He Was in the Coffin

There were only seven deducers left in the yard.

They sat around the large table. Counting from the empty seats, the order was Wei Fan, Xiao Xuechen, Ju Lan, Yu Xing, Carlos, and two other men.

The two men, who looked alike, looked at them and spoke first, "Hello. We were rude at the village entrance. We just didn't want innocent people to get hurt."

"So you're quite self-righteous then." Xiao Xuechen propped her chin on her hand, her gaze towards the two men having softened considerably. "What do you say, feng shui masters? Is this place really unlucky?"

"It is." One of the two men, the one in black, scanned the surroundings. "We're cousins. My name is Xu Hong, and my brother's name is Xu Yuan. We were commissioned by someone to investigate a haunting in his hometown."

Commissioned?

Yu Xing's lips curved into a smile. He felt he didn't need to ask further. The client's name was probably Zhou Yongsheng...

Xu Hong continued, "Before coming here, we examined the feng shui layout. The village entrance faces south, and the large mountains block out the sun, allowing only a few hours of sunlight a day. If it were a burial site, this place would be excellent, but for living people..."

He suddenly stopped speaking because the village chief had emerged from the kitchen.

The village chief chuckled as he sat in an empty seat and finally remembered to introduce himself. "My name is Zhou Facai. You can just call me Village Chief. Everyone in our village is surnamed Zhou, so calling someone 'Brother Zhou' can be confusing."

Everyone responded in agreement.

They chatted with the village chief, mostly about how difficult it was to get into the mountains and how nice the air was. Through their mutual address, Xu Hong and Xu Yuan learned the names of the other five people.

After about twenty minutes, Yu Xing felt the time was right and decided to ask for some useful information.

"Village Chief, I'd like to ask you a few things." Yu Xing looked at the enthusiastic village chief with his sincere, large eyes. The trust in his gaze warmed the village chief's heart, and he said heartily, "Young man, speak your mind! What's the problem?"

The others pricked up their ears.

Yu Xing: "Does this village... not have internet? The signal isn't very good either. I haven't been able to make a phone call since I got here."

The village chief paused, then replied, "Yes, we're in the mountains, so the signal is poor. Ah, well, this way, people from the city can look up at nature for a few days!"

The implication was that the signal had always been like this.

So...

Where were the private messages Yu Xing and Carlos received from Zhou Yongsheng sent from?

After all, according to the implanted memories, Yu Xing had been in contact with Zhou Yongsheng on his phone until he got off the plane and made his way to Guanjia Village.

Yu Xing posed another question: "Then, why aren't the villagers out and about? It's barely evening, why are they resting so early?"

"Ah, you've asked about something important." The village chief slapped his thigh and lowered his voice mysteriously. "As the saying goes, every mountain has its customs. In our village, we don't go out in the evening."

What kind of custom was this? Xiao Xuechen's expression shifted, and she exchanged a look with Wei Fan.

"Then when do you go out?" Carlos asked, spinning a small paper doll in his hand, eager to learn.

"In a little while." The village chief looked up at the sky and chuckled twice. The shadows on his face made the square-faced middle-aged man look quite sinister. "When it's dark and the candles are lit, everyone will come out."

...Candles lit?

Yu Xing glanced around casually. The sky had already darkened, but there were no lights on in the village chief's house. Did this village not even have kerosene lamps? How backward could it be...

"Village Chief, I'd like to ask you about someone else." He suppressed his various speculations about the village. "Do you know where Zhou Yongsheng lives?"

"Oh? So you know Xiao Sheng!" the village chief said in surprise.

"Yes, yes, yes, I'm... I'm his classmate!" Ju Lan, the young girl, was very enthusiastic, as if she had lost her boyfriend. "Where is he? I want to go play with him."

"Hahaha, Xiao Sheng is quite promising! He studied in the big city, and his way of speaking is different now. He often mentions things like, what was it, surrealist painters and such, hahaha, I don't understand, I'm old, so old." The village chief didn't directly tell them Zhou Yongsheng's whereabouts but instead rambled on with his observations.

Just then, a woman's voice called from the kitchen, "The food is ready, Zhou Facai, come and get it!"

"Coming!" the village chief shouted, about to stand up. Xiao Xuechen immediately followed suit. She noticed that the slightly shy painter, the cheerful magician, and the quieter younger brother of the feng shui master brothers had all stood up.

She smiled inwardly: It seems they had the same idea... They wanted to see if the kitchen was normal. It was good news that there were quite a few smart people in this deduction.

"Village Chief, it's not appropriate for us to eat your food for free. Let us help you serve the dishes," she said to the village chief, already walking towards the kitchen, not giving him a chance to refuse.

"Alright, alright, thank you for your trouble." The village chief didn't seem to mind and entered the kitchen with them.

Yu Xing tagged along at the very end, in the most convenient position to retreat if something happened.

The sky grew darker. He followed the others to the kitchen doorway. A red glow on the kitchen wall reflected a woman's shadow, which swayed back and forth, appearing to dance with the firelight.

This kitchen used a wood-burning stove.

A few sparks floated in the air. A woman with her hair tied up and wearing a cloth dress, her back to the group, was tidying up the bowls and chopsticks.

More than half of the firewood below had burned, and heat radiated outwards, the crimson light illuminating the entire kitchen.

Strangely, a white candle was also lit on the stove.

The candle stood in an exquisite plate made of unknown material. Its light was negligible, and it was unclear why it was lit.

The moment Yu Xing saw the plate, a chill swept over him.

