Chapter 004: The Falling Copper Coins

I waited until nightfall, but my third uncle still had not returned. I couldn't help but feel a bit worried, standing silently in front of the coffin, lost in thought. The young girl in the coffin lay there peacefully, her features delicate; she must have been quite a beautiful girl in her lifetime.

This is referred to in our industry as "grounded copper coins, life lamp bowl," surrounding the coffin completely, signifying being encircled by eight directions like a prison, drawing a boundary as a cell.

I went to my third uncle's house and took out a leather bag from the bookshelf. Inside were ancient bronze coins, which I took out one by one and arranged them on the ground, forming a circle around the coffin

Later, unwilling to give up, he went to Wang Bo's house again, and this time he managed to find some remarkable items. A large box filled with discs and magazines, all featuring underage girls dressed in extremely revealing clothing on the covers. At that moment, the village chief's eyes turned green with envy; he brought people back inside and rummaged through a cabinet, pulling out a large bag of clothing, which consisted of skirts and socks worn by little girls.

The first half of the night went quite smoothly, with the candlelight in the offering bowl burning steadily and without disturbance. However, in the latter half of the night, just as I finished folding a bag of paper money and stood up from my chair to stretch, I suddenly felt that something was amiss. It was unusually quiet tonight

Tonight, I plan to exert myself to the utmost, preparing to keep vigil by the coffin all night long

I hurried over to look at the coffin and found the female corpse lying inside, showing signs of having been moved.

I am very worried that something might have happened to him. After arriving, I found that the door to his house was ajar and not locked. I hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to quietly sneak inside.

If I had not seen it with my own eyes, I truly would not believe that such a nimble person could be the elderly Wang Bo. Just now, the way he climbed over the wall was quite strange; he did not look like a person, but rather like...

Someone thought of the foolish girl who drowned in the pond, perhaps it was also Wang Bo who caused it; otherwise, how could she have drowned in the water for no reason?

However, upon entering, I discovered that Wang Bozhen was not at home. The room was dark, so I turned on my flashlight and checked the inner room. The quilt on the bed was somewhat disheveled and emitted a slight musty odor, but there was nothing else unusual.

Yet at this moment, no sound could be heard; the entire village was as silent as death

I have seen many corpses, none of which are as hideous and terrifying as hers. How could such a beautiful young girl attract so many bizarre occurrences?

I waited until late at night, but my third uncle still had not returned. I was truly struggling to hold on, so I rubbed my sore eyes, checked the doors and windows once more, and then went back to the inner room to prepare for a short nap

I went to get a small stool, and also brought a bag of paper money for the deceased. I took some cooked glutinous rice from the kitchen and folded the paper money into gold ingots, burning them one by one in front of the coffin. It is to spend money to ward off disasters, hoping that the esteemed lady inside will, for the sake of the money, refrain from troubling us any further

The corpse of this old man has already become swollen from being soaked, with his feet entangled in water plants, remaining submerged at the bottom of the water without rising to the surface

Fortunately, the candle flame in the lamp bowl showed no signs of abnormality and continued to burn steadily, which eased my mind somewhat. Later, feeling a bit of discomfort in my chest, I leaned on the small stool for a while. I do not know if it was due to excessive fatigue, but in just that short time, I actually dozed off.

The moonlight shone on his wrinkled face, making it appear particularly eerie and terrifying

It is truly a sight to behold! One can tell that the village chief has been overwhelmed and distressed these past few days, to the point of being on the verge of cursing in frustration

Although I am accustomed to seeing corpses, I am still quite frightened at this moment. No wonder some say that sometimes the living can be more terrifying than the dead

In a state of confusion, it seemed that I had experienced several chaotic dreams. Suddenly, I heard someone shout loudly, and I was jolted awake. Upon clearly seeing the things in front of me, I was immediately drenched in cold sweat.

I am not inclined to believe such a statement. I cannot be certain whether the foolish girl was harmed by Wang Bo, but it is likely that Wang Bo's death was due to other reasons

I did not dare to turn on the light, and I tiptoed over, peeking my head into the hall, only to see a vague black shadow crouching over the coffin

I was startled by him and, gathering my courage, shouted: "Who is it, who is there!" At the same time, I turned on the light in the inner room, but the person hid even more securely.

