The Maoshan Heir
Chapter 12: The Nameless Grave
Dense fog blanketed the cemetery.
After Truong Bach Uy’s figure disappeared, the surroundings fell silent once more.
But Ha Van Son remained motionless.
His gaze was fixed on the depths of the cemetery, where the moonlight could not reach.
Luc Minh walked over.
“You know him?”
Ha Van Son gave a slight nod.
“Not just know him...”
“...I once nearly died at his hands.”
He said nothing more.
The Bell in the Cemetery
It was exactly midnight.
Clang...
A bronze bell rang out from behind the hill.
The deep, muffled sound was exactly like the bell Luc Minh had once heard at An Hoa Hospital.
The peachwood sword on his back began to shake violently.
The half of the purple talisman in his pocket emitted a faint glow.
Ha Van Son’s expression changed at once.
“This is bad.”
“Someone is opening the underworld gate.”
The three of them quickly ran toward the sound of the bell.
The Forgotten Burial Ground
Beyond the hill lay an old cemetery.
There were no gravestones.
No incense smoke.
Only dozens of earthen mounds covered in weeds.
In the very center...
stood a grave that was entirely different.
It bore no name of the dead.
No birth year.
No year of death.
Only a single line had been carved into it.
> “A person who should not exist.”
The moment Luc Minh saw those words...
The black mark on his wrist suddenly flared with heat.
A violent wave of pain forced him to his knees.
A Familiar Birth Date
To Nhuoc crouched down and brushed the dirt off the gravestone.
At the very bottom, a tiny line of text appeared.
> Born: July 15
Luc Minh was stunned.
It was his birthday.
He muttered,
“Impossible...”
“It’s just a coincidence...”
But Ha Van Son shook his head.
“In this world...”
“...there aren’t that many coincidences.”
The Coffin Underground
Luc Minh took a shovel and dug into the earth in front of the grave marker.
Less than half a meter down...
The shovel blade struck wood.
A black coffin gradually emerged.
The lid was covered in Maoshan talismans.
But every single one...
had been written in reverse.
At the center of the coffin lid was a red eye-shaped mark.
It was identical to the symbol of the Huyen Ling Society.
Ha Van Son drew a quiet breath.
“Don’t open it.”
“Not yet, at least.”
But it was already too late.
The coffin lid began to tremble on its own.
Inside the Coffin
Crack...
Crack...
The wooden nails popped out one after another.
The coffin lid slowly opened.
There was no corpse inside.
Only a child’s outfit yellowed with age.
A small peachwood sword.
And...
A wooden nameplate.
Luc Minh picked it up.
Two words were carved into the front.
> Luc Minh
To Nhuoc was startled.
“That’s your name.”
Luc Minh turned it over.
A line of text as red as blood appeared on the back.
> Died at age four.
No one could say a word.
Sealed Memories
The instant Luc Minh touched the small peachwood sword...
A burst of white light erupted.
Fragmented images appeared in his mind.
A hospital room.
A woman holding him and crying.
Luc Thien Ha stood before a gigantic ritual formation.
On the formation...
were two children.
One was him.
The other had an identical face.
Luc Thien Ha shouted,
“There’s only one way!”
“Otherwise...”
“...both of you will die!”
The image vanished.
Luc Minh clutched his head in agony.
Moc Thanh Appears
Amid the fog...
A little girl in a blue dress slowly approached.
She looked about ten years old.
Her hair was neatly tied back.
Her eyes were clear and bright.
She was the same girl who had once appeared outside Luc Minh’s window.
The girl looked at the coffin and sighed softly.
“Finally...”
“...you found it.”
Luc Minh raised his head.
“Who are you?”
The girl smiled.
“My name is...”
Moc Thanh.
“I’ve been waiting for you...”
“...for eighteen years.”
Ha Van Son immediately stepped forward and shielded Luc Minh.
His eyes were filled with wariness.
“Stay away from him.”
Moc Thanh only smiled faintly.
“If I wanted to hurt him...”
“...I would have done it long ago.”
The girl bent down and placed a wildflower on the coffin lid.
Then she looked at Luc Minh.
“Do you know...”
“...why this grave has no name?”
Luc Minh shook his head.
Moc Thanh replied softly,
“Because...”
“...the person buried inside was never allowed to exist.”
With that...
The girl turned and walked into the fog.
Her figure gradually faded away.
Only her voice lingered in the air.
> “If you want to know the truth...”
> “...return to Maoshan Temple before the night of the blood moon.”
Luc Minh stood silently before the nameless grave.
For the first time...
he began to wonder...
Was he really Luc Minh, or was he merely a name given to someone who had already died at the age of four?
End of Chapter 12.