The Coffin of Gods

Shen Yu naturally didn't believe in so-called gods, and not just him; no one else here did either. Wang Yang's death further solidified the thought that there were no gods in this place.

Lu Cheng also nodded in agreement. "Unless the god isn't a god, but has turned into a god-killer."

"Oh, don't talk about it anymore, you're scaring me to death," Yu Cheng Yi said, feeling goosebumps rise on his arms beneath his clothes.

The wind howled, weaving through the labyrinthine village like the wailing and groaning of ghosts, seeping into every nook and cranny.

Passersby hurried along, the snow falling a little heavier. It was past noon. Around two in the afternoon, the bell rang again.

Shen Yu suddenly stopped.

The other three stopped and looked at Shen Yu. Wang Jia Xin approached him. "What's wrong, Shen?"

Shen Yu raised a hand, signaling them to be quiet. The three immediately fell silent.

Only when the bell completely stopped did Shen Yu ask, "Where do you hear the bell coming from?"

At this point.

"From afar," Lu Cheng said.

Shen Yu looked at him. "Yes, from afar, but where are we?"

"In the south of the village, at the entrance to the god's temple," Yu Cheng Yi immediately replied.

"So doesn't that seem strange? The bell rings from afar, but not from the east, west, south, or north. Could the village's time-telling bell be outside the village?" The bell wasn't from the south of the village, because they were right there and didn't hear it too loudly.

The bell seemed to be overhead, very high, so high that no one could pinpoint its origin.

"Furthermore, there's another very strange point about this village: there's no sense of time. The only thing marking time is a bell of unknown origin." Shen Yu held out his hand, catching snowflakes that quickly melted into tiny drops of water in his palm.

"In short, the biggest problem is that old priest, right?! Fine! We must find him and see if he's playing tricks!" Yu Cheng Yi was almost scared by Shen Yu's cold, indifferent voice.

He directly raised his hand to cheer himself on, then said, "Alright, alright, let's go back first. The snow is falling heavily. How about we eat something delicious tonight and get a good night's sleep?"

He put an arm around Shen Yu's shoulders, pushing him backward.

Wang Jia Xin and Lu Cheng walked together behind. Wang Jia Xin watched Shen Yu walk away, her gentle smile greatly diminished. She lowered her gaze, silently following behind.

Lu Cheng glanced at her, still finding it strange.

——

Back at You Shen Lou, the hawkers at the entrance had left. The little golden dog that usually lay by the door was nowhere to be seen. Shen Yu deliberately examined the spot where it had been, but found no clues.

For now, this dog offered no breakthrough. Shen Yu only felt it was somewhat special, but also not threatening, so he didn't pay too much attention to its whereabouts.

The snow fell heavily in the afternoon. Shen Yu stood in the middle of You Shen Lou's first floor, looking up at the sky. The circular Tulou architecture allowed Shen Yu to look straight up at the sky. Snowflakes fell, landing on his long eyelashes.

"Shen Yu, what are you doing downstairs? It's snowing so much, aren't you cold?" Yu Cheng Yi stood on the fourth-floor corridor, leaning against the railing and calling out to Shen Yu.

Shen Yu looked at Yu Cheng Yi. He said, "I'm just standing for a bit."

"You're weak; don't catch a cold," Yu Cheng Yi still cared about Shen Yu's health.

Shen Yu's expression shifted slightly. Just as he was about to say more, the four o'clock bell rang. Standing here, the sound was very clear, but it truly came from afar, and its origin was unknown.

Shen Yu pursed his lips, tightened his clothes, and went upstairs.

Yu Cheng Yi immediately ran to the top of the stairs to meet Shen Yu.

Shen Yu was deep in thought, head bowed, completely unaware of which floor he had reached. He ascended the stairs until he reached the fifth floor. As he walked towards his room, he noticed the room number indicated the fifth floor.

He didn't think much of it and turned to go back down when Yu Cheng Yi suddenly ran out from the top of the stairs.

"Haha! Didn't expect that, did you! I caught you, you went to the wrong floor!" Yu Cheng Yi laughed exaggeratedly.

Shen Yu was speechless. "You saw me go up and didn't say anything?"

"I saw you were deep in thought, so I didn't want to disturb you," Yu Cheng Yi scratched his head, looking foolish.

He approached Shen Yu and said, "What were you thinking so intently about? I saw you standing lost in thought by the well; I thought you were going to jump in."

