Ever since Zhang Xiao’s death, Gao Shijun had been in a dazed state. He shrank beside the threshold, his eyes wide open and bloodshot: “I’m not going to the coffin shop! I’m not going—”
This was a typical reaction of someone scared out of their wits. Xu Shu didn’t want to cause trouble by taking him along, so he coldly said, “If you don’t want to go, fine. We don’t need so many people to choose a coffin.” He looked at the others. “Anyone else not want to go?”
Female host Pei Xu and film emperor Zhu Zhibo stayed silent but took two small steps back, bowing their heads slightly.
Xu Shu sneered inwardly but said nothing. The audience would teach them a lesson soon enough. He turned to ask Li Zhi, “Are you going?”
Li Zhi replied, “Might as well.”
Chi Yi quickly chimed in, “I’m going too!”
She believed Li Zhi was the most capable, and sticking close to her was the safest option.
Lian Qinglin made a gesture to set off. “Let’s go, the sooner we go, the sooner we’ll be back.”
The four walked out, passing by the mourning hall. As they did, Li Zhi glanced at the portrait on the altar. She remembered that when they had just arrived yesterday, the old man in the picture had a stern expression and a vengeful gaze. But now, the portrait had changed, and the expression resembled that of the corpse nailed to the door: it was smiling.
Even though the smile was faint, it seemed even more sinister than before.
Uncle Jiu stood outside the courtyard gate, pointing them in the direction of the coffin shop. He added ominously, “Once you’ve picked the coffin, hurry back. If you miss the time to place the body in the coffin, the village chief will not be happy.”
Chilled by this warning, Chi Yi shivered and urged, “Let’s hurry, let’s hurry!”
It seemed that choosing the coffin had a time limit. The group hurried towards the coffin shop. The morning sun had driven away the fog, and the village no longer appeared as eerie as it had the day before, now exuding a certain tranquility.
They hadn’t noticed while driving in, but now walking along the village path, they could clearly feel the oppressive presence of the surrounding mountains. The large mountains completely isolated Guanping Village from the outside world, and the only visible connection was the bridge between two peaks leading into the village.
It seemed like that was the only way in or out.
A few villagers were working in the fields. When they saw the group passing by, they straightened up and stared at them. Their eyes were cold and unwelcoming, like a plague that clings to its host. Chi Yi instinctively grabbed Li Zhi’s sleeve.
Li Zhi continued walking while observing the village, a thoughtful expression on her face.
Xu Shu unconsciously watched her. He didn’t realize it, but this was the same mentality he used to have when entering a new instance, always looking to the strong player first. Noticing Li Zhi’s expression, he immediately asked, “Did you notice something?”
Chi Yi and Lian Qinglin also looked over. Li Zhi thought for a moment, then said, “I find the attitude of the villagers towards us very strange.”
“Based on our character settings, we’re the children of the village chief, who seemed well-respected when he was alive. So why do the villagers show such hostility towards his children?” Li Zhi continued, “It would be understandable if it were just one or two villagers, but since entering the village, every villager we’ve met hasn’t hidden their malice towards us. It doesn’t match our character setup.”
Lian Qinglin made a sharp intake of breath. “Could it be that the system gave us a backstory of being unfilial children?”
Li Zhi smiled. “What’s the likelihood of all eight children being unfilial? If that’s the case, the village chief should probably reflect on how he raised his kids. Or the system might have just been lazy with the setup, throwing in a logic bug to increase difficulty.”
Xu Shu said seriously, “No, [Ghosts] is a perfectionist. It wouldn’t leave such a flaw in the logic.”
Li Zhi nodded in understanding. “Then there’s another possibility.” She looked towards the ancestral hall hidden behind some tiled houses in the distance and narrowed her eyes. “We’re not the village chief’s biological children.”
Xu Shu hadn’t expected her to come to that conclusion so suddenly. But following her line of thinking, it did make sense. He felt a headache coming on. “If that’s the case, there’s probably a deeper story here. I didn’t expect there to be a mystery-solving element in this beginner-level instance.”
Li Zhi suddenly asked, “Are there different levels of difficulty in the instances? After clearing one, aside from popularity, do players receive rewards based on the difficulty?”
Xu Shu gave her a quick glance. “Of course.” A rare excitement flickered across his face. “You’ll see once we clear it.”
Chi Yi sighed in distress. “I don’t care about any rewards. I just want to leave this place as soon as possible. I never want to enter another haunted place like this again.”
Xu Shu glanced at her. “You must be quite popular in your world, right?”
Chi Yi, feeling suddenly modest at the unexpected topic shift, replied, “I guess, you could say I’m first-tier.”
Xu Shu chuckled, “Well, that makes you a regular on this show then.”
Chi Yi’s face immediately turned pale, and her frail body began to tremble. Li Zhi steadied her. “Are you saying the more famous you are, the more frequently you’ll enter the instances? But that would also mean an increased death rate. Players would suffer more psychological torment, likely breaking down, which could directly affect the show’s viewership and quality if it’s meant to be a horror show.”
Xu Shu didn’t elaborate further and just repeated, “You’ll understand after we clear this.”
As they spoke, the four of them finally arrived at the coffin shop.
In the rundown yard were several completed coffins, all of the simplest design. They were painted black, lined up in a row, each supported by two wooden benches. The air was thick with the mixed smell of wood and lacquer.
Xu Shu walked through the wood shavings scattered on the ground and knocked on the door ahead. “Anyone here? We’re here to buy a coffin.”
