"Ring, ring, ring... Ring, ring... ring..."
The bell swayed, sounding closer and closer to the temple gate. Only a thin door panel separated them now; it could burst through at any moment.
With the faint, gentle chime, the banging inside the coffin weakened beat by beat, as if it had been soothed, gradually returning to a silent void.
Qi Si rose from atop the coffin and looked toward the right side chamber. The maggots and rotting flesh that had littered the floor had vanished, leaving the ground as clean as ever, as though nothing had existed there at all.
The Temple of the Joyous God seemed to be nothing more than an ordinary temple. Aside from the statue of the Joyous God that had stepped down from the shrine, there was nothing else unusual. The only proof of what had just happened was the Soul-Suppressing Nail in his hand and Du Xiaoyu lying on the ground.
The bell outside stopped. Then, three neither-heavy-nor-light knocks sounded against the temple door.
Sister Xu's hoarse voice drifted over. "Honored guests, are you in there? Open the door."
Shang Qingbei shot Qi Si a questioning look.
The situation outside was unknown. Sister Xu's appearance at this particular moment was far too suspicious, and from her tone, she seemed to know what had happened inside the temple.
"Open it. We can't just sit in the temple for seven days." Qi Si walked over to Du Xiaoyu, who was still playing dead, reached into his pants pocket, and slipped the phone into his own pocket.
As though some switch had been triggered, Du Xiaoyu's leg twitched. His eyelids fluttered, and he groggily opened his eyes.
He sat up in a daze, looking utterly confused. "Brother, why am I lying here?"
"Don't you remember? We came to