The Empty Coffin

Chapter 276: Familiarity

Li Huowang stared at the men crouching on the ground like dogs. His understanding of Pi County was beginning to crack.

A ghost that stole a man’s root. A “cure” that was nothing but humiliation. And the final touch—splashed with chili powder. It was too absurd.

Sure, everyone in the county talked about the ghost. Everyone talked about shrinking—both men and women. But did that mean it had to be real? What if none of it existed at all?

Thinking back to the innkeeper he’d seen hanged, and everything else he’d witnessed in Pi County, Li Huowang turned to the men on the ground. “You keep saying ‘shrinking’—this one shrank, that one shrank. Have any of you actually seen it happen?”

The men exchanged glances. No one spoke.

Finally, one of the constables broke the silence. “My pa told me! He saw a man shrink with his own eyes!”

“I didn’t ask your pa. I asked you. Have you seen it?”

Li Huowang’s gaze was sharp as a blade. The constable stammered, unable to get the words out.

Li Huowang turned to Yang Hongzhi, the county magistrate. “You said your son had shrunk and needed a silver lock to hold it in place. But children are small to begin with. Is it possible nothing was wrong with him at all, and you were just scaring yourself?”

“Have you ever considered that? Even once?”

“Is that... is that possible? But that man clearly said—”

“What man? Where is he now?” Li Huowang’s voice rose sharply, demanding an answer.

Whoever that man was, he had to be tied to this whole absurd mess.

“He... he’s dead. He told someone else about it, and he shrank to death.”

“Hah.” A cold smile crept across Li Huowang’s face. His suspicion was solidifying.

There was no ghost stealing men’s roots. There was no cure for a demon that didn’t exist. All of it was fake.

And once he realized that, he knew exactly who was behind it.

When enemies meet, their eyes burn red. Thinking about what they had done to him, Li Huowang clenched his fists until the knuckles cracked. His face twisted into a snarl as he ground out the words between his teeth. “Zuowandao!”

He tore the bronze gong from his neck and slammed it to the ground.

He kicked the constable blocking his path out of the way, charged straight at Magistrate Yang, and grabbed him, lifting him clear off the ground.

Now he understood. That nagging sense of familiarity. This was the feeling of being tricked by the Zuowandao. He’d fallen for it before!

He kicked Yang Hongzhi in the chest. With his other hand, he sliced the sword across the man’s chin.

Yang Hongzhi screamed as Li Huowang peeled back a flap of skin from his face.

But there was no second face underneath. The man wasn’t Zuowandao. Neither were the other constables. They were just people the Zuowandao had lied to.

There was no ghost that could steal a man’s root by word of mouth. There was only an absurd rumor—deliberately spread by the Zuowandao through Pi County.

With nothing but a story, the Zuowandao had made fools of an entire county.

“Who told you how to cure the shrinking? Where are they now?”

If there was still a Zuowandao agent in Pi County, Li Huowang had to find them.

His bloodshot eyes terrified the wounded Yang Hongzhi into total honesty.

If Li Huowang had a mortal enemy, the Zuowandao were at the top of the list.

“A spirit-dancer! He was the one who said to use a silver lock to hold it in place! But he revealed forbidden knowledge—two months ago, he shrank to death too.”

The magistrate forced himself to stay calm, speaking fast.

“Right. Spreads the rumor and conveniently shrinks to death? A little too neat. Where’s the body? I’m opening the coffin and examining it.”

Backed by his authority as a member of the Supervisory Heavenly Office and the sheer force of his presence, Yang Hongzhi had no choice but to comply.

With a screech of nails, the black coffin nails were pried loose.

Li Huowang covered his nose and stepped closer. When he saw that the coffin held no corpse—only a mahjong tile showing the number six wan—he knew he was right.

This was the Zuowandao’s handiwork. But the real agents were long gone. The people of Pi County were just toys they’d grown tired of and tossed aside.

Li Huowang wasn’t too disappointed. He hadn’t come here to fight the Zuowandao. He’d come to join the Supervisory Heavenly Office.

Once he understood what Pi County had been through, he also figured out how to deal with it.

“Come here. All of you. Take a good look. This is your so-called ‘spirit-dancer’!”

Li Huowang sheathed his sword and spoke to the men who were huddling at a safe distance.

But after his outburst, they were terrified. They clutched their wounded chins and refused to come any closer.

“I said come here. Didn’t you hear me?” His voice hardened, and slowly, they shuffled forward.

When they saw the empty coffin, their eyes went wide. They remembered—this man had been buried here.

Li Huowang chose his words carefully and spoke slowly. “You’ve been tricked. There’s no such thing as shrinking. It was just a rumor. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“How is that possible?” Yang Hongzhi’s face was a mask of utter shock. All that panic, all those long days, and it had been nothing but fear feeding on itself?

“The evidence is right in front of you and you still don’t believe me? Go and gather the whole county. I have something to say to them.”

The magistrate hesitated, his expression flickering as he stood there weighing his options.

“What’s the matter? Don’t forget who I am. Do you really think a bookworm like you knows more about dealing with this kind of thing than the Supervisory Heavenly Office?”

That finally moved Yang Hongzhi. Clutching the wound on his chin, he turned to leave. “Sir, wait a moment. I... I need to check on my son first.”

He left with the constables. Li Huowang slid his bloody sword back into its sheath and turned toward the inn.

When he got back, he told the still-trembling Gao Zhijian the truth: all of it was a hoax.

“It’s nothing. Just a bunch of poor bastards who got conned. I’ll clear it up later.”

Li Huowang sat down at the table and spoke to the big man.

Now that he knew the whole thing was a lie and Pi County held no real danger, he felt much lighter. The tension drained from him.

Helping these people shake off the Zuowandao’s deception was one thing. But he hadn’t forgotten his real reason for coming here.

No matter which agent the Office sent, if Li Huowang solved their problem before they arrived, they would have to talk to him.

The first step was always the hardest. Once he made contact with the Supervisory Heavenly Office, the rest would be much simpler.