Chapter 119 Princess Anle (ETL) Part 1
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Chapter 119 The Princess is Really Gone!
After leaving the library, Gu Ye called Xia Xiang’s grandfather and arranged a meeting. He and Xia Xiang went to the City History Museum that day. Xia Xiang’s maternal grandfather was the former curator of the museum. In his youth, he was an archaeologist, the kind of expert who personally went into the site themselves.
The old man was sprightly, with the air of a scholar, wearing glasses and looking quite refined. However, perhaps due to genetics, he wasn’t tall. His body was thin, and he had a baby face, so from a distance, he looked like a little old man. At this point, Gu Ye looked at Xia Xiang and almost burst out laughing. Seeing his expression, Xia Xiang instantly knew what Gu Ye was thinking. He gritted his teeth in anger, wanting nothing more than to punch Gu Ye. “I know I’m going to look like that when I get old, stop staring at me like that!”
Gu Ye felt wronged. What had he said? He hadn’t said anything, so why was Xia Xiang getting angry?
The old man invited Gu Ye to the museum and explained the princess’s situation: “Princess Anle died over 500 years ago. A year ago, she appeared at a private auction house abroad. Because her body was well-preserved, it attracted the interest of a wealthy businessman in China, who bought her and brought her back to the country. Unexpectedly, this businessman died 3 months later. After changing hands several times, the 3 wealthy businessmen who collected her all died. The son of the third businessman felt she was too inauspicious and donated her to us.”
Xia Xiang chipped in, “Everyone says this princess is cursed; whoever collects her will die. Those who like to collect mummies and similar items dare not collect her, and she’s difficult to sell. Keeping her at home might cause someone to die, so they sent her to the museum.”
Hearing that, the old man feigned anger and sternly said, “Don’t talk nonsense. The fact that they donated her to us shows their noble character; we should be grateful.”
Xia Xiang quickly chimed in, “Yes, we should learn from their noble character.”
The old man nodded in satisfaction before continuing, “I wanted to investigate whether this corpse was cursed. I examined everything, from the coffin to the body, but found nothing that could cause death. So I wanted to get some colleagues to take a look. Just the day before yesterday, I put her in this lab, and while I was researching, someone said, ‘The princess ran away!'”
Gu Ye’s eyes lit up, and he asked with interest, “Ran away?”
“Yes,” the old man said, walking ahead with his hands behind his back, “Yes, someone saw her walk out of here. We also have surveillance footage. Actually, no one here believes in ghosts; they just wanted your opinion.”
Gu Ye looked at Xia Xiang, thinking, “Wow, that’s exciting! She ran away by herself!”
Xia Xiang gestured for Gu Ye not to be so excited. The researchers here didn’t believe in ghosts. His grandfather only believed it because he(XX) had been able to see ghosts since childhood, and his grandfather was used to it. The old man said, “I’ve called you here privately; many people don’t know about this. I’m thinking if we waited to get her back using scientific methods, the princess might already be rotting outside somewhere, and they’ll never find her.”
“Did they call the police?”
“No, who would believe the body walked out on its own?”
As they spoke, the old man called over a few people. “These are the people who were present when it happened that night. These two are my students; they were my assistants that night,” the old man said, pointing to a young man in his mid-twenties. “Li Xuan, and this girl is Ding Xiaoxiao.”
The girl named Ding Xiaoxiao stared intently at Gu Ye, her eyes filled with excitement. Gu Ye guessed she might recognize him, so he smiled politely. Ding Xiaoxiao immediately blushed. Li Xuan, who was standing nearby, frowned at this. His gaze towards Gu Ye was neither cold nor warm, but upon closer inspection, it hinted at hostility.
Gu Ye was confused, but then turned to look at the man in the security guard uniform. The old man introduced him, “This is Lu Qiangjun. He was on duty that night and saw her leave.”
