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墨書 Inktalez
Living Funeral
I momentarily didn't understand what Fat Zhang meant by his words. Did he imply that we would continue to live because of him? Could it be that we would still die? No, that was inherently a false proposition.
Would we still die? The answer was undoubtedly yes; we would certainly die, as aging, illness, and death are natural laws.
So, if we were to die, would we still live afterward? Would our continued existence depend on Jiang Changsheng? But why would Jiang Changsheng help us live on?
One must believe that there is no such thing as a free lunch. Moreover, when it comes to preserving life, the price paid would surely be substantial.
I chose not to ask further; I believed Fat Zhang had a question mark in his heart as well!
At this moment, my emotions gradually calmed down. I said to Fat Zhang, "Let's go. If we don't hurry, we won't catch up with Zhang Xun."
Fat Zhang acknowledged with a sound, and we hurried after Zhang Xun.
Zhang Xun's pace was not fast, so catching up with him didn't take much effort. When he noticed us approaching, he asked, "Are you all done?"
I responded with a sound of agreement, and Fat Zhang said, "Done." He then added to Zhang Xun, "With the incident at Mountain Lodge, it's likely that even if the three of us went, it wouldn't make a difference."
"How would we know if we don't try?" Zhang Xun reiterated his point—everything should be attempted; otherwise, how could one know?
Zhang Xun was right.
We switched on our flashlights and walked into the forest. This area was very clean; there wasn't even any underbrush, as if it had been cleared by someone.
Before long, we passed through the woods and arrived at the foot of the mountain.
It was very quiet here, so quiet that all I could hear was the sound of the wind passing by my ears. This place was called West San Village, but until now, I had not seen a single house.
Moreover, there was no sign of the so-called Mountain Lodge either.
The mountain was somewhat high, perhaps two or three hundred meters. Zhang Xun and Fat Zhang stood at the foot of the mountain, and we immediately began to ascend.
The wind howled eerily, like a draft blowing through a corridor. Not long after, Zhang Xun knelt down, and Fat Zhang followed suit.
I was taken aback. When Fat Zhang told me to kneel, I asked, "Why?"
Fat Zhang replied, "Just kneel first; I'll explain later."
Seeing both Zhang Xun and Fat Zhang kneeling, I hesitated no longer and knelt down as well. The stones on the ground scraped against my knees painfully. Zhang Xun handed me a stick of incense and then gave one to Fat Zhang.
Zhang Xun instructed, "Hold the incense above your head."
I glanced at Fat Zhang, who quickly complied with Zhang Xun's command. I followed suit and raised the incense above my head.
A few seconds passed when a chilling breeze swept through, and then I heard the sound of a bell ringing—three times in total.
Only then did Zhang Xun stand up. He said, "We can go up now."
Fat Zhang also stood up and remarked, "That was a bit quick this time!"
Their words sounded strange—almost eerie. In this darkness, was someone up there watching us?
However, something felt off! From the taxi driver's attitude when he quoted the fare, it seemed this place was quite eerie.
It might even claim lives, so it's unlikely that any living person would stay here. Moreover, the video showed such a grim scene that I thought there shouldn't be anyone up there.
But then Zhang, the chubby guy, had just mentioned something.
Now the sound of bells echoed again, and Zhang Xun exchanged some strange words with him, which instantly made me feel that something was amiss here.
At that moment, I took a deep breath and asked, "Is there anyone up there?"
The chubby guy replied, "Chen Fei, if I tell you the truth, you mustn't be scared."
I assured him that I wasn't afraid.
After my words fell, he said, "There is someone up there, but they aren't alive; they're dead."
Dead? Could it be that the bell was being struck by a corpse just now?
The meaning of "bell" has two interpretations: one good and one bad. The bad one is a homophone for sending someone off to their final resting place, so a dead person ringing the bell could indeed align with that notion.
My expression changed slightly. The chubby guy continued, "Chen Fei, you really shouldn't be scared. Just make sure you don't scream."
I nodded and said, "I won't; you can rest assured."
At this point, I took another deep breath to steady my emotions. If it truly was as eerie as Zhang described, then this Mountain Lodge was indeed chilling to the bone.
I looked up, but all I could see was darkness.
“Let’s go up,” Zhang Xun said.
Zhang the Fat turned to me and said, “Chen Fei, when you go up, make sure you don’t get scared.” This was the second time he had said this. I replied to him, “I’m not a three-year-old; I know what I’m doing.”
After leaving the funeral home, I had been through so much—dead bodies, fake corpses, ghosts—I had seen it all. Although I hadn’t faced anything particularly terrifying, I wasn’t easily frightened.
We started walking up a narrow path toward the mountain. Zhang Xun led the way, taking each step cautiously. The path was narrow, so I was careful as well, afraid of stepping off and falling.
“Chen Fei, just look ahead; don’t look down,” Zhang the Fat reminded me.
“Got it.”
Even though I agreed, I couldn’t help but glance down at my feet. The higher we climbed, the more panic welled up inside me.
I forced myself not to look down, but just then, I suddenly felt something brush against my ankle.
What the hell? Am I really seeing a ghost this soon? I quickly glanced down, and just that one look sent a chill racing down my spine.
What on earth is down there?
At that moment, something grabbed my ankle forcefully, nearly pulling me off the mountain.
I screamed. Zhang the Fat quickly reached out and steadied me. “Chen Fei, didn’t I tell you not to look down?”
Zhang, the hefty man, supported me, but his grip remained firm.
He crouched down, and with a swift motion, his hand finally released me. I shone my flashlight downwards and gasped; below the cliff hung a mass of Dead Hands.
"Don't look," Zhang said to me.
Honestly, I didn't want to look either, but I couldn't help myself just moments ago. Zhang sighed and said, "It's too late for that now."
He called out to Zhang Xun, though he hadn't spoken yet.
"I already know," Zhang Xun replied.
"From now on, we need to move faster. Chen Fei, don't look back. No matter what grabs you, ignore it. Just keep moving forward."
I promised myself that this time I wouldn't look back.
So we began to run quickly ahead. During this frantic escape, something grabbed my ankle, but I forced myself to ignore it. Strangely enough, when I chose not to pay attention, it felt as if that hand had lost its strength and could be easily shaken off.
This place was truly terrifying; I was convinced by Zhang's words. We ran wildly until we rounded a towering pine tree, at which point Zhang Xun stopped.
We were exhausted. Zhang Xun spoke up, "We have three minutes to rest."
I nodded in response. During our brief respite, I couldn't help but ask, "What on earth is this place? Why is it so eerie?"
Zhang replied, "This place is just that eerie. If it weren't eerie, how do you think the dead come back to life?"
But just after Zhang Fatty finished speaking, a bell suddenly rang.
"Did it ring four times?" Zhang Fatty exclaimed, his face filled with terror, as if he couldn't believe the bell had indeed rung four times. I quickly confirmed his suspicion.
I said, "It did ring four times. Is there a problem?"
Zhang Xun replied, "This is serious, Zhang Xun. We should go down. Four rings mean someone has died."
What does it mean when the dead ring the bell four times?
Zhang Xun turned to glance at us and said, "It's too late; we can't go back now."
Zhang Fatty protested, "Why can't we go back? The path is still here, isn't it?"
"Is it?" Zhang Xun retorted.
Zhang Fatty and I quickly turned around and were shocked to find that the path behind us had vanished. At that moment, hands were already climbing up the cliff—countless Dead Hands.
Suddenly, I seemed to understand what it meant for the dead to ring the bell four times; four and death—four must signify death.
Thinking of this, I broke out in a cold sweat.
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