The ancient mansion looked eerie, but fortunately, the journey so far had been without danger. Not even a glimpse of a ghost had appeared, which brought a sense of relief to many.
But upon closer thought, it made sense.
If one couldnât even approach the mansion, then this delivery task wouldnât be possible in the first place.
All the couriers would have perished outside, and who would remain to complete the task?
As the mansionâs door was pushed open, an area sealed and shrouded in mystery for years was revealed to the groupâs eyes.
This may well be the first group of living people to set foot here since the mansion was abandoned long ago. If not for this delivery task, or the bus breaking down, no one would ever willingly come to such a haunted place. Besides, you wouldnât be able to find a location like this otherwise.
At this moment, Yang Jian took the lead. Holding his fractured spear, he was the first to step inside the mansion.
The heavy green stone brick floor was covered with a layer of dust, evidence of long abandonment.
His ghostly eye instinctively opened, scanning the surroundings to ensure his safety.
Yet what his ghostly eye saw was utter darknessânothing at all.
âSupernatural interference⊠The ghostly eyeâs vision is being affected. As expected, this mansion isnât ordinary.â Yang Jianâs face turned grim as his ghostly eye lost its ability to discern anything nearby.
However, the inherent supernatural nature of the ghostly eye wasnât disrupted.
In other words, while he couldnât see, his ghostly eye still retained its ability to reboot.
The mansionâs front yard was empty, with nothing but a wall standing behind the main gate. This was likely a âscreen wall,â a feature unique to traditional Chinese architecture.
Passing through the front yard led to an inner courtyard.
The courtyard was shaped like a hollow square, but looking up, the sky above was dim and oppressive, providing no light to the mansion. Instead, it amplified the suffocating atmosphere.
âAs of now, there doesnât seem to be any danger.â Yang Jian continued cautiously, observing his surroundings attentively.
Behind him, Li Yang, Yang Xiaohua, Zhou Deng, and the other couriersâWang Feng, Da Qiang, Old Lin, and othersâfollowed one after another, their eyes darting around, wary of every movement.
âA well-preserved mansion, quite refined. If it were out in the open, itâd fetch a nice price,â Zhou Deng remarked, seemingly assessing its value.
If the price were good, it appeared he might even consider moving the entire mansion elsewhere.
After passing the courtyard, two corridors extended to the left and right. Both were deep, dark, and led to unknown destinationsâimpossible to see the ends, appearing like paths of no return.
Rooms lined both sides of the corridors. The ones closer to the exterior were barely visible, but the deeper rooms were completely obscured by the darkness.
âRoomsâŠâ Yang Jian instinctively touched the old key in his pocket.
It was the key given to him by the Ghost Cabinet, which could unlock one particular locked room here.
The Ghost Cabinetâs seemingly simple trade merely required him to open a door and do nothing else.
Yang Jian carefully inspected the surroundings.
He spotted the door.
On the second room to the right, the door bore a brass lock of an antiquated style. It seemed that once he had the key, unlocking it would be straightforward.
âIt looks like the room the Ghost Cabinet wants me to open. No idea whatâs inside it.â Yang Jian pondered but quickly shook his thoughts away.
This wasnât the time to dwell on it.
With the situation uncertain, he couldnât risk unlocking the door just yet.
The Ghost Cabinetâs task wasnât urgent. There was still over a month left until the deadline. For now, his focus had to be on completing the delivery task and successfully reaching the post officeâs fifth floor.
As Yang Jian turned his gaze toward the main hall, his expression darkened instantly, and even the fractured spear in his hand shook slightly.
In the center of the hall, someone was sitting.
No.
That wasnât a person. To be precise, it was a corpseâa corpse that looked like an elderly man, tall but emaciated, with loose, sagging, dark-brown skin marred by corpse spots, as if heâd died not long ago. The body still seemed fresh.
The elderly corpse was garbed in a loose robe, completely out of place for this era.
The old manâs corpse sat rigidly on a black Taishi Chair, barefoot, without shoes.
Next to it was another Taishi Chair, but that chair was empty, with no corpse seated on it.
âA corpse? Or possibly a malicious ghost?â
Seeing Yang Jian halt, the others followed suit. Some instinctively stepped back upon witnessing the scene.
The mansion.
A corpse within the mansion.
Everything appeared so sinister that one couldnât help but imagine the worst.
âEven if itâs a ghost, at most itâs just one. We have so many people here; whatâs there to be afraid of? Canât we handle it?â Fan Xing said, his tone tinted with annoyance.
Theyâd encountered numerous ghosts throughout the journey.
With such an eerie mansion, expecting no ghosts would seem illogical.
If there was only one ghost, it would even be a positive outcomeâat least the dangerâs source was identifiable. They could simply stay alert and fend it off, or take preemptive measures to eliminate the threat.
âThis corpse is unusual. If it turns out to be a ghost and fully manifests, it will likely be fierce. Yang Jian, youâd better think of a countermeasure. That Coffin Nail of yours looks promisingâwhy not just nail the thing down now?â Zhou Deng suggested.
Yang Jian cast him a glance: âIâve thought of that. But if I leave the Coffin Nail in this corpse, will someone take advantage and steal it?â
The fractured spear in his hand could be disassembled, and the Coffin Nail used independently to pin down the corpse in the hall, preventing unforeseen incidents.
