Chapter 21: Luck is good for once...
[Tell a joke: "How could a genius like me be afraid?"]
[Hahahahaha, Ji Jingchuan has the most stubborn mouth of all.]
Ji Jingchuan: o'^'o
Shang Que looked up and saw his expression, so he retracted the sarcasm on his lips and said, "Forget it, just hold the hand."
Ji Jingchuan: o'v'o
He immediately curled up the corners of his lips and hurriedly followed Shang Que over the high threshold. At this moment, the corner of his clothes was suddenly tugged at.
Ji Jingchuan turned around: "What are you doing?"
Jiang Yize smiled awkwardly, "I wasn't afraid originally, but after hearing what Sister Shang Que said, I felt a little uneasy." He glanced at the other corner of Shang Que's clothes and said, "If you don't want to be led by the hand, then I can--"
"No." Ji Jingchuan had a look of "don't even think about it" on his face, and blocked the
He looked at me and said reluctantly, "Then hold my hand. Be careful not to tear my clothes."
"Don't worry!" Jiang Yize breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed the corner of his clothes again.
Lin Jinyi also followed silently and grasped the cloth behind Jiang Yize.
"I don't want to be the last one to go." Ning Sheng stepped past Lu Zhixu and came behind Lin Jinyi. She asked softly, "Can I hold your hand?"
Lin Jinyi was wearing a tight dress with no convenient place to pull it. She pursed her lips, stretched her hand back, and motioned Ning Sheng to hold her wrist.
Seeing this, Lu Zhixu raised his hand and grabbed Ning Sheng's sweatshirt hood, then calmly followed behind.
[What's this about the eagle catching the chicks?]
[The baby bird angrily changes into a mother hen!]
[Hahaha, such a loving scene, it suddenly doesn't seem scary anymore.]
Several people walked into the house one after another like a small train.
Opposite the gate is the front hall. Everyone walked through the weed-covered yard, pushed open the dusty wooden door, and a coffin suddenly came into view.
“Ahhhhhhhhh!”
Ahhhhhhhhhh!
[Who says it's not scary? Who says it's not scary! ]
[Holy crap! I just thought the image of everyone lined up was cute and wanted to take a screenshot, but when I got closer I saw this. Production team, please compensate me for my emotional distress.]
【Woo woo woo, I'm so scared. 】
The others were also terrified, screaming and huddling together. After a while, Lin Jinyi asked in a trembling voice, "Will something jump out of the coffin once we go in?"
Everyone felt a chill on their backs, and several gasps were heard in the silent air.
"No." Shang Que opened the door completely and said comfortingly, "The coffin is locked with iron chains, don't be afraid."
"It's obviously more terrifying, okay?" Lin Jinyi retorted.
Jiang Yizhe agreed: "No one would normally lock the coffin with chains. I've only seen that in zombie movies, but generally speaking, it's useless. The zombies will still pop out in the end."
Lin Jinyi glared at him: "Don't say anything more."
After hearing what he said, everyone stood at the door, hesitating to move forward. But Shang Que stepped inside, and in order to prevent the "little train" from being disconnected, they had no choice but to follow one by one.
After entering, the hall's setting was fully revealed. In the center sat a heavy black wooden coffin, tightly wrapped with iron chains as thick as a forearm and secured with a large, rusty iron lock, preventing any forced opening.
There was a white wedding character pasted on the wall opposite the coffin, and below it was a desk with two candlesticks placed symmetrically on the left and right. The white incense and candles that had barely been burned emitted an unpleasant smell.
Ning Sheng couldn't help but ask, "Is this a funeral? Why is it decorated so much like a mourning hall?"
Even the gauze curtains hanging from both sides of the beams were white, hanging there motionless, looking particularly eerie and strange.
"But there's a wedding character on the wall..." Jiang Yizhe pondered for a moment and concluded, "It means it's a happy funeral."
【？ ？ ？ ？】
[Hahahaha, don't try to imitate Shang Que's way of speaking.]
Lu Zhixu commented: "It's even colder than Shang Que's joke just now."
"Oh, by the way, where's Sister Shang Que?"
