Chapter 5: Corpse Burial in the Mountain Village
Ever since Zhang Xiao's death, Gao Shijun had been in a state of delirium. He huddled next to the doorframe, his eyes wide open and bloodshot. “I’m not going to the coffin shop! I’m not going—”
This was a typical case of someone being scared out of their wits. Xu Shu wasn’t keen on dragging him along to cause trouble, so he said coldly, “Then stay. We don’t need that many people just to pick a coffin.” He looked at the others. “Anyone else not want to go?”
The hostess Pei Xu and the movie star Zhu Zhibo didn’t say anything, but they both lowered their heads and quietly took two steps back.
Xu Shu sneered inwardly but didn’t comment. The audience will teach them a lesson soon enough. He turned to Li Zhi. “Are you coming?”
Li Zhi answered, “Sure.”
Chi Yi quickly followed, “I’m going too!”
She thought Li Zhi was the most capable—sticking with her was the safest choice.
Lian Qinglin made a ‘let’s go’ gesture. “Let’s move, the sooner we go, the sooner we come back.”
The four of them stepped out. As they passed by the mourning hall, Li Zhi glanced at the portrait on the offering table. She clearly remembered that when she had first arrived yesterday, the elder in the photo had looked stern and resentful. But now—the expression on that portrait had changed to a faint smile, exactly the same as the corpse nailed to the door.
It was smiling, yet it looked even more sinister than before.
Uncle Jiu stood by the gate outside and pointed them in the direction of the coffin shop, adding in a low tone, “Pick a coffin quickly and bring it back. Miss the proper time for the interment, and the village chief won’t be pleased.”
Chi Yi shuddered violently at the warning, urging, “Come on, faster! Let’s hurry!”
It seemed this coffin-picking task was on a timer. They rushed toward the coffin shop. The morning sunlight had dispersed the fog, and the village, now without yesterday’s eerie chill, looked oddly peaceful.
They hadn’t noticed while riding in the car, but now that they were walking the village paths, the oppressive feeling of being surrounded by mountains was unmistakable. The towering peaks completely isolated Guanping Village from the outside world. The only visible exit was that old bridge spanning two peaks.
It looked like the only way in or out.
Some villagers were working in the fields, but when they saw the four pass by, they straightened up and stared coldly at them. Those gazes felt like festering sores clinging to their bones. Instinctively, Chi Yi grabbed Li Zhi’s sleeve tightly.
Li Zhi walked as she observed the village around them, her expression thoughtful.
Xu Shu couldn’t help watching her. He hadn’t realized that this behavior of constantly glancing at her was exactly the same as when he used to rely on veteran players in past dungeons. Catching the look on her face, he immediately asked, “You’ve noticed something?”
Chi Yi and Lian Qinglin also turned to her, waiting expectantly.
Li Zhi thought for a moment and said, “The villagers’ attitude toward us is strange.”
“According to the setting, we’re supposed to be the village chief’s children. The village chief was supposedly beloved when he was alive, so why are the villagers so hostile to his children?” She looked up slightly. “One or two might be explained away, but every single villager we’ve seen has shown open malice toward us. That doesn’t fit the identity we were assigned.”
Lian Qinglin sucked in a breath. “Could it be that the system gave us a ‘unfilial children’ backstory?”
Li Zhi smiled faintly. “How likely is it that all eight children are unfilial? If that were true, maybe the village chief should have reflected on his parenting. Either that, or the system got lazy when designing the dungeon and just threw in this plot hole to make things harder.”
Xu Shu said solemnly, “No. Ghost Host is a perfectionist. It wouldn’t leave that kind of flaw.”
Li Zhi nodded thoughtfully. “Then there’s another possibility.” She glanced at the ancestral hall hidden behind a cluster of houses not far away, her eyes narrowing. “We’re not the village chief’s biological children.”
Xu Shu hadn’t expected her to jump to that conclusion, but thinking it through, it made a lot of sense. His temples throbbed slightly. “If that’s true… there’s probably more hidden behind this story. I didn’t expect even a newbie dungeon to have a mystery-solving element.”
Suddenly, Li Zhi asked, “These dungeons have difficulty levels, right? Aside from popularity, is there no other reward for clearing harder ones?”
Xu Shu glanced at her, a rare flicker of excitement in his eyes. “Of course there is. You’ll see once we make it through.”
Chi Yi let out a miserable sigh. “I don’t care about rewards—I just want to get out of here. I never want to step into a place like this again.”
Xu Shu looked her over. “You’re pretty famous in your world, right?”
Why bring that up now? Chi Yi modestly replied, “I guess I’m first-tier.”
Xu Shu chuckled softly. “Then congratulations. You’re basically a regular on this show now.”
Chi Yi’s face instantly turned pale, her whole delicate frame trembling. Li Zhi held her steady. “You mean the more famous you are, the more frequently you get pulled into these dungeons? But wouldn’t that increase the death rate? The psychological toll would break people eventually, and that’d ruin the entertainment value of the show.”
Xu Shu didn’t explain further. “You’ll understand after we clear it.”
As they talked, the four finally reached the coffin shop.
