Chapter 144 Opening the Coffin

Chapter 144 Opening the Coffin

Chapter 144 Opening the Coffin

Zan means spoon.

Ju means a pendant.

The radicals of both characters are slanted jade radicals, which were later simplified to "王" radical radicals.

The jade craftsmen in Zanju Town are famous for their exquisite carving skills. Relying on a high-quality jade vein, the jade in Zanju Town is widely loved by princes, nobles, merchants and literati, and it can be said to be a golden signboard.

In addition to the high-end jade wares, the stone carvings here are also quite famous. However, in modern times, most of the skilled old craftsmen in Zanju Town died in the war, too many time-honored brands were cut off, and the raw stones produced in the mines also lost their quality. Zanju Town gradually declined and became an ordinary township, unknown.

After the millennium, due to the southward shift of the economic center and the fact that Taoyuan City began to siphon off the population of surrounding towns and villages, the population of the already declining Zanju Town became increasingly sparse, until the last old man died in his own old house a few years ago. Zanju Town was completely deserted and became a well-known "ghost town".

It can be regarded as another way to regain fame.

"Although no one lives in the town anymore, the carvings left by the stonemasons are still there. Look here." Duan Geng clicked on the homepage of an anchor and used keywords to search for a video posted in August last year.

When clicking on the video, the picture shows a small courtyard overgrown with weeds. Stone sculptures with mottled marks are scattered on the ground. Some are hands, some are feet, and there are several Buddha heads covered with flesh hairpins leaning against the wall. A bunch of fresh buds are coming out of their ears, and the broken hands of the Bodhisattva are pinching orchids on the steps not far away.

The female anchor in a low-cut dress walked tremblingly through the deserted courtyard holding a selfie stick. There was a furious Vajra on the ground and a lowered Bodhisattva on the wall. The frightened female anchor was staggering all over and her chest was shaking. The hideous Buddha heads, which had been eroded beyond recognition by wind and rain, lay half-hidden in the weeds, revealing their ferocious appearance.

"In the early years, almost every family in Zanju Town was a stonemason, and every household had a lot of unfinished stone sculptures like this one that had not been sold or moved away in time. Now that the town is deserted, only these inanimate objects are left, which creates a unique artistic conception."

Duan Geng turned off the video and said, "After the Internet era, this place has become a famous check-in spot for Internet celebrities. Many anchors will specially choose the Mid-Autumn Festival and Qingming Festival to come here to explore and decipher the mystery."

The field boy nodded, thoughtfully.

The Taoist priest slid the screen and scrolled to the bottom of his follow list. There was a long list of at least a hundred people.

"Look, little guy, what do all these anchors I follow have in common?" Duan Geng asked.

The field boy thought for a moment and replied, "They are all female anchors with big breasts."

"That's right... No." Duan Geng crossed his Buddhist beads and silently recited his sins, explaining: "It is true that these female donors do have broad minds, but the reason why I pay attention to them is that these anchors have one thing in common - they have all been to Zanju Town."

"Perhaps it's because these sensational anchors deliberately choose the Ghost Festival every year to enter Zanju Town to gain traffic, which disturbs the vengeful spirits in the town. This is why the north of the Jade Urn is filled with ghostly auras, and even affects the Feng Shui of Xuanhu Lake."

Duan Geng put away his phone, shook his Buddhist beads, swung his whisk, and said with a solemn look, "When I find an auspicious day, I will go to Zanju Town and convert the resentful spirits wandering in the world to rebirth. This will also be a good deed - Amen."

"Amen." The field boy followed suit and clasped his hands together, unable to figure out for a moment whether the Taoist priest was a monk or a priest.

Hopefully he won't be interested in little boys.

Today's terrain survey ended early due to weather reasons. The company's field staff who helped the Taoist priest were happy to get off work early and went home to rest. Those with younger brothers and sisters at home were concerned about the situation of today's college entrance examination. Duan Geng returned to his temporary hotel alone and took out his mobile phone with a heavy heart.

As a number was dialed, a phone call far away in Yunzhou rang halfway up the mountainside of Izumo Mountain.

A gentle young man with a gentle face and elegant temperament, who buttoned his pure black Zhongshan suit meticulously all the way to the collar, answered the phone and asked casually, "Master, do you have something to talk to me about? Or are you just calling to chat?"

"No one comes to see you for no reason. I do have something to do, but I don't know if it's convenient for Brother Wen now." Duan Geng came to the window and looked at the rain outside which was getting heavier.

"It's convenient now, but it won't be convenient soon." Lan Shiwen on the other end of the phone was talking as he walked up the winding stone steps. A dozen armed men wearing tactical goggles followed him in strict discipline.

