Will people die?

I recalled the scene of Bald Old Man licking the memorial tablet in the firelight, and my stomach began to churn again.

"I thought that after he failed, he would just become penniless."

Yuan Ying gave a cold laugh.

"He's more than just a penniless pauper. He used the blood of living people to nourish the fetal soul, which is equivalent to signing a contract with the underworld. Now that the fetal soul has dissipated, the contract is over, and the debt to the underworld will have to be paid off with his lifespan in the mortal world. That's my guess."

As she said this, she looked up at me, her eyes reflecting the candlelight in the shrine: "He won't live more than two days."

I sighed. People will die for money!

Yuan Ying put the talisman bottle into the drawer and continued, "He stole a premature ghost baby, which disrupts the cause and effect of the cycle of life and death. It's like tearing a page from the King of Hell's ledger. How could the King of Hell not chase after him for it?"

She turned to look out the window, where she heard dogs barking in the distance: "People always try to gain advantages through crooked means, but they don't realize that every bit of 'yin wealth' they gain is an IOU written with their own 'lifespan'."

...

That night, I still slept in the warehouse, sitting against the wall, unable to fall asleep no matter what I did.

After an unknown amount of time, a gust of wind blew in.

The temperature suddenly dropped, and I couldn't help but shiver.

Suddenly, a soft "click" sound came from beside my ear, like the sound of a coffin lid rubbing against a wooden tenon.

I turned my head.

In the dim light, I noticed that the coffin lid had slid open a little bit, revealing a dark crack.

The coffin lid is open?

I was instantly wide awake and stared intently at the coffin.

The lid of the coffin began to creak slowly, the sound particularly jarring in the silent warehouse.

Then came another sound of fingernails scraping against the coffin, so clear it seemed to be right next to my ear.

Holy crap.

When I went to fetch well water today, I said that I wouldn't come back to life.

Why did it suddenly turn into a scam?

I didn't do anything.

I hurriedly got up to press down on the coffin lid, but I couldn't press it down no matter what I did. I could only watch helplessly as the coffin lid slid open little by little.

Then, a pale hand slowly emerged from within.

The fingers are thin and dry, and the nails are black and long.

As the hand reached out, the sleeve was also revealed.

It wasn't the wedding dress I had imagined.

It was the light blue old garment I found next to the well.

The rusty brooch on the collar gleamed with a bloody light under the moonlight.

"Thanks……"

The water-soaked female voice rang out again, this time with obvious sobs.

The hidden door on the side of the gold ingot suddenly opened, the bamboo curtain next to the well platform suddenly shook violently, and a long string of wet marks resembling baby footprints appeared on the ground.

"Click...click".

The sound of gears turning, like those that haven't been oiled in a long time, came from behind.

I slowly turned my head and saw a figure slowly stand up from the coffin.

She is a very beautiful woman.

But her belly was swollen high, as if she were fully pregnant, and her clothes were stretched taut.

His face was as pale as paper, his eyes were empty and lifeless, and a strange smile lingered on his lips.

She slowly stepped out of the coffin, blood dripping continuously from between her legs.

When she walked up to me, she suddenly leaned down and brought her face close to mine.

"Please hold my baby..."

As she spoke, she stretched out her hand, and in her palm lay a paper effigy of a boy, with my birth date and time pasted on his chest.

I tried to run, but found my hands and feet held down by an invisible force, and could only watch helplessly as she lifted her clothes.

A gash appeared on the rotting belly, and a blood-soaked baby rolled out.

The baby's eyes were two black holes, staring directly at me and making "giggle" sounds.

"ah!"

I sat up abruptly, panting heavily, my back soaked with cold sweat.

It was just a dream!

I wiped the cold sweat from my brow and took a deep look at the coffin.

It lay there quietly.

The coffin lid remained firmly closed, as if it had never been touched.

However, this dream felt so real.

"woke up?"

Yuan Ying's voice suddenly rang out.

I turned my head and saw her standing quietly at the door, one hand lifting the curtain, looking at me.

"Uh... Yingniang, what are you doing here?" I looked at her in surprise.

Shouldn't she be at the hospital?

"What time is it?!"

Yuan Ying lifted the curtain slightly, and sunlight streamed in from outside.

“A regular customer came and knocked on the door, saying that no one answered. They could only call me using the phone number on the door. I thought to myself, didn’t you sleep in the shop last night? How could no one answer the door? I thought something had happened to you, so I rushed over to check on you. I found you were still sleeping, so I didn’t wake you up.”

Am I sleeping so soundly?

I picked up my phone and saw that it was already nine o'clock in the morning.

I rubbed my temples and got out of bed.

A cacophony of voices could be heard outside the shop.

I had just washed my face and stepped out the door, and before I could even offer incense to the ancestral deity, I saw Grandpa Zhao from the hardware store next door gathered at the alley entrance with several neighbors, talking about something.

"Last night I heard ghosts crying in Bald Old Man's house!"

Grandpa Zhao tapped his pipe against the stone pavement with a clanging sound, as if he had witnessed it firsthand.

"First there was a 'thump thump' on the door, like someone was banging their head against it, then I heard a baby laughing, so high-pitched it sounded like a knife scraping glass."

My heart skipped a beat, and I instinctively looked at Yuan Ying.

She sat in front of the counter, combing her hair while looking in the mirror. A few strands of silver hair were stuck between the teeth of the comb. After hearing the noise, she said something softly.

"Go to the alley entrance and buy a bowl of tofu pudding, with two spoonfuls of chili oil."

Why would I buy tofu pudding now?

But since she said so, I did it too.

I strolled over to the tofu pudding stall and lifted the plastic curtain.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!