The man named Lu Qiangjun turned pale at the mention of what happened that night, saying in horror, “Yes, I saw her walk out. She even glanced at me at the door. It was terrifying! Even if she was beautiful when she was alive, she’s a dried-up corpse after death. Her face was all dry. It was horrible! I have a video recording here. Do you want to see it?”
“Let’s watch it together.”
“Please wait a moment.”
Just as Lu Qiangjun was playing back the video recording, Ding Xiaoxiao walked up to Gu Ye and said shyly, “I suspect the princess went to see her lover. I have some research data. This princess had several romances, each of which was broken up by her father, the emperor. She loved 3 people in total, but all 3 died. In the end, she married the person she disliked the most, but he also died less than 2 years after their marriage. The princess ultimately died when she was 25 years old.”
After listening, Gu Ye asked seriously, “Is this princess just unlucky? All the people who liked her died.”
Ding Xiaoxiao was stunned for a moment, then shook her head and corrected, “No, she just had a lot of bad luck in love; it was too tragic.”
Gu Ye was speechless, thinking that this princess had fallen in love quite early. She was only 25 and already had such a rich romantic history. How was she tragic? Didn’t she change her mind quickly?
At this moment, Lu Qiangjun found the recording of that night and started playing it. In the video, the princess first moved her limbs, then suddenly sat up. She struggled to her feet, initially swaying, her movements slow and stiff. Then, she stumbled to the door. Just then, security captain Lu Qiangjun arrived and saw the princess walk out on her own. Lu Qiangjun’s horror was evident in the video; he screamed, “The princess ran away! She’s come back to life!”
Perhaps hearing Lu Qiangjun’s voice, the princess stiffly turned around, immediately silencing Lu Qiangjun. Next, the princess stiffly turned around and walked towards the main entrance. The scene shifted, and the security guard at the gate screamed in terror. Then the gate slowly opened, and the princess walked out.
Watching this scene again, it still managed to cause Lu Qiangjun to turn pale. “I almost peed my pants from fright.”
Gu Ye patted Lu Qiangjun sympathetically, removing the bad luck clinging to him at the same time. “A normal person would be scared seeing this. You did very well.”
The man smiled sheepishly. “Thank you for the encouragement, Master.”
The old man asked Gu Ye, “Did she leave on her own? Is it really haunted?”
Gu Ye smiled. “We can’t jump to conclusions yet. Let me walk around the museum first, and I’ll tell you later.”
“Alright, Xia Xiang knows this place well. Let him show you around.”
The entire museum was devoid of any ghostly or deathly aura. There were a few mummified corpses inside, but these ancient relics had been dead for many years, and nothing remained. On the wall of one exhibition hall hung a portrait of the princess. Xia Xiang explained, “It’s said that this hall was opened for the princess, but before it could be exhibited, she ran away.”
Gu Ye stood before the princess’s portrait, gazing at it with a sigh, “She was indeed beautiful; no wonder so many people liked her.”
Xia Xiang chuckled, “Why are you so gossipy? The important thing now isn’t the princess’s romantic history, but where she goes. Did she really go to find her lovers?”
Gu Ye chuckled. “Don’t be ridiculous. Her lovers have been dead for years; they’re all underground. Do you think she’d go to the graves to find them? She probably doesn’t even know where they’re buried. Do you think she’d go looking for their reincarnations? In this vast sea of people, that’s absolutely impossible. I don’t think this is a ghost’s work.”
Gu Ye took out an evolved version of a ghost-catching talisman and burned it here. The talisman burned completely without any reaction, indicating there was no ghostly energy, not even a hidden one. Gu Ye smiled and said, “It wasn’t a ghost.”
Xia Xiang sighed helplessly, “Then let’s go find my grandfather. Since this doesn’t work, we’ll call the police. We’ll just tell them she left on her own. It’s just that strange; there’s nothing we can do.”
When Gu Ye returned and told the old man about his finding, his expression turned serious. If it was a ghost, that was fine; but if it was a human, it meant something was wrong with the museum.
Ding Xiaoxiao asked, puzzled, “How could it not be a ghost? How could she have done this? She clearly walked out on her own.”
