Funerals (2) - Offering Incense

Having temporarily left the coffin shop, Yu Xing stepped back onto the filthy street. This time, he was wiser; he couldn't just start mocking people on this map, so he kept his mouth shut and didn't make a sound.

You can talk however you want in a shop without any problems, but if you make a sound on the street, you'll be heard. This doesn't make sense in physics, but in absurd situations, anything goes. By following the rules, you can avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble.

He walked along the right-hand side of the wreaths and headed straight for the end of the alley.

He still hadn't seen Brother Jiu and Zhao Ruru... Whatever the reason, he was pretty sure that the two of them were closer to the paper figure, which meant they were in greater danger.

In any case, he had to find them quickly, firstly to prevent anything from happening to the two of them, and secondly to catch up with the schedule.

The long alley was silent. Yu Xing paid attention to her surroundings, while making light footsteps, controlling herself to make almost no sound. (Fastest updates on mobile:)

Zhou Xue claimed that the closer one got to the end of the alley, the higher the paper figure's perception became. Regardless of whether this conclusion was correct, Yu Xing felt that it wouldn't hurt to be cautious.

He walked for a while, stopping every now and then to glance at the mourning couplets on the wreaths.

Ghost Alley is so long, searching each shop one by one would be a waste of time. Or rather, deduction usually doesn't provide puzzles or tasks that can be completed simply by spending time, so it's meaningless.

In retrospect, the shop's main function was to create an atmosphere and, incidentally, provide a temporary safe haven for those performing divination when the paper figures arrived.

Aside from the shops, the most eye-catching information on the street is the wreaths and flower baskets, along with the accompanying elegiac couplets.

Yu Xing narrowed his eyes, a hint of understanding flashing within them.

These mourning couplets are almost as bizarre as the content of a funeral dirge. For example, the one he's looking at now has the right couplet "In memory of our kind neighbor Liu Bingxian" and the left couplet "In remembrance of our wicked neighbor Chen Jiali."

The person who sent the wreath compared himself to a bad neighbor and said that his attitude towards the funeral was one of "smiling" in mourning.

What does this mean?

It's probably similar to laughing heartily at a funeral, clapping and saying, "Good riddance, wonderful death!"

Anyone else would be furious and kick out such a troublemaker at a family funeral. But this Ghost Alley is very unique. It's not just Chen Jiali's alley; almost every funeral couplet Yu Xing has seen contains such disrespectful content.

"The Boss Liu's mentioned in the paper money seems to be Liu Bingxian on the funeral couplet, the real person behind this funeral," Yu Xing thought to himself. "What exactly did he do to cause such widespread resentment..."

"Is the task at this stage to find out what Boss Liu has done in the past?"

Just as he was making a guess about the mission's outline, the door of a shop to his side was suddenly blown open by the wind with a "bang".

The old door was very stiff, making a teeth-grinding sound when it opened. Yu Xing paused, immediately hiding behind the wreath beside her, keeping an eye on whether the paper figure was coming and whether anything else would appear in the shop.

After all, everything had been quiet until he arrived, so why did the shop door open immediately?

A few seconds later, there was no unusual activity, either on the street or inside the store.

Without further hesitation, Yu Xing walked confidently into the open shop. As he passed the entrance, several portraits, bearing pale yet dignified faces, gazed at him with smiles.

That gaze seemed to transcend time, transporting one to a pale and powerless world.

Yu Xing: "..."

He stared at the portraits of the deceased for a moment, then, under the gazes of these pale-faced people, young and old, he glanced into the shop.

"Splash..."

The poorly tied paper money was suddenly blown away by the wind, scattering in disordered arcs in the air. The thin paper fluttered in all directions, obscuring most of Yu Xing's vision. He realized something was wrong and took a few steps back. He could vaguely see a vivid dead face emerging from among the paper money.

A faint sobbing reached his ears, but upon closer listening, it sounded like the wind.

He discerned that this unsettling, chilling feeling wasn't coming from the end of the alley, but from right in front of him!

Yu Xing raised his hand to brush away the paper money in front of him, his eyes showing no fear. He tried to catch the dead face that had hidden itself again, but unexpectedly, he felt a push from behind without warning.

He was pushed into the shop, and his staggering figure accidentally kicked over a bundle of incense. Then, the shop door was closed at an unnatural speed, as if someone had been waiting by the door, just waiting for Yu Xing to fall into the trap.

The shop suddenly became dark. Yu Xing steadied herself, stood up straight, and looked around.

There are more portraits of the deceased inside the store than you can see from outside.

