Chapter 15 Mending Corpses

This time, Jiang Cheng observed more carefully. He keenly noticed that the watchman's steps seemed stiffer, and his back was more hunched.

It had only been a day, but the watchman looked like he had aged ten years.

Just as he was wondering, the watchman's gaze swept across his face, and then a hoarse voice sounded, "Ahem... tonight, we will have to trouble you corpse捞尸人 (lāo shī rén, corpse retrievers) again."

The watchman raised his heavy eyelids. "The village chief should have told you during the day. There is a free burial ground (义庄 yì zhuāng) one li west of the village. It contains unclaimed corpses, or those that are too damaged to be properly buried."

"Tonight, the three corpse retrievers selected need to go to the free burial ground in turn to help repair several corpses. Corpses should be buried in peace, and you will be accumulating merit." As the watchman spoke, he dragged out his words, and his throat made strange noises from time to time, which was very uncomfortable to hear.

Chen Hao nodded. "What the senior says is right. Helping corpses to be buried in peace is also a good deed." He changed the subject. "But we are laymen to the work, after all, we are not orthodox corpse sewers. I hope that the senior can give us some advice on the precautions during the repair process."

These words were very straightforward. If you want us to go, you have to make it clear.

The watchman, who had already half turned around and was about to leave, slowly turned back, his single eye squinting slightly as he stared at Chen Hao's face.

Lei Mingyu and Du Moyu instantly became nervous, while Yu Chengmu, Jia Jinliang and the others secretly laughed in their hearts, wishing the watchman would kill Chen Hao immediately.

Chen Hao, on the other hand, looked as usual, looking at the watchman with a humble expression, seeking advice.

"Ahem..." The watchman coughed a few times, "It was my negligence. I thought you corpse retrievers also knew the taboos."

"I dare not, it's just that this junior's skills are not proficient." Chen Hao cupped his fist in salute.

"Forget it, then listen carefully. You must sew the corpses after the third watch (3更天 sān gēng tiān), using the sound of the clapper as a signal. When you hear the clapper, the first person can set off."

"After entering the free burial ground, the corpses will be placed in the main hall of the free burial ground, surrounded by hemp and white cloth. Just walk in according to the order, each person is responsible for one corpse."

"Remember, after entering, do not touch the corpse immediately. The first thing to do is to offer incense."

"There are three incense sticks, just place them in front of the incense table. After the incense is successfully lit, you can officially start sewing the corpse."

"Some corpses are severely damaged, and some limbs have not been found yet. After sewing up the wounds on such corpses, you must use dough to make up for the missing limbs."

"For example, if the corpse is missing a few fingers, then you have to knead the dough and finally shape it into a few fingers and attach them to the corpse, at least so that it looks like a complete human figure."

"The dough has already been prepared for you, and it has been proofed in advance, so you can rest assured."

Jia Jinliang bowed to the watchman, grinned, and showed a few gold teeth. "Thank you for preparing it for us."

But to his surprise, the watchman, who had been normal, suddenly raised his eyebrows and his tone became serious. "Did I say that I prepared it?"

Jia Jinliang was so frightened that his face turned pale. "This..."

Fortunately, the watchman didn't make things difficult for him, just glared at him fiercely with his single eye, which amused Du Moyu and the others, but they didn't show it on their faces.

Yu Chengmu narrowed his eyes. The watchman... seemed very reluctant to associate these tasks with himself.

But it was too obvious.

"Senior." Yu Chengmu came forward to help the embarrassed Jia Jinliang. "Are there any other taboos that need to be explained?"

After a moment, the watchman finally shifted his gaze. "Sewing corpses emphasizes external rather than internal. In other words, the focus is on repairing the appearance well. As for what the inside of the body looks like, just make it passable. After all, the deceased's family cares more about the deceased's appearance."

"In short, the entire sewing process can be summarized in five words: Respect, Clean, Arrange, Mend, Mold."

"Respect means offering incense."

"Clean means cleaning the corpse to prepare for the next process."

"Arrange means arranging the various parts of the corpse and checking for any missing parts."

"Mend, I won't say much about this, you should understand."

"Mold, take the proofed dough. If there are any missing limbs, then use the dough to mold them into the corresponding shapes and finally complete the corpse."

"And you must remember that no matter what happens, you must complete the corpse sewing before dawn, otherwise something big will happen as soon as it dawns."

"Also, during the entire sewing period, you must not do anything that violates the dignity of the deceased, such as laughing in front of the corpse, or tearing apart the sewn corpse. These are all taboos. Once violated, you know the consequences."

The fatty grimaced as he listened, thinking that he knows the consequences, if I knew everything, would I still need to ask you?

The fatty's expression management was not as mature as Jiang Cheng's. The watchman turned his head and stared at the fatty. "What, do you have any objections to what I said?"

Feeling the coldness in the watchman's tone, the fatty immediately became timid. "Reporting to senior, no!"

"Then you can go back and prepare." The watchman added, "At the third watch, when you hear the clapper, the first person can set off."

"After the first person has finished sewing the corpse, there is a bronze gong hanging behind the door of the spirit hall. Just strike it hard."

"When you hear the sound of the gong, the next person can set off."

"Each person has a maximum of one shichen (时辰, approximately two hours) to sew the corpse. According to the normal burning speed of the soul-calming incense (安魂香 ānhún xiāng), it will be almost one shichen after the incense has burned out."

"Soul-calming incense..." Du Moyu grasped the key point.

The watchman showed a strange smile. "What, as a corpse retriever, you don't even know about soul-calming incense?"

"In a place like a free burial ground, anything strange can happen. If there is no soul-calming incense to comfort the souls of the deceased, who knows what will happen."

After speaking, the watchman left, his steps even stiffer than before. The white paper lantern in the watchman's hand was like a guiding light to the underworld.

Not long after returning to his room, Yu Chengmu, who was drinking tea, paused, and the sound of a clapper rang in his ears.

"It's here." Zhang Junyu was even more nervous than Yu Chengmu.

Yu Chengmu walked to the door, opened it, and stared at the boundless night outside.

A crescent moon hung in the night sky.

There was a moon, but no stars.

Yu Chengmu calculated with his fingers, and a solemn look appeared on his face. He followed the road he had walked during the day and walked towards the gate of the house.

There was only the sound of his own footsteps on the road, but slowly, the footsteps overlapped, as if many people were following him.

After Yu Chengmu left, Zhang Junyu immediately closed the door and locked it.

He had a very ominous premonition. Tonight... what will happen again?