Corpse Retriever

“Ah… mmph!”

Tan Wenbin’s scream was cut off just as it started, stifled by a hand clamped tightly over his mouth.

His eyes widened in terror as he stared into the wrinkled face looming above him.

The old man smiled, about to say something, but then noticed how the young man had coiled his arms and legs like a grappler and twisted his waist to throw him off.

“Huh?”

The old man let out a surprised sound, as if he recognized the close-quarters combat technique used to fight Dead Sinkers.

Tan Wenbin, on the other hand, was utterly confused—his arms and legs had grabbed at thin air. It felt like the old man wasn’t even solid. But his mouth was definitely being physically covered.

“Young man, I’ll let you go, but don’t yell. I’m old—I can’t stand loud noises.”

Tan Wenbin nodded.

The old man lifted his hand from Tan Wenbin’s mouth.“Yuanzi! Runsheng! There’s a ghost!”

“Heh.”

The old man chuckled, stood up, and climbed out of the coffin where Tan Wenbin had been lying.

“Yuanzi! Runsheng!”

Tan Wenbin kept shouting as he sat up, eyes warily fixed on the old man.

The old man ignored him and walked over to another coffin. Reaching out, he waved a hand over an incense burner beneath it. A wisp of smoke rose up, curling through the air.

He took a deep breath. The white smoke split into two streams, flowing into his nostrils.

“Ah…”

The old man let out a satisfied sigh, his face flushing with a sickly red glow.

“Yuanzi! Runsheng!”

Seeing that Tan Wenbin was still going, the old man sighed. “Stop yelling. They can’t hear you.”

Tan Wenbin finally fell silent, confused. “Who are you?”

“You’re sleeping in my home, and you’re asking me who I am?”

“Your home?” Tan Wenbin’s eyes narrowed. “You’re Yin Meng’s grandfather?”

“That’s right. That’s me.”

“You’re still haunting people?”

“What do you mean haunting? I’m not dead.”

“Not dead?”

“Of course not. If I were dead, why would I go bothering my own granddaughter? Ruin her luck? What, you think I’ve gone stupid?”

“Then this…”

The old man pointed to the coffin behind him. “That’s my bed.”

In the outer room—that little shop—there were two coffins. In the inner room, three. Tan Wenbin had just assumed all three were empty. Turns out at least one of them had an occupant.

“Then what the hell are you? You’re not a ghost, but I couldn’t grab you just now.”

“That’s what’s weird, kid. Aren’t you one of us?”

“One of who?”

“A Corpse Retriever.”

Tan Wenbin puffed out his chest. “Damn right I am!”

“Then you don’t even know you’re walking the shade right now?”

“Walking the shade?” Tan Wenbin patted himself down. “This is what walking the shade feels like?”

“When I showed up, I wasn’t gonna bother with you. But you kept jumping around like a fool, so I gave you a pull. Didn’t expect you to start screaming.”

“What about my friends?”

“When you’re walking the shade, you can’t see the living. That’s why yelling didn’t do a thing.”

“No way…”

“No way what?”

“Er, nothing, nothing. Wait, but why are you out here at night if I didn’t see you in the daytime?”

“I wish I could be out during the day. My body’s busted.” The old man tapped his head. “Stroke. I’m paralyzed.”

“So you sneak out walking the shade every night?”

“Bullshit. You think it’s as easy as eating or drinking? That anyone can do this every night?”

“It’s not?”

Tan Wenbin raised a hand and snapped his fingers.

Snap!

He always thought the way Little Yuan snapped his fingers and closed his eyes to walk the shade looked cool as hell.

“Today’s Ghost Festival. Gotta get up and do some business tonight.”

“This late? Business for ghosts?”

“Exactly.”

Tan Wenbin: “…”

“No more chit-chat. I’ve got a shop to open.”

The old man pushed aside the curtain and stepped into the front room. Then he stopped cold—there was a boy standing there.

The boy was eyeing him with a critical gaze.

The old man raised an eyebrow. “I haven’t even opened the shop yet. How’d you get in here?”

Li Zhuiyuan didn’t answer.

The old man scratched his head. “Wait, you’re not wearing a robe. I get it now—you’re with that idiot kid?”

Li Zhuiyuan nodded.

Tan Wenbin came running from the back. When he saw Li Zhuiyuan, he waved his arms excitedly. “Little Yuan! I did it! I walked the shade!”

Like a kid who just learned to ride a bike.

The old man stroked his chin, looking at the boy. “So you’re the real deal.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tan Wenbin asked curiously.

The old man pointed to the boy. “I didn’t even notice he was standing there earlier. That means he’s solid.”

“Solid?”

“Big fish eat little fish. Little fish eat shrimp. You’re the shrimp.”

“And you’re the big fish?”

The old man gave the boy another look, then said coolly, “Little fish.”

Li Zhuiyuan had sensed the stirrings inside long ago. He had already walked the shade and heard the whole exchange. He knew now that the old man was Yin Meng’s grandfather—but that didn’t mean he’d let his guard down.

Only now was he sure the old man posed no threat—because the old man had chosen to yield.

To be honest, what had been running through the boy’s mind this whole time was:

Should I leap on him and bite?

Problem was, he really didn’t know how to fight while walking the shade.

Last time in Road Tyrant Village, when he faced that red-dressed little girl, he had used powder to scatter her…

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