The walls were crammed with black and white photographs, far exceeding the normal number, with no gaps between them.

But for some reason, even though they didn't know when the photo was taken that it would be displayed in their funeral hall, their eyes, which should have held gentle smiles, were instead filled with deep sorrow and longing under the black and white filter.

He clung to this world, yet died tragically.

The paper money finally drifted down to the ground, making the shop that sold paper money, incense, and custom-made portrait frames for the deceased even more cluttered.

The dead face had vanished. Although Yu Xing had been successfully lured in, the ghost in the shop did not immediately launch a direct attack.

"Did it trigger some plot point...?"

No longer on the street, Yu Xing wasn't worried that the paper figure would hear her, so she murmured aloud.

He first pushed the door as usual, and then received his first simulation prompt since entering the simulation.

[Cannot be opened]

It was very simple, with an air of unquestionable authority, neither mentioning the need to find the key nor whether brute force was acceptable.

Clearly, violence is not an option. All the experiences so far have told the deducers and the audience that the ghosts in this world are the kind without physical form, which means that no one can guarantee what will be attracted by making a loud noise.

Only a reckless person would act rashly by kicking down a door before knowing what negative consequences it might have.

Yu Xing confirmed that the door couldn't be opened, she turned around and walked around inside the shop.

The shop wasn't large. Behind the door, he saw a yellowed old piece of paper with a few lines of ugly small characters written in black ink.

Judging from the handwriting, the writing tool was likely a brush.

[Finally dead, hahaha... Good deeds are rewarded, evil deeds are punished, that Liu fellow finally got his just desserts and died! I'm happy today, so all items in this store are 50% off. Oh, and if you want to buy on credit, remember to sign the ledger.]

Yu Xing only glanced at it briefly, and just as she was about to take a closer look, the paper fell off the door and landed on the paper money scattered on the ground.

He stepped forward, picked up the paper, and saw that the ink on it was blurred, and not a single word could be read.

"..."

"As expected, the plot has been triggered. I need to do something, fulfill certain conditions, to leave this place."

"Judging from this situation, shouldn't I find the accounting books and take a look first?" he said aloud.

To get the audience to hear, just like last time, I'll try to trick them into giving me a small tip.

This scene was clearly not right, and the comments section was now buzzing with excitement, flooding the screen with messages.

[Wow, this shop is haunted! I just saw that dead face through Sachi's eyes, and I almost threw up my breakfast.]

Why this particular store?

[Here it comes! The scarier the place, the more information there is. I want to see this long-haired guy get scared by a ghost!]

[What long-haired guy? Where is there a long-haired guy? Did the person upstairs accidentally switch to another livestream?]

[Ha?]

[I bet this is a terrifying puzzle-solving segment, hehe. Luo Liang from next door is also in this shop. Guess who can find the ledger first?]

[People with the surname Luo have a natural advantage in this kind of deductive world, need I say more? There's no need to compare.]

[Luo Liang is awesome]

[Even the awesome guy hasn't left yet, the competition isn't over. In my opinion, although this young man looks cute, he has a very calm personality, so he might be quite capable.]

[Luo Liang has been looking for five minutes. He's been searching very carefully. I reckon the ledger can't be obtained directly.]

[Good luck, you beat Luo Liang!]

[You're comparing him to Luo Liang? Can cuteness put food on the table? Besides, I think he's just average-looking. Luo Liang is much better looking than him. Is he worth all this hype?]

[Putting everything else aside, the person upstairs is definitely blind.]

[I don't understand, why don't people who like Luo Liang go to Luo Liang's live stream, instead of making a fuss here?]

[That's a bit funny. Luo Liang is just that good, why are you being so sour?]

As it turns out, as long as they're not the ones doing it, even the smartest people don't mind being a clueless viewer in the live stream. They were about to start a flame war when a particularly impactful comment appeared:

[Zeng Lai: Stop talking nonsense, he seems to have found a clue]

Everyone fell silent, shifting their attention from the bullet comments section to the screen.

The wind has stopped.

Yu Xing surveyed his surroundings in the silence. Stacks of paper money were piled on the long, low table, with nothing unusual about them. However, the various types of incense were arranged meticulously, with incense sticks of different lengths neatly stacked on the shelves. The meticulousness was excessive, giving the impression that it was deliberate.

He circled around twice and stopped in front of the incense stand, naturally observing the arrangement of the incense for a while. He also picked up the large incense pagoda he had kicked over when he entered the room, and then ransacked the place.

