The atmosphere inside the car was tense and awkward. I felt sweat beading on my forehead. Rufina Howard and Old Ray sat in the back; Old Ray had his paws pressed against the window, staring out at the mountains and forests. It had been two hours, and neither of them had spoken a word.
I felt terrible—I'd never been in a situation like this before. Three people and a dog, all with strained relationships. Except for me, Rachel wore a smile but said nothing.
Rufina Howard was fuming, glaring at Rachel. I thought about it for a while; if things kept going like this, it would be bad if something happened. I quickly forced a smile and spoke up.
"Where are the other members of the Ghost Burial Squad? Is it just you?"
"The others? If I remember right, for our batch, only I—a girl—was assigned here. The other four... they're all dead."
My heart skipped a beat as I looked at Rachel. She said it calmly, still smiling.
"Are there really that many ghost-related incidents here?"
I asked, and Rachel just smiled.
"Not that many. Now it's just me. I got lucky—last time I was possessed by a ghost, fell from the thirteenth floor, and survived. Ha!"
Her words made my heart race as I stared at Rachel.
"How about contacting Ghost Burial Squad Headquarters and asking them to send more people?"
"No need. Right now, I'm getting the subsidy for six people all to myself. If they send someone, I'd be losing out."
I blinked at Rachel, wanting to ask, 'Is money more important than your life?' But I held my tongue.
Up ahead, a fork in the road appeared. On the right side was a large, artistically designed sign shaped like a gourd, with some promotional slogans. The sign read 'Gourd Village.' Rachel slowed the car and turned right, entering the village.
As soon as we entered, I saw a massive archway with several zombies hanging from it. I was startled, but Rachel burst out laughing at my reaction. The zombies hanging from the archway were the kind you see in movies—dressed in Qing Dynasty official robes, hopping around.
I gasped and, only after getting closer, realized they were just props made from various materials. All around, there were signs for 'Zombie Inns' and 'Zombie Hot Springs,' with advertisements and prices. As we drove through, I noticed everything here was pretty expensive.
We hadn't gone far before the car came to a halt—there was a long line of vehicles ahead. I blinked, and soon cars piled up behind us too. In no time, we were stuck, unable to move.
Looking around at the woods, it was peaceful—no sign of litter anywhere. The trees were all neatly trimmed, and the road was in great condition. It didn’t feel like a village at all—more like a resort. There was nothing here to suggest it was a land of zombies.
As we waited in silence, Rachel started telling me how, in the past, this village was very backward because of zombie rumors. Outsiders were afraid to come near. But as zombie movies became popular, people stopped fearing them.
About thirty years ago, they began developing the area, using zombies as a selling point. It attracted scholars and tourists, and slowly it turned into a full-fledged resort destination.
But I heard there’s a Zombie Museum here, and it actually has a real preserved zombie. I was instantly intrigued and hoped we could get there soon.
I had no idea what was going on up ahead—the cars hadn’t moved for ages. Then I heard the sound of firecrackers from the front, as if there was a celebration, followed by cheerful music. The cars started moving.
Gradually, we approached a bend. Looking in, I saw it was spacious; parking lots lined both sides, and beside each lot stood hollowed-out wooden houses selling all sorts of things.
As soon as we got out of the car, several villagers who looked like tour guides came over to solicit us. Rachel turned them all down and led us down the village’s only main street, clearly familiar with the place.
There was still an hour before dinner, so we decided to visit the Zombie Museum first. The village layout was very logical, with symmetrical buildings on both sides and mountains wrapping around, their curved slopes visible. Gourd Village really did look like a gourd.
"Those were carved out later by people. Gourd Village didn’t used to look like this."
I let out an 'oh' and asked a question.
"Miss Rachel, have you been here before?"
"Of course—I was born here, after all. I’ve been here countless times. It’s a great place for a vacation."
As she spoke, Rachel flashed me a sunny smile. I managed a stiff grin in return.
