The four of them packed up their things, bought some water and bread from a supermarket, and only headed to the garage when it got dark.
Yu Daochen frowned as he looked at a pickup truck with no roof. "Is that coffin on top?"
Da Hu nodded. "That's right, the cargo is on top."
Yu Daochen climbed onto the pickup truck and pulled open the oilcloth used to shield from rain and sun.
Upon seeing the coffin clearly, Yu Daochen's expression changed. "A copper coffin! Why is it a copper coffin?"
On the truck sat a dark golden coffin, bound with a chalk line and secured with thick hemp ropes as thick as a forearm.
A chalk line combined with corpse-binding ropes, whatever was inside was likely not simple.
There was an old saying among coffin bearers: zombies that turned in copper coffins weren't necessarily the strongest, but those that easily turned into zombies were definitely in copper coffins.
Why were there so many zombies in ancient times? It was because some wealthy families preferred to be buried in copper coffins.
Nine out of ten copper coffins would result in a corpse transformation, and the tenth was considered lucky.
Da Hu below shook his head helplessly. "These little bastards, they took on the job without even checking what kind of coffin it was."
Yu Daochen covered the coffin back up as it was and jumped off the truck, patting Da Hu on the shoulder. "Complaining now is useless. Let's get this thing delivered first."
Da Hu could only shake his head helplessly. "We can only do it this way for now."
A copper coffin!
Yu Daochen suddenly thought of something and his expression turned serious. "Da Hu, let me tell you something from the heart. Do you know the three treasures of raising a corpse?"
Hearing this, Da Hu knew what Yu Daochen was getting at and replied, "A good coffin, a good location, and good materials!"
The so-called three treasures of raising a corpse were: finding a feng shui spot suitable for raising a corpse, then feeding it with some high-quality items, and finally, the better the material of the coffin, the fiercer the zombie raised, especially copper coffins!
Da Hu realized something was wrong and asked, "Master Yu, are you saying this copper coffin might be from a corpse handler?"
Yu Daochen shook his head, unsure. "How could anyone be buried in a copper coffin in this era? But a single copper coffin doesn't prove anything, although it's not impossible it came from a corpse handler."
In this martial world, there were only a handful of people who knew corpse-raising techniques and had the ability to acquire such a copper coffin.
Corpse handlers were among them.
Da Hu nodded. Master Yu was right; a single copper coffin didn't prove anything.
Yu Daochen shook his head, interrupting Da Hu's thoughts. "We should get on the road quickly. I have a feeling the longer we delay, the more likely something unexpected will happen."
Da Hu nodded and looked at Yang Ergou next to him. "Go up and keep the thing in the coffin company."
Although Yang Ergou was reluctant, he could only nod in agreement. "Why me? I'm always the one who gets hurt."
The front of the pickup truck could only seat three people. They couldn't have Master Yu and Zhou Fu sitting in the back.
The group got into the car and set off. Da Hu drove, while Yu Daochen and Zhou Fu sat beside him.
The pickup truck drove out of the garage and onto the road.
At half past ten at night, Yu Daochen looked out at the pitch-black scenery without speaking.
Da Hu, while watching the road ahead, said, "Master Yu, I'm really sorry. I haven't let you rest properly even though you came to help."
Yu Daochen smiled faintly and waved his hand. "Why are we two saying this? By the way, did you guys book the hot spring inn?"
He seemed to have heard Yang Ergou mention it earlier, and it seemed the hot spring inn wasn't booked by Da Hu and the others.
Da Hu nodded. "We didn't book it, the employer did."
Yu Daochen's expression turned serious as he asked, "The employer booked it?"
Seeing Yu Daochen's serious expression, Da Hu replied truthfully, "That's right. The employer booked all the food, accommodation, and transportation along the way."
Yu Daochen was a little confused. "You mean, they knew your itinerary?"
Da Hu shook his head and explained, "The employer didn't know our itinerary before, but this time, those brats discussed it with the employer when they took the job. All the food, accommodation, and transportation along the way were arranged by them."
Yu Daochen nodded, his brow furrowed. "In other words, wherever you go, the employer knows?"
Da Hu nodded. "That's right. Every day, we report where we are, and they book hotels or inns in advance."
"Brother Da Hu, I think we need to change our route." Yu Daochen said.
Da Hu naturally understood what Yu Daochen was thinking and nodded in agreement. "There's a fork in the road ahead. I'll change the route immediately."
Among the three of them, Master Yu was the most cautious and could always predict danger.
Yu Daochen nodded and continued to instruct, "Don't tell anyone our itinerary in the future!"
Yu Daochen always felt there was something fishy about this.
As the saying goes, caution ensures a thousand years of peace. Regardless of whether the other party had any ill intentions, one must remain vigilant.
Da Hu and the others' original route was a national highway, taking a little over three days. However, by changing the route, it added another two days of travel.
Although this slowed down the time considerably, it was safer.
Thus, they drove at night, and during the day, when they were tired, they would find a small inn or catch up on sleep in the car.
They encountered no danger in these three days.
The employer also called to inquire, but Da Hu managed to fob them off.
On the fourth night, Da Hu was driving as usual, while Yu Daochen was boredly watching the dark surroundings.
Because Da Hu had chosen a more remote route, they hadn't seen many vehicles along the way, especially at night when there were hardly any vehicles passing by.
Da Hu looked in the direction ahead and yawned. "After tonight, we'll reach our destination in another day and a night."
"This business is tough," Yu Daochen sighed, taking out a cigarette pack from his pocket and placing one in his mouth.
Just as he took out his lighter and was about to light it, Da Hu suddenly slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a stable stop.
Before Yu Daochen could react, Zhou Fu, who was drowsy beside him, suddenly woke up and instinctively drew the dagger from his waist.
Yu Daochen and Da Hu looked at Zhou Fu beside them, dumbfounded.
Seeing their expressions, Zhou Fu chuckled awkwardly and put away his dagger.
Da Hu, to ease the atmosphere, joked, "Kid, your reaction is good, much better than that smelly kid next to the coffin."
Yang Ergou, who had been sleeping with the coffin on his lap, was jolted by the sudden stop and hit the coffin, crying out in pain while clutching his head.
Yu Daochen looked at Da Hu with confusion. "Why did you suddenly stop?"
Da Hu awkwardly rubbed the back of his head and said sheepishly, "I suddenly had an upset stomach and needed to go."
Yu Daochen was a bit speechless and took out another cigarette, handing it to him. "I'll go relieve myself too."
This was one of the inconveniences of this profession; one had to go to a small grove to relieve oneself.
In winter, before one could finish, their backside would freeze, and in summer and autumn, the mosquitoes in the woods were venomous. One bite would result in a large, itchy welt.
Imagine the scene of scratching one's backside while driving.