Chapter 9

Xiao Tangqiu, “………..”

Tang Mianmian scolded, “……… See! I told you so!”

They both sat up at once. The couple was also shocked and asked in horror, “What happened?”

The screams didn’t stop, sounding more and more agonizing instead. It brought a chill down their spines. What excruciating torment did this person have to endure to scream out so terrifyingly?

Xiao Tangqiu hesitated before saying, “Let’s go take a look.”

Lu Xiaotao was afraid and tried to stop him, “What if it’s dangerous?”

“We have to at least find out what is it we’re dealing with.” Xiao Tangqiu was also really frightened, but he tried to stay as calm as possible. “What if it’s our turn next?”

The couple was still considering whether to go or not. Tang Mianmian grabbed Xiao Tangqiu’s arm, his teeth chattering from fear, “Let’s go. I’ll go with you…….. I don’t want to die without knowing why or what’s going on.”

The two of them groped about in the dark, slowly finding their way out of the room. They realized that the house was already crowded with people. The twins had followed Luo Mansu out of their room. Lu Dadong and Zeng Jinping was there as well. Only the guy in the suit was nowhere to be found.

Xiao Tangqiu immediately guessed who the screams belonged to; the suspicions in his heart grew stronger.

Without saying a word, Luo Mansu headed out the door with the diesel lantern in his hand. The rest of them followed behind him, hearts filled with dread.

They followed the screams to the back of the house. It was at this point that the screams suddenly stopped.

Luo Mansu raised the diesel lantern. The light from the lantern illuminated the surrounding area. Ding Tiantian and Ding Mimi suddenly screamed, “Ahhhh!”

Xiao Tangqiu’s face turned ghastly pale. Tang Mianmian turned his head away and hugged Xiao Tangqiu tightly, “Fuck! That scared the hell out of me!”

Not far in front of them laid a body that had been scorched black. The clothes on the body were completely burned off. None of the skin remained intact; there were many parts where the skin seemed to have melted off, revealing bits of charred flesh hanging off the white bones inside. It was a terribly cruel way to die.

Xiao Tangqiu could feel his stomach churning. Although he had played many horror video games, he had never seen a dead body in person. If it wasn’t because he hadn’t eaten much all day, he probably would have vomited his guts out. The twin sisters’ ability to withstand such a gruesome sight was much lower than Xiao Tangqiu. When they had finally stopped screaming, both girls ran off to the side and started vomiting.

Luo Mansu examined the body and calmly analyzed, “He was burned alive. It doesn’t look like this is where it happened. He must’ve struggled to crawl all the way here…….”

Hearing that, they all turned pale. No one doubted Luo Mansu’s words. Xiao Tangqiu had also discovered the long trail of ash behind the corpse that must have been left when that person struggled to crawl back here before he died.

Zeng Jinping’s voice trembled as he spoke, “That…..that’s Jiang Zihan…….”

“Jiang Zihan? The dude in the suit?” Luo Mansu didn’t look surprised. “What the hell happened earlier?”

Zeng Jinping looked distracted; he couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that Jiang Zihan, who had still been alive a while ago, was now dead. “Just now&#k2026;. Jiang Zihan said he wanted to use the restroom. He asked if someone would accompany him&#k2026;&#k2026;.. But the restroom is haunted. Of course, Lu Dadong and I wouldn’t dare to go. We asked him to do it in the house, but he said that it wasn’t clean&#k2026;&#k2026;..”

Xiao Tangqiu thought about it; the man in the suit seemed to be a bit obsessed about cleanliness. It did sound like something he would do…….

“We told him not to go too far…… to just do it somewhere nearby………” Zeng Jinping seemed preoccupied as he continued, “He also looked like he was scared to go to the restroom. He said that he would just do it in the back of the house……. Then, a short while after he left, we heard the screams.”

“So you don’t know what happened?” Xiao Tangqiu couldn’t help but ask.

Lu Dadong had been shivering from the moment he saw the corpse. He appeared to be wound up tight. “How are we supposed to know what happened to him? Or are you accusing us of murder?”

“I don’t mean that,” Xiao Tangqiu frowned. “Calm down.”

“Calm down?! How do you expect me to calm down?! How am I supposed to be calm when I’m stuck in this dreadful place?” Lu Dadong trembled all over as he burst out, “I wanted to go with him earlier, but I was too scared…… If I did, the corpse lying here would’ve been me!”

“That’s enough!” Luo Mansu coldly interrupted Lu Dadong. “I want to have a look at the place where it happened. Does anyone want to follow me?

