Chapter 4: The Voice Inside the Coffin

  On the way back, Grandpa didn't say a word, but from his gloomy expression, I could tell that he definitely knew something.

  "Grandpa, that coffin, I saw it in Great Grandfather's yellow leather notebook, it's called the Seven Star Town Coffin!"

  Grandfather didn't say anything.

  "Grandfather, did you know too?" He still didn't speak, I continued: "Grandfather, if what the yellow skin notebook said is true, isn't something going to happen in our village?"

  "Stay at home, and take the bus to town at noon to find your cousin. Your cousin's store is busy, go help out!" After getting home, grandpa squatted by the door and threw out this sentence, then started puffing on his pipe.

  "I'm not going, my sister's husband always looks down on our family, I don't want to suffer his condescending attitude!" I threw out a sentence and went back into the house. After going back inside, I hastily pulled out the yellow notebook from the cabinet, searched for half a day, before finally finding the page that described the Seven Star Town's geomancy.

  Great-grandfather probably didn't have much culture back then, was a roughneck, the text is very wild and straightforward, with profanity throughout. All it says is: The stuff in this Qi Xing Town is too difficult to deal with, just one encounter and we lost two senior officials (that's how Grandpa wrote it, probably a typo). Sun Baozi is a pig brain, this Qi Xing Town also dares to make trouble, died and deserved it! Your mom is so... I'm speechless! #￥%……（The following is a long string of profanity, omitted here）

  I'm covered in cold sweat, this entire article of nearly a hundred words is more than half filled with profanity and insults, only a small part describes the eerie atmosphere of Qī Xīng Town, I really admire Old Master Tai for having so much free time.

  Although Grandpa's notes didn't have a detailed record of how to deal with the Seven Star Town Evil Spirit, nor did it say how he handled it back then, but I can tell that the best way to handle it is not to touch it.

  The things inside the Seven Star Town's coffin are generally hard to deal with. If it's opened rashly, the things inside will run out and the village will definitely suffer. I'd better go take a look, mustn't let the construction workers open it.

  I rushed out of the house in a hurry, and Grandpa was still squatting at the threshold. Seeing me rush out in a flurry, he didn't stop me, but instead puffed on his pipe again, squatting there with an unpredictable expression.

  "Yi Fan, where are you going?" As soon as I left the yard, I ran into my dad carrying an iron shovel. I threw out a sentence: "I'm going to take a look at the construction site." Then I rushed to the construction site in a hurry.

  "Yi Fan has left, the public security personnel have arrived, and the scene is now cordoned off, no one is allowed in!" My dad yelled from behind. I waved my hand and said: "It's okay, I'll be right back!"

  As my dad said, the construction site has been cordoned off with warning lines, and several cars are parked beside it. A few leaders are standing together discussing something. The foreman and Liu Zhishu are cooperating with two police officers to take photos and make a record, while a person wearing a white coat is examining the body, presumably a forensic doctor.

  Look, I've arrived. Liu Zhi Shu shouted at me: "Yi Fan Yi Fan, come quickly and tell the public security people something. You're a university student and you were also present at the scene, you can explain clearly!" Liu Zhi Shu grabbed my hand and said to the police in front of him: "This is our village's only university student, he was also present when we rescued people. Yi Fan, these are the public security people who have come, this is Little He, this is Little Xia, you tell them clearly!"

  I turned my head to look at these two people, both of whom were wearing uniforms and didn't seem very old. The man had a somewhat androgynous appearance, resembling the recently popular Korean star Quan Zi, with an arrogant expression that was quite annoying to look at. The woman had short hair, with a heroic spirit evident between her eyebrows, looking very elegant and refined, and also very beautiful, with a tall stature, she was a stunning beauty.

  "Hello, I'm Xia Yuxin from the County Public Security Bureau. Can you tell me what happened at that time?" Female police officer Xiaoxia shook hands with me and smiled. The little He beside her looked me up and down, with a face full of disdain.

  I've seen many people like him in college, looking down on us rural folks. I didn't want to bother with him either. But Xia Yu Xin gave me a good impression, so I nodded and recounted the events of last night from start to finish. When I mentioned Xiao Liu and Old Wang's corpses, Little Hei beside me frowned and said: "I've seen the corpses too, they do seem strange, but we can't jump to conclusions yet. And you're a college student, how can you still believe in feudal superstitions? What era are we living in now? Where did these gods and ghosts come from? Rural people just can't change their feudal superstitions, no matter how much education they get."

  Damn it, this Xiao He really has the nerve. People from the mountains are afraid of government officials, but I'm not. If he pushes me too far, I'll dare to fight him back. But Xia Yu Xin is still standing beside us, so I didn't retort and just smiled and nodded in agreement. Then I asked Xia Yu Xin: "Officer Xia, what do you plan to do with that big coffin?"

