TEFSCBSS Chapter 21

Chapter 21: The Final Segment (Part 4)

Seeing the crowd’s grim expressions, Liu Tuhu couldn’t help but feel pleased. He sat cross-legged on the ground, leaning against a large tree, and said, “No need to be polite, get to digging.”

“After all, it’s my daughter’s grave, so I won’t dig. I’m too heartbroken.”

The crowd was speechless. His grin was so wide it seemed to reach his ears—how could he be heartbroken? But what could they do? They had already come this far.

Song Dadu spat twice, rubbed his hands together, and hurriedly led his subordinates to grab the shovels. Noticing that Qingjin Old Third’s legs were still trembling, he patted his shoulder, saying, “Old Third, don’t be afraid. This is all something our boss made himself. It’s all fake, no corpses or ghosts! You’ll be fine.”

Song Dadu patted his chest loudly, no matter what Old Third thought, the boss was leading the way, so he had to follow along. But when Old Third turned to face the crowd, he said fiercely, “You all dig too, or I won’t let you in later!”

Hmph, he had gotten soaked before, so everyone else had to get soaked too.

The crowd, seeing this, reluctantly walked over. As Song Dadu said, this was all made by Zhao Boss. Although it looked realistic and a bit eerie, they weren’t doing anything wrong, so they weren’t afraid of ghosts knocking on their doors. They pressed on.

Soon, with everyone working together, the small grave mound was completely unearthed, revealing a full-sized redwood coffin.

“Whoa, Old Liu, you know how to ‘treat’ people. This coffin is made of redwood. You must be really afraid of the corpse not coming back to life!”

It was common knowledge that ordinary people used black coffins for burials, and red coffins were usually reserved for elderly people who had lived a long life. Using a red coffin for a young girl who had “tragically” died was bad luck.

Though the crowd joked about Liu Tuhu, they instinctively kept their distance from the coffin. It was truly unsettling.

Especially when a “thumping” sound suddenly came from inside the coffin.

In an instant, the once lively atmosphere in the West Building went completely silent. Apart from the occasional swallowing of saliva, only the loud “thump-thump-thump” of something colliding inside the coffin could be heard.

“San’er…” Wang Bokao’s voice trembled as he leaned on Han Yueyi. “Is there a ghost?”

Han Yueyi frowned but didn’t respond. It was broad daylight, and they were at the foot of the imperial city. How could there be ghosts?

He tried to push Wang Bokao off him, but found he couldn’t. He sighed in frustration. Next time, he wouldn’t bring Wang Bokao along for these kinds of mystery-solving games.

No one dared to make a sound, all of them carefully considering whether they should retreat. But just then, Li Tiezhu made a quick move, sliding across the ground and landing on top of the coffin, crying out loudly, “My Yanran, I’m sorry I didn’t stop them. Don’t be scared. I’ll kill them and avenge you!”

With that, Li Tiezhu stood up swaying, and seemed ready to leap at an innocent detective, but he was swiftly kicked aside by Wuzhen.

Li Tiezhu fell back down, lying on the ground, content in his position. Well, he probably wouldn’t have much more of a role to play.

Wuzhen calmly stepped into the center of the crowd. “Everyone, it seems the disturbance from digging the grave has stirred up Yanran’s resentment. Let me perform a ritual to calm it.”

The crowd quickly made way for Wuzhen, who began performing a chant, dancing, and reciting words that no one understood.

Han Yueyi and Wang Bokao, curious, leaned in. To their surprise, Wuzhen was chanting the Great Compassion Mantra, but who taught him to chant like that? The words were all mixed with strange dialects.

Wuzhen chanted quickly, and though he seemed a little nervous, with the final line of the chant, he swung his whisk over the coffin.

Inside the coffin, the “vengeful spirit” fell silent in response.

Wuzhen wiped the sweat from his brow and smiled, “Now, the spirit’s anger is temporarily suppressed. You may proceed with opening the coffin.”

Someone in the crowd started clapping, and soon the compliments poured in: “Amazing!” “So impressive!” “So cool!” Wuzhen’s young face turned bright red, and he hurriedly ran over to Liu Tuhu, trying to hide behind him with his large frame.

“Ah, our Wuzhen Master is amazing. Such a young age and already has the aura of a shaman.”

“Exactly! Even though it’s just a game, I feel like Wuzhen might have some real skills. When something happens in my family, I’ll invite Master Wuzhen to perform a ritual. A chant and a little dance—surely that’ll shock the neighbors!”

“Absolutely! I’ll be moving houses soon. I’ll ask Master Wuzhen to do a feng shui ritual for us. May we stay healthy and safe.”

The crowd was full of praise, practically ready to take Wuzhen away right there.

Wang Bokao, however, was more focused on the coffin. He called over some detectives who were still in a daze to help open the coffin.

The coffin wasn’t nailed shut, nor were there any protective spells. It was simply that, late at night, this was still Su Li’s bed.

Several large men rubbed their hands together, walked around the redwood coffin a few times, and then, with a collective breath, began pushing the coffin lid.

As the coffin slowly opened, everyone hesitated, peering inside. To their shock, the coffin was empty!!!??

“Shit, this coffin is wrong!” Qingjin Old Third shouted and dramatically fell off his stool, landing on the ground.

Wang Bokao quickly broke away from Han Yueyi, looking from Liu Tuhu to Li Tiezhu, then to Wuzhen and Han Yueyi, demanding, “Tell me, who stole the body?”

Several burly men surrounded the four players, demanding answers.

Regardless of the time, respect for the deceased was paramount. Even though this was just a game, with the vengeful spirit only just being quelled, how could the body suddenly disappear?

Li Tiezhu, still lying on the ground, grinned. “Such a small thing and you’re already losing it? Just wait, you’ll be even more shocked later!”

Wang Qingmu, somewhat calm, narrowed his eyes and studied Liu Tuhu. That kid was as nonchalant as a pig in hot water, leaning on the tree and looking quite smug.

Though Wang Qingmu felt there was still something hidden behind this, he wasn’t too concerned. Liu Tuhu wasn’t stupid, and the fact that he wasn’t explaining himself only meant that whatever had happened wouldn’t affect his “innocence.” Besides, the fact that Liu Tuhu had brought everyone here meant that the things in the secret passage couldn’t harm him.

Thinking this, Wang Qingmu walked over to the coffin and noticed a small hole in the center.

“Song Catcher, come over and see if this small hole is the keyhole for the bronze key.”

Song Dadu, hearing this, quickly waved his subordinates over. Though he frowned at the idea of a secret passage inside the coffin, he was an experienced catcher and had seen enough strange things not to be surprised.

As the old saying goes, priceless antiques and family treasures were often hidden in the ancestors’ coffins, so finding a secret passage in an empty one wasn’t that surprising.

He grabbed the bronze key from Qingjin Old Third, and with a soft click, the sound reached everyone’s ears.

Everyone fell silent, eager to know what secret room lay hidden behind the coffin’s door.