After hearing Jiang Yize's words, everyone realized that two people were missing. Turning around, they saw Shang Que had moved to the side of the coffin at some point. She was using a hairpin to try to pry open the large lock on the chain. Ji Jingchuan stood behind her, his hand still tightly grasping the corner of her clothes.
【AAA domestic entertainment locksmith master. 】
Is this a skill a star should master?
[No, but if it's Shang Que, everything is possible.]
[Shang Que: By the time you guys finish your babble, I'll have already opened the lid of my coffin.]
【The action-oriented bird and her puppy pendant. 】
[Hahaha, what a great image! Who was it that said at the beginning that he couldn't be scared, but now won't let go even for a moment?]
"Teacher, this isn't our Ji Jingchuan, right? Our dinosaur Chuanchuan must be strictly supervising Shang Que's unlocking, not because he's afraid to let go."
The next second, Ji Jingchuan in the camera frowned and urged, "Are you done?"
"No." Shang Que pulled out the broken hairpin. "The lock is too big. I can't open it."
Lin Jinyi was shocked: "So you were really picking the lock just now?"
"I just tried, but it didn't work." Shang Que looked around and said with some regret, "Looks like I still have to find the key."
[I suspect Shang Que looked around for other tools, but no one was wearing a hairpin.]
【Hahahaha, very likely.】
There are corridors on both sides of the hall leading to the backyard. In order to save time, the three groups decided to search for clues separately.
Lin Jinyi and Jiang Yize stayed in the wedding hall, Lu Zhixu and Ning Sheng entered from the left passage, and Shang Que and Ji Jingchuan walked on the right.
Coming out of the pitch-black corridor, they stepped onto a corridor. The backyard was U-shaped, with a desolate and abandoned space in the middle. Shang Que greeted Lu Zhixu and Ning Sheng across from them, then watched them enter the first room.
"Let's look for it too." She pulled the corner of her clothes back from Ji Jingchuan's hand. "It's safe here. Go by yourself."
"Oh." Ji Jingchuan reluctantly withdrew his hand, pursed his lips, and followed closely behind her.
There was an old-fashioned copper lock hanging on the door of the first room. The lock body was delicate and small, but very hard and difficult to open without a key.
Shang Que gave up the idea of forcing her way in and continued walking forward. When she reached the next room, she reached out and pushed the door, but it didn't budge, apparently locked from the inside.
There are only two rooms on the right, neither of which can be opened, so the only room left is the one facing the hall.
The two of them walked along the corridor and arrived at the entrance. They saw the four characters "Zhang Family Ancestral Hall" written on the plaque above their heads. Pushing open the door, they saw a shrine dedicated to the gods. Dozens of tablets were arranged on the table behind the shrine. The Buddha statue perched high above them looked menacing in the dim light.
Ji Jingchuan felt a chill on his back and subconsciously tried to grab something, but his hand hit nothing. He lowered his head and saw Shang Que standing in front of the incense table.
He swallowed, quickly followed, and asked uncomfortably, "What are we doing here?"
"Looking for clues." Shang Que suddenly stopped in front of a memorial tablet. Unlike other memorial tablets with titles like "ancestors and parents" in front of them, this one only had a simple line of words on it: "Zhang's second son has achieved success."
"What is that?" Ji Jingchuan heard her read it out loud. He leaned over and picked up the tablet to take a look. "Is this the tablet of the second son of this family? He died so young?"
[??? Isn't Ji Jingchuan afraid of ghosts? How dare he take someone else's spirit tablet?]
[Because they have no manners, not even towards people, not even towards ghosts.]
"Ji Jingchuan." Shang Que suddenly called him.
"Why? Can't you pick it up and look at it?"
"Yes, and you hold it very well."
Ji Jingchuan was frightened by her abnormal attitude: "No, if I get into trouble, you can just scold me directly, don't be so sarcastic, Shang Que."
"Why would I scold you? You've done a great deed."
A square hole appeared where the tablet of the second young master of the Zhang family had been placed. Shang Que took out a box from it and sighed, "Fortunately, you don't have much manners. No one else would take someone else's tablet so casually."