After a while, the old wooden door creaked open from the inside. An old man with large bags under his eyes and a pale face stood at the entrance, staring at them expressionlessly.
Xu Shu said, “Sir, we’ve come from the village chief’s house to pick a coffin for him.”
The elderly man’s voice was hoarse and cold. “They’re all in the yard. Pick one yourselves.”
Xu Shu forced a polite smile. “Sir, there are so many coffins here. Which one would be the most suitable? You’re the expert. Can you guide us juniors?”
Apparently, Xu Shu’s respectful attitude pleased the old man. His expression softened slightly as he slowly looked over the group before raising his hand and pointing to the one on the far left. “That one.”
Xu Shu was a bit relieved. “Thank you, sir!”
The coffins were all the same in size and style, painted black. There was no visible difference to the naked eye. As the group walked over to the one on the left, Lian Qinglin quietly asked, “Can we really trust what he says?”
Chi Yi muttered, “What would he gain from deceiving us? What do you think, Li Zhi?”
Li Zhi didn’t respond right away but leaned closer to the coffin, sniffing it. Apart from the smell of cheap lacquer, there was nothing unusual.
Xu Shu said softly, “We don’t have time to waste. Let’s take it back first. We chose the coffin together, so whatever happens, we’ll face it together.”
Li Zhi suddenly looked up at him.
Her eyes were beautiful, and whenever she looked at someone, she seemed deeply emotional. But at that moment, her eyes were like an unfathomable, still pool of water, quietly observing him.
Xu Shu felt an inexplicable guilt as if he’d been seen through, and quickly averted his gaze. “There’s a cart over there. I’ll go ask if we can borrow it to transport the coffin.”
Without waiting for a reply, Xu Shu hurried over to ask the elderly man about borrowing the cart. To his surprise, the old man readily agreed with a nod. Xu Shu brought over the wooden cart and signaled Lian Qinglin to help lift the coffin.
But the coffin was incredibly heavy, and the group struggled to lift it. Li Zhi glanced at the elderly man by the door and suddenly smiled brightly. “Sir, could you give us a hand? I’ll make sure to give you extra cigarettes at the feast later.”
They had expected the NPC to refuse, but to their surprise, the old man actually walked over and even offered guidance. “You need to lift from here to use your strength better.”
Standing next to the cart, Li Zhi casually asked, “Sir, what kind of wood is this coffin made of? It’s so heavy.”
The old man, busy helping with the coffin, replied without looking up, “Willow wood.”
“Oh—” Li Zhi pointed to the coffin next to it. “What about this one?”
“Pine wood.”
“And the one in the middle?”
“Cypress wood.”
“And the one on the farthest end?”
The old man with the eye bags finally showed a hint of impatience. He raised his head and gave her a cold glance. “Poplar wood. Why are you asking all these questions?”
Li Zhi smiled sweetly. “Of course, it’s because…” She stepped forward and, with a swift movement, pushed down on the corner of the coffin that Xu Shu and Lian Qinglin had been struggling to lift. “We’re switching coffins.”
Lian Qinglin exclaimed, “What the heck! How are you so strong? You almost crushed my hand!”
The old man’s expression turned icy as he glared at her with a sinister look.
Li Zhi ignored him and walked over to the coffin in the middle. “We’re choosing this one.”
The other three had no idea why she was suddenly doing this, but both Chi Yi and Lian Qinglin, who clearly trusted her judgment, rushed over with the cart to prepare to lift the new coffin.
Xu Shu also approached and asked, “Are you sure?”
“I wasn’t completely sure earlier,” Li Zhi replied, casting a glance at the old man and giving him an innocent smile. “But now I’m very sure. This is the one.”
The old man with the eye bags stood there, coldly watching them. His large, swollen eye bags seemed to tremble, likely from anger. Li Zhi sighed and asked slowly, “Sir, does it make you mad that we picked the right one?”
His eye bags shook even more violently.
Even Chi Yi noticed and nodded seriously. “He’s absolutely furious. This must be the right one!”
The NPC’s expression twisted in rage, and he stormed back into the house, slamming the door behind him.
The four of them quickly lifted the coffin onto the cart. Knowing they had made the right choice, they felt a renewed sense of strength and soon began pushing the cart back towards the village.
The viewers, much like Lian Qinglin and Chi Yi, were equally excited:
[Whoa! How did Li Zhi figure it out? She’s so smart!]
[That guide was totally unreliable! If we’d listened to him, someone would be dead by tonight!]
[Finally, Li Zhi isn’t in last place for votes anymore! Let’s celebrate!]
[Investing in this rising star is worth it! If you join us now, you’ll be a fan from the start! Go vote for Li Zhi!]
—
After walking for a while, Chi Yi finally voiced the question that all the viewers had been dying to ask, “Li Zhi, how did you figure it out?”
Li Zhi replied, “Given how hostile this village has been towards us, do you really think the coffin maker would tell the truth?”
Xu Shu, reflecting on his earlier behavior, lowered his gaze and responded softly, “Not necessarily. The Yin-Yang master didn’t lie to us.”
Li Zhi glanced at him across the coffin with those same deep, tranquil eyes, sending a shiver down his spine. “That’s just one reason. The most important clue…”
She paused, allowing the suspense to build as the three held their breath, and then looked around at the village. “It’s these trees.”
Chi Yi and Lian Qinglin looked around in confusion.
The trees? What about the trees?