Opening the Coffin

The five of them trailed at the back of the crowd, following the pallbearers west across a stretch of farmland and up a wooded slope to the place known as Grave Hill.

Graves dotted the hillside. A few were cemented over and enclosed by low railings, with two fir trees planted in front and incense burning. Most were nothing but mounds of earth, overgrown with weeds and neglected.

The pallbearers carried the coffin to a freshly dug grave. The Taoist priest performed another round of rites, while the "family members" continued their wailing. Amid clanging gongs, pounding drums, and thunderous firecrackers, four men lowered the coffin into the pit, then picked up shovels and deftly began burying it.

The villagers watched for a while before dispersing and heading home. Only the four men handling the burial and the old man overseeing it remained. He was Master Wu, the man who had collected the condolence money earlier.

He stood to one side, directing them. "Hurry up with the burial. Don't let it run past eight. Pack the earth down tighter."

Officer Huang gave a signal, and the five of them approached together.

Officer Huang took the lead, picking up a spare shovel and helping move the earth. Master Wu recognized him and came over to offer him a cigarette. Officer Huang accepted it and tucked it behind his ear.

"Don't hold it against me, Officer Huang." Master Wu sighed. "I want the case solved as soon as possible too, but we can't keep putting off the funeral for Hua Zi's family. We have to do it while the villagers still have some time and inclination to spare. If this drags on much longer, even I, their village chief, won't be able to get them to come. Then Hua Zi and his family really will become wandering ghosts with no one to care for them."

"I understand." Officer Huang kept shoveling. "The Autopsy Report is already out. It's fine to bury them. It won't affect the investigation."

"That's good. That's good." Master Wu nodded repeatedly.

During the burial, Officer Huang waited until Master Wu wasn't looking and secretly handed his shovel to Qingling. With a slight lift of her hand, the shovel shot into a tree behind them and vanished from sight.

In less than twenty minutes, a new grave mound stood finished.

Gaoyang and Officer Huang hadn't managed to learn anything particularly useful during that time. In the end, they headed back with Master Wu and the four men, saying goodbye at the village entrance.

The five pretended to leave the village, returned to the little grove, and began working out their next move.

"Why did you have me hide the shovel?" Qingling asked Officer Huang.

"To dig up the grave," Gaoyang blurted out. He and Officer Huang had already discussed it in private.

"Dig up the grave?!" Pang Jun was horrified.

Officer Huang smiled, took out the cigarette Master Wu had given him, and held it beneath his nose for a sniff, but didn't dare smoke it. "Once it gets dark, we'll avoid prying eyes and go dig up the grave."

"Is... is that really necessary?" Pang Jun looked troubled.

"No matter what, we have to settle this today."

Officer Huang glanced at everyone. "Let me explain the plan Gaoyang and I came up with. For now, we'll rest here and conserve as much energy as possible. Once it gets dark, we'll dig up the grave first and see if we can find any clues."

Officer Huang sat down against a tree. "If we find something, we'll take it from there. If not, we stick to the original plan and take the initiative. We have no chance of winning a head-on fight against all the Beasts in the village, so we'll ambush them, moving from house to house under cover of darkness. See if we can force the killer behind all this to show themselves."

"Ambush them?!" Wang Zikai looked disappointed. He had been looking forward to a huge battle. "Where's your sense of fair play?"

"Wang Zikai, not everyone is built the same." Gaoyang immediately launched into his bullshit routine. "You're the chosen one, born with incredible strength. You're stronger than us, so of course you'll be fine. But we're weak right now and in serious danger... You can't protect us while you're fighting. You wouldn't want to win all by yourself while every one of your teammates dies, would you?"

That round of flattery left Wang Zikai thoroughly pleased. He waved a hand grandly. "Man, what am I going to do with you lot? Fine, we'll ambush them! But let's get one thing straight: the final boss is mine."

"Of course."

Officer Huang and Pang Jun shot Gaoyang admiring looks. You really know your stuff. You're practically a Beast Tamer!