【Hahahahahahaha, only Ji Jingchuan could do this.】
[The production team must have done this on purpose. Who would have hidden the clues under someone's memorial tablet?]
Ji Jingchuan couldn't tell for a moment whether Shang Que was praising him or scolding him. After putting the spirit tablet back, he looked at the wooden box in Shang Que's hand and asked, "What's in the box?"
"There's a mechanism."
"A hidden arrow or a poison needle?" Ji Jingchuan immediately became alert and quickly took the wooden box away from her hand. He said nervously, "Be careful! Why are you getting so close?"
Shang Que blinked. "I mean, there's a mechanism on the outside of the box that needs to be deciphered before it can be opened."
“…”
The box is made of huanghuali wood and is carved with intricate and exquisite patterns. There is a square groove in the middle of the box, and several wooden boards of different shapes can be moved inside.
Shang Que handed over a block and said, "You know how to do a tangram, right? It's pretty much the same principle. Move the other boards to make room, put this block in, and the box should open."
"What do you mean, you want me to fight?"
"Yeah, I'll look for other clues." Shang Que asked suspiciously, "You haven't played with tangram before, have you?"
"How is that possible?" Ji Jingchuan snatched the cube from her hand. "It's just a small mechanism. How could it possibly stump a genius like me? Go find some clues."
Shang Que was half-believing and half-doubting. After being impatiently waved away, he turned and went to the cabinet on the other side of the ancestral hall where the suicide notes were placed.
The cabinet door was not locked. The names of the deceased were engraved from bottom to top according to their generation. Zhang Youcheng's suicide note was on the top layer. Shang Que took it out, opened it and read: I want to get married.
Shang Que: …
…
[No, buddy, you're almost dead and still thinking about getting married.]
[Hahaha, I originally thought the ancestral hall was eerie, but this suicide note actually made me laugh.]
Shang Que searched the cabinet again but found no useful clues. When she returned with Zhang Youcheng's suicide note, Ji Jingchuan was still trying to untie the mechanism on the box.
"Why is it still not working?" He suddenly squatted down, placed the cube on the gap that was obviously smaller, turned the box upside down, and slammed it hard on the ground, trying to force it in.
The block underneath suddenly flew up, hit his forehead hard, and then rolled away on the ground.
Ji Jingchuan's face darkened and he took a few deep breaths in annoyance. Just as he was about to lose his temper, a foot suddenly kicked him, making him sit down on the ground.
"Idiot." Shang Que bent down and pulled the box out of his hand. "Is this what you mean by something that can't be difficult for you?"
[It's over, why did you start fighting again? Are you going to fight? ]
I've seen them getting along so well these days that I almost forgot they were at odds.
[That's right! The characters are rivals, so let's fight, fight to the death, I bet on Shang Que to win.]
[Why do you always want to watch the fun? Hahahaha, but Shang Que seems to be really impatient with Ji Jingchuan.]
Shang Que picked up the cube that fell on the ground and said coldly, "Come here."
She didn't kick hard enough to hurt him. Ji Jingchuan simply lost his balance and fell to the ground. He got up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and walked over with a stern expression.
"This shape can only fit in the top right corner. First, move it over, then find a plank that fits..." Shang Que slowed down her movements, teaching as she moved. The previously messy plank became remarkably well-behaved under her hands, and soon a square-shaped vacant space appeared in the middle of the groove. Shang Que inserted the extra square and twisted it in the opposite direction. The box clicked open.
She turned around and said, "See? Next time you encounter this kind of trap, this is how you solve it."
Ji Jingchuan said obediently: "Oh, I see."
【???】
[The box was opened so easily? ]
[No, was Shang Que teaching Ji Jingchuan just now? ]
Ji Jingchuan was unusually well-behaved. He didn't even get angry after being kicked.
[Ah, you guys weren't going to fight? ]
After the box was opened, an old brass key shaped like a spring appeared before his eyes. Shang Que took it out and placed it together with the suicide note he had found. "Okay, let's go."
Ji Jingchuan said "Oh" and silently held the corner of her clothes.
