Lao Wu's body temperature plummeted. Feng dragged him under the locust tree, flashlight clamped between teeth, flipping through Mountain Burial Relic Codex from Lao Wu's jacket. Mold-swollen pages clung together—only page 103 was legible: An inverted corpse bound with red threads, captioned "Harness sha to breach barriers, bridge yin-yang."

  Icy breath grazed Feng's neck. The headless bride raised her rotting hand. Moonlight through finger bones cast key-shaped shadows.

  "You can't take..." A raspy voice hissed. UV light revealed no shadow beneath the corpse, its wrist bearing faded red cords—Feng's own burial knot.

  "Debt settled!" Feng threw grave soil. Particles formed a Big Dipper pattern on the well rim. Annals flipped to page 72: "Phantom Manifestation—only lingering souls chase relics."

  Feng focused on the bride's chest cavity. Preview showed half a coin lodged where her heart should be—his buried Guangxu series. Chills crawled his spine—she was the true anchor, fused with the estate's energy through his coins!

  Lao Wu convulsed, coughing black blood. Feng hoisted him toward mountain paths, but bamboo groves led back to the locust tree—third loop completed.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  "Twin sha lockdown..." Feng tasted iron. Mold webs glistened under moonlight. The blasted east wall stood intact, Erzhu's spray marks preserved.

  Annals thumped open at page 121. Vermillion characters "逆步焚衣" (Reverse-Step Garment Burning) bled crimson.

  "Forgive me!" Feng ripped Lao Wu's jacket into strips. Lighter flames licked corpse oil-soaked fabric, smoke coiling into 冤 (injustice). First backward step crushed the Big Dipper's pivot point.

  The bride shrieked. Second step shattered Xun position, fire ribbons whirling. Bagua projections emerged as mold tendrils neared Feng's spine.

  Third step pulverized a tombstone at Kun position—"林" (Lin) fragments mirroring the bronze mirror's patterns. Fourth step warped reality beyond the compound, locust rings reversing.

  Fifth step ruptured Kan position. Feng's wound split—blood forming "樽" (ritual vessel). Sixth step pierced Li position—satellite alarms merged with ghostly wails. Seventh step spiraled through Dui, embers scorching sleeves.

  Eighth step crushed Gen position. Moon shadows rotated with his moves. Final stomp at Qian position dropped ashes onto the Codex's inverted corpse.

  "Break!"

  The shockwave dissolved the estate. Feng staggered onto a dirt road. His phone vibrated—23 missed calls.

  Lao Wu groaned. The shotgun remained holstered.

  Dawn sirens wailed. Feng glanced back—the bride raised three decomposed fingers under locust shade. The shutter captured rat-tailed shadows.