Chapter 10

“Dig up the grave?!” Xiao Tangqiu was dumbstruck; he couldn’t quite believe his ears. Was this some kind of joke? The man in the suit merely pissed a little on that tombstone, and he was given such a painful death. If they actually dug up this person’s grave, wouldn’t they end up dying without a bone left?

Tang Mianmian jumped up in shock, “Fuck! Jiang Zihan just died ah!”

Luo Mansu had a serious expression on his face, “If this is part of the plot, then nothing will happen to us if we dug up the grave.”

“Then what if it’s not?” Xiao Tangqiu asked.

Luo Mansu shrugged, “Then we’ll wait for the ghost to come claim our lives.”

Xiao Tangqiu frowned, “So, you’re also not sure if it’s part of the plot or not?”

“If I knew everything, I would’ve lifted the curse and left this God-forsaken place a long time ago,” Luo Mansu replied honestly. “Do you guys dare to?”

After a moment’s silence, Xiao Tangqiu nodded his head. “We’ll take a gamble!” Right now, they were trapped with no way out, it was better to take that risk.

“We’ll dig up the grave tomorrow morning. It’s really late now. Let’s go back and rest first, recharge our batteries. Who knows, we might be faced with a fierce battle tomorrow.”

Tang Mianmian sighed in relief. Doing something like digging up a grave was too trying on the nerves. Thank goodness they weren’t planning to dig at night……. Although, digging in the day was hardly any better…….

After they agreed on that, the three of them turned to head back into the house. On the way back, they came across that corpse again. Xiao Tangqiu’s mood was a little complex at the moment, but he knew – that dead body was probably just the start.

That night, Xiao Tangqiu found it hard to fall asleep. It wasn’t until daybreak that he finally dozed off. He had only slept for a bit before he was woken up by Luo Mansu.

Tang Mianmian and the rest of them had also been woken up. When they got to the living room, they realized that that the fish on the table had been replenished, but they still looked just as unappetizing. Seeing the fish, their expressions turned ugly. But after going hungry for the whole night, everyone chose to eat some. After all, they weren’t sure how long they’d be stuck in this place. It was impossible to go without food for so many days.

In the midst of grabbing their plates, someone suddenly exclaimed, “There….. There’s one less plate!”

Xiao Tangqiu swept his eyes across the room and noticed that everyone had a plate in their hands but there were only three plates left on the table. There were altogether twelve plates, whereas yesterday, there were clearly thirteen plates.

Luo Mansu snickered, “What are you making such a fuss about? He’s already dead. Should another plate be prepared to grieve for the dead?”

Except for Luo Mansu, everyone’s faces drained of color. They finally realized that the man in the suit was really gone. This wasn’t a prank; death could come for any one of them at any moment.

“Last night, Xiao Tangqiu, Tang Mianmian and I discovered a grave at the back of the house. It may have something to do with the mission. Does anyone of you want to come dig it up with us?” Luo Mansu asked.

They looked at each other in alarm. Someone burst out, “You’re going to dig up someone’s grave when you know that there are ghosts here?”

Luo Mansu scoffed, “It’s fine if you don’t want to.”

Lu Dadong scorned, “You’re clearly seeking death!”

The others were reluctant as well. In the end, the only ones willing to lift a hand were Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian.

After eating, the three of them went looking for tools and eventually found a few shovels. They started to dig immediately.

At first, Xiao Tangqiu was a little worried. But nothing happened even when he sunk his shovel into the soil. He let out a sigh of relief, rolled up his sleeves and continued to dig.

Finally, a coffin came into view after they had been digging for some time. The coffin looked really fancy; it was of good quality and didn’t look like the type of coffin that a regular fisherman could afford. But if it was someone from Yun Manor, then it would be fitting……. From just one look, they could could tell that the people from Yun Manor were wealthy. Then why was a woman from Yun Manor buried in such a shabby place?

“Should…should we open the coffin?” Tang Mianmian gulped, his voice overflowing with nervousness.

Xiao Tangqiu was also a little uneasy. According to how horror movies and horror games went, the corpse would definitely spring back to life when they opened the coffin. They obviously didn’t have a black donkey hoof, should he get ready to run?

Luo Mansu didn’t give them any time to prepare, opening the coffin at once. Tang Mianmian screamed his lungs out.

Luo Mansu glared at Tang Mianmian, “Why the fuck are you shouting?!”