As Yu Cheng Yi spoke, he walked towards the railing, intending to point out the well to Shen Yu, but then he uttered a confused "Huh..."

"What's wrong?" Shen Yu also came closer, looking in the direction Yu Cheng Yi was pointing.

Yu Cheng Yi mumbled, "No, weren't you just standing by the well? Where's the well?"

Hearing this, Shen Yu also noticed. The area he had just walked through downstairs was covered in snow, but the well in the east corner should have been visible. Moreover, this wasn't a visual blind spot.

Shen Yu walked to the corridor on the floor where his room was. From here, he should definitely see the well; it was directly below. But unexpectedly, it wasn't visible here either.

Shen Yu then ran to the opposite side. The well was visible from the opposite side, proving it wasn't a positional issue.

Shen Yu quickly ran up another floor. From the same position, he still couldn't see the well. Yu Cheng Yi followed, chasing after him and asking, "Shen Yu, what's wrong with you suddenly? Why are you running upstairs?"

"The floor is wrong," Shen Yu simply said, then ran down to the third floor.

Yu Cheng Yi didn't understand what Shen Yu meant, but he still followed him up and down.

But when Shen Yu reached the corridor below his room, the well reappeared, quite a distance from the eaves of the first floor.

"I understand now," Shen Yu mumbled.

"What, what do you understand?" Yu Cheng Yi was truly confused.

Shen Yu then looked at Yu Cheng Yi, pointed upstairs, and told him, "This building has a circular architecture, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, like an inverted chimney."

"Is that how Tulou architecture is?" Yu Cheng Yi looked up at the highest floor, puzzled.

"Of course not. Even if you wanted to build it irregularly, it shouldn't be wider at the top and narrower at the bottom; that's completely unstable." This building had another suspicious point: why was it built as such a Tulou?

"Could there be some deeper meaning?" Yu Cheng Yi immediately reacted, suddenly clapping his hands as if waking from a dream.

Shen Yu frowned, the wind blowing the wisps of hair on his forehead. "How many floors does You Shen Lou have?"

"Eight floors." Yu Cheng Yi had counted carefully.

Shen Yu nodded. "Let's go. Let's call Wang Jia Xin. We'll go find Lu Cheng."

"Okay, okay, let's go upstairs first." Clumps of snow fell like cotton, just like the past two days; the snow never stopped.

Night also fell quickly.

——

A few people gathered in Lu Cheng's room, recounting this story to the other two. After finishing, Shen Yu asked another question: "So, do any of you know anything about this type of architecture?"

Lu Cheng shook his head. He had never heard of a circular Tulou being built in that manner.

Wang Jia Xin, beside him, pursed her lips and softly said, "My hometown has an unwritten legend."

"How does it go?" Shen Yu looked at her.

Wang Jia Xin shook her head again. "It probably has nothing to do with this, but there are things that are circular, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, like that."

The three listened silently as she continued.

"The people in my village say, 'the dead are buried in coffins, gods are interred in circles.'" Wang Jia Xin paused, then continued under the curious gazes of the three:

"'The dead are buried in coffins' is easy to understand: the deceased are buried in square coffins that are wider at the top and narrower at the bottom. As for 'gods are interred in circles,' it means that when a god dies, their soul has nowhere to go. Because they are gods, they cannot ascend to heaven, and hell dares not accept them. They can only be buried in circular coffins that are wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, which can seal the god's soul, allowing the dead god to rest in peace."

"Interring dead gods?" Yu Cheng Yi grasped the key point of the passage and asked, somewhat astonished.

Wang Jia Xin immediately waved her hand. "It's just a legend. How can there be gods in this world? Whether you believe it or not doesn't matter. Anyway, such a large Tulou couldn't possibly be a coffin for a god, could it?"

"Besides, Penglai Immortal Village worships deities so much, how could they let their deities die?" Wang Jia Xin felt this legend was too absurd and was a bit embarrassed to say it.

"What about you, Shen? What do you think?" Wang Jia Xin quickly asked Shen Yu.

Shen Yu was clearly still processing what Wang Jia Xin had said. He only came to his senses when she called him, then replied, "It's probably not meant for interring gods. The village has such a strong belief in deities; if a god had died, they wouldn't need to continue worshipping a dead god. Moreover, if a god were buried here, why would they let outsiders like us stay?"

