Crimson Shadows (2026)

[bunniefuu]

During the warlord-torn

years of the Republic of China

a series of strange unsolved

cases breaks out across Xiangxi

throwing everyone into panic

every household keeps their

doors and windows shut tight

no one dares go out at night

and it happens just before

the Chinese Ghost Festival

the villagers speak of spirits and demons

rumors spread everywhere.

Some say

the gates of the underworld have opened

homeless wandering souls

are possessing the living

to vent their resentment.

Shopkeeper Liu.

Old Mo.

Why are the lamps not lit?

The Ghost Festival is almost here.

We should deliver it sooner.

What are you two eating?

I am talking to you!

Old Mo.

Who the hell are you?

You picked the wrong man.

No one escapes my g*n.

Ah!

Damn it!

Go to Hell!

Go to Hell!

Go!

Let go of me!

Let go of me!

Ah!

Did you hear that?

That ghostly howl from

the back mountain last night.

Mm.

That definitely wasn't a human voice.

My grandfather says.

We need to prepare

offerings for the yin guests.

Then they won't come inside and eat people.

Don't talk nonsense.

Who's that woman?

Judging by how she's dressed...

Probably some officer's new concubine.

Another old ox eating tender grass.

Come on, let's go.

I am sorry.

It is over.

You broke the spirits' gold-and-silver rice.

When they devour the

three souls, calamity begins.

Such fragrant blood.

Such tender flesh.

On the night of the Ghost Festival

the blood moon will rise

you will surely die by

the fires of hell.

Go away.

You will die in the fires of hell.

You.

You die in the fires of hell.

You all.

All of you will die in the fires of hell.

The Great Way begins in the dark origin

boundless grace descends

from the Upper Pure Realm

all evils are swept away.

Should any lesser demon

dare appear before this rite

the Heavenly-cleaving axe shall descend

severing the fivefold ghostly forms.

By the blazing blood of the Flame Emperor

by the Northern Dipper that burns the bones

let death's radiance shatter

flesh and scatter remains.

By the Heavenly Marshal's decree,

let all unclean kinds be extinguished.

With one stike of the divine blade

all demons

collapse on their own

lesser demon, reveal yourself.

By urgent command, as the law decrees.

Stop!

Grandfather.

Grandfather.

Grandfather.

You cannot die

I am back

I am back.

Yunman...

Do not cry

I am all right.

No manners.

What are you doing?

Father.

What exactly happened to Grandfather?

Get out of there!

You're interfering with the

Taoist master's healing ritual.

Master Kui.

Let us continue.

The lessor demons have run off.

Master Kui.

You.

Master Kui.

Master Kui.

Please wait for me.

Please let me explain.

Master Kui.

Brother.

What happened to Grandfather?

If you are not feeling

well, we can see a doctor.

Why bother with all this?

Honestly.

Now that you are back.

I already feel much better.

What is this?

This can prolong life

a divine jade that clears the

mind and preserves beauty

I picked a good one

and kept it for you.

I was thinking

for when you got married.

So you wrote the letter to ask me back

just for this?

A letter?

Yes.

You wrote to me last week

as if it were a final farewell.

I

I never wrote any letter.

Who is that woman?

Her?

She is my third daughter.

Yunman.

Her mother passed away too early.

This child

has had a strange temper since childhood

and never got along with her two brothers.

When she was eight.

I had a friend

who had no child of his own

so I sent her to Shanghai.

We.

Isn't it all for the children?

Well...

Master Kui, you...

You have children and

a wife too, don't you?

Mother.

I am back.

No one in this family welcomes you.

Who knows who else you will k*ll.

Go back to your great Shanghai.

That b*stard.

Chief.

Chief.

Why the panic?

This is bad.

What happened?

Young Master An...

Huaifu.

What happened to Huaifu?

He.

He is dead.

Ah!

Impossible.

With his combat skills

who could beat him?

Why would I lie to you?

Come on, I'll take you there.

Let's go, let's go.

Master Kui.

Let's go take a look.

You should come too.

Huaifu.

My son.

How did you end up like this?

How could this happen?

Tell me.

Who did this?

I do not know.

He was bitten to death.