Tang Mianmian sheepishly replied, “Um…. I’m just trying to create the right atmosphere for when the corpse moves…….”

Luo Mansu snapped, “ Moving corpse my ass! Do you see a corpse inside?”

Tang Mianmian and Xiao Tangqiu looked down – indeed, there wasn’t a corpse. Inside the coffin, there was only a paper doll in a crimson wedding dress.

The paper doll in the wedding dress was decked in gold and silver and adorned with jewellery. What was most strange was that a woman’s features had been painted onto the paper doll. The paper doll’s painted features were lifelike and vivid. A pair of eyes that seemed to contain a bitter resentment looked straight at the three men.

Although the paper doll wasn’t as frightening as a corpse, it was definitely more creepy.

Xiao Tangqiu resisted the chill he felt, “This is an empty tomb?”

“An empty tomb should only contain a some clothing and personal items. Why is there a paper doll?” Luo Mansu speculated, “Don’t tell me it’s another one of the village custom?”

Tang Mianmian shuddered, “It’s possible; this fishing village is so strange and creepy.”

“This paper doll looks like a girl who is about to be married off.” Xiao Tangqiu noticed that the paper doll was holding a handkerchief in one hand. Without thinking, he removed it to have a look. “There are orchids and fish embroidered on the handkerchief. What does that mean?

“Fish swimming around the orchid? Could there be a deeper meaning? These two things don’t seem to have anything in common ah…..” Xiao Tangqiu started to think out loud, forgetting that he wasn’t live streaming at the moment……..

Suddenly, Tang Mianmian let out an ear-splitting scream. “Ahhhhhhhh! Fuck!”

“Why are you screaming…….” Xiao Tangqiu looked up to see the paper doll suddenly move! It sat up straight and looked at Xiao Tangqiu with its lifelike eyes.

“Helpppppp!” Xiao Tangqiu turned to find that Luo Mansu had already run off by himself. He pulled Tang Mianmian and started to run as fast as his legs could carry him.

They weren’t aware of how long they had been running, and stopped only when they sensed that there wasn’t any more movement behind them.

Xiao Tangqiu was gasping for air. “Why……..why………why do you have such good stamina?!”

Luo Mansu looked at him meaningfully, “This is a game where you’re constantly trying to outrun death. When you’ve gone through a few more missions, you’ll naturally build up your stamina.”

Tang Mianmian scratched his head, “I’m a small time actor who specializes in playing small roles in horror films. I’ve acted in many running scenes. Once I receive my lunch box, I substitute for the lead actors. Specializing in running scenes lets me earn a little extra money.”

Xiao Tangqiu, “……….…”

He was panting so hard that he didn’t want to speak!

They looked at each other. It was right then that a deafening scream rang out.

Tang Mianmian recognized where it came from. “It sounds like it’s the restroom……..”

Luo Mansu nodded, “Let’s go take a look.”

Xiao Tangqiu stuffed the handkerchief into his pocket, deciding that he would properly examine it later.

The village wasn’t very large, so they reached the restroom rather quickly, only to find Lu Dadong and the couple standing outside, looking extremely pale.

“What happened?” Luo Mansu asked.

Lu Dadong was scared out of his wits. “Just now, Zeng Jinping and I came here to look for clues. Zeng Jinping needed to use the restroom so I told him to do it outside. But he insisted on going inside. He said that you guys had gone inside and were still fine. Then, he went inside…….”

Xiao Tangqiu frowned, “Something happened to him in the restroom?”

“No, nothing happened. He went to get water from the well to wash his hands. Then……. something came out of the well and dragged him inside!”

There’s something in the well?

They were stunned after hearing that, but then something even more shocking happened!

Out of the well climbed a person that was completely covered in flames! He stumbled to the ground and started rolling around in agony.

“AH! AH! AH! Hot! It’s so hot! Help me!”

His entire body had been set ablaze by the searing, red-hot fire. He wriggled like a dying caterpillar, struggling to crawl forwards as he reached out a burning arm towards them. The look on his face was one of utter torment as he screamed in anguish, all the while squirming on the ground, straining to inch closer to them. They stood in place with their feet plastered to the ground, unable to react due to shock but also powerless to tear their eyes away from this horrifying picture.

Before they could finally react, Zeng Jinping had been swallowed up by the flames……. A few minutes later, the flames went out.

What remained was a bloody, charred corpse.

The sickening smell of burning flesh permeated the air.