Shen Yu's words were not without reason.

"There are no gods in the village, but there are monsters. The monsters are in You Shen Lou, and You Shen Lou is built in the shape of a god's coffin," Lu Cheng listed the clues they had found.

Wang Jia Xin continued, "Or perhaps the god died and turned into a monster?"

"Before we determine whether there are gods in the village, all speculation is meaningless. Therefore, the urgent task is still to find the old priest and use him as a breakthrough for investigation." Shen Yu wasn't denying their speculation; on the contrary, he also felt this speculation made sense.

But guessing wildly like this would only lead to more questions.

So Shen Yu decided not to guess anymore.

"Shen Yu is right. There are so many suspicious points now; we can only uncover them step by step," Yu Cheng Yi said, showing support for Shen Yu's opinion.

Because it was winter, night fell quickly in Penglai Immortal Village. Today's discoveries were significant, and they decided to share these clues with others.

From the others, Shen Yu and his group obtained a more detailed map of Penglai Immortal Village, along with a major secret of the village: apart from the people and the dog at the entrance of You Shen Lou, there were almost no other living creatures in the village.

Occasionally, bird song could be heard, but no birds could be found.

At this point, Shen Yu finally felt the abnormality: it was too quiet. Once the village was empty of people, it was as silent as a ghost village.

There was no sound at all.

This situation would send shivers down anyone's spine anywhere.

And Zhang Xue Yi brought them Qu Xie's words.

Qu Xie said that yesterday Wang Yang came to him, saying he always felt someone in his room was secretly watching him. He wanted Qu Xie to protect him, but Qu Xie refused. Qu Xie was someone who disliked trouble and preferred to be alone, so his refusal was very normal.

Moreover, Qu Xie joining their team was partly to clear an instance together, and partly because Zhang Xue Yi had saved him once in a previous instance.

"Is that all? No more details?" Shen Yu wanted more details.

Zhang Xue Yi thought for a moment, then remembered: "I remember now, yesterday he seemed to have a strange smell on him, like rotten wood and blood mixed together, very strange. Because of this, Qu Xie didn't want to interact with him."

"Rotten wood and blood?" Her words immediately reminded Shen Yu and the others of the smell emanating from that wardrobe.

Zhang Xue Yi nodded. Xiao Xun, beside her, also nodded in agreement: "Yes, I asked him, but he himself couldn't smell it."

"Is it this smell?" Wang Jia Xin led them back to the house where Wang Yang had died. Unexpectedly, when they pushed the door open, Wang Yang's body was still lying on the bed.

"Ah..." Wang Jia Xin, who was leading, was so scared her legs went weak. She instinctively screamed and hid behind Shen Yu.

Shen Yu leaned over to shield her, looking at the body on the bed. No wonder Wang Jia Xin was so panicked. This morning, with many people around, they hadn't paid attention at the door. When Wang Yang died, he was lying on his back on the bed, his head hanging down by the window, eyes wide open, staring out the door. Anyone who saw it would be startled.

"Don't be scared, don't be scared, come here with me," Yu Cheng Yi pulled Wang Jia Xin to his side, gently patting her back to comfort her.

Shen Yu stepped over the threshold, leading the others to the wardrobe. He reached out and pulled the wardrobe open. That smell rushed out again. He raised his hand, curling his index finger under his nose. "Is it this smell?"

He asked.

Zhang Xue Yi covered her nose and nodded. "It's this smell, but it's a bit stronger."

"Then it's right. We can boldly speculate a bit," Shen Yu moved away from the wardrobe, as the smell was truly too unpleasant.

Li Yao coldly looked at the claw marks on the wardrobe, adding, "Wang Yang struggled inside the wardrobe."

"And failed. He was pulled inside," Zhao Yun Lou reached out, comparing the scratches at the very end inside. The scratches disappeared just at the edge of the wardrobe.

Behind it, there was half a section of scratches on the back of the wardrobe.

"The cause of death is hard to guess, but the signs of being targeted by a monster can be inferred," Wu Bin said.

Shen Yu nodded: "He had this strange smell on him."

"Mm." Zhao Yun Lou and Wu Bin both nodded in agreement.

As their conversation ended, the crowd immediately began to roll up their sleeves and sniff themselves, causing a commotion.

