TEFSCBSS Chapter 63

Chapter 63: A Grave Encounter of Mutual Deception

Jiang Liang didn’t care about anything else—he lay down inside the coffin without hesitation. To ensure he absorbed as much ghostly energy as possible, he even carefully closed the lid over himself.

Lying silently in the dark, he mused to himself, Hmm, I wonder… once I’m infused with ghostly energy, will I be able to fight ghosts too?

I’m a second-tier martial artist, one of Prime Minister Su’s top-ranking mercenary guests. If I can harm ghosts, I’ll take them down one punch at a time!

Yes, that’s right. Prime Minister Su sent me here to cause trouble. Originally, we planned to burn this place down. But plans change. If I can punch these evil spirits into oblivion, or even have Li Tiechui help me subdue one or two lesser ghosts, that would be a huge accomplishment! Prime Minister Su would surely reward me with more treasures.

Thinking this, Jiang Liang felt even more at ease as he lay in the coffin.

Fifteen minutes passed…

Wait a minute. I forgot to ask Li Tiechui how long he stayed in the coffin. How long do I have to lie here before I can start fighting ghosts?

Forget it. To be safe, I’ll stay for half an hour! Then I’ll find a small ghost to test my theory. If half an hour isn’t enough, those village houses are full of coffins—I can just hop into another one. If I can’t win, I’ll dive into the nearest coffin and hide! Ha! Not even the Emperor himself could drag me out!

With that plan in mind, Jiang Liang relaxed even more, shifting slightly on the thin mat inside the coffin. Tsk tsk, the owner of this place isn’t half bad—this coffin is more comfortable than my little wooden bed…

Before he knew it, drowsiness crept in, and he fell asleep.

—

Outside, Wan Niang stood staring at the pitch-black coffin, sneering coldly. But she made no move to fight over it. It’s not like it’s some precious treasure.

She had been stuffed inside that thing for no apparent reason earlier and was already furious. Now, at least, she was free.

Hearing some shuffling sounds behind her, she turned her head and spotted a familiar-looking building. Oh? Isn’t that the same place where I got captured?

She squinted at the writing above the entrance—Ancestral Hall.

Wan Niang hesitated. There could still be people waiting inside to ambush her. She wasn’t about to take that risk. If she got caught again, there was no guarantee she’d get out a second time. So, she scanned her surroundings for a good hiding spot and found one: an abandoned grave, the same one Zhao Wen had crashed into earlier, now just an open pit.

Lightly, she leaped into the hole. As soon as she landed, she felt something soft beneath her feet—before she could react, a groaning voice piped up from below.

“Ugh… ow, ow, ow…”

Wan Niang immediately stepped back, staying silent and preparing to bolt if things went south.

To her surprise, a dirt-covered head poked out of the ground—Zhao Wen.

He let out a few more groans, clutching his leg. “Who the hell just stepped on me?!” He was both furious and annoyed—then he looked up and saw Wan Niang staring at him suspiciously.

Realizing she was human, Zhao Wen immediately tensed, shuffling backward.

In an instant, the small grave pit—barely big enough for a coffin—was divided by an invisible line. The two of them clung to opposite edges, both wary, watching each other like cornered animals.

“…Wan Niang?”

“…Young Master Zhao?”

Even though they recognized each other, neither moved an inch. Their feet remained firmly planted where they stood.

Finally, Wan Niang, being the bolder of the two, cautiously asked, “Young Master Zhao, what are you doing here?”

It wasn’t that she wasn’t happy to see a familiar face—she was just being careful. She had spent half the day in this godforsaken scenario without meeting a single ally, only crazed villagers. There was no room for trust. Even if he was a fellow player, she had no idea if the plot or some hidden mission might turn him against her.

Zhao Wen sighed and started spinning a story. “Gu Qing and I were looking for you all, but we got separated. Then I ran into Jiang Liang—he suddenly went crazy and knocked me out. Next thing I knew, I woke up here.”

He delivered the lie smoothly.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to tell the truth—there were too many unknowns. First, there was the eerie Zhao Si. Then, the suspicious Li Tiechui. And now, the troublemaker Jiang Liang. At this point, the only people he might still trust were Wang Bokao and Gu Qing.

