The Quail Fair

Zhou Yang observed the two dark shadows on the ground beside him. As if sensing Zhou Yang's gaze, the two dark shadows instantly swayed and twisted. The blurry silhouettes swayed into bodily contours, their facial features gradually emerging beneath the black mist. One dark shadow was tall and burly with regular features—naturally, it was Qian Heng, who had just died. The other dark shadow was likewise tall and slender, yet with rouge and powder plastered over his face, unmistakably Li Yichun, who had died earlier! Seeing the "appearances" of these two dark shadows, Zhou Yang became even more certain that even when his mind was anchored in a manifestation body, he could still gather the death last words and death afterimages of the freshly deceased around the manifestation body! At this moment, Gao Hongbo's death afterimage was the only one Zhou Yang had failed to collect. From this, he deduced that in a manifestation body, he could only gather the death last words and death afterimages of the freshly dead in his vicinity. He could not collect the death last words and death afterimages of those who had been dead for some time, as he could when present in his true body. Even so, this was an unexpected windfall for Zhou Yang. For now, he lacked the means to store these two death afterimages into his knife-credit ledger and could only wait for a later opportunity to act. What he did not know was whether these attached afterimages would return with his mind when he went back to his true body. After taking note of the two death afterimages, Zhou Yang turned his attention back to the scene before him. There he saw Chang Dafeng pull up the hem of Qian Heng's robe to wipe the blood clean from his stabbing dagger. After sheathing the blade into his boot, he drew out the pipe tucked into his waist, lit a bowl of tobacco, and brought the mouthpiece to his lips. He was in no rush to smoke, merely squinting toward Ding Ling and sneering: "Relying on a bit of scripture heard at a Quail Fair, he thought he could turn into a ghost? "If turning into a ghost were that easy, where would the living have any way to survive!" Having said this, he paused, took the mouthpiece between his lips, and drew several puffs of smoke. Smoke enveloped his face, and his voice deepened with it: "He has only himself to blame for harboring wicked notions and taking some ghost scripture as gospel. "It's also my fault—I shouldn't have brought him to that Quail Fair. "Do you know Baligou Township? Have you heard of the Quail Fair there?" Chang Dafeng changed the subject, asking Ding Ling about something else. Ding Ling did not speak, only shaking her head. "I've traveled far and wide all these years and drawn a map myself. "Even though the distances and exact bearings between places on it might not be entirely accurate, if you set out from my village and follow the routes drawn on the map, you can reach every destination marked. "Baligou Township is on my map, only a day and night's march from my village. "Don't underestimate this map of mine—with it, you'll at least know which places you must never set foot in, which gives you the skill to seek good fortune and steer clear of danger!" Chang Dafeng chuckled darkly. "I'll take you on as my closed-door disciple. "I'll pass this map to you as an apprenticeship gift!" Having spoken, he did not hesitate, actually pulling a piece of birch bark from his breast pocket and handing it to Ding Ling. Ding Ling unfolded the birch bark, which was about two handspans wide, and saw winding routes carved with a knife and drawn in an unknown pigment. The lines intertwined, and at the end of each path, a place name was written. This so-called map was exceedingly crude; calling it a "route map" would have been far more fitting. It had no cardinal directions, only taking a location named "Yejibozi Manor" as the starting point for every route, weaving together into this diagram. To find the locations marked on this diagram, one first needed to find that place called Yejibozi Manor. On this diagram, Zhou Yang distinctly spotted the location of Baligou Township, just as Chang Dafeng had mentioned. Meanwhile, "Daliang Village" sat in the bottom right corner of the map, with no routes leading to it. This showed that Chang Dafeng had likely come to this village for the first time as well and had not yet fully established a path. Although the map was exceedingly crude, Zhou Yang knew it was indeed precious. Every location marked with the character for "ghost" must have cost human lives. Only by wading through numerous perils and possessing extensive worldly experience could someone piece together and draft such a map! On the map, most locations were marked with the character for "ghost," or the character for "barrier," which represented a barrier circle. Places inhabited by the living were scattered few and far between across the entire map, as if the living were completely surrounded by evil ghosts. In a world crawling with evil ghosts, with this map in hand, once Ding Ling found Yejibozi Manor, traveling around the surrounding region would be vastly safer. "The troupe leader killed Qian Heng right before my eyes. "And before he died, Qian Heng