Lu Cheng nudged Yu Cheng Yi with his elbow. "Didn't Zhang Xue Yi say Wang Yang himself couldn't smell it? What did you smell?"

Yu Cheng Yi's eyes lit up. "You're right!"

He then leaned into Lu Cheng to sniff, saying as he did, "Let me smell you, and you help me smell myself later."

"No, no, this smell is so strong; if you got that close, I would have smelled it long ago," Lu Cheng said, pushing Yu Cheng Yi away with a hint of disgust.

"In that case, everyone pay attention to the person next to them. If anyone has this smell on them, inform everyone," Wang Xiao Long clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.

Only so many clues could be found, and this was considered a major discovery.

Everyone unanimously agreed. Shen Yu suddenly turned towards the door. For some reason, he vaguely felt someone outside was watching them, but when he looked, he saw nothing.

He just assumed it was his imagination.

"Remember to fully inform everyone about this. Zhang Xue Yi, when you go back, remember to tell Qu Xie," Li Yao instructed Zhang Xue Yi.

Zhang Xue Yi nodded. "Yes, okay, I will."

——

Night fell.

The events that happened tonight were unforgettable.

But there was one thing Shen Yu didn't understand: why did the monster leave Wang Yang's body, and why hadn't Wang Yang's body been removed all day?

Could there truly be some mystery within it?

Since that night's incident, Yu Cheng Yi had insisted on accompanying Shen Yu to wash his face and go to the bathroom. Even if Shen Yu didn't need to urinate, he would drag him to the bathroom, saying it was better to prevent illness than to treat it.

Shen Yu had to admire his literary prowess.

It was past ten o'clock. Yu Cheng Yi was inside the bathroom. Shen Yu stood at the door waiting for him. He stood behind the railing, looking down at the well in the courtyard.

He had never approached the well, but it always held a mysterious aura, so much so that when Shen Yu was bored and lost in thought, he would stare at it.

Until a not-so-small sound nearby caught Shen Yu's attention.

He looked in the direction of the sound...

Wang Yang's room door had opened wide at some point. They hadn't turned off the light inside, so Shen Yu clearly saw a twisted, strange figure emerge from the room.

In the room was a... twisted... zombie...?

The figure staggered out. Shen Yu wasn't foolish; he quickly hid in the bathroom, only poking half his head out, revealing a pair of eyes.

Yu Cheng Yi had just finished washing his hands and came out, intending to ask Shen Yu what he was doing, but seeing his posture, he knew he was peeking at something. So he wisely kept silent, poking half his head out from above Shen Yu's head.

"Holy shit..." Yu Cheng Yi saw the scene, not daring to make a sound, his mouth wide enough to fit a chicken egg.

The thing from Wang Yang's room had come out. It was indeed what Shen Yu had guessed—Wang Yang.

Wang Yang's eyes were wide open, and he staggered out into the corridor, his waist and hips dislocated. His upper body faced the outside of the corridor, while his legs walked towards Shen Yu. He was walking along the corridor.

"I must be seeing things; it must be," Yu Cheng Yi rubbed his face hard with his wet hand. When he peeked out again, Wang Yang had already walked four or five meters towards them.

If it weren't for this place, Yu Cheng Yi would rather encounter a zombie. At least he could fight a zombie. But this kind of non-human, non-ghost thing, it might even have teleportation abilities. How could he be an opponent?

"Yu Cheng Yi, its eyes don't see us; they can only see things directly in its line of sight." Shen Yu observed that Wang Yang's eyes were staring straight ahead, so he couldn't clearly see the corridor. Therefore, he always walked straight along the railing. In other words, if there were no railing, he would have fallen long ago.

"S-so what?" Yu Cheng Yi's heart was about to leap out.

Shen Yu's voice deepened: "Wait for it to get close. We'll use its blind spot and push it down."

"I can push it, but what if it can teleport?" Yu Cheng Yi always felt that if Shen Yu was talking, he wouldn't be so scared.

Shen Yu: "So we have to get into the room immediately."

"Alright," Yu Cheng Yi nodded, but plans couldn't keep up with changes.

As they approached the washroom area, the door of a room four rooms away from Wang Yang's was opened, and someone stepped out: "What's that noise?"

Clearly, the sound of Wang Yang opening his door earlier had attracted his attention, but in a place like this, wasn't it common sense not to open the door when hearing strange noises?

Shen Yu closed his eyes in distress.