Chapter 79: Night of Returning Souls

After walking for a long time, Lin Qiu couldn't help but ask, "The old master of the Lei family should be a man of great virtue and respect. Even for a funeral, this timing doesn't follow custom, does it?!"

"Of course, it's not according to custom." Ji Heng nodded slightly, her face growing even more grim. "The old master’s corpse has been kept at home for seven days. Today is his seventh day, the night when the soul returns."

"What?!" Lin Qiu was startled, his scalp tingling. In the past, he thought the soul-returning night was just a superstition, a trick to deceive people. But now that he was a fish who could transform into a human, what was left that he couldn’t believe? Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. If you don't understand, and call it fake, that only shows ignorance.

A chill crept over Lin Qiu. He vaguely felt the black aura emanating from the coffin was somehow tied to this soul-returning night. His brows furrowed deeply.

"According to ancient customs, the body should be cremated after three days, with people coming to pay their respects, and then the burial." Lin Qiu voiced his doubt. "Why has the old master’s body been kept for seven days?"

"That requires talking about the previous old master," Ji Heng replied, mentioning the former patriarch, and Lin Qiu and the others felt a surge of respect in their eyes. A father leading eight sons to the battlefield, all dying in the end—this was a family of true loyalty and valor.

But what did this have to do with the previous old master?

Ji Heng continued, "When the last old master took his eight sons to war, he left behind an ancestral command."

"Ancestral command!" The group perked up, knowing this must be related to the unusual funeral arrangements.

Indeed, Ji Heng went on, "The ancestral command described a formation called the Nine Stars Encircling the Moon."

"Whether they returned alive or died naturally later, the burial arrangements must follow this pattern."

"And the youngest, this current old master, must also follow the ancestral command—his body kept for seven days, and buried at dusk, during the hour of You, between five and seven o’clock in the evening, when the sun sets."

Ji Heng’s voice grew ever more solemn. "He must be buried at this time."

"As a geomancer, I objected, but I am a professional, and must respect their wishes."

"So the old master’s descendants, and the old master himself while alive, insisted on following his father’s instructions."

"Thus, on the seventh day, at dusk, as the sun sets, the funeral and burial begin."

"The hour of You! Nine Stars Encircling the Moon. Goldfish!" Lin Qiu muttered, and consulted his system, "What connection is there, really?"

Whenever Lin Qiu didn’t understand something, he turned first to his omnipotent system. This time, it didn’t disappoint: "Triggering quest..."

"Stop!" Lin Qiu felt his hair stand on end and hurriedly interrupted. Why did it always assign him a quest whenever he asked a question? Every time, he ended up on the losing end. And the quests were always mandatory—if he didn’t comply, he lost upgrade points, threatened with being replaced as host.

Now, whenever Lin Qiu heard "triggering quest," he felt panic.

"System quest: Danger at Lei Family Village! The host must resolve this crisis within two days."

"Completing the quest will reward a skill enhancement."

"If you fail, you lose one upgrade level."

"Uh... I..." Lin Qiu’s face twisted in distress. "System, what is a skill enhancement?"

"It’s a single-use skill that can be applied to anything you want, permanently strengthening it."

"Permanent?" Lin Qiu’s spirit lifted, interest piqued. "For example?"

"For example, the host may use the enhancement to strengthen your body, your skills, or a specific organ."

"It can also be used to permanently enhance someone else once."

"Ah!" Lin Qiu was stunned, his gaze instinctively drifting below his belt, his expression conflicted.

"So, how much can this enhancement strengthen?" "Can it make it longer?"

He pictured a length of about five centimeters in his mind, knowing the system could read his thoughts.

Sure enough, the system replied, "Yes, even ten centimeters is possible."

"But host, applying this enhancement to that little chicken leg would be an insult to the skill, a desecration, and a waste of its potential."

"What do you care?" Lin Qiu rolled his eyes. "I like it, I want to desecrate it. What business is it of yours?"

"A friendly reminder: Danger at Lei Family Village is very real. Host, you should focus on how to survive!"

Lin Qiu grew anxious at these words. Was there some hidden powerhouse in this little broken village?

This damned system always stopped halfway, never giving a straight answer. Whenever Lin Qiu tried to ask about the Nine Stars Encircling the Moon or the soul-returning night, it would just redirect him to a quest.

Afterward, no matter how Lin Qiu pressed for answers, the system was as silent as the grave.

"I really shouldn’t have been so nosy," Lin Qiu chuckled bitterly, just as Ji Heng’s voice reached his ear, "As for why things are this way, even I don’t know."

Ji Heng gave a wry smile, said nothing more, and strode ahead.

When they returned to Lei Family Village, it was already six o’clock in the evening. By then, the sun had completely sunk below the western horizon. Yet, a lingering glow still hung over the landscape, so they could see dozens of meters ahead.

Lei Family Village housed a hundred or so families, seven or eight hundred people. Not all bore the surname Lei. The village was so named because the Lei family had once been its landlords. The villagers were once tenants, renting land to eke out a living, and over time settled, becoming the present-day Lei Family Village.

In the dim light, both sides of the cobblestone street still retained architectural styles from a century before. Two-story houses, their colors faded, but traces of white walls could still be discerned. On the red tiles, drops of rain slowly fell, rippling in the puddles on the ground.

Passing the gate of a grand mansion, Lin Qiu and his companions saw a field of white mourning decorations—that was the Lei family home.

The Lei family’s entrance had nine steps, flanked by stone lions whose necks bore openwork stone beads. This was a true mansion of nobility.

The red lacquered doors boasted two brass rings, still gleaming orange-yellow despite the passage of years.

Lin Qiu glanced at them and felt someone touch his arm. He turned to see Heize’s knobbly, ugly face looming close.

"Damn!" Lin Qiu jumped, nearly vomiting last night’s meal at the sight of that hideous visage.

Hurriedly, he pulled a small mirror from his pocket, checked his own reflection to balance his feelings, then said cheerfully, "Beautiful indeed!"

Heize’s face darkened. Was he really that ugly?

He moved closer, his face filling half the mirror at once.