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墨書 Inktalez
Living Funeral
I hesitated for a moment, then asked Gao Qing, "Do you know there's a coffin here?"
Gao Qing nodded and said that what was inside the coffin was very important to him and equally important to Gao Ling. Suddenly, I understood why Gao Qing had known about the Nine Corpse Formation earlier; it was likely because he had been searching for this coffin material for a long time. Back then, he had found this place but hadn’t entered. Even the members of the Gao Family hadn’t gone in, yet now the formation had been broken, allowing us to enter Snake Skin Gully.
Zhang Xun seemed to be aware of Snake Skin Gully as well; otherwise, he wouldn’t have said that living people couldn’t enter, only the dead could. From these two statements, it was clear that both Zhang Xun and Gao Qing knew of the coffin's existence.
The atmosphere became awkward again. I certainly needed the corpse inside the coffin, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
I didn’t know how to respond to Gao Qing. He wasn’t someone who would reason easily and continued, “Chen Fei, you can take everything else here, but you cannot touch this coffin.”
Damn it, I felt displeased upon hearing this. I had come here specifically to find the coffin, and now he was telling me that everything else could be moved except for it.
It was like being on the verge of dying of thirst and suddenly entering a beautifully decorated room, only for the owner to tell you that you could move everything in the room but couldn’t drink any water.
This was clearly infuriating. I took a deep breath and said to Gao Qing, “That’s impossible.”
Gao Qing snorted coldly and replied that we should rely on our own abilities.
Seeing the conflict between me and Gao Qing, Gao Ling interjected, “Gao Qing, we came here because of Ren Fei; isn’t it inappropriate for you to fight him over something?”
After she spoke, Gao Qing exploded with anger and shouted, “Are you stupid? Shut up!”
Gao Ling also had a fiery temper. After being scolded by her own sister multiple times and having endured it until now, she finally snapped back, “Are you looking for a fight, Gao Qing?” She rolled up her sleeves as if ready to throw a punch.
I hurriedly grabbed Gao Ling. "Damn it, we haven't even found the coffin yet, and you're already arguing. What the hell!" After I spoke, things finally quieted down a bit.
Gao Qing shot a look of disappointment at Gao Ling, and the atmosphere grew tense. Zhao Fan stepped in to mediate, saying, "Everyone, let's keep it civil. Let's hear Brother Fei out first. We can sort out our issues after we find the coffin, okay?"
"Damn it," I thought. They were already red-faced from arguing before we even found the coffin—what was going on?
Of course, my curiosity about that coffin only grew stronger.
I asked, "What exactly is in that coffin?"
Zhang Xun, who had been silent until now, suddenly said to me, "It's said that Jiang Changsheng is buried there, but I know that's not true."
"Not true? What makes you say that?" Gao Qing asked.
Zhao Fan chimed in as well, "That shouldn't be the case! By age calculation, Jiang Changsheng should still be alive." Zhao Fan spoke quickly.
However, life and death can't really be measured by age. Some people die in the womb, while others live for a long time and easily surpass a hundred years.
Zhang Xun didn't bother to explain further. After finishing his statement, he called my name, and I followed him. At that moment, Gao Ling had a bit of a conflict with Gao Qing and was clearly annoyed, so she decided to follow me as well.
Zhang Xun seemed to harbor some hostility towards Gao Ling, but when she approached, he didn't show much of it. Zhao Fan also joined us, likely because he couldn't find common ground with Gao Qing.
Thus, Gao Qing found himself isolated, but he seemed completely unfazed by it.
We continued to move forward, the wind blowing against us. After a short while, we spotted a corpse on the ground, already beginning to rot, the stench spreading around us.
It seemed that many people had indeed died here in Chenjiaba. I crouched down to examine the body, which was unrecognizable due to being eaten by insects, and its flesh was decaying.
The person was likely dead, but after my experience in Longting, I decided to be cautious. I took my time to thoroughly check until I confirmed that the corpse was truly lifeless before moving on. I feared that if I rushed, there might be a chance of encountering a trick or even a living person causing further complications.