The dilapidated yard held several finished coffins, all simple in style, painted entirely black, lined up neatly in a row. Two long benches supported each one. The air was thick with the pungent odor of mixed varnish and sawdust.
Crunching through the wood shavings on the ground, Xu Shu stepped forward and knocked on the door. “Anyone here? We want to buy a coffin.”
After a long while, the old wooden door creaked open. A pale, baggy-eyed old man stood there, staring at them expressionlessly.
Xu Shu explained politely, “Elder, we’re from the village chief’s household. We’re here to pick out a coffin for him.”
The old man’s hoarse voice was cold: “They’re all here. Pick one yourself.”
Xu Shu forced a smile. “Elder, there are so many here. Which one would be the best choice? You’re the craftsman—you’d know best.”
Perhaps Xu Shu’s respectful tone pleased him a bit. The old man’s expression softened slightly. His eyes swept over the group before slowly lifting a hand to point at the one on the far left. “That one.”
Xu Shu was a bit relieved. “Thank you, sir!”
The coffins all looked identical—same shape, same black paint. There was no way to tell them apart by eye. As they gathered around the one on the left, Lian Qinglin whispered, “Can we really trust him?”
Chi Yi muttered, “Why would he lie to us? What do you think, Zhizhi?”
Li Zhi didn’t reply. She leaned down and sniffed at the coffin. Aside from the sharp scent of cheap varnish, she couldn’t detect anything.
Xu Shu said under his breath, “We don’t have time to waste. Let’s just take it back first. We picked it together—whatever happens, we face it together.”
Li Zhi suddenly looked up at him.
Her eyes were beautiful, deep and soulful, but right now they looked like bottomless ponds—calm and unfathomable—as they locked onto him.
For some reason, Xu Shu felt uneasy under that gaze and quickly looked away. “There’s a cart over there. I’ll borrow it and we’ll move this thing.”
Without a word, Li Zhi watched him go over to borrow the cart. The old man, surprisingly agreeable, nodded his consent. Xu Shu brought the wooden cart over, calling Lian Qinglin to help lift the coffin.
But it was heavy, far heavier than expected, and they struggled to lift even one side. Li Zhi glanced at the old man by the door and suddenly broke into a charming smile. “Elder, could you lend us a hand? I’ll make sure you get extra cigarettes at the banquet later.”
They all thought the NPC would refuse, but unexpectedly, he stepped forward and even instructed them, “Hold it here—it’s easier to lift.”
Standing beside the cart, Li Zhi casually asked, “What kind of wood are these coffins made from? They’re heavy.”
The old man didn’t look up. “Willow.”
“Ohhh…” Li Zhi pointed at another coffin. “What about that one?”
“Pine.”
“And the one in the middle?”
“Cypress.”
“And the one at the far end?”
Finally showing irritation, the old man shot her a cold look. “Poplar. Why do you care?”
Li Zhi smiled sweetly. “Oh, just because—” She suddenly stepped forward and, with one hand, pressed down hard on the coffin corner that Xu Shu and Lian Qinglin were struggling to lift. “—we’re changing coffins.”
“Shit!” Lian Qinglin cursed. “Where’d you get that strength from? You almost crushed my hand!”
The old man’s expression turned murderous, his gaze cold and venomous.
Ignoring him, Li Zhi walked over to the cypress coffin in the middle. “We’ll take this one.”
The others had no idea why she suddenly made the switch, but Chi Yi and Lian Qinglin instinctively followed her lead, rushing over to the new coffin with the cart, ready to move it.
Xu Shu came over as well. “Are you sure?”
“I wasn’t, at first.” Li Zhi turned to the old man with an innocent smile. “Now I’m certain. This is the one.”
The old man’s eye bags twitched violently, his expression darkening as if he’d been humiliated. Li Zhi sighed lazily. “Elder, seeing us pick the right one—feeling a little mad?”
The trembling worsened.
Even Chi Yi could tell now. She nodded seriously, “He’s definitely angrier now—it has to be this one!”
The NPC’s face twisted in fury. With a glare, he turned and stomped back inside, slamming the door shut behind him.
The four of them worked together to load the coffin onto the cart. Knowing they had chosen correctly gave them renewed strength—they lifted it with ease. Soon, they were on their way back.
Meanwhile, the audience was just as excited as Chi Yi and Lian Qinglin:
【Holy crap! How did Li Zhi know? She’s really clever!】
【That guide is useless! If we’d listened to him, someone else would’ve died tonight!】
【Li Zhi’s votes aren’t last anymore!!! Celebrate!!!】
【Rookie queen on the rise—join us now, become a founding fan, vote for Li Zhi!】
…
After walking some distance, Chi Yi finally asked what everyone in the audience wanted to know, “Zhizhi, how did you figure it out?”
Li Zhi explained, “Given the way this village treats us, do you really think that coffin-maker was telling the truth?”
Xu Shu lowered his gaze, embarrassed. “Not necessarily. The Taoist didn’t lie to us though.”
Li Zhi glanced at him through the coffin, her gaze as deep and calm as before, unsettling him again. “That’s only part of it. The real reason…” She paused, scanning the surrounding village, “...is the trees.”
Chi Yi and Lian Qinglin looked around in confusion.
What about the trees?