chanted that passage from the Scripture of Preserving Life... "He fears I might harbor other intentions, and fears I won't trust him or cooperate with him. So he bestowed this map upon me to placate me and make me trust him... Did I guess correctly, Mr. Zhou?" Ding Ling looked down at the map while communicating with Zhou Yang in her mind. Zhou Yang gave a slight smile. "Smart. This time, without any prompting from me, you figured out the reasons behind it all by yourself." "It is all because you taught me well, sir," Ding Ling replied softly. She paused a moment, then suddenly said, "Once someone turns into a ghost, they have no human desires, no humanity, and no thoughts of their own. "I would rather die than become a ghost. "Please believe me, sir." Ding Ling's thoughts were completely laid bare in her words, without the slightest pretense. "After becoming a ghost, does a person really lose their self-awareness?" Zhou Yang asked. "Mm," Ding Ling said. "At least, that's what everyone says." Chang Dafeng exhaled a plume of smoke and said, "The Quail Fair in Baligou Township is considered the largest gathering within a hundred li. "Folks look for work at this fair, trade spare items they have on hand, and inquire about news from all around. "Anyone attending the fair must raise a male quail. "The quails are wild-caught quails taken from the wilderness. You train and handle it properly yourself, then pit it against someone else's quail at the Quail Fair. "Winning or losing doesn't matter. What matters is that you've looked after this quail well. Whenever you go to the Quail Fair thereafter, it serves as your entry token. When quails that have fought each other are put together again, the victor struts with arrogance while the loser flutters about in panic. By observing the quail you brought, everyone can tell whether you're the same person who entered before. "The Quail Fair made things so complicated precisely to prevent ghosts from infiltrating. "When living creatures encounter ghosts, most die on the spot. "Even if some ghosts are exceptionally cunning and dangerous, and might conjure up a quail, when facing its old opponent, its quail won't show the expected reactions. Folks will be put on guard and won't let it in." "Did you bring Qian Heng into the fair?" Ding Ling asked Chang Dafeng aloud, following Zhou Yang's instruction. "Yes." Chang Dafeng narrowed his eyes, his voice dropping low again: "Some information at the fair is true, but some is false. "A person can't believe everything they hear. "Just for the verses of that so-called Scripture of Preserving Life, I've heard over a dozen different versions. "Turning into a ghost isn't that simple. Thinking you can become a ghost by chanting a few verses of bogus scripture is nothing but an idiot's daydream!" "Since you thought Qian Heng couldn't become a ghost either, why did you still kill him?" Ding Ling pressed further. "Originally there were three of us, but now only two remain. What do we do next?" "Two is enough!" Chang Dafeng bared his teeth in a sinister grin. "Qian Heng harmed Shitouzi and set his mind on becoming a ghost. That was straying down the foulest path of all. "—When someone has already harmed their own companion once, could you still tolerate him hiding behind your back every day, eating and sleeping under the same roof? "Once a dog bites a person, it must be beaten to death! "It has tasted human flesh. To that dog, humans are prey it has set its eyes on, not its master anymore. Given the chance, it'll sink its teeth right into your throat! "It's the exact same principle. From the moment Qian Heng walked down that evil path, there was only death waiting for him in my book!" What Chang Dafeng said indeed made sense. Yet his true thoughts were not necessarily entirely so. Ding Ling fell silent for a moment before speaking again: "Mainly, it was because Qian Heng admitted it himself. After he killed Shitou, he chanted that passage from the Scripture of Preserving Life... I suspect that even you couldn't be certain whether that scripture was effective. "If it was useless, all the better. But if it worked, killing Qian Heng right now would nip the hidden danger in the bud, wouldn't it?" "Rumors say that committing suicide in red clothes makes you a vengeful ghost, or that jumping into a well and drowning turns you into a ghost... There are far too many methods of becoming a ghost passed down. Who could possibly say for sure which one works?" Chang Dafeng chuckled coldly again and again. His words blurred the focus of the question—whether killing someone and chanting scripture could truly turn one into a ghost. Turning his gaze to fixate on Ding Ling, he said, "After hearing that scripture, have you also developed the urge to kill me and turn into a ghost? "I advise you to think it through—this so-called person turning into a ghost is actually a ghost growing out from the person. It might look identical to the person who supposedly turned into a ghost, but they're entirely different things! "You are you, and the ghost is the ghost. You die, and the ghost lives! "Don't go thinking that you're the one who becomes a ghost, or that you'll gain any ability or real benefit from it!"