Gao Ling spoke to me with irritation, "Fei, why are you wasting so much time on a corpse?"
I replied to Gao Ling, "It's better to be safe than sorry. This place feels eerie; we should proceed with caution."
Perhaps Gao Ling found some sense in my words and fell silent. We walked a bit further when suddenly the cool breeze that had been blowing stopped altogether.
"Why did the wind stop?" Zhao Fan asked.
I glanced at the trees on both sides; they seemed to have grown denser. Could it be that the trees were blocking the wind? I thought to myself.
That seemed quite possible! However, after taking a few more steps, the trees began to thin out, yet the wind still did not return. The atmosphere started to feel increasingly strange.
I said, "Do you all feel something is off?"
As soon as I finished speaking, Gao Ling responded, "Fei, the atmosphere seems a bit odd."
Zhao Fan chimed in, "Yeah! Why does it feel like there's a sense of danger here?"
We began to tread cautiously, and after just a few steps, I suddenly heard a scream. My nerves were already on edge, and the sound startled me.
Perhaps my reaction was too extreme, as everyone looked at me in confusion. "Fei, what’s wrong?" Gao Ling asked.
I was taken aback. Did they not hear the scream?
"There was someone screaming just now. Didn’t you hear it?" I said.
Gao Ling shook his head. "No, it's eerily quiet here. I didn’t hear anything." But I distinctly remembered hearing that scream.
My breathing quickened, and Zhang Xun asked, "Besides the scream, did you hear anything else?"
I quickly shook my head, indicating that I hadn’t heard anything more. Suddenly, Zhang Xun seemed to recall something and said to me, "Chen Fei, weren’t you looking for someone?"
I paused for a moment before Zhang Xun added, "The photo." That reminded me; he was referring to Cui Fang.
"I am looking for this person, but it’s not certain that I will find her," I replied.
Zhang Xun said, "I might be able to help you."
I acknowledged him with a nod. Zhang Xun continued, "When someone entrusts you with a task, of course you should see it through."
To be honest, finding Cui Fang was indeed a bit strange. Who in their right mind would run into the mountains right after getting married? And especially to this terrifying Snake Skin Gully? Coupled with the bizarre circumstances surrounding her death, the whole situation became even more perplexing.
Moreover, this photo was given to me alone. Thinking about it, I felt a bit confused myself; after all, the whole situation was quite muddled.
However, since Zhang Xun had already said that, I decided to give it a try.
I asked Zhang Xun, "Do you have any methods?"
Zhang Xun replied, "I've already spoken; naturally, I have a way. You still have her name and photo here. With these two things, it's enough to summon her soul."
"Summon her soul?" I asked, somewhat puzzled.
Zhang Xun said, "Do you really think that anyone who comes in here could still be alive?" Honestly, before I came here and heard them talk, I would have had some doubts about whether Snake Skin Gully was truly this eerie. But after experiencing the Nine Corpse Formation, I completely believed it.
Snake Skin Gully was indeed that eerie, and Guang's wife was an ordinary person. If she came in here, barring any accidents, it would definitely be a dead end.
So when Zhang Xun mentioned summoning her soul, I questioned him briefly but quickly accepted it. I asked Zhang Xun, "Shall we start now?"
Zhang Xun said it was actually quite simple. He pulled a Yellow Talisman out of his pocket and folded it into a human shape. Then he wrote the name Cui Fang on it and sat down cross-legged, instructing me to burn the Joss Paper along with Cui Fang's photo.
Following Zhang Xun's instructions, after burning the photo, a wisp of blue smoke rose up. Suddenly, Zhang Xun coughed a few times. I thought he was choked by the smoke, but the next moment, I heard him calling out Cui Fang's name in a wavering tone. Before long, the Paper Figure in his hand suddenly moved. Then I heard a scream accompanied by a woman's crying voice.
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