Chapter Fifteen: The Mysterious Stone Coffin

  On the second day, Old Qian got up early with a red face and said that he had eaten happily yesterday but slept restlessly. He had a strange dream in which there was a violent storm, snakes were coming and going, fortunately without hurting him, but scaring him badly. He hurriedly asked me if anything was wrong.

  I said: "Nothing's going on, did you dream of a chick warming your feet or what?"

  Old Qian chuckled and said: "This place, even if you dream of it, is the one downstairs."

  That's right, Zhang Mei is nearby.

  Zhang Mei is cooking for us, and in our village, breakfast is also rice, which suits me just fine.

  Went to the kitchen to see Zhang Mei, and unexpectedly she had lost a lot of weight overnight.

  I said: "Sister-in-law, don't be too tired, we've caused you trouble."

  Zhang Mei's face changed when she saw me, and she was clearly taken aback. All she said was: "The ghost came back to see me last night, I wanted to chase after it, but it led me on a path that I couldn't walk."

  I just smiled and said it's all right.

  Returned to the main house, looked at the high-hanging frame, but found that man's eyes seemed blood red. Upon closer inspection, they were as usual. In my heart, I secretly thought, I'm afraid something will happen sooner or later.

  Just as I was lost in thought, there was a sudden commotion outside the door.

  Zhao Cai has arrived, along with Liu Pang. Liu Pang is the leader of the construction workers and we have had many dealings with him before. Last time I audited his project quantities, this little guy played a trick on me, but he's a shrewd businessman, still smiling away, after all, he has to make a living from this line of work.

  "It's all over, it's all over, something has happened." Zhao had obviously run all the way here. The project was in his village and as the director, he was the required contact person by the authorities, so when something went wrong, he couldn't escape responsibility.

  Liu Pangpang's face was as pale as death, following behind Zhao Cai, panting and out of breath, stuttering: "Damn it, scared me to death."

  Lao Qian and I hastily pulled the two of them along, asking: "Don't panic, what's going on?"

  Zhao Zai had been living in this place for a long time, and was still quite calm. From his narrative, it was only then that I knew, early in the morning when work began, the lowest and most depressed area, where water was abundant and grass was lush, was unexpectedly hard as steel. The workers were shocked and puzzled, unable to dig into the wet earth, what a strange thing!

  Of course, no one wants to delay their own wallet. So, several strong men joined forces and took the steel drill, exerting all their strength to dig down, then together they dug open the wet soil, and suddenly a coffin appeared. This place was originally a chaotic burial ground, having a coffin was not surprising, but what was surprising was that it was a stone coffin.

  The stone coffin was nothing special, probably made by a wealthy family. However, what's strange is that when the stone coffin was unearthed, a burst of white gas suddenly shot up from the ground, and several strong men nearby immediately fell to the ground. They called for medical help, but no one knew what happened, so they were sent to the city. A phone call later said there was no danger to their lives, but they all had their eyes wide open, looking like living dead people, and were left under observation.

  But on the construction site, it was even more bizarre. The stone coffin wouldn't budge, no matter what. They brought in an excavator, and after spewing out a bellyful of black smoke, it still couldn't be moved. A major project had come to a halt because of this small stone coffin. The person in charge of the site was frantic, running around making phone calls for help, until Zhao and Liu remembered us two and rushed over. It wasn't that we had any special skills, but rather that Liu had a bit of a clever idea - if they couldn't move the coffin, they'd have to let us take a look at it, or else they'd be in trouble when it came time to audit their construction costs. Damn it, anyone will do anything for money, they're just like dogs.

  But time was not to be delayed, and Old Qian and I didn't even have time to eat breakfast, following Zhao Cai and Liu Pang rushing to the construction site. As we were about to leave, I saw Zhang Mei's eyes flickering, and my heart suddenly became uneasy, this matter wasn't that simple after all.

  Upon arrival at the construction site, workers were chatting and smoking on the side, when suddenly a stone coffin stood upright among them.

  I was close to Lao Qian, and he plucked up the courage to go forward and knock on it. The stone coffin was icy cold, but it emitted a frightening sound. The voice was very low, only I, Lao Qian, Liu Pang, and I could vaguely hear it. Scared stiff, my heart sank even more, damn it, the stone coffin made a sound, how eerie!

  A sudden chill ran up my leg and wrapped around my pant leg, giving me a sense of déjà vu.

  Liu Pang, who was standing beside him, subconsciously let out a sigh and said: "It's so cold."

  Zhao's upper and lower teeth were chattering, apparently he was frightened.

  I asked Zhao Cai: "Is it from which village?"

  Zhao said: "Absolutely not, this place has long been a farmland. Besides, our village cremation is among the top ten in the town, and we have even received awards for outstanding work."

  I didn't ask anymore, but my heart was racing with anticipation. What Li Yan and Dao Zhang said was indeed not wrong, it's really not that simple.

  I walked around the stone coffin, which was placed north-south. On the southern end, a pattern was faintly visible. I crawled on the ground and carefully wiped away the dirt. My heart skipped a beat as I saw that it was a knife shape, but very rough, as if it had been hastily made. On the northern end, there were two blurry footprints painted on top. It was eerie, ordinary families usually have the Azure Dragon and White Tiger to ward off evil spirits, who would paint such patterns?

  I said to Liu Pang: "Let's disperse for today and talk again tomorrow."

  Liu Pang hastily asked: "What about the workload?"

  I rolled my eyes at Liu Pang and said: "Dead fatty, do you know how you died back then?"

  Liu Pang blinked at me.

  "You're being suffocated by money."