Besides, his father had always warned him: Never reveal all your cards until you understand the whole picture. That advice had never failed him.

Hearing that Zhao Wen had also been knocked out, Wan Niang finally relaxed a little. Still, she remained cautious. “Same here. Someone knocked me out, too. When I woke up, I wanted to investigate, and I noticed this pit looked strange, so I came to check it out.”

Of course, she wasn’t about to admit she had been locked in a coffin. She still hadn’t figured out Zhao Wen’s true stance in all of this—there was no way she was spilling everything. As a teacher, she had long mastered the art of lying with a straight face. Her students had tried every trick in the book to avoid their lessons. Over the years, she had learned to outmaneuver them effortlessly.

Silence fell between them again.

“…So, Wan Niang, have you found any clues?” Zhao Wen finally broke the tension, deciding to take the initiative.

Wan Niang: …What clues? She had barely entered before being locked up… Wait, actually, she could make something up.

After a brief hesitation, she carefully said, “I just discovered a critical clue!”

“At first, I was taken to a villager’s house, and I immediately felt something was off.” Well, of course, something was off—they knocked her out on the spot.

“Then I managed to escape and saw a group of people gathered at the ancestral hall. My curiosity got the better of me, so I snuck around outside to eavesdrop.” Technically, she was at the ancestral hall… before they knocked her out and dragged her inside.

“They were talking about some kind of ritual, something about sacrifices, and then they locked someone inside a coffin.” Yep, that would be her.

“I thought it was an important lead, so I stayed to listen more closely… but then, suddenly, everything went black.” Because they stuffed her into a coffin.

“When I woke up, I found myself still near the ancestral hall, so I came to investigate.” Well, she was dumped outside and “woke up” there, so technically, no lies were told.

Zhao Wen seemed to be deep in thought, then suddenly asked, “Did you happen to see a coffin outside? One that was making loud banging noises?”

Banging noises?

Wan Niang froze for a moment before a cold sneer formed in her heart. Oh? So the coward who ignored my cries for help was you, huh?

When she had been tossed onto the street, she distinctly remembered hearing hurried footsteps—someone had rushed past, completely ignoring her desperate struggle. So it was Zhao Wen, after all.

Judging by the way he ran, he had been scared out of his wits. That likely meant he wasn’t part of the group that had locked her up. But still… he had seen her in trouble and left her there?

Wan Niang let out a silent chuckle. Outwardly, though, she played innocent and distanced herself from the situation. “Yes, there was a coffin outside. I passed by and heard the banging too, but I was too scared to go near it.”

Hearing this, Zhao Wen visibly relaxed. Oh, good—she was just as scared as I was. That means she’s probably not a threat.

Then, Wan Niang asked, “Have you been inside the ancestral hall?”

“I woke up and heard strange noises coming from inside, but I was too afraid to go in.”

Ah, now that’s the right question to ask.

Now that his guard was lowered, Zhao Wen eagerly shared everything he knew about Li Tiechui and Jiang Liang’s encounter with a ‘ghost.’ However, he kept certain details to himself, choosing not to mention the other two people he had encountered.

Wan Niang finally understood. No wonder those villagers had dragged her out of the hall and then suddenly abandoned her. They must have been startled by Jiang Liang and left to deal with him.

For the first time, she felt a tiny bit—just a tiny bit—grateful toward Jiang Liang.

Now that the tension between them had eased, the two cautiously inched closer, trying to figure out their next move.

But before they could form a plan, loud voices erupted from outside the pit.

“Damn, that brat ran fast—straight into the Earth God Temple!”

“No kidding! If we could enter that temple, we’d have dragged him out by now.”

“Alright, alright, enough talk. It’s getting late—let’s hurry and carry the coffin over so we can finish the ritual on time.”

After those words, the voices suddenly fell silent. Then came the sound of heavy breathing and strained grunts as they lifted the coffin and carried it toward the mist.

“…Wait, why does this coffin feel heavier than before?”

Wan Niang’s heart clenched.