Volume One: The Cemetery of Eight Coffins Chapter 63: The Eccentric Professor Explains

"It's open now." My third uncle’s voice behind me sounded weak.

I turned and found him standing not far away, looking exhausted.

I glanced back in the direction we’d come from and, sure enough, saw the grand gate we'd entered through—now opened by my uncle. Beyond the threshold, the thick mist still swirled, stretching endlessly into obscurity. From within, the wailing of cats continued, piercing and mournful.

Yet outside the courtyard where we stood, not a single cat was in sight. Relief washed over me, and I collapsed to the ground like a deflated balloon. Xu Ruoxi crouched behind me, trembling uncontrollably, unable to utter a word—clearly still in shock.

I didn’t know if she was hurt, since she hadn’t been wearing the Net of Earthly Restraint. I asked, “Hey, are you alright?”

Xu Ruoxi shook her head.

I couldn’t help but grumble, “Didn’t I tell you how to use the Black Tiger Knot? Why couldn’t you undo it at the crucial moment?”

“I’m sorry, I… I tied it too tightly.” Xu Ruoxi’s face was full of regret.

I understood then. She must have taken my uncle’s advice to heart, believing the Black Tiger Knot was a lifesaver and that tying it tighter would make her safer. But at the critical moment, she couldn’t get it undone.

My uncle walked over and said, “Forget it. You’re out; that’s all that matters. No need to dwell on it. I reckon Assistant Xu’s Black Tiger Knot was so tightly bound, the ends didn’t connect, forming a dead knot. That’s why the cat’s malice found an opening and possessed her.”

Wiping the cold sweat from my brow, I realized how close we’d come to disaster.

My uncle straightened his clothes. Looking at the three of us, I saw we were all in a sorry state. The house had been abandoned for ages, so dust had settled everywhere. Coupled with our sweat, our faces were smeared with grime and mud, barely recognizable.

Xu Ruoxi looked even worse. Her cheongsam, already torn, had been ripped further to bandage my wounds. There was hardly any intact clothing left on her. Remembering how she’d tended to me inside, I hurriedly took off my jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

She looked at me gratefully.

Only then did I feel the searing pain from the places where the cats had scratched and bitten me. The pain grew sharper with each passing moment. Embarrassed to complain, I simply sucked in the cold night air.

My uncle thought for a moment and said, “Let’s call it a night. I’ll take you to the hospital first. Assistant Xu has her car and can drive herself home.”

Xu Ruoxi, still frightened, quickly said, “Can I ride with you instead?”

I nodded. “We’ll drop Assistant Xu off first. My injuries aren’t serious. But what about the courtyard? When will that mist clear? What if someone else stumbles in by mistake?”

My uncle chuckled. “This place is already notorious. Who would be foolish enough to come here in the dead of night? Besides, that’s ghost mist—it forms in graveyards or places heavy with yin energy. It isn’t poisonous, but it confuses your sense of direction. It always dissipates at dawn, with the rooster’s crow. Don’t worry.”

I nodded. Having just escaped that courtyard—and with the cat howls still echoing—none of us dared approach the gate again. We could only leave it open.

The three of us staggered back to the car and first brought Xu Ruoxi home. My uncle and I then headed to the nearest hospital to tend to my wounds.

The injuries hurt and were still bleeding, but nothing serious. After cleaning, medication, and new bandages, the pain eased considerably.

The real problem was that I had to get a rabies shot. I couldn’t help but grumble—after all, we’d come to exorcise a haunted house, yet it was a cat that got me, not a ghost.

Later, my uncle and I returned to our hotel. It was already past two in the morning. We didn’t say a word, just silently collapsed onto our beds for some sleep.

Even with my eyes closed, images of what had happened in the attic kept replaying in my mind. The eerie cat cries still seemed to echo in my ears. The throbbing pain from my wounds made sleep elusive; I didn’t drift off until nearly dawn.

When I finally woke, it was already past noon.

My uncle was sitting on the sofa, leafing through the “Register of Haunted Houses.” I yawned and crawled out of bed. Though we hadn’t moved much the day before, my whole body ached. The places where I’d been scratched and bitten still stung as if the teeth were embedded in my flesh.

Enduring the pain, I walked over and asked, “Uncle, are you trying to find a way to break the haunted house’s curse in that book?”

He nodded. “We’ll rest today. Damn it, I’ve never been this battered before. Tomorrow, we’ll go back to the attic.”

“We’re going back? Do you have a plan?” I asked.

“Not yet. There are still a few things I can’t figure out.” He sounded helpless. Picking up several sheets of paper from the table, he handed them to me. “Yangzi, these are the instructions I copied for tying the Net of Earthly Restraint. Redo the knots on those two nets. We might still need them.”

I took the papers and saw the two nets from last night piled in the living room. Most of their knots had come undone, proof that had we stayed in that courtyard any longer, the nets would have lost their effect—and both my uncle and I would have ended up as cat food.

I spread the nets on the floor and, following my uncle’s notes, began carefully retying every knot. It was tedious work, but I found it oddly fulfilling. I spent the entire afternoon at it, and by the end, the two nets were as good as new.

My uncle came to inspect my work and nodded in satisfaction. “You truly are teachable. To tie the net perfectly on the first try—seems you inherited at least a third of my skills.”

“Uncle, is that your way of complimenting me? I’m this good, and you say it’s only a third of your talent? Does that mean you’ve figured out how to break the attic’s curse?”

He shook his head. “Yangzi, do you still have contact with that odd professor from last time?”

I nodded. “Of course, I kept his number.”

“Good. I hear he’s an expert in biology. There’s something I want to ask him.”

I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my contacts. “No problem. I’ll give you his number.”

My uncle waved his hand and smiled awkwardly, “Well… you remember how we got into a fight last time? Maybe it’s better if you call him.”

I stifled a laugh, recalling their bickering in the hotel.

I spread my hands. “But I don’t even know what to ask him.”

“Ask about that cat—the one with the white fur on its tail. See if there’s anything special about it.”

I was puzzled. “Is there anything special? That kind of cat seems pretty common, doesn’t it?”

My uncle shook his head. “I may not know much, but my instincts tell me this cat is far from ordinary. But that old guy is a paleontology professor, isn’t he? This is a modern cat, not a fossil. Would he even know?”

(End of chapter)