Around seven that evening, darkness fell. Officer Huang woke the other four, and they slipped through the dark toward Grave Hill on the western side of the village.

It hadn't felt that way in daylight, but after nightfall, the graveyard grew deeply eerie. Timid as he was, Pang Jun looked ashen and trembled all over. Even walking in the middle of the group, he was terrified, jumping at the slightest rustle.

Qingling raised a hand, and the shovel flew from the treetop back into her grasp. "Who's doing it?"

"I am!" Wang Zikai took the shovel, walked up to Hua Zi's grave, and began digging with grunts of effort.

The other four stood guard as he dug. If any villagers came over now, they would have no choice but to kill them.

Fortunately, no one appeared.

Wang Zikai lived up to his incredible natural strength and soon finished the job. Drenched in sweat, he tossed the shovel aside. "Done!"

They approached the edge of the pit. In the still moonlight, the dirt-covered coffin looked ghostly and chilling. They exchanged glances, none of them daring to lift the lid.

"Look at you, a bunch of cowards." Wang Zikai was raring to go. "Move aside! I've got this!"

"No need." Gaoyang stopped him. They didn't know what was inside the coffin, so it was better to play it safe. He picked up the shovel, reached out to wedge it into the gap beneath the lid, then quickly backed away and looked at Qingling. "Can you do it?"

"It's too heavy. I'll try."

Qingling extended both hands. "Metal!"

The shovel wedged beneath the coffin lid trembled slightly as an invisible force pushed it down to pry the lid up. Officer Huang drew his pistol, while Gaoyang took out the dagger he carried for protection, both ready for whatever danger might emerge.

Clunk! The shovel finally pried the coffin lid open.

Everyone instinctively took two steps back, their hearts in their throats.

A few silent seconds passed, but the danger they had expected never came. The coffin in the pit remained perfectly still. There wasn't even the stench of a rotting corpse.

They exchanged glances, slowly approached, and craned their necks to look into the coffin. For a moment, they all froze.

The coffin wasn't empty, but there was nothing supernatural inside either. The bodies of Hua Zi and his family lay within, but... they had all been reduced to bare bones.

Gaoyang shone his flashlight inside and deliberately counted. There were only four skulls. Apparently, the bride's head still hadn't been found.

"That's it?" Wang Zikai was sorely disappointed. "I thought we'd see something way more exciting!"

"Hasn't Hua Zi's family been dead for less than ten days?" Qingling asked. "How have they all turned into skeletons?"

"The police should have returned the bodies just three days ago." Officer Huang's brow furrowed deeply. "It's only April. No matter how quickly the bodies decomposed, they couldn't possibly have been reduced to bare bones."

"Could... could someone have eaten the bodies?" Pang Jun ventured a wild guess.

Gaoyang shook his head. "These don't look like bones left over after someone ate them."

"Right. It looks like..." Officer Huang paused. "They've been dead for a long time."

A cold gust swept past, sending the leaves rustling. A chill shot down Gaoyang's spine!

"Let's go," Gaoyang said.

"What is it?" Qingling looked at him.

"Let's get out of here first." Gaoyang's expression was grave. "I think... I know what's going on."

"What about this? Should we put it back the way it was?" Officer Huang asked.

"Leave it." Gaoyang wanted nothing more than to get away immediately.

None of them dared linger. They left Grave Hill at once.

Around eight, the lights were still on in quite a few homes in Gu Family Village. Carefully avoiding the villagers, the group slipped into Hua Zi's house. Gaoyang immediately barricaded the doors and windows. This time, he didn't even dare turn on the flashlight.

"Bro, what the hell is going on? Don't keep us hanging!" Wang Zikai was getting anxious.

"I'll start with the conclusion." Gaoyang lowered his voice. "We haven't traveled back to Gu Family Village thirty years ago, and we haven't entered some Inner World or dream world."

In the darkness, everyone held their breath, waiting for him to continue.

Gaoyang drew a deep breath. "This is the real Gu Family Village from back then."