In the middle of Gourd Village stood two nine-story buildings. I saw a swimming pool and people enjoying themselves—the facilities here were impressive. Rachel told us the Zombie Museum was at the end of this street.
After a quick walk of about ten minutes, we reached a large wooden house with a giant purple gourd hanging above the entrance. It was labeled 'Zombie Museum.'
Tickets were sold at the entrance, which was covered by a black curtain—no windows, tightly sealed.
We bought our tickets—the prices were outrageous: 200 for adults, 120 for children. Luckily, it was covered by the Ghost Burial Squad’s budget. Old Ray was mercilessly left outside.
Inside, we saw a crowd gathered under bright lights. The walls were lined with professional-looking displays and informational posters.
Rufina Howard walked over and looked around, her expression one of disdain. At that moment, a large group of people was gathered around a platform, so we went to join them.
(This chapter isn’t finished yet~.~ Please click next page to continue reading!)
A glass coffin lay on the platform, holding a corpse that hadn’t decayed—a desiccated body. Rufina Howard stared at it in silence. On the platform, a man with a microphone was energetically explaining the origins of zombies in Gourd Village.
Legend has it that centuries ago, this village had an unusual custom: instead of burial, the dead were placed where moonlight could reach them. It was believed that the soul, bathed in moonlight, could absorb its essence and be reborn beside loved ones.
No one knows when this custom began, but one night, a corpse that had been left out for a long time suddenly moved. Many villagers saw it, and for several nights in a row, that corpse was seen moving again.
At first, everyone thought the dead had really absorbed the moon’s essence and come back to life. The whole village began tracking the revived corpse, but when they found it, it had turned completely rigid—and was hopping around.
Panic swept through the village; people fled in all directions. Some were caught by the zombie, and by morning, dozens had escaped, leaving only those seized by the creature.
The villagers reported it to the authorities, and the incident alarmed the local government. They sent people to investigate, but only one returned, claiming the rest had been bitten and turned into zombies.
After that, no one dared return to the village. The legend of the zombies spread. Then, a Taoist priest, intent on eradicating evil, arrived in Zombie Village and destroyed the zombies. News of this spread, and most villagers, forced by the hardships outside, eventually returned.
Sure enough, the zombies were gone and peace returned. The priest said the cause was the moon’s essence, which triggered corpse transformation. He had the villagers reshape the land into a gourd, to avoid the moon’s essence and prevent more zombies, also improving the feng shui for prosperity.
After that, the village enjoyed good fortune and no more zombies appeared. Still, the villagers kept their funeral rituals. Occasionally, a zombie would revive, but thanks to the priest’s talismans, the creatures fled, earning the name Zombie Village. Rumor has it, the zombies that escaped caused trouble elsewhere.
Listening to the story, I couldn’t help feeling something was off—it sounded made up. I quietly asked Rufina Howard.
"Is that really a zombie in there?"
Rufina Howard shook her head. While the story was being told, I saw her take out a blue talisman and do something with it—a faint blue glow entered the coffin, then returned.
The man on the platform started talking about how to deal with zombies. I instantly lost interest, and we left the museum.
Surrounded by people, I felt helpless and unsure how to proceed. How was I supposed to find corpse jade—especially blood-red corpse jade?
We ended up booking two rooms in the nine-story hotel on the left—still expensive. Our rooms were on the sixth floor: 602 and 603.
After dinner, Rufina Howard said she’d spend some time alone in her room to prepare things, and would tell us more about zombies later tonight.
"Alright, now that annoying little brat is gone. Hehe."
Rachel smiled and tried to hook her arm through mine; I quickly dodged.
"Cut it out, Miss Rachel."
I said seriously. Rachel stepped in front of me and pointed at the swimming pool outside, where plenty of men and women were enjoying themselves.
"Who’s messing around? Isn’t this the kind of place where men and women should have fun together? Right?"