Chapter 49

Su Xiaoxiao paused for a moment, then asked, "Could you take us to see the back mountain?"

Zhou Yang's expression changed slightly, and he softly called out, "Xiao Xiao!"

Su Xiaoxiao pursed her lips and ignored Zhou Yang's advice, but Old Zhao did not do as she wished.

"The back mountain isn't open to the public at will. If you want to go, I'll have to ask the village chief."

Su Xiaoxiao was somewhat disappointed, but Zhou Yang was visibly relieved.

Old Zhao led them to see the finished coffins.

The rectangular, dark brown coffin resembled a large box, but when associated with the container of a corpse, it acquired a solemn air.

"Clang clang clang"

Several villagers were still focused on hammering nails around the corner of the coffin, completely absorbed and not paying any attention to the people who had suddenly entered.

You also can't see that there's already a "person" lying in the coffin.

Mu Ling squinted her eyes contentedly, "Lying in here is so comfortable... even more comfortable than under the bed."

Her appearance only made Su Cheng more curious; the coffin could never have been made of ordinary wood.

Old Zhao: "These coffins are all custom-made to order. We only take six orders a month to ensure the quality of each coffin."

Su Xiaoxiao asked a few more questions, which Old Zhao answered one by one.

After filming the footage, Old Zhao saw them off from the factory.

The Zhuangzi outside had been waiting for a long time. "Let me take you back. This place is at the foot of the mountain, and I'm afraid you'll get lost on your way back to the village."

"At the foot of the mountain? Doesn't that mean it's very close to the entrance to the mountain?"

"Yes, but the back mountain isn't a place that can be opened to the public at will. Old Zhao told you, right? That's our village's gold mine."

Zhuangzi waved his hand, "Let's go, it's time to go back. Where else do you want to go? Do you want me to lead the way...?"

Su Xiaoxiao and Keke were planning their next steps, while Su Zhou slumped wearily, completely losing interest in playing on his phone.

Su Cheng took a few steps forward and moved closer to Zhou Yang, who seemed distracted.

Do you know anything about locust trees?

Zhou Yang was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

He lowered his voice and answered, mindful of Zhuangzi's presence:

"In my hometown, people have always believed that locust trees are ghost trees with heavy yin energy, and that yin energy nourishes corpses... So locust wood should be avoided for burial. Moreover, locust trees are prone to dampness, so the wood is not suitable for making coffins."

He vaguely sensed something was wrong, but had no direct proof, and it would be useless to rashly persuade his companion.

Zhou Yang had always thought that Su Cheng was just an insignificant temporary comrade.

But his impression seemed to be flawed...

Su Cheng was not as "ignorant" as she appeared.

"Did you discover something too...?"

Remembering that the other person wasn't affected by the bed, Su Cheng whispered, "Hmm, I've noticed something strange about the hotel bed... but it's best not to alert them."

Zhou Yang gripped his camera tighter, wanting to ask Su Cheng a few more questions, but saw that she had already walked away, showing no intention of talking to him anymore...

He glanced at Da Zhuang walking ahead and could only suppress his desire to go forward and tell Su Xiaoxiao.

After returning to the village, Su Xiaoxiao began assigning tasks to the group.

She and Zhou Yang went to check on the matter Zhuangzi had mentioned about the chickens and ducks being drained of blood, and also to interview An Jing, who was there.

Keke and Su Zhou were responsible for interviewing the villagers and taking pictures of the village scenery.

As a free agent, Su Cheng was not part of any arrangements.

It's not uncommon for livestock to be drained of blood overnight in rural areas; it's most likely the work of wild animals.

But this is a special instance, and this strange event might be linked to some unknown clues.

Su Cheng had originally planned to go with Su Xiaoxiao to take a look, but after hearing that An Jing was also there, she immediately changed her mind.

She left alone, citing feeling unwell as an excuse to return to her hotel to rest.

Mu Ling had followed An Jing home before, and she still remembered how to get there.

Su Cheng planned to go to An Jing's house.

Last night, a shrine for raising ghost children was found in the hotel's storage room. Could there be an even greater secret in An Jing's home, the village chief's house?

As Su Cheng thought this, a strange little excitement suddenly arose within her.

She was eagerly anticipating finding new clues at An Jing's house!

Mu Ling led the way, promptly informing Su Cheng to avoid the villagers.

She arrived at An Jing's house without incident, only to find the door locked.

Su Cheng looked around and quickly inserted the Omnipotent Key.

"Click"

The lock was successfully unlocked.

She slipped through the door and entered, and Mu Ling followed her in through the crack.

As Su Cheng had expected, there was a yellow talisman pasted behind the door.

She wanted a copy of all these genuine talismans, no one knew where they came from.

An Jing's room was very quiet. Su Cheng remembered that Zhuangzi had said that her husband had passed away and she had no children.

Su Cheng had Mu Ling go ahead to scout out, looking for cameras and sensing any suspicious rooms.

