Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
The chilling cry quickly drew my attention.
I looked over at Jianjian and found her staring at a wall. I asked her what was wrong, but she urged me to come closer.
I walked a few steps toward where Jianjian was standing, but all she was focused on was the wall.
Earlier, we had all been fixated on the corpse of the Temple Guardian, and no one had noticed Jianjian.
Jianjian said, "Saning Brother, there's something behind the wall." The terror in her voice seemed to linger.
This Temple Guardian claimed to be the thing behind my eyes. I couldn't tell if the old man's words were true or not.
I approached the wall and knocked on it. Soon, a hollow sound echoed back. Last night, Wang Wei and I had searched this cramped room, but we hadn't found anything; our search had been rather rushed.
Wang Wei leaned in and asked, "Saning, is it empty?"
I nodded in response.
I had suspected that the old man was hiding something in his home, and it seemed that my suspicions were confirmed. Otherwise, how could he always appear and disappear so mysteriously?
Thinking this, I said to Jianjian, "Did you see something behind it?"
Jianjian nodded, her eyes filled with a hint of panic.
"Open it," I instructed her.
Jianjian seemed a bit frightened. I reassured her that everything would be fine. After hearing my words, she stepped forward and pressed down on a small brick near the corner of the wall.
Suddenly, a door appeared in front of me. It stretched upward almost instantaneously. I had to admit that this mechanism was quite clever.
As the mechanism on the wall lifted, light flooded in, and I quickly discerned what lay inside.
A putrid smell hit me first, followed by a wave of bloodiness. I focused my gaze and couldn't help but gasp in horror.
On one wall, there hung a multitude of corpses, all Dried Corpse. The wall was smeared with fresh blood.
The blood was definitely recent, as it seemed to still be oozing down.
Then came a damp, cold chill that struck me directly. In an instant, my hair stood on end. Even someone like me, who had seen spirits before, felt my body tremble uncontrollably.
I knew that in this world, nothing was more terrifying than the human heart, more so than souls or ghosts.
Because you could never guess what they were thinking or what they would do next—just like the wall adorned with Dried Corpse and smeared with blood.
Was this the secret that the Temple Guardian had been hiding?
Could it be that the Temple Guardian was a pervert with a penchant for collecting corpses? The more I thought about it, the more uneasy I felt, as if something was terribly wrong.
I turned to Wang Wei and asked, "Do you still believe that old man died of fright?"
Wang Wei bit his lip and replied, "Not anymore. I could be scared to death by him." The old man's corpse still lay on the bed while Jianjian had already turned away.
Chen San glanced a few times without any change in expression, and Xiaoru was the same; she was an odd person, impossible to read.
Moreover, she leaned in closer.
I held my breath because just inhaling brought the stench of decay into my nostrils.
Jianjian said, "Brother Saning, I'm going out for a moment."
I nodded. Jianjian hurriedly left the room. At that moment, Wang Wei called out to me, "Saning, I'm going out to help you get some air."
"Yeah, go ahead. You're unnecessary here anyway."
“Saning, what you said is not right. I, Wang Wei, am…”
“Enough chatter, let’s get down to business.” Wang Wei shut his mouth, and I said to him, “You go in and take a look.”
Upon hearing this, Wang Wei's face turned pale.
In a place filled with the dead, not to mention anything else, the heavy aura of death inside would surely be overwhelming; ordinary people would find it ominous.
But before Wang Wei could respond, I stepped inside first.
I wondered if Third Uncle's body would be here. From the outside, there might be some light coming in that could help see better, but once inside, visibility was not as clear.
I lit a cigarette for myself and noticed two candlesticks on either side of the door frame, each holding a half-burned candle.
I pulled out my lighter and ignited the candles.
The flickering flames illuminated the small space a bit more.
The interior space was about the same width as outside; the only difference was its length. It resembled a gallery, but instead of paintings hanging on the walls, there were bodies.
The corpses had all been turned into dried corpses, and I could even smell salt in the air.
Fresh blood flowed around me; I touched the wall with my hand, and my fingers were stained red with blood.
Chen San and Xiaoru naturally followed me in. Suddenly, I asked Chen San, “Do you think these people might not have been dead for long? What if they just died?”
Chen San shook his head, indicating that it shouldn’t be the case.
I took a deep drag from my cigarette and exhaled the smoke, hoping to mask the scent in this place.
Wang Wei asked for a cigarette, so I handed one to him and gave another to Chen San. The three of us stood there smoking while Xiaoru followed behind us, her brow slightly furrowed.
The gallery, adorned with corpses, stretched endlessly before me, as if showcasing something morbid. I had been searching for Third Uncle's body, but after walking several meters, I still couldn't find it, my gaze fixed on the grim display.
About thirty centimeters below the hanging bodies, there were places set for candles.
We lit the candles, their flames flickering in the dimness, casting ghostly shadows that danced around us, making the atmosphere even more terrifying.
I pulled out a cigarette and lit it, feeling the emptiness around me; there were no souls here, as I could see nothing at all.
The place was suffocatingly silent, with only the corpses hanging in mute witness.
Wang Wei said, "I had already suspected that this Temple Guardian was not a good person, but I never imagined he could be so twisted."
But if that old man wasn't a good person, why did he help me last night? Did he really help me?
This question echoed in my mind.
Chen San had been present yesterday, yet he insisted that he hadn’t helped me at all.
In truth, everything had been orchestrated by Chen Li.
I asked Chen San, "Do you think the old man participated in that ritual last night?"
Chen San replied no. "That kind of ritual doesn't require outside interference. The strange troupe had already begun their preparations; it shouldn't have anything to do with the Temple Guardian."
My eyes continued to search for Third Uncle's body, but still no sign of it.
Could it be that this Temple Guardian had brought back all the bodies buried in the Mound from the village? I couldn't help but think.
Damn it, it's truly a case of knowing someone’s face but not their heart! I mused.
Suddenly, Wang Wei said, "Saning, let's get out of here. There's nothing worth seeing besides these corpses."
There was indeed nothing here except for the corpses. The place felt eerie, devoid of anything else—only blood. Where was all this blood coming from?
Suddenly, I recalled that these corpses were Dried Corpses. Had all the blood been drained from them?
I looked up at the grotesque, emaciated Dried Corpses and thought to myself, no wonder entering this temple felt so unusually sinister. The Bodhisattva Statue outside probably couldn't contain the malevolent energy here!
The Gallery continued to extend downward, offering a different kind of appreciation.
Wang Wei said, "Saning, if you find your Third Uncle, and he has become a Dried Corpse, would you still recognize him?"
Damn it, of course I would! I had witnessed his embalming on the day he was buried; I remembered clearly how he looked before they sealed the coffin.
I took a deep breath.
I said to Wang Wei, "If you're scared, you can just leave. If you're not afraid, then keep following me down."
Wang Wei seemed about to say something, but just then, he suddenly let out a strange cry. I impatiently shouted, "Damn it! No wonder you were scared to death back then; it’s no surprise with such a weak heart."
I turned to look at Wang Wei and saw that one of his hands was covering his mouth and cheek. Upon seeing him like this, a chill crept up my spine—a chilling dread.
Because I noticed blood was seeping out between the fingers of the hand he was using to cover his face...
Comment 0 Comment Count