Though I hadn't met many people in the village, most were kind, simple villagers.
Apart from the old woman and the coffin shop owner, who looked like bad people, I really couldn't tell who else it might be. Who could it be?
As Old Liu and I spoke quietly, the old woman carefully packed the paper burial coffin she had just dug up into a burlap sack.
I had no idea what happened.
Suddenly, the old woman whipped her head around and looked toward where Old Liu and I were.
That unexpected glance scared me so badly I nearly cried out. Fortunately, after discovering someone was there, she didn't come over to bother us. Instead, she shouldered the sack and went down the mountain along the path.
I was just about to get up and follow when Old Liu waved a hand and said:
"Don't follow her. As long as she stops digging, that's enough!"
I asked Old Liu in surprise:
"You said someone else was delivering the coffins. Do you know who?"
Old Liu gave a cold chuckle and said:
"Ahem, no, but these paper burial coffins carry extremely heavy yin energy. I reckon they've been buried for ten years or so. One person buries coffins, another digs them up, and another delivers them. This village really isn't simple!"
Old Liu's words left me even more confused.
The paper coffins had been buried ten years ago, so that person must be getting on in years by now.
The village chief? The coffin shop owner? Or that mysterious white-haired old man?
Who could it be?
Seeing my confusion, Old Liu said quietly:
"There's no need to guess blindly now. I've got things to do during the day. Just keep an eye on the coffin shop owner."
I agreed and went down the mountain with Old Liu.
After daybreak, people began arriving at the village chief's house one after another to see Old Liu.
In just one night, another seven or eight paper coffins had actually been discovered in the village.
Following Old Liu's instructions, I went to the coffin shop to watch the owner.
The shop doors stood wide open, but the owner was nowhere in the yard or showroom. Just as I was wondering where he was,
the owner came out of the bedroom. I watched him enter the showroom and first tidy up the objects on display.
Then he bowed respectfully toward the corner.
My heart gave a jolt!
Though I was hiding outside the yard and couldn't see the corner inside, I clearly remembered from my last visit with Old Liu that a strange black coffin stood there.
There was no doubt about it. The owner must have been bowing to that black coffin!
A coffin was nothing more than a few wooden boards. Why would the owner bow to it?
Right, when we left last time, I seemed to have seen that black coffin move!
There was something inside!!!
I sucked in a cold breath. Just thinking about a living thing hiding inside a coffin was terrifying enough.
After bowing to the black coffin, the owner locked the shop, got on a big motorcycle, and left.
Once he was far away, I quickly slipped out, ready to climb the wall into the yard.
I was concentrating on choosing a spot to climb when someone suddenly called out behind me, making my hair stand on end.
"Hey, what are you hanging around outside the coffin shop for in broad daylight?"
I turned around. The person calling me was actually the fat woman from the Guan family's glazed-tile-roofed house in front of Auntie Li's.
Her attitude had been terrible the last time I went looking for Guan Jun. Seeing her again at this critical moment made her even more annoying.
"Nothing. I just happened to walk this way. Where are you going with that sack, ma'am?"
The fat woman looked me over and said irritably:
"I'm going up the mountain to pick mushrooms. You're an outsider. Don't wander around with nothing to do, looking like a thief!"
That inexplicable remark really pissed me off!
A thief?
Have you ever fucking seen a thief rob a coffin shop?
A torrent of curses raced through my mind. I was just about to snap back when the fat woman walked past and deliberately bumped into me, knocking me a good distance away.
She turned, swayed her hips, rolled her eyes at me, and left.
It was still morning, and I'd already been infuriated for no reason! Bai Fan was right. Some people in her village really did reject outsiders!
But this wasn't the time to get angry with her. Once the fat woman was far away, I didn't dare delay. I hurriedly climbed the wall and jumped into the yard.
After Old Zhang's death, only three coffins remained in the coffin shop's yard.
Two coffins had sold in just a few days. The owner, making money off the dead, was probably grinning from ear to ear.
The showroom door was padlocked, so I'd have to smash it open to get in. Glancing to the side, I discovered that the bedroom window was the best way in.
Although the wooden window was shut tight and secured inside with a metal tab, it was still easy to force. With a little push, I opened it and jumped inside.
The owner's bedroom was very neat: a single bed, a square table, and a pair of scissors on the table, with a cut-out paper figure beside them.
I remembered the magical duel between the two Lius, when a paper figure like this had transformed in countless ways to attack back and forth, so I simply stuffed it into my pocket.
