I left Yin-Yang Abbey as dawn neared. The mountain mist lifted slightly, revealing distant ridges.
I descended the stone steps, passing the six coffins again, my heart heavy. Generations of Chen yin walkers were trapped in the walls of the abbey. The fiend said they owed it. Owed what? Grandpa never said.
I knew the fiend was lying. Even if I found my father, after seizing his body and growing stronger, it would never free Grandpa. But I had no choice but to play along.
I clutched the black jade tablet to my chest, cold against my skin, and returned to Yin Village as the sun rose. The village chief waited at my shop.
"Xiao Jiu, you're back! Are you alright?" he asked, worried.
"I'm fine. Chief, do you know the Yin-Walking Well?"
The chief turned pale and stepped back.
"How do you know of that place? It's the Chen family's entrance to the underworld. Your grandfather went down a few times when he was young, but never again. He said the thing inside grew more ferocious."
"What's in it?"
"He never said. Only that the well was alive, that it recognized yin walkers. Anyone else who went down would die for sure."
A living well. I thought of the murals: an eye growing on a coffin, a well that lived. How many horrors hid in Ghost Howl Ridge?"Chief, I'm going back up tonight."
"Again?" he panicked. "Your grandfather forbade it! Don't be foolish!"
"My father is on the mountain. I have to find him."
The chief fell silent, then sighed and pressed a string of copper coins into my hand.
"Your grandfather left these for me. They help in yin walking. Take them."
I accepted. The runes carved on them matched those on the Seven-Coin Sword.
I entered the shop and closed the door. The bronze coffin still stood in the corner, blood writing clear.
I approached, placed a hand on the lid, and whispered:
"Grandpa, I know it wasn't you who wrote those words. You're suffering in there. I will save you."
No sound came. Then, suddenly, a faint woman's laugh drifted from inside, light and eerie, sending chills down my spine.
I pulled back quickly, stepping away. The coffin fell silent again. Staring at it, I finally understood Grandpa's warning:
Whatever was trapped inside had never been alone.
I spent the entire day preparing. Flipping through Grandpa's Yin Walking Records, I finally found a brief entry on the Yin-Walking Well:
The Yin-Walking Well stands atop Ghost Howl Ridge, connecting to the underworld.
To enter: at midnight, smear blood on the rim, chant the Chen ancestral incantation three times. The well will open.
Remember: once you descend, do not look back. To look back is to remain in the underworld forever.
It said nothing of what lay within, nor how to return. Clearly, Grandpa never wanted his descendants to step near it.