Stranger Danger

Chapter 338: Coffin Haulier

Where are we? Ye Qing snatched the wine jar and took a sip as well. Warmth spread inside his stomach and chased away the nights chill.

Youre right! Where did the Tortoise House drop us? Qi Xuanyun exclaimed in shock.

Ye Qing grimaced. A Tortoise House goes wherever it pleases, but normally, it would stop close to a settlement. But since we exited the Tortoise House halfway, this could easily be the middle of nowhere.

And you didnt think to mention this earlier, brother? Chu Nianjiu glared at Ye Qing, though it was mostly because the young man had stolen his wine. Again.

Ye Qing replied innocently, I just remembered.

Can we still catch up to it? Qi Xuanyun asked hurriedly.

Sureif you can move faster than the Tortoise House that is. Ye Qing smirked.

Oh never mind then. Qi Xuanyun bowed his head in shame. The Tortoise House could supposedly travel hundreds of kilometers in a single night. There was no Spirit Purifier in the world who could catch up to it.

It was at this moment Lin Yuhuai spoke up, Its around 3.45 am right now. Were still two hours or so away from dawn. If you are right about the Tortoise House traveling at night and stopping during the day, then we simply need to follow its trail for two hours or so to make it to settlement, or at least close to one.

Smart! Chu Nianjiu snapped his fingers and hung an arm across his companions shoulders. I knew youd be more reliable than Joyless.

Ye Qing rolled his eyes. And how am I unreliable, exactly?

Chu Nianjiu replied matter-of-factly, If you havent made a racket during midnight and even tried to dismantle the Tortoise Houses insides, it wouldnt have spat us out and left us to dry, or should I say, wet. It might even have carried us all the way to Tian Yong if we were lucky.

So its my fault? Ye Qing rubbed his nose.

Im glad you can recognize your own mistakes. Chu Nianjiu gave Ye Qing a pat on the shoulder. Then, he strode off toward the distance and said, Now, let us be off!

Your face is thicker, so whatever you say. Ye Qing shrugged in Lin Yuhuai and Qi Xuanyuns direction before walking after Chu Nianjiu. They all began following the trail the Tortoise House left behind.

It was night and raining cats and dogs, but since they were all Spirit Purifiers, the detrimental environment wasnt really an issue. Add to the fact that Lin Yuhuai was using a Horse Talisman, and they had walked almost ten kilometers in just half an hour[1].

Whats that down there?

Suddenly, Lin Yuhuaihe was taking the lead since he was the best at navigating out of all of themstopped in his tracks.

They were currently standing on a small hill. When Ye Qing looked over the cliff, he saw four people carrying a coffin and trekking through the rain without a sound at the bottom.

Standing on the head of the coffin was a large, magnificent-looking cock. It was flapping its wings and crowing from time to time. Standing on the rear end of the coffin was a black cat with smooth, shiny fur and blue eyes that shone eerily in the night. It was a frightening sight to say the least.

The coffin looked pretty heavy, and the ground was anything but even. Despite this, the four men overcame the terrain without any difficulties whatsoever.

It was strange enough to find a group of people carrying a coffin deep in the mountains. The fact that it was past midnight and raining cats and dogs only made things creepier.

Are they human or Stranger? Qi Xuanyun shivered as purple lightning sparkled within his sleeves.

Stop. They are human. Ye Qing stopped the young Taoist before he did something he might regret.

Yes, theyre human. Coffin hauliers to be exact, Chu Nianjiu added. A black cat, a cock, long robes and masks. Those are the characteristics of a coffin haulier.

Coffin haulier? Ye Qing asked curiously.

Chu Nianjiu answered, Coffin haulier is a very special occupation, and not just for the reasons you think. Similar to corpse carriers, corpse shepards and coffin raisers, their job is to carry a body that has died in a foreign place back to their homeland to be buried.

Coffin hauliers often have to deal with ghosts and evil creatures due to the nature of their trade, so they came to possess a unique set of skills and inheritances. I once interacted with some coffin hauliers by chance and picked up some of their rules and taboos.

First, not everyone can become a coffin haulier. They must be born between 11.45 am to 12.45 pm, the time where yang energy was the strongest. People who were born at this time possessed strong affinity for yang energy and were naturally resistant toward ghosts, evils, and many taboos.

There are many rules a coffin haulier must obey. For starters, they must wear a yaksha[2] mask when performing their jobs because a yaksha is a common soldier in the Fengdu. One look at their faces, and the weaker ghosts and evils would be too scared to try anything.

All coffin hauliers must wear a black robe called the Fearless Robe. Theyre delivering a coffin at night after all. If they can do this, what other taboo could they possibly fear?

The cock on the head of the coffin is called the Walker Cock. The Walker Cock must be the strongest and most majestic of cocks, and it must crow every time they had walked a hundred steps. A Walker Cocks crow also possessed the power to intimidate Strangers and repel evils.

The cat on the rear end of the coffin is called the Omen Cat. Cats are strange creatures who naturally possess the ability to see ghosts, and an Omen Cat is a cat that is raised by a Coffin Haulier. If the cat puffs up its fur, screeches, or runs away, it means that danger or some sort of anomaly is nearby.

Coffin hauliers normally travel at night and rest during the day to avoid scaring others[3]. It is also advisable not to call out or disturb the coffin hauliers in the middle of a job because bad things are sure to follow. So on and so on.

How interesting! Ye Qing was deeply engrossed with the tale.

