaped from beneath her black veil, and her gaze was hollow and lifeless. Rather than the stern yet dignified elderly nun of popular imagination, she resembled the empty shell of an ordinary old woman, surrounded by a heavy aura of death.
Qin Shu immediately noticed her gaze. Every hair on his body stood on end, and he pulled Pei Zhao behind him at once.
Liu Yang Yang forced himself to approach and took out the electronic authorization on his phone. “Hello, Sister. Father William said we could collect Mr. Litt’s remains. Would now be convenient?”
“You will die,” the nun rasped abruptly, staring at Liu Yang Yang.
“Ah—ahaha… People are made of flesh. We’ll all die eventually. Perfectly normal.” Liu Yang Yang’s eyelid twitched. Without drawing attention to it, he rested a hand on the pouch at his waist and forced a smile. “So, may I collect the body now?”
Unexpectedly, the elderly nun said nothing else alarming. Nor did she explain what she had meant. It was as though she had suddenly returned to normal.
She gave them an unattractive smile, layers of wrinkles gathering across her face, then calmly stepped aside. “You may enter. A parishioner’s appearance after death is private. Only one person may go inside. I apologize for the inconvenience.”
“I understand. Father William already explained it to me. I can go in alone.”
Liu Yang Yang also forced a smile. He nodded to the concerned Qin Shu, indicating that everything was fine, then bowed solemnly toward the mortuary. Drawing a deep breath, he stepped into the dark little building with a grave expression.
Five minutes later, stiff, heavy footsteps sounded from inside. Qin Shu tensed and gripped the eyeball in one hand, alert for any sign of trouble, before finally breathing a quiet sigh of relief.
Liu Yang Yang had not died. A fat foreign man followed behind him—Mr. Litt.
The rumored “guardian spirit” did not appear to have displayed its power. Several unusual yellow talismans had been placed over the man’s face, fitting together without the slightest gap and completely concealing Mr. Litt’s bluish-white, purple-tinged complexion. At first glance, he looked no different from a living person.
The old nun shuddered and murmured, “May the Heavenly Father protect us.” She raised a hand to cover her eyes, unable to bear seeing such an unclean thing again.
Liu Yang Yang’s expression was rigid, and large beads of sweat clung to his forehead and hairline. Qin Shu approached him solemnly and focused upon Mr. Litt, searching for any weakness the “guardian spirit” might have revealed.
“Brother Liu, how did it go? Did his guardian spirit come out to frighten you?”
“I think it did… but I couldn’t see where it was. My ears were filled with the same voice that’s been tormenting me in my dreams, and I couldn’t understand a single word! Damn it, my head was buzzing so badly it hurt,” Liu Yang Yang whispered. “The moment I stepped outside the mortuary, the voice disappeared again. This foreign ghost is pretty clever. It only dares bother me while I’m alone.”
“All right. Don’t move. Let me take another look…”
Everyone was tense, whispering as they discussed how to drag the entity out. Even though they had successfully collected the body, no one dared relax in the slightest.
Only Pei Zhao narrowed his eyes with keen interest. His golden-amber pupils reflected the last light of sunset, burning with unmistakable hunger.
Compared with this, the wandering ghosts and resentful spirits drifting through the cemetery suddenly seemed bland and unappetizing.
He really had never tasted anything imported before.
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