Chapter 1 I Think We Should Look for the Coffin Maker First

I held up the intelligence report and said, "Zhao Ci listed three people for me: the coffin maker, the Stick Immortal, and the Corpse Finder. Who should I look for first?"

Lao Liu and Ye Yang studied the map for a long time. One said to look for the Corpse Finder, and the other wanted to find the Stick Immortal.

I pressed my hand on the map instead: "I think we should look for the coffin maker first."

"The coffin maker, Niu Bao, corresponds to the 'unreachable gully.' The location of the Yin Shen (Netherworld Spirit) Gully is exactly in the middle of a mountain and a tomb. I think we should start there."

Ye Yang frowned and said, "Aren't you afraid that the three mysteries are interconnected?"

"A mountain, a gully, and a tomb. They are clearly mutually reinforcing. If you attack the middle, you can easily be countered by the two sides. At that time, we will be fighting three against one."

I waved my hand and said, "Fighting three against one is better than being hunted down one by one. Besides, we have a lot of trouble on our tail. Attacking the sides first is not a wise choice."

"Then let's start from the middle!" Ye Yang immediately understood my meaning: "We'll set off overnight!"

That night, Ye Yang and I silently slipped out of Mengjia Village. By the time we arrived at the coffin maker Niu Bao's house, it was already late at night.

Niu Bao's house still had its doors wide open. The first thing you saw standing at the door was eight coffins lying across the courtyard.

It was hard to say how long the eight coffins had been in the yard. They were covered with a thick layer of snow, looking like eight rectangular snowdrifts from a distance.

I walked to the side of the coffins, swept away the snow, and took a look at the coffins. I knew I had found the right place.

Zhao Ci's intelligence said that eight coffins had been in Niu Bao's yard for many years, untouched. The traces of wind and rain on the coffins were enough to prove that this was the place I was looking for.

Stepping through the door of Niu Bao's house was like stepping into a coffin that had been buried for several years. The stench of rotting corpses and decaying wood mixed together was enough to make your eyes water.

Yet the owner of this house was sleeping soundly in such a place, hugging a wine bottle.

I simply raised my hand and smashed his window, letting the north wind pour into the house, which was the only way to save my nose.

The person lying on the kang (heated brick bed) didn't even open his eyes: "You have to pay for breaking my window."

I walked to the edge of the kang and looked at the drunkard wearing only a yellow cotton-padded jacket: "Does having a window or not make a difference to you?"

People who have lived in the northeastern countryside know that houses in the Northeast have to heat the kang in winter. If you don't heat the kang, you can freeze to death while sleeping.

Not only did this person not heat the kang, but he didn't even have a quilt, yet he could still sleep in the house. This only showed that his internal cultivation had reached a level where he was immune to heat and cold.

The person sat up on the kang: "Whether it's useful or not is my business, but you definitely have to pay for breaking the window! Do you have any wine?"

I took out a wine flask from my backpack and threw it over. The other party picked up the flask and took a big gulp. Then, he pulled out a radish strip that had been there for who knows how long from under his pillow, bit off half of it, and sighed contentedly: "I haven't had such good wine in who knows how many years. You don't have to pay for the window."

I looked at the other party and said, "Are you Niu Bao?"

The other party drank the wine and said, "I am. However, my family stopped making coffins a long time ago. You should leave!"

I said with a smile that wasn't a smile, "I'm not here to order a coffin, but to ask you to take me up the mountain, to the Yin Shen Gully. You people here probably call it Corpse Gully, right?"

Niu Bao was immediately stunned. The originally listless eyes suddenly flashed with a cold light: "Who are you?"

"Someone who risks his life!" I sat down opposite Niu Bao and said, "I heard that someone from your village opened a mine in Corpse Gully back then. Your grandfather saved the person, but he also lost his own life."

"I'm here to take a trip to Corpse Gully. I have some things to take care of. Can you take me in?"

Niu Bao picked up the wine flask and took two big gulps: "Do you know why those eight coffins outside haven't moved all this time?"

When I turned my head to look at the coffins outside, a gust of north wind suddenly blew through the yard. The whistling north wind seemed to deliberately lift those coffins, blowing away the snow on the coffins in the blink of an eye, revealing eight black coffin lids.

Niu Bao looked out the window and said, "They are watching me, not letting me go anywhere! As long as I step out of this house, they will block my path. Tell me, where can I go with you?"

"Our Niu family has been making coffins for generations, but when it comes to my generation, they made a living coffin for their descendants."

Niu Bao looked at me and chuckled: "When you came in, did you smell the scent in this house? Don't you think about it, how can a living person's place smell like a dead person?"

"I'm afraid I've been rotting here for a few years!"

Niu Bao said as he continued to pour wine into his mouth.

I lit a cigarette and said, "If you are alive, I dare to talk to you. If you are dead, I still dare to chat with you. What I'm asking now is, do you dare to come out with me?"

Niu Bao pointed to the place where I was sitting: "Lift up the kang mat, there's a dead person underneath. I've always been afraid to see if that person is me. If you help me figure out whether I'm dead or alive, I'll go with you."