Chapter 37 The Grudge of the Bony Remains

With a smile across my face, I explained, "It's normal that you do not understand, Mr. Liu. There are people who think that we of this trade command immense power and authority over foul beings and evil spirits. But there is a reason why this agency is named 'De Chang' (Virtuous and Prosperity). It's a reminder that we have to be accountable for everything we do. I can expel the female spirit from Mr. Yang's body, but the female spirit has an intense grudge even after her death. Setting her loose here might endanger the lives of other innocents around here. Moreover, to completely restrain her or eliminate her contradicts our principles to exact justice, not to take lives indiscriminately. There must be a reason to which the female ghost had chosen to remain so long at the farm. It's only right that we send her back there and find out the truth behind everything so that we could fully resolve the whole matter!" Mr. Liu flashed a thumb and exclaimed. "Well said! Very well then! Let us go now!" Yuan Chongxi and I followed Mr. Liu's car in our own automobile, leaving Lin Feng to man the center for today. We first headed to the village where we first sought out a councilman of the village who led us to the farm. The farm sat on a piece of dry land in the middle of a wide, but shallow marsh. I surveyed the surroundings and asked the councilman, "Why are there no plants like kenaf or broom-corn around here? I thought these plants are common in marshes and wetlands." The councilman replied, "This marsh is known to us locals as the Catfish Marsh. The water rises most of the time here, especially in the summer. Most of the time, the banks are submerged in water. Moreover there are more lands here than people to work them. With plenty of fertile lands elsewhere around the village, no one will want this place for planting or farming!" But the name struck a spark of memory in me. "Wait a minute. You said the place is called Catfish Marsh?" I asked before slipping another question, "Was this place once used to temporarily keep coffins?" The councilman was astonished! "How do you know this!" He cried. In the vicinity of Wu Zhong County, there are many lowlands which were submerged especially during the rainy seasons. The grounds of the graveyards around Wu Zhong would be flooded that it was impossible to dig and bury the dead. But in the summer, where the weather was hot and humid, the people would erect wooden scaffolds in the marsh and place the coffins over the water while they waited until the grounds become dry. But the bodies in the coffins would begin to rot and the fetid stench of the decomposing flesh would spread; the body fluids of the dead including blood and fat would begin dripping out of the coffins and into the marsh, thus becoming nourishment for the catfishes!