Chapter 1 What Happened

It turned out that Zhu Zi had slept soundly until late at night. The thunder and lightning outside made him worry that Zhao Tian wouldn't be able to handle guarding the spirit shed alone. After all, the corpse was placed in the spirit shed at the village entrance, and the girl's family was afraid to approach it. Zhao Tian, as a newcomer, was under a lot of pressure.

So, Zhu Zi called Zhao Tian to ask about the situation and whether he needed someone else to keep watch with him. But the phone rang for a long time without being answered.

Zhu Zi's heart sank, but he didn't expect things to escalate so severely. He simply woke up Uncle Jianjun, who was next to him, and asked him to go to the village entrance to check on Zhao Tian.

Uncle Jianjun was in his forties and had been carrying coffins in this team the longest. It was said that after the older generation of coffin carriers retired, Uncle Jianjun should have led the team. But Uncle Jianjun said he wasn't leadership material, saying that Zhu Zi was the backbone of everyone, and insisted on giving the position of leader to Zhu Zi.

Although Uncle Jianjun didn't have Zhu Zi's powerful aura, he was knowledgeable and experienced, and had a cautious and steady personality. He was also Zhao Tian's uncle, so Zhu Zi was quite relieved to send him over, instructing Uncle Jianjun, "If something really happens, don't rush to act on your own. Call me immediately." Then he went back to sleep.

Zhu Zi had really drunk a bit too much. He slept for another two hours. When he woke up again, it was almost four o'clock. Uncle Jianjun still hadn't returned, nor had he sent him a message to report the situation.

Uncle Jianjun was always steady. Even if there was nothing major in the middle of the night, he wouldn't want to call and disturb him. At least he'd send a message so he could see it first thing in the morning, right? But there was no message at all. Could something really have happened?

Zhu Zi immediately dialed Zhao Tian and Uncle Jianjun's phones again, but no one answered.

Zhu Zi didn't dare to delay any longer. He quickly put on his raincoat and ran to the village entrance. When he went outside, he found that the rain had stopped, and the sky was full of stars. A small crescent moon hung in the west. Even though it was summer, the mountain wind was still a bit chilly. Zhu Zi didn't take off his raincoat and walked towards the spirit shed with a flashlight, stepping through the mud.

As he walked, the flashlight flickered a couple of times and went out. Using the dim moonlight, he saw a person standing in front of the spirit shed, wearing a full red outfit, standing sideways in front of the spirit shed, tilting her head, and smoothing her hair with her hand, over and over.

The white spirit shed, the tattered paper money, the messy wreaths, the bright red dress paired with ink-black hair—even Zhu Zi felt a tightening in his heart. He pulled his raincoat tighter, pulled out the corpse-tying rope, and walked quickly towards the spirit shed.

Inside the spirit shed, everything was a mess. The coffin lid was open, and the wreaths and paper money were trampled in the mud. Zhao Tian and the female corpse were both gone. There was only a dragging trail mixed with mud and blood.

Zhu Zi felt a sinking sensation. He quickly followed the dragging trail and found Uncle Jianjun lying coldly behind the spirit shed. Dozens of cuts had been made across his body, and the wounds had been washed white by the rain. His face had also collapsed.

"Damn it! Uncle Jianjun, I will definitely avenge you. I'm going to tear that woman apart!"

Zhu Zi's eyes were bloodshot. He picked up the corpse-tying rope and followed the footprints into the mountains.

Summer days were short. It was already past four in the morning, and the sky was beginning to brighten when Zhu Zi chased into the mountains.

Whether it was a corpse or a ghost, they were all more ferocious at night and had to hide during the day. The girl's corpse was no exception. Zhu Zi followed the mountain path into the forest and quickly found the female corpse hiding under the dead branches and fallen leaves.

The female corpse had no clothes on, only a blood-stained sheet. The sheet was originally white, but because it was covered in blood, it had turned a vivid red.

The girl had been dead for several days. Although her body hadn't decayed due to the strong resentment, the blood inside her body had long since congealed and couldn't possibly stain the sheet red. So, where did the blood on the sheet come from?

Zhu Zi immediately thought of the tragically murdered Uncle Jianjun. This woman had used Uncle Jianjun's blood to dye this sheet red.

Zhu Zi's anger surged. He didn't care about corpses or women anymore. He swung his arm and gave the female corpse a series of slaps, knocking her neck crooked.

But after venting his anger, Zhu Zi still tidied up the corpse, wrapped it tightly in the sheet, tied it tightly with the corpse-tying rope, and carried it back to the village.

That's how it was in this business. They took on jobs that weren't for ordinary corpses, and they couldn't complain when something happened.

The client would indeed provide another coffin and would give some money out of humanitarian considerations, but it wouldn't be much. Otherwise, it wouldn't have anything to do with the client.

This had already been discussed in advance when taking on the job. If you didn't have the skills, don't take on the job. You couldn't blame the client if something happened, or if you were killed or crippled. You had to blame yourself for your lack of skill and bad luck.

As for this female corpse, they definitely had to continue dealing with it. As for the reasons inside, some could be said, but some couldn't be said.

The female corpse had been lying in the coffin perfectly well. Why did she suddenly go crazy? What exactly had startled the corpse? Zhu Zi knew very well. All kinds of marks were still on the corpse. Zhu Zi could see it at a glance.

It would be fine if he handled this matter himself, but if he quit halfway, he'd be laughed at for being incompetent. If the unspeakable things were spread, and people knew what his men had done to the corpse, he was afraid that even he wouldn't be able to continue in this line of work.

Before it got too bright, Zhu Zi called the other five members of the team and had them clean up the inside and outside of the spirit shed. He paid for two sets of funeral clothes, one for the female corpse and one for Uncle Jianjun.

After tidying up the female corpse and placing her back in the coffin, he checked that the coffin wasn't damaged and nailed it shut. Then he asked Second Aunt to order another coffin and put Uncle Jianjun's body inside.

Uncle Jianjun had no family, only Zhao Tian as a nephew. Now that Zhao Tian hadn't been found yet, the coffin could only be placed by the roadside for now. He planned to take Uncle Jianjun's body back to the village for burial after dealing with the female corpse.

To avoid complications, after discussing it with the female corpse's family, at ten o'clock in the morning, the remaining six people lifted the coffin and set off towards the cemetery.

The girl's parents still hadn't shown up. Only her grandmother and a few uncles and relatives came. No one dared to approach the coffin and stayed far away.

Although the sky was clear, the road was still muddy, and the group walked with great difficulty. When passing a small bridge in the mountains, the grass on the opposite side rustled, and a man with a knife rushed out of the forest, blocking the road with his arms. It was Zhao Tian.

Seeing Zhao Tian, Zhu Zi was both happy and worried. He was happy that Zhao Tian wasn't dead and that the thing he was worried about hadn't happened. But he was worried that Zhao Tian's appearance was too abnormal.