Chapter 695: A Million Times for You (57)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Of course I do. I’ve always forbidden my children from coming to this mountain. I’m still a little paranoid and cautious. I’m afraid that what my ancestors said would turn out to be true.”
An Xiaoning continued to wait patiently.
Half an hour later, the villager returned with a rooster, which he held with both hands and threw inside the cave right before everyone’s eyes. The rooster, which was initially flapping its wings and moving about, died and collapsed onto the ground within just seconds.
Everyone’s faces turned as pale as a sheet at the sight of the scene before them.
A sudden shriek sounded from nowhere, and the villagers frantically retreated back a great distance.
An Xiaoning could strongly sense that something was amiss.
She was certain that she did not see any supernatural beings in the cave. Why did that happen?
A hair-raising eeriness filled the air.
The people around An Xiaoning held their breaths in fear.
The gray clouds were getting heavier.
Everything seemed to gradually become much more surreal.
An Xiaoning stepped forward and inched closer toward the cave opening. Wang Jinsheng yelled to stop her in her tracks. “Ms. An, why don’t we head back first and refrain from coming here for the time being?”
She waved and said, “I’m not going in.”
An Xiaoning stopped at the cave opening and craned her neck to peek inside. All of a sudden, her eyes widened and a grave expression formed on her face. The rosiness of her cheeks instantly disappeared as her face turned pale and colorless.
She took a deep breath and said to the villagers, “This place seems somewhat cursed and eerie. Tell your fellow villagers not to come to this mountain ever again in the future. As for the corpses stuck inside, we’ll think of a solution to move them out and bury them. You guys may go descend the mountain first.”
“Alright.” The villagers proceeded to leave the mountains as advised. After all, it was already past three o’clock in the afternoon, and the sun would be setting very soon in another couple of hours, especially since the days were shorter during winter. It would be difficult to make their descent down the mountain once the sky has turned dark.
After the villagers left, An Xiaoning said to the archeologists, “Let’s try and pull the corpses out with a rope.”
“Will that work?”
“Let’s give it a try.”
An Xiaoning unzipped her quilt jacket to reveal the rope that was tied around her waist, causing their jaws to drop as they stared wide-eyed in shock.
“Ms. An, will this rope really work? It seems a little thin.”
“It may be thin, but it’s very sturdy. There won’t be a problem.” An Xiaoning held onto the end of the rope, which had a hook, and flung it toward one of the corpses inside the cave, allowing the hook to latch onto the corpse’s clothing.
It did work according to her plan. She looked at the dumbfounded men and prompted, “What are you still standing there for? Hurry and help me pull the other end of the rope. How can I manage to pull the corpse out on my own?”
“Yes, yes, we’ll hurry.”
The men then pulled the rope outward with all their might and dragged the corpse of a man out of the cave.
They managed to pull the remaining corpses out using the same method.
Everyone surrounded the corpses that were lying motionless on the ground and observed their faces, only to find that there was nothing unusual about them.
Although they seemed to be just asleep, they were, in fact, already dead.
Their bodies had turned stiff and clammy.
“Bring them down the mountains and get the villagers to bury them.”
Wang Jinsheng hurriedly instructed his subordinates to proceed accordingly.
There was barely anyone left after the bunch of people had set off.
“Wang, you guys should stop investigating further on this matter. Don’t disturb the owner of the coffin.”
Noticing the grave expression on her face, Wang Jinsheng seemed to have understood what was going on. “Alright, we won’t come here to impose on the coffin’s owner anymore. It’s getting late and it looks like it’s about to snow soon. Let’s get going.”
“Alright.” An Xiaoning took one last glance at the cave opening before leaving. However, she almost lost her balance due to the fact that her legs had turned to jelly.
Ma Jianguo hurriedly held her and asked, “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, let’s go.”
They got inside the car and waited for the archeologists to return.
“Ms. An, what did you see just now? We’d all like to know,” Wang Jinsheng asked, unable to contain his curiosity.
An Xiaoning explained with a look of dismay, “I actually didn’t discover any supernatural presence in the beginning. However, when I stuck my head in to take a closer look… I realized that there were actually spirits inside. We couldn’t see anything from the opening because the spirits were on the ceiling of the cave. As long as we don’t go near them, they won’t harm us. You and your team don’t have to bother finding out what lies within the coffin. Wang, I think your lives are more important than uncovering the truth behind those supernatural phenomenons.”
“You have a point. It’s the mysterious element of such an enigma that tempts archeologists to find out more about it. Do you think the problem can be solved with the help of a medium?”
An Xiaoning looked at him with a sullen expression and warned sternly, “I’ve already warned you of the possible dangers, yet you’re still thinking of hiring a medium to destroy the spirits just so you can find out what the coffin is about. Seems like you’re not thinking from the perspective of an archeologist; rather, you’re intending to do it because of your own selfish reason. I don’t have the audacity to guarantee that there would be a solution to solve the problem. May I ask what kind of a medium you are thinking of hiring? Don’t end up causing more casualties because of this matter. That’ll be a great sin.”
Wang Jinsheng’s face stiffened with displeasure and retorted, “I was just asking you a casual question, I’m not actually going to go ahead with it. I won’t act recklessly without having a clear idea of the situation.”
“It’s a very sinister place. I hope you’ll bear my words in mind, Captain Wang.”
“That goes without saying.”
An Xiaoning did not utter another word, and images of the spirits she had seen earlier flashed through her mind. Judging from the way they were dressed, they did not seem to belong to the modern era and had probably died ages ago.
To her astonishment, they smiled at her.
Yet, they did not seem to be harboring any ill intentions towards her, though she was not sure if her hunch was off.
After all, they were spirits of the dead. It was only understandable that she would get goosebumps from the way they smiled at her.
An Xiaoning constantly pondered over the matter while on the way back.
She was extremely perturbed by the unsettling situation.
What made her ill at ease was the fear that Captain Wang of the archeological team would not give up easily.
The bizarre incident had managed to pique the interest of an outsider like An Xiaoning, what more the archeologists?
She returned to the Gu family mansion and relayed the incident to them at the dining table.
Although the members of the Gu family had not been there to witness the incident in person, they were nonetheless extremely creeped out. Gu Beicheng deduced, “The archeological team would definitely hire a medium to perform a ritual at the cave. There’ll probably be casualties then.”
“I don’t know… Humans shouldn’t be going against the dead. I think those spirits are extremely menacing and not to be provoked. They could kill humans directly within just seconds. Most mediums wouldn’t be able to deal with them. It’s best to stay away from such spirits,” An Xiaoning said in frustration.
Lin Mingxi tried to comfort her, “Don’t dwell on it anymore. No one can stop those archeologists if they’re bent on risking their lives.”
“I’m just afraid that the situation will blow out of proportion and end up being splattered across the news. By then, the government will definitely hire more people to deal with the situation. They might even end up looking for me again. It’ll be hard to clean up the mess then. I really hope to avoid any casualties,” An Xiaoning said worriedly.
“I’ll send some people to keep close tabs on this matter and contact you immediately once there’s news of the archeologists showing up at the cave again.”
“Alright.”