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墨書 Inktalez
In the Sun Family's coffin shop, located ten miles away, business was limited to the surrounding area. Beyond that lay vast stretches of desolate mountains and wilderness.
When Ye Chenfeng arrived, he witnessed the Cold Crows gathering on the branches of those barren trees, resembling black nests that inadvertently reminded one of bats hanging from the limbs.
Sister Guai recounted to Ye Chenfeng that the Sun Family's rise to prominence did not stem from selling coffins, but rather from the support of a relative who had married far away, which provided them with the capital to enter the coffin business.
Money is a good thing; especially when one is out in the world, being without it makes every step difficult.
The toxicity of money is great; it can facilitate grand endeavors but can also lead to disaster.
The Sun Family was known in Zhanglin Village. The eldest daughter of the coffin shop owner had left long ago, discontent with the backwardness of Zhanglin Village, and she never returned. Later, rumors spread that the Sun Family's daughter had become wealthy outside.
Subsequently, money began to flow back to their family, leading to the establishment of the Sun Family's coffin shop.
Zhanglin Village had a sparse population; burying a deceased person in a particular spot was quite casual. Thus, business at the Sun Family Coffin Shop thrived. Moreover, the old man of the Sun Family had some knowledge of metaphysics, and there were whispers that it was his daughter who had imparted this knowledge to him.
In earlier years, there were still many trees in Zhanglin Village, and its residents had some money. The deceased were paramount; while the living could overlook many things, proper burial for the dead was essential.
Over time, the Sun Family managed to amass a small fortune.
However, unexpectedly, this small fortune led them to meet their demise in a fire.
Sister Guai did not specify who the murderers were, but from her fragmented account and the people involved, Ye Chenfeng could easily guess that the culprits behind the deaths of the five members of the Sun Family were likely the village chief and Zhang Bi.
The relationship between Zhang Bi and the village chief was well-known; it was evident to all that they were close. The village chief occasionally provided some assistance to Zhang Bi, but it was limited and could not satisfy him.
Zhang Bi would sometimes express his dissatisfaction with the village chief in front of Sister Guai. He would curse, saying, "That old fool! Once I have money, I'll run away from here and leave you behind to be strangled by the Sun Family's Vengeful Spirit."
From this, Ye Chenfeng became even more convinced that the tragic deaths of the Sun Family were orchestrated by the village chief and Zhang Bi.
At the entrance of the Sun Family Coffin Shop, two bright paper lanterns swayed in the wind, flickering ominously.
In the blink of an eye, the little Taoist Ye Chenfeng had vanished.
Zhang Bi and the village chief widened their eyes in disbelief as they realized they were standing at the entrance of the Sun Family Coffin Shop.
The village chief was utterly shocked and terrified, his legs trembling as he turned to flee, cursing under his breath, "Damn it, how did we end up here?"
Zhang Bi was equally frightened and took off running.
After a cacophony of noise, suddenly the lid of a coffin inside the Sun Family Coffin Shop flew open. One by one, dark, disheveled Evil Spirits crawled out from within.
"Come for my life... it hurts... give me back my life..." The wailing cries of ghosts echoed, causing the village chief to wet himself in fear as he screamed for help.
Zhang Bi ran—ran and ran!
After running for what felt like ages, he looked down to find he had created a deep pit in the ground with his frantic steps; he hadn’t moved an inch away from the entrance of the Sun Family Coffin Shop.
A thick fog rolled in, accompanied by piercing ghostly wails and a chilling breeze that made both men wish they had been born with an extra leg to escape this cursed place. Even if it meant becoming a beast, anything would be better than facing this nightmare.
That night, after they had killed the five members of the Sun Family, they had never returned to this spot.
Was it guilt or the nightmares that haunted them every night that made them dread this place so much?
Moreover, long ago, the village chief had even ordered that the road leading here be blocked. This way, no one would come to the Sun Family Coffin Shop, and no one would know about it. When someone died, he would simply send for someone from another village to make a coffin.
"Come for my life, return my life..."
Zhang Bi knew without turning around that the Evil Spirit crawling out of the coffin was already closing in behind them.
Both of them were so frightened that their legs trembled. When a cold hand landed on the village chief's shoulder, he screamed, his eyes rolling back, and fell backward.
Zhang Bi, terrified, covered his head and pleaded, "It was all the village chief's idea! I didn't get a single penny; he took all your money and even used your family's diesel to burn you. He originally wanted to burn down the coffin shop too, but when he saw the ghost, he didn't dare to come."
Zhang Bi rambled on for a long time without hearing any response. He opened his eyes to see a woman in red with a pale face right in front of him, her white eyes staring at him.
"Ah..."
Zhang Bi fainted from fear.
The injustice surrounding the Sun Family Coffin Shop had been uncovered.
It turned out that the village chief and Zhang Bi had conspired together, first poisoning the water to make them sick, then dragging them into the woods to burn them.
The Evil Spirits that crawled out of the coffin included Ding Li, Sister Guai, and the last bloodline of the Sun Family, Sun Xianger.
The woman in red said to Ye Chenfeng, "I went to find my sister and saw you with her on the way..." She pointed at Ding Li and continued, "At that moment, I felt you could help us take revenge and find out who the murderer was, so I followed you all this way. Now both of them are doomed; you should take me if you want!"
