Mayi Physiognomy

Reading the face of a corpse?

My grandfather actually taught me this, but I never really had a chance to practice it. Just like reading the faces of ghosts – if it weren't for my recent frequent encounters with ghosts, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to use those skills either.

So, when I heard Li Yajing's question, I hesitated for a moment before nodding. "I know a little."

"Wow! You really can read the faces of the dead?" Li Yajing asked with great interest. "Tell me, how do you do it? Once a person is dead, they have no life left. Where does this 'face' come from? Isn't reading faces about reading life?"

From her words, I could tell she had a rough understanding of physiognomy and divination.

When my grandfather first explained reading a corpse's face, I was very skeptical too. But after hearing his detailed explanation, it made sense.

Humans have fate – their worldly destiny.

Corpses have fate – their departing bitter fate.

Ghosts have fate – their underworld tribulation fate.

Immortals have fate – their...

Well, the last one my grandfather didn't tell me. He said I wouldn't have much chance in this lifetime to divine the fortunes of immortals.

I repeated what my grandfather told me to Li Yajing. She asked curiously, "What is 'departing bitter fate'? And what's 'underworld tribulation fate'?"

I scratched my head. "'Departing bitter fate' is essentially the fate of a corpse rotting and weathering. The process is cruel, hence 'bitter fate.' If you read from a corpse's face that its 'departing bitter fate' is unfavorable, it might mean it cannot depart peacefully for a long time, turning into a dried corpse, or even transforming into a zombie."

"A zombie?" Li Yajing was taken aback.

I waved my hand dismissively. "Zombies? I've only heard about them from my grandfather and seen them in movies. Haven't heard of any real ones anywhere."

Li Yajing glanced at Wang Junhui and then asked me, "And 'underworld tribulation fate'?"

My tongue loosened now that I was in the flow. I explained in one breath: "'Underworld tribulation fate' refers to the calamities ghosts face. Once a person's soul leaves their body, or when the 'Earth' and 'Life' souls meet and become a ghost, they are hunted down by Yin Chai (underworld bailiffs) everywhere. They are sent to the various hells controlled by the Ten Kings of Hell to atone for the mistakes they made in the mortal world. Hence, it's called 'tribulation fate.'"

Li Yajing asked another curious question: "If there are Yin Chai catching ghosts, why do incidents of ghosts harming people still happen?"

Before I could answer, Wang Junhui cut in: "There are always ones that slip through the net. The Yin Chai aren't omnipotent. That's why there are practitioners like us to make up for the oversights."

By evening, our group had reached the Taihang Mountains region straddling the Shanxi-Hebei border. It was only about three or four hundred li from our county town. We stopped at a small town called Baiyu, where two middle-aged men were waiting specifically for us.

One was named Lin Sen, Wang Junhui's assistant.

I only learned he had an assistant after meeting Lin Sen. According to Wang Junhui, Lin Sen wasn't a practitioner of the Dao, but a veteran soldier discharged from the army, highly skilled in combat.

Lin Sen was indeed powerfully built. Though middle-aged, standing at around six feet tall, he still cut an imposing and dignified figure.

His facial features leaned towards the fierce side – a warrior's look, but without the destiny of a general or minister. People like this either die violently on the battlefield or end their days alone. Lin Sen clearly looked like a man with a hard lot in life.

Of course, I wouldn't say any of this in front of him.

The other man was called Zhao Kuan, a local. He used to contract forestry work here and was extremely familiar with the mountain environment. He was our guide for this trip into the mountains.

It was only after meeting Zhao Kuan that I understood Wang Junhui and Li Yajing's earlier comment about the journey taking seven or eight days. It didn't mean driving for that long; it meant trekking through the mountains on foot to reach our destination would take seven or eight days of effort.

Zhao Kuan's face was ordinary, nothing remarkable discernible for now.

After introductions, Zhao Kuan went home, saying he'd come back to find us first thing tomorrow morning when we set off.

Lin Sen took us to a guesthouse not far from the town entrance. He had already booked rooms for us. After putting our things down, we went to a nearby noodle shop for some lamian – that was our dinner.

While eating, Lin Sen mentioned: "I asked around locally. The woods here are dense. Plus, with stricter gun control in recent years and a ban on hunting in the mountains, wild boars and wolves have multiplied again. That's something we need to be aware of."

Wang Junhui nodded. "Those are minor concerns. Anything else?"

Lin Sen thought for a moment. "Oh, and since it's summer, there might be quite a few snakes in the woods."

After Lin Sen finished, I chimed in: "Wolves and snakes? Nothing to worry about. In the Taihang Mountains, there aren't any wolf packs. A single wolf runs into us? We can't handle it? As for snakes, as long as we're careful walking and don't provoke them, there shouldn't be a problem."