[After looking for so long, it still turns out you have to find the accounting books like this? Pshaw, you think you're so clever?]

[Otherwise, what do you expect from him? Wouldn't a normal person look around first?]

The shop had many cabinets, Yu Xing searched through them while saying, "The shopkeeper's note specifically mentioned the accounting book, but if I could really get it directly, I would have looked through the book's contents even without the note, so the note would be redundant. Therefore, I don't think it's necessary to look for the accounting book."

The chat was filled with comments like "...".

The slap in the face came so quickly.

Yu Xing's hands moved swiftly, and she continued, "The fact that the paper money was scattered freely by the wind shows that the paper money in the shop doesn't need to be carefully secured. Under this premise, the incense that was stacked too carefully stands out."

Just by looking at the store's layout, people probably wouldn't be able to tell at all where the fragrance is emphasized.

"Generally speaking, a carefully arranged arrangement either implies a puzzle or makes it easier to find a particular fragrance, but I haven't found any boxes or anything that need to be unlocked, so I'm leaning towards the second possibility for now." Yu Xing continued his explanation, his voice calm and soothing, and even though it was almost like talking to himself, it didn't make the audience feel awkward.

At that moment, the viewers in the live stream even had the illusion that they could interact with him at any time.

[The second possibility is that it's for convenience in finding incense?]

[Then why aren't you looking for incense? Why are you rummaging through things instead?]

[Damn it, the person upstairs got completely fooled. There were no hints at all. How could he know what incense he was looking for? He would definitely look for hints first!]

I think I know what he's looking for.

"If nothing unexpected happens, we should have found an incense burner in this shop." Yu Xing pulled out a dusty bronze incense burner from a corner under the counter. The incense burner was so old that its original color was no longer visible, but it was intact and usable.

He placed the incense burner on the counter, blew on it gently, and looked at it thoughtfully.

This is a spherical incense burner with a lid. The style is not very elaborate, and it's hard to say which dynasty it was popular in after the Tang Dynasty.

Yu Xing reached out and lifted the small copper lid.

The three incense sticks inside had burned to the bottom sometime in the past, leaving only short stubs buried in the ash, pretending to be dead.

He took out a small piece, examined it for a few seconds, then smiled, put down the broken incense stick, and walked towards the wooden shelf full of incense.

Judging from the broken incense sticks, the incense sticks inserted into this incense burner must have been an extremely fine type, deep purple in color, with very little surface friction.

There were many kinds of incense on the shelf, and about ten bundles of those that matched these characteristics were grouped together.

These dozen or so bundles of incense looked similar, but upon closer inspection, subtle differences could be discerned. Yu Xing touched each one, and then, amidst a barrage of question marks in the comments, selected a bundle and placed it directly on the counter.

How did you figure that out?

[This is really hard to tell. Normally, the person doing the deduction would spend ten minutes or so confirming this.]

Is he overconfident or genuinely awesome?

[Judging by his thin appearance, he might have used the points he accumulated for physical enhancement to improve his vision.]

[Agreed, eyesight is very important; I've also had it reinforced several times.]

Yu Xing selected the incense, picked out the two broken incense sticks, each two centimeters long, from the ashes in the incense burner, took a match from the matchbox on the counter, struck it a few times, and a flame appeared.

Then, he lit the incense sticks one by one, gently brought the ends of the incense sticks together, stood up straight, held the incense sticks with both hands, raised his hands, and bowed.

His incense offering was completely haphazard, though his expression was incredibly devout; anyone who didn't know better would have thought he was worshipping a god.

After a moment of silence, the three incense sticks in his hand shortened slightly to varying degrees before he separated them and inserted them vertically into the ashes.

In an instant, the strings of gold and silver ingots hanging beside the paper money moved on their own without any wind, and the smoke rising from the incense became chaotic, like headless flies that couldn't find their way.

The temperature suddenly dropped, Yu Xing felt as if someone was tugging at her white robe. She turned around, but there was nothing behind her.

But the atmosphere inside the shop is hopelessly turning gloomy.

"Hoo..." Yu Xing's breathing became cold and suppressed, and white mist was exhaled from his mouth, dissipating in the dim light.

He felt a sense of being watched, as if many, many people were staring at him menacingly from different angles, making him feel like he was being pricked by thorns.

Yu Xing touched the drafty cuffs, feeling the cold air seeping into his skin from the sleeves and collar. He straightened his clothes, then glanced at a dilapidated wooden chair out of the corner of his eye. He pulled it over and sat down casually, watching the incense in the burner shrink as it burned.