To be exact

he was bitten to death by a dead man.

Ah!

A dead man.

A dead man.

You.

Demons.

It must be the demons.

How can a dead man bite someone to death?

We should report this to the authorities.

The guard unit has gone

to w*r with the old general.

There is no one left.

They cannot handle this.

Even if they came, it would be useless.

I heard

around the Ghost Festival

homeless wandering spirits

will

possess corpses to harm people.

After a person dies

corpse drivers wash the

body with boiled tulip water

washing the entire corpse

then

drying it out

then fumigating it with herbs.

This soil

has that smell.

Legend says.

Xiangxi corpse driving

has thirty-six secret arts

among them

is the art of controlling corpses.

But

why Huaifu?

Uncle An.

Did the eldest young master offend someone?

No.

Why would someone be burning incense here?

And it's purple.

Bang!

Put the g*n down.

It's Huaifu's g*n.

Give it to me

I will sh**t you dead.

Give it to me

I will sh**t you dead.

Stop.

Do not scorn the one-eyed guest of the dead

guest of the dead.

Those who defy Yama invite

their soulds to be torn apart.

Next up

who will it be?

You.

You

or.

You.

Bang!

Damn it.

You crazy lunatic

I will k*ll you.

Stop.

Huaifu.

My son.

You just left me like this.

It's my fault.

How am I going to see

your mother in the underworld.

Huaifu.

Father.

Here.

It's you.

You.

It's not enough that your

mother died because of you

now you are back.

Huaifu also probably died because of you

the fortune tell was right

you do have a fate tied to the Yin Realm

you are an ill-fated curse-bringer.

I never should've let you live.

It's all because of you.

Xin Hong.

It's all because of you.

That's enough.

Let go of me!

This is my family business.

This is my ritual ground.

No manners.

What time is it.

If we do not hurry up

we will miss the auspicious hour.

Kneel down before your big brother.

Kneel

ill-fated curse-bringer.

You got your mother k*lled.

And your stepfather too.

The one who should've died wasn't Huaifu.

It was you.

You should go down and

be buried with your mother.

I shouldn't have let you live.

Grandfather.

Do not come near me.

Do not come near me.

Do not come near me.

Poshan Poyandi.

Poshan Poyandi.

Poshan Poyandi.

Yunman.

Are you okay?

It was just a dream

just a dream.

What has gotten into me?

Poshan Poyandi.

What does that mean?

Nightmares

are all the work of the seven

po wandering with corpses.

Ricite Po Shan Po Yan Di a few more times

it can ward off nightmares

and cure sickness.

Po Shan Po Yan.

Where is everybody?

They.

They left after the ritual.

They went back.

So...

You stayed here all this time?

Um.

I

Here

you take this

it will settle you down.

Oh no

a Yin cat crossing the hall.

Stinking Daoist.

Quit dawdling

getting in my damn way.

Ah ya

baby

I am coming.

You're the new one who was just delivered.

This body.

This face

I like.

I heard Huaifu just passed away.

But why do you

not look very sad.

Why should I be sad?

Once he dies.

Everything

will be mine.

Mine.

Sorry to keep you waiting sweetie.

Come on.

Master Kui.

Huaigui went out to rear

side of the mountain last night

and didn't come back until now

I have a terriable feeling.

Let's hurry and take a look.

Wait a moment

I'm coming right away.

Master Kui.

What's wrong?

It is Huaigui.

Ah!

Huaigui!

Huaigui!

Move aside.

Son.

My son!

How come you are like this as well.

My son.

How can you.

Son.

Tulip.

It's them again.

My son.

Come down.

My son's hand!

I found it

so it is mine.

You want it?

Come up and take it if you want it.

Come.

Hey!

Even if I gave it to you, you

wouldn't have any use of it.

One more day

the gate of the underworld opens wide.

You all

you all have to die.

It is all because of you.

You

ill-fated curse-bringer

ill-fated curse-bringer.

My son!

Oh no.

Huaigui.

Huaigui.

What a sin.

How did it come to this.

My son!

Your family and the corpse drivers

what is the connection?

What corpse drivers?

If you do not tell the truth

I cannot help you

I really do not know.