  She turned her head to look at the large coffin, then said: "We've already reported this matter upwards. The higher-ups suspect that there may be an ancient tomb here and will likely send experts over. As for what's left, you don't need to worry about it anymore!"

  "Oh!" I pondered for a moment, then asked: "So, when the expert comes, will we have to open the coffin?"

  "Not clear, should be okay!" Xia Yu Xin said and then turned around to enter the construction site. Xiao Hei hurriedly followed up, holding water and asked with a flattering face: "Yu Xin, thirsty, drink some water?"

  "I'm not thirsty!" Xia Yu Xin's tone was a bit cold, but Xiao Hei didn't seem to care and continued to follow her closely. I found it amusing - this kid acts like he owns the place in front of me, but when he's with a beautiful girl, he becomes a total suck-up. But then I felt down again, thinking that before my girlfriend and I broke up, wasn't I just like him? Trying to please her every day, acting like a total nice guy, but she still cheated on me behind my back. And even when I caught her, she had the nerve to act all high and mighty and insult me.

  No choice, who made us children of the big mountains, who made us poor!

  I smiled wryly and immediately looked towards the construction site.

  Professional rescue teams are still searching for Dog Egg's body everywhere, Dog Egg's wife and mother are sitting next to the construction site crying. I sighed, then walked over to Dog Egg's mother, squatted down and said: "Auntie, Dog Egg will definitely be found, let's go back and rest first, your body is getting worse, this family is finished!"

  "This family is finished!" Dog Egg's mother wiped away a tear, then grabbed my hand: "Yi Fan ah, you and Dog Egg grew up together since childhood, you're still a university student, you have to take charge of Dog Egg for me!"

  "Don't worry, Da Niang!" I patted Dog Egg's hand and stood up, staring blankly at the construction site.

  Dog egg, where did you go? Even if you're dead, your body can't just disappear without a reason!

  At noon, I went to deliver noodles to Dog Egg Niang and Cui Hua. The people from the county were still at the construction site and hadn't left yet. The rescue team had not given up either, and they almost turned over the entire Mantou Mountain, but Dog Egg's body was still nowhere to be found.

  And that large coffin was quietly placed on the construction site.

  In the afternoon, the public security personnel left and the rescue team also gave up continuing to search for Gou Dan. Before leaving, they told us not to give up and to organize our own manpower to continue searching, saying there was still a chance, but we all knew that Gou Dan was gone, not only was he dead, but his body was also gone.

  The incident was defined as an engineering accident, and the developer could settle it by paying some money. The bodies of Old Wang and Little Liu were temporarily placed in a shed next to the construction site. The cause of death was suffocation, but the injuries on their bodies had not been determined until now.

  The little Hao of the Public Security Bureau did not leave. The leader arranged for him to stay and guard the coffin, waiting for the expert from the province. It can be seen that Little Hao is extremely unwilling, but Xia Yu Xin took the initiative to suggest staying behind, and the leader did not stop her, so she agreed.

  Liu Zhishu arranged Xia Yuxin to live in the health room with Dr. Li, while Xiao He was arranged to live on the construction site. Xiao He complained about this, but had no choice and stayed there anyway.

  The dog egg daughter has been supported back by Cui Hua, the construction site, and has once again restored calmness. However, in the village, it is not calm yet.

  The construction site had only been operating for a few days when such a big thing happened. For a time, the village was filled with rumors and gossip, with all sorts of things being said. The most common saying was that the mountain god had been angered and this was a case of retribution. Xiao He argued with everyone for a long time, but mountain people are stubborn, once they've made up their minds, you can't change them no matter what. Xiao He could only leave in frustration and return to the construction site.

  After going home, I have been thinking about it all the time. What should I do with this coffin? After thinking and thinking, I finally came to a conclusion in my heart.

  This coffin, whatever you say, can't be opened. If it's opened, something big will happen.

  I thought about it and decided to take action, so in the middle of the night I snuck over and set fire to it. The coffin was burned, and the evil spirit inside couldn't harm our village anymore, right?

  But some things are often unpredictable, at more than 8 o'clock in the evening, a chaotic barking of dogs suddenly spread through the village, and then someone shouted loudly: "Something's happened! Something's happened! Someone died on the construction site!"

  Another death at the construction site?

  I hastily put on my shoes and rushed out of the house, only to see that many people were running towards the construction site. I followed the crowd and ran towards the construction site as well. However, when I arrived at the construction site, I was immediately stunned.

  The worker's entire body was bent over the coffin, his head bleeding profusely, and the coffin had been pushed open a crack. Fresh blood was dripping through the gap, drop by drop, into the interior, filling the air with a sweet, nauseating smell of blood.