When the two came out of the ancestral hall, they happened to meet Lu Zhixu and Ning Sheng walking towards them from the corridor on the other side.
"Have you finished searching here? Then let's summarize the clues." Ning Sheng took the initiative to share, "Lu Zhixu and I found a booklet for ghost marriages in the first room over there, which is also the bedroom of the Zhang family's parents. It contains the horoscopes of Xiaoman and a man named Zhang Youcheng, and it also says something about a match made in heaven."
Ji Jingchuan was stunned when he heard the name: "Zhang Youcheng?"
"Yes," Ning Sheng pulled out the wedding invitation from his backpack and asked in confusion, "But the groom's name on the invitation is clearly Zhang Youquan. Who is Zhang Youcheng?"
Shang Que and Ji Jingchuan looked at each other and suddenly said, "It's the second young master of the Zhang family."
"Dead."
【Oh my god, this is a ghost marriage.】
So Xiao Man was originally going to marry the eldest son of the Zhang family, but ended up being paired with the second son of the Zhang family as a ghost marriage?
[No wonder Zhang Youcheng said in his suicide note that he wanted to get married.]
[It’s terrifying when you think about it.]
[Silently pulled his feet back into the quilt.]
After Shang Que showed them what he found in the ancestral hall, everyone fell silent.
Ning Sheng shuddered, the ghost marriage book in her hand feeling like a hot potato. She threw it into Lu Zhixu's arms in fear, then immediately moved away from him and hid beside Shang Que, asking anxiously, "What should I do now?"
Lu Zhixu smiled helplessly and suggested, "Why don't we go to Zhang Youcheng's room first?"
Shang Que had the same idea. She took out the key, walked to the first room, and opened the copper lock hanging on the door.
Upon pushing the door open, the layout inside was indeed a "wedding room." On the table was a candlestick with only half a white candle remaining, two cups of wedding wine, a bowl of raw meat, and a bowl of white rice with two chopsticks stuck upright in it. According to folklore, it was for the dead.
The room had no windows, and white wedding characters were posted on all four walls and the headboard. Ning Sheng swallowed and, pretending to be calm, joked, "There won't be anything like embroidered shoes, will there?"
"The program team isn't that old-fashioned, are they?" Shang Que analyzed seriously. "Maybe you were looking for something in bed when you looked up and found Xiao Man, wearing her wedding dress, looking at you from the ceiling."
"Ahhh, stop talking!" Ning Sheng quickly ran away from her and returned to Lu Zhixu.
[Oh my god, you are the living devil, Shang Que.]
[I just imagined it, and now I am completely huddled under the quilt. ]
[Shang Que, why don't you join the program team to design the secret room? You're scarier than them.]
[Give the others some chance to survive, Ning Sheng was so scared that his face turned pale, hahahaha.]
Because of her words, Ning Sheng refused to get close to the bed, and finally Shang Que walked over.
"How is it, is there someone up there...is there a ghost?"
"No, do you want to come and take a look?" Shang Que stood by the bed, raised his head, and there was nothing above him.
Ning Sheng didn't believe it: "No need, I can just look for it here."
The two brave ones were assigned to rummage through the drawers, while Ning Sheng and Ji Jingchuan searched for clues in places visible to the naked eye to ensure that nothing scary would suddenly appear in front of them.
Ning Sheng felt more at ease now that he had someone to help him. He then asked, "By the way, how did you find the key to this room?"
"It was hidden in the table where the memorial tablets were placed. I saw it when I picked up Zhang Youcheng's spirit tablet." Ji Jingchuan said it calmly, as if he had just picked up a bottle of water, a bun, or a stone.
But picking up a spirit tablet...this is too niche!
How come she's the only one actually slacking off? Ning Sheng felt a surge of sadness.
Shang Que finished searching the bed, turned around and saw her expression, thought for a moment and said comfortingly: "It's okay, luck is good once——"
Before he could finish his words, Ji Jingchuan was suddenly tripped by a chair and fell onto the table in front of him, knocking over the candlestick.
With a creaking sound, a secret door on the wall slowly opened.
“…There will be a second time.”
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