  Old Qian said on the side: "I'll deal with it later, let's disperse for now. With so many people, there are food and drinks to consider, and nothing can be accomplished. Don't you care about your restaurant expenses?"

  Liu Pang heard this and smiled slightly, waving his hand loudly saying: "Everyone disperse for today, come early tomorrow."

  The workers couldn't wait and immediately dispersed with a loud noise.

  If it were a big construction site, there would be just the four of us left.

  Liu Pang was anxious and kept circling around the stone coffin, saying: "Some people in the city said it's not life-threatening, but living there is a waste of money."

  Lao Qian laughed and patted Liu Pang's shoulder, saying: "You're still alive, what great luck! It's much better than being cut off from us."

  Liu Pang smiled awkwardly and said: "You're too kind, still remembering that little thing from before. Tomorrow, I'll bring a few boxes of fruit to replenish your fluids."

  I don't care about Liu Pang, this money-eyed guy.

  On the side, Zhao Cai pulled me and whispered mysteriously: "Director Li, this matter can't be taken lightly. I'm speaking as a fellow countryman, don't take offense, but it's likely that someone will be invited to hurry things up. I know you public officials don't believe in this sort of thing, but there's no other way."

  I was staring blankly at these two strange patterns, one facing south and the other north, thinking to myself, my goodness, could everything be connected after all?

  I asked Zhao Zai: "Is there anyone nearby who can be rushed?"

  Zhao said: "There was one originally, but I haven't seen it recently, let me look for it."

  I told you to go find it, just pretend we don't know. Old Qian seemed to understand too, nodded his head, but Liu Pang kept making a bow and said, "You guys hurry up and find it, oh my god, all the money I've earned is gone! My hard-earned money!"

  "Stop yelling, it's all about money, people are gone, return the money, disperse, let's talk after Old Zhao finds us."

  They dispersed, and Liu Pang was still muttering to himself. Zhao Zai went to find him, actually a so-called yin-yang master in the village, also known as a Taoist priest, not very reputable, holding a broken wooden sword, burning some yellow paper, spitting oil at the lamp fire, suddenly igniting a ball of flames, then nervously chanting nonsense, his mouth always repeating the same few sentences, "The Great Supreme Elder enters the Three Ways, all big and small evil spirits flee, urgent like a law enforcement order", then slapping the wooden bench, finishing the ritual and leaving after collecting money, saying that they had all been sent away. Completely useless, just deceiving people.

  What I really meant was to get rid of these two people. I pulled Old Qian, not towards Zhang Mei's home, I knew that at this moment, it was a matter of life and death for me and Old Qian, this thing had to be said clearly, otherwise, who knows what would happen next.

  I pulled Old Qian in another direction and walked until we reached an empty space, where I stopped.

  Lao Qian said: "Go back, what's the point of coming here, you're scared silly."

  I said, "Old Qian, you are my best brother. There are some things that I really need to tell you. You know me, I never say half a lie. So what I'm saying, listen carefully and don't ask why or doubt it. Our lives are really in danger."

  Lao Qian saw me being so serious and solemn, and put away his smile. This is what I like about Lao Qian - joking aside, when it comes to important matters, he never messes around.

  "Lao Qian, we've fallen into a trap." I tried to speak calmly, using language that Lao Qian could understand.

  "This is the third warning, you still remember, right? The first time was when our homes were robbed at the intersection and supermarket; the second time was in your home, and that rainy dream last night, a mess all over the floor, you don't know what happened, but many things did happen, I don't want to tell you in detail, but something definitely did happen, believe me. This is the third time. Things won't go beyond three times, I'm scared, but I have to make it clear with you."

  Old Qian's mouth was agape, staring at me blankly. His face turned from red to white, and his hands trembled. From the look in his eyes, it didn't seem like he was joking, something was indeed wrong, and it wasn't good.

  I roughly told him about my experiences over the past few months, including the struggle for the Ling Knife between Wuying Gate and Zhengling Gate, and introduced Zhang Mei's weirdness. I skipped many bloody scenes in between, Old Qian isn't me, really can't bear it. Finally, I said: "Can't retreat anymore, Old Qian, really can't retreat anymore, nor can we speak clearly, speaking clearly would break the heavenly machine, and bring about unforeseen disasters, so, Old Qian, only you and I can go down together."

  Lao Qian stammered, his lips turning white. "Can't we move somewhere else? Heaven!"

  "No way, Old Qian. This is a trap that only those inside the trap can break. So, to get out of the trap, you have to break the trap. Otherwise, you'll be trapped forever." I said seriously.

  "To hell with it, I've had enough of its nonsense. Let's play, I'll play you to death! What the...? Even living people aren't afraid, and yet they're still afraid of dead people!" Old Qian heard me say something that couldn't be said, and suddenly exploded. That's just how Old Qian is - he doesn't have a bit of temperament, otherwise, how could he have become the general manager?"

  I grabbed Old Qian's hand and said, "Good brother, let's go together, it's nothing. Now, we have to pretend that nothing is wrong. I think Zhang Mei must be in trouble, and also the stone coffin. I'm guessing it's the doing of Wuyingmen. Next time we go back, we'll take action when the opportunity arises. The stone coffin must be broken, otherwise those few workers in the city will definitely be in danger. I think they must have been cast with a curse."

  Lao Qian quickly got into character and nodded.

  Look with me towards the stone coffin, heavens, a white mist rises from the ground, and on the stone coffin, there is actually a faint white mist floating around, chilling wind surrounds my spine. I exchanged a glance with Old Qian, our faces were solemn.

  I said: "At the time of the broken yang, we two come to make a stir, dare or not?"