Calling it a mass burial ground isn't quite accurate.
This appears to be a former cemetery in the village, but it has fallen into disrepair over the years, with tombstones scattered everywhere, some leaning and others broken.
Some of the grave mounds had even collapsed, revealing dark, gaping holes, and the coffins had rotted away.
The withered weeds grew taller than a person, and a few eerie green will-o'-the-wisps floated in the distance.
“This cemetery has been unused for who knows how many years. Look at these graves, there isn’t a single one where paper money has been burned. It’s been so long since they’ve been worshipped.”
I couldn't help but sigh.
"Heh, there's not a single living person left in the whole village. They've all become walking corpses. Who would still want to worship them? It's a miracle they're not digging up their ancestors to make blood spirits!"
Luo Tianhe sneered.
"They need living souls to refine blood accomplices. These people who were buried inside have been dead for who knows how long. How could they still have living souls? Otherwise, they probably wouldn't have let them go."
I said, pursing my lips.
"Although this place is a bit eerie, it's much better than the village. I even feel a sense of familiarity when I see those will-o'-the-wisps."
Li Huai relaxed at this moment, and the tension from before vanished.
"Hehe, I was so scared in the tunnel that I almost peed my pants, but I feel much better now that I'm out."
Luo Tianhe couldn't help but speak up sarcastically.
Just now in the tunnel, Li Huai was as timid as a grandson. He couldn't scold him directly; he had to appease him, which really frustrated him.
"Let's look around and see if Old Chen has come. Or see if there are any unusual graves. Uncle Qi sent us here, it shouldn't just be to tell us to hide like cowards."
I pondered, "Given Uncle Qi's enigmatic nature, his decision to have us hide here definitely doesn't mean it's as simple as just hiding."
We dared not split up, as that's a big no-no in horror movies. The three of us formed a triangular formation and carefully made our way through the mass grave.
The soil in this mass grave was damp and soft, making a squelching sound when you stepped on it, like stepping on rotting flesh.
"Brother Yan, look at that!" Li Huai suddenly pointed to the distance and shouted.
I looked in the direction he pointed and saw a relatively intact bluestone tombstone with some twisted and strange patterns carved on it.
The other tombstones were all dilapidated and had been standing there for who knows how many years, but this tombstone didn't look that old.
Upon closer inspection, I realized that they weren't patterns at all, but rather some twisted runes, with a blurry, eye-like design in the center that exuded an eerie aura.
"This thing is probably related to the Blood Clan. Should we dig up his grave?"
Luo Tianhe was itching to make a move.
I glared at him, annoyed.
"You dare to dig up any grave? What if a giant zombie pops out? Are you going to deal with it?!"
Just then, Li Huai discovered something unusual. He bent down and picked up a small object from the grass. It was a rusty gear covered with runes.
“These are Old Chen’s gears; he really was here.”
Luo Tianhe recognized him at a glance and exclaimed with a hint of surprise in his voice.
The three of us were immediately invigorated. With Old Chen here, finding him meant we had at least one more person to discuss things with.
We continued our search and soon found several scattered iron nails at the edge of a collapsed burial mound.
It was as if Old Chen knew we were coming here and was giving us directions.
Suddenly, we heard a faint sound, like the scraping of metal, coming from a denser patch of withered grass ahead.
That clump of withered grass must be about two meters tall. I really can't understand how grass can grow so tall.
We parted the withered grass and discovered that hidden behind it was the entrance to a half-collapsed old tomb chamber. The stone door was crooked and cracked, revealing a gap that could only allow one person to pass through.
The eerie sound came from inside.
Luo Tianhe and I exchanged a glance and nodded.
There are two possibilities for what's inside: either it's Old Chen, or it's some kind of evil spirit.
But we decided to take a gamble. I took a deep breath and squeezed into the tomb chamber first.
The tomb chamber was not large, and it was filled with a stronger smell of mold and rust. When I smelled the rust, I knew it must be Old Chen, and I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
We saw a figure squatting on the ground with his back to us, carefully scraping the wall with a piece of metal, as if trying to remove something from it.
Beside him was a small cloth bag, inside which were some tools and several iron parts engraved with runes.
It really is Old Chen!
However, he seemed to be paying too much attention, and we were very careful not to make a loud noise.
He didn't immediately notice our arrival.
"Old Chen, what are you busy with?" I asked in a low voice.
Old Chen's body trembled violently, and the tools in his hand clattered to the ground. He quickly turned around, his face filled with terror.
When he saw it was us, he visibly relaxed and couldn't help but pat his chest.
"Damn, you guys can scare people to death! I'm so glad I don't have a heart condition, or I would have been scared to death by you guys!"
Old Chen picked up the tools and said irritably.
I scratched my head a little awkwardly. After all, there were other possibilities at the time, and we were afraid it was evil spirits, so we could only sneak around.
Although Lao Chen spoke fluently, the fatigue and anxiety in his eyes were obvious.
"I didn't expect you guys would actually come looking for me."
After his initial emotional outburst subsided, his voice became low and hoarse again.
"It was Seventh Uncle who showed you the way, wasn't it?"
I nodded.
We knew nothing about this village after all. The only possibility he could think of in order to find this mass grave was this one possibility.
I looked around the makeshift hideout. There seemed to be some murals on the walls, but most of them were peeling and blurred.
The spot where Old Chen had just scratched was now showing a little bit of dark red, like a mark that someone had deliberately painted on it later.
"How's the situation outside?"
Old Chen asked somewhat casually.
“Wang Fugui and his men blocked that locust tree, so we couldn’t get in at all. The village was like a dead place during the day. Uncle Qi even said that we were marked, but he didn’t know why.”
I explained the situation concisely.
"Is that really what Seventh Uncle said?"
Old Chen stopped scraping the wall, turned his head, and looked at us intently.
“It’s absolutely true. I have no reason to lie to you. You can find out by asking Uncle Qi when you get back.”
I spread my hands and answered with a wry smile.
Old Chen scanned the three of us, and finally his gaze settled on Li Huai.
"This young man seems to have an unusual destiny."
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