Upon hearing this, the village chief first shouted outside Wang Bo's house. Seeing that no one responded, he went inside to take a look, and indeed, there was no one there. Recently, the village had been facing a series of incidents, and the village chief was under immense pressure, fearing that Wang Bo might encounter problems again. He hurriedly gathered people to search for him.

A chill ran through me, and cold sweat broke out. This feeling of utter silence is truly terrifying, with only the sound of my own breathing rising and falling.

After this incident, the villagers began to spread rumors that Uncle Wang was a person with psychological issues, a pervert with a penchant for young girls. The foolish girl from the neighboring village was most likely killed by him, and now he was facing retribution, being haunted by the vengeful spirit of the foolish girl. It is a pity for the daughter of the Lin family, who does not know where this old man has hidden her.

It is indeed somewhat uncanny

This is quite serious, this is simply an old pervert, a pedophile

Then, eight bowls were taken, half a bowl of water was poured into each bowl, and a white candle was lit in each bowl, arranged around the coffin in eight directions

Thinking of this, I suddenly recalled his hunched back in the darkness, his hands drawn in and tiptoeing, which sent a chill down my spine. The appearance of this old man was nothing like that of someone over sixty; he clearly resembled a rat that had become a spirit!

Although it is already the latter half of the night and the vast majority of people in the village have fallen asleep, one can still occasionally hear a few barks from dogs or the alluring calls of cats. This is a mountain village, where the weeds outside are teeming with various insects that chirp and clatter incessantly at night

This matter is absolutely not normal

I do not know how much time has passed, but I vaguely heard some noise coming from the main room. Normally, I might have brushed it off, but in the past few days, this coffin has made me extremely tense, and I suddenly sat up from my bed.

What is going on? When did corpses become so sought after? First it was Er Laizi, and now even Wang Bo has come, and his actions are utterly bizarre.

Wang Bo and Er Laizi both inexplicably came to my house to steal a corpse, and shortly thereafter, they met with bizarre and untimely deaths. Is there really such a coincidence in the world

I hesitated for a moment in the room, then gritted my teeth and took a flashlight from the drawer, put on my shoes, and went out. I quietly arrived at Uncle Wang's doorstep

I felt a sudden tingling on my scalp and an inexplicable discomfort in my heart, so I did not dare to speak up immediately. That night, the moonlight was bright, shining in through the window. I took a closer look and discovered that the person had graying hair and a slightly hunched back; it was actually Uncle Wang, who lives next door to us.

Feeling somewhat scared, I quickly retreated. Upon returning to my room and closing the door, my heart continued to race uncontrollably

The village chief immediately took people to the pond in the east to fish. As a result, Lin Wenjing did not catch anything, but instead, they retrieved Wang Bo.

The next morning, after I got up, I deliberately opened the door to take a look at Uncle Wang's house. I found that the door was still ajar, just like last night, as if no one had returned. I anxiously waited in the house, hoping that Uncle San would come back soon, as I had many questions waiting for him to resolve

Mr. Wang has been our neighbor for over ten years, watching me grow up. He has no children and lost his spouse a decade ago, so he usually lives alone. He is very kind to us children and often buys us candies to eat

But I could not allow others to touch the corpse. Seeing an empty jar on the ground, I picked it up and threw it at him. The jar hit the ground, making a loud bang in the dead of night. Wang Bo turned around abruptly, his eyes gleaming like those of an owl, shining with a dark, eerie light

That night, I was completely unable to sleep, lying in bed with my eyes wide open until dawn, my mind repeatedly conjuring the image of Wang Bo standing in the darkness like a mouse.

As soon as the news spread, Aunt Lin rushed to the door with a kitchen knife, intending to kill Uncle Wang, but was firmly stopped by Uncle Lin and Aunt Lin Wenjing. The village chief and others pondered over the situation and concluded that the disappearance of the Lin family's daughter was likely the result of the old lecher's misdeeds

During this period, Aunt Lin and the others came by again, seemingly bringing the police to understand the situation. I happened to see the village chief, so I pulled him aside and said that I saw Uncle Wang go out alone last night and he hasn't returned yet; I wonder if something might have happened.

After a long day of searching both inside and outside the village, I still did not catch a glimpse of Uncle Wang.

Wang Boge hunched his back, his two withered hands curled in front of his chest, his eyes rolling strangely as he glanced at me, then, on tiptoe, he suddenly flipped out of the window