A small temple enshrining statues of the Three Immortals was not far above. Lan Shiwen was walking on the road leading to Juxian Garden on Izumo Mountain.

"I am taking people to Juxian Garden. The Yin family still has some ancestral property to clear out, but we are still on the way. If you have any questions, you can ask directly." Lan Shiwen said casually: "There is no outsider around me now."

"I want to find Fen Wu." Duan Geng heard this and said straight to the point:

"I discovered something in a place called Taoyuan City in Qinzhou Prefecture, and I want to find Senior Fenwu to confirm it, but Fenwu has always been elusive, like a dragon that can't be seen from head to tail... Maybe you can contact him, Brother Wen." "Maybe it's 'her'." Lan Shiwen laughed: "To be honest, Taoist priest, although I have had some contact with Fenwu, in fact, I don't even know if this person is a man or a woman. As for whether he is old or young, fat or thin... I don't know anything at all."

The implication is that Fen Wu's whereabouts are extremely secretive. Lan Shiwen is not even sure of his gender and age, let alone contacting him.

"Brother Wen, do you have any other ways to contact Fenwu?" Duan Geng asked desperately.

Lan Shiwen shook his head: "No, but you can try to ask Tu Yu. He went to Qinzhou some time ago, and maybe he still has contact with Fen Wu."

"Okay, thank you Brother Wen." Duan Geng had no choice but to give up.

"You're welcome. And Master, you better stop calling me Bra."

"What do you mean, Brother Wen?"

"Wen your mother."

Lan Shiwen hung up the phone angrily, took out the SIM card from the slot, broke it with force, and threw it into the trash can behind the Sanxian Temple.

"Juxian Garden is just ahead, let's go."

Taking out the key, Lan Shiwen led his men into Juxian Garden through the side door. These people were all assassins assigned to him by Yunzhou. When strange events occurred in a certain place and there happened to be no trustworthy ascenders who could arrive quickly, these were the first group of people who would take risks.

Either you die in a strange incident, and a death notice is sent back home, and your life becomes treated as a relative by your family, or you break the rules and become an upgrader, from then on you will rise rapidly and be valued by all sides.

After the era of the dominance of aristocratic families ended, many of the upgraded people born in the new century were once such death warriors.

Lan Shiwen, along with a dozen of his assassins, entered the Juxian Garden. They passed through the side door and the inner hall with ease and arrived safely at the courtyard with lush bamboo forest. The sky in the garden was gloomy and dark, and a small, clear pond appeared before their eyes.

"Get ready to go into the water." Lan Shiwen said softly.

As soon as he finished speaking, the assassins around him took off their outer clothes, revealing the one-piece swimsuits underneath. It was obvious that they came prepared.

Under the gaze of Lan Shiwen, the group did sufficient warm-up exercises on the shore for 10 minutes and then filed into the water.

"Not dead yet, looks like they're lucky." Lan Shiwen watched the assassins go down into the pond and swim cautiously towards the center, without blinking.

There are one or more unknown rules in Juxian Garden. When Lan Shiwen came here with Ye Yao before, he witnessed Ye Yao's sudden death at least three times. This time when he came back, he was prepared for the death of more than a dozen of his assassins.

But unexpectedly, they successfully swam to the center of the pond, successfully dived into the water to find the remaining second-grade treasure coffin, and successfully dragged the [Black Coffin with the word Longevity] wrapped with iron chains onto the shore.

——Ye Yao once reminded that the red coffin with the word "Fu" on it should not be moved. Lan Shiwen repeated his original words.

Watching several assassins working together to drag the heavy black coffin with the word "longevity" on it to the shore, Lan Shiwen couldn't help but frown: "No one died? How is that possible?"

The last time he and Ye Yao explored this place together, they nearly lost their lives. This time, they brought a group of mortal warriors, and they pulled up the black coffin with the word "shou" on it so easily. How is this possible?

How could it be so smooth?

Lan Shiwen's expression darkened, and he said in a deep voice, "Open the coffin right here."

Without saying a word or any hesitation, the dead soldiers quickly found a handheld cutter from the toolbox next to their clothes, and deftly cut the iron chain wrapped around the coffin. They then used a claw hammer to pull out the coffin nails that were nailed around the coffin lid one by one. After doing all this, the four of them worked together, and with a sour groan of wood, the coffin lid was lifted up.

The pitch-black coffin lid was lifted to the side by several assassins and placed flat on the ground on the shore.

Lan Shiwen took a step forward and stared at the coffin that had just been opened. His already gloomy expression suddenly became even more solemn:
"The black coffin with the word longevity on it is empty."

(End of this chapter)