It's said that cases of corpses rising from the dead have occurred in real life, scientifically explained as being related to bioelectricity.
Ke Xun pondered, even the most powerful bioelectricity can't compare to natural electricity. A single bolt of lightning would surely deliver hundreds of millions of volts, right? In reality, a person would probably be burned to a crisp, but this isn't reality. What if a ghostly figure were to appear? Who could withstand that?
"How about we hide the coffin?" Ke Xun suggested to Mu Yiran.
"Nowhere to hide it." Mu Yiran's gaze was somber. "Wherever we hide it, it's either inside a house or in the ground. It's no different from placing it in a mourning hall. If lightning can strike a coffin through a house, hiding it anywhere will have the same consequence." "
...This is forcing us to wait to die." Ke Xun punched the tree trunk hard.
"If we can find the seal before tonight, we won't need to worry about whether there's lightning or not." Mu Yiran finished speaking and climbed down the tree.
As soon as Ke Xun climbed down, he saw the people who had gone to check the cemetery return, their faces still showing signs of shock.
After obtaining Mu Yiran's consent, Ke Xun explained his suspicions about the ghost faces on the locust trees to the group and asked if they wanted to search together.
"Let's eat first," the doctor said with the calm and composure characteristic of a physician. "We need to conserve our energy before we start searching."
Lunch was again at the old man's house, consisting only of cornbread, pickled vegetables, and stir-fried bean sprouts. Although it was still unpalatable, everyone tried their best to fill their stomachs .
"I really miss jianbing guozi right now," Wei Dong whispered to Ke Xun, glancing at the jianbing stall owner sitting opposite them. The
jianbing stall owner, whether resigned to his fate or terrified, sat there listlessly and without a word.
After lunch, everyone gathered under the three locust trees and began examining the ghost faces on the trees.
Wei Dong went around to the back of a tree and was carefully poking a dry twig into the mouth of a lewd-looking ghost face when he felt someone approach him and whispered, "What clues have you found?"
Turning his head, he saw Liu Yufei.
"Isn't this a clue?" Wei Dong pointed to the ghost face.
"That's all?" Liu Yufei's face flashed with disbelief
. "It's impossible that the guy surnamed Mu has only found this many clues so far. He probably didn't tell you two." "From what you're saying, he's really awesome?" Wei Dong asked as he continued to poke at the ghost face .
Liu Yufei chuckled: "Very awesome. He was the first to find the seal on the first two paintings, and…"
"Don't leave me hanging. Be careful you don't get constipated tonight," Wei Dong said.
Liu Yufei glared at him: "Don't blame me for not warning you. The guy surnamed Mu isn't as kind as he seems. His face is too deceptive."
"I really don't think he's kind," Wei Dong went to poke at the next ghost face, "but I do agree that his face is deceptive." He looks quite calm and composed, but when he unleashes his aura, he's incredibly assertive.
Liu Yufei's face was cold as he lowered his voice: "Do you know that in the first two paintings, everyone who was in cahoots with that guy surnamed Mu failed to escape?"
Wei Dong paused, looking up at him in surprise: "Climbed out?"
"..." Liu Yufei's face turned pale with anger, but he seemed to be managing to control his emotions, gritting his teeth as he asked Wei Dong, "He really didn't find any other clues?"
"How would I know? Even if he did, he wouldn't tell me." Wei Dong continued poking faces with his head down.
"In the painting, you'd better be more careful," Liu Yufei looked at him, "The more clues you gather, the closer you are to opening the painting."
"Okay, I understand," Wei Dong said.
"Don't forget, we both got the same words, so we might be together in life and death." Liu Yufei reminded him in a deep voice, "So I hope we can share clues and work together to find a way out of here."
"Okay, I understand," Wei Dong said.
Liu Yufei glared at him for a long time, then finally picked up a dry branch from the ground and joined him in poking faces.
The group searched all afternoon but found nothing of value.
The sky was now as dark as night, thick clouds gathering overhead, constantly shifting, churning, and pressing down.
"Let's go back, it's getting dark," the doctor's deep voice added to the somber mood.
The old man had said he would return to his house after dark to assign tasks for the night.
This meant the second round of their terrifying ordeal was about to begin.
"The one who gets the 'Gu' character will be on guard tonight. The one who gets the 'Dai' character will be digging up graves in the northern suburbs of the village. The one who gets the 'Yang' character will chop firewood at the Li family's woodshed. The one who gets the 'Qu' character will guard the Li family's granary."
With that, the old man turned and went to the next room, leaving the eight men, each with a different expression, in an unspoken silence.
"...I...I don't want to die..." After a long silence, a trembling cry finally broke the silence. "Ke'er, I don't want to die...I don't want to go to the funeral hall, I don't want to die..."
Wei Dong panicked, his face pale, and grabbed Ke Xun's arms, trying to get protection or assurance from his good brother.
Ke Xun held onto his almost unsteady body, feeling a surge of utter despair.
"You surnamed Mu! Where is the seal?!" Liu Yufei, who had also received the "Gu" strip of cloth, was furious. He rushed forward and reached out to grab Mu Yiran's shirt, but Mu Yiran slid away to avoid it.
"Are you really so heartless as to just watch others die?!" Liu Yufei roared hoarsely, his eyes filled with despair and near-madness. "Tell me any clues you know! I don't want to die! Nobody wants to die! What makes you think you can get out of here alive?!"
He waved his hand at the crowd around him. "That guy surnamed Mu definitely knows where the seal is! Everyone, let's get him! He knows! He definitely knows!"
The crowd remained silent, looking at the emotionally distraught Liu Yufei with the eyes of someone looking at a dead man.