Then you...

Where is that girl?

She.

She went that way.

Mother.

Mother.

Do you blame me?

I

I really do not know

what I did wrong.

But it seems everything is because of me.

If I had not existed

would you still be alive?

What am I even living for?

Who?

Who is it?

Impossible.

That's impossible.

Huaigui.

Huaifu.

You.

No way.

Both of you.

What do you want?

Do not come closer.

Do not come closer.

I am not the reason why you died.

I didn't do anything.

I can't die.

How did things end up like this?

I am sorry.

I beg you.

Please, I beg you, let me go

I beg you.

Mother.

Why are you running around alone?

I miss my mother.

Was I dreaming again?

Not entirely.

I just saw a corpse beside you.

Unfortunately it got away.

Impossible.

A hallucination.

It must be a hallucination.

Look.

How is that possible?

How could demons possibly exist?

Do they really want

to k*ll my whole family?

What?

Grandfather.

Grandfather.

Grandfather is home alone.

Grandfather.

Grandfather.

Grandfather is not in his room.

He is not downstairs either.

Hey!

Master Kui.

Master Kui

Mr. An.

Have you seen?

Father.

Father.

Have you seen Grandfather?

No.

The corpse is here.

Hey!

Master Kui.

You cannot leave.

Please stay

I do not have time right now.

Master Kui

I do not want to die.

This.

Please stay.

This jade is a rare stone

worth a fortune.

At a time like this

you are still talking about that?

Aren't you worried about your father?

Go!

Have you seen.

Master An

I don't know, I don't know!

Let us split up and search.

No

I have to keep an eye on you.

Have you seen grandfather An?

Have you seen grandfather An?

I think he is at the temple.

Mountain God above

please show your power.

I'm begging you.

My grandsons died a tragic death

and disasters keep striking my family

I do not know how we

angered the Mountain God.

Please be merciful

spare my son and granddaughter.

If my family

has sinned

then I

am willing to bear it alone.

Grandfather.

YunMan.

You have to leave right away.

You cannot stay here.

Leave now.

No.

Grandfather.

If I leave, we leave together

I have lived here my whole life

and have never left.

This Wutong Village

is my home

my roots.

If you will not leave

I will not leave either.

You said

before, I had no choice.

Now that I can choose.

I choose this place.

Wherever you are

that is my home.

Even if I die.

I only want to be with

the people closest to me.

I never expected

that I am not as strong as a young girl.

Heh.

Ten years

and you never

came to see me.

I know

you are mad at me.

I should not have fought those

meaningless wars.

I shouldn't.

Shouln't

have left you.

Master Kui.

Master Kui.

What?

You're afraid of fire?

When I was six.

Big Brother was fooling around

and burned me while playing with fire.

That b*stard.

He must have done it on purpose

do you not hate them?

Even so

he shouldn't have died, right?

So much has happened lately.

Master Kui.

I really want to thank you.

Stop there.

I

I do not like hearing those two words.

My mother died giving birth to me

from a difficult labor

and my adoptive father

died in a car accident

I am so afraid something

will happen to Grandfather too.

Master Kui.

Is there really such a thing

as an extremely yin fate

that curses one's loved ones?

Three calamities

nine hardships

ten trials

are all

cultivation.

Nothing is truly predestined.

There is a saying:

Heaven shows favoritism to none,

but always stands with the virtuous.

You.

You are that virtuous person.

Take this.

This is

a five-grain blessing pouch.

No matter what demon you meet

when you see it

throw a handful at it.

The home of a good

person must not be destroyed.

Do not worry.

Grandfather will be fine

and so will you.

Those who strive on their own

are blessed by Heaven.

Thank you.

The scenes of both my eldest

and second brother's deaths

were strikingly similar.

Along the edges of their wounds

were traces of living black mycelium.

And the purple incense

ash left at the scene

someone put it there

once we find out who

we won't be far from the truth.

He is utterly consumed by

his faith in the dark sorcery

his faith in the dark sorcery.

To deal with them.

We must fight them

with their own methods.

There is said to be a

defensive ritual formation

known as the Sixfold Array.