The bedroom led straight into the showroom, which was filled with wreaths, burial clothes, paper money, and soul banners. Even in broad daylight, it felt eerie, and a chill ran down the back of my neck.
The black coffin the owner had bowed to stood quietly in the corner.
Clearly, this large coffin was different from the others. It definitely wasn't for sale.
A coffin that wasn't for sale in a coffin shop made me even more curious.
What was inside??
With the coffin standing upright, its lid would be easy to open.
Gritting my teeth, I slowly approached it, wanting to open it and look.
I had just reached out when I suddenly heard the rumble of a motorcycle in the distance.
My heart jolted. The owner was back!
At that thought, I didn't dare stay. I quickly jumped out through the window and scrambled over the side wall to escape.
On my way back, I kept wondering why the owner had returned so quickly when he'd only been gone seven or eight minutes.
At the village entrance, I saw several villagers running ahead in a panic. I stopped a man and asked:
"Sir, what's happened now? Where are you all rushing off to?"
The man looked anxious. He sighed and said:
"Oh, someone else has died!"
Then he followed the crowd east.
Stunned by his words, I hurried after everyone.
I was quite familiar with the household where it had happened. It was the second Guan household I had visited!
The person who had died unexpectedly happened to be the man who had been carrying a pesticide sprayer, about to head out to work in the fields.
Many villagers crowded the house and yard, all talking over one another.
Once again, a paper coffin had been found in his firewood pile!
Seeing Old Liu there too, I went over and asked:
"Old Liu, what's going on? Why has someone else died?"
Old Liu sighed.
"That paper coffin had been hidden behind the woodpile for a long time. They only found it after someone died!"
The village chief entered the yard, clapped his hands, and called the villagers over.
"If you've got nothing to do here, stop crowding around. Everyone, hurry home and search every concealed spot. Look carefully for these paper coffins!"
Hearing this, everyone quickly dispersed to search their homes for paper coffins.
Remembering that Bai Fan's parents lived in Tang Hollow Village, I hurriedly texted her, telling her to have her parents search carefully. Bai Fan replied that her parents were visiting relatives out of town and weren't in the village.
After leaving the yard with Old Liu, I told him everything about sneaking into the coffin shop.
Old Liu didn't seem particularly affected, but hearing about the black coffin caught his interest.
"Are you sure you saw that coffin move?"
When Old Liu asked so seriously, I became a little unsure instead.
"It did move. I think it moved once!"
Old Liu's face hardened, and he said coldly:
"Don't give me 'I think.' There's nothing particularly special about that black coffin itself, but whether it moved makes a huge difference!"
I hadn't taken any pictures or videos. Trying to recall it from memory alone, the more I thought, the hazier it became.
Suddenly remembering the paper figure I'd taken from the coffin shop owner's table, I quickly pulled it out to show Old Liu.
Old Liu turned the paper figure over and examined it for a long time. Finally, his expression changed.
"So that's it. It looks like you were right. That coffin really did move."
Confused, I asked Old Liu why he was so certain.
Old Liu kept me in suspense again.
"Keep watching him!"
Hearing Old Liu say it so confidently made me even more curious. There was definitely something in that coffin. What was it?
It looked like I'd be delayed another few days. After thinking it over, I reluctantly called Old Wu to ask for leave.
I told Old Wu I needed time off to be a best man. Without saying a word, Old Wu laughed three times and hung up.
Actually, I didn't care whether he believed me. I held Guan Jun's secret and could go back anytime to deal him a fatal blow!
The next day, I went to keep watch at the coffin shop owner's place at the same time.
Strangely, the fellow seemed to keep a very regular routine. At the same time as yesterday, he finished cleaning the showroom and bowed to the black coffin.
Then he got on his motorcycle and rode away.
This time, I was more careful and didn't go over immediately. Once I'd made sure no one was around, I quickly climbed the wall into the yard.
Another person had died yesterday. Apart from one fewer coffin in the yard, nothing was different from yesterday, yet I kept feeling that something wasn't right.
Just as I was about to climb in through the window again, a loud shout suddenly came from outside the yard:
"You thief! Why have you come back to steal again!"
I looked back. It was the same fat woman from the glazed-tile-roofed house I'd run into yesterday. She was ruining everything!
I couldn't enter the house now. Turning toward the yard gate, I carelessly tripped over a brick.
With a thud, I fell hard beside a coffin.
Bracing myself against the coffin to stand up, I suddenly discovered that two little paper figures had actually been pasted onto the head ends of the two remaining coffins!!
Even more horrifying, the two paper figures each had a name written on them:
Li Yao, Liu Qingzhu.