Stein took one look at the situation and tensed up, his forehead breaking out in cold sweat. Under normal circumstances, a dead person's shoes shouldn't be impossible to remove.
"Little Boss, why don't we just forget about it? Or wait for Daphne?" Stein was starting to back out.
"Tickle the soles of her feet," I said.
Daphne hadn't been able to get them off earlier, but that was just because this corpse was a bit sinister. It would be the same if she tried now. A woman's body was inherently yin—that's why there were more female ghosts on TV. And when they turned into zombies, female zombies were always more vicious than male ones.
"Huh? What? This is a dead person..."
"Cut the crap and scratch if I tell you to," I said decisively.
Stein had no choice but to obey. He reached under the sole and gently scratched.
The shoes were so thin that Stein barely had to apply any pressure.
"Heh heh..."
Suddenly, eerie laughter echoed through the coffin pit. Though faint, the sound exploded in our ears like thunder. Stein's face turned ghostly pale.
"Don't dawdle—take them off!" I ordered.
Stein didn't dare hesitate. With a sharp tug, the shoes slid right off the female corpse's feet.
"What tiny feet. Can we even tattoo a Black Tortoise on these?" Stein asked.
I said we had to, even if it meant doing a miniature version—as long as it had the same effect.
Once the shoes were off, I hurriedly started the Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts. The female corpse's feet were delicate, and the needle could easily pierce too deep if I wasn't careful. Smaller tattoos required even more precision—it wasn't as easy as it seemed.
Just to be safe, I had Stein keep watch. I was worried the housekeeper might interfere again. Once I started tattooing, it was hard for me to break focus.
Around midnight, I finally finished. The graveyard was eerily quiet, the air chilling, as if something ghostly lurked nearby.
I slipped the shoes back onto the corpse, then bowed three times. "I've offended you tonight, but it was all for the sake of your Dai family's descendants. Don't blame me—if you must, blame Stein. Curse him to never grow taller."
Once done, I prepared to climb out of the coffin pit with Stein so we could call someone to seal it.
But just then—a cold hand suddenly grabbed my crotch!
Fortunately, my pants were thick—otherwise, those sharp fingernails could've made me break off my family line.
"So big..."
Suddenly, the corpse behind us seemed to ghostly murmur two words.
What the hell? At midnight, truly bizarre things happen. Had this corpse undergone zombie mutation after all?
Stein said that when I'd pulled my pants down earlier, the female corpse must've gotten a look—and now she'd taken a liking to me.
"Like hell she did! You're the one who exposed me to her. Stop talking nonsense and think of a way out!" My heart pounded, my whole body drenched in sweat.
If it were any other body part, I could've struggled. But there? I didn't dare move. Dead people had no sense of restraint—who knew if she'd mutated into a zombie or what? One ruthless squeeze, and I'd be a eunuch.
Stein frowned, pondered for a moment, then suddenly brightened. "I've got an idea!"
He turned to the female corpse in the coffin and said solemnly: "Honored ancestor, this man is the chosen one of the Dai family's eldest granddaughter, Daphne. Please do not compete with your own descendant."
Surprisingly, Stein's words worked. The corpse's hand immediately retracted.
Gasping in relief, I scrambled out of the coffin pit like a madman. This money isn't worth it—I almost ended the Tang family bloodline right here.
The higher the pay, the greater the danger. Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts was dark, Yin-related sorcery—this was truly ghost money we were earning.
When I climbed out, Daphne was already waiting above. She'd changed out of her skirt into jeans and a tight T-shirt, which accentuated her figure even more than the loose dress.
"No time to waste—seal the coffin and get out now," I urged. "The graveyard's Yin energy grows heavier at night. Unlike last night, we don't have a crowd of masters keeping things in check."
Daphne, equally spooked, hurriedly ordered the coffin sealed and the tombstone restored. Meanwhile, Stein and I kept close watch on the butler, ensuring he couldn't pull any tricks.
Fortunately, with two pairs of eyes on him, the butler stayed frozen, unable to act.
Once finished, I refused to linger. Daphne's group and I descended the cemetery mountain—the Azure Dragon and White Tiger tattoos could wait until tomorrow.
Back in the car, Daphne's gaze was odd, her eyes occasionally flickering toward me with an unreadable expression. Her usual icy demeanor had melted away, replaced by occasional flushed cheeks—as if remembering something.
They say cold women are fiery beneath the surface; it's just a matter of finding the spark to ignite them.
To break the awkwardness, I asked: "What happened after you went into the coffin pit earlier?"
Daphne collected her thoughts and said she had gone down there only to remove the corpse's shoes, but couldn't get them off. Then when I went down and turned around, she saw another version of herself standing opposite me.
It was strange - she wasn't usually the type to make a scene or pick fights, but after smelling a particular scent, her mood and temper suddenly turned violent.
Given the situation at the time, it should have been terrifying enough to scare her - suddenly seeing an exact duplicate of herself appearing in the coffin pit would make anyone's hair stand on end. Yet her reaction had been to fight with that other self, which was somewhat unbelievable.
"We were hallucinating at the time, that's why we acted like that. Have you ever seen this thing before?" I held out the Corpse-scented Demon Puppet.
Daphne examined the small figurine and shook her head, saying she'd never seen it before, but found it unspeakably evil. She wondered why it was carved to look exactly like her.
I explained this was called a Corpse-scented Demon Puppet - the fragrance it emitted had caused our hallucinations. More likely, it had once... transformed into you. That other Daphne we saw was its doing, until I dissolved it with child's urine.
"According to Stein, this thing was hanging from your skirt earlier."
Daphne looked surprised. "It was?" She hadn't noticed it at all when it had been attached to her clothing.
As I suspected, Daphne had been completely unaware of the Corpse-scented Demon Puppet's presence on her skirt. Clearly someone had placed it there intentionally - and the prime suspect was the butler.
After driving us back to the tattoo parlor, Daphne quickly left. But before going, her eyes unconsciously flickered downward again, her face flushing red once more before she closed the car door and sped away.
I was somewhat surprised. Was Daphne drunk or something? She'd been blushing all night. Could being around a handsome guy like me actually be making her shy?
Well, nine times out of ten that was the case!