Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts - Chapter 12

Old Wang moved slowly, sniffing here and there, inching his way toward me. I gritted my teeth—this staircase was a one-way path, no room to retreat. I’d have to go all in!

As Old Wang reached the landing, I shouted and lunged forward, kicking him hard in the chest. He wasn’t as fierce as I’d imagined; he toppled over from just one kick. Still wobbling, he tried to get up again. Seeing him go down so easily, I was thrilled—he wasn’t nearly as terrifying as in those TV shows!

In fact, a newly risen zombie isn’t that scary. You’ve probably heard of black corpses and white corpses, right? They’re the lowest-level zombies, formed from corpses buried in the ground for a while. White corpses are only a danger to animals and can be appeased by sacrificing chickens and ducks, while black corpses are bold enough to attack lone travellers at night.

This Old Wang was pitch black, likely a black corpse. If you looked closely, you’d see his face wasn’t merely dark—it was covered in coarse black fur. Black corpses aren’t that formidable. Most victims die because they’re too petrified by the sight of a corpse to put up a fight.

Though I was scared at first, that initial kick gave me confidence. When Old Wang tried to stand again, I rushed over and kicked him hard in the back, sending him crashing into the wall with a loud bang.

But just as I started feeling cocky, he grabbed my left leg and bit down hard on my calf. A searing pain shot through my leg. It’s fucking hurt! I kicked his head with my free foot, forcing him to release me. I glanced down to find a huge bite mark on my left leg, oozing dark blood.

Shit, this was bad.

I was in agony and knew I couldn’t take down this old man with punches and kicks alone. Not with him gnashing his teeth like that! While he was still down, I dashed downstairs. Fighting was useless; he’d just bite me again, and I wasn’t into self-sacrifice.

Just as I stumbled into the main room downstairs, the Old fortune-teller barged in, kicking the door open. The sky outside had just turned dark. He yelled at me as he entered, “Watch out! There’s a jumping corpse in this house!”

I was about to respond when a chill ran down my spine. A big hand grabbed me from behind, flinging me backward until I slammed into the wall. The pain shot through my back, leaving me wondering if I’d broken a few bones.

But it wasn’t the time to dwell on that. I looked up to see the corpse’s hand squeezing my throat, lifting me off the ground. It was wearing a black burial suit with a round black cap. Its face was rotting away, with chunks of decayed flesh and wriggling maggots. It looked downright disgusting—probably some old landlord or something.

Instead of strangling me outright, it kept bashing me against the wall, making me feel like I was about to puke out last night’s dinner.

“Urgent Command! As decreed by law!” the Old fortune-teller finally caught up, chanting as he slapped the back of the corpse’s head. The corpse shuddered and loosened its grip, dropping me. I fell to the floor, coughing—it was an awful feeling.

“Activate the Eight Directions, Decree!” the Old fortune-teller shouted, and the zombie turned toward him with a hiss. He dodged to the side, whipping out a talisman from somewhere and slapping it on the zombie’s forehead. “Decree!” he commanded, and the zombie froze, just like in the movies.

With the corpse subdued, the Old fortune-teller glanced at me and asked urgently, “Where’s the other one?”

“Upstairs!” I replied, now thoroughly impressed by the Old fortune-teller’s skills. Seeing him handle this zombie so quickly made me even more curious about Daoist arts. I suddenly wanted to learn this stuff!

the Old fortune-teller wasted no time, sprinting upstairs. Soon enough, he brought the black corpse down, bundled the two corpses into a small room, and covered them with white cloth. Only then did Han Si Fan and Brother Xiang come back.

“Brother Xiang! You jerk!” I yelled, kicking him in the butt as soon as I saw him. He just laughed, not bothered in the slightest. “See? I told you—you’re blessed! You’re fine, aren’t you?”

I rolled my eyes, watching Han Si Fan as she brought over a yellow cloth bag. It looked like the kind of bag you’d get at a supermarket, only this one had a Bagua symbol drawn on it. I looked at her, exasperated. “Sis, now you show up? The fight’s already over!”

Ignoring me, the Old fortune-teller turned to Han Si Fan. “Did you bring the stuff?”

She nodded, and the Old fortune-teller gave a slight nod in return. Looking at Brother Xiang and me, he sighed and said, “You two probably don’t get it yet. But Xiao Xiang, you should know a bit, right?”

“Huh? What are you all talking about?” I asked, confused by their serious expressions.

Brother Xiang nodded. “Yeah, there’s something wrong with this place. The feng shui layout of this house is messed up. The two wooden doors at the entrance are uneven in height—a detail easy to miss. This setup creates a ‘Cuckoo Killing the Sparrow’s Nest’ layout, bringing doom to the household, right?”

“Didn’t I tell you to read the Lu Ban Manual more? You got part of it, but this house actually has three feng shui layouts.”

“Did you notice how tall the door is? Taller than the hall, even. The Lu Ban Manual says, ‘When the door is taller than the hall, descendants will dwindle; when taller than the shrine, sorrow will increase.’ This is a dangerous door-hall layout, a design that spells disaster for descendants. That’s the Cuckoo Killing the Sparrow’s Nest layout.”

“Second, isn’t there a forked road right in front? Like a pitchfork. That setup guarantees unfilial descendants, causing chaos even when they return home. The older generation will suffer poverty, often forced to sell off family assets. This is the ‘Pitchfork Facing the Door’ layout. Combined with the first, it’s enough to make life miserable for any household here.”

“The third, and most sinister layout, is the ‘Banner Summoning Ghosts.’ Look carefully at the front door—it’s crooked, angled directly at the pitchfork layout outside. According to the Lu Ban Manual: ‘When something resembling a banner appears, trouble will follow, summoning spirits from beyond.’ It’s the same setup as raising a banner over a grave, drawing in spirits.”

“These three feng shui layouts—Banner Summoning Ghosts, Cuckoo Killing the Sparrow’s Nest, and Pitchfork Facing the Door—work together in the worst way. One invites evil spirits, another curses future generations, and the last ensures an early death for the current residents. The person who designed this must have had a cruel heart, or a deep hatred for this family. But Old Wang’s dead now, so it’s too late for him. Still, since I’ve seen it today, I can’t let this feng shui curse continue. I’ll have to break this layout!”

T/L Notes:

1. Bagua: Is a set of symbols from China intended to illustrate the nature of reality as being composed of mutually opposing forces reinforcing one another.
2. Luban Manual / Luban Jing: is an ancient Chinese manual on carpentry and construction, attributed to master craftsman Lu Ban. It covers tools, techniques, and rituals, blending practical skills with folklore.