Chapter 3: Exploring the Coffin Shop
After rummaging through the pile of damp firewood in the courtyard, Ji Mingran found two sticks that could barely be used as walking sticks. Leaning on these two sticks, he was finally able to step out of the courtyard gate by himself.
Because the original owner was renowned as a cursed lone star, no family wanted to live near him. Over the years, those who could move away did, and those who didn't simply blocked the original doorway and windows, opening the doors and windows in the opposite direction, turning the entire house around.
Therefore, once you leave her dilapidated courtyard, all that remains is a dark, secluded alleyway surrounded by two walls, as quiet as if it were isolated from the world.
This made it easier for her to walk while holding onto the wall. Ji Mingran wasn't picky about her surroundings.
Although the rain has stopped, it is still dark, the alleys are pitch black, and there is no one on the streets, so it is definitely not a good time to go out.
But the people inside couldn't wait.
Since Boss Jiang was able to chase after that mutated thing, he might have a way to save the boy's life.
If all else fails, you can order the coffin first.
If he unfortunately passes away, but has not unfortunately mutated, she can still give him a proper burial. After all, this is the first time she has seen a human in many years, so she should prepare all the basic funeral items.
The coffin shop was far away, located at the opposite end of her house, but once she made up her mind, Ji Mingran was determined to go ahead. However, she was hungry and exhausted, injured, and could only rely on the moonlight to find her way, so she could not walk very fast. Fortunately, she was careful and did not go astray in the dim light.
I didn't sleep well just now. My mind was filled with memories during the first half of the night, and during the second half, there was thunder and lightning. She even dreamed that a cold snake was biting her throat, and she instinctively wanted to grab and kill it. But then, in a blur, she realized that it seemed to be the boy's fingers, so she didn't try to grab it.
Ji Mingran recalled how his whole body was trembling.
It's probably a symptom flare-up that caused him to poke her. Fortunately, even in her sleep, she managed to control herself well, but her body wasn't actually strong enough to break someone's finger.
Now she is small, weak, and poor, and the people in the town even think she is unlucky. How to survive is a trivial question.
She limped over, stopped at the door to rub her legs, and looked around the shop.
In the dead of night, the shop had naturally closed long ago. The dim red light enveloped the tightly closed double wooden doors, creating a quiet and eerie atmosphere. Upon closer inspection, a yellowed piece of paper was pasted on the door, the handwriting faded and blurred, with only the word "hire" barely legible.
Perfect timing, I can take care of three things in one trip, it's quite a good deal.
Ji Mingran reached out and pushed the door. The heavy door, which looked tightly closed, creaked open slowly when touched.
The shop was dark, with only a small white candle, half-burnt, burning at the reception counter, casting a faint, hazy light.
"Greetings, sir. What brings you here?" A flat, curt voice rang out, and a figure rose from the counter to the left.
The man's face was deathly pale, his eyes wide open, his skin appearing as if it were being pulled upwards by an invisible force, making him look extremely unnatural. He stood stiffly behind the counter, a smile playing on his lips as he stared straight ahead.
But there was no one in front of him.
Is he talking to thin air, or to himself?
Ji Mingran stood motionless outside the door.
"Yes, a new guest. Don't panic, I'm just a junior employee, a living person." He seemed to sense Ji Mingran's thoughts and explained in the next sentence, slowly turning his head to look at Ji Mingran. He spoke slowly, but each word was deliberate and hesitant, turning his head in a halting manner, the curve of his eyes and mouth remaining unchanged, making him look eerie no matter how you looked at him.
What kind of living person is this?
Before leaving, he gulped down several mouthfuls of water, which allowed him to speak in a hoarse voice. "Boss Jiang?" Ji Mingran asked in a low voice, covering his throat. He remained standing outside the door, his gaze falling on the two dark red blushes painted on the man's face. The man looked somewhat familiar.
"Greetings, sir. What brings you here?" As if ignoring Ji Mingran's question, the man simply repeated his previous question in a dry tone.
Like an old, demented robot that has almost run out of energy, it can only mechanically repeat pre-set questions and give corresponding responses.
It seems I have to answer his question to get information from Boss Jiang.
"I'll apply for the job after seeking medicine and a coffin," Ji Mingran replied without hesitation.
The man's gaze lingered on her face for a long while. "The boss is busy in the back." He slowly raised his hand and pointed to a dark corner behind him, where there was a door.
At the same time, she remembered what the person looked like.
Paper effigies used at funerals.
She stumbled upon a few intact movie DVDs in the apocalypse, which told supernatural and ghost stories, and this was one of them.
To reach that door, one must pass through the dark shop passageway and past the paper effigy of a small ginseng.
The white candles were lowered, and the light dimmed further. Xiao Can's face was half-hidden in the shadows, his eyebrows and eyes curved as he stared at her silently.
An eerie atmosphere permeated the air.
Ji Mingran nodded, stepped inside, and closed the door behind him.
She was never afraid of ghost stories.
She walked into the shop without looking to the side, passed the counter, and came to the second door. She could clearly feel that Komori's gaze was fixed on her the whole time. Even though Komori didn't move at all, and even though the two of them were standing back to back, that gaze stuck to her back never disappeared.
The door wasn't locked, so she pushed it open.
The space behind the shop is surprisingly large, with covered walkways connecting the sides and front, surrounding the central courtyard and linking all the rooms, forming a neat courtyard layout.
Although there were no lamps or candles, the courtyard was bathed in the cool moonlight, and the ancient trees cast long shadows, making it appear secluded and elegant.
