When dusk engulfed the rugged mountain road, Lu Jiuyuan saw the ruined monument. The body of the stele is inserted diagonally among thorns. The upper half is engraved with "The Tomb of the General who was sealed and suppressed by imperial decree", but the lower half is covered with ravines scratched by fingernails and mixed with dark brown stains. He squatted down and twirled the soil, and his fingertips were stained with a sticky smell—human blood mixed with corpse oil. Crows screamed in the distance, and a green lantern dimly lit up in the depths of the forest. Under the lantern, a rickety figure staggered along dragging an iron chain. A coffin without a lid was tied to the end of the chain, and blue-gray fingers stretched out from the coffin to scratch at the wooden board.----------------