“Have you gone mad?! You’ll die!” Lu Dadong stared at Luo Mansu in disbelief. “Jiang Zihan was burned to death. You’re not afraid?”

Luo Mansu ignored him. His eyes swept over them, wanting to know what they thought.

The twins had finally stopped vomiting. They shivered and said, “We’re scared to go.”

Lu Dadong and Zeng Jinping shook their heads. Xiao Tangqiu paused for a moment before saying, “I’ll go with you.”

“Little…… Xiao Tangqiu!” Tang Mianmian looked horrified as he pulled on the corner of Xiao Tangqiu’s shirt. “It’s too dangerous……”

“How will you catch the tiger without entering the tiger’s lair? You head back first, I’ll go with him.”

“Can’t you go tomorrow?” Tang Mianmian pleaded.

Luo Mansu impassively explained, “By the time we get up, the body might’ve disappeared.”

Although they weren’t exactly sure what he meant, Luo Mansu’s words sent a shiver up their spine

Tang Mianmian gritted his teeth, “Fine! I’ll go with you!”

Luo Mansu glanced at them and didn’t speak anymore. He merely raised the diesel lantern and followed the ash trail that led to the back of the house. Xiao Tangqiu steeled his nerves and pulled Tang Mianmian along.

Not long after, they reached the back.

This row of houses all faced the same direction so that the back of the house faced a small hill. The house that they were staying in was no exception.

Luo Mansu raised the diesel lantern. They were shocked by what they found – the back of the house was close to the foot of the hill, and in the space between the house and the foot of the hill were many tiny man-made hills that were as tall as a person. And in front of these man-made hills were tombstones……….

These man-made hills were really burial mounds!

There were actually graves behind all the houses in the fishing village!

When Luo Mansu lifted the lantern up to look beyond the burial mounds, they realized that the small hill in the back was covered with tombstones, from the foot of the hill all the way to the top.

“Fuck! They actually built graves behind their houses. Don’t they find it creepy?!” Tang Mianmian shivered uncontrollably.

“It may be their custom to do that,” Xiao Tangqiu said softly. “I’ve seen places where they build graves next to their vegetable fields. On one side, they grow vegetables and on the other, they bury the dead.”

“How do you think those vegetables taste ah?”

Xiao Tangqiu pondered for a bit, “……….It tastes full of an elder’s love?”

Luo Mansu scolded, “Hey! That’s enough!”

The both of them regained their senses, becoming serious again as they looked at the graves in front of them.

Luo Mansu pointed at one of the graves, “It’s so dark here. That guy probably couldn’t see anything. He must’ve unzipped his pants and just peed, so……”

They stared at the partially wet tombstone, not sure who to sympathize with.

After a while, Xiao Tangqiu broke the strange silence, “Why was Jiang Zihan burned to death?’

Tang Mianmian boldly conjectured, “The ghost can breathe out fire? Or could it be….. a will-o-wisp?”

Xiao Tangqiu explained in a matter-of-fact manner, “A will-o-wisp is actually a type of phosphorescence. Human bones contain phosphorus, and when phosphorus reacts with water, phosphine forms. Phosphine can spontaneously combust and is very light. So when the wind blows, it floats into the air, causing the mystical phenomenon known as will-o-wisp.”

“That’s enough, you’re not here to break feudal superstitions!” Luo Mansu lost his patience.

Xiao Tangqiu apologized at once, “I’m sorry, I’m just used doing that.”

Actually, every time they live streamed a horror game, they felt scared inside. So, to ease the tense atmosphere, they would come up with ridiculous antics and fool around.

Tang Mianmian agreed, “We were wrong.”

But we’ll definitely do it again!

“Wait…….”

Xiao Tangqiu seemed to have noticed something, “I think there’s writing on the tombstone.”

“Isn’t that normal?” blurted Tang Mianmian.

“That doesn’t look right. The words on top……….” Luo Mansu also realized that there was something off. He tried to read what was written, but because of wear and tear, he could only make out a few words. “Yun Manor……Tomb of………Wife Fang Lan. Wait a minute, Yun Manor?”

“That big house ah!”

Xiao Tangqiu reacted at once.

Tang Mianmian was excited as well, “This must be the clue we’ve been looking for! What are we supposed to do next?”

Luo Mansu made a decision at once, “Dig up the grave!”

~~~

Other translators: I really enjoy translating the fluffy parts!

Me: Another gruesome scene? Yes! Please give me all you got and make it as nasty as possible!