âChen Ge, should we wait for Captain Yanâs support team to come before we head into the mountain together?â Olâ Wei looked at his phone that had no signalâthe time shown was 00:50 am.
âIt takes at least one hour to come from Jiujiang to Lin Guan Village. If we need to wait for them to enter the mountain, the sun will have already risen.â Chen Geâs group had been walking through the forest for almost two hours, but there was still no sign of any village. All they could see were mountains and mountains.
âBut can we do this with just the three of us?â Olâ Wei was worried that if there was a real altercation, they probably still needed to worry about Master Bai.
âThat shouldnât be a problem.â Chen Ge had initially been worried about Master Baiâs physical condition, but after one hour of trekking, he realized that his worry was unfounded. Master Bai was healthy since he had grown up in the mountain and knew the local geography very well.
âWhat are you two mumbling about?â Master Bai walked in front with a branch. âA few more steps, and weâll reach a fork in the fork. If we take the road going over the mountain top, weâll need to walk for another two hours, but if we take the shortcut that crosses through the mountain valley, weâll only need thirty minutes before we reach Coffin Village. Which one should we take?â
âIs the shortcut not an easy path to trek?â Chen Ge clearly understood that since Master Bai had brought it up, something had to be wrong with that path.
âYes.â Master Baiâs face was serious. âThe mountain valley is haunted.â
âHauntings are fine. I thought youâre going to say that it is home to wolf dens.â Chen Ge patted his backpack, and the white cat poked its head out with dissatisfaction.
âNow, Iâm curious. In your world, why are wolves more terrifying than ghosts?â Master Bai leaned against the branch. He could not understand Chen Geâs way of thinking.
âGhost are immaterial, but wolves are real.â Olâ Wei did not believe in the talk of ghosts.
Chen Ge rolled his eyes but did not argue. âWeâll trek through the valley.â
âAre you sure? There are things in this world that canât be explained.â Master Bai once again asked for their opinion.
âMaster Bai, did something happen to you before?â Chen Ge saw the unnatural expression on the old manâs face. He was really reluctant to go through the valley. âYou are very familiar with this path, so you must have taken it more than once already. Weâre doing this to save the children, so I hope you wonât purposely hide something from us.â
âIâm not trying to, but Iâm afraid you wonât believe me even if I tell you.â Master Bai shared the events from his youth. âMy father knew a thing or two about medicine. In the forties, when there was an epidemic of the measles, he trekked through the mountains to help all the nearby villages, and it was then that he discovered Coffin Village.
âThis village is isolated from the world, and there werenât many who even knew how to read. They depended on folk remedy for their sickness, and when my father arrived, the condition of the village was very serious. To save the villagers of Coffin Village, my father paid the place several visits.
âAt the time, I was still young, and my father wanted me to take over his practice. After all, a doctor is more respected than a farmer, so he would bring me on these visits. Everything was fine the first few times, but there was that one time my father got into an argument with one of the villagers. Iâm not sure what the cause was.
âNormally, we left at 2 pm, but that day, when we left Coffin Village, it was already late afternoon. However, since the sun hadnât fallen, we decided to trek through the valley. Half way through, my father suddenly urged me to move faster. All I was thinking about then was the hot meal at home, so I did run faster.
âHowever, after some time, my father urged me again from behind, telling me to run even faster. It was then that I realized something was wrong. I was about to turn around and ask him what was wrong when he used his hand to cover my eyes.
âAll he said was for me to move faster. I peeked through the slit in his fingers, and I saw someone leaning on my fatherâs back!
âMy fatherâs face was white, and he walked behind me, pushing me forward. Perhaps due to his regular acts of charity, the thing on his back didnât harm him. However, I remember that when we entered the valley, the sky was bright, but when we exited it, the sky was completely dark.
âAfter that, my father fell seriously ill, and we stopped visiting Coffin Village. Even now, I have no idea what the source of the argument was or what the thing that was leaning on his back was.â
Master Bai sounded sad when he told this tale. Chen Ge understood why Master Bai would feel so guilty for not helping Jiang Lingâs sister. He had seen a ghost when he was young, so he believed these things more than most.
âDo you still plan to go through the valley?â Master Bai asked.
âThe detour will take too much time; weâll take the valley.â Chen Ge gripped the Pen Spirit. âThe two of you can walk in, and Iâll close up the back.â
âAre you sure you can do that?â Originally, that was the role assigned to Olâ Wei. He had been making marks on trees as they moved through the forest. Master Bai wanted to advise Chen Ge, but he remembered what had happened that night. Chen Ge chased Jiang Lingâs sister out of the room and even seemed like he was trying to communicate with her. The old manâs lips twitched. Now he suspected that Chen Ge had purposely told them to use the shortcut through the valley because he heard it was haunted.
âWhy are you two looking at me? Donât worry, letâs go.â Chen Ge did not feel panic. His backpack had a white cat, so if the ghost wanted to have someone to lean on, it would attack the white cat first. He nuzzled the catâs head gently before following Master Bai and Olâ Wei into the valley.
The trees became more common and twisted like everything around them was changing.
âMove faster, we must leave within twenty minutes.â Master Baiâs emotions were shaking. He looked nervous, probably because the memory from his youth was returning.
âChen Ge, you be careful at the back.â Olâ Wei walked in the middle. Although he gave Chen Ge a reminder, he did have some faith in the lad. They walked for five minutes before the narrow path became completely covered by brush and branches. They could see half-buried coffins by the side of the road. The coffins looked like they were placed there on purpose. Some of them were not even closed.
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âDonât be afraid.â Master Baiâs voice was shaking. He forced himself to calm down. âThis is Coffin Villageâs tradition. These are all empty coffins. They line the side of the road in increasing height, representing moving higher in life.â
âNot really afraid, but I agree that we should move faster.â
Chen Ge turned to look behind him, and a shadow seemed to be trailing them. He did not tell Olâ Wei or Master Bai about this. He rummaged in his bag for something.
Only one? Donât say Iâm bullying you with my advantage in numbers.