Chapter 125: Jiduo's Night Retrieval of the Corpse, The Moat's Strange Undead

"Could something have happened?" Ji Duoduo muttered, his brow furrowed. Under normal circumstances, the water-gate drum was never struck for routine corpse salvaging; it was only used when the magistrate’s office was handling a major case.

Ji Duoduo pondered to himself. The water-gate drum had not been struck for years. If someone was ringing it so urgently now, could it be that some grave incident had occurred?

Without time for further thought, Ji Duoduo leaped from his bed, intent on rushing to the front hall of the yamen to assess the situation. However, just as he stepped out the door, he pulled back, retrieved the candlestick that had rolled to the threshold, and hooked it onto his belt.

By the time Ji Duoduo arrived at the front hall in a flurry, Uncle Qian was already waiting there. Beside him stood three constables from the Six Gates, dressed in purple official robes and carrying broadswords at their waists.

Ji Duoduo’s heart sank immediately. The leader of the three was a lieutenant; it appeared that today’s business was no small matter.

Ji Duoduo stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "I did not know the officers were visiting so late at night. Please forgive me for failing to welcome you properly."

The Six Gates lieutenant, Li Buxi, looked at the dilapidated water-office yamen before him, then at the two unimpressive corpse salvagers—one old and one young. A look of disgust crossed his face, and he said impatiently, "A floating corpse has appeared in the moat. Which one of you is coming with us?"

Uncle Qian looked blankly ahead; his mostly deaf ears had clearly failed to catch the lieutenant’s words. This was perhaps for the best, as he was spared the sting of Li Buxi’s undisguised contempt.

Although Ji Duoduo had heard every word, he did not show offense. He offered a fawning smile and asked, "When shall we depart?"

"Now. Immediately," Li Buxi replied in a low, stern voice.

Ji Duoduo frowned and asked, "Are we going by water?"

He was using industry jargon, inquiring if Li Buxi required the use of a salvage boat. Li Buxi shook his head. Ji Duoduo could not help but offer a bitter smile; it seemed these masters from the Six Gates intended to use him as manual labor.

The four of them rode on horseback to the section of the canal where the body had been spotted. Sure enough, under the moonlight, a bloated corpse floated silently on the water’s surface.

Li Buxi signaled with his eyes, and Ji Duoduo, carrying his corpse-binding rope, waded into the water.

The September river water already carried a hint of chill. While not bone-piercing, it still made him shudder. Ten years of salvaging had given Ji Duoduo excellent water skills, and in no time, he reached the side of the floating corpse.

Under the moonlight, the river shimmered with silver light, revealing the weeds, wooden sticks, and water insects drifting on the surface. Naturally, Ji Duoduo saw the corpse clearly. Its face was white and bloated from the water, looking like a boiled pig’s skin. Its hair was splayed half-underwater and half-afloat, swaying like waterweed. Most unsettling were its eyes—white, swollen, and fish-like—staring fixedly at Ji Duoduo.

Ji Duoduo had salvaged countless bodies, but looking at this one, he felt a shiver run down his spine. He just wanted to get it out of the water and hand it over to the Six Gates as quickly as possible.

As he reached out to act, a scene that made his scalp tingle occurred: the corpse seemed rooted in the water, remaining completely unmoved no matter how hard he pulled.

A chill gripped Ji Duoduo’s heart. Had he encountered the "resentment-bound corpse" that Uncle Qian often spoke of? It was said that when a person died with deep, unfulfilled resentment, the corpse would cling to the water as if held fast by a spirit.

Fortunately, Uncle Qian had taught him the method to break this: one simply had to use the corpse-binding rope. Soaked in black dog’s blood for forty-nine days, it was the ultimate object of pure yang, capable of dispelling evil.

With this thought, Ji Duoduo took the rope from his back and bound the corpse securely. He pulled, and to his relief, the body moved with ease.

Within the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, Ji Duoduo had pulled the corpse ashore.

Lieutenant Li Buxi looked at Ji Duoduo with satisfaction, then glanced at the corpse and said, "That’s enough. Take it back with you for now."

Ji Duoduo was stunned. He frowned and asked, "Sir, that isn't according to protocol, is it? We only handle the salvaging; we have no morgue to store the bodies."

Before he could finish, Li Buxi interrupted him rudely. Looking coldly at him, he said, "Enough. It is only for temporary storage. I will send men to collect it tomorrow."

With that, Li Buxi and his men rode off, the sound of their horses’ hooves soon fading into the darkness.

Ji Duoduo looked at the corpse on the ground and gave a wry smile. "What in the hell is this?"

After grumbling, he still brought the corpse back to the yamen. He could not afford to offend the Six Gates. The yamen had plenty of empty rooms; he threw the corpse into one, intending to wait for someone to collect it the next day.

A while after leaving, Ji Duoduo returned with a lantern. He wanted to see if there was anything of value on the body.

The Ministry of Revenue had not paid their salaries for seven or eight years. The only reason Ji Duoduo and Uncle Qian remained at the yamen was that they could pocket a little "extra" during their salvage jobs as a form of payment.

Ji Duoduo placed the lantern on the ground, finding the candlestick in the way, and set it down as well. To his disappointment, the corpse had nothing on it. Just as he turned to leave, he stumbled and nearly fell.

...

The water-office yamen was not a place for storing the dead, and Ji Duoduo did not believe Li Buxi’s lies. He had examined the body of Zhang Wei; even his travel permit had been stolen, leaving absolutely no clues behind.

Li Buxi was a lieutenant of the Six Gates. Ji Duoduo’s skinny horse moved slowly along the official road; what should have been a short trip took until mid-morning to reach the Six Gates headquarters.

The Six Gates were not well-regarded in the capital, but that did not stop the two gatekeepers from shooing away Ji Duoduo, who had approached with a fawning smile.

"Please, sirs, do me a favor. I need to see Lieutenant Li Buxi," Ji Duoduo said, though he dared not show the resentment he felt inside. Even in their decline, the Six Gates were not an organization that his half-defunct water-office could afford to offend.

As if by coincidence, three men rode toward them, and the leader was none other than Lieutenant Li Buxi.

Ji Duoduo hurried to stop him, but Li Buxi said with an expression of disgust, "Didn't I tell you yesterday that I would send someone to handle that corpse? Why have you come here?"

Ji Duoduo cursed silently; the man spoke with such official polish, yet it was already nearly noon and no one had come to retrieve the body.

After brushing him off, Li Buxi prepared to leave. Ji Duoduo shouted after him, "Sir, I have vital information regarding the identity of the corpse!"