Chapter 48: The Ma Family Corpse Transformation (2/2)

"What's the hold-up? Did the trick fail, or is the Ma family daughter-in-law not cooperating?" The crowd snickered.

Seeing these villagers disregard death, I felt helpless. Ma Li's lust had led him to tell the flying corpse I planned to subdue it. The eerie quiet meant the corpse was biding its time for midnight, when the full moon would grant it enough power to break free—then all villagers would become its prey.

Door gods ward off evil; until a zombie becomes a "ba," it dares not ignore divine shrines. I had no time to argue, rushing to the well. Holding peachwood stakes, I slammed them into the six yin directions around the wellmouth: Chou (Ox), Mao (Rabbit), Si (Snake), Wei (Sheep), You (Rooster), Hai (Pig).

As I drove in the Chou - position stake, a 凄厉 (ear-piercing) wail erupted from the house. The shriek wasn't human, sending chills down my spine. "Why does the Ma family daughter-in-law sound like a slaughtered pig?" someone whispered.

"Too realistic for a show—Dad, let's go home. I'm scared." A teenage boy tugged his father.

Their chatter faded. Since they wouldn't leave, I pressed on. The second stake (Mao position) went in, and someone yelled: "Dad, blood's oozing from under the master's stake!"

"Nonsense—where's the blood?!" The man slapped his son nervously.

The boy was right—it was "blood 煞 (blood fiend)". Resembling blood, it vanished within two seconds of contacting air. The flying corpse's power was terrifying. As the third stake went in, the hut door flew open—kicked seven or eight meters by the daughter-in-law. She charged out, half-naked, shoulders torn but bloodless.

Villagers fainted; the daughter-in-law bared her teeth, eyes bulging, pupils white, breathing like a wounded beast. I hammered stakes nonstop. As the third hit, she leaped three meters at me, but the red thread coiled around the 糯米 (glutinous rice) jar sprang to life, binding her like steel chains. Ma Li and Ma Hong collapsed; most onlookers fled, leaving only a few brave souls.

"Master, what do we do?!" the chief gasped.

"I didn't expect this! Round up all men—tell them door gods won't work. Anyone not here by midnight dies!" A surge of blood 煞 (blood fiend) struck my yang fire, making me cough up blood.

Seeing the daughter-in-law thrash, the chief raced to gather men. Zombies are trickier than ghosts—even exorcists struggle, as Old Wang said. I relied on the soul-calming talismans that had worked on corpse demons.

After driving in the last six stakes, the daughter-in-law crouched silently by the jar, neither alive nor dead. The chief returned with thirty trembling men, all wanting to flee. Weak from internal injuries, I clutched three stakes—my only defense.

Ma Li sobbed, but the chief kicked him: "Your wife caused this! Why 分家 (divorce)?"

"How could I know? Blame my parents for provoking her—everyone knows she has a temper!"

"Quiet!" I snapped. "Who has a black 土狗 (mutt)? Kill it, pour the blood into the rice jar—she'll return to normal."

Unlike Jiangxi (where black dogs were rare, rumored to portend emperors), black mutts were common here. The chief offered his dog. I stepped aside—Old Wang forbade eating dog meat, and I shunned killing, even to save lives.

After a tall black dog was slaughtered and its blood poured in, the daughter-in-law collapsed, convulsing. Within three minutes, her ragged form rotted into a stinking corpse, forcing everyone to cover their noses.