However, leaving the Coffin Nail on the corpse was likely to tempt someone into stealing it.
Underestimating these peopleâs moral limitations would be a mistake.
When it came to survival, theyâd resort to anything and werenât concerned about the consequencesâwhether a ghost might reappear or not. They cared only about their own safety.
âYouâre overthinking. Iâd never stoop to something like that,â Zhou Deng swore earnestly. âBesides, I wouldnât dare touch your belongings, Yang Jian. Iâd like to live a few more yearsâIâm not eager to meet my end so soon.â
âLetâs check the back hall.â
Yang Jian eyed the corpse cautiously. Even knowing the corpse was likely a ghost, as long as the ghost wasnât actively killing, it posed no immediate danger.
If anything unusual happened, there would still be time to use the Coffin Nail.
Moving cautiously into the hall, he approached the corpse sitting on the black Taishi Chair.
Confirming the corpse showed no signs of movement, Yang Jian proceeded to the back hall.
In the back hall, he immediately noticed a crimson-lacquered coffin. Beside it sat an Incense Burner, its incense sticks slowly burning, releasing a faint fragrance.
Beyond that, the back hall contained nothing of interest.
âA corpse and a coffin⊠This old man appears to have died only recently. Could he have prepared it in advance when alive but didnât expect to pass away so suddenly, before having time for burial?â
The presence of these items suggested such possibilities.
Beyond the back hall lay the rear courtyard, leading out into the surrounding Old Lin.
The entire mansion consisted of little elseâquite simple, apart from the coffin and the corpse seated in the Taishi Chair. There wasnât much else to note.
Of course, there were also the rooms along the corridors on either side of the inner courtyard.
âWe have to stay here for seven days?â
Yang Jian frowned, glancing at the others, then spoke directly: âIâll be staying here for a few days. Anyone unrelated to this task should leave promptly if you have no business here. Donât disrupt me. If you turn back now, you might still catch the bus. Staying here will only lead to a dead end.â
This warning was directed at those other than the couriers.
Wang Feng, Da Qiang, Old Lin, and Yang Xiaohua all remained silent. They had no desire to stay in this place but saw no way out.
âNo, Iâm staying here. Iâve already noticed the malicious ghost inside me is being suppressed, showing no signs of revival.â
âThis place is truly strange. I only just realized that ever since entering the Old Lin, Iâve stopped feeling the urge for my ghost to awakenâitâs just like being on the bus. Iâll stay and observe for a few days before deciding what to do next.â
âSo youâre all experiencing this? I thought it was just me.â
The others voiced their reluctance to leave, surprised by the mansionâs peculiar atmosphere.
It seemed safer here than on the bus.
So far, only one ghost had been sighted, and even that ghost remained inactive.
Compared to the bus with its terrifying ghost count, this was infinitely better.
âSo the supernatural interference earlier was because of this. I wrongly assumed I was the only one affected,â Yang Jian murmured, touching his forehead.
The inability of his ghostly eye to see earlier suddenly made sense.
âWhat about you?â Yang Jian turned to Zhou Deng and Fan Xing, the assigned leaders.
âI want to take those two lanterns outside. When youâve finished your task, Iâll leave,â Zhou Deng replied.
He seemed particularly interested in the place and wanted to explore, perhaps collect a few supernatural artifacts.
Fan Xingâs eyes flickered slightly: âI heard Yang Jian brought along a doorknob from headquartersâone capable of unlocking the correct door at the right time to leave here. Iâd like to rely on Yang Jian for this favor. Would that be possible?â
The revelation made several undecided ghost wielders widen their eyes, staring at Yang Jian with surprise and anticipation.
In an instant, Yang Jian became the center of attention.
âYou dare reveal such information?â Li Yang glared at Fan Xing.
No one expected a team leader to turn traitorous at such a crucial moment.
But it wasnât hard to understand.
With the bus broken down, the group had fled into the Old Lin and arrived at the mansion.
Leaving seemed unlikely with the bus out of commission, so Fan Xing shifted focus to Yang Jian.
When survival hung by a thread, secrecy became irrelevant.
âIndeed, dead men can keep secrets,â Yang Jian muttered grimly.
âThen youâll have to kill us all,â Fan Xing countered. âBut Yang Jian, donât be upset. Iâm not asking for muchâjust hoping you can take us along when you leave. Until then, weâll obediently follow your orders and promise not to cause trouble.â
âExactly, Yang Jian. As long as you take us with you, weâll abide by your commands,â someone chimed in.
âYang Jian, how many days will you be here? If thereâs anything we can help you with, weâre willing to assist for mutual benefit and survival,â another added.
âGhost-eye Yang Jian, I know youâre capable, but youâve got so many people hereâcanât you grant us this one favor?â
Faced with this collective appeal, Yang Jian wasnât angered. Instead, he sneered coldly: âIâll be staying here for seven days. If you can survive those seven days, we can talk. If you manage to make it through alive, I wonât mind bringing you along.â
Seven days?
âYou want to wait for the old manâs seventh day to pass?â Zhou Deng suddenly spoke.
His words caused several peopleâs expressions to shift instantly.
This wasnât a fortunate number.
According to folklore, the deceased return on the seventh day of death.
Looking at that elderly corpse, seemingly recently deceased, the thought of staying here for seven days carried ominous undertones. Was the intention to preside over the seventh day of this ghostly occurrence?
Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com
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