Outside the courtyard,

surround the walls with red talisman ropes.

Inside the courtyard,

place six lotus lamps.

Burn black pig and night duck bones.

Set a soul-calming altar in the center.

Even if ten thousand demons arrive,

none shall enter.

If we construct the

array convincingly enough

they will surely grow wary.

Tonight

all of you are to remain inside the house.

No matter what happens.

No one leaves the formation.

What about you?

I will sit in the middle of the formation

to guard the night for us.

As long as we make it through tonight

once the gate of the underworld closes.

You will all be safe.

Gone.

Gone, gone, all gone

what happened?

Big Brother and Second

Brother's bodies are missing.

I am the Celestial Master's libationer

appointed by Heaven and Earth.

The numinous hosts

bearing the arms of Qianling

stand arrayed before and behind me

attending at my left and right.

What spirit dares remain.

What demon dares oppose.

Let the righteous deities abide.

Let all heterodox demons withdraw at once

I now ascend to the Perfecture of Mount Tai

pay homage before the August Lord Lao.

Mother of my child...

Wait for me.

Huilan...

Huilan...

Wait.

Mother.

Is that you, Mother?

Huilan...

Where are you going this late?

Qiao qiao.

Ying ying.

Is that you?

Is that really you?

You didn't die.

Ying Ying.

How have you been?

You're still mad at me right?

I am sorry.

You've suffered because of me.

Give me one more chance

I will do my best to protect you.

Mother.

Where are you all going?

Mother.

Mother.

Don't leave me behind.

Let's go.

What are you waiting for?

Didn't you want to see your mother?

This is your mother.

Father

she is not real.

How is she not real?

Let's go.

Father.

Master Kui.

Master Kui.

Yunman.

Heavenly Worthy of Numinous Treasure,

calm and steady this body

protect

the disciple's soul and spirits

and the dark mysteries

of the five viscera.

Begone.

Master Kui.

Master Kui

a five-grain blessing pouch.

No matter what demons you encounter.

Throw a handful towards them.

Yunman.

Yunman.

Have you seen Yunman.

Go back inside.

Don't come out.

Yunman.

Who is that?

Who?

Long time no see.

You.

You do not remember?

Old partner.

Yunman.

Datura.

Yunman.

Yunman.

Shui Shifu.

Impossible.

This is mpossible.

A demon!

Ghost!

I

I saw it with my own eyes.

Bitten to death by wolves.

Is that so?

Within misfortune lies the seed of fortune.

Mountain God not only let me reborn

but also gave me limitless power.

I did not harm her.

That was not my idea.

Then whose idea was it?

Eighteen.

Ling'er was only eighteen when she died.

She was the cave-bride

chosen by the Mountain God

I could only offer her up.

It was all for the good of our village.

No one could stop it.

Is that so?

How do you lie with such sincerity?

The truth

the Mountain God has already told me

everything.

Today I want to hear something else.

How did you get that mine?

After the arms business failed back then.

I heard from a man surnamed Xue

that he had found a mine

I wanted to buy it

but no matter how much I

offered, he would not sell.

Later

I heard his daughter had died young

so I adopted Yunman out to him.

To thank me,

he sold me the mine at a cheap price

I will give you one last chance.

No, no, no.

Do not k*ll me.

That man Xue

liked little girls

so I added some money

and threw Yunman into the deal

made her his

child bride.

Yunman was only eight back then.

Old Xue wanted to raise

her a few more years before...

Enough.

You call yourself a father?

Are you even human?

But not long after,

he was k*lled in an accident.

Yunman.

Yunman.

Yunman.

Her fate brings death to her loved ones.

Trading her for the family's

safety and prosperity.

What did I do wrong?

Because of you,

everyone in Wutong Village

must die.

You're the greatest curse of all.

Your father and the others were only bait.

What I truly wanted

is you.

I have finally waited for this day.

Yunman.

Yunman.

Yunman.

Yunman.

Yunman.

I couldn't save our family.

I couldn't save anyone.

I failed to accumulate enough virtue

and dragged all of you into this disaster.

It is all because of you.

It's all my fault

ill-fated curse-bringer.

My fault...

What good is cultivating

virtue to prolong life?

