Chapter 101: Between the Eight Tombs

The more Wu Xian thought about it, the more logical it seemed.

Even the humble appearance of the old master’s corpse now had a reasonable explanation—he wasn’t trying to harm anyone; he clung to the old master’s body and followed them only because he had to attend the birthday ceremony!

But…

What kind of birthday ceremony could scare even a malevolent spirit?

A deeper shadow settled in Wu Xian’s heart.

The long night gradually passed.

During this time, Wu Xian was woken by Du E to keep watch; he sat motionless for an hour, eyes dry and stinging, yet nothing happened.

Whether old or new, everyone remained utterly quiet.

The Liu mansion was gone!

“Choosing the wrong order to enter the burial mounds carries fatal risk?”

Xinren like Guan Daorong and Qi Peiyeh, lacking information from the spirit pass, were still confused until Hu Yunkuan explained the pass’s text, and only then did they understand.

Our group of twenty-one people had spent last night right here in this graveyard!

They woke up today to find themselves inside the graveyard, and that’s why they screamed uncontrollably.

The place they stood was a circular clearing about fifteen meters in diameter, littered with black ash, occasionally disturbed by one or two charred, torn spirit papers drifting past.

Wu Xian began to ponder again.

The tense, unbearable night passed; the warm sun slowly rose.

“Barren land, lone grave, journey with no return, fatal choice… The exit from this blessed land lies in the eighth room encountered.”

The scene before him was nothing like what he’d imagined!

“One, two, three… eight!”

No wonder he’d smelled strange incense and the scent of burning all night in the Liu mansion—it was incense burned for the dead, and the charred smell came from the ashes of spirit papers!

The downside of having so many people is that when sudden chaos strikes, it’s hard to stay calm and act quickly.

No one made noise last night, and no one insisted on going outside to use the toilet.

Fortunately, some women had toilet paper in their bags; otherwise, the situation would’ve been even more humiliating.

She felt she’d wandered the graveyard for days.

Soon, under Hu Yunkuan’s organization, the group held a brief discussion on what to do next, but this time they failed to reach consensus.

No wonder so many demons and monsters had swarmed them the moment they landed—this place was nothing but a mass grave!

The truth proved that when danger is great enough, many human habits can be compromised.

A flash of insight lit Wu Xian’s eyes; he ran behind one of the burial mounds and immediately saw a tombstone, one person’s height, inscribed with two large characters.

Wu Xian, half-asleep, jolted awake, leaping up from the ground, eyes wide open.

He opened his eyes.

“A… a…”

The sun still hung low in the eastern sky—she hadn’t wandered long, not even long enough for her family to notice her missing.

Wu Xian opened the spirit pass of the old followers again.

Wei Dian let out a loud laugh and strode toward a large burial mound.

…

That shout, unexpected, saved Madam He’s life…

At the time, Madam He hadn’t thought much of it, but the more she recalled, the more chilling it became—until it became a psychological scar, making her avoid graveyards entirely ever since.

Only the temple’s door was open; the peddler’s and wandering physician’s doors were locked. The other five doors, though unlocked, were tightly shut and impossible to open.

That huge Liu mansion—gone!

Even Du E and some other women had used the screen for privacy to relieve themselves inside the room; though messy and smelly, there was no alternative.

The temple!

This rare calm was shattered by Madam He’s shrill, tinny voice.

“Then… what’s the fatal choice?”

Only when a loud shout rang out did he snap back to awareness and walk out of the graveyard.

What did these burial mounds mean? And how were they connected to the Liu mansion they’d seen last night?

“Guest room, banquet hall, spirit hall… perhaps the story goes like this: the Liu family’s great-grandmother was celebrating her birthday and invited ‘us’ to stay in the guest rooms, but something happened at the banquet, turning the celebration into a funeral.”

The man was an old cowherd from the same village; he’d passed through this graveyard while herding and noticed Madam He walking in circles around the graves, so strange he shouted out.

“Journey with no return refers to the experience on the bus.”

Around the clearing stood several larger, more orderly burial mounds; beyond them, instead of the dense forest seen last night, lay countless small, chaotic graves, along with stone tombstones and wooden spirit plaques.

Wu Xian’s face turned as dark as water.

“It matches! Everything matches!”

Wu Xian frowned at the chaotic crowd.

Only now.

Last night, Wu Xian had already anticipated what today might bring.

Wu Xian examined the other burial mounds one by one; each had a door before its tombstone, and each mound bore a different name:

Banquet Hall, Spirit Hall, Guest Room, Clothing Shop, Study, Peddler, Temple, Wandering Physician!

“These eight burial mounds are the eight rooms. If we enter each one and survive, we’ll find the exit from this blessed land in the eighth room.”

He also noticed the malevolent spirit that had possessed Old Wang had vanished, its whereabouts unknown.

Walk, walk—no matter which direction he went, he always returned to the center of the graveyard. The sky turned yellowish, tree shadows swayed, everything blurred as if trapped in a dream, faintly as if someone were beckoning to him.

The other old followers also grasped the situation and confirmed these eight mounds were the key to leaving the blessed land.

The group split into four parties.

Madam He remained pale as ash, still trapped in terror.

But Wu Xian never imagined.

As Wu Xian pondered…

“Barren land, lone grave—these two phrases describe the current environment; this mass grave must be the so-called ‘desolate lone grave,’ but a lone grave should be only one…”

It would simply be the Liu family’s young master, master, young lady—each appearing in turn, each hiding secrets, perhaps inviting them to participate in activities; once they understood the Liu mansion’s complexity, the steward would lead them to the deadly birthday ceremony…

Madam He’s extreme reaction wasn’t surprising.

Others awoke too, seeing this scene and feeling deeply uneasy, especially as Madam He continued screaming—her piercing, shrill cries only deepened their dread.

Between the tombstones and burial mounds lay an open door, leading down a staircase; peering inside, only faint, ghostly lights could be seen, nothing more.

“Ha! I get it.”

Later, her family, bringing gifts to thank the man who shouted, learned this.

As a child, she’d once cut through a graveyard to save time, but for some reason, she couldn’t escape.

Two of the parties left the circular clearing surrounded by the eight mounds.

The other two parties remained within the clearing.

(End of Chapter)