Although the others might not survive the night, those who went to guard the mourning hall… it was almost certain they wouldn't return.
"I think," the doctor calmly began, "while we still have some time, everyone should share any clues you can think of, compile them, and maybe we can find the seal."
Seeing the crowd still silent, the doctor added, "Based on yesterday's and today's arrangements, the tasks of guarding the mourning hall and digging up the grave will eventually fall to others."
He meant that no one could escape it; if everyone didn't provide clues and work together, they would all die here sooner or later.
Seeing the crowd's interest, the doctor continued, "Let me start by offering a preliminary suggestion. This morning, I walked around the village and found a stone tablet at the village entrance. The inscription on it is a brief history of the village.
"The people in this village are all surnamed Li, so I think they probably all belong to the same clan. Their ancestors can be traced back to the Warring States period, when they served as officials in the Qin state, with the title 'Zongzhu.'
"As far as I know, the 'Zongzhu' was in charge of praying to ancestors and spirits, so this position had a shamanistic aspect.
"I think this clue might be related to the content of this painting. These are the relatively useful clues I have so far. If you have any ideas, please share them so we can analyze them together."
After the doctor finished speaking, his gaze first fell on Mu Yiran.
"Ghosts and spirits? Isn't that obvious!" Liu Yufei roared irritably. "Even if their ancestors weren't some kind of ancestral priest, this painting is still full of ghosts and spirits! Your clues are completely useless!"
No one paid him any attention; all eyes were fixed on Mu Yiran, as if he were a savior.
"I believe there's a pattern to the deaths of those five people last night," Mu Yiran said calmly. "And the village chronicle on the stone tablet you mentioned isn't entirely useless either."
"That's like saying nothing at all!" Liu Yufei rushed forward again, trying to grab Mu Yiran, but Ke Xun grabbed his wrist.
"Either shut up and think of a solution, or I'll turn your clothes into a severed-arm shirt," Ke Xun said expressionlessly, applying slight pressure, causing Liu Yufei to scream in pain, cold sweat immediately beading on his forehead.
"Speaking of the deaths of those five people," the doctor continued, picking up where Mu Yiran left off, "the two who died in the graveyard were indeed a bit suspicious. When we arrived, the crows were already devouring the corpses, but it was still clear that the two bodies had been divided into several equal pieces of flesh—note, 'equally divided,' very evenly and equally dismembered. This made me feel a bit uneasy; unless that power had obsessive-compulsive tendencies, I don't think it was necessary to be so meticulous."
Mu Yiran lowered his eyes in thought. Seeing this, the doctor stopped interrupting him and turned his gaze to the others: "Does anyone have any clues to offer? Even seemingly insignificant, very normal little things are welcome."
"I'll say one," Ke Xun spoke up. Seeing that Mu Yiran seemed to know what he was going to say and didn't stop him, he continued, "It's not about the seal, but about how to avoid being killed by those two paper figures."
Everyone's eyes immediately focused on his face.
"No matter what tasks you're assigned, try to hide yourself completely. Cover yourself with sacks or firewood, just make sure those two paper figures don't see you. If they come up to you, hold your breath." "
What about those who go to dig up the graves?" the person who received the "evil" strip of cloth asked hurriedly.
Ke Xun shook his head: "I don't know."
"If all else fails, try covering yourself with soil," the doctor said.
"What about those who guard the mourning hall?" Wei Dong asked, his face pale and his voice trembling. "Will the one in the coffin come out? Was the one that gouged out the eyes of those three people something from the coffin?"
No one answered him; the room was almost deathly silent.
"Has Xiao Mu figured something out?" the doctor broke the oppressive silence.
"I'm very concerned about the fact that the villagers' ancestors were ancestral priests." Mu Yiran raised his eyes, and everyone immediately looked at him.
"Practicing supernatural and ghostly matters, which has the nature of shamanism, was very common during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods," Mu Yiran said. "Curses were very prevalent at that time. For example, before a war between two countries, a ritual would be held to curse the ruler of the enemy state. The most famous example is the 'Curse of Chu,' which was written in the late Warring States period when the struggle for hegemony between Qin and Chu was at its most intense. The King of Qin prayed to the gods to bless Qin to win and curse Chu to perish.
"Considering the current situation, the three locust trees behind the Li family's house, which are called 'yin wood,' may well be a kind of curse. In some places, locust trees are called 'ghost beckoning,' and given their legendary ability to gather yin and attract ghosts, I have reason to suspect that the person who planted these three trees behind the Li family's house had ill intentions towards this family."
"Furthermore, even if it's a world depicted in a painting, the scenes must be logical, the story meticulous, and free of plot holes. However, last night at the Li residence, we didn't see a single descendant or close relative of the Li family. Logically, this is a plot hole.
"Our roles should be villagers helping the Li family. If we were members of the Li family, our mourning clothes wouldn't be in this style. Therefore, it's clear the Li family has no descendants or relatives; to put it bluntly, they've become extinct.
"For people in ancient times or the old era, being extinct was considered a terrible fate, a kind of retribution or curse.
"In addition, the coffin in the mourning hall was made of pure cypress wood. A coffin made of pure cypress wood is said to attract divine retribution. Being struck by lightning isn't a good thing; it's usually used as a verbal curse. But if a pure cypress wood coffin is used in practice, then this curse isn't just a saying; it's a real, deliberate, and tangible curse."
"Combining the above points, we can derive a clue that may or may not be important: the family holding this funeral has been cursed. From the time they planted those three locust trees until now, the entire family has died out without any descendants. The person in the mourning hall is the last member of their family. This family is now extinct."