Old Wang was dead

Once everything returned to how it had been at the beginning, Chen Miao felt even calmer.

From what had happened earlier, Chen Miao seemed to have figured out a few things about the book.

The book could predict futures involving Chen Miao, and those futures would change in response to "variables" significant enough to affect them.

However, its contents would not change merely because of his vague thoughts. They only changed once something concrete had happened.

Earlier, when Chen Miao had thought about asking his childhood friend to keep him company, the book had not changed. Only after he called his friend and settled the matter did its contents change.

The same had happened with his call to Elder Uncle.

Besides that, the book could predict things Chen Miao did not know.

For example, the first time he tried to stop his friend from coming to the funeral home, his friend had not actually abandoned the idea, so the contents remained unchanged.

They only changed after his second attempt to stop him.

In a sense, the book could serve as a lie detector, but only for things that appeared in its pages.

Afterward, Chen Miao kept studying the book. But apparently, because he took no further action, its contents did not change again.

Chen Miao was waiting for the night to pass. He wanted to know how the contents would change afterward.

"But what danger is there in the cold storage room?"

Time slipped by.

That night, Chen Miao stayed in his dorm room at the funeral home and barely slept.

Almost every few minutes, he took out the book to check whether its contents had changed.

But even at three in the morning, when Chen Miao unwittingly fell asleep, the book still had not changed at all.

The next day, a knock on the door woke him.

From the voice, it was Elder Uncle.

Chen Miao opened the door, but before he could say anything, Elder Uncle slipped into his room.

"Did you go to the cold storage room last night?"

Seeing the grim look on Elder Uncle's face, Chen Miao resisted the urge to check the book and shook his head.

"I overslept... Did something happen in the cold storage room?"

Hearing this, Chen Weiyi let out a breath of relief.

He walked over to Chen Miao's desk, sat down, and took out a cigarette to light.

Chen Miao could clearly see that Elder Uncle's hand was trembling slightly as he smoked.

"Old Wang died in the cold storage room."

"What!?"

Chen Miao jolted.

"Wasn't Brother Wang on leave? How could he..."

"I checked the surveillance footage. He came back at four in the morning, carrying liquor. When I notified his family just now, I asked about his situation."

Chen Weiyi took a drag and told him what he had learned.

It turned out that Old Wang's wife was demanding a divorce. She said she had had enough of him spending all day with dead people. Now that their child was grown, she did not want to put up with it anymore.

After a huge fight, Old Wang had gone drinking until the early hours, then returned to the cold storage room.

As for the cause of death, it appeared to have been sudden cardiac death, though they would have to wait for the police and forensic examiner to arrive to know for sure.

Stubbing out his cigarette, Chen Weiyi stood and said to Chen Miao, "Good thing you didn't go. That saves us a lot of trouble."

"I'll go deal with Old Wang's affairs first. If you're feeling cooped up, go out for a walk."

After seeing Elder Uncle off, Chen Miao immediately returned to his seat and opened the book.

The earlier contents were unchanged, but the later passage about his visit to the cold storage room had changed.

"..."

"After nightfall, I fell asleep and completely forgot Old Wang's request."

Chen Miao frowned.

He had noticed something: the book seemed unaware of his actual thoughts, so it filled in the relevant details according to its own logic.

Last night, he had deliberately stayed away, yet the book said he had forgotten.

Unable to make sense of it, Chen Miao kept reading.

"The next day, Old Wang died. He died in the cold storage room!"

"Apparently, he suffered sudden cardiac death after returning to the cold storage room last night."

"Old Wang's family came to the funeral home and caused a scene. After receiving compensation from the director, they left Old Wang here, saying they would return in seven days to arrange his funeral."

"Old Wang probably never imagined that after watching over the cold storage room for half his life, he would end up lying in one of its refrigerated cabinets himself."

"With no one left to watch the cold storage room after Old Wang's death, I was temporarily assigned to it. Out of guilt toward Old Wang, I didn't refuse."

"In the early hours, I heard a refrigerated cabinet door opening... I died."

Chen Miao's face stiffened as he read the final sentence.