Lin Sen shook his head. "Chu Yi, you're too young. You're oversimplifying things. In recent years, near Baiyu Town, several villagers who went into the mountains have been 'licked by wolves.' They've all turned into monsters, hideously ugly. If you underestimate the wolves in these mountains, you might end up getting your face licked too."

Licked by wolves?

I was just about to ask Lin Sen for details when he picked up his bowl of noodle soup, drained the broth with a loud "Gulp!", wiped his mouth roughly with a napkin, and said, "The specifics? Ask our guide about it tomorrow. He can tell you. He could even take you to see someone nearby who got their face licked by a wolf. Guarantee you'll never forget that face."

After dinner, there wasn't much to see in the small town, so we each went back to our rooms at the guesthouse to rest. After all, we needed to be alert early the next morning to head into the mountains and spend the next seven or eight days there.

Early the next morning, after breakfast, our guide Zhao Kuan arrived. We went to Lin Sen's room to pick up the "equipment" for the mountain trek: tents, battery-powered lamps, lighters, candles, dry rations, water, and such.

With our gear ready, the five of us first took a tractor Zhao Kuan had arranged for us to the foot of the mountains, and then began our hike into the hills.

At this point, I asked again about the purpose of this trip. Wang Junhui chuckled and said, "We're here to catch something. Someone wants it from me. If I can't deliver, it'll be very troublesome."

I asked what it was. Wang Junhui shook his head. "I'll tell you when we find it. If we don't find it, there's no need to mention the name of something that doesn't exist."

As we entered the mountains, Li Yajing was still wearing her sunglasses and a sun hat, having meticulously applied sunscreen, presumably afraid of getting a tan.

Lin Sen carried the most gear among us. He walked at the rear, covering our backs. Zhao Kuan walked at the front, leading the way.

I quickly noticed that Zhao Kuan wasn't much of a talker. He just trudged along silently, answering briefly if asked, but otherwise staying quiet.

After walking for a while, I remembered what Lin Sen said last night about the wolf-licked faces and asked Zhao Kuan about it. He just said, "Oh, that? Everyone around here knows about it. In recent years, every year, among those going into the mountains, there's always one unlucky person who runs into a wolf. Luckily, no lives were lost. They just had half their face, including the nose, licked off by the wolf."

"Licked off?" I echoed in disbelief.

No matter how rough a wolf's tongue is, it couldn't possibly lick off a person's nose! I often see zookeepers on TV and in zoos playing with wolves; those wolves lick the keepers plenty. If wolf tongues were really that dangerous, those keepers would have been disfigured long ago...

Seeing my skepticism, Zhao Kuan pulled out his phone. "I have a photo on my phone. It's of someone from our town. She went up the mountain to dig for medicinal herbs, ran into a wolf, got licked once, and ended up like this."

As he spoke, Zhao Kuan turned his phone screen towards me, showing me a picture.

I looked at the screen and instantly shuddered. The face was barely recognizable as a woman's. The nose was gone, leaving only two gaping nostrils. Half the face was covered in purplish-red, twisted scars – likely caused when the nose was "licked" off, tearing away the skin on that side of her face.

It was true; I would never forget that face.

Human ugliness comes in two kinds. One kind makes you want to laugh; the other was the face on the phone screen before me – ugly to the point of fear.

Of course, I meant no disrespect to the owner of that face. I was just stating my most direct, visceral reaction.

Could this really be the work of a wolf?

While I was looking, Li Yajing and Wang Junhui also leaned in to see. Both of them remained much calmer than I was.

It was easy to understand. Wang Junhui was a master of the Daoist arts, dealing with cases involving ferocious ghosts. He'd probably seen faces far more terrifying than this.

Li Yajing was a medical student, a master's graduate. She must have seen plenty of bloody scenes. This level of horror probably didn't faze her much.

I didn't look at the face for too long. Her physiognomic features were severely damaged. Through a phone screen, I couldn't use her life aura to determine the state of her fate gates. So, I couldn't glean anything from her face.

Zhao Kuan put his phone away. "My son took that photo on my phone a while back. I don't know how to delete photos, so it stayed there. Handy for showing you today."

I asked Zhao Kuan again how he could be so sure it was licked by a wolf and not bitten.

He replied, "It's not that I'm sure. It's that everyone who had their face licked by a wolf said they were licked. Could they all be making it up?"

This was strange. I turned to look at Wang Junhui. He just smiled and said, "We should probably keep moving. The mountain path isn't easy, and it's a seven or eight-day journey."

Zhao Kuan fell silent, put his phone away, and continued leading the way.

After another half hour or so, Li Yajing suddenly said she was tired and needed a rest. Wang Junhui checked the time and agreed. After all, he was the boss of this operation; we were to follow his lead.

Once we were all seated, Wang Junhui looked at Zhao Kuan and asked, "Brother Zhao, I heard from Old Lin (Lin Sen) that besides wild boars, snakes, and wolves, there are other things stirring in these mountains, right?"