Only after Mu Ling confirmed that there were no cameras in the house did Su Cheng begin the search.

"It's strange, there don't seem to be any rooms with talismans pasted on them, upstairs or downstairs, yet I can enter every single one..."

Su Cheng frowned. She didn't believe there was nothing unusual about An Jing's house. There was only one possibility: there was a secret room inside.

"Go to her bedroom first!"

As a completely private room, the bedroom is generally not easily accessible to outsiders.

If you want to set up a secret room, the bedroom is a top choice.

"Over here..."

The bedroom door was also locked. When Su Cheng opened the door, she felt that buying the Omnipotent Key was definitely worth it.

An Jing's bedroom was very simple and tidy.

A wedding photo hangs on the wall opposite the bed, with small print in the corner: 2001.5.20.

In her youth, An Jing wore a red wedding dress, leaning on her husband's shoulder, smiling shyly and happily.

Her youthful appearance is almost unrecognizable compared to the mature and capable An Jing she is today.

Su Cheng tried to shake the wedding photo, only to find it welded to the wall.

There's another room behind the wall. The door to the secret room isn't in the wall, so it must be on the floor.

Su Cheng and Mu Ling carefully searched the room. As they pondered, they turned the clock beside the bed to 5:20, and the bed moved.

The floorboards under the bed were activated by some mechanism, and slowly moved to the side, revealing a dark passageway.

"Found it."

Mu Ling crouched down at the entrance of the passage and sniffed, sensing something was amiss. "The atmosphere down here is strange... it's human presence mixed with ghostly energy and yin energy..."

Mu Ling's words only made Su Cheng more determined to find out the truth.

"Go outside and keep watch for me. Let me know as soon as An Jing appears."

Mu Ling nodded, "Okay."

Su Cheng climbed down the ladder from the entrance of the passage.

It was dark below, with a wall lamp switch on the base. But Su Cheng noticed a white dust covering it and didn't touch it.

As she fell from the escalator to the ground, a pungent stench assaulted her nostrils, and Su Cheng covered her nose.

Although she loathed the smell, it was also familiar; wasn't it the stench of a rotting corpse?

This small secret room is exactly the same size as the rest of the room.

The walls were covered with circular talisman paper, and in the center stood a heavy coffin with talismans pasted on both ends. In front of the coffin was an altar.

On the altar were rows of unused large syringes and two bowls, both with dried bloodstains on their sides.

There were also chicken and duck feathers on the table.

Su Cheng brought the bowl closer and smelled it. The left side of the bowl was covered in human blood, while the right side was covered in animal blood.

At this point, Su Cheng understood everything. The chickens and ducks that had been drained of blood overnight were the work of An Jing, and the teeth marks on their bodies were caused by syringes being inserted to draw blood.

Her gaze fell on the coffin.

An Jing is feeding the contents of the vessel with human and animal blood.

Su Cheng approached the coffin, her hand landing on the lid, her heart inexplicably racing.

Her intuition told her that what was inside was dangerous. Should she really open it?

In those few seconds of hesitation, Mu Ling's voice rang out. "An Jing is back!"

Su Cheng's eyes darkened slightly as she withdrew her hand and walked towards the ladder. An Jing was already back; she couldn't delay any longer.

If An Jing discovers that someone has broken into the secret room and locked her with the things in the coffin, the consequences are absolutely unimaginable!

Su Cheng nimbly climbed back up the ladder.

Mu Ling's voice tinged with tension. "She's gone through the gate, you have to go."

Su Cheng steadied herself and quickly adjusted the clock back to the correct time.

The floorboards under the bed moved, and the passageway disappeared with them.

"An Jing is coming towards the bedroom!"

It's not possible to go out through the bedroom door right now.

Without hesitation, she opened the window and jumped out, landing steadily on the ground. She then sprinted to a large tree dozens of meters away and quickly climbed it using both hands and feet.

"An Jing went into the bedroom! The window is open!!"

When An Jing came to the window to look out, Su Cheng was already tense and hidden behind a tree trunk.

Of course she knew the window was open; that meant she didn't have enough time.

Mu Ling was still giving her updates, "She's looking down from the window, thank goodness you weren't hiding there!"

"The window is closed, you'd better leave quickly."

Su Cheng took a deep breath. "Wait a little longer."

Three seconds later, Mu Ling's cursing voice came through. "She actually opened the window again! She was just bluffing you! She stared in your direction for a while."

"... The window is closed again. Are you leaving?"

Su Cheng glanced at An Jing's house from behind the tree.

The two opening and closing of the window were An Jing's way of judging when a "thief had broken into the house."

An Jing is a cautious person, but coincidentally, so is Su Cheng.

After waiting for another ten seconds or so and seeing nothing amiss, she climbed down the tree and called to Mu Ling.

"I'm going back."

A note from the author:

none

Chapter 49

After avoiding the villagers and quickly moving away from An Jing's house, Su Cheng pretended to be looking for directions and headed towards the inn.

But halfway there, she met Keke and Su Zhou.