Yesterday, he had still been wondering what the "death trap" in the cold storage room could be.

Would a short circuit electrocute him? Would a refrigerated cabinet topple over and crush him? Or would some criminal enter the cold storage room to rob and murder him?

He had also wondered whether it might be haunted. But in his two years working at the funeral home, he had watched over the cold storage room at night before, and he had seen plenty of dead people.

Yet he had never encountered a ghost.

But what did that line about "a refrigerated cabinet door opening" mean?

Something came out of a refrigerated cabinet and killed me?

The cabinet latches were on the outside. Even if a criminal were hiding in one, how could he open it from within?

Apart from a ghost, Chen Miao could think of nothing that fit.

He had thought that once he identified the death trap in the cold storage room, he would be able to take precautions. But now that he actually knew, he had no idea what to do.

How do I protect myself against a ghost?

Find a Yin-Yang Practitioner?

Chen Miao shook his head.

Once, a client had wanted a ritual performed for the deceased, so Elder Uncle had paid someone to pose as a Yin-Yang Practitioner. That was why Chen Miao had no faith in them.

A Peach Wood Sword? A willow branch?

Logically, if ghosts existed in this world, these traditional folk items passed down through the ages ought to have corresponding powers.

Should I try them?

He checked the time. Eight o'clock.

Taking his phone and the book, Chen Miao left his room.

As he left the funeral home, he saw police cars and heard wailing coming from the mourning hall.

He paid no attention and headed straight for North City Pedestrian Street.

On the way, he came across a willow tree and pulled off a Willow Branch. This action did not change the book's contents.

Afterward, Chen Miao went to a collectibles shop and bought a peachwood talisman and a Peach Wood Sword. The book still did not change.

These things aren't "variables" that can alter the future?

Just as Chen Miao was struggling with what to do, he overheard two children nearby saying they wanted to climb Jingshan.

Jingshan?

Chen Miao looked toward the northern outskirts, his eyes brightening slightly.

Among the hills north of Tianmen County stood one called Jingshan. On it was the Old Mother Shrine, which drew a fair number of worshippers. Every year during the temple fair, many people came to offer incense, most of them from Tianmen County, though some came from nearby places as well.

They prayed for children, wealth, or safety.

When Chen Miao went hiking there, he would also offer incense. He asked for nothing else, merely hoping the incense at the Old Mother Shrine would clear the "smell of the dead" from his body.

Of course, he had never smelled it himself. That was Elder Uncle's description.

With an idea in mind, Chen Miao took a taxi straight to the Old Mother Shrine.

Jingshan was a minor tourist attraction. A few years earlier, one of Tianmen County's administrators had gritted his teeth and allocated funds to build a winding mountain road directly to the Old Mother Shrine, allowing cars to drive all the way up.

Over the years, plenty of trendy places to eat, drink, and have fun had sprung up along the road, drawing visitors from cities near Tianmen County. The road itself had transformed into another local attraction, complementing Jingshan.

It was an hour later when Chen Miao reached the summit.

Since it was not temple fair season, there were few people at the Old Mother Shrine.

Chen Miao went straight to the incense stall and bought three of the thickest sticks.

The kind that cost a hundred yuan each!

Previously, he had always bought three sticks for ten yuan when visiting the Old Mother Shrine. This time, however, he had come to pray for safety, so he showed a little more sincerity.

He dutifully held the incense at brow level, bowed in worship, and planted the sticks. Then he checked the book in his hand again.

"Still no use?"

Am I doing it wrong, or does the Old Mother Shrine have no power?

Looking at the Incense Ash Cauldron holding his three enormous sticks, Chen Miao suddenly took two steps forward.

He reached out, grabbed a handful of incense ash, and stuffed it into his pocket.

Ignoring the astonished looks of the people nearby, Chen Miao opened the book again.

This time, part of its contents had changed!

"..."

"Perhaps out of reverence for the deceased, after Old Wang died, I went up the mountain to offer incense and brought back a handful of incense ash."

"..."

"Night had barely fallen when I heard a bang from a refrigerated cabinet door."

"I died."