What's the use?

Ridiculous.

Ridiculous.

You have stayed all this time?

Mm.

Fate.

As long as I am here

no one can hurt you again.

Three Pure Ones above

forgive this disciple's dullness

and poor skill.

Today

saving a life comes first

I am willing

I am willing to trade

my lifespan for the spell.

I beg the immortal ancestors to help me.

By the essence and qi of the Dao

inscribed upon sacred script and ink

I gather the vital essences of all things

to dispel falsehood

and banish evil

to uphold the righteous and true

to summon back the wondering spirits

to govern life and death

and to pacify and

stabilize the Five Directions

by Heaven's decree,

let all return to my command.

From the Nine Heavens,

I call back the souls of men.

Swiftly, swiftly, in accordance

with the celestial law.

Chi!

Wake up.

A single letter was

enough to trick you here.

How foolish.

What did you do to me?

Let me go.

Your body no longer belongs to you

just like those monsters.

There are three corpses a

corpse driver must not drive

those who died of illness

suicides

and deaths by fire.

My Ling'er was burned

to death by your family.

Her soul

was trapped here.

She is different from you,

who were fated to have no home.

She had a family who loved her.

She had me.

Scared?

Good. You should be.

The soul-transfer art

requires you to be afraid

to loathe yourself.

I will put her soul

into your body

and take her home.

Let me go.

You're insane.

There is no such thing as soul transfer.

Stop lying to yourself.

Wake up.

Help.

Help me.

With the first transformation,

Heaven is formed.

With the second,

Earth is formed.

With the third,

rivers are formed.

With the fourth, seas are formed

with the fifth, Heaven turns to Earth

with the sixth, Earth turns to Heaven.

With the seventh, rivers turn to seas.

With the eighth, seas turn to rivers.

With the ninth,

spirits and demons rise in solemn might

with the tenth,

the soul passes between yin and yang.

You are insane.

Do not come near me.

What are you trying to do?

No.

Drink it.

No.

Drink.

Stop!

Monster.

Prepare to die.

Master Kui.

Master Kui.

Master Kui, look out.

Take a good look.

Because of you

another life has been lost.

Now it is your turn.

Master Kui

forgive this disciple's dullness

I am willing to trade

my lifespan for the spell

I beg the immortal ancestors to help me.

For a stranger

you would throw away your own life.

Is it worth it?

A villain like you would never understand.

Villain?

Ancient texts say that

slaying the Three Corpses

leads to becoming a golden immortal.

Now that I have slain three corpses.

I am carrying out Heaven's justice.

My Lingyu

was born kind and outgoing.

She saw me drive corpses often

but she was not afraid.

She was proud of it.

She was bestowed on me by Heaven

the most precious gift.

How pitiful.

I wanted to send them home too.

Corpse driving is passed to men, not women.

Even if it could be passed to her

I would not want Lingyu in this trade.

She deserved a better life

and that life

needed money.

Master An

I really cannot take this money.

A few years ago.

An Xinhong came to me

and shoved a large sum of money at me

telling us to move to Wutong.

Afraid

the cargo would be taken

by soldiers or mountain bandits

they sewed the jade into dead bodies

and made me transport them out.

Though this goes against

our ancestors' teachings,

for Ling'er...

I said yes

a few year later.

Ling'er came home from school.

We parted in haste

and I went off to work another route.

And the very next day after I was gone...

How could my father

do such a thing with you?

You must have forced him.

You scum.

b*stards.

Shut up.

Using corpses to transport goods.

When my father returns.

You should never have seen this.

What do we do?

If this gets out

our business is finished.

In for a penny, in for a pound.

While Shui Shifu is away

finish her off.

But what do we tell Master Shui?

He is our best mule.

Tell him what?

There is nothing to explain.

If he wants to work, he can.

If not, we find another.

Spread the word.

Say she

she was chosen as a Cave Maiden.

Tomorrow

we will burn her as an

offering to the Mountain God.

If he wants to blame someone

let him blame the Mountain God.

They not only wanted to burn Ling'er alive

they even.

What are you doing?

Do not touch me.

Do not touch me.