Chu Nianjiu continued while watching the coffin hauliers from afar, Generally speaking, a coffin haulier only needs to wear a yaksha mask and a Fearless Robe to deliver an ordinary persons corpse. But the coffin these people are hauling is made of golden zhennan wood[4], a wood that is known for its evil suppressing properties, and the pole used to carry the coffin is a century-old Mahogany Pole. The rope is soaked in a black dogs blood, the knot binding the coffin is a Seven Star Knot, and the four corners of the coffin are nailed by Corpse Suppression Nails, not to mention the Walker Cock and the Omen Cat.

This is the highest level of precaution a Coffin Haulier could take when delivering a corpse. They call it Carrying the King of Corpses. This means that the body theyre carrying is incredibly dangerous.

Are you sure? Qi Xuanyun asked somewhat skeptically.

Chu Nianjius tone turned a tad melancholic. It is very dangerous to carry out a job at this level. Theres an extremely high chance theyre all going to die on the job, which is what happened to my friends back then. Their bodies were never found.

Qi Xuanyun hurriedly apologized, Sorry, Brother Chu. I didnt know!

Chu Nianjiu smiled. Its fine. It happened a long time ago.

Anyway, we can resume our journey now that the coffin hauliers are gone.

After they got off the hill, Chu Nianjiu looked at the coffin hauliers muddy footprints and said, We can follow their trail. The coffin hauliers can only be headed for a settlement, and generally speaking their trail is less likely to be haunted by Strangers and other evils.

Meow!

Meow!!!

Meeeeooooooooowwww!!!

It hadnt been too long since they followed the coffin hauliers trail when suddenly, a terrible cats screech pierced through the night. It sounded shrill and urgent as if it had encountered something absolutely terrifying.

Somethings wrong! Chu Nianjiu blanched and raced toward the source of the noise without thinking. The rest of them didnt hesitate to follow after him.

They saw the four coffin hauliers just a dozen or so breaths later. For some reason, the coffin hauliers were just standing where they were, eyes unfocused and unmoving. The rope binding the coffin had snapped in half, and the black cat and the cock were nowhere to be found.

Even eerier was the fact that countless ghosts were floating around the coffin. They seemed to be kneeling on the ground and praying at the coffin. Their movements were perfectly in sync almost as if they had practiced this before.

Its like a Ghost King, to have hundreds of ghosts kowtowing to it like loyal subjects. Chu Nianjiu isnt kidding about its danger level.

Ye Qings expression was wary and serious. Individually, the ghosts werent nearly strong enough to threaten them, but quantity was a great equalizer.

Lin Yuhuai examined his surroundings and said slowly, These are all locust trees which makes it incredibly easy for yin energy to accumulate. No wonder there are so many ghosts at this place.

Locust trees were also known as yin wood or ghost wood among the populace. It was because they often attracted stray ghosts and souls to their side. This place was full of locust trees, wet, and overflowing with yin qi. It was no wonder there were hundreds of ghosts in this place even though it was in the middle of nowhere.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

As the ghosts continued to pray, the coffin lid suddenly shook as if someone was trying to bang their way out of the coffin. It was also growing stronger probably because of the ghosts prayer.

We cannot allow that thing to exit the coffin! Chu Nianjiu turned pale and yelled immediately.

Lets kill the ghosts first, Ye Qing declared and threw a punch. The Burning Wind burned entire swathes of ghosts into dust but didnt touch a hair on the four coffin hauliers.

Chu Nianjiu, Lin Yuhuai and Qi Xuanyun unleashed their powers as well.

Although the ghosts were numerous, they were Malice-class Strangers at most. It took the group of four little time to kill them all. Then, Lin Yuhuai dashed over to the coffin and slapped a yellow talisman on it.

Sizzle!

The coffin fell silent for an instant. Then, the yellow talisman began burning earnestly, and the banging renewed twice as strong and loud as before.

Ye Qing frowned and placed a hand on the coffin lid. He pushed so hard that the entire thing sank several inches into the ground.

The shaking was considerably weaker than before, but Ye Qings expression didnt relax in the slightest. Even with five dragon elephant strength, he was just barely keeping the coffin lid in place. Not only that, layers of frost were creeping up his right hand, and yin qi colder than anything he had ever felt was invading his body and ravaging his insides.

Save the coffin hauliers first! They would know what to do! Chu Nianjiu yelled and flicked a drop of water at the two coffin hauliers who were closest to him each.

As soon as the water seeped into the mens foreheads, two ghastly silhouettes immediately floated out of their bodies.

I knew it. Hmph!

Chu Nianjiu made a grabbing motion, and the ghastly silhouettes disappeared in the blink of an eye.

At the same time, two yellow talismans flew out of Lin Yuhuais sleeves and plastered themselves on the other two coffin hauliers forehead. When they burned, another two ghosts flew into the open. They didnt get far before two bolts of lightning annihilated their existence.

The four coffin hauliers swiftly regained their consciousness, but there was no time to thank their saviors. They each produced a dark yellow, rusted nail from their pocket, ran up to the four corners of the coffin, and began hammering it in with a wooden hammer.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Their movements were well-practiced and in sync. Every time the nails sank an inch into the coffin, a terrifying burst of yin energy would wash out of the coffin. It turned the ground into ice and killed every plant unfortunate enough to be caught in it.

Luckily, the tremors also grew weaker and weaker. When all four nails sank fully into the coffin at the same time, the coffin stopped shaking altogether.

1. Looks like this is I totally forgot that ancient time is 2x modern time chapter. More work for me. Sigh.

2. NOT to be confused with the Yaksas even though their Chinese characters are the same. A yaksha is some sort of nature spirit.

3. Okay this rule stands out because of its stupidity. Seriously bro? Ill make everyones life a living hell if it means not having to deliver a body in the middle of the fucking night lol.

4. Phoebe zhennan in real life. The wood is a bright yellow that looks like gold.