The staff were bewildered, unsure of what I intended to do, perhaps suspecting some illicit plan!
I had no way to explain, so I simply told him to proceed as instructed. The staff member consulted the registration form and, from a freezer, pulled out a body. This one was scheduled for cremation at two in the afternoon; the memorial service and other arrangements had already concluded. The family had gone to lunch and would return later in the afternoon to collect the ashes.
I wanted to dismiss the staff member, but this young man was quite conscientious and insisted he couldn't leave until we did, lest I do something untoward to the girl.
"Very well, but you must promise not to speak of anything you see!" I warned him.
"...As long as it's not illegal."
"Don't worry, it won't put you in a difficult position." I beckoned, and Chen Ke approached with a small makeup kit. I had Sha Wuji lift the girl's head and began to apply needles.
Living people are easier to handle; a deceased person, with a non-functioning nervous system, is more troublesome. It took a full fifteen minutes before the girl's face began to resemble Bai Majia's. I can't say it was an exact match, but it had about seventy percent similarity. Chen Ke then used cosmetics to refine it further, achieving around ninety percent. I felt this was sufficient; that blue-mist great demon might not examine it too closely.
Borrowing the body and taking it for a walk around was possible. The young man agreed, though he would have to accompany us.
We found a small trolley, placed the respectable girl on it, covered her with a white cloth, and Sha Wuji and Shuang He pushed her towards the front entrance. This was done deliberately so the blue-mist great demon would see her. However, the demon didn't seem to pay much attention, perhaps feeling complacent. Seizing the opportunity, I disguised myself as a staff member and asked Sha Wuji, "Sir, has this deceased not been registered yet? What is her name?"
"Oh, her name is... what was it again?" Sha Wuji couldn't recall and turned to Li Hong beside him.
"It's written on her ID, Bai Majia," Li Hong replied. Her ID was indeed on her person.
Upon hearing this name, the blue-mist great demon finally reacted. It slipped behind a pillar and began to observe us covertly.
I pretended to make a note on my ledger and then whispered, as if confidential, "Sha Biyia's spirit guide told us you have priority. Take her directly to the cremation chamber in the back."
"Alright, thank you," Sha Wuji said.
"We need a family member's signature. I assume there are no family members present? But someone must sign, otherwise, we can't finalize this. How about you sign, sir? May I ask your name?" I added more to the act.
"My name is Sha Wuji, you can call me Old Sha," Sha Wuji replied with a simple smile.
"Sha, like in Sha Wujing?" I asked.
"Yes."
I wrote "Sha" in the book and then asked, "Which Wuji?"
"It's... Wuji, boundless, no end. That Wuji."
I nodded and wrote down the name: "Alright, take her to the back."
At this moment, the blue-mist great demon suddenly approached, pretending to carelessly brush against the white cloth, catching a glimpse of "Bai Majia's" face inside.
"What are you doing? Be careful!" Sha Wuji said angrily.
"Sorry, sorry," the blue-mist great demon apologized and immediately left.
The staff member accompanied us to the cremation chamber at the back, taking over the trolley. Family members were not allowed inside, so Sha Wuji waited by the entrance. However, Daji had already mixed in with the small capsule, and I presumed she was burning.
About half an hour later, the staff member pushed the trolley out. On it was a metal box containing a pile of ashes. Sha Wuji and I used the prepared ash box to collect the remains. Since the blue-mist great demon was still observing from a distance, Li Hong, following my script, deliberately exclaimed, "Huh? What is this? Is it a gallstone?"
The small object, after being burned, had indeed turned into something resembling a stone.
"I don't know, it looks like a chip?" I used tweezers to pick up the small object and examined it against the sun. After the high-temperature incineration, the green light finally ceased to illuminate.
"Never mind it, brother. Let's find a place to sell it," Sha Wuji said.
After collecting the ashes, we left with the box. The blue-mist great demon, believing its mission accomplished, had already driven away.
Only then did we return the girl's body and give the staff member ten thousand yuan as hush money.
The staff member thought we were from Sha Biyia and refused.
"Take it," I smiled. "Our activity funds are ample. If you don't take it, it won't reach us anyway." The young man reluctantly accepted.
At two in the afternoon, the girl was "cremated" again. Afterward, her family took the box to a nearby public cemetery for a normal burial.
The girl's name was Wang Yimei, only 24 years old. She died in a car accident. A tragic loss.
I had been searching the surroundings and finally found the aura of this girl's soul in the parking lot ahead. She seemed dazed, perhaps still disoriented from the crash and not yet recovered, squatting in the shade of a tree.
I approached and crouched in front of her: "Hello, are you Wang Yimei?"
The girl looked up: "Are you... Hmm? Why are you talking to me? Am I not dead yet?"
"No, you are dead. I am a Yin Messenger, here to escort you," I said with a smile.
Having messed with her face like this, this was the only compensation I could offer – to ensure she had a good afterlife.