Those fools in the village

with drums and gongs

burned Ling'er to death

and offered her to the Mountain God.

I'm going to demand

answers from that An fellow

but they tied me up

and threw me into a

ravine to feed the wolves.

The village madman is named Xiaokai.

He grew up with Ling'er.

He is the one who told me the whole truth

and helped me complete my revenge.

But

he is a coward.

Sooner or later.

I will k*ll him too.

Those pigs and dogs in the village

and your An family

not one of you will escape.

I want all of you buried with my Ling'er.

Dead.

What a pity.

The real show is still to come.

Master Kui.

Master Kui.

No.

Master Kui.

Master Kui, wake up.

Master Kui.

Do not ruin Ling'er's makeup.

It is time to go.

With the first turning,

Heaven and Earth tremble.

With the second,

the sun and moon grow dim.

With the third,

spirit and soul fall into chaos.

With the fourth,

the hun and po separate from the body.

With the fifth,

mountains collapse and

great peaks are overturned.

With the sixth,

the radiance of the spirit is withdrawn.

This cannot be real.

With the seventh,

the living soul is led astray.

This cannot be real.

With the eighth,

the forms and shadows

of the eight directions

are seized.

This cannot be real.

Bewitched Dead Spirits.

With the eighth,

the forms and shadows of

the eight directions are seized.

With the ninth

the dead are summoned and taken.

Nightmares

are all the work of the seven

po wandering with corpses.

The more you recite the spell.

Poshan Poyandi

it can ward off nightmares

and cure sickness.

Poshan Poyandi.

Poshan Poyandi.

Poshan Poyandi.

Poshan Poyandi.

Poshan Poyandi.

Poshan Poyandi.

Mother.

Man'er.

Who are you?

I finally get to see you.

You are my mother.

Mother.

You.

Do you hate me?

I hate.

What I hate is

that I did not have enough time to love you.

But Mother.

I am so scared.

I am afraid of Father.

I am afraid of my brothers.

I am so afraid of those people.

Your opponent

has never been anyone else.

The one you must defeat

is yourself.

Your life

is yours to decide.

Mother.

Do not cry.

Mother is here.

Mother has always been here.

Ling'er.

My Ling'er.

Lingyu.

I am not dead yet.

Stinking Daoist.

I will send you on your way right now.

Stop!

I am who I am

I can never become your Ling'er.

Impossible.

How could this happen?

The incense.

Go get the incense box.

That is datura.

All the visions are because of it.

Careful.

Give me back my Ling'er!

Master Kui.

Give me back my Ling'er!

Master Kui how do you feel.

Are you okay?

Father.

Ling'er.

Ling'er, is that you?

Wherever you are.

Ling'er.

Father.

Ling'er.

Is that really you?

Stop.

Ling'er does not want this

and does not want you to take revenge.

I do not want to see

Father become a m*rder*r.

I know

this is not the real you.

Have you forgotten our family teaching?

Wandering souls travel a thousand miles

and bitter journeys ease loved ones' grief.

Go.

But those evil people who harmed you

do you not hate them?

They hurt me

and hurt others too.

But does k*lling really help?

Did you not say

the Ghost Festival

is meant to let wandering souls return home

the day King Yama grants amnesty

is it not?

Amnesty.

Father.

Let's send the dead home.

Home...

I am sorry.

Father can't go home anymore.

If there's another life,

let us be father and daughter again.

This is the pink-stone mine.

Mm

I've already planted all the expl*sives.

Good.

This pink jade

contains some kind of radioactive substance.

If worn for a long time

it affects the nerves

combined with datura incense

it causes all kinds of hallucinations

amplifying fear

manipulating desire

or clouding the mind.

It's not some divine jade at all

but a source of disaster in troubled times.

It really is true

the more beautiful something is,

the more poisonous it can be.

Give it to me.

You really are not going back to Shanghai?

You will live here in these mountains?

Mm.

To stay with Grandfather.

And while I am here

treat the villagers.

But their real sickness

can you cure it?

I can.

One day, it will get better.

Are you going home?

As long as they are with me

anywhere is home.

Until we meet again out there.

Protect the people you love.

You can do it.

Virtuous one