He froze, his expression unchanged, but inwardly he was surprised: After so long... his body's condition was rarely affected by external forces, yet he had experienced two abnormalities in such a short time after becoming a deducer!?

Fortunately, the chill came and went quickly this time, and it wasn't as intense as when the persona mask first appeared. He only trembled slightly before suppressing the discomfort.

Yu Xing's face turned pale, and he quietly clutched his chest. Fortunately, he was standing at the back, so no one noticed him.

But that plate was definitely problematic!

Heh, his body was sensitive to certain supernatural things. Although it caused pain, ... from another perspective, wasn't it also like having a cheat?

Self-deprecation aside, Yu Xing skillfully squeezed to the front from the back to get a clearer look.

Seven dishes were laid out on the table. Although they were all home-style cooking, a fragrant aroma could be smelled from afar, and their colors were appealing, making one's mouth water.

The plate holding the candle was placed to the side, so exquisite it didn't seem like something from this small village. It was octagonal with hollowed-out edges. The melted wax dripped onto the plate, but instead of cooling and solidifying, it remained on the plate like water droplets.

"This is quite interesting. I wonder if I'll have a chance to pocket it..." Such a thought crossed his mind.

"Auntie, let us help you." While Yu Xing was thinking about this, Xiao Xuechen enthusiastically stepped forward, wanting to help carry the plates. The woman chuckled and counted out the chopsticks.

However, Yu Xing, who had been observing the woman's movements, narrowed his eyes, a dangerous curve appearing at the corners of his eyes.

Something's not right... He caught a glimpse of the woman's wrist movement, his eyes flashing.

This woman's movements were too stiff, and why wasn't she turning her head?

Don't go over there yet!

Seeing Xiao Xuechen's figure pass by him, he subconsciously raised his hand, then hesitated for a moment for no apparent reason.

This hesitation caused him to miss the best opportunity to grab her, only managing to brush the corner of her clothes.

"Auntie, here, give it to me." Xiao Xuechen walked up to the woman and reached out to take the bowl from her hand. The next moment, the woman turned her head with a chuckle.

Her face was dark and her skin was withered. The woman looked like a corpse dug out of the ground, her stiff face wearing a smile that was likely intended to be friendly, but unfortunately only added to the horror. Xiao Xuechen, who was closest, suddenly met such a face and her chest tightened.

"Ah!!" She couldn't help but let out a short scream and stumbled backward, her back hitting Yu Xing with a "bang," quite forcefully.

"Huh?"

"Are you okay?"

Carlos and Xu Yuan stepped forward one after another.

"N-no, I'm fine..." Xiao Xuechen quickly calmed down. She had seen ghosts before, so she shouldn't have reacted so strongly. The key was that she had been too close to this ghastly thing!

A few muttered thoughts flashed through her mind: Is this a dead person?! Is the village chief's wife a corpse?! Wait, she's so hard...

As the shock subsided, she suddenly felt the pectoral muscles of the person she had bumped into were as hard as rock. With residual fear and a moment of surprise, she turned her head.

She never expected it to be that seemingly delicate and beautiful young man—pfft, the painter who wouldn't even reveal his real name?

Yu Xing silently lowered his head, watching the expression on the face of this petite woman, who only reached his chest, change from fear to confusion, and then a suspicious blush appeared...

He raised his hand.

His face turned pale.

He took a step back.

He clutched his chest, letting out a slightly pained groan.

Bad luck, she had to bump into him just when his body was acting up. He had just recovered and was hurt again, huff!

What kind of logic is this!

His body was now as fragile as glass shards, basically shattering at the slightest touch. He really shouldn't have avoided the collision just to prevent someone else from falling. To be honest, Xiao Xuechen weighed more than he expected...

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." Seeing his face turn a shade paler, Xiao Xuechen couldn't help but question her own existence.

Was she that powerful?

Should she lose weight?

No, she shook her head, tossing the chaotic thoughts out of her mind—the most important thing now was, what exactly was the village chief's wife—

"What's wrong, little girl? Didn't you want to help me carry the bowl?" The woman in plain clothes turned around completely at this moment, holding a dish in one hand and the plate with the candle in the other.

Seen this way, she looked like an ordinary woman in her thirties. Though not beautiful, she appeared quite normal.

Was it an illusion just now?

"Yes, hurry and take the dishes out." Xu Yuan, being observant, immediately took the plate and signaled to the deducers who had followed them to go out first and talk later.

Yu Xing raised his hand to wipe away a drop of cold sweat from his forehead, his gaze subtly sweeping over the woman's hand holding the candle plate.

He didn't know if Carlos and Xu Yuan had seen the woman's face, but he certainly had.

That face absolutely did not belong to a living person!

The village chief seemed oblivious to the guests' thoughts. He cheerfully took a plate and went out with his wife.

Yu Xing casually picked up a plate of stir-fried eggs, took a breath to compose himself, and then walked out.

Wei Fan, Ju Lan, and Xu Hong, who remained in the courtyard, didn't know what had happened. Seeing the peculiar expressions on everyone's faces, they couldn't help but become vigilant.

After arranging the dishes and chopsticks and taking their seats according to the previous arrangement, Ju Lan, who knew nothing, picked up a bowl full of white rice and continued to ask, "Village Chief, you didn't finish earlier. Where exactly does Zhou Yongsheng live?"

"Oh, right, Xiao Sheng..." The village chief looked understanding, exchanged a glance with the seemingly very kind woman, and said with a smile, "He lives in a coffin."