Chapter 52: The Witch's Trouble

  The two of us didn't say a word, both staring blankly at the coffin, wondering what would happen next. But even after waiting for about a minute, there was no unusual sound or movement, and nothing came out from inside either.

  What's even more frightening is that you're not worried about what comes out of it, but rather that nothing comes out at all, which is the most unsettling thing.

  I was stunned for a few more seconds, then I said to Xiaorou: "Xiaorou, why don't I go take a look at the coffin? You wait here for me."

  This situation has occurred, and I must go back to see what happened inside. Xiaoyu also nodded in agreement with my idea, but instead of letting me go alone, she followed me over.

  I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down, and my mind was filled with all sorts of guesses. The most I could imagine was that the corpses inside had changed, turning into black, red, and putrid forms.

  I held the ancient bronze sword horizontally in my hand, perhaps this way I could feel more at ease. I placed one hand on the coffin and took a deep breath before poking my head inside to take a look.

  At this time, the thin fog inside had become more and more faint, and even disappeared. I saw my own face again, still rosy and looking the same as before. There was nothing else in the coffin except for this corpse. Xiaorou also saw the scene inside the coffin, her eyes blinking rapidly, wondering what she was thinking.

  "How strange!"

  Before I even asked her, she shook her head in admiration, indicating that she couldn't quite believe what had happened to us. I tentatively asked: "Could it be that we disturbed the coffin and the person inside won't let us leave?"

  "Huh?" Upon hearing this, Xiaorou was taken aback. Then she nodded and said: "There is a possibility, but the Bagua disk has never shown an evil side. That is to say, there are two possibilities. The first one is that this corpse is completely unconscious. The second one is that this corpse is kind-hearted. Although my strength is not enough, the Bagua disk will not deceive people."

  It seems that Xiaoyu really couldn't guess who the person inside was or why this strange thing happened. At this time, I suddenly had a strange idea and said to Xiaoyu: "Let's lift out this corpse and see what's inside."

  Because this coffin has flowed blood, I think there will be something under the corpse. Xiao Rou directly denied what I said: "This is definitely not possible, relying on us two. Can't do it, but your proposal is good. We can tell the situation here to Witch Grandma and let her follow."

  "Alright, Xiaorou, I'll listen to you. Let's go out of the cave now and find the witch! But before we leave, should this coffin lid be put back on?"

  Xiao Rou furrowed her brow and said: "It's okay to put it on An, but I think it will be the same as before. The coffin lid will still automatically blow open!"

  To verify what Xiaorou said, the two of us exerted our strength again to put the coffin lid back on. Just as Xiaorou said, the coffin lid exploded open once more. Because we had experienced it before, this time we weren't so scared, but rather curious why Xiaorou knew the coffin lid would explode open again. Xiaorou told me that it was a causal cycle, and if an unusual event's formation wasn't destroyed, then it would happen a second time; if it still wasn't destroyed, it would happen a third time, a fourth time, until that pattern was broken.

  It actually looks profound, but I guessed it at once, because I thought of a movie I saw, Death came. The one in the movie is death mode, and ours should be the cause-and-effect relationship that Xiaoyu said.

  The two of us didn't continue to care about the white coffin, and walked out towards the outside of the mountain cave. As we left this space, I always felt like someone was calling my name, I don't know if it's an illusion or if I'm dizzy, and rocks are still falling from the top of the cave from time to time. But that chill is getting less and less!

  When I came out of the cave again, nothing unusual appeared, but I always felt vaguely that someone was calling me.

  It wasn't very clear at first, but as I got closer to the entrance, it became more and more obvious. However, I suppressed it in my heart and didn't say it out loud, mainly because I was afraid of distracting Xiao Rou. Now our main goal is to find the witch, not to study what's inside this cave.

  The situation wasn't too bad, we walked out quickly. When we got to the door, we found that the outside weather had already brightened up. The sun was shining, which made my eyes a bit sore, and Xiaoyu felt the same way.

  Actually, I felt quite strange at the time, because we saw light inside the cave. Logically speaking, even if we see sunlight now, this feeling shouldn't appear, right? Is the light in the cave fake or something?

  "Xiao Rou, don't you think it's a bit strange?" I wanted to reflect my discovery with Xiao Rou.

  Xiao Rou's face didn't look too good at this time, she said to me: "Yes, I also feel strange, always feeling that something is not quite right, but specifically what it is I also can't say, however don't think about it anymore, let's go find the witch first."

