Zhou Chenyu placed his hand on the wooden door and knocked lightly. The two tightly closed doors slowly opened, but there was no one inside.
"Isn't he home?"
She muttered to herself, looking at the mooncakes and kitchen knife in her hand, "Since I'm already here, I'll just put these things down and leave. It shouldn't be a big problem, right?"
After hesitating for a moment, Zhou Chenyu pushed open the door and went inside.
Once inside, the house was exactly as it had been when she left, cluttered with miscellaneous items, hardly resembling a normal person's dwelling.
Zhou Chenyu walked around the room, picked a conspicuous spot, put down the mooncakes and kitchen knife, and was about to leave when the wooden door outside creaked.
It seems someone is coming.
She didn't know what got into her head at that moment. Even though she hadn't done anything wrong, she felt guilty and pushed open the door of the room on the left side of the main room, and slipped inside.
The room was so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Only at the far end, far away from her, was there a window that let in light, just big enough for a child to squeeze through.
She stayed there for a while, the air filled with a damp, dusty smell, making her throat itchy and dry, and she really wanted to cough. But the people outside had already come in, and if she went out now, she was afraid she would be in deep trouble.
"Why did I come in just now?" Zhou Chenyu cursed himself, then turned to look at the window at the end of the road.
The window was open, letting in a cool breeze, which might make her more comfortable.
Zhou Chenyu gently lifted her toes and walked along the wall towards the window. The closer she got to the window, the fresher the air she breathed in became.
Zhou Chenyu took two deep breaths, finally easing the itching in her throat. She leaned lazily against the black wooden board in front of her, glancing casually at the box and noticing a square pillow made of folded clothes at the bottom.
The square pillow only occupied a small portion of the edge of the wooden box, leaving plenty of space underneath, enough to accommodate a person.
But who would sleep in a wooden box?
Why not sleep in a perfectly good bed and instead order a large wooden chest that can be used as a sleeping box?
Old Zhang is really strange.
Zhou Chenyu frowned and thought for a moment. The light shining through the small window had spread out to a wider area. She looked in the direction the beam of light was penetrating and saw a curved and straight black square wooden board, followed by a rectangular wooden box under the board.
etc!
Why does this shape look so much like... a coffin?
Zhou Chenyu's heart skipped a beat. He looked over with a mixture of disbelief and skepticism, and there was a sinister and terrifying coffin right in front of him.
"Ah!" she screamed in terror, forgetting everything else, and ran outside as fast as she could.
Yang Xi noticed that Zhang Bo was not in the house and was about to leave.
Upon hearing that someone was inside, their guard immediately went up.
Yang Xi drew his sword and strode toward the door, only to see Zhou Chenyu running out of the house in a terrified state.
The long blade flashed and disappeared without a trace as he walked towards her, lowering his eyes to ask, "How did you end up here?"
Zhou Chenyu saw Yang Xi standing in front of her, dressed in a long blue robe, his tall and straight figure as upright as a pine or bamboo.
Looking at his cold, unapproachable face, she subconsciously felt that there was no safer place than being by his side.
Without a second thought, Zhou Chenyu ran toward him, and even though she knew she might be shaken off, she immediately grabbed his arm tightly and hid beside him, crying out, "Yang Xi, help!"
Yang Xi glanced at the spot she was holding, wanting to pull his hand away, but seeing her frightened and uneasy appearance, he could only lower his voice and slowly ask, "What happened to you? Why are you so scared?"
Looking into Yang Xi's eyes, Zhou Chenyu wondered if she was just imagining things, but she felt a hint of concern and tenderness.
Yes, that must be it.
She calmed herself for a moment, but still clung tightly to his arm as if grasping at a straw, pointing fearfully at the dark room before them:
"I just saw a coffin in this room, it almost scared me to death, thank goodness you came."
"A coffin?" Yang Xi asked in surprise. After a moment, he took out a tinderbox, blew on it, and lit the way. "I'll go in and take a look."
If Zhou Chenyu were the only one there, she would never go in a second time, no matter what.
But now that Yang Xi is here, she feels much more at ease.
"I'm going too." She gripped Yang Xi's clothes tightly and followed closely behind him.
Although the light from the tinderbox was far less bright than that of sunlight, when the tinderbox, still burning, was extended forward, the two coffins were indeed revealed right before their eyes.
Zhou Chenyu looked at the coffin in front of her, and a chilling wind blew past her from behind.
She had actually spent so much time with two coffins.
Her palms were sweating, and she gripped Yang Xi's sleeve tightly, looking up at his sharply defined profile. "See, I didn't lie to you, there really is a coffin here."
Yang Xi looked at the scene before him without saying a word. He pursed his lips and stepped forward, opening a crack in a coffin by the window.
Zhou Chenyu was afraid to see an old, decaying corpse. She squeezed her eyes shut, pressed herself tightly against Yang Xi's side, and said in a trembling voice:
"I know you're brave, but it's still too scary. Let's get out of here quickly, just in case."
Yang Xi glanced down at her, then shone the tinderbox on it and saw the clothes inside the coffin.
He remained silent for a moment, concealing the sorrow in his eyes, and said in a deep voice, "You don't need to be afraid. These are all Uncle Zhang's clothes. He must have been sleeping here."
"Huh?" Zhou Chenyu relaxed her brows, opened her eyes, and met the man's firm gaze.
Only then did she muster a bit of courage, peek closer, and see that there was indeed no old corpse inside, only some tattered clothes.
Zhou Chenyu was relieved and let go of her hand. "This is a place where people live. Why would you put a coffin in the house? And two coffins at that. It's terrifying."
Yang Xi looked at the other sealed coffin, his expression darkening. "Many elderly people living alone here prepare a coffin for themselves in case of emergency."
For myself.
Zhou Chenyu glanced at the coffin with mixed feelings. Although Yang Xi had explained, she still felt uneasy and dared not delve into the story behind it.
"Since the old man did this, he probably doesn't want others to know. Let's go out quickly."
Zhou Chenyu hurried back as if fleeing, forgetting that there was a thick bench in front of her. As a result, her shinbone bumped into the hard end of the bench, and she clutched her knee and squatted down in pain. "Ouch, my foot."
Yang Xi looked at the bench in front of him, then squatted down. "Did you kick the bench?"
The flickering, dim yellow firelight fell on his serious, tense face, yet his clear, cold eyes seemed to be softened by a layer of light.
Zhou Chenyu bared her teeth, looking at Yang Xi with tears in her eyes. Her expression froze for a moment as she stared at the face magnified so close to her, and she instantly forgot the pain.
Seeing that she didn't answer for a long time, Yang Xi looked up and met her direct and passionate gaze, which felt like a flame burning his face.
He lowered his eyes, his palms sweating slightly. "The light is good outside. Let me help you outside to check your wound."
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