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墨書 Inktalez
Living Funeral
At that moment, the countless Dead Hands seemed to have grown legs, crawling towards us, and behind them was an ominous darkness; the original path had completely vanished.
We ran frantically upwards, but just as we reached the summit, a coffin appeared in front of us.
This left the three of us stunned—the coffin blocked our way.
Zhang Xun said, "It doesn't matter, let's push it down."
Since I was in the middle and Zhang was at the back, the path was narrow, so only Zhang Xun and I could easily move to push the black coffin down. As I approached, I noticed there was a painting on the coffin—a figure dressed in ancient official robes. The painting was done in that unique Chinese watercolor style. Just one glance was enough for me to remember it because the figure in the painting was missing a pair of eyes.
Zhang Xun urged me, "Chen Fei, there's no time! Move quickly!"
At that moment, Zhang shouted from behind, "Damn it! Are you two just admiring flowers? The Dead Hands are coming!"
Not daring to delay any longer, Zhang Xun and I got to work. With all my strength, I finally managed to push the coffin off the cliff.
We continued running upwards and finally reached the summit. The path we had taken had completely disappeared, and those Dead Hands had fallen off as well. However, the way back had also vanished.
I wondered how we could possibly get down; this place felt so eerie!
As we stood at the top, catching our breath, the sound of a bell echoed again. This time, I saw someone ringing it—a person dressed in black.
I saw it clearly and hurriedly said, "Look! There's someone ringing the bell!"
Before I could finish my sentence, the two others replied, "Did you see the bell?"
I said, "Isn't it right in front of us?"
Zhang Xun said to me, "Don't look."
Are there so many taboos here? Can't we look at anything? Zhang Xun took out a talisman and chanted, "Yin Yang Five Elements, paths intertwine, humans and ghosts apart, each goes their own way, each goes their own way..."
As Zhang Xun recited, the talisman spontaneously ignited and burned away. Then I saw the person next to the large bell slowly walk away, eventually disappearing into the night.
Damn, this is really eerie! Zhang Xun's abilities are impressive. I said to Zhang Xun, "The person is gone."
Zhang Xun replied, "It's good that they're gone."
The large bell gradually faded into the darkness as our gaze shifted forward, revealing a house ahead. It had an ancient architectural style.
Is this the Mountain Lodge?
Zhang Fatty glanced at the house and said, "This house is called Mountain Lodge or West San Village; living people can't enter."
After Zhang Fatty said this, I felt it resembled what Zhang Xun had mentioned back in Snake Skin Gully—only the dead could enter Snake Skin Gully.
Zhang Fatty's statement lacked a second half. I asked him, "Aren't we living people who can enter?"
Zhang Fatty looked at me and countered, "Are we really living people?"
Of course we are. Zhang Fatty smiled but didn't respond further.
When Zhang Fatty had come to this Mountain Lodge before, something had happened—ghosts appeared. Now it seemed calm inside the house; nothing was happening.
"Let's go in," Zhang Xun said. After saying that, he was the first to step inside, and we followed closely behind.
I took out my Hundred Ghosts Chart, but as soon as we entered, I noticed someone in the courtyard.
It looked frightening. Zhang Xun and the others also noticed it; three or four people were moving back and forth.
Neither Zhang the Fat nor Zhang Xun spoke. Since they were silent, I followed suit. We walked into the courtyard, surrounded entirely by houses.
The people walking around paid us no mind at all, as if we were air to them, just as they were air to us.
But could these people be the ghosts of Zhang the Fat?
The three of us stopped in the courtyard. Just then, someone brought a table and placed it in front of us.
On the table were three cups, each pressed down by a piece of yellow Ghost Money.
A wave of confusion washed over me. I reached out to touch the table; it was solid. I wondered if these people weren’t ghosts after all. What did it mean for them to place a table and three cups in front of us?
I wanted to ask a question, but Zhang the Fat pulled me back.
We stood in front of the table without moving. We waited quietly; both Zhang the Fat and Zhang Xun seemed patient, perhaps because they had been here before.
Meanwhile, I felt restless, an uneasy feeling gnawing at me.
The people before us felt eerily strange. After about a quarter of an hour, the three cups filled with liquid—whether water or something else, I couldn’t tell.
Zhang Xun and Zhang the Fat drank in turn. I glanced at them and finally took a sip myself. The liquid tasted quite normal, nothing special about it.
However, just a few seconds after drinking, I felt heavy-headed and light-footed, as if I had consumed alcohol, yet my mind remained clear. After we finished drinking, the cups were taken away.
At that moment, I could no longer hold back my curiosity and asked, “What on earth is going on here?”
I felt dazed and unsure of what I was supposed to do next. Zhang Xun and Zhang the Fat merely glanced at me without saying a word.
I noticed something was off with the two of them. Just then, a cold breeze swept through, and the three of us stood in the courtyard like fools.
After waiting for what felt like an eternity, someone finally emerged and led us into a room.
Inside the room were three coffins, all of which had their lids open.
The coffins were arranged in a row, and what caught my attention was that each coffin had a name inscribed on it. They looked ancient and seemed to have been there for quite some time.
My name corresponded to the first coffin, followed by Zhang Xun, and then Fat Zhang.
Honestly, I found this place extremely eerie, and the situation was bizarre. I glanced at Fat Zhang, who was now Zhang Xun.
I thought to myself, could it be that we are supposed to lie in these coffins? But the two of them showed no reaction at all, as if they had just drunk some mind-controlling soup, leaving them completely dazed.
Fat Zhang stepped into the coffin with one foot, his movements stiff and his expression blank, making him look as if he were possessed.
Feeling uneasy, I suddenly wanted to leave. However, just as I turned around, Zhang Xun grabbed me. He shook his head at me. I looked at him and noticed his eyes were moving.
If that’s the case, then he probably wasn’t possessed after all; Zhang Xun shouldn’t be scared. I reassured myself internally.
At that moment, Fat Zhang had already settled down inside the coffin.
Zhang Xun was next, and I was third.
Once I lay down inside, someone came to close the lid. As soon as the coffin was shut, darkness enveloped me.
Fortunately, the flashlight's beam was still there; however, the space inside the coffin was narrow. Lying down made it difficult even to turn over.
Before long, I felt a wave of drowsiness wash over me, and I gradually closed my eyes in a daze.
I don't know how long it had been, but when I opened my eyes, I found myself still lying in the coffin. I called out for Zhang Xun and the fat guy.
But there was no response. So, I pushed open the coffin lid. It wasn't sealed with nails, so with a shove, the lid was easily overturned.
As the lid fell to the ground, I was greeted by a burst of light. Once the light faded, I saw a hand appear before me—fair and flawless, resembling a woman's hand.
I was momentarily stunned; perhaps it was because I had been in darkness for too long that I wasn't accustomed to the light. I rubbed my eyes with my hand.
Then I heard her say to me, "Fei, get up."
Following the hand, I looked up and saw a face. It was a beautiful face—large eyes, crescent-shaped eyebrows, a high nose bridge, and thin lips, with bangs framing her forehead and short hair.
I hesitantly grasped her hand and stood up from the coffin.
Once standing, I realized I was back in the courtyard from before. There were two other coffins beside me—those of Zhang Xun and the fat guy.
I didn't pay much attention to the woman; instead, I walked directly to the coffins of Zhang Xun and the fat guy.
I knocked on the coffin lid and called out, "Zhang Xun, Fatty, are you awake?"
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