"Why didn’t Sun Xianger encounter any trouble?"
The woman in red replied, "I was a new bride and really liked my sister-in-law Xiang'er. That night we had dinner at our house; Xiang'er got into a fight with her brother, saying that after marrying me, he wouldn't love her anymore. So she didn't eat and ended up being taken into the woods while sleeping. I was the first one they targeted... they bullied me until I bit my tongue and died. I saw Xiang'er wake up and hurriedly covered her mouth, secretly hiding her away."
Ding Li nestled beside Ye Chenfeng and angrily muttered, "This is just too despicable."
Sister Guai brought Xiang'er to ask Ye Chenfeng what they should do next.
Ye Chenfeng replied, "We need to find the others."
The woman in red said, "They are on the mountain; I will take you there."
Zhang Bi and the Drunken Nose Village Chief were so frightened that they nearly died from fear.
They were placed inside coffins, and at the spot where the Sun Family of five was burned, a great fire ignited. In an instant, the two coffins turned to ashes, including the village chief with a nose as red as a strawberry and Zhang Bi's foul body.
Ye Chenfeng decided not to take the woman in red for now; instead, he asked her to make amends by finding Qin Keqing and the others. As they were leaving, they received a small gourd.
"What is this...?"
"You came looking for your sister's soul, right? A fragment of her spirit is inside this gourd," the woman in red nodded affirmatively at Ye Chenfeng. "This is what she left behind when she departed from her hometown."
Ye Chenfeng shook the gourd; it felt light as if it contained nothing. He wondered how this gourd differed from his Ghost-Collecting Gourd.
Seeing his concern, the woman in red explained, "In our culture, it is customary for both men and women to leave behind something given by their parents when they leave their hometown. This gourd contains your sister's hair, nails, and a piece of her clothing."
"Oh."
Ye Chenfeng carefully tucked away the gourd and hurried up the mountain to find Qin Keqing and the others. Once he located them, he planned to descend and mobilize the remaining people of Zhanglin Village to relocate from this cursed place.
On their way, Ye Chenfeng noticed a good spot. The soil and plants there were clean; he hoped that those who remained would heed his suggestion to settle there.
Regarding the relocation of Zhanglin Village's people, it was indeed a significant pressure for Ye Chenfeng. Moving them required funds for their resettlement—how could he possibly come up with that much money? Seeking social assistance might be a viable option.
As they were contemplating this matter on their way up the mountain, Sister Guai told Ye Chenfeng something. She said, "Zhang Bi likes to hide money under the urine bucket. Although I don't know how much it is, it must be helpful for the relocation of the people from Zhanglin Village."
"If Zhang Bi likes to keep money there, then where would the village chief hide his?" Ye Chenfeng chuckled to himself, as if he understood.
...
Qin Keqing and the others were trapped on the mountain.
Ye Chenfeng left to find Ding Li.
He and Shen Binghan were worried about Su Bei's whereabouts when a child ran up to them, saying he saw someone taking their companion away and heading up the mountain.
Because the events unfolded so quickly, neither of them had a chance to ask the child who he was or how he knew Su Bei's name. As a result, they followed the child for a while but soon lost sight of him and ended up getting lost themselves.
"Damn, these people are all weirdos; this is no fun at all," Shen Binghan grumbled, using a stick to clear a path through the overgrown weeds that nearly covered the road. Their ankles had suffered quite a bit on this journey.
Qin Keqing was extremely frustrated and no longer wanted to walk. He plopped down on a protruding rock and cursed, "Damn it, this is just our luck. Who knows what Ye Chenfeng is up to now? And here we are, foolishly wandering around!"
As they complained to each other, a pair of cold eyes nearby glinted with a chilling light, as if there were no whites in those eyes at all. The figure exuded an eerie aura and was intently watching them.
Feeling the gaze upon them, Qin Keqing immediately became alert. He said to Shen Binghan, "Someone's watching us."
Shen Binghan looked around but only saw the withered yellow grass and some shrubs; he couldn't spot anyone that Qin Keqing mentioned. Confused, he replied, "No one is here. Where could they be?"
"Forget it; maybe it was just my imagination. We should hurry and leave this place," Qin Keqing said as he stood up, dusting off his pants. He took a few steps ahead and felt that cold gaze shifting along with them.
Behind them lay a winding mountain path covered in wild grass.
The mountain paths were incredibly difficult to navigate.
Both of them had developed numerous blisters on their feet, and with every step, the pain from the blisters pierced through them.
Shen Binghan muttered in frustration, "We must have been deceived. How could there be good people in a place like this?"
"Not everyone is bad. I believe that there are more kind-hearted people than wicked ones."
"Come on, are you saying that those bad people were once good?"
"What are you rambling about? I'm just saying there are more good people than bad ones. You're not making any sense, and I can't be bothered to argue with you." Qin Keqing strode ahead, enduring the pain in her feet.
Shen Binghan pouted, feeling disheartened, but he had no choice but to follow behind.
After walking for a while, they realized they had unknowingly arrived at a very strange place.
There were actually signs of human presence here.
They noticed the path was clean, devoid of wild grass. At the top of a series of stone steps, there was a row of houses.
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