  After she said that, I didn't continue to express my views. We went to Fengmen Village along the same route as before, this time I walked in front and used the ancient copper sword to block the thorns ahead. To clear the way for Xiaoyu.

  Because of the first experience, and it was daytime, we quickly arrived at Fengmen Village. However, what made me feel strange this time is that Fengmen Village seemed very quiet, completely different from before. Although there aren't many people in this village, every time I come here, I feel like it's magical, but this time the feeling it brought me was only desolation, as if no one was around.

  "It's strange, why isn't Auntie here this time?" Xiaoyu murmured.

  It wasn't until she said that, that I realized the difference was here. Although I've only been to Fengmen Village twice, every time I see villagers passing by from here, also known as Aunt Guniang, but this time I didn't see anyone.

  "Maybe it's too early, are they cooking?" I said.

  Xiao Rou shook her head and said: "It's impossible. This place should always have someone, no matter what time it is. Something must have happened. Let's go find the witch quickly."

  After finishing speaking, Xiaorou started running towards the direction of the witch's house, and I also followed closely behind. Although I didn't know what had happened, I had a bad feeling somehow.

  We didn't go knock on the witch's door, but instead pulled it open and went straight in. As soon as we opened the door, we saw the witch's usual cane lying horizontally on the ground in front of us.

  In front of me, the old witch sat cross-legged with her head bowed. It seemed like she was doing some kind of cultivation or something, but I wasn't very familiar with magic so I didn't really know what she was up to.

  "Witch, why are you sitting on the ground?!" Xiao Rou said while running towards the witch's position.

  I followed behind Xiaoyu, preparing to greet her when she lifted her head. But until we arrived in front of her, she still didn't react, remaining seated with her legs crossed and her head lowered.

  "Is the old witch asleep?" I muttered to myself.

  Xiao Rou didn't scold me, she directly stretched out her hand to lift up the old woman's head. As soon as the old woman's head was lifted, Xiao Rou let out a loud cry. This cry made my heart feel flustered.

  At this time, I saw the witch, her two eyes were wide open, and her pupils were almost popping out. There was a bright red blood stain at the corner of her eye, still dripping. There was an obvious strangulation mark on her neck, and there was also blood flowing from under her ears. Her hands, clasped together in prayer, had been nailed together with steel nails.

  I carefully placed my hand on the old witch's nostrils and found that she had stopped breathing, but her body was still warm. It seemed like she had just died recently.

  Xiao Rou's two eyes were also wide with fear, clearly not daring to believe this fact. I told her in a very small voice that the witch had already left.

  Xiao Rou still ignored me, closing her eyes for five or six minutes before opening them again. I didn't disturb her during this time, and although I wanted to comfort her, I suddenly found myself at a loss for words.

  She slightly raised her body and said to me: "Little Dragon, close the door."

  "Uh-huh!" Although I don't know what she's going to do, I will unconditionally obey her. Although she didn't show much, I clearly understand the extent of her sadness.

  After I closed the door, she immediately lit a stick of incense and transformed a small group of paper men with spells to guard the entrance.

  Xiao Rou clasped her hands together and shouted with a sob in her voice: "Wu PoPo, come back... Wu PoPo, please come back."

  If I'm not mistaken, this should be the legendary soul-calling technique, but the result was disappointing, the witch didn't react at all and remained in the same posture as before.

  Xiao Rou saw that it was ineffective and sat down on the ground with a thud, muttering: "It's over, now even the witch has left us."

  Peach blossoms brought rain, tears filled Xiao Rou's face, she cried to the point of being speechless, at this moment she was so helpless. She was completely different from her usual self, at this time she was the most helpless girl.

  I don't know where I got the courage from, but I went over and hugged her, saying: "It's okay, Xiao Rou, don't be too sad. Let's take a look at Grandma Wu's injuries first and see what hurt her. We'll avenge her."

  After hearing this, Xiaorou wiped away the tears from her eyes and stood up, choking back a sob: "Although Witch Grandma was injured, there are only a few people under the sky who can kill her. You're right, we need to find clues."

  With my help, Xiaorou began to examine the body of the witch. After a few minutes, Xiaorou muttered: "Impossible! The witch was actually scared to death? This is absolutely impossible!"

  "What did you just say, Xiaorou?" I was stunned too...