It would have been even better if there weren't four coffins placed right in the center, surrounded by a group of paper effigies staring at her with dark eyes.
These paper effigies don't seem to be able to talk or move like Xiaocan; they look like they were just casually stacked here after being made.
Mr. Jiang was nowhere to be seen.
"Boss Jiang, Boss Jiang, Boss Jiang." Due to his damaged voice, Ji Mingran could only call out in a very low voice, but there was no response.
Something seemed to be moving inside the pile of paper figures.
Is it inside? She walked towards the courtyard, leaning on her cane.
Suddenly a gust of wind rose, seeping into her clothes through the gaps. It was early winter, and she was dressed in thin clothes, shivering with cold.
She had walked to the center of the courtyard and stood in front of the coffin. The paper effigy swayed gently in the wind, and the paper rustled as if whispering secrets.
It was truly strange; from a distance, the paper effigy seemed to be facing her, and even now, when she was right in front of it, the paper effigy still faced her, and the feeling of being closely watched lingered.
She looked at the face of the paper effigy, its eyes, drawn with ink, were dull and empty, silently staring back at her.
They really didn't move.
The wind grew stronger with each gust, and Ji Mingran stared at the paper figure, which stood motionless in place.
After a while, she reached out and touched the little figure, nodding and sighing, "Indeed, the paper is sturdy and the material is solid. No wonder it could stand for so long in the wind." Then she said regretfully, "If only I could take some back to seal the gaps in the roof and windows to block the autumn wind."
This paper with a face painted on it, pasted on the window, can both keep out the cold and confuse thieves. How wonderful! Although the house is poor and thieves won't bother with it, I am still alone, so it's always good to take some precautions.
As soon as he finished speaking, a hint of annoyance flashed in the eyes of the paper effigy in front of him.
What's going on? Just as Ji Mingran was wondering if he was seeing things, the moon in the sky was obscured by dark clouds blown in by the wind, and the courtyard suddenly became dark.
"Hehehe..." bursts of laughter came from all directions.
That familiar laughter.
She remembered the mutant in the forest.
A breeze brushed against her neck from behind. She turned her head and saw a smiling face of a red-faced, green-clad paper effigy right in front of her. Its ink-painted eyebrows and eyes stared straight at her, so close that it felt as if the breath that had just touched her was its own.
With a "smack," her hand pierced straight through the paper head of the little figure, which, like a deflated balloon, wobbled and fell to the ground.
So crispy?
Ji Mingran raised his eyebrows, then leaned against the coffin, raised his two canes, and swept them left and right, knocking the paper figures near him to the ground. He then used the canes to poke at the heads of the paper figures, hitting them accurately each time, causing their heads to burst open all over the ground.
Although she reacted quickly, the paper figures in the distance kept rising up from the ground with a "hee hee hee" sound and kept rushing towards her.
Ji Mingran frowned, and her breathing became rapid and unsteady before long. Although the paper effigy was weak and could be knocked down with one punch, there were simply too many of them, and her body could not sustain it for long.
Her punching speed slowed, and one of the smaller figures seized the opportunity to close in, followed closely by another flying in. Ji Mingran forcefully hurled her right cane at the smaller figure a short distance away, the cane striking its head and knocking it to the ground. At the same time, she quickly leaned backward, ignoring the sharp pain in her back hitting the coffin lid, and swiftly swung an upward hook punch, barely managing to knock off the head of the smaller figure that was almost touching her face.
Is it a coffin? Ji Mingran kept thinking as he fought.
Upon entering the courtyard, piles of paper effigy figures were arranged around the coffin, layer upon layer, forming a spiral shape, crowding together to protect it.
Something is flying towards her! Ji Mingran focused his attention.
Before the offensive could even begin, the overwhelming pressure had already arrived; with such force, being hit would mean certain death or serious injury.
But it is also an opportunity.
Ji Mingran rolled to her left, then knelt on the ground, using her backhand to parry with her tightly gripped cane. The fierce attack struck the cane, the force causing her palm to throb with pain. Using all her strength, she switched from defense to offense, directly deflecting the attack outwards.
With a deafening crash, the attack struck the nearest coffin. The coffin, though heavy, could not withstand the impact entirely, and with a hissing sound, it scraped against the ground and crashed into the other coffins. In the end, all four collided together, their positions completely disrupted.
All attacks vanished instantly, the paper figure collapsed to the ground, and silence returned.
The danger receded as suddenly as it had arrived; everything happened in an instant. The moon hung in the night sky, its hazy light scattering, and the courtyard was quiet and peaceful. If it weren't for the mess on the ground and the excruciating pain throughout his body, the fierce battle just now would have seemed like a sudden illusion.
"Thump!" The sound of the huge object hitting the ground rang out.
A woman slowly sat up from the coffin. She leaned against the coffin, resting her head on her arms, and yawned leisurely, looking as if she was half-awake.
Her hair was loosely tied up, a few strands falling beside her beautiful face, and her eyes, beneath her willow-leaf eyebrows, slowly opened. Perhaps suddenly noticing Ji Mingran standing before her, her sleepy, fox-like eyes widened slightly, her gaze lingering on him for a moment. The woman's expression was blank, her eyebrows slightly raised, and a murmured sound escaped her throat:
"Um?"
With an unyielding weariness, her voice was melodious and leisurely.
Ji Mingran's tense attention eased a little: "Boss Jiang."
Mr. Jiang did not respond.
Countless paper effigies suddenly rose from the ground and rushed towards Ji Mingran.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