Li Xuan couldn’t help but speak up, “Xiaoxiao, don’t be so superstitious. We study history and corpses; we shouldn’t talk about ghosts.” He looked at Gu Ye with disdain. So-called masters were just folk shamans; Li Xuan couldn’t understand why the director would hire such a beardless little master to cause trouble.
Ding Xiaoxiao persisted, “But what if the princess is resurrected 500 years later, and travels through 500 years of time to find her lover? Doesn’t that seem romantic?”
Li Xuan’s lips twitched. He opened his mouth, but couldn’t find a reason to refute her.
Hearing that, Gu Ye almost burst out laughing. This was a typical lovestruck young girl, wanting romance in everything. He smiled and asked, “Have you heard of the corpse-drivers of Xiangxi?”
Ref 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiangshi
Ref 2: https://www.discoverzhangjiajie.com/xiangxi-corpse-driving.html
Ding Xiaoxiao said excitedly, “I know, I’ve seen it on TV. The corpse-drivers carry bells; when they shake them, ding-ling-ling, the corpses behind them follow. They usually travel at night and rest during the day, staying in special inns. It’s said they were seen in the early days of the People’s Republic, but haven’t been seen in recent years.”
Li Xuan gave a nonchalant laugh. “Corpse-drivers were used in ancient times when people died far from home, and only corpse-drivers could transport their bodies back to their hometowns. However, that magic of moving a corpse with a bell has long been scientifically deciphered.”
Ding Xiaoxiao exclaimed admiringly, “That’s amazing!”
Li Xuan straightened his back immediately, proudly stating, “This technique requires two people, usually a master and apprentice. The master walks in front, carrying a bell, while the apprentice follows behind. To prevent decay and for ease of movement, they dismember the corpse, keeping only the limbs and head, discarding the heavier torso and replacing it with lightweight straw. Then, long bamboo poles are attached to the armpits. After that, the corpse is dressed in long robes, which makes the changes undetectable. As long as the master and apprentice move in unison, the corpse will move accordingly.”
Ding Xiaoxiao asked curiously, “Can’t others tell that the body has been switched? Won’t the deceased’s family investigate? How will they explain this to the deceased’s family?”
Li Xuan spoke eloquently, “Generally, after the body is returned to the family home, the corpse-driver will say, ‘Don’t look at it anymore, don’t disturb the spirit, don’t look at it closely to avoid it rising from the dead,’ and then immediately put the corpse into the coffin and bury it. Besides, even with the best preservation, a person has been dead for more than ten days, or even almost a month, which means the corpse will smell bad; the face may already be rotting. The family just needs to know it’s a family member; who would bother to peel back the clothes and look closely? Furthermore, people back then were quite superstitious; they believed whatever the corpse-driver said.”
Everyone looked at Li Xuan with admiration; he spoke with great clarity and understanding.
Gu Ye nodded, “That makes a lot of scientific sense,” he said with a smile, “However, some things are better believed than disbelieved.”
Li Xuan scoffed dismissively, remaining silent.
Noticing Li Xuan’s hostility towards Gu Ye, Xia Xiang glanced at Ding Xiaoxiao, whose gaze was fixed on Gu Ye, and couldn’t help but laugh. This was truly an undeserved misfortune.
Gu Ye didn’t know what he had done to offend Li Xuan. He shrugged and said helplessly to the old man, “I have nothing more to say. Call the police; it’s definitely done by a human.”
There was no other way, so the old man had to call the police. Since it was a cultural relic, and one with over 500 years of history and considerable scientific value, the criminal investigation team was directly involved. When Mu Jingfei’s men arrived and saw Gu Ye, they were both amused and exasperated. Xiao Wang, always talkative and joking, exaggeratedly exclaimed, “Advisor! It’s you again?”
Gu Ye helplessly shrugged. “I guess I really am a walking Detective Conan. Wherever I go, either there are dead people or corpses that have risen from the dead.”
Raw word count: 10371 (whole chapter)
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