Chapter 151: The Missing Corpse
The night has fallen as scheduled.
Dinner was finished in a somber atmosphere.
After seeing off the last helper, Uncle Li turned to look at the brightly lit hall.
The corpses of the two newcomers still lay in the hall.
With the help of the men.
The corpses of the newcomers were placed into coffins.
The bride brought her own red coffin when she got married.
Bringing a coffin when getting married has been a standard for brides since ancient times.
It symbolizes eternal love.
But who would have thought…
And the groom’s coffin was a white one.
It was white because it hadn’t been painted.
Moreover, this was not the groom’s coffin, but the coffin for the groom’s grandparents.
It was bought as a backup.
Not for the groom.
Now it was being used for the groom.
A simple spirit hall, candles flickering.
Two coffins were temporarily placed in the hall.
“You all go to sleep, I’ll keep watch.”
Uncle Li looked at Lin Qian and the other two, his eyes filled with indescribable emotion.
Lin Qian waved his hand, “There’s nothing else to do anyway, it’s good to sit and chat.”
“Besides, with something like this happening, it’s hard to fall asleep.”
Normally, no sane person would be able to sleep after encountering a dead body, let alone someone who died in such a sinister way.
Although they were not ordinary people, they could not appear abnormal.
Hearing this, Uncle Li was even more touched.
He looked back at the two coffins. Although his relatives were inside, it was false to say he wasn’t scared.
No matter how close a relative is, death is frightening.
A wake was necessary, but if he were alone, he would be terrified all night.
At his age, if something truly scary happened, he couldn’t handle it.
Now, with three strong young men with fiery temperaments keeping him company, he felt much more at ease.
After confirming that the three were not going to sleep, Uncle Li’s confidence grew.
He went to get a brazier and some paper money to burn.
He didn’t mumble like others.
Although they were relatives and he was an elder, he didn’t have the right to say anything.
And he didn’t dare to ramble while burning paper.
Jokes aside, in front of the spirit hall, any word could potentially cause something strange to happen.
The paper money fluttered.
Lin Qian and the other two sat on the steps outside the hall, with the spirit hall behind them.
“It’s eight o’clock in the evening now.”
Fang Shiming looked at his watch, “When do you think the abnormality will appear?”
“I estimate after midnight,” Ye Zhen said.
“Oh? What makes you say that?” Fang Shiming became interested.
Although he also leaned towards an abnormality appearing after midnight, he at least had a basis.
But Ye Zhen…
It wasn’t that Fang Shiming looked down on Ye Zhen; it was just that Ye Zhen gave the impression of not being a logical person.
“Isn’t that how it’s always shown in movies?”
“Before midnight, nothing happens, and as soon as it’s midnight, everything comes out.”
Looking at Ye Zhen’s matter-of-fact expression, Fang Shiming fell silent.
Truly, a very unique answer.
“Have you seen your cheap relative?”
Lin Qian suddenly said.
“I haven’t seen him since we left.”
Fang Shiming replied, “Perhaps he knew something was wrong here and didn’t dare to come.”
“That’s possible,” Ye Zhen nodded, “By the way, is that guy really your relative?”
Neither of them believed that Fang Yuanshan was actually Fang Shiming’s relative.
But unexpectedly, Fang Shiming nodded, “He’s a relative, my nephew.”
“What?”
The two were stunned, but then they frowned, quickly realizing a loophole.
“Your nephew, then why doesn’t he recognize you at all?”
Ye Zhen asked.
Fang Shiming smiled, “It’s very normal.”
“Unlike you all, my family has never been poor.”
“Never being poor naturally means having many siblings.”
“And thus, many nephews and nieces.”
“As for why he doesn’t recognize me, it’s very simple: at home, I don’t have photos.”
“The younger generation has never seen me and doesn’t know what I look like.”
“I haven’t been home in a very long time.”
“But I remember what they call me.”
Fang Shiming explained.
“So, you are really that person’s uncle?”
Fang Shiming nodded.
Ye Zhen stroked his chin, “Can’t figure it out.”
Lin Qian: “+1.”
Fang Shiming, however, was very calm; such things were normal, and for rich people, this was child’s play.
Dark clouds obscured the moonlight, and the land became incredibly dark.
Uncle Li had long since fallen asleep from exhaustion.
Only the three young people were still sitting and chatting in front of the hall.
But gradually, their conversation lessened until…
Deep in the night, most people had fallen asleep.
This is how rural life is; even with such eerie events, it doesn’t delay their early sleep.
But those living in cities, accustomed to the urban pace, couldn’t sleep so early.
Liu Zaiqing was currently leaning on her pillow, distractedly watching videos on her mobile phone.
In her mind, she involuntarily recalled the bizarre scene from earlier that day.
How could it be so bizarre?
Hanged to death without anyone noticing.
And skinned.
If there wasn’t something fishy going on, she wouldn’t believe it for anything.
The village roads are blocked now, and she doesn’t know if she can leave tomorrow.
Liu Zaiqing had absolutely no desire to stay in this place any longer.
Perhaps she shouldn’t have cared about classmate camaraderie and come to this godforsaken place for this damned wedding.
If she hadn’t come, she wouldn’t have encountered this.
Recalling the newcomer who had hanged himself.
She couldn’t help but shudder.
Such an event on a day of great joy.
In folklore, it would surely lead to disaster.
Tomorrow, no matter what, she must find a way to leave.
Liu Zaiqing made up her mind.
But soon, she thought of those three young men.
They didn’t seem scared at all.
Someone had died, and died tragically.
They still dared to stay there?
Was it the boldness of a new calf unaware of danger?
Or did they have confidence?
She wasn’t sure about the specifics.
She mused, idly scrolling through videos.
Recently, there seemed to have been many reports online of people encountering ghosts.
But she didn’t know if they were real.
The world seemed to be getting more chaotic.
Gradually, she fell asleep.
She didn’t know how much time had passed.
Suddenly, faint sounds could be heard from outside.
It sounded like someone was getting dressed at the doorway.
Liu Zaiqing frowned in her sleep and turned over.
But soon, her nose twitched.
There seemed to be a strange smell in the room.
It made her uncomfortable even in her sleep.
The smell seemed to be getting stronger, and Liu Zaiqing’s frown deepened, as if she had reached her limit.
Drowsily, she sat up, “What’s that smell, it’s so unpleasant.”
She was still groggy, thinking she was at home.
She grumbled in dissatisfaction.
But the smell didn’t diminish; it only grew more intense.
Liu Zaiqing soon felt something was wrong.
The moment she realized she wasn’t at home, she shivered.
The room was pitch black.
Liu Zaiqing quickly scanned her surroundings.
She fumbled around and found her mobile phone.
She turned it on, then tried to turn on the light.
“The power is out?”
After pressing the switch, the light did not come on as expected.
The smell in the room became even stronger.
An extremely foul odor.
It smelled like rot.
No, it seemed to be a mixture of blood and rot.
Liu Zaiqing swallowed and turned on her phone’s flashlight.
The darkness was partially dispelled, but Liu Zaiqing found that her phone’s light couldn’t illuminate even one meter in front of her.
It was incredibly dark all around.
What’s happening…
Liu Zaiqing got out of bed; the sounds from outside were still ongoing.
Faint and sparse.
It sounded like someone was getting dressed.
But who takes so long to get dressed?
It seemed to be right at the door.
And the smell was also coming from the doorway.
She didn’t know what had happened.
Liu Zaiqing, gathering her courage, holding her phone, slowly walked towards the door.
As she got close to the door, she first used her phone to look at the door crack below.
She found nothing unusual.
She immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
The movie trope hadn’t appeared.
But the sound outside became even clearer.
Liu Zaiqing swallowed, “Who’s outside?”
No one answered, but the faint rustling sound paused.
But it only paused for a few seconds, then continued again.
Liu Zaiqing frowned, stood at the doorway, hesitated for a moment, and reached out to open the door.
Creak~!
The room door slowly opened, and a foul stench immediately assailed them.
Liu Zaiqing quickly covered her nose, what kind of smell was this?
It was pitch black outside the door, and even light couldn’t penetrate very far.
Darker than inside the room.
Liu Zaiqing swallowed, a bad feeling appeared in her heart.
It felt like something bad had appeared around her.
Her heart began to beat uncontrollably faster.
She looked around uneasily.
The rustling sound was not far ahead.
She cautiously stepped out of the room, wanting to see who was making such a commotion late at night.
After a few steps, she suddenly realized she had stepped on something.
It was sticky, like liquid.
Liu Zaiqing paused and looked down.
Under the light of her mobile phone, a pool of dark red liquid appeared before her eyes.
The stench attacked.
Liu Zaiqing’s eyes widened, this was…
This was blood!
Her mind went blank instantly, she slowly looked up, the light in her hand slowly shining forward.
Ahead, a red figure was crouching on the ground, doing something.
Liu Zaiqing saw it, that was…
Ah!
A scream echoed through the darkness.
At this moment.
Inside a civilian house.
Fang Yuanshan’s female companion opened her eyes groggily.
She heard rustling sounds, followed by the sound of a room door opening.
It seemed someone had gone out.
“Brother Yuanshan, where are you going?”
The girl sat up, rubbed her eyes, and looked somewhat blankly at the person walking out of the room.
It was indeed Fang Yuanshan.
“Brother Yuanshan?”
For the first time without a response, the girl looked strangely at the receding figure.
The person was wearing pajamas and seemed not to be wearing shoes.
“Where is he going?”
The girl became a little more awake and quickly put on her shoes to follow.
Outside the spirit hall.
The three suddenly opened their eyes and looked at the two coffins behind them.
Ye Zhen immediately stood up, appeared before the coffin in one step, and directly opened it.
“It’s gone,” Ye Zhen squinted and looked back at the two.
The inside of the coffin was empty.
There was nothing inside.
Ye Zhen opened the other coffin, and the result was the same.
It was completely empty inside.
The corpses had vanished.
“Interesting, not detected at all.”
Fang Shiming walked over, glanced into the coffin, then looked at Lin Qian.
Lin Qian looked towards the village.
“The change has begun, but we don’t know the specifics.”
“People might have already started dying.”
Hearing this, Ye Zhen rubbed his hands, “So, what do we do now?”
Fang Shiming stroked his chin, his gaze suddenly sharpened as he looked in one direction.
“I might have to leave for a while.”
“What’s wrong?” Lin Qian asked.
“My nephew seems to be dying.”
Lin Qian: “Encountered a ghost?”
“Most likely.”
“I’ll go first.”
After Fang Shiming spoke, he turned into a gust of cold wind and blew towards the distance.
Lin Qian did not stop him, he stroked his chin.
The supernatural had begun to show its strength, and under normal circumstances, they should start dealing with fierce ghosts.
“Ye Zhen, let’s go find those two ghosts. If nothing unexpected happens, the two corpses in the coffins have turned into ghosts.”
Lin Qian said.
“Directly detain them?” Ye Zhen asked.
Lin Qian nodded, “Mm.”
Ye Zhen grinned, “Then there’s no problem.”
Instantly, Ye Zhen disappeared from his spot.
Lin Qian shook his head, this guy just loved to fight.
He enjoyed fighting even with ghosts.
But Lin Qian didn’t think those two ghosts would be easy to detain.
Lin Qian turned to leave the spirit hall, and while looking for the ghosts, he looked back and suddenly froze.
When did this happen?
In the spirit hall, at some point, a mirror had been placed.
Under the flickering candlelight, the mirror showed his reflection.
“An ordinary mirror?”
He paid attention and found that it was just an ordinary mirror.
Lin Qian’s gaze shifted, looking at his reflection in the mirror, and he turned to leave.
Soon, his figure disappeared into the darkness.
And right after he left.
Cough, cough~!
An old coughing sound suddenly rang out.
Listening closely, it actually came from inside the mirror.
Then, the sound of slow footsteps began, as if someone was walking slowly inside the mirror.
Candlelight flickered.
The village was plunged into darkness.
Lin Qian stood in front of the village’s electrical box.
Looking at the burnt-out electrical box, his gaze flickered.
Based on the marks, it wasn’t man-made damage, it looked more like it burned itself.
It should be supernatural.
But there were no traces.
Lin Qian looked towards the village, this power station was on the mountain.
From here, one could directly overlook the village below.
“Something feels wrong.”
Lin Qian muttered, recalling everything that had happened since he entered. There were issues, but he couldn’t pinpoint what they were.
His figure slowly disappeared.
In the village, under the old bridge.
Fang Shiming stood in the distance, arms crossed, watching Fang Yuanshan stand under the bridge, reaching out as if trying to grab the black cloth on the mirror.
By the stream, the girl kept calling out anxiously.
But she never received a response.
The girl was covered in dirt, looking like she had fallen.
“Useless.”
Fang Shiming said coldly.
