The three of the Zhangs, mother and sons, were all country bumpkins who had never left their village in their entire lives; they didn’t even recognize the roads outside. How could they possibly have the ability to seek out those legendary people of the Zhang Family?
As for Chengyu, he had grown up in the Daoist Temple from childhood and had never left it. In terms of insight and vision, he might be higher than the three of the Zhangs, mother and sons, but when it came to finding someone in this vast sea of people, he was just as helpless.
After Mrs. Zhang earnestly begged Jiang Nan to take action, she returned to her own cabin and kept watch over Zhang Chen’s body.
Time trickled by bit by bit. The four of them keeping watch over Zhang Chen’s body grew visibly thinner to the naked eye. The two little ones cried until their eyes were red, their eyelids swollen like peaches. They sobbed that they had angered their eldest brother to death. No matter how Chengyu explained and comforted them, there was nothing he could do.
They all stared at Zhang Chen’s body, their hearts a mixture of sorrow and joy. The good news was that as time passed, Zhang Chen’s body showed no sign of rotting and still remained fresh. The bad news was that although Zhang Chen’s body had not been damaged, there was still no sign of him waking up.
In Shen Qiu’s cabin, listening to his subordinate’s report, Shen Qiu couldn’t help but furrow his brows. "So Jiang Nan actually has Elixir in his hands? And he even gave it to Mrs. Zhang? This is truly troublesome!"
The Steward standing by the cabin kept his head lowered and said nothing. Shen Qiu tapped his fingers on the desk, and only after a long while did he speak to the Steward: "Go and tell the people of the Zhang Family to burn that Zhang Chen’s body! If we can burn his body, then it will be over once and for all, completely cutting off any hope of his resurrection."
"The people of the Zhang Family are like they’ve gone mad. How would they ever allow us to burn his body?" The Steward gave a bitter smile at these words. "Unless we use force."
"Use force?" Shen Qiu fell silent for a moment at that, then shook his head. "No! No! If one day the Zhang Clan pursues the matter, we’ll be in so much trouble we won’t be able to bear it; it would destroy the goodwill between the two families. To give an explanation to the Zhang Family, the Shen Family would definitely hand us over as scapegoats."
At this point Shen Qiu drew in a breath and said with deep meaning, "Although this branch of Zhang Chen’s has been exiled, that was the emperor’s decision; it doesn’t mean the main line of the Zhang Clan has completely given up on them. Back then, who in Kyoto didn’t know the influence Zhang Kecheng held? Countless elders of the Zhang Family regarded him as the family’s hope. Those who once supported and favored Zhang Kecheng are all still alive! Even the emperor, wary of the Zhang Clan’s influence, merely exiled them instead of wiping them out. If we go too far in what we do, those old fellows will definitely not let it rest."
"There are many ways to get Zhang Chen’s corpse burned—such as sending someone to analyze the pros and cons and persuade them, or even to coerce them—but under no circumstances can we personally lay hands on it." Shen Qiu spoke in a heavy tone.
Hearing Shen Qiu’s words, the Steward lowered his head and stared at his own toes, letting out a deep sigh despite himself. A trace of bitterness flashed in his eyes. This kind of matter was like a glob of sticky snot, clinging to his hands and impossible to shake off. If he obeyed orders and handled it, once the Zhang Clan pursued the matter in the future, he feared that Young Master would hand him over to "take the bullet."
But since Young Master had given the order, he had no choice. No matter how serious the consequences, he had to do it.
"This lowly one knows what to do." The Steward bowed deeply, then respectfully withdrew.
After leaving Shen Qiu’s room, the Steward stroked his chin and only after a moment’s contemplation said, "If I want to see this matter done, I must seize the advantage of moral high ground. That way, when the Zhang Clan comes to pursue the matter in the future, I can still give them an explanation and hope they will be merciful enough to spare my lowly life."
As for how to get Mrs. Zhang to burn Zhang Chen’s body?
Naturally, by mobilizing the power of the masses. As long as the passengers on the ship came to feel that the corpse had to be burned, then he could step in openly to exert pressure.
"If Zhang Chen’s body starts some plague, or gives off a rotten stench, then the passengers on the ship won’t even need me to show my face. They’ll naturally press Mrs. Zhang on their own." A gleam of cunning flashed in the Steward’s eyes.
He made his way all the way to the passenger ship. Looking at the four from the Zhang Family circling Zhang Chen’s corpse in grief, the Steward’s gaze sharpened. "Madam Zhang, the weather is terribly hot right now. There are still some blocks of ice in the cabin; they might help preserve this body for a longer time. I received Young Master’s instructions and specially brought some ice for you."
"My Young Master said that although you’re unable to prove your identities, which prevents him from personally lending aid, he can at least give you some ice to slow the corpse’s decay." The Steward said.
The Steward came closer, with young servants behind him carrying baskets of ice. The ice gave off waves of cold air.
At this moment the Steward thought to himself, "I’ve already taken the initiative to deliver the ice; that counts as taking a stand and doing a service. When the Zhang Family people in Shangjing pursue the matter in the future, I’ll have one more chance at survival."
Hearing this, Mrs. Zhang gave the Steward a look, then glanced at the baskets of ice, her face full of gratitude. "Many thanks, Steward. I will surely repay you generously in the future."
The Steward nodded at her words. "That we can’t step in to save him is also a regret in my Young Master’s heart, but such are the rules—they must not be broken. This ice is merely a token of his regard."
With the Steward’s instructions, the baskets of ice were laid out, Zhang Chen’s body was lifted onto them, and then buried under more ice.
This ice, of course, was not ordinary ice, but had been "seasoned" in advance by the Steward.
The next day
Faint wisps of corpse stench began to emanate from Zhang Chen’s body, and at the same time countless yellow pustules inexplicably appeared all over him, like blisters one after another, making him look especially terrifying and hideous.
By the next day, Chengyu had already sensed that something was wrong. "How strange. Why is there a smell of corpse rot?"
Then he hurriedly pried open the ice, exposing Zhang Chen’s body. When he saw the clusters of pus-filled blisters on Zhang Chen’s flesh, Chengyu was so shocked he fell back on his butt, speechless for a moment, with tears streaming uncontrollably down the corners of his eyes.
"How could this happen?" Mrs. Zhang was so startled that the breakfast in her hand dropped to the floor.
"It’s over! Big Brother’s body is starting to stink! Big Brother, it’s all my fault, I’m the one who angered you to death. Wake up, please, let me die in your place. If you can come back to life, I’d gladly be hacked into pieces, die without burial, and still be willing." Zhang Tuowei paid no mind to the hideous, terrifying blisters, and threw himself forward, clutching Zhang Chen’s body and wailing as if his soul were being torn apart.
The whole family panicked, circling around Zhang Chen’s body and weeping bitterly. They immediately alarmed the passengers on the boat, who all turned their gazes over. Then, just as the Steward had expected, someone noticed the pustules on Zhang Chen’s body and cried out in horror, "It’s the plague! That’s the plague!"
"The plague?"
As soon as these two words were spoken, tension instantly gripped the whole boat. Countless people crowded over, staring in terror at the pus-filled blisters all over Zhang Chen.
"That corpse can’t be kept, it must be burned! Once the plague spreads, who knows how many of us will die!"
"That’s right, we can’t gamble with the lives of everyone on this boat! This is definitely the plague, his body must be cremated."
"Good lady, your son is already dead. The departed cannot return. You’d better hurry and burn him, then bury the ashes so he can rest in peace, yes?"
...
The crowd surrounded them, all talking at once, trying to persuade Mrs. Zhang.
When it didn’t touch their own interests, it was fine no matter how long Zhang Chen’s body was left there. But now that a plague had appeared on Zhang Chen, a moment of carelessness could infect everyone. How could they sit by and do nothing?
"What’s on my junior brother is not the plague! Don’t you talk nonsense. If it were the plague, the four of us would’ve been infected long ago—how could we still be perfectly fine right now?" Chengyu, hearing that they wanted to burn Zhang Chen’s body, immediately refused to accept it. She scrambled to her feet and argued back.
"Young lady, does it matter whether what’s wrong with your brother is the plague or not? Your brother’s already giving off a rotten smell; his flesh is probably decaying. Why don’t you quickly lay his body to rest in the earth? Are you going to wait until he rots into a lump of meat mush?" someone else advised.
"This is a plague, hurry up and burn the corpse, so it doesn’t spread to us all!"
"That’s right, we can’t let you get a whole boat of people killed because of you lot!"
Mrs. Zhang could no longer hold back. "Even if it is the plague, that’s our family’s business. How is it your place to interfere? I like keeping him here like this—what can you do about it?"
"You’re out of your mind. You’re using everyone’s lives to be buried with your son. We absolutely can’t tolerate that. This corpse has to be burned!" someone else shouted.
"You just try touching even one finger on my son’s corpse! This body must not be burned! My son took an Elixir, his flesh has already been preserved—how could it rot? And we’ve been together with him the whole time. If my son had caught the plague, we wouldn’t have escaped either. The blisters on my son are definitely not the plague! Anyone who dares touch even one finger of my son, just you try!" A cold light flashed in Mrs. Zhang’s eyes, murderous intent surging within them.
The crowd clamored noisily, confronting Mrs. Zhang and her few. Mrs. Zhang’s group refused to back down in the slightest and kept hurling curses back at the other side.
...
At this moment, someone shouted loudly, "Steward of this boat, are you going to do something or not? There’s a plague on your ship—how are we supposed to keep riding? We paid for our tickets. You have to handle this!"
Someone directly called loudly for the cabin Steward, asking him to step in and resolve the matter.
"That’s right. If you can’t deal with this, we don’t dare stay on your boat. Give me my money back, dock the ship, I want to get off!"
Just then, some people were covertly fanning the flames, and everyone took it for granted that it was a plague. Seeing that the Zhang Family refused to back down, they all began shouting for the Steward.
The Steward lurking in the dark had long been waiting nearby. Seeing the crowd so worked up, he thought to himself in secret, "It’s done!"
Then he strolled out unhurriedly. "What has everyone so noisy?"
"Steward, you came at the right time. This lad’s body has caught the plague and is already rotting. It should’ve been burned long ago, so it doesn’t infect us. This boat belongs to the Shen Family, you people have to take charge of this and give us a proper answer!" Someone, seeing the